The Talented Tenth Revisited

My people are at the crossroads in our continuing effort to mature and grow as a body politic. Perhaps the model put forth by W.E.B.DuBois should be re-examined. To whom much is given much is required. We seem to be losing our children, and without children there can be no continuation of the culture. Of course this situation did not happen in a vacuum. Sam Yette talked about what plans the United States had for Black people many years ago in his book The Choice. The agenda has not changed. We are no longer useful in this country so we are expendable. The obituary has already been written and we are not being killed millions at a time-like the Germans killed the Jews-but hundreds daily. Not enough to raise the ire of too many people but it should be enough to get our attention. For some reason it does not. Some of us are sending out distress signals. Jawanza Kunjufu continually writes about the conspiracy to destroy our young people, especially our young boys. Essence Magazine and Spelman College [along with others, I'm sure] has a current campaign to take back the music from those who profit from disrespecting our young girls and women in vulgar videos and song lyrics. But all of us can play a much more important role in bringing us back to the throne of greatness. It won't cost us a penny and it is so painless we can do it each and every day. We can monitor ourselves in terms of what comes out of our mouths (and in acknowledgment of our 21st century technology savvy, our email transmissions). The Power of Words cannot be denied. When we take on the words of the enemy we become our own worst enemy. We are better than that. Let's show the world. Let's show ourselves. Peace and Love.

Moments

It only takes a moment to make a decision that can affect the rest of your life. This is a scary thought, but if one has parents and other adult role models who have been a positive influence, then making the right decision is not so hard. My own experiences have taught me that I always know when I am about to make a life changing decision. It is like an internal voice starts talking to me. And even if I want to lie to myself and pretend that it's okay to make the wrong decision I just can't. And years later I say WHEW! I bet Rosa Parks heard this inner voice when she refused to give up her seat on the bus. And she changed history and became a shero for all times. I also bet De'Kelvin Martin heard this voice and ignored it. And he changed history in a negative way for three beautiful people. We all should cherish our "moments" more than we do. They are truly life changing.

Can't we all just get along?

If anyone needed an object lesson to answer the question of whether there is a Higher Power then the recent Tsunami should answer that question. Over 100,000 people killed instantly. One minute you're having fun in the sun and the next minute you're gone. Poof! More than twice the number of people died in this one catastrophic event than all the U. S. soldiers killed in the Vietnam War. There are no words to describe my utter shock and horror. We had all better learn to get along because our power is insignificant when compared to HIS power. It all starts with respecting each other, and there is no better way to do that than to learn about what a great people we ALL are. Everyday in 2005 I am going to share some information about the greatness of an otherwise overlooked population. The group for today is African American Women Writers .

Cats and Dogs

As 2004 speedily comes to an end, I can think of no better concept to write about than perceived differences. Whenever I think of differences I am always reminded of my beloved dog Alphonso. Alphonso lived to be an old man in dog years and when he was middle aged he formed a very unique friendship with a kitten whose mama did not stick around long enough to teach him the difference between a cat and a dog. The kitten just appeared one morning near Alphonso's food dish and before I could stop him from being mauled by Alphonso he began eating out of the dish. And Alphonso just watched. After he had eaten his fill he did not go away. He laid down next to Alphonso and they went to sleep. Over the next three or four weeks he became Alphonso's constant companion and he was always around. They played together and ate together and Alphonso curled up in a circle and the cat slept in the circle he had created. Just when I thought Alphonso had found a lifelong friend, he began barking at the kitten. Not loudly, but definitely bordering on unfriendly. The kitten stuck around for a couple of days to see whether this was Alphonso's final answer, and when he smartly decided that it was he just disappeared. We never saw the kitten again. Life went on and Alphonso once again ruled the front yard. I suppose there is a moral to this story and sometimes I think I know what it is. There are other times when the moral seems to sadly mirror the differences that we humans have created. At those times I wonder whether we will ever answer Rodney King's plea in the affirmative.


Happy New Year!

Fear

If you were to ask most people what they require in a leader they would most likely use terms like intelligent, empathetic, brave, insightful, honorable, understanding, honest, and fair. The list could go on and on. But you get the point. When, however, you then look at the leader that they actually choose (or at least the one they follow) you have to wonder what happened. This pretty much summarizes my analysis of the most recent Presidential election. I believe Bush is a very frightening man and he was selected by a lot of other frightened and frightening people.

It should be no surprise, since this country has a history of allowing it's fear of the bogeyman to rule their lives. One of the founding principles of this country was freedom from tyranny, but almost immediately Africans were stolen from their homeland and brought to America to be enslaved because the new Americans were afraid to do the hard work that was needed to build this country. Indians lost more and more of their freedom to live as they had forever because of the fear of their so called savage nature and were eventually relegated to reservations. Religious beliefs were protected as long as they fit into the Puritan model. Any deviation from the model meant you were a witch and dangerous and you were burned at the stakes. As each new immigrant group came to America they were initially vilified and feared until they figured out how to play the game. Then they became one of the fearful. Once the fearful in America had the system working smoothly here, the country began looking globally for people to fear. And this, class, is why we are celebrating the reselection of our President. The fear factor at its finest.

Bill Cosby-At It Again

Bill Cosby is right.

And he is wrong.

Sounds contradictory, doesn't it? It really is not. Because nothing happens in a vacuum, one must look at the whole picture that is being painted. And Bill Cosby is not focusing on the entire canvas, just a part of it. Admittedly, a very important part of the picture, but not the whole picture. I know that Bill Cosby has done some tremendous things for Black youth and continues to do so. I also recognize that Bill is a Dr. with a degree (not just honorary) so he is speaking not only from the heart but also as an academic. But to focus his comments on Black youth alone is just wrong. And he is finally addressing the root of the problem. He is speaking to their parents. Because children can't raise themselves. So what we see in our youth (Black and White) is a result of parents taking a time out from parenting. Disrespectful, arrogant, violent, lazy kids with questionable morals are the result. All of us of Bill Cosby's generation and the generation which came after him must share in the guilt for what our children have become. Even though most of us tried to do the right things by our own children, everytime we saw a small child who was cursed out in the grocery store line and did not speak up we were guilty. Everytime we saw a parent who was out of control with their child in public and said nothing we were guilty. And every man who had an out of wedlock child and did not spend quality time with that child is guilty. (Even Bill Cosby has had some problems with this issue). Children need fathers in their life. And mothers cannot teach boys how to be men. So the children that Bill Cosby talks about took a long time to get to this terrible place they find themselves in today. The village failed them.

And Bill Cosby might want to go through a reconciliation process when he talks about the language that our kids speak today. As I recall, the cartoon characters which Bill created all those many years ago did not speak or dress like Harvard graduates. They could even be said to speak their own version of Blackspeak or ebonics, etc. Which of course is not unusual in any ethnic community. But as the saying goes, when you know better, you do better. So there was a world of difference in his Cosby cartoon characters and the Huxtable kids. And many people embraced the cartoon characters but never liked the Huxtables. So guess what their kids heard at home?

The thing that really troubles me is that Bill Cosby appears so angry when he talks about these issues. I don't see the love. And as of yet I have not heard him say that this is a national problem with all kids-Black and white. There are a lot of irresponsible, lazy, and educationally challenged parents who fail their kids and they do not all wear Black faces. I would like to see him reach out to white parents groups. I would like to see him go to schools that are majority white and give the same speech/lecture to them that he gives to Black parents. Because we all know that white kids have issues too. Can we say Columbine? Georgia is still in shock over a case where two white girls killed the grandparents of one of the girls because they basically did not want to follow the rules of the house. And Rockdale County Georgia was in the news a few years ago because almost the entire teenage (white) population there had every form of STD imaginable because they were engaging in every form of sexual union imaginable. Juvenile courts have White and Black kids on the dockets. And let's face it, Bill. White girls have abortions, not babies. The point is: We are all in this same boat that we call America. If those that fail for whatever reason continue to increase-we all go down.

A Holy Man

I believe there are people among us who have sat at the feet of the Master and have learned from Him. There is such peace surrounding them that they stand out as special people. We are often so busy in our day to day activities that we sometimes don't recognize these special people. I was blessed several years ago to have seen one of these people with my own eyes. I almost missed the experience, because at the time I was wrapped up with worry about some drama happening in my life. And it is true that we oftentimes only see what we are looking for.

On one of my marathon Greyhound Bus trips I saw a man who I now feel was one of God's prophets and almost dismissed him as just another one of those interesting/strange people one observes on bus rides. It was not until almost 500 miles into the trip that I recognized that he was indeed a special person. In appearance he was pretty ordinary looking. He had a monklike haircut and was dressed all in black. Early on in the trip he had sat in a seat where someone had left some chewing gum in it and had subsequently gotten gum all over the back of his coat. He did not get the least bit upset when he discovered the gum. Instead, he very calmly and methodically picked the gum off his coat with his hands. His patience in dealing with this situation should have been my first clue, but as I said, I was not looking for a person like him. And even if I had been looking, I would not have thought he would be riding a Greyhound bus.

Anyway, the thing that finally got my attention was overhearing a conversation he was having with a fellow passenger. As I was listening to him talk, I was somewhat amused because the fellow he was talking to was a Chicano and I was not sure they were connecting because of the obvious language barrier, as he was speaking English. After a little while the Chicano got up and went to use the bathroom. So I was right, I thought somewhat smugly to myself. I have often used that ploy myself to get out of similar conversations. The fellow was probably tired of pretending to understand what was being said.

But wait-the good part is coming.

After about fifteen minutes the Chicano came back to talk to the prophet and it was obvious at this point that they were connecting in a very real and spiritual way. The essence of what they were saying was that God provides everything that we need when we need it and to worry about money or things is unnecessary. Such a simple concept was stated by two men who obviously did not have a lot but stated their belief in this concept with such profoundness. They talked back and forth for about thirty minutes. When the Chicano was approaching his destination, he stood and told the prophet that he was happy to have met him and would always remember what he said and would always try to follow what he knew to be God's teachings. And with that said, they gave each other a very warm hug in parting. Needless to say, I felt blessed to have witnessed such an encounter and it brightened my spirits and helped to remove my previous worries.

14 days and counting

Two weeks to go before the election. It is scary to think that this is an event that will change the course of not only American history, but world history. Because those on the right obviously want nothing less than world domination.