A junkie walking through the twilight
I'm on my way home
I left three days ago, but noone seems to know i'm gone
Home is where the hatred is
Home is filled with pain and it,
might not be such a bad idea if i never, never went home again
stand as far away from me as you can and ask me why
hang on to your rosary beads
close your eyes to watch me die
you keep saying, kick it, quit it, kick it, quit it
God, but did you ever try
to turn your sick soul inside out
so that the world, so that the world
can watch you die
home is where i live inside my white powder dreams
home was once an empty vacuum that's filled now with my silent screams
home is where the needle marks
try to heal my broken heart
and it might not be such a bad idea if i never, if i never went home again
home again
home again
home again
kick it, quit it
kick it, quit it
kick it, quit it
kick it, can't go home again
--Gil Scot Herron from "Home Is Where The Hatred Is"
They say home is where hate is
But Where does love lie?
Because looking in your eyes all I saw was love cry
Listening to your voice I only heard love lie
So now I wonder was this home full of love or a feeble try?
Love was supposed to give me wings so that I may fly...
Instead, wings of wax melted as I tried to kiss the sky...
Deceit became a way for me to make it through the day...
And when it gave way to pain, it nearly drove me insane...
Nights marked with nothing more than dreams of unseen measurements...
Vainglorious thinking that my circumstances were heaven sent...
Until I realized I was slow dancing with the devil and...
Destiny was nothing more than my own sense of settlement...
Tell me when this gets too familiar...
So I'm looking in the mirror...
Wondering if another day will show me something clearer...
I listen to "Daykeeper" and think of someone to love me...
Keep my days from being filled with pain and bring beauty to nights so ugly...
Trying to make myself T-R-U-S-T He...
That gave me life...
Yet I blamed him for nothing more than my strife...
Leaving all else I had to fate...
Now I work twice as hard simply to save face...
A forgotten son of chance...
A student of lost opportunity...
I've been bludgeoned by all that these streets have to offer...
So tell me, what else can you do to me?
I'm packing my bags now...
One foot out the door...
My mind far away...
My soul longs to break free...
Yet my heart begs me to stay...
Home...
Is a fond memory of someone else's personal advancement...
An associates big break...
And a friend to be pitied for missed chances...
To realize a potential so great that was stifled by those who claim that love lives here...
So as a testament to a forgotten childhood, an adolescence full of stress, and a manchild in the midst of convalescence...
I refuse to shed a tear...
This is the beginning...
Maybe home is an ending...
Maybe the few beams of hope that I had were bending...around me...
Maybe the few droplets of passion that soothed my soul...now drown me...
So tell me...
If home was all you had...
And it rejected you...
Would you be there...
Or allow it to be the dried up dream deferred...
Blowing away in the winds of a life ultimately deterred...
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Purposefull
Seeing yourself through the eyes of God is difficult
So more often than not we choose to busy ourselves with matters miniscule
In the hopd that somehow they will make us matter as an individual
Hoping for something that will make life feel a little more full
Material aims and personal gains have our prayers locked in chains
Sinking in the sea of vain repetition and ill advised requests for his healing rain
Our brains fathom only that which is tangible at times
So we ignore what He wants for us simply because its not right before our eyes.
If we see as He sees then our needs will He meet so we can cease to repeat the cycle of self-defeat
That we've chosen to trap ourselves in
If our palms press together for more than just handshakes and friction
Then maybe we can learn to listen
Understand our mission
And begin walking according to the scriptures spoken in His perfect diction
We can begin living in facts
As opposed to chasing fiction
Your purpose is more than a paycheck, a Rolex, or a Bentley
It's the divine right and gift that God gave you to live life and have it more abundantly
So while your actions and deeds have purpose and we should do them with fervor and energy
While you're working for a certain purpose, ask yourself are you existing and just desiring to be? Or are you standing on God's promises, and seekingdoingfighting to living life purposefully?
So more often than not we choose to busy ourselves with matters miniscule
In the hopd that somehow they will make us matter as an individual
Hoping for something that will make life feel a little more full
Material aims and personal gains have our prayers locked in chains
Sinking in the sea of vain repetition and ill advised requests for his healing rain
Our brains fathom only that which is tangible at times
So we ignore what He wants for us simply because its not right before our eyes.
If we see as He sees then our needs will He meet so we can cease to repeat the cycle of self-defeat
That we've chosen to trap ourselves in
If our palms press together for more than just handshakes and friction
Then maybe we can learn to listen
Understand our mission
And begin walking according to the scriptures spoken in His perfect diction
We can begin living in facts
As opposed to chasing fiction
Your purpose is more than a paycheck, a Rolex, or a Bentley
It's the divine right and gift that God gave you to live life and have it more abundantly
So while your actions and deeds have purpose and we should do them with fervor and energy
While you're working for a certain purpose, ask yourself are you existing and just desiring to be? Or are you standing on God's promises, and seekingdoingfighting to living life purposefully?
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Brunch...and The Night Before...
"I started on your poem last night...but I fell asleep with a pen in my hand"
She smiled
I did so reciprocally...
Wondering could she...
Possibly see how I really felt about her...
At 2 a.m. I told her that I thought she was simply wonderful
I pray the she will one day understand why I say such things, but my eyes see differently than hers...
My mind's a little different from hers
So hopefully poetry speaks louder than words...
She sees we in the same vein of struggle against life's circumstances...
Our knees press to carpet simultaneously praying for second chances...
Now we sit here in this urban semi-chic restaurant away from our friend's curious glances...
Talking about dreams deferred and how she once dreamed of performing dances...for the entire world to see...
Sitting in the back of an Explorer with the company of John Legend and the stars we spoke of frustration...
Dreams becoming obsolete like Atari 2600's and Playstations we tried to find joy in our 80's baby experiences to be related...
As she slipped into the comfortable crook of my outstretched arm to tell me goodbye I wondered why she had been dealt a hand so similar to mine...
I know that mine is a punishment...hers a learning experience...mine a consequence...hers an exercise in perseverance...
I see...a future mother, wife, and friend for a wonderful man. A picture of success. The true example of health.
At brunch I looked through the panes of her soul to see the pain in her heart as she spoke of getting out of her small country town...
Her gaze intensifies when she speaks of the blows of life that have bruised her mind...
I see peace when she speaks of the future...
Take care of your dreams...they have become your passion...follow them and they will sustain you...
She smiled
I did so reciprocally...
Wondering could she...
Possibly see how I really felt about her...
At 2 a.m. I told her that I thought she was simply wonderful
I pray the she will one day understand why I say such things, but my eyes see differently than hers...
My mind's a little different from hers
So hopefully poetry speaks louder than words...
She sees we in the same vein of struggle against life's circumstances...
Our knees press to carpet simultaneously praying for second chances...
Now we sit here in this urban semi-chic restaurant away from our friend's curious glances...
Talking about dreams deferred and how she once dreamed of performing dances...for the entire world to see...
Sitting in the back of an Explorer with the company of John Legend and the stars we spoke of frustration...
Dreams becoming obsolete like Atari 2600's and Playstations we tried to find joy in our 80's baby experiences to be related...
As she slipped into the comfortable crook of my outstretched arm to tell me goodbye I wondered why she had been dealt a hand so similar to mine...
I know that mine is a punishment...hers a learning experience...mine a consequence...hers an exercise in perseverance...
I see...a future mother, wife, and friend for a wonderful man. A picture of success. The true example of health.
At brunch I looked through the panes of her soul to see the pain in her heart as she spoke of getting out of her small country town...
Her gaze intensifies when she speaks of the blows of life that have bruised her mind...
I see peace when she speaks of the future...
Take care of your dreams...they have become your passion...follow them and they will sustain you...
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Post Thanksgiving Thoughts from SE7EN...
The world I know
Is a world much too slow
(If you) Don't move fast enough...keep your head low
-Esthero on the song "Country Livin'"
First of All...I love that song.
Secondly, this is going to be a little different from some of my previous posts of prose...this one is me getting back to the original roots of this blog. That is, my candid thoughts and transparency...in terms of what I think, and essentially, how I think.
Now...On to the blogging...
________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm thankful for the God Given gift of true friendship. It occasionally takes the world to crumble around you to see who is exactly down for you and who is there when it's convenient. What I've realized is that I'm truly loved by a few people in this world. I thank God for their love, their kind words, their understanding, their companionship, the smiles they bring to my face and the joy they bring to my life. Dealing with some of the things that I've had to handle over the past 2 or 3 years...I honestly should, and could have been many times, completely and utterly destitute and probably insane.
Sometimes...I, like many people, go through things in my life that tend to require a lot of thought and introspection. Occasionally, as has been the case for the past couple of months...even years for some things, these matters require a VAST amount of time and thought. In these times...I tend to become very introverted and anti-social. You may see me...but I don't make phone calls, I may not return text messages, and I'm not as connected as I would normally be. Many people understand that...those are my true friends. Those who choose to simply...brush me aside...just don't understand me. That's not a bad thing...I'm failry complicated and hard to understand at times...My introspection and closed disposition does not mean that I don't care about you or love you. It's just how I deal with things. All I ask for is time and understanding...not a pound of flesh or an expectation of empathy. Some of the things I've been through you can't empathize with...you've never been there.
The loss of people close to me. The violence that surrounded me at one point. The anger I've harbored. The destructive tendencies I embraced as a result. The lies. The deceit. The setbacks. The trials. The tribulations. All have served to make me a stronger man...
I found that God had a few guardian angels watching out for me from time to time. Their prayers lifted me to his hands when I was too broken, hurt, and (more often than not) ashamed to pray for myself.
It's funny that throughout it all...the same people who I knew were down for me from day one STAYED DOWN for me...some people...just disappeared...
The test of true friendship is not measured in laughs, smiles, and enjoyment in times of jubilation, but rather in times of tribulation. Can you find yourself next to me as I'm falling...smiling and trying to make me do such...or would you rather watch me fall?
Some people enjoy watching train wrecks in slow motion...others...try to save the train by helping it switch tracks....thank God for great passengers who wake the conductor up when he falls asleep at the wheel.
So, for those that have helped me....I thank you...whether it was a kind text message, a good laugh, a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on...I truly am thankful.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah yey
Why, why, why, why, why, why, why
Why, Why, heh
They've got so much things to say right now
They've got so much things to say
They've got so much things to say right now
They've got so much things to say
I'll never forget no way, how they crucified Jesus Christ
I'll never forget no way, how they sold Marcus Garvey for rice
I'll never forget no way, how they turned their back on Paul Bogle
So don't you forget no way...
Who you are, and where you stand in the struggle
They've got so much things to say right now
They've got so much things to say
They've got so very many things, to say right now
They've got so much things to say
I'n'I nah come to fight flesh and blood
But spiritual wickedness in high and low places
And though you fight me down
I'll stand firm, and give Jah all the thanks and praises
I don't expect to be justified, by these laws of men
Though the we can find me guilty, Jah will proove my innocency
'cause when the rain falls, it don't, fall on one man's house top
Remember that
See when this rain falls, it don't, fall on one man's house top
They've got so much things to say right now
They've got so much, so much things to say
They've got, heh, so much things to say right now
They've got so, so much things to say
But let them keep talking, oh let them keep talking
'cause non of them walking, oh non of them walking, no
And while they still talking, see I'ma be walking
I'ma be walking, so let them keep talking
Said I never forget no way, how they crucified Jesus Christ
And I, I'll never forget, how they sold Marcus Garvey for rice
Said I, never forget, how they turned their backs on Paul Bogle
So non of you, non of you forget...
Who you are, and where you stand in the struggle
'cause when this rain, 'cause when this rain, rain, rain, rain, rain falls
It don't fall on one man's house, I'm telling you the rain...
I'm telling you the rain, rain, rain, rain, rain don't fall
It don't fall... they...
They've got, they've got, so many very things to say about me
I'm telling you: lie
They, and they, and they will have so many things
They'll have so many things to say about you... to say about you
'cause they don't know me, know me
They don't know me, oh they don't know me, oh they don't know me
Oh they don't know me well
They, they, they, they, they, they, they don't know my Father
'cause if they did, if they did... hey ey... theeey... heh..
-Lauryn Hill's "They've Got So Much Things to Say"
Lauryn said it better than I ever could.
I'm learning to win...I'm learning each rung of the ladder of success so that I may pull others with me...to quote Jay-Z, "If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack/Maybe you'll love me when I fade to black..."
That's exactly what I'm doing to some people. I can no longer afford ANY negativity in my life. The Bible often speaks of being pruned...well...I'm being chastened and pruned at the same time....Now THAT'S an experience for ya! I'll be sure to keep you posted on how that goes.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
"I'm just a soul
Who's intentions are good
Oh Lord, Please don't let me be misunderstood...
-Nina Simone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Ok...Long, before Kanye sampled this for Common and (someone insert producer name here) sampled it for Wayne's diatribe about the American Gov't, Sex Offenders, and Al Sharpton (of all people...)
This was one of my favorite songs...
I pray that I'm not misunderstood in my actions by some close to me. I know I've hurt some people, and for that I deeply apologize. Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm always well intentioned when it comes to my actions and decision making. Sometimes, things don't work out that way and between my...weirdness, complicated way of viewing life, and the random everyday stuff that happens to me, I can get sidetracked and shift priorities...
So, for any of the people that I care about that I've hurt....I'm truly sorry and will try my HARDEST to atone for my actions.
If you have to ask yourself whether I care about you....well....you may wanna just ask me...mmmkay?
Don't speculate before you informate....yeah, like Weezy F. Baby said. BTW, is "informate" a word? I should've "spec'd" before I checked? OR is it the other way around...Ok...yeah.
Feel free to comment. I'm sure some of you have VERY interesting things to say right now....
BTW, Go pick up Foreign Exchange's "Leave it All Behind" That's some DAMN GOOD MUSIC!
Is a world much too slow
(If you) Don't move fast enough...keep your head low
-Esthero on the song "Country Livin'"
First of All...I love that song.
Secondly, this is going to be a little different from some of my previous posts of prose...this one is me getting back to the original roots of this blog. That is, my candid thoughts and transparency...in terms of what I think, and essentially, how I think.
Now...On to the blogging...
________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm thankful for the God Given gift of true friendship. It occasionally takes the world to crumble around you to see who is exactly down for you and who is there when it's convenient. What I've realized is that I'm truly loved by a few people in this world. I thank God for their love, their kind words, their understanding, their companionship, the smiles they bring to my face and the joy they bring to my life. Dealing with some of the things that I've had to handle over the past 2 or 3 years...I honestly should, and could have been many times, completely and utterly destitute and probably insane.
Sometimes...I, like many people, go through things in my life that tend to require a lot of thought and introspection. Occasionally, as has been the case for the past couple of months...even years for some things, these matters require a VAST amount of time and thought. In these times...I tend to become very introverted and anti-social. You may see me...but I don't make phone calls, I may not return text messages, and I'm not as connected as I would normally be. Many people understand that...those are my true friends. Those who choose to simply...brush me aside...just don't understand me. That's not a bad thing...I'm failry complicated and hard to understand at times...My introspection and closed disposition does not mean that I don't care about you or love you. It's just how I deal with things. All I ask for is time and understanding...not a pound of flesh or an expectation of empathy. Some of the things I've been through you can't empathize with...you've never been there.
The loss of people close to me. The violence that surrounded me at one point. The anger I've harbored. The destructive tendencies I embraced as a result. The lies. The deceit. The setbacks. The trials. The tribulations. All have served to make me a stronger man...
I found that God had a few guardian angels watching out for me from time to time. Their prayers lifted me to his hands when I was too broken, hurt, and (more often than not) ashamed to pray for myself.
It's funny that throughout it all...the same people who I knew were down for me from day one STAYED DOWN for me...some people...just disappeared...
The test of true friendship is not measured in laughs, smiles, and enjoyment in times of jubilation, but rather in times of tribulation. Can you find yourself next to me as I'm falling...smiling and trying to make me do such...or would you rather watch me fall?
Some people enjoy watching train wrecks in slow motion...others...try to save the train by helping it switch tracks....thank God for great passengers who wake the conductor up when he falls asleep at the wheel.
So, for those that have helped me....I thank you...whether it was a kind text message, a good laugh, a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on...I truly am thankful.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah yey
Why, why, why, why, why, why, why
Why, Why, heh
They've got so much things to say right now
They've got so much things to say
They've got so much things to say right now
They've got so much things to say
I'll never forget no way, how they crucified Jesus Christ
I'll never forget no way, how they sold Marcus Garvey for rice
I'll never forget no way, how they turned their back on Paul Bogle
So don't you forget no way...
Who you are, and where you stand in the struggle
They've got so much things to say right now
They've got so much things to say
They've got so very many things, to say right now
They've got so much things to say
I'n'I nah come to fight flesh and blood
But spiritual wickedness in high and low places
And though you fight me down
I'll stand firm, and give Jah all the thanks and praises
I don't expect to be justified, by these laws of men
Though the we can find me guilty, Jah will proove my innocency
'cause when the rain falls, it don't, fall on one man's house top
Remember that
See when this rain falls, it don't, fall on one man's house top
They've got so much things to say right now
They've got so much, so much things to say
They've got, heh, so much things to say right now
They've got so, so much things to say
But let them keep talking, oh let them keep talking
'cause non of them walking, oh non of them walking, no
And while they still talking, see I'ma be walking
I'ma be walking, so let them keep talking
Said I never forget no way, how they crucified Jesus Christ
And I, I'll never forget, how they sold Marcus Garvey for rice
Said I, never forget, how they turned their backs on Paul Bogle
So non of you, non of you forget...
Who you are, and where you stand in the struggle
'cause when this rain, 'cause when this rain, rain, rain, rain, rain falls
It don't fall on one man's house, I'm telling you the rain...
I'm telling you the rain, rain, rain, rain, rain don't fall
It don't fall... they...
They've got, they've got, so many very things to say about me
I'm telling you: lie
They, and they, and they will have so many things
They'll have so many things to say about you... to say about you
'cause they don't know me, know me
They don't know me, oh they don't know me, oh they don't know me
Oh they don't know me well
They, they, they, they, they, they, they don't know my Father
'cause if they did, if they did... hey ey... theeey... heh..
-Lauryn Hill's "They've Got So Much Things to Say"
Lauryn said it better than I ever could.
I'm learning to win...I'm learning each rung of the ladder of success so that I may pull others with me...to quote Jay-Z, "If you can't respect that, your whole perspective is wack/Maybe you'll love me when I fade to black..."
That's exactly what I'm doing to some people. I can no longer afford ANY negativity in my life. The Bible often speaks of being pruned...well...I'm being chastened and pruned at the same time....Now THAT'S an experience for ya! I'll be sure to keep you posted on how that goes.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
"I'm just a soul
Who's intentions are good
Oh Lord, Please don't let me be misunderstood...
-Nina Simone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Ok...Long, before Kanye sampled this for Common and (someone insert producer name here) sampled it for Wayne's diatribe about the American Gov't, Sex Offenders, and Al Sharpton (of all people...)
This was one of my favorite songs...
I pray that I'm not misunderstood in my actions by some close to me. I know I've hurt some people, and for that I deeply apologize. Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm always well intentioned when it comes to my actions and decision making. Sometimes, things don't work out that way and between my...weirdness, complicated way of viewing life, and the random everyday stuff that happens to me, I can get sidetracked and shift priorities...
So, for any of the people that I care about that I've hurt....I'm truly sorry and will try my HARDEST to atone for my actions.
If you have to ask yourself whether I care about you....well....you may wanna just ask me...mmmkay?
Don't speculate before you informate....yeah, like Weezy F. Baby said. BTW, is "informate" a word? I should've "spec'd" before I checked? OR is it the other way around...Ok...yeah.
Feel free to comment. I'm sure some of you have VERY interesting things to say right now....
BTW, Go pick up Foreign Exchange's "Leave it All Behind" That's some DAMN GOOD MUSIC!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Sunday, November 09, 2008
At home bored?
Post random stuff to your blog from Youtube!!!!
Goodie Mob feat. Esthero - Country Livin' (The World I Know)
I heard Esthero's solo version first....then I found this....Beautiful imagery....
Classic...
Goodie Mob...Soul Food...
Man....I'm SO GLAD I was born in the South...despite the B.S. and Racism...
Outkast and Cee-Lo...In Due Time...My theme Song...
One of the Greatest Posse Tracks of ALL TIME!
Not a video...but the song speaks for itself...
The Heirs to Outkast's and Goodie Mob's Throne...Little Brother...
One more from LB...one of my favortie tracks of all time....
Goodie Mob feat. Esthero - Country Livin' (The World I Know)
I heard Esthero's solo version first....then I found this....Beautiful imagery....
Classic...
Goodie Mob...Soul Food...
Man....I'm SO GLAD I was born in the South...despite the B.S. and Racism...
Outkast and Cee-Lo...In Due Time...My theme Song...
One of the Greatest Posse Tracks of ALL TIME!
Not a video...but the song speaks for itself...
The Heirs to Outkast's and Goodie Mob's Throne...Little Brother...
One more from LB...one of my favortie tracks of all time....
Thursday, November 06, 2008
These Words...
MY words are my sanity/
See/Some rappers spit for vanity/
I spit only for clarity/Occasionally for the family/
Trying to find common ground in a land not meant for me/
The microphone is like a metronome/
My pen...a simple passion...
My Notebook is my therapist/
I'm praying that it keeps hearing this/
Because the fact of the matter is/
My way of living is reckless/
Borderline negligent/
But I guarantee you that my words are heaven sent/
'Cause I swear to you I couldn't write this...
I tend to write on my knees/
Because this is my communion/
With words/HE's blessed me/
He has KEPT me/
Through hard times and tibulation/
Yet and still I do things to constantly violate HIM/
These words kept me from suicide/
At times helped me to survive/
Gave me a new mind/
Showed me a new grind/
My ability to express myself lyrically/
Tends to humble me/
In a word filled with sin and greed/
It keeps me steady focusing/
On my task at hand/
Hoping to reach just one man or/
Wo-man and show them I understand/
Though it's a cliche/
Pain is only temporary/
Pride is forever/
So I use these words to keep my life together/
To keep me going forever/
Immortality through literary presence/
Divine Inspiration is the prerequisite/
To Be Continued...
See/Some rappers spit for vanity/
I spit only for clarity/Occasionally for the family/
Trying to find common ground in a land not meant for me/
The microphone is like a metronome/
My pen...a simple passion...
My Notebook is my therapist/
I'm praying that it keeps hearing this/
Because the fact of the matter is/
My way of living is reckless/
Borderline negligent/
But I guarantee you that my words are heaven sent/
'Cause I swear to you I couldn't write this...
I tend to write on my knees/
Because this is my communion/
With words/HE's blessed me/
He has KEPT me/
Through hard times and tibulation/
Yet and still I do things to constantly violate HIM/
These words kept me from suicide/
At times helped me to survive/
Gave me a new mind/
Showed me a new grind/
My ability to express myself lyrically/
Tends to humble me/
In a word filled with sin and greed/
It keeps me steady focusing/
On my task at hand/
Hoping to reach just one man or/
Wo-man and show them I understand/
Though it's a cliche/
Pain is only temporary/
Pride is forever/
So I use these words to keep my life together/
To keep me going forever/
Immortality through literary presence/
Divine Inspiration is the prerequisite/
To Be Continued...
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Maybe I'll Be Back One Day...
I put my faith on ice because I didn’t have any dangling from my wrist or hanging from my neck/
The chains I savored were holding me back as my materialism slowly creeped into the recesses of my psyche in an attempt to lock me into a cycle of pain, poverty, and pleasure driven past times…like hustling
A hard day’s work is noble, but a hard day hustling gets you over/Keeps you floating/makes you vulnerable...
To the traps of life and black manhood/Police/Prison/and the pain of finding yourself in a situation you never wanted to be in or believe in...so you spend thousands of hours reminiscing on days gone by and innocence lost...grieving....
This is the path I've chosen/It seems as though even though I hold a college degree/D'Evils of my peer pressure influenced past consume me...forgive the reference to Jay-Z/I'm just dealing with a lot of Reasonable Doubt right now/I'm doubting my reasons for believing and my chances of achieving the the dreams that seemed so guaranteed when I was a young boy/Now I'm a grown man whose dreams and path of unsteady unrighteousness have made him paranoid...
All I really want to do is breathe...
Live a little bit...
Grasp that little bit of life...and love...because the pursuit of happiness is simply superficial when the only power you can relate to is that gained from behind a pistol...the only love you seem to see is that overt outpouring of emotion at a funeral...or the harsh realization that only the triviality of life seems to be undisputable...
Nowadays I tend to pray on the highway because i makes me feel like my life is actually going somewhere...I talk to God conversationally because it makes me feel like I'm taking a closer walk with thee...Yet when my feet hit the ground...so does my faith...it gets replaced with a demeanor described only as callous...an expression of contempt and malice for all things that do not benefit me...a selfishness that stretches my psyche...and a lust for confrontation that could only threatens to destroy me...God help me...
I realized that running from my past would only serve to make me weaker...so I dived headfirst in it only to realize that I was not confronting it...it was confronting me...drawing me back into the man that I had fought so hard not to be...Now...I fear I know nothing but him...
Sorry Mama...your little boy is gone forever...the man you knew is too...
I'm still existing...but the fire that was once in my eyes has gone from almost white with voracity to a mind numbing green of bitter blasphemy...
Maybe I'll be back one day...
The chains I savored were holding me back as my materialism slowly creeped into the recesses of my psyche in an attempt to lock me into a cycle of pain, poverty, and pleasure driven past times…like hustling
A hard day’s work is noble, but a hard day hustling gets you over/Keeps you floating/makes you vulnerable...
To the traps of life and black manhood/Police/Prison/and the pain of finding yourself in a situation you never wanted to be in or believe in...so you spend thousands of hours reminiscing on days gone by and innocence lost...grieving....
This is the path I've chosen/It seems as though even though I hold a college degree/D'Evils of my peer pressure influenced past consume me...forgive the reference to Jay-Z/I'm just dealing with a lot of Reasonable Doubt right now/I'm doubting my reasons for believing and my chances of achieving the the dreams that seemed so guaranteed when I was a young boy/Now I'm a grown man whose dreams and path of unsteady unrighteousness have made him paranoid...
All I really want to do is breathe...
Live a little bit...
Grasp that little bit of life...and love...because the pursuit of happiness is simply superficial when the only power you can relate to is that gained from behind a pistol...the only love you seem to see is that overt outpouring of emotion at a funeral...or the harsh realization that only the triviality of life seems to be undisputable...
Nowadays I tend to pray on the highway because i makes me feel like my life is actually going somewhere...I talk to God conversationally because it makes me feel like I'm taking a closer walk with thee...Yet when my feet hit the ground...so does my faith...it gets replaced with a demeanor described only as callous...an expression of contempt and malice for all things that do not benefit me...a selfishness that stretches my psyche...and a lust for confrontation that could only threatens to destroy me...God help me...
I realized that running from my past would only serve to make me weaker...so I dived headfirst in it only to realize that I was not confronting it...it was confronting me...drawing me back into the man that I had fought so hard not to be...Now...I fear I know nothing but him...
Sorry Mama...your little boy is gone forever...the man you knew is too...
I'm still existing...but the fire that was once in my eyes has gone from almost white with voracity to a mind numbing green of bitter blasphemy...
Maybe I'll be back one day...
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Untitled...
I remember tying to atone for the things in my past by trying to be a better human being/
Now I'm seeing the fruits of my labor are nothing more than covering up the carnal cravings I savor with flavors of the bland kind/
Steadily tiptoeing through life like my future is filled with landmines/
Wondering where I'm...going/
My past cant be changed/
My future can be rearranged and my present is nothing more than the fleeting feeling of chains/
Being broken that is...
Rather than hoping with fear/
I'm living with fire/
Because I'm trying keep going forward, love life, and inspire/
A whole new generatioN NIGGAS like me...
YES, I said "NIGGAS" like me...
Never Ignorant, Getting Goals Accomplished Steadily, like Tupac said...
Maybe you should look a little higher if the last line went over your head.
I once drowned myself in the sorrows of what I once wanted to be my forever/
Now I bend paperclips back over my dreams to keep my life together/
In my notebook/
I dog-ear these pages in an attempt to remember my innocence/
So that my life can stop being a reconciliation of intelligence and ignorance/
That's generally called cognitive dissonance...
I used to fight for freedom and now that I have it/
I'm helping others grab it/
There's nothing like seeing yourself for the first time/
Through your own eyes/
Then you realize that these cats who tried to give you real lies/
In an attempt to make you realize their/
Disconnected reality/
Was just another part of the devil's plan to trap you in this thing that they call "Insanity"/
While the whole time God just wanted you to ask that he/
Take...the burden...off....your shoulders...
Others' expectations are not your own/
So when you feel alone/
Unable to move on/
Or just damn through with the world...
Remember...that God...is love.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
24 Hours to Live....
"I want you/ 'cause you make my heart skip the beat that I drum to/
I want to be the one you run to/when pain confronts you
You're everything/sometimes I get nervous when I'm in front of you
You can hear it in my voice when I ask you if you comfortable/
Look how love do/I'd practice the Art of War for you like Sun Tzu
Come through and arouse you every morning like the sun do
If you blackout and collapse I want to help you to come to
Notice I haven't yet got into what I want from you
I want you to come too when I come through and make you shine like the sun do
I want you to be the valley for my river to run through
Your everything/send your soul through your lips to my heart
Sweet music will start/I want you to be the muse of my art
When people try to rip us apart/we got to work to stay together
Go through the seasons of love and never change with the weather
This is my wish list/what I want/not what I need/there's a difference
These days I'm learning that words got power so I'ma be specific..."
Talib Kweli on "Talk To You" from the Quality LP
If I had 24 hours to live...I would give up my eternity to spend it with you...
Every breath I take that day would be witnessed and shared with you...
You...
The muse I refuse to stop writing about...
The love I refuse to stop crying about...
Tears of joy...makee trails down my heart...
Cleansing it of all impurities/Proving...that you're all I'll ever need...
The peace of God resides with me presently...
Whenever you're in my presence...I feel joy will be here for me eternally...
But I only have 24 hours to live...
And I want to spend every 1,440 minutes in your arms...
Every 86,400 seconds should be filled with your touch...
Every blinkinhalationexhalationthought wrapped up in you...
My dying words...would be unheard...
But my smile...would be worth a million words...
23 hours and 59 minutes pass...and all I've known is love...
Now...since God has chosen to grant me one more day...
Can we share it?
Forever...
I want to be the one you run to/when pain confronts you
You're everything/sometimes I get nervous when I'm in front of you
You can hear it in my voice when I ask you if you comfortable/
Look how love do/I'd practice the Art of War for you like Sun Tzu
Come through and arouse you every morning like the sun do
If you blackout and collapse I want to help you to come to
Notice I haven't yet got into what I want from you
I want you to come too when I come through and make you shine like the sun do
I want you to be the valley for my river to run through
Your everything/send your soul through your lips to my heart
Sweet music will start/I want you to be the muse of my art
When people try to rip us apart/we got to work to stay together
Go through the seasons of love and never change with the weather
This is my wish list/what I want/not what I need/there's a difference
These days I'm learning that words got power so I'ma be specific..."
Talib Kweli on "Talk To You" from the Quality LP
If I had 24 hours to live...I would give up my eternity to spend it with you...
Every breath I take that day would be witnessed and shared with you...
You...
The muse I refuse to stop writing about...
The love I refuse to stop crying about...
Tears of joy...makee trails down my heart...
Cleansing it of all impurities/Proving...that you're all I'll ever need...
The peace of God resides with me presently...
Whenever you're in my presence...I feel joy will be here for me eternally...
But I only have 24 hours to live...
And I want to spend every 1,440 minutes in your arms...
Every 86,400 seconds should be filled with your touch...
Every blinkinhalationexhalationthought wrapped up in you...
My dying words...would be unheard...
But my smile...would be worth a million words...
23 hours and 59 minutes pass...and all I've known is love...
Now...since God has chosen to grant me one more day...
Can we share it?
Forever...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Forgetting my place...
Y'all niggas deal with emotions like b*tches
What's sad is I love you 'cause you're my brother
You traded your soul for riches
My child, I've watched you grow up to be famous
And now I smile like a proud dad, watching his only son that made it
-Nas from "Ether" off his Stillmatic LP
I gave you a place to rest your head...
Fed you when you were hungry...
Comfort when you were broken...
Peace when you were dying inside...
Now all I hear from you is lies and inconsistencies
These unfortunate portions of your soul that chose to bare themselves to me...
On the eve of my breakthrough...
I take it you...
Are feeling yourself...
Worse than death, betrayal is hell...
A heart too big to dwell inside this fleshly shell and fragile frame
I gave you love, identity, and a new name...
I christened you "the one who would be first"
I lifted you when even family would rather see you in dirt...
I selflessly gave you footing...
Now I helplessly stand here weeping...on the inside
My tears dried in my heart and left the residue of a friendship...
Scratch that...
A Kinship...
A bond that knew no boundaries...or so I thought...
Now I want to take back all of the travailing truths that I bought...
For us...
Standing in the gap for you made me stronger....
DAMN...
I wish strength didn't hurt so much...
What's sad is I love you 'cause you're my brother
You traded your soul for riches
My child, I've watched you grow up to be famous
And now I smile like a proud dad, watching his only son that made it
-Nas from "Ether" off his Stillmatic LP
I gave you a place to rest your head...
Fed you when you were hungry...
Comfort when you were broken...
Peace when you were dying inside...
Now all I hear from you is lies and inconsistencies
These unfortunate portions of your soul that chose to bare themselves to me...
On the eve of my breakthrough...
I take it you...
Are feeling yourself...
Worse than death, betrayal is hell...
A heart too big to dwell inside this fleshly shell and fragile frame
I gave you love, identity, and a new name...
I christened you "the one who would be first"
I lifted you when even family would rather see you in dirt...
I selflessly gave you footing...
Now I helplessly stand here weeping...on the inside
My tears dried in my heart and left the residue of a friendship...
Scratch that...
A Kinship...
A bond that knew no boundaries...or so I thought...
Now I want to take back all of the travailing truths that I bought...
For us...
Standing in the gap for you made me stronger....
DAMN...
I wish strength didn't hurt so much...
Monday, September 01, 2008
A Letter to The One I Was Choosing...
Dear (Name Deleted),
I know you have issues. I do too. I know you aren't trying to "jump" into a relationship. I'm not either. I know you want to "take it slow." I do too.
Don't take my kindness and understanding for a form of weakness though. That's a fatal mistake...
Correction: That WAS your fatal mistake...
I'm done with this...
Period...
No more calling me at 2 a.m. with eyes full of tears and fear enveloping your heart. No more drinks. No more meals. No more random texts during the day just to let you know that I'm thinking about you and respect you.
I'm done...
You have disrespected me and tried me for the last time...
So when you wake up and realize that I'm a GOOD guy...it'll probably be too late.
I'm moving on...
No more putting others on hold simply because I'm trying to direct our ship onto a positive course. You OFFICIALLY have taken the wind out of my sails.
I don't mind being your friend...
I think you're talented, intelligent, and VERY attractive...
Can't trust every pretty smile though...
I'll be glad to talk to you...between 9 and 5 Monday through Friday and 10-4 on Saturday.
I won't be inviting you to church anymore...
That is all.
Sincerely,
SE7EN...
I know you have issues. I do too. I know you aren't trying to "jump" into a relationship. I'm not either. I know you want to "take it slow." I do too.
Don't take my kindness and understanding for a form of weakness though. That's a fatal mistake...
Correction: That WAS your fatal mistake...
I'm done with this...
Period...
No more calling me at 2 a.m. with eyes full of tears and fear enveloping your heart. No more drinks. No more meals. No more random texts during the day just to let you know that I'm thinking about you and respect you.
I'm done...
You have disrespected me and tried me for the last time...
So when you wake up and realize that I'm a GOOD guy...it'll probably be too late.
I'm moving on...
No more putting others on hold simply because I'm trying to direct our ship onto a positive course. You OFFICIALLY have taken the wind out of my sails.
I don't mind being your friend...
I think you're talented, intelligent, and VERY attractive...
Can't trust every pretty smile though...
I'll be glad to talk to you...between 9 and 5 Monday through Friday and 10-4 on Saturday.
I won't be inviting you to church anymore...
That is all.
Sincerely,
SE7EN...
Monday, August 25, 2008
10 Years Removed...
Now Suzy Skrew had a partna named Sasha (Sasha), Thumper (Thumper)
I remember her number like the summer
when her and Suzy yeah they threw a slumber - - party
but you can not call it that cause it was slummer
Well it was more like spend the night
Three in the morning yawnin dancin under street lights
We chillin like a villain and a nigga feelin right
in the middle of the ghetto on the curb, but in spite
all of the bullshit we on our back starin at the stars above
(aww man) Talkin bout what we gonna be when we grow up
I said what you wanna be, she said, "Alive" (hmm)
It made me think for a minute, then looked in her eyes
I coulda died, time went on, I got grown
Rhyme got strong, mind got blown, I came back home
to find lil Sasha was gone
Her mamma said she with a nigga that be treatin her wrong
I kept on singin my song and hopin at a show
that I would one day see her standin in the front row
But two weeks later she got found in the back of a school
With a needle in her arm, baby two months due, Sasha Thumper
-Andre 3000 from Outkast on the song "Da Art of Storytellin (Part 1)" from the Aquemini album
At the age of 15 I was living in a dream state
Life hadn't yet simply shaken me awake
i thought we would last until....forever ended
Bended backwards over thoughts of upright notions
Hoping that these emotions wouldn't leave me broken
But you left me...
For those who weren't like me...
Spitefully held on to the animosity...
Brought on by the absence of my best friend...
Unparalleled you were
Not I woman I've met since had beauty compared to hers
i saw you as a deity...
far be it from me to put many on a pedestal
i only wanted you to see you like i saw you...
i remember the first time i saw you...
live enough to rock penny loafers and an updo
coworker turned friend
transformed/youbecamea GODsend
created to show me how to be a real man...
i remember our first conversation...
your admission of self esteem issues shocked me...
i had the same problem too...
you...unlike me...were absolutely physically beautiful...
i was only "cute", "attractive", or another one of those names you call someone "un-ugly"
you were...an angel...
i remember our conversations on the future...
you wanted to go to UA...
i wanted to go to Morehouse...
i ended up at UA...
partially praying that you had chosen the same path...
although at that point we hadn't spoken in years...
my anger has subsided...
my heart is still crying...
i never understood why you threw me away...
we're two different people now...
and i'm a 25 year old man still insanely seeking closure...
in a lot of my past...
sometimes you never let go of the first person to understand you...
the last time we saw one another...
i was ecstatic...
you were working on my campus...
i was hurting on my campus...
you healed a small part of me...
yet there's still a small part of me...
that's leaving the light on for you...
i saw pictures of you recently...
and prayed...
fervently...
that wherever you were...
you were happier...
than i proclaim to be...
10 years later....
is it wrong for me to still love you...
i don't think so....
I remember her number like the summer
when her and Suzy yeah they threw a slumber - - party
but you can not call it that cause it was slummer
Well it was more like spend the night
Three in the morning yawnin dancin under street lights
We chillin like a villain and a nigga feelin right
in the middle of the ghetto on the curb, but in spite
all of the bullshit we on our back starin at the stars above
(aww man) Talkin bout what we gonna be when we grow up
I said what you wanna be, she said, "Alive" (hmm)
It made me think for a minute, then looked in her eyes
I coulda died, time went on, I got grown
Rhyme got strong, mind got blown, I came back home
to find lil Sasha was gone
Her mamma said she with a nigga that be treatin her wrong
I kept on singin my song and hopin at a show
that I would one day see her standin in the front row
But two weeks later she got found in the back of a school
With a needle in her arm, baby two months due, Sasha Thumper
-Andre 3000 from Outkast on the song "Da Art of Storytellin (Part 1)" from the Aquemini album
At the age of 15 I was living in a dream state
Life hadn't yet simply shaken me awake
i thought we would last until....forever ended
Bended backwards over thoughts of upright notions
Hoping that these emotions wouldn't leave me broken
But you left me...
For those who weren't like me...
Spitefully held on to the animosity...
Brought on by the absence of my best friend...
Unparalleled you were
Not I woman I've met since had beauty compared to hers
i saw you as a deity...
far be it from me to put many on a pedestal
i only wanted you to see you like i saw you...
i remember the first time i saw you...
live enough to rock penny loafers and an updo
coworker turned friend
transformed/youbecamea GODsend
created to show me how to be a real man...
i remember our first conversation...
your admission of self esteem issues shocked me...
i had the same problem too...
you...unlike me...were absolutely physically beautiful...
i was only "cute", "attractive", or another one of those names you call someone "un-ugly"
you were...an angel...
i remember our conversations on the future...
you wanted to go to UA...
i wanted to go to Morehouse...
i ended up at UA...
partially praying that you had chosen the same path...
although at that point we hadn't spoken in years...
my anger has subsided...
my heart is still crying...
i never understood why you threw me away...
we're two different people now...
and i'm a 25 year old man still insanely seeking closure...
in a lot of my past...
sometimes you never let go of the first person to understand you...
the last time we saw one another...
i was ecstatic...
you were working on my campus...
i was hurting on my campus...
you healed a small part of me...
yet there's still a small part of me...
that's leaving the light on for you...
i saw pictures of you recently...
and prayed...
fervently...
that wherever you were...
you were happier...
than i proclaim to be...
10 years later....
is it wrong for me to still love you...
i don't think so....
Friday, August 01, 2008
Black Girl Lost Redux...
Diamonds all shinin'/Lookin all fly
Pretty lil' face/she get a lil' high
Young girl strugglin'/tryin' to survive
Mother of The Earth/she made you and I
Just tired of playin' the same ol' games
Messin' with my mind/emotional pain
And there goes a black girl lost...
The first time i saw behind her eyes i saw
generational lies
that had been told to her
A part of me simply wanted to mold her
Open these arms and hold her
Because the world had been so cold to her
Behind the equatorial lines on her forehead
was a dreamer
And since my mind's eye has been blessed
with sight a little keener
i knew what those dreams were
She wanted to be directed by HIM
Unaffected by them
And to no longer the object of misdirected affection
of any man that would refer to her as "slim", "shawty", or "redbone
Because for so long she had been trapped inside these ephemisms and pet names
that the process of self degradation and defacement had reached a cataclysmic point inside her brain...
Then we got the nerve to ask, "What's in a name?"
How about an identity...
I listen to her tell me about being raped at age 12
A home life resembling hell and how her image of a fair God fell
My chest swells as tears well up in my eyes
And I think about the lies society gave to her
Trivialized her cries so much that she only sees breasts and thighs when she looks in the mirror
I fear her...
condition is irreversible...
She sees me as big brother/lover/friend/and surrogate father
trying to teach and mold her because her biological didn't bother
showing her that manhood is more than making babies, lusting for a merceedes and chasing women from her adolescent friends to much older ladies...
Because that's all she ever saw her father do...
So now she equates manhood to irresponsibility and lost family
Christmases
because instead of Toys 'R' US and KB...
Jack Daniels got all the money he blew...
The first time I tell her that I lover her...she cries...
Tears of joy and confusion fall from both eyes as she asks me why
i tell her, "The Most High gave me the divine right and duty to love you, show you...the right way. To hold you in my heart and love as if each day...was my last. i love you enough to help you grow into the future and forget your past. So if i'm ever not around and life beats you down and you forget sometimes that you're a queen deserving of the crown, I want you to understand that there's a man out there somewhere...who loves you..."
Diamonds all shinin'/Lookin all fly
Pretty lil' face/she get a lil' high
Young girl strugglin'/tryin' to survive
Mother of The Earth/she made you and I
Just tired of playin' the same ol' games
Messin' with my mind/emotional pain
And there goes a black girl lost...
Pretty lil' face/she get a lil' high
Young girl strugglin'/tryin' to survive
Mother of The Earth/she made you and I
Just tired of playin' the same ol' games
Messin' with my mind/emotional pain
And there goes a black girl lost...
The first time i saw behind her eyes i saw
generational lies
that had been told to her
A part of me simply wanted to mold her
Open these arms and hold her
Because the world had been so cold to her
Behind the equatorial lines on her forehead
was a dreamer
And since my mind's eye has been blessed
with sight a little keener
i knew what those dreams were
She wanted to be directed by HIM
Unaffected by them
And to no longer the object of misdirected affection
of any man that would refer to her as "slim", "shawty", or "redbone
Because for so long she had been trapped inside these ephemisms and pet names
that the process of self degradation and defacement had reached a cataclysmic point inside her brain...
Then we got the nerve to ask, "What's in a name?"
How about an identity...
I listen to her tell me about being raped at age 12
A home life resembling hell and how her image of a fair God fell
My chest swells as tears well up in my eyes
And I think about the lies society gave to her
Trivialized her cries so much that she only sees breasts and thighs when she looks in the mirror
I fear her...
condition is irreversible...
She sees me as big brother/lover/friend/and surrogate father
trying to teach and mold her because her biological didn't bother
showing her that manhood is more than making babies, lusting for a merceedes and chasing women from her adolescent friends to much older ladies...
Because that's all she ever saw her father do...
So now she equates manhood to irresponsibility and lost family
Christmases
because instead of Toys 'R' US and KB...
Jack Daniels got all the money he blew...
The first time I tell her that I lover her...she cries...
Tears of joy and confusion fall from both eyes as she asks me why
i tell her, "The Most High gave me the divine right and duty to love you, show you...the right way. To hold you in my heart and love as if each day...was my last. i love you enough to help you grow into the future and forget your past. So if i'm ever not around and life beats you down and you forget sometimes that you're a queen deserving of the crown, I want you to understand that there's a man out there somewhere...who loves you..."
Diamonds all shinin'/Lookin all fly
Pretty lil' face/she get a lil' high
Young girl strugglin'/tryin' to survive
Mother of The Earth/she made you and I
Just tired of playin' the same ol' games
Messin' with my mind/emotional pain
And there goes a black girl lost...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
How I Feel About A Couple of Things...
It's been a while since I've posted. Mainly because I'm a workaholic. 60+ hours a week on average. (I got a shoe and Polo habit that needs to be fed...)
So...the following topics that I'll be discussing are simply a few lighthearted statements on a few issues that I intended to make serious posts about...read much of the following with cynicism and healthy doses of sarcasm.
Michelle Obama and Alpha Kappa Alpha
First of all, I would like to congratulate the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha on 100 years of sisterhood.
Second of all, I would say that making the announcement that Michelle Obama has accepted an invitation of honorary membership was bad timing.
While running a campaign for the highest office in the land and the position as the most powerful political figure in the world, one must be careful to not be too polarizing and not give their opponent any fodder that would lend credence to their claims. The move by Mrs. Obama is both polarizing and potentially damaging in the world of Faux News and Soundbyte Politics.
Joining any organization with a social element at times creates feelings of animosty from both competitors and outsiders. Those who are competitors in this situation will be primarily unfazed. (In other words, black greeks will not jump on the "Straight Talk Express" just because Obama chose to be a K' instead of a "Red", ya dig?) However there are many, who are Obama supporters, that may be a bit turned off by Mrs. Obama choosing to join a traditionally black sorority due to an amazing lack of knowledge by others (read: white people and many non-interested black people) about black greek life. The effect of this will be minimal...possibly even a non-issue.
The problem therein lies with the propensity for such a decision by Mrs. Obama to be a victim of the Faux News/Soundbyte politricks machine. For the past few months, Right wingnuts have been trying their hardest to paint Senator Obama and his wife as terrorists and elitist. Even using a simple gesture of commonality, often referred to by us as a "pound" or "dap", as some sort of weird terrorist fist bump. How long will it be before Mrs. Obama's pinky is considered a jihadist signal? Soon a simple "Skee-Wee" will become an Al-Qaeda mating call for those sleeper cells hiding in America. None the less, it opens her up.
The biggest issue though is the aforementioned part about Faux News and Rushannity Coulter painting her and Senator Obama as elitist. Let's admit it...being a member of a black greek letter organization has long been associated with elitism and bourgeois culture. Elitist and bourgeois are not characteristics that could be considered desirable in the leader of the free world. Especially not in a candidate that could be considered a champion of the poor since he was an Ivy League Law Student.
(Et Al: I don't really care about how hard it is to become an honorary AKA...nor do I think Michelle OBama is an elitist. I just want her to think about the perception that it may cause and the unnecessary damage control that may have to be done post-initiation.)
Larry Langford
WTF....I mean seriously, WTF....
The Olympics in 2020? Negro Please....
Let's aim for something a little more doable like The BET Coonery Awards or the NAACP "Buried Word" Awards...
How about we aim for a murderless weekend first?
I mean seriously, I think the guy's energy and enthusiasm are great. I like many of his ideas. But when Mike Creel comes out and says, "We WILL get the Olympics in 2020" I have to question Mayor Langford's judgment...
We already know he can't balance a checkbook...
He testified to the SEC that his credit is in the toilet from buying suits and shoes from Gus Mayer...
3 Flags Over Bessemer...umm...I mean Visionland....wait, no....Alabama Adventure.....
'Nuff Said...
(BREAKING NEWS! Larry Langford has a Top Secret plan called the "Birmingham Survival Kit" that he's passing out to city business leaders in....a drawstring mini backpack? Of the Nike like variety?)
Gas Prices
Are Freakin' Ridiculous!!!!!
Drill ANWR! Drill Offshore! And still we have to wait 30 years for the effects....
Can somebody just start passing out gas cards instead of stimulus checks? I'm so sincere right now...
Dating....again....
You know what? I'm convinced that Birmingham is the place where single people come to get bitter. Seriously....
While women are busy blaming men, men are busy blaming women...somebody could be holding a conversation and getting to know one another...sans all the pretentiousness...
The Club Scene
Speaking of pretentiousness...I'm sick of the Birmingham club scene...You see the SAME people at EVERY function...buying drinks they probably can't afford to impress people they don't like in places that have worn thin on ambience and novelty...
Steel is the new Amani Raha.
Martini's is the new Platinum (Prior to $20 Cover "All You Can Fight" Night)
Elevation is the new Platinum....with better security (Post $20 Cover "All You Can Fight" Night)
Banana Joes was the new Smitty City/Birmingham Live
Don't get me wrong. I L-O-V-E Steel. (Shout out to Kobe) However, I tend to keep my visits short, sweet, and to the point. "Lemme get a Blue Moon. No Orange....no, don't start me a tab...I won't be here past 7:30"
Sprint...
F' em....
If I drop ONE MORE damn call while I'm trying to get to the money....I'm gonna shoot somebody.
Fin..
For Now...
So...the following topics that I'll be discussing are simply a few lighthearted statements on a few issues that I intended to make serious posts about...read much of the following with cynicism and healthy doses of sarcasm.
Michelle Obama and Alpha Kappa Alpha
First of all, I would like to congratulate the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha on 100 years of sisterhood.
Second of all, I would say that making the announcement that Michelle Obama has accepted an invitation of honorary membership was bad timing.
While running a campaign for the highest office in the land and the position as the most powerful political figure in the world, one must be careful to not be too polarizing and not give their opponent any fodder that would lend credence to their claims. The move by Mrs. Obama is both polarizing and potentially damaging in the world of Faux News and Soundbyte Politics.
Joining any organization with a social element at times creates feelings of animosty from both competitors and outsiders. Those who are competitors in this situation will be primarily unfazed. (In other words, black greeks will not jump on the "Straight Talk Express" just because Obama chose to be a K' instead of a "Red", ya dig?) However there are many, who are Obama supporters, that may be a bit turned off by Mrs. Obama choosing to join a traditionally black sorority due to an amazing lack of knowledge by others (read: white people and many non-interested black people) about black greek life. The effect of this will be minimal...possibly even a non-issue.
The problem therein lies with the propensity for such a decision by Mrs. Obama to be a victim of the Faux News/Soundbyte politricks machine. For the past few months, Right wingnuts have been trying their hardest to paint Senator Obama and his wife as terrorists and elitist. Even using a simple gesture of commonality, often referred to by us as a "pound" or "dap", as some sort of weird terrorist fist bump. How long will it be before Mrs. Obama's pinky is considered a jihadist signal? Soon a simple "Skee-Wee" will become an Al-Qaeda mating call for those sleeper cells hiding in America. None the less, it opens her up.
The biggest issue though is the aforementioned part about Faux News and Rushannity Coulter painting her and Senator Obama as elitist. Let's admit it...being a member of a black greek letter organization has long been associated with elitism and bourgeois culture. Elitist and bourgeois are not characteristics that could be considered desirable in the leader of the free world. Especially not in a candidate that could be considered a champion of the poor since he was an Ivy League Law Student.
(Et Al: I don't really care about how hard it is to become an honorary AKA...nor do I think Michelle OBama is an elitist. I just want her to think about the perception that it may cause and the unnecessary damage control that may have to be done post-initiation.)
Larry Langford
WTF....I mean seriously, WTF....
The Olympics in 2020? Negro Please....
Let's aim for something a little more doable like The BET Coonery Awards or the NAACP "Buried Word" Awards...
How about we aim for a murderless weekend first?
I mean seriously, I think the guy's energy and enthusiasm are great. I like many of his ideas. But when Mike Creel comes out and says, "We WILL get the Olympics in 2020" I have to question Mayor Langford's judgment...
We already know he can't balance a checkbook...
He testified to the SEC that his credit is in the toilet from buying suits and shoes from Gus Mayer...
3 Flags Over Bessemer...umm...I mean Visionland....wait, no....Alabama Adventure.....
'Nuff Said...
(BREAKING NEWS! Larry Langford has a Top Secret plan called the "Birmingham Survival Kit" that he's passing out to city business leaders in....a drawstring mini backpack? Of the Nike like variety?)
Gas Prices
Are Freakin' Ridiculous!!!!!
Drill ANWR! Drill Offshore! And still we have to wait 30 years for the effects....
Can somebody just start passing out gas cards instead of stimulus checks? I'm so sincere right now...
Dating....again....
You know what? I'm convinced that Birmingham is the place where single people come to get bitter. Seriously....
While women are busy blaming men, men are busy blaming women...somebody could be holding a conversation and getting to know one another...sans all the pretentiousness...
The Club Scene
Speaking of pretentiousness...I'm sick of the Birmingham club scene...You see the SAME people at EVERY function...buying drinks they probably can't afford to impress people they don't like in places that have worn thin on ambience and novelty...
Steel is the new Amani Raha.
Martini's is the new Platinum (Prior to $20 Cover "All You Can Fight" Night)
Elevation is the new Platinum....with better security (Post $20 Cover "All You Can Fight" Night)
Banana Joes was the new Smitty City/Birmingham Live
Don't get me wrong. I L-O-V-E Steel. (Shout out to Kobe) However, I tend to keep my visits short, sweet, and to the point. "Lemme get a Blue Moon. No Orange....no, don't start me a tab...I won't be here past 7:30"
Sprint...
F' em....
If I drop ONE MORE damn call while I'm trying to get to the money....I'm gonna shoot somebody.
Fin..
For Now...
Monday, June 16, 2008
Re:Will Racism Ever End?
This is in response to a note by Mr. Parker...
First of all, Mr. Parker, I'd like to say that I appreciate the thought and insight that clearly goes into your notes. They are thought provoking and interesting.
In response to the question posed by your note, "Will Racism Ever End," I would have to say that my knee-jerk reaction is "No." At least not in our lifetime...maybe in the lifetime of our offspring. Let me tell you why...
Racism often stems from two things, ignorance and a sense of victimization (which is undoubtedly coupled with a sense of entitlement. )
Ignorance comes into play more often than we tend to acknowledge...
When white people crack the offensive jokes about our hair, features, African American Vernacular English, and other things it stems from ignorance. Since, more often than not, they haven't experienced black culture, nor do they know more than their few token black friends they (just like all of us) tend to refer back to stereotypes and pop-culture imagery to help them form their opinion. This "ignorance fueled" racism, I tend to see as racism of the "low brow" variety...
Grandfather clauses, Good Ol' Boy networks, Ivory Towers, Glass Ceilings, and the logically flawed arguments against minority equality programs are a combination of the two reasons for racism.
They are ignorant because they assume that blackness exists in a vacuum. It is as if the, as Condoleeza Rice said, "birth defect" of having skin blessed with melanin makes us incompetent and incapable in their eyes. They believe that we are all the same....except for those that are a "credit to our race"....you can't believe how many times I've been called "one of the good ones"....
It also points directly to a sense of entitlement because HISTORICALLY the only demographic that has ever mattered in America has been the white male landowner...
The sense of victimization comes into play because they feel as though minority quotas and equality programs are taking positions, jobs, and whatever else from qualified white males....let's not go there right now.
The sense of victimization basis for racism is often seen in middle class to lower class individuals who feel as though they have been pushed away from their birthright of success and a slice of the American pie by all these "G*ddamn foreigners," "F*ckin Mexicans," and "Stupid Ni&&ers!" (Taken from an actual quote I heard once...)
They are the ones who are easily mislead by various forms of propaganda and are most likely to revert back to stereotypes to explain their frustration with people of a different hue...
The man who displayed his ignorance with you, Mr. Parker, felt victimized...because you had invaded what he felt as though was his "personal" place...his Birmingham version of "Cheers"...(which had no black people that I can remember)
I think we are FINALLY on the road to healing...rather than the appeasement that has been going on for the past 40+ years. Senator Obama has a lot to do with that...
Racist attitudes on BOTH sides are coming out more and more....Only by honest examination can we eradicate the plagues that have stricken this country known as racism and prejudice...
I'm done...
First of all, Mr. Parker, I'd like to say that I appreciate the thought and insight that clearly goes into your notes. They are thought provoking and interesting.
In response to the question posed by your note, "Will Racism Ever End," I would have to say that my knee-jerk reaction is "No." At least not in our lifetime...maybe in the lifetime of our offspring. Let me tell you why...
Racism often stems from two things, ignorance and a sense of victimization (which is undoubtedly coupled with a sense of entitlement. )
Ignorance comes into play more often than we tend to acknowledge...
When white people crack the offensive jokes about our hair, features, African American Vernacular English, and other things it stems from ignorance. Since, more often than not, they haven't experienced black culture, nor do they know more than their few token black friends they (just like all of us) tend to refer back to stereotypes and pop-culture imagery to help them form their opinion. This "ignorance fueled" racism, I tend to see as racism of the "low brow" variety...
Grandfather clauses, Good Ol' Boy networks, Ivory Towers, Glass Ceilings, and the logically flawed arguments against minority equality programs are a combination of the two reasons for racism.
They are ignorant because they assume that blackness exists in a vacuum. It is as if the, as Condoleeza Rice said, "birth defect" of having skin blessed with melanin makes us incompetent and incapable in their eyes. They believe that we are all the same....except for those that are a "credit to our race"....you can't believe how many times I've been called "one of the good ones"....
It also points directly to a sense of entitlement because HISTORICALLY the only demographic that has ever mattered in America has been the white male landowner...
The sense of victimization comes into play because they feel as though minority quotas and equality programs are taking positions, jobs, and whatever else from qualified white males....let's not go there right now.
The sense of victimization basis for racism is often seen in middle class to lower class individuals who feel as though they have been pushed away from their birthright of success and a slice of the American pie by all these "G*ddamn foreigners," "F*ckin Mexicans," and "Stupid Ni&&ers!" (Taken from an actual quote I heard once...)
They are the ones who are easily mislead by various forms of propaganda and are most likely to revert back to stereotypes to explain their frustration with people of a different hue...
The man who displayed his ignorance with you, Mr. Parker, felt victimized...because you had invaded what he felt as though was his "personal" place...his Birmingham version of "Cheers"...(which had no black people that I can remember)
I think we are FINALLY on the road to healing...rather than the appeasement that has been going on for the past 40+ years. Senator Obama has a lot to do with that...
Racist attitudes on BOTH sides are coming out more and more....Only by honest examination can we eradicate the plagues that have stricken this country known as racism and prejudice...
I'm done...
Friday, June 06, 2008
Racism in America....
Check out the url below AFTER you read the post...
http://sandrarose.com/2008/06/05/the-assassination-of-barack-obama-freedom-of-expression-or-racism/#more-1362
In America we have this wonderful thing called the 1st Amendment...
As a blogger, journalist and poet by calling, and "jerk-in-residence" at an institution of higher learning right now, I use the right to freedom of speech guaranteed by that amendment to the fullest...
Through freedom of speech we are guaranteed the right to freely express ourselves regardless of the medium...
However, there are certain fundamental things that you must understand about freedom of speech....
There are three types of speech that are not protected...
One is slander/libel...
The other is Hate Speech/"Fighting Words"...
I fully understand that the use of such speech would possibly get me arrested, reprimanded, and I could very well become the defendant in a lawsuit...
With that being said, I'm going to need people to understand that the use of NOOSES directed at a black person (Whether they are Joe Schmoe on the street or, like in this case, Senator Barack Obama) it is HATE SPEECH and should have no expectations of protection.
Calling Senator Obama's daughters "Nappy Headed Hoes" is not unprotected...but it is most definitely outside the boundaries of good taste...
Why does it seem that the racial division of this country is a festering sore...rather than a healing wound?
I don't really understand right now...
http://sandrarose.com/2008/06/05/the-assassination-of-barack-obama-freedom-of-expression-or-racism/#more-1362
In America we have this wonderful thing called the 1st Amendment...
As a blogger, journalist and poet by calling, and "jerk-in-residence" at an institution of higher learning right now, I use the right to freedom of speech guaranteed by that amendment to the fullest...
Through freedom of speech we are guaranteed the right to freely express ourselves regardless of the medium...
However, there are certain fundamental things that you must understand about freedom of speech....
There are three types of speech that are not protected...
One is slander/libel...
The other is Hate Speech/"Fighting Words"...
I fully understand that the use of such speech would possibly get me arrested, reprimanded, and I could very well become the defendant in a lawsuit...
With that being said, I'm going to need people to understand that the use of NOOSES directed at a black person (Whether they are Joe Schmoe on the street or, like in this case, Senator Barack Obama) it is HATE SPEECH and should have no expectations of protection.
Calling Senator Obama's daughters "Nappy Headed Hoes" is not unprotected...but it is most definitely outside the boundaries of good taste...
Why does it seem that the racial division of this country is a festering sore...rather than a healing wound?
I don't really understand right now...
Thursday, June 05, 2008
My Take on the Obama Nomination...
I woke up Wednesday morning proud...
I was proud that the man I had believed in from day one had become the first black Presidential nominee from a major party in American history...
I was proud that the politics of fear, straw man arguments, and misdirection failed...
I was proud that all the battles I had with Republicans, Conservatives, and Clinton supporters had been ultimately justified...
I was proud that Senator Obama was resilient enough to stand strong and never lose focus of what was truly important....offering a change from the typical "pay for play" politics that have plagued this country for decades...
I was proud of Hilary...for standing strong and fighting...
I was proud that I lived in an America where the majority of citizens no longer saw white flesh and a "Y Chromosome" as a prerequisite for leadership...
In his speech on Tuesday night, Senator Obama said:
" There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn't just about the party in charge of Washington, it's about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation.
All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment—a moment that will define a generation—we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say—let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America..."
My generation has been and will be defined by the leadership of a man that could have very well been one of our parents, Senator Barack Obama...
I have shouted for years...well, at least since I had the mind to actually pick up a book on politics, that America has needed new blood at the helm. Someone untainted by the moral rigor mortis that has been typical of our leadership for the past few decades, someone who does not seeing politics as a cushy job but rather a calling, a leader who cares for the people who give him power rather than the corporations who usurp that power daily...
Truth be told...I just wanted someone to look up to.
Is it too much to ask to turn on the TV and see someone who I can honestly say that I would like to be like? That understands me, my struggle, and the intellectual burden that lays heavy on me (and has crushed many of my peers) as a member of Dubois' Talented Tenth...
I would be less than an intelligent man if I didn't say that before I became an Obama supporter...I researched his platforms, focuses, and ideas. I looked at them objecively and found that my views matched up with his. I read his book, read his speeches, and listened to his platforms....and found myself working to get out the vote for Senator Obama.
Amusingly enough, for my support...I have received a lot of flack from my fellow Alabamians...
I've been called EVERYTHING under the sun...
While they play what I like to call the "Politics of the Soundbite"
This election reminds me of a Langston Hughes poem that I fell in love with as a child..."I, Too, Sing America"
"I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America..."
Young America....we are now at the table....and I am proud....
For the first time in my adult life....I can say I'm proud to be an American....
And I DON'T take it back...
I was proud that the man I had believed in from day one had become the first black Presidential nominee from a major party in American history...
I was proud that the politics of fear, straw man arguments, and misdirection failed...
I was proud that all the battles I had with Republicans, Conservatives, and Clinton supporters had been ultimately justified...
I was proud that Senator Obama was resilient enough to stand strong and never lose focus of what was truly important....offering a change from the typical "pay for play" politics that have plagued this country for decades...
I was proud of Hilary...for standing strong and fighting...
I was proud that I lived in an America where the majority of citizens no longer saw white flesh and a "Y Chromosome" as a prerequisite for leadership...
In his speech on Tuesday night, Senator Obama said:
" There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn't just about the party in charge of Washington, it's about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation.
All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment—a moment that will define a generation—we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say—let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America..."
My generation has been and will be defined by the leadership of a man that could have very well been one of our parents, Senator Barack Obama...
I have shouted for years...well, at least since I had the mind to actually pick up a book on politics, that America has needed new blood at the helm. Someone untainted by the moral rigor mortis that has been typical of our leadership for the past few decades, someone who does not seeing politics as a cushy job but rather a calling, a leader who cares for the people who give him power rather than the corporations who usurp that power daily...
Truth be told...I just wanted someone to look up to.
Is it too much to ask to turn on the TV and see someone who I can honestly say that I would like to be like? That understands me, my struggle, and the intellectual burden that lays heavy on me (and has crushed many of my peers) as a member of Dubois' Talented Tenth...
I would be less than an intelligent man if I didn't say that before I became an Obama supporter...I researched his platforms, focuses, and ideas. I looked at them objecively and found that my views matched up with his. I read his book, read his speeches, and listened to his platforms....and found myself working to get out the vote for Senator Obama.
Amusingly enough, for my support...I have received a lot of flack from my fellow Alabamians...
I've been called EVERYTHING under the sun...
While they play what I like to call the "Politics of the Soundbite"
This election reminds me of a Langston Hughes poem that I fell in love with as a child..."I, Too, Sing America"
"I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America..."
Young America....we are now at the table....and I am proud....
For the first time in my adult life....I can say I'm proud to be an American....
And I DON'T take it back...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
What is Friendship?
I
I'd like to ask a question...
I swear it will only take a second...
What is Friendship?
I often wonder what constitutes a true friendship?
Is it the stripes of suffering that two people bare together?
Or is it a fleeting journey that people determine their level of dedication to based on the weather?
Seriously, I've got to know...
I bought a ticket for some sort of support, but now I'd like to get off the boat...
This friend ship seems to be destined to go the way of the Titanic...
Sinking quickly after outlandish assertions/
my conversion from a true believer/to a discerner of deceivers happened somewhere along the beginning of this ride
Two souls kept afloat on a friendship floating over a sea of lies...
II
Maybe people just change...
Maybe the fact that I haven't is a sign of immaturity...
Maybe the fact that I refuse is a sign of loyalty...
What's maturity in a friendship anyway?
I just want somebody to laugh with/study universal math with...
Start up a business and possibly split the cash with?
Is that too much to ask in...
This preapocalypticneosoulheartlessmindless world?
I guess so...
Can I get a refund for my ride on the "friend ship"?
I damn sure need one...
III
I've always been told that you can't pick your family...
Yes you can...
I swear to it...
I stand by it...
I believe it...
I've seen it...
I've got a few brothers and sisters...
A boat load of cousins...
An ex-girlfriend or two...
A lost love running around...
And a heart capable of holding them all...
Should I free them from the obligations of this journey?
Probably...
Many jumped off themselves...
Wo/Man overboard...
No shouting...
No rescue effort...
No life preserver...
Just man...
And Nature...
I'd like to ask a question...
I swear it will only take a second...
What is Friendship?
I often wonder what constitutes a true friendship?
Is it the stripes of suffering that two people bare together?
Or is it a fleeting journey that people determine their level of dedication to based on the weather?
Seriously, I've got to know...
I bought a ticket for some sort of support, but now I'd like to get off the boat...
This friend ship seems to be destined to go the way of the Titanic...
Sinking quickly after outlandish assertions/
my conversion from a true believer/to a discerner of deceivers happened somewhere along the beginning of this ride
Two souls kept afloat on a friendship floating over a sea of lies...
II
Maybe people just change...
Maybe the fact that I haven't is a sign of immaturity...
Maybe the fact that I refuse is a sign of loyalty...
What's maturity in a friendship anyway?
I just want somebody to laugh with/study universal math with...
Start up a business and possibly split the cash with?
Is that too much to ask in...
This preapocalypticneosoulheartlessmindless world?
I guess so...
Can I get a refund for my ride on the "friend ship"?
I damn sure need one...
III
I've always been told that you can't pick your family...
Yes you can...
I swear to it...
I stand by it...
I believe it...
I've seen it...
I've got a few brothers and sisters...
A boat load of cousins...
An ex-girlfriend or two...
A lost love running around...
And a heart capable of holding them all...
Should I free them from the obligations of this journey?
Probably...
Many jumped off themselves...
Wo/Man overboard...
No shouting...
No rescue effort...
No life preserver...
Just man...
And Nature...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Tragedy That is the Sean Bell Saga...
1 black male dead...
2 daughters without a father...
3 police officers accquited...
4 grandparents mourn...
1 judge...
2 fellow victims...
3 sides to the story...
4 weeks of testimony (28 days)...
It still doesn't add up to me...
Detective Marc Oliver fires 31 shots into an occupied vehicle and walks away a free man...
There was no weapon found in Sean Bell's car or in any of the other victims possession...
The officers did not identify themselves as police officers...
50 shots....
Can you blame me for being angry right now? I'm a black male. A 24 year old black male. A 24 year old black male who, by the sheer grace and mercy of God, has no felony convictions. A 24 year old black male who has no children. A 24 year old black male who has a college education and is pursuing a terminal degree. A 24 year old black male business owner. A 24 year old black male...who still is seen as a "nigger".
I'm pissed and rightfully so. While Sean Bell and his friends may have had felony charges, when does being an ex-convict not guarantee one justice? Why do we lie to ourselves about being a fair and just society?
I know I'm rambling right now but I'm a tad bit emotional so bare with me...
There is a full frontal assault on black males going on right now in America and it's been going on for almost 2 decades...don't believe me?
Here's a list of men who were killed or brutalized by the police...
Deonte Rawlins, Amadou Diallo, Anthony Baez, Deunta Terrell Farrow, Aaron Harrison, Nathaniel Jones, Ibrahim Muhammad, Lorenzo Matthews, Nigel Smith, Lorenzo Collins, Michael Carpenter, Courtney Mathis, Roger Owensby Junior, Timothy Thomas, Jonny Gammage, Abner Louima, Ousmane Zongo, and Patrick Dorismond
Who mourns for them? Their parents...their children...their families...
My question is, "When did WE stop caring enough to fight for us?" Why have we relegated ourselves to a certain stature, place, or level of comfortability en masse?
I guess some of us have gotten so comfortable in our six figure homes and luxury cars that we've forgotten that blacks in America are intricately intertwined in a tapestry of both pride and pain...
That "nigga" that you turn your nose up with his sagging pants is you....
That bourgie sista that you can't stand...is you...
Look at it like this...Blacks have been freed from slavery for a little over 145 years. We've only been afforded the same federally protected rights as everyone else for about 40. America is 232 years old...
Essentially, we are 1.5 generations from Jim Crow Segregation and about 3 from slavery. My Grandmother's Grandmother was a slave...so was it really that long ago when I have colleagues that can say their grandfather's grandfather was a wealthy landowner?
It takes 3 generations to build wealth. We're 1.5 out of segregation. Then we have had to compete with the destruction of the black nuclear family, media fueled subconscious self-hatred practiced by a few, "Crabs in a Barrell" syndrome, Grandfather Clauses, Ivory Towers, Glass Ceilings, Crack, Cointelpro, the Tuskegee Experiment, Hurricane Katrina, and now the armed assault by the "powers that be" on young black males...
Marvin Gaye was dead on when he wrote "Makes Me Wanna Holla..."
Black America has some issues that MUST be ironed out...
It MUST start with addressing the issues of our youth being railroaded...
I had SO MUCH HOPE when I saw the buzz and excitement about the Jena 6 and the call, by many, for EQUAL JUSTICE...
3 weeks later we were back to the same old stuff...
Why are we so short-sighted and fickle as a community...
What will the new "cause of the month" be in May?
I pray that Sean Bell's story is not forgotten and that we come together and try to fix the injustices that have taken place in this country for generations now.
Many are behind Barack Obama because he advocates Hope and Change...
Hope, is in the eyes of our youth...
Change begins with us...
(BTW, I'm a tad bit unmoved by Obama's response to the Bell Verdict....maybe that's just me though...)
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