The feuds between black men and women online are filled with code language that is meant to nurture and protect the "pain body" while neglecting and/or rejecting constructive and critical conversation that can bring about action. We often blame each other for succumbing to our own feelings of inadequacy.

"The only person I can change is me." If your life is not what you want it to be. The only person to blame is yourself.

DISRESPECT
Ridiculous emphasis in the black community is placed on "respect". The funny thing is that "respect" in the black community has become nothing more than asking that someone else aid in protecting an ego. Any perceived attack on one's sense of self that has been built up around his/her "pain body" is met with overly emotional backlash. This makes growth impossible.

FINGER POINTING
We have become masters of finger pointing. We blame rappers for being poor role models for our children, we blame the school system for our children's basic skills not being up to par, we blame the government for unemployment, we blame food companies for obesity, and look for someone to blame even when we clearly have power to change the outcome...

This even carries over into our jobs..how many times have you waited til someone told you to do something that you knew had to be done or that you've found yourself neglecting a task that needed to be done and justifying it with: "Its not my job".

Each of us has power. Each of us can and do make an impact on someone around us. Each of us can move forward with ACTION when we start to ask : 'WHAT CAN I DO TO IMPROVE THIS SITUATION"

We have to start asking the right questions to get the right answers and the right ACTION. We can only ask the right questions when we have acknowledged the pain body, recognize when we are being controlled by it and opt to TAKE CHARGE OF OUR LIVES.

I mean, even John McCain couldn't throw salt in the game (see below)

He addressed his patriotism that had been subtley been called into question by respondin: "I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first." - -"So let us agree that patriotism has no party," Obama added. "I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America -- they have served the United States of America."

And the line of the night was: "Follow Bin Laden To the Gates of Hell, but Won't Follow Him To His Cave Where He Lives."

Outline of Barack Obama's Plan of Action

Economy: Obama has pledged to attack the weak economy with another stimulus plan to follow the $168 billion package of tax rebates for individuals and tax breaks for businesses that Congress passed last February. Obama's stimulus would include tax rebates, aid to state and local governments and increased spending for infrastructure projects. He would also increase spending in other areas such as alternative energy programs.

Taxes: Retain President Bush's tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year and provide more relief to the squeezed middle class by creating new tax breaks for lower-income families; extend the current "patch" that keeps the Alternative Minimum Tax, designed to make sure the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, from hitting more middle-class families; exempt seniors making less than $50,000 per year from paying income taxes, expand the tax credit for college and provide incentives to encourage savings, and help pay for child care and pay mortgage expenses.

Energy: A short-term rebate of $1,000 per couple to help with rising energy costs; release of up to 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and investment of $15 billion a year over the next decade to encourage renewable energy, clean-coal technology and electric cars.

Health Care: Obama would increase the number of people with health insurance by having the government subsidize the cost of coverage for low- and middle-income families. To help pay for that expense, Obama would increase taxes for those families earning more than $250,000. He also would require employers not offering health coverage to pay a percentage of their payroll toward a national health plan. And he would mandate that children have health insurance, and expand who can participate in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Defense: Pull all U.S. combat forces out of Iraq within 16 months, send more combat troops to Afghanistan and provide better care for wounded troops and veterans.

Foreign Policy: Obama says he would engage both allies and adversaries to repair the U.S. image abroad and regain leverage and leadership that he says Bush squandered. He says he will marshal international pressure against Iran, boost U.S. efforts against extremists along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and get a faster and firmer start on Middle East peacemaking.

Education: An $18 billion plan that would encourage, but not mandate, universal pre-kindergarten; teacher pay raises tied to, although not based solely on, test scores; an overhaul of President Bush's No Child Left Behind law to better measure student progress, make room for non-core subjects like music and art and be less punitive toward failing schools, and a tax credit to pay up to $4,000 of college costs for students who perform 100 hours of community service a year. Obama would pay for his plan by ending corporate tax deductions for CEO pay and delaying NASA's moon and Mars missions.

]]> http://2partssoul.wordpress.com/?p=303 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:15:30 +0000 2partssoul http://2partssoul.wordpress.com/?p=303

The Black List: Volume One

There are very few programs that are geared towards black that I find entertaining or informative. Tonight I watched the HBO documentary The Black List: Volume One and it didn’t disappoint me. It was a program I’ve been waiting to see. One I needed to see. This is what all brown children aspiring to be something greater need to see. Successful brown people from all walks of life, brown faces not conforming to any stereotypes of what brown and successful should be  I walked away proud with the feeling that one day I might have experiences that young brown faces can learn from. It left me with the feeling that one day I might just be a role model. I may even get my own stamp.

This show had something for everyone. It featured Toni Morrison, Lou Gossit Jr., Chris Rock, Thelma Golden, Suzan-Lori Parks, Susan Rice, Slash, Zane, and Colin Powell. I mean some of the names I’ve never heard before tonight. I can admit that with no shame. I can also say that after tonight I will never forget them. It’s just amazing, these successful brown people with these experiences and this advice that if left to BET I would never get. This should be black popular culture. I think that this was the dream of many during the Civil Right Movement.  It’s my dream! How could I hope to become a great at anything if I can’t name the people who paved a way for me?

I need to step my game up. Read more. Know more. BE PROACTIVE! (I read that in a book somewhere.)

This might be saying a bit much, but tonight was a great night be to black. I was watching the Democratic National Convention and I got to hear Michele Obama speak. That was something spectacular all in it self.  Then the Black List.

I know where I need to be in life. I know where I need to focus my career goals. I should be watching the feet of people who found success with their hearts and didn’t take no for an answer. The people who admit that they don’t live spend all of their days consumed by changing the world. Brown people that are successful and sincere in a way that I have never seen in person. BROWN PEOPLE in AMERICA!

I AM ONE,

KD

Young Jeezy had been declaring his support for Barack Obama in interviews in recent weeks and today "My President Is Black" was released on Young Jeezy's web site. The track also features a verse from Nas and will be on his upcoming album The Recession, which will be released on September 2, 2008.

Does the combination of Jeezy and Nas work?

In any case, it's good to see them together on track, a few years back they had a little beef brewing.

If a person eats different food, listens to different music, goes to different churches, has different values, celebrates differently, discipline their kids differently, walk talk and joke differently, are they deemed different from the others? If we were to put that test to any other group we would say they are a different culture. If you saw a Chinese Man fully immersed in Black Culture would you think that was funny? If you saw a Indian woman dressing like she was from Switzerland would you think she was out of place? We know that they have a culture all their own and it must be Halloween to see them acting like someone else. Well we have our own culture too, it's just it gets lost in what people deem to be American.

American Culture is White Culture. Althougth people claim there is a uniquely American Culture, those of us who live here know it's really patterened after only one group. So anyone who doesn't look like the massess is considered to be a sub-culture. The stress of being accepted is so much that people get boob, nose, and butt jobs. We are uniquely different and it would be stupid for us to believe we somehow age the same way so we need the same anti-aging products or we dance the same way so we try to listen to things we don't inherently like.

Now somethings in life are not about culture but more about class, so don't get them confused. Playing the piano, playing golf, running marathons, higher education and the like have nothing to do with culture. It has more to do with upward mobility. Many of us believe that when we see others engaging in these activities they are selling out. The media has made us feel that our culture is comprised of felons, drug dealers, broken homes, non-english speaking, sex addicted, thugs who can't get out of our own way. So when a Black person makes assumptions about someone selling out they believe what the media has fed them and cannot see a black person who is not in relation to lower class problems.

There's nothing wrong with you at all. We look different, talk different, walk different, and do all things different because we are different. A Lion does not desire to be a Snake because he knows he is not one and doesn't feel lesser than because he is surrounded by Snakes either. Just because you don't see more of your kind doesn't mean something is wrong with you.

Solution: You are fine the way you are. There is no need to feel lesser than, or desire to be something we can never be. We haven't found out exactly who we are but we know it's there. When you sit in a group and you see another black person across the room you acknowledge them right? Now why don't you do that with the Asian person? It's because you know or at least hope you have found someone who has something in common with you. So when you look in the mirror, walk down the street, network at mixers, play a round of golf, eat Sunday Brunch at Aunt Kizzy's back porch (In Los Angeles) there's nothing wrong with you.

Take pride that you are unique and not like them, and be proud that you are not like them!

Let me share some of the things that have moved me recently:

1. I found this sister, Sonskystar, as I was surfing through some blogs. The caption on her blog page, Did She Say That, caught my attention: "What I Wrote Yesterday, I Might Not Believe Tomorrow, Because of What I Learned Today". This is pretty much my mantra on life! Her stories and perspectives are thought-provoking and inspiring. For me she is a daily must read! I found these two articles of particular interest: My Declaration to Fight: Forging a Black Civil War and Nigga vs Nigger: Yeah I Said it.

2. I was also introduced by Sonskystar to the words of Nannie Helen Burroughs, in a pamphlet she wrote in the early 1900's entitled: "12 Things The Negro Must Do for Himself". Still relevant for today!  

3. This story on Percy Miller, formerly Master P of No Limit Records, launching a family-oriented cable network in 2009 is amazing! The network, to be called Better Black Television Network (BBTV), promises to be "a family-friendly network that will provide positive content for a black and brown culture that will appeal to all races with a goal to bring people of color a choice when turning on their television." P. Miller has assembled a very competent and knowledgeable advisory board which includes Denzel Washington, Will Smith and NAACP executive director Vicangelo Bullock. I always respected this bruthah as someone who pushed the boundaries... a true visionary and entrepreneur who took the steps to make his dreams reality. Read an article about BBTV here.

4. I forgot to add this article by La Shawn Barber during my initial posting. Entitled "Why did God Make Different Races?", it touches on issues surrounding interracial churches. An interesting read.  

5. A great olympic moment:

Another great olympic moment:

The greatest olympic moment:

However, their problem was that he (Obama) addressed them how he best saw fit and not how they saw fit. He (Obama) gave them several options that included voicing their own opinions, voting for somebody else, or running for office.

I wonder how John McCain or George Bush would of responded...LOL (well, thank goodness for YouTube)

Off Ludacris' DJ Drama mixtape, "The Preview" Had to throw this one up cause it goes hard! Ludacris gets political on this one, which is always great when rappers use their 3rd eye and don't stick to the regular format.

If you've watched Christiane Amanpour's CNN newsclip, you'll hear a polite, stuttering interpreter dictating Sarko's answer to her question.

But watch Sarko answer the question in real life— anything but docile.

La conférence de presse Obama-Sarkozy : les questions - Le Figaro

Now, ignoring all the politics, it's just that über confidence Sarko has that completely captivates me. He doesn't stutter, he doesn't hesitate, and if you could understand him, the words he says aren't trying to be polite. He's an ass, and he doesn't try to hide it! Why can't we get that in a President? Complete and utter honesty.

And then looking at Obama you see him carefully thinking out each word, making pauses, reflecting on what he says. I understand he has a right to be careful, especially since if he makes a single mistake, shit's going to fly. But Président Sarkozy says what's on his mind and says it from his heart; I think it's much more sincere.

Of course, I'm the last person to consult on politics and all that mumbo-jumbo. I'm just here for the French culture.

Now about that CNN piece...

It is true that racism exists in France and it exists everywhere. In France, tensions are especially strained from the large amount of North African immigrants coming in, and with an already slumping economy and job market, obviously someone is going to be unhappy.

But I don't like how Amanpour ignores Rachida Dati, the Garde des Sceaux (Minister of Justice) of France who was born to Algerian and Moroccan immigrants. She plays her down as a person "appointed" by Sarkozy, and this is true, she was appointed. But Dati was also elected mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris in March of this year.

I suppose since she isn't black, she doesn't qualify for Amanpour's analysis and therefore can be ignored.

Vous êtes tous cons ou quoi?! Commentez!

PS Have you ever wondered where Black people go for celeb gossip about black people? Visit this site: http://www.bossip.com/about/

i wish i could be a soul sista,
you know the type of sista
who lives on movie posters like Pam Grier
rockin sexy outfits and not scared
to walk alone at night.
you know the type of sista
who lives in documentaries
like Angela Davis, rollin with revolutionaries
to serve and protect the black community,
standing up against the ills of society,
willing to go to jail if it means
keeping up the fight.

i wish i could be a soul sista,
providing more than just twinkles in eyes
and smiles as my elders sweetly say "Hi"
not to me, but to their past.
i wish i could go back
to that time i never knew and retract
all the wrongs of today and extract
all the joys of yesterday,
using my afro and skin to honor and celebrate
the black nostalgia in old black men
who love me.

>

Grazie to Women Management for sending over some lovely scans of Jourdan Dunn, straight from their Milano office and soon on news stands. To read more, check out their blog here.

For larger scans, click image

There seems to be an uproar in Denver, I told you it's about to go down! Jazz singer Chanteuse René Marie (*don't know what the Chanteuse means...does google search*) decided to do things a little bit different while singing the Star-Spangled Banner at a State of Address in Denver on Tuesday.

Marie sang the first verse of James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," also known as the "Black National Anthem," but adapted those lyrics to the tune of the "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Marie said she had no regrets. She deliberately didn't tell anybody about her song choice "because I don't think it is necessary for an artist to ask permission to express themselves artistically," she said.

"I would not change a thing," Marie said.

"You have to risk things. You have to. Otherwise, you might of well live your life by a script."

You already know that people are shitting bricks over this!

"There is no substitute for the national anthem. Period," Councilman Charlie Brown said.

"This is the State of the City address. It's not an NAACP convention," he said, referring to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

uh, oh...

Council President Michael Hancock, the master of ceremonies, introduced Marie, who sang what is known as the "Black National Anthem" instead.

Hancock said he's been getting hate-filled e-mails over the song.

"I'm getting — as if I made the decision to do this — I'm receiving a lot of hate mail"

*MY 2 CENTS*
I love it...just love it! She stuck her neck out there and thus exposed some truly racist shit! I don't see what the problem is...she's American...she's BLACK...why hasn't anyone done this before!?!? lol

[Source]

Wattstax war ein Musikfestival, das am 20. August 1972 im Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum stattfand.

Das Festival wurde vom Musikunternehmen Stax Records veranstaltet, um der Unruhen im Stadtteil Watts sieben Jahre zuvor zu gedenken. Der Name ist eine Anspielung auf dasWoodstock-Festival. Wattstax, das neben den Konzerten der Stars von Stax Records auch Reden unter anderem des Bürgerrechtlers Jesse Jackson enthielt, zog über 100.000 größtenteils afroamerikanische Zuschauer an. Es wurden mehrere Alben mit der Musik des Festivals sowie ein Film veröffentlicht. Die Filmdokumentation erhielt 1974 eine Nominierung für den Golden Globe als bester Dokumentarfilm.

Wattstax is a 1973 documentary film by Mel Stuart that focused on the 1972 Wattstax music festival and the African American community of Watts in Los Angeles, California. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Documentary Film in 1974.

100,000 brothers and sisters turning on to being black...telling it like it is!

The Concert:

The concert was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 20, 1972 and organized by Memphis's Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots. Wattstax was seen by some as "the Afro-American answer to Woodstock". In order to enable as many members of the black community in L.A. as possible, tickets were sold for only $1.00 each. The Reverend Jesse Jackson gave the invocation, which included his "I Am - Somebody" poem, which was recited in a call and response with the assembled stadium crowd. Interspersed between songs are interviews with Richard Pryor, Ted Lange and others who discuss the black experience in America.

Find both previous articles articles on WIKIPEDIA

Still, “Wattstax” didn’t garner wide media attention. And the film — considered too racy, too political and too black — failed to get the wide theatrical release that the documentary “Woodstock” received three years earlier, despite a notable showing at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Globe nomination.

“The problem that existed then, and to a certain extent now,” said Bell, “is that Hollywood didn’t really see where something like this was going to generate revenue, or that is was even important.”

... read all of the 2008 Associated-Press AP Article on Wattstax here

and now

... enjoy:

Wattstax 1972 pt 1 of 14 (Watts LA and Setting Up)

Wattstax 1972 pt 2 of 14 (Arrival of Cultural Awareness)

Wattstax 1972 pt 3 of 14 (United We Stand and Salvation)

Wattstax 1972 pt 4 of 14 (Religion and the Church)

Wattstax 1972 pt 5 of 14 (Respect Yourself, Pride Alive)

Wattstax 1972 pt 6 of 14 (Fight for Rights & Consciousness)

Wattstax 1972 pt 7 of 14 (What It Means to Have The Blues)

Wattstax 1972 pt 8 of 14 (Jody the Pimp & Gambling)

Wattstax 1972 pt 9 of 14 (Dating/Gender Roles in Watts, LA)

Wattstax 1972 pt 10 of 14 ('The Breakdown' by Rufus Thomas)

Wattstax 1972 pt 11 of 14 (The Funky Chicken Dance & Curfew)

Wattstax 1972 pt 12 of 14 (Love and Messin' Around)

Wattstax 1972 pt 13 of 14 (Shaft, Power Shake & Soulsville)

Wattstax 1972 pt 14 of 14 (I Am Somebody, Lift Every Voice)

]]> http://boogerbin.wordpress.com/?p=7 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:16:05 +0000 The Picker http://boogerbin.wordpress.com/?p=7 Disclaimer: I'm a white almost middle-aged male.  So I hardly know what I'm talking about...

But I'm a white almost middle-aged male, so maybe I can help "my people" understand this concept.  I've seen so many forwarded emails over the years declaring the white man's struggle for pride... most white guys just don't get it.  These emails usually point out that it's acceptable for black people to have black pride, but it's totally uncool to have "white pride."

Well here's the way to look at it my white friends: how many times have you verbalized pride for your english/scottish/irish/german/french/italian/etc. heritage?  Right - lots, if not all of you.  Now, you may be asking, "I'd be cool with black people showing pride in being from Egypt!"  There's just one problem - how many black people do you know who know they're from Egypt, or any other African country?  Exactly - none, unless they're first generation.  Black people have "black pride" because slavery stripped their ability to have country-specific pride.

So white pride = racist because it's about the race.
Black pride is not racist because it's all black people have left.

Clear?

My ethnic background is rather mixed and due to that I happen to be one of two dark skin people on my father's side of the family, my father being the other. Between both parents, I'm mixed with Afro-Guyanese, Indo-Guyanese and Aboriginal "Buck" Guyanese, leaving us with not just dark skin, but with a dusty complexion which resembles those from places like Sri Lanka; we're sorta like a mixed masala

             It's ME.

Growing up, I was always acutely aware of my complexion and how certain family members viewed those with darker skin. I was always treated slightly differently 1. due to my complexion and 2. because my mother was clearly NEVER accepted by my father's family;hence I was seen an an extension of her and that was often a precarious situation .  Over time, things became increaseingly blatant and disrespectful; to the point where I even had an older cousin tell her son (right in front of me) that he ought not bring a dark skin girl home or she would disown him. Oh she was VERY serious alright.  This from a woman who purposely had both her children by lighter skined black men as to avoid them from not passing that brown paper bag test. FACT not fiction.

Over the years there were many more egregious instances which left me definitly kind of color struck and on high alert when comments are made regarding those with darker skin. 

I swear I have an allergic reaction to people and their phlegmatic sense of awareness to what they say and to whom they say it to.

The thing that brought up this entire complexion issue for me this weekend was:

1. I was chatting on my BlackBerry and out of the blue the person was observing, the darkest lady dressed in all black who's babysitting the whitest child  ... In my head i'm thinking, AND WTF is your point?!! So what, very dark people should refrain from ever wearing black? Ummm, NO! Then the person felt the need to add in,  oh she's very pretty but very dark , etc. etc. In my head I'm thinking WOW! How dare you!! You don't need to add that last bit in because no matter how you spin it, there's obviously a hint of derision in your message. And all this is being said to ME, a dark skin woman.  This isn't the first time something like this has been said to me but this weekend, it really stuck with me. It's tantamount to a white person saying, I'm not racist /biggot, afterall I do have Black friends ( although by friends they mean the mail guy in their office who's never stepped foot in their home nor have they spoken to the black friend outside of the office).  I don't need you to validate my freaking beauty by adding in oh she's very pretty or I love dark skin men/women, yet you've never nor will you ever consider a person of that complexion as a potential mate. This type of shit gets to me.  I KNOW, alot of this undercurrent complexion tension stems from this whole childhood family shit, but the other fraction of it is just the sheer flout people seem to have with dark, very dark, blue/black complexioned people. Right or wrong, it is what it is, but people need to be cognizant of what they're saying and to whom they're saying it to.

2.  having that happen earlier in my weekend, the complexion issue then spilled over into conversations with a friend. My fascination with the complextions of the previous women this applicable suitor has dated ( mostly out of sheer nosyness).  I mean previously he mentioned to me that when he was younger he  had a penchant for the light skinned/ light eyed freaks. ( his word, lol) That kind of slapped me in the back of the freaking head and totally brought up that shit from when I was younger so I always filed that piece of info in the memory bank and sought to delve into it this weekend. Please don't ask me why, I must be a fucking masichist, I think.  So we did a visual excercise and it was kind of confirmed to me that yeah, homie did or does have a penchant for the very light and pretty.

By no means is that a negative thing, but it just goes to show that when shit happens to you as your younger, it's never easy getting over it and voiding it from spilling into various facists of your everyday life. And this so fucking sucks because here I am giving him shit for merely being attracted to those who tickle HIS  fancy and scrutinizing HIS decesions. Who the hell does that??  This man must be like, this damn b*tch! I know that I gave him shit and was totally out of line and let my insecurity come through but fuck me! HOW DO I GET OVER THIS SHIT! This has been fraying my nerves all damn evening and I know he sensed a shift in my mood. I've been trying to assess and figure out how I'm going to go about letting those types of comments slide off my back,  no answers yet but like everyone and everything, I'm everchanging.

Needed to get this off my chest.

T.

According to Kemp, the guidelines stipulated that black students obtain an average of 74 percent to qualify for medical studies, coloureds 78 percent, Indians 88 percent and whites 91 percent.

Only in South Africa I suppose, and if this admission policy isn't a slap in the face for so called "black" people then I do not know what is. What will also be interesting is how they measure the difference between colored and black... maybe the pencil test?

It also ties in with my earlier post about affirmative action.

So what is next, are they going to make special admissions for blind people, but whose dream it was to always become heart surgeons and feel that discrimination against blind people are hampering their dreams?

These policies are just an insult to everyone involved and actually just degenerate people of color....

...... of course everyone is going to think that a white doctor is superior to a black doctor because they had to work harder.

Bottom Line: Well done UCT for playing straight into the very stereotypes out there.

Technorati Tags: Racism, White Supremacy, Black Pride, Affirmative Action

Also, here's Nas' new Track - Black President

On a whole, "we" are a very rich people; presently and historically known for our collective resiliency and, what my Grand Dude liked to call, Afro-ingenuity. I can honestly say I am proud to be a part of a heritage that boasts a longstanding lineage, spanning back to the earliest known evidence of time. But you know... there are days when I wish -- with no intentional disrespect to the ancestors who sacrificed so that I can have the freedoms and luxuries I have now -- "we" didn't bear the yoke of having to be "black" every second of the day. No, no, no... hear me out, please. I mean, for as blessed as "we" are, and as wonderful as it is to be able to tangibly categorize oneself as "black"... I'd prefer just one moment in my adult life when I'm not expected to declare myself as such, or be reminded by others of my race with every breath I take. Some days, I just want to be a AngelaMichelle... a person!

Blame it on the fact that I spent all of my summers in Canada, away from the staunchly "black" community where I lived the other months of my life. There, in the fields, woods and on the beaches of Leamington, I wasn't "black", even if I was the only person of colour on the scene (outside of my family member, this was most often the case). I was the little quiet girl who was cute and sweet and sucked her thumb (yeah I did... wanna make something of it?). There were times when I felt extremely conscious of my colour, but that was always a self-imposed cognizance that only surfaced after I reached my hyper-self-absorbed "tweens" when there was more of a focus on race (and racism) within my microsystems and macrosystems (see: Urie Bronfenrenner Ecological Systems Theory). But for the most part, while I noticed the difference between myself and my cohorts in both culture and colour, differences in race often always went "un-noted".

Of course I know I was afforded a lucky break most of "my people" were not privy to. I grew up virtually colour-blind, and realistically did not encounter any form of racism until I hit my early twenties. Never the less, I am thankful for the reprieve of my younger years and feel it has worked to make me a more "rounded" individual. My childhood has granted me a perspective that is not limited by the vigilant awareness of my "blackness." It has helped me feel confident enough to attempt pursuits that would otherwise be thought "out of pocket" for people of my race. It has also allowed me to be able to raise four children who have pride in their heritage, but do not feel so locked down by it they cease to thrive when outside of the "black" community.

i'm sure to some this Scattered Picture seems a bit "sell-out" or "un-Afriotic", as it were, but let's be real about this issue. There is no way any of "us" -- or any of the "non-us'es" of the world, for that matter -- can ever completely forget that we are "black". Whether we live in the "hood" with our "peeps", in the "burbs" with the "others", or in the "boonies" all by our lonely, just one look in the mirror brings mindfulness to both our colour and our ancestry. So can we please, please, please stop repeatedly qualifying our existence with "black" prefixes to our every activity? I promise no one will cease to recognize the high level of melanin in our pigment if we don't make it a point to call their attention to it at every turn. I guarantee none of our rights will be revoked, none of our history will be erased, and the African-American race won't fade into obscurity if we're recognized as people some of the time and not "black" people. Is that not what Martin marched on Washington for? Is it not the point those "I AM A MAN" (not "I AM A BLACK MAN", because the black was apparent) signs in Memphis emphasized? For us to be recognize for WHO we are, not what colour we just so happen to be. I think it was... but

Blessed Be.

Doctor Victorine

There are those who believe, that he'll never get elected.

There are those who say that IF elected he will be assasinated before Michelle even has the chance to unpack the "good" dishes.

There are those who say he will concede or drop out of the race BEFORE the general election.

And there are those who feel that even if HE DOES win in November...that some how, the election will be stolen as it was in 2000.

But RIGHT NOW, none of that matters.

THIS is why Shirley Chisolm ran in 1972. So that 36 years later SOMEONE would have the chance. Black AND a woman. THE NERVE? RIght? We don't have nerve like that anymore.

 Its why Jesse Jackson ran in 1984. Just as we were diving head first into the consequences of Regan-omics. Young, uncorrupt Jesse threw his hand in the pot and opened himself up to the world's scrutinity. He hasn't been viewed the same since, but THIS is why he did it.
 

 
Barack Obama in 2008 is why Al Sharpton ran for President in 2004. Never mind the fact that He's NEVER won an elected office...ever. Its always been his goal to "change the debate, or to raise teh social justice question" Poor Al. But he did it with THIS in mind.

Barak is just a man. But he's got 600 years of American history on his back right now. I will be in prayer for him. For his strength. For his guidance. For his family and his focus.
....Pray WITH me Cool World.
The next five months will be crucial.
Blog about it
Write about it
Talk about it.

...so that 600 years from now, regardless to what is written in the "HISTORY" books, the REAL story will be out there.

Peace