Right here..Right now...For many Black people living in America from the gritty urban venues of neighborhoods like Detroit to the contours of cul de sacs of suburbia these are perilous times even in the post racial era of a Black Man in the White House. The velocity of negativity is at web speed from the media accounts of entire industries collapsing and people being laid off into forever to tales of young children body parts being tortured and burned in shabby 3rd world urban shacks. Life in America is perilous the revolution is being televised and it is on every channel with surround sound and 3d pictures.
Right here..Right now..This is a moment for the community to step away from the insanity and madness and the aura of hopelessness and decadence and confusion and reach out and hold on to each other from family to friends to associates and maybe even strangers. People are under enormous stress and duress all manner of thoughts, excuses, plots are in the heads of even normal responsible people. The dreams people have now are nightmares full of nothingness.
Right here..Right now..The Black community more than any other aggregate of people in this nation must get a grip and stop the descent into raw insanity. Our pastors, uncles, aunts, cousins,sons and daughters must reach into their collective souls and memories to create a place where a safe refugee exists not just a real place but a sphere where the unspoken word is supreme and positive thoughts are cultivated and rewarded and embraced .The Black community needs a life altering transfusion of humanity and hope. This force must be new and novel and life altering . It must be more than prayers, testimonies and tired sound bites. We have to create a harvest of love even in dirt of concrete streets and alleys. We must crave out a new real time miracle that enters in our homes and our minds. We need a sound, a noise, a creation of powerful bond that elevates us from the present day insanities. We are in perilous moments 24/7 everywhere in America.
Right here..Right now...The Black community must regroup and create a safe haven where love, honesty, civility, decency, trust, sharing, all the ingredients of civility and love must break though. We are in dark era where fear, anger, frustration, pain, and evil is becoming an accepted norm and custom. Our values and purpose are floundering. We are shaky and unreliable for each other.
Right here..Right now.. Across this great nation in every enclave , backyard, front porch, pew, gym, office, basement, church, temple, playground, bedroom, kitchen our community needs a cultural reset and return to the genius of basic truths and straight forward truth. Our community must step up and correct all the wrongs which have us at the end of cliff.
Right here..Right now....We must save ourselves from each other .....This is where our lives must change ..Right where YOU are when YOU read this...Reach Out and help our community navigate to a new promise land..Right Here..Right Now.
Navigating though Hopelessness- Together
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Story Teller
Chapter I
We both have been searching for this for years..Curtis was a true believer his travels brought him to this moment. The cell call came in late Tuesday night it was a frigid nite the moon was full the the chill was a deep raw cold.....I picked up the phone Curtis was breathing through his nose and his echo was heavy..."I got"..."I got it"....
Chapter II
Like the rest of the world of sleepy people waiting up to a wee morning phone call brings anxiety...I was even more concerned hearing the voice was Curtis..'What ya got Curt"..I have found the secret to the universe he yelled in my ear..I have found the sound and it is forever all around...Curtis started to sing this words"I found the sound and it is forever all around"...'I found the sound and it is forever all around"..Now I could not get this out of head..
Chapter III
I tell Curtis to meet me at the coffee shop on the Blvd cause I have a bucket list of things I need to happen right now..Curtis tells me that he tried the mystery sound at an art fair yesterday according to Curtis he approached a street musician to play the mystery sound on his drums and right after the sound was played people just started to dump money in the street drummer's hat!!
We both have been searching for this for years..Curtis was a true believer his travels brought him to this moment. The cell call came in late Tuesday night it was a frigid nite the moon was full the the chill was a deep raw cold.....I picked up the phone Curtis was breathing through his nose and his echo was heavy..."I got"..."I got it"....
Chapter II
Like the rest of the world of sleepy people waiting up to a wee morning phone call brings anxiety...I was even more concerned hearing the voice was Curtis..'What ya got Curt"..I have found the secret to the universe he yelled in my ear..I have found the sound and it is forever all around...Curtis started to sing this words"I found the sound and it is forever all around"...'I found the sound and it is forever all around"..Now I could not get this out of head..
Chapter III
I tell Curtis to meet me at the coffee shop on the Blvd cause I have a bucket list of things I need to happen right now..Curtis tells me that he tried the mystery sound at an art fair yesterday according to Curtis he approached a street musician to play the mystery sound on his drums and right after the sound was played people just started to dump money in the street drummer's hat!!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
9/11 Memorials Deconstructed
I refuse to wave my flag and be a brain dead patriot cheerleader today on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The dead of 9/11 and all who suffered deserve better. I will deconstruct 9/11 with an analysis that seeks to understand and explore why people would do such such horrific deeds this is how I intend to honor 9/11 today...
Peace & Love
Peace & Love
Sunday, August 28, 2011
The Help- Film Review
If you want a fictional protrayal of some aspects of life for Black woman working as domestic servants in the Jim/Jane Crow era of America this film provides a peek hole to observe.
Film as a historical and educational vessel works well in some situations when the subject matter is about the reality of race in America.
The Help is limited yet functional on some levels. I recommend the film for all ages and I would give it a 4 star ranking on a scale of 5.
Go see the movie and begin a discussion afterwards...
Film as a historical and educational vessel works well in some situations when the subject matter is about the reality of race in America.
The Help is limited yet functional on some levels. I recommend the film for all ages and I would give it a 4 star ranking on a scale of 5.
Go see the movie and begin a discussion afterwards...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Prison Lessons for the Community
For the Black community whenever there is a discussion about prisons and inmates the media and politicians always plaster the airwaves with statistics about the rates of incarceration about Black inmates in our prison system. There is always an underlying theme that Black people are more criminally inclined than others and at any given moment will engaged in some criminal or deviant behavior. Quite often the publication and release of criminal statics are efforts by the media and those in the ruling class to alert and remind people that prison is the normal outcome and lifestyle for Black people. Media portrayals of crime in America have many underlying objective and hidden agendas. Black people in prison of course also impact local economies as well as political elections.
Recently a number of media accounts have surfaced a study which purports that Black males live longer and have better healthcare outcomes if they remain in prison instead of being free from incarceration. Black inmates are by the very nature of being in prison are protected at higher rates against alcohol- and drug-related deaths, as well as lethal accidents and certain chronic diseases than those not in prison. These types of studies are dangerous in the hands of anti-Black political interest groups and yet they also have value and are informative for the Black community at large. It is therefore incumbent upon the Black community to examine and evaluate this data in such a manner that empowers and enhances our solutions in dealing with crime and prison inmates once they return to the community. Knowledge about inmate life should be circulated by those in the community and not remain within the confines of correction officials!!!
The stark truth is that for large segments of the Black community information and knowledge about the lives of inmates is unknown and many simply do not care nor want to know. We can no longer tolerate this level of thinking and posturing. The Black community given the reality of racism, negrophhobia and the flawed administration and operation of the criminal justice system does not allow us to remain on the sidelines with regard to this subject matter. To many of us are at risk of being injected into the penal system. There is value in knowing how some inmates improve their mental and spiritual life while being in prison. There is useful data to be learned about how healthcare options in prisons address inmates with regard to HIV , Diabetes , Alcohol, Mental Health related problems . When inmates return to the community all of us are impacted by the realties of life in prison these people have encountered. The community inherits all of the issues of former prisoners.
We need to understand all of the lessons good, bad and the ugly that impacts and shapes the lives of prisoners while they are incarcerated because the majority of people in prison will return to the community. It is simply in the best interest of all of us from the inmate to the community to become educated about the reality of life for these who have been incarcerated. Can parents of our youth become better parents upon learning about how prison officials deal with youth offenders? Could employers of former ex-felons get more production from workers who have not been in prisoner because of the habits of ex-felons? There is simply much to learn from the culture of prison life that can be productive even for those of us who cannot see any value in being an ex-convict.
Knowledge about the life style of human beings who live in prisons is critical for all of us. We must have the vision and courage to learn from those have experience life behind bars. Such information and knowledge has value on many levels and layers of life both in in and out of prison.
Recently a number of media accounts have surfaced a study which purports that Black males live longer and have better healthcare outcomes if they remain in prison instead of being free from incarceration. Black inmates are by the very nature of being in prison are protected at higher rates against alcohol- and drug-related deaths, as well as lethal accidents and certain chronic diseases than those not in prison. These types of studies are dangerous in the hands of anti-Black political interest groups and yet they also have value and are informative for the Black community at large. It is therefore incumbent upon the Black community to examine and evaluate this data in such a manner that empowers and enhances our solutions in dealing with crime and prison inmates once they return to the community. Knowledge about inmate life should be circulated by those in the community and not remain within the confines of correction officials!!!
The stark truth is that for large segments of the Black community information and knowledge about the lives of inmates is unknown and many simply do not care nor want to know. We can no longer tolerate this level of thinking and posturing. The Black community given the reality of racism, negrophhobia and the flawed administration and operation of the criminal justice system does not allow us to remain on the sidelines with regard to this subject matter. To many of us are at risk of being injected into the penal system. There is value in knowing how some inmates improve their mental and spiritual life while being in prison. There is useful data to be learned about how healthcare options in prisons address inmates with regard to HIV , Diabetes , Alcohol, Mental Health related problems . When inmates return to the community all of us are impacted by the realties of life in prison these people have encountered. The community inherits all of the issues of former prisoners.
We need to understand all of the lessons good, bad and the ugly that impacts and shapes the lives of prisoners while they are incarcerated because the majority of people in prison will return to the community. It is simply in the best interest of all of us from the inmate to the community to become educated about the reality of life for these who have been incarcerated. Can parents of our youth become better parents upon learning about how prison officials deal with youth offenders? Could employers of former ex-felons get more production from workers who have not been in prisoner because of the habits of ex-felons? There is simply much to learn from the culture of prison life that can be productive even for those of us who cannot see any value in being an ex-convict.
Knowledge about the life style of human beings who live in prisons is critical for all of us. We must have the vision and courage to learn from those have experience life behind bars. Such information and knowledge has value on many levels and layers of life both in in and out of prison.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sibling Rivalry
When I was young my brother would always argue with me about how to cut the lawn. I preferred a circular motion and he wanted a linear cut before my father would come outside to examine our body of work we would rant and argue some times even throw grass and weeds at each other..
Of course after our internal drama the grass would be cut and my dad would be happy later we realize that our sibling rivalry only made the lawn look better .
Cornel West and Al Sharpton are superb grass cutters for the community and the guy in the big white house
Of course after our internal drama the grass would be cut and my dad would be happy later we realize that our sibling rivalry only made the lawn look better .
Cornel West and Al Sharpton are superb grass cutters for the community and the guy in the big white house
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