WHY WE MUST RESIST ASSIMILATION
By Clare X. Brown
I believe that in this white supremacist world, there is something about being in close proximity to whites that causes many of us black folk to act completely and utterly against our best interests. For example, Chinweizu (1994) notes “All you need do is introduce a white face among negrophobic blacks and they become disorganised, they become disoriented…” In a similar vein, Bobby Wright (1984) pointed out that “everywhere one finds Whites and Blacks in close proximity to each other, the whites are in control” and observed that “Blacks rarely question this extraordinary universal phenomenon which defies every known statistical law of probability.”
Being close to whites really does seem to have a literal brainwashing effect on certain black folk. Indeed, I think it’s possible that those black men who put themselves through all kinds of racial indignities and isolation simply in order to marry white women may have been overexposed to white people at some point in their lives (as a child or as an adult). Similarly this may be what causes their black female counterparts to bend over backwards to justify why white men make wonderful marriage partners (despite all the terrible things white men have done and continue to do to black people).
And let’s not forget the plight of some blacks in the UK – a country with a small, very fragmented black population, where most blacks are overexposed to whites and white supremacist thinking from birth. Most UK blacks have to confront the chilling experience of being the lone black in employment and/ or in educational settings and/ or in neighborhoods, and so on. Indeed, it’s possible to argue that overexposure to whites/ white supremacist thinking, and isolation from other blacks is a factor in the extremely high rates of black schizophrenia in the UK (the highest rate of black schizophrenia in the world).
Even the messages of seemingly “ultra-conscious” black folk seem to be at risk of being diluted by too much contact with whites. Take the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal - most of his supporters are white, and this which may be having a deleterious effect on his ideology as he appears to embrace a Marxist (“power-to-the-people philosophy”) rather than an unapologetically “pro-black” ideology. And what about Malcolm X? After his famous trip to Mecca, and his interactions with white Arabs, he changed his perspective on black-white relations, which arguably contradicted everything he used to stand for. Don’t get me wrong - I have tremendous sympathy for the positions of both Mumia and Malcolm X. In the case of Mumia, the man may be once again fighting a death sentence, and clearly doesn’t have the luxury of picking and choosing his supporters. In the case of Malcolm X, at the end of his life, he was treated disgustingly by the Nation of Islam, and had nowhere to turn, so it’s hardly surprising that he was willing to collaborate with whites at this time…I am confident that had Malcolm lived he would have revised the opinions he formed before he died (when he was obviously under extreme stress).
As I hope the above examples have demonstrated, black people need to be cautious about the price they are paying for closeness to whites. If blacks as a people want any hope of dignity, and indeed survival, we need to embrace black autonomy; if we want to gain self-respect, and respect from others, we must stop running after white people; we must stop being afraid of hurting white people’s feelings; we must stop trying to be so damn “fair” to white people all the time - hell, do white folk generally give a damn about hurting our feelings or being fair to us? As Frances Cress Welsing (1989) argues “Instead of engaging in our past practices of complaining, moaning, crying, groaning, begging, clapping hands and singing, ‘We Shall Overcome’, black people must analyze our problems and take the necessary steps to eliminate them. I say that it’s time to redirect the energy we put into connecting with white folk to connecting with each other. Instead of relocating to predominately white countries like France and Canada, we need to be relocating to majority black countries. Rather than seeking out majority-white places like Seattle and Portland, we need to be moving to “Chocolate Cities” like Atlanta and DC. Instead of trying to join white institutions, we need to be supporting and building black institutions. In preference to buying houses in white neighborhoods, we need to be buying houses in the black community. We need to work at obtaining employment in settings where we can interact with other black people - even if this means taking a lower salary - and / or consider setting up our own businesses. We MUST NOT send black children to majority white schools – if necessary, we need to home-school our children. We need to support, love and marry black people rather than chasing after white ones. In short, let’s offer ourselves and our children some kind of solidarity - as other minorities do - as any self-respecting people does.
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In response to all of the above—-Amen!
I would only add some specifics to your recommendations above: It’s not enough to simple move to “chocolate cities.” We need to form and/or reclaim “stronghold” Black neighborhoods of decent, sane Black people like the one that I was blessed to have grown up in. Warning—-the rest of what I have to say is probably controversial because it’s contrary to the prevailing dogma in “conscious” circles:
I continued living in the same community I was raised in until the violence drove me out. I got tired of having to huddle in the basement each New Year’s Eve to avoid being hit by stray bullets [one such bullet crashed through our back window one New Year's Eve]; and the celebratory gunfire starts earlier with each year that passes. Not to mention the home invasions, rapes, break-ins, etc. that are so common that they no longer make the evening news.
If I was able to get firearms training and a private detective’s license so that I could legally carry a gun, I would have considered staying. [No, unfortunately I'm not kidding.]
I believe that in order for your suggestion to work, we must do two things:
[1] Stop demonizing the Black middle-class. You don’t do this, but too many “conscious” Blacks routinely bash what’s left of the Black middle-class. [I say what's left of it because underclass/prison/criminal culture has become the dominant culture in the African-American community.]We need to recognize that middle-class does not automatically equal Uncle Tom; and underclass does not automatically equal “authentic” Blackness. Just look at the White-chasing behavior of Negro professional athletes for proof.
Working-class and middle-class families were the backbone of the neighborhood I grew up in. They made the neighborhood a nurturing place to raise productive children. Look at the hellish conditions in any public housing project today to see what happens without the presence of the Black middle class. We need to understand that we can’t move forward without the active participation of our middle class.
[2] Stop denying the level of violent anarchy in the African-American community; and get serious about stopping it. As a people, we love slogans, protest marches, and complaining at community meetings to non-responsive police departments. None of which has succeeded in providing security.
We don’t take serious steps in protecting ourselves because we don’t want to acknowledge just how dangerous it has become in many Black communities. As the crime escalated, I talked to friends who work in various levels of law enforcement, and attended some “moan & groan” community meetings at the local police precinct. Friends and I came to the consensus that marches and community meetings are not the way to go.
In fact, the imam at my mosque [who is a retired police detective] had several excellent suggestions: As a neighborhood we could pool our money and either: (1) hire security guards from the Nation of Islam to patrol the neighborhood [the imam is NOT affiliated with the Nation of Islam], or (2) hire off-duty police officers as security guards to patrol the neighborhood, which is what a lot of local White-owned banks and hospitals do.
When presented with these suggestions, the same people that had been crying and pleading with the local police turned around and said that “Things aren’t so bad that we have to do all of that.”
We’ll spend money for material “goodies”, but balk at spending money to save our own lives. But I don’t think it’s just about the money, it seems that too many of us don’t want to admit how violent our communities have become. More importantly, we also don’t want to start acting like independent, free people and assume responsibility for our own lives. It’s so much easier to whine and complain to the slavemaster.
It took me a long time to realize this, but not everyone wants to get to the “promised land” of Black autonomy. All of the above is why I’ve cut back on some of my support for “help the underclass” projects and focused more of my energy on building/supporting viable Black institutions.
Khadija Said:
…I continued living in the same community I was raised in until the violence drove me out. I got tired of having to huddle in the basement each New Year’s Eve to avoid being hit by stray bullets [one such bullet crashed through our back window one New Year’s Eve]; and the celebratory gunfire starts earlier with each year that passes. Not to mention the home invasions, rapes, break-ins, etc. that are so common that they no longer make the evening news.
If I was able to get firearms training and a private detective’s license so that I could legally carry a gun, I would have considered staying. [No, unfortunately I’m not kidding.]
Thanks for sharing - wow – this sounds terrifying! It’s a real shame that what used to be a good black neighborhood turned into a hellhole.
… It’s not enough to simple move to “chocolate cities.” We need to form and/or reclaim “stronghold” Black neighborhoods of decent, sane Black people like the one that I was blessed to have grown up in…
I believe that in order for your suggestion to work, we must do two things:
[1] Stop demonizing the Black middle-class. You don’t do this, but too many “conscious” Blacks routinely bash what’s left of the Black middle-class. [I say what’s left of it because underclass/prison/criminal culture has become the dominant culture in the African-American community.]We need to recognize that middle-class does not automatically equal Uncle Tom; and underclass does not automatically equal “authentic” Blackness. Just look at the White-chasing behavior of Negro professional athletes for proof…Look at the hellish conditions in any public housing project today to see what happens without the presence of the Black middle class. We need to understand that we can’t move forward without the active participation of our middle class.
[2] Stop denying the level of violent anarchy in the African-American community; and get serious about stopping it…We don’t take serious steps in protecting ourselves because we don’t want to acknowledge just how dangerous it has become in many Black communities…In fact, the imam at my mosque [who is a retired police detective] had several excellent suggestions: As a neighborhood we could pool our money and either: (1) hire security guards from the Nation of Islam to patrol the neighborhood [the imam is NOT affiliated with the Nation of Islam], or (2) hire off-duty police officers as security guards to patrol the neighborhood, which is what a lot of local White-owned banks and hospitals do.
Some great points here and great suggestions on what black folk can do to improve things. Thanks!
I agree with the post. I think that the bigger problem now is that Black people are too tired (spiritually, emotionally, politically) or uninspired to fight anymore. As a global community of people, we don’t have the cohesion and organization to power up in a fight against so much of what has eroded our communities, let alone to focus an attack against the things that hold us back.
Perhaps it’s only me that is feeling zapped of energy, but I feel that we are sometimes our own worst enemy. Of all the influential people we have making “Forbes” and other lists, somehow we aren’t pulling together to make significant differences. The folks who could be rallying with a grass-roots type movement seem to be complacent or, like me, drained. Every movement for change needs leadership, direction and structure. We don’t have that. We don’t have the Hueys or Martins we once did.
Your wrong about the UK. There are very tight black communities and one can encounter black majorities in many major cities. I am 40 years old and grew up in one in Leeds in the north of England. The black/white dichotmy itself needs to be abandoned in the light of rapidly spreading cosmopolitanism where we increasingly engage with brown, yellow and all hues and types.
The black community needs to prepare itself to take a respected place in this diversified world.
Clare said: “It’s a real shame that what used to be a good Black neighborhood turned into a hellhole.”
Yes, it is a shame. It’s also a disgrace, because in my opinion, my childhood neighborhood was murdered. It, along with other previously decent Black communities, was murdered by misleadership from Black politicians and naive denial from decent Black people. Let me explain:
What killed the neighborhood was the uncontrolled influx of Section 8 recipients. Section 8 is federally subsidized housing for welfare recipients. The stated purpose was to break up the concentrated public housing hellholes and facilitate the transfer of welfare recipients to other areas. Thereby creating mixed-income communities for the recipients to live in. [I say "the stated purpose" because I'm beginning to wonder if it's part of a long-term plan by Whites to retake the central cities.]
Whites uniformly resisted the influx of these persons into their areas (the “not in my backyard” syndrome). Most Black politicians (at least in my area) supported these programs out of solidarity with our less-fortunate brethren. Unfortunately, the Black politicians failed to consider what the unlimited influx of this population would do to previously stable and decent Black communities. Decent Blacks also failed to think this through in terms of demographics and quality of life. Most of us were naive and wanted to help our brothers and sisters. The few Blacks that were wise enough to predict what would happen were loudly denounced as Black bourgeousie snobs.
It turned out that the so-called snobs were right: The Section 8 people brought their crime and chaos with them, and destroyed the quality of life in previously thriving communities.
The Section 8 fiasco (or conspiracy depending upon your point of view) is only part one of this situation. Part two is gentrification. Here’s how this has played out:
After the Section 8 recipients overrun and destroy viable Black neighborhoods, the property values go way down. By that point, most Black middle-class residents have been driven out by the crime. This is when the Negro politicians start talking about “community revitalization” and bringing in White businesses (Starbucks, the Body Shoppe, etc.).
White yuppies start buying up the now-cheap property. [Whites have realized in the last two decades that they made a mistake in running out to the suburbs, and abandoning the central cities to Blacks. Their commutes from the far suburbs are a hassle, etc.]
Once enough young White professionals move into the area, the previously non-responsive police drastically crack down on crime. Soon, property values increase to the point that, even with subsidized housing, the Section 8 people can’t afford to stay in the neighborhood. And, at any rate, the increased police presence is putting a crimp in their criminal activities.
The elderly middle-class Blacks that either couldn’t afford or refused to move are also pushed out by the increased property taxes that are the result of White gentrification. There’s very little margin for increase when you’re on a fixed retirement income.
The final act is when White voters in the newly-gentrified neighborhood vote the Negro politician out of office.
What sickens me most of all is the denial from the decent Black residents. If we would get serious about providing security in our areas, we could stop this pattern in its tracks.
We also need to stop allowing politicians (of any color) to dump an unlimited number of Section 8 recipients in our communities. Charity begins at home. If decent Blacks don’t have a secure base of operations, how in the world can we help those who want to work their way out of the underclass?
Peace.
Clare: I believe that in this white supremacist world, there is something about being in close proximity to whites that causes many of us black folk to act completely and utterly against our best interests.
T: It’s called conditioning…if thruout most of your life the main figures you see in authority are primarily non black and if they are black they’re usually working in concert with those who work against the interest of most blacks, most will think that is the norm if you’re not educated otherwise.
—————————————
Clare: Indeed, I think it’s possible that those black men who put themselves through all kinds of racial indignities and isolation simply in order to marry white women may have been overexposed to white people at some point in their lives (as a child or as an adult). Similarly this may be what causes their black female counterparts to bend over backwards to justify why white men make wonderful marriage partners (despite all the terrible things white men have done and continue to do to black people).
T: What’s interesting is that the ‘overexposure’ does not necessarily have to be direct contact but mainly thru the media esp. television. The images the t.v. protrays can shape the realities of young/immature minds to see and act in accordance or at least influence what one may do even though it may against ones best interest. One way to counter this is the more knowledge one has of the past the more one will be able to see and anticipate things that may be against ones best interest (especially in the relationship department)
—————————————–
Clare: UK (the highest rate of black schizophrenia in the world).
T: That’s a very chilling statistic indeed…Makes one wonder if it’s truly schizophrenia or is it UK’s way diagnosing black folks problems if they can’t explain what it is due to lack of understanding – mainly cultural. Also, if it’s anything like in the US it may be a way of ‘pushing drugs’ for the pharmacitical companies to make big bucks off of schizophrenia like the US does with diagnosing problems so people will get hooked on pharmacitical drugs when the same could be accomplished with change of diet and exercise.
——————————————-
Clare: Even the messages of seemingly “ultra-conscious” black folk seem to be at risk of being diluted by too much contact with whites. Take the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal….Malcolm X
T: The key words you used are ‘at risk’. Mumia Abu-Jamal may be experiencing something simular to what’s called the Stockholm Syndrome where one becomes symphathetic to the cause of those who captured you. In his case it’ll be mainly his white supporters (ulterior?) motives who fight for his freedom therefore providing a forum for their cause to be heard. Regardless, hopefully he’ll be freed from jail and have a unapologetic ‘pro-black’ stance…
As for Malcolm X, after his trip to Mecca it did expand his paradigm on who or what his religion was about…And to my understanding he let whites contribute financially but not join his organization. However I must admit that I gotta do some more investigation on the depth of white participation with his organization.
—————————————–
Clare: As Frances Cress Welsing (1989) argues “Instead of engaging in our past practices of complaining, moaning, crying, groaning, begging, clapping hands and singing, ‘We Shall Overcome’, black people must analyze our problems and take the necessary steps to eliminate them. I say that it’s time to redirect the energy we put into connecting with white folk to connecting with each other.
T: In order to better practice the above blacks must gain a better understanding how negrophobia operates so we’ll be better able to eliminate it and replace it with blackaphilia (love of black people) which will demand the type of respect we should have as we learn to love ourselves more and more.
——————————————
T: In closing, one of Dr. Frances Cress Welsing mentors Neely Fuller stated, “if you don’t understand rascism/white supremacy, everything else will only confuse you.” That is why when dealing with most white folks keep your mindset in a defensive posture much like you’re taught when driving a vehicle because some folks don’t mind running red lights and will willingly run you over…just look at their history. By knowing what the past is we’ll be able to avoid those pitfalls in order to make or present and future better places to live.
Damyum, Clare. I was just gonna write something exactly along those lines. You did me one better. Thank God for your Creative Commons License. I’m gonna copy this post at the Assault.
You gonna get your behind kicked on that Malcom comment, though. I said the same thing and folks tried to expel me from the Black people.
That is a phenomenal piece of writing. I know more than a couple brainwashed brothers out there who need to read this.
Clare said: In the case of Malcolm X, at the end of his life, he was treated disgustingly by the Nation of Islam, and had nowhere to turn, so it’s hardly surprising that he was willing to collaborate with whites at this time…I am confident that had Malcolm lived he would have revised the opinions he formed before he died (when he was obviously under extreme stress).
I agree with you totally on this point. If you watch the videos of Malcolm before and after Mecca, you will see two entirely different people. While I am not a follower of the NOI, you can see the amount of strength and fearlessness Malcolm embodied while a member. After the break off from the NOI, Malcolm began to look tired and worn. One of the most telling videos is the one on Black Nationalism. While the words are as strong as ever, it is easy to see that the man was frayed. His suit wrinkled as though it was slept in the night prior. His attention seems to wonder from time to time and the eloquence most had become accustomed to was just a little off. Malcolm was without a doubt in turmoil, dealing with the threats by the NOI and the reality that most of black America was not supportive of him. I really believe that his softening on white relations came partially out of his desperation to not let his dream of uplifting his race die. I also believe that his change in philosophy could have been averted by strong support from the black community.
eeax Said:
Your wrong about the UK. There are very tight black communities and one can encounter black majorities in many major cities. I am 40 years old and grew up in one in Leeds in the north of England. The black/white dichotmy itself needs to be abandoned in the light of rapidly spreading cosmopolitanism where we increasingly engage with brown, yellow and all hues and types.
The black community needs to prepare itself to take a respected place in this diversified world.
First, I’m confused as to why you are boasting about “black strongholds” while at the same time regurgitating all that diversity rhetoric… the only thing I like about your comment is that it demonstrates the extreme assimilationist mindset of people in the UK lol – it’s a sneaky kind of assimilationism because people don’t come out and say blacks should assimilate; they use words like you used e.g. “diversified world”. Similarly, the racism in the UK is very sneaky – on the one hand the politicians and media love using buzzwords like “multiracial society”/ “diversity” etc; on the other hand UK society has to be one of the most racist societies on this earth; it is much worse than the US in that there is very little opportunity for social mobility for most black people and there is no black middle class.
Second, “black strongholds” is a strange word to use in relation to a European country. Since when do you have “black strongholds” in a country which is indigenously white? Can you have “black strongholds” in a country that is indigenously white? As immigrants to a basically white country, it could be argued that assimilation into the white mainstream is actually the natural outcome of migration for black people in the UK. Thus, in the UK there is no real option for black folk other than assimilation as the black population is tiny, social networks are very weak, and there are virtually no black institutions - e.g. nothing like HBCUs (black universities). In the UK, there is no sense of a shared struggle as in the US - indeed, in white settings most blacks studiously avoid each other! Lol!
Third, “racial ghettos” might be a better phrase than black strongholds – in the UK these generally consist of rundown areas where the most marginalized people of a particular city (both black and white) are forced to reside. Racial ghettos do not constitute black strongholds or black institutions or even black communities, and they certainly don’t represent any kind of black autonomy which is what I am talking about in this post.
Fourth, please note that this blog is targeted towards a Black American audience - I don’t think things can be improved in the UK and thus my blog probably has no relevance for blacks residing in the UK. For example, working in a black organization IN THE UK would not solve the problems I present…to be honest there is no advice I could offer to any unassimilated blacks who happen to be residing in the UK other than to make plans to relocate (as I am doing)….if you are black, you’re obviously assimilated, so you don’t need to worry about that lol!
On a personal note, I am thankful that I spent 9 years of my childhood in other countries (the US and Nigeria) - living in a black country as a child was very valuable for me in that at least I have experienced what it’s like not to constantly have to deal with racism… as an adult I have lived in Los Angeles and Barbados. As such, I regard myself as an international black person rather than a “black British” person.
Ruminations said: “Thus, in the UK there is no real option for Black folk other than assimilation as the Black population is tiny, social networks are very weak, and there are virtually no Black institutions–e.g. nothing like HCBUs (Black universities).”
Wow!!!! And I thought Black social networks were extremely weak here in the U.S.! Although in fairness, I have to admit that most Black institutions (such as they are in the U.S.) are heirlooms. The current population of African-Americans inherited them from the much more cohesive generations of African-Americans that came before us. After integration/mass assimilation we lost much of what we had. And we’re not creating enough new institutions to replace what we lost with mass assimilation.
I would appreciate hearing your thoughts about a few things. Part of the reason I’m shocked to hear your comments above is because the Black ethnic groups that live in the UK (primarily Nigerians & West Indians–please correct me if I’m wrong about this) give such an aura of being tightly-knit ethnic groups in the U.S.
What’s your take on this? Is it that, despite appearances, the ones in the U.S. really aren’t as organized as they appear to be (at least to an outsider such as myself)? Or is that they seem more tightly-knit in the U.S. because there’s a larger number of them that came here as opposed to the UK?
Khadija Said:
…I would appreciate hearing your thoughts about a few things. Part of the reason I’m shocked to hear your comments above is because the Black ethnic groups that live in the UK (primarily Nigerians & West Indians–please correct me if I’m wrong about this) give such an aura of being tightly-knit ethnic groups in the U.S.
What’s your take on this? Is it that, despite appearances, the ones in the U.S. really aren’t as organized as they appear to be (at least to an outsider such as myself)? Or is that they seem more tightly-knit in the U.S. because there’s a larger number of them that came here as opposed to the UK?
With regard to West Indians, I think the West Indians that migrated to the US have had a totally different experience to those West Indians who migrated to the UK. I believe there has even been research done which has explored possible reasons for why West Indians in the USA have been relatively successful while West Indians in the UK haven’t fared very well. Perhaps it’s because the USA is “a land of immigrants” and it has been easier for various immigrant groups (even black immigrants) to retain their cultural identity. On the other hand, in the UK, because it’s a white indigenous country, there is much more pressure for blacks to assimilate… from the very start of West Indian immigration, they started intermarrying/ assimilating with whites in large numbers. Thus it could be argued that that this removed the drive to be successful as a group. I don’t think the rate of African assimilation into the white population in the UK is as high as West Indian assimilation, but it is still pretty high. Like the Caribbean immigrants, I suspect the African immigrants in the USA do a lot better than their UK counterparts. For example, there are loads of Nigerians with university jobs in the USA; in the UK, this is a rarity as UK whites are extremely threatened by well qualified blacks. Time and time again I’ve heard about black academics who can’t get jobs in the UK who have no problem getting jobs in the US - it doesn’t appear to be such a taboo for blacks to be successful in the US, while whites in the UK seem to get really uneasy just seeing a black person who dresses well lol! In short, I just think it’s easier for blacks immigrant groups to be successful in the US as there is more opportunity for social mobility and the pressure to assimilate into the white population isn’t as high. While there is pressure to assimilate in the US and black social networks are relatively weak compared with white social networks, the situation for blacks in the UK is a million times worse – believe me!
You’re absolutely right. My mother has my family going to this multiracial church. It was started by a black man who wants to see all races and people groups at peace. There’s a pretty good turn out of all the other races at this church except for white (surprise, surprise), but most, maybe 80% of the churches leadership is white. This has always concerned me considering the church is about 70% black and 15% other, with the remainder white.
Change Agent Said:
Clare said: In the case of Malcolm X, at the end of his life, he was treated disgustingly by the Nation of Islam, and had nowhere to turn, so it’s hardly surprising that he was willing to collaborate with whites at this time…I am confident that had Malcolm lived he would have revised the opinions he formed before he died (when he was obviously under extreme stress).
I agree with you totally on this point. If you watch the videos of Malcolm before and after Mecca, you will see two entirely different people. While I am not a follower of the NOI, you can see the amount of strength and fearlessness Malcolm embodied while a member. After the break off from the NOI, Malcolm began to look tired and worn. One of the most telling videos is the one on Black Nationalism. While the words are as strong as ever, it is easy to see that the man was frayed. His suit wrinkled as though it was slept in the night prior. His attention seems to wonder from time to time and the eloquence most had become accustomed to was just a little off. Malcolm was without a doubt in turmoil, dealing with the threats by the NOI and the reality that most of black America was not supportive of him. I really believe that his softening on white relations came partially out of his desperation to not let his dream of uplifting his race die. I also believe that his change in philosophy could have been averted by strong support from the black community.
Very interesting observations – thank you!
Free Said:
… but I feel that we are sometimes our own worst enemy…Every movement for change needs leadership, direction and structure. We don’t have that.
Good points. I think if blacks generally showed more group loyalty (like other ethnic groups) that would be half the battle. The problem is that black folk have suffered particular assaults on their psyches (which other minorities haven’t suffered) which has means that many blacks act against their best interests/ are destructive towards their own group… I get the impression that in the US, the feeling of a shared struggle between blacks/ black unity has declined significantly since the 60s and 70s - which is one of the reasons why we don’t seem to have any black leaders with integrity today…despite the changes he made to his philosophy on race relations at the end of his life, I personally feel that Malcolm X was the best black leader we’ve ever had.
T Said:
… if thruout most of your life the main figures you see in authority are primarily non black and if they are black they’re usually working in concert with those who work against the interest of most blacks, most will think that is the norm if you’re not educated otherwise.
Precisely – yeah, sadly, most black figures of authority do indeed work against the interests of blacks.
Clare: Indeed, I think it’s possible that those black men who put themselves through all kinds of racial indignities and isolation simply in order to marry white women may have been overexposed to white people at some point in their lives (as a child or as an adult). Similarly this may be what causes their black female counterparts to bend over backwards to justify why white men make wonderful marriage partners (despite all the terrible things white men have done and continue to do to black people).
T: What’s interesting is that the ‘overexposure’ does not necessarily have to be direct contact but mainly thru the media esp. television. The images the t.v. protrays can shape the realities of young/immature minds to see and act in accordance or at least influence what one may do even though it may against ones best interest. One way to counter this is the more knowledge one has of the past the more one will be able to see and anticipate things that may be against ones best interest (especially in the relationship department)
Good point – you’re right - overexposure also comes through the media.
Clare: UK (the highest rate of black schizophrenia in the world).
T: That’s a very chilling statistic indeed…Makes one wonder if it’s truly schizophrenia or is it UK’s way diagnosing black folks problems if they can’t explain what it is due to lack of understanding – mainly cultural. Also, if it’s anything like in the US it may be a way of ‘pushing drugs’ for the pharmacitical companies to make big bucks off of schizophrenia like the US does with diagnosing problems so people will get hooked on pharmacitical drugs when the same could be accomplished with change of diet and exercise.
Yes, actually there has been discussion amongst mental health researchers in the UK as to whether it’s really schizophrenia or in fact racism in the diagnosis process ie British psychiatrists may be routinely misdignosing blacks with less serious mental illnesses such as depression/ manic depression and labelling it as schizophrenia.
Clare: Even the messages of seemingly “ultra-conscious” black folk seem to be at risk of being diluted by too much contact with whites. Take the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal….Malcolm X
T: The key words you used are ‘at risk’. Mumia Abu-Jamal may be experiencing something simular to what’s called the Stockholm Syndrome where one becomes symphathetic to the cause of those who captured you. In his case it’ll be mainly his white supporters (ulterior?) motives who fight for his freedom therefore providing a forum for their cause to be heard.
Interesting analysis!
T: In closing, one of Dr. Frances Cress Welsing mentors Neely Fuller stated, “if you don’t understand rascism/white supremacy, everything else will only confuse you.” That is why when dealing with most white folks keep your mindset in a defensive posture much like you’re taught when driving a vehicle because some folks don’t mind running red lights and will willingly run you over…just look at their history. By knowing what the past is we’ll be able to avoid those pitfalls in order to make or present and future better places to live.
Exactly!
Khadija Said:
Clare said: “It’s a real shame that what used to be a good Black neighborhood turned into a hellhole.”
Yes, it is a shame. It’s also a disgrace, because in my opinion, my childhood neighborhood was murdered. It, along with other previously decent Black communities, was murdered by misleadership from Black politicians and naive denial from decent Black people. Let me explain:
What killed the neighborhood was the uncontrolled influx of Section 8 recipients. Section 8 is federally subsidized housing for welfare recipients. The stated purpose was to break up the concentrated public housing hellholes and facilitate the transfer of welfare recipients to other areas. Thereby creating mixed-income communities for the recipients to live in. [I say “the stated purpose” because I’m beginning to wonder if it’s part of a long-term plan by Whites to retake the central cities.]
Wow – regarding there being a long-term plan by whites to retake the central cities, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this was the case. It’s just a shame that blacks generally collude with them - or they wouldn’t be able to get away with it. This is a theme that comes up again and again in relation to black people’s problems – if only blacks (as a group) could get it together, then whites would not get away with a lot of their assaults on black communities.
The Section 8 fiasco (or conspiracy depending upon your point of view) is only part one of this situation. Part two is gentrification. Here’s how this has played out:
After the Section 8 recipients overrun and destroy viable Black neighborhoods, the property values go way down. By that point, most Black middle-class residents have been driven out by the crime. This is when the Negro politicians start talking about “community revitalization” and bringing in White businesses (Starbucks, the Body Shoppe, etc.).
White yuppies start buying up the now-cheap property. [Whites have realized in the last two decades that they made a mistake in running out to the suburbs, and abandoning the central cities to Blacks. Their commutes from the far suburbs are a hassle, etc.]
Once enough young White professionals move into the area, the previously non-responsive police drastically crack down on crime. Soon, property values increase to the point that, even with subsidized housing, the Section 8 people can’t afford to stay in the neighborhood. And, at any rate, the increased police presence is putting a crimp in their criminal activities.
The elderly middle-class Blacks that either couldn’t afford or refused to move are also pushed out by the increased property taxes that are the result of White gentrification. There’s very little margin for increase when you’re on a fixed retirement income.
The final act is when White voters in the newly-gentrified neighborhood vote the Negro politician out of office.
Very interesting – thanks for sharing.
What sickens me most of all is the denial from the decent Black residents. If we would get serious about providing security in our areas, we could stop this pattern in its tracks.
We also need to stop allowing politicians (of any color) to dump an unlimited number of Section 8 recipients in our communities. Charity begins at home. If decent Blacks don’t have a secure base of operations, how in the world can we help those who want to work their way out of the underclass?
Peace.
Again the point I made earlier about blacks getting it together as a group and working together for their interests as a group is relevant here. No other ethnic group would allow decent communities to be destroyed as you have described; we need to start displaying normal group behavior like other peoples.
Ruminations said: “With regard to West Indians, I think the West Indians that migrated to the US have had a totally different experience to those West Indians that migrated to the UK….On the other hand, in the UK, because it’s a White indigenous country, there is much more pressure for Blacks to assimilate…from the very start of West Indian immigration, they started intermarrying/assimilating with Whites in largre numbers. Thus it could be argued that this removed the drive to be successful as a group.”
Hmmm. Very interesting theory. Thanks for explaining this.
Ruminations said: “This is a theme that comes up again and again in relation to Black people’s problems–if only Blacks (as a group) could get it together, then Whites would not get away with a lot of their assaults on Black communities.”
Absolutely correct! As usual, you’ve written an outstanding essay and have provided a forum for thought-provoking discussion. Thanks.
And as usual, I’ve learned a lot from the comments:
T: Your comments regarding Stockholm Syndrome and Mumia Abu-Jamal, and overexposure/programming through the media were brilliant!
Change Agent: Your comments regarding Malcolm’s philosophical shift after breaking with the NOI were instructive. Too many of us (myself included) listen to Malcolm’s speeches as simple entertainment and forget the tremendous pressure that he was under. He was literally a “dead man walking” during the last few months of his life.
Peace.
Khadija said:
“What killed the neighborhood was the uncontrolled influx of Section 8 recipients. Section 8 is federally subsidized housing for welfare recipients. The stated purpose was to break up the concentrated public housing hellholes and facilitate the transfer of welfare recipients to other areas. Thereby creating mixed-income communities for the recipients to live in.”
I think we have to be very careful to avoid classist mentality as a people. It is far more destructive within the black community than many realize. If we treat folks from lower income brackets with disdain, we are only perpetuating the cycle of self hatred within the community. I see so many people of color that can’t even look at each other as they pass each other in the street. It’s seperation-mentality of this nature that undoes us and continues a cycle of lost identity.
The power of the White Supremacist system has relied solely on the non-upper 1% who do recieve trickled favors to alienate the folks (the supposed bad people of color) bearing the pressure, accusations and ostracism of the rest of the supposed ‘civilized’ or ‘good people of color’.
I have witnessed officers first hand harassing low income ten year old and younger children of color (leaning into them screaming in their faces), who didn’t know how to handle it when I spoke up (they had obviously gone unchallenged and weren’t sure whether I needed a good beating or if I would cause trouble if they did go that far…).
Reality.
Folks in lower income brackets have caught serious hell on the regular. The depression and lack of care for detail is the result of this assault on their beingness. To make it worse they are looked down on by their own, who are in less constrained positions. How would this not cause an identity to emerge that is hyper-defensive? It is designed to create psychosis. Further separating is not going to heal this.
Personally I’m tired of the “high positioned” versus “lower positioned” strategy.
Even Rev Al Sharpton has created a wedge with the ‘Hip Hop community’, when what we should be doing is coming together and not criticizing from afar turning up our noses. Hip Hop became filthy when corporations stepped in to diffuse the growing appreciation for the positive Hip-Hoppers (Public Enemy, Dela Soul, and similar Afrocentric artists).
The corporations give most of the opportunities to the individuals in the Black community who will continue to push the ‘Black Gangsta’ image. We can ostracize these rappers and their following or we can dialogue within a circle of ‘us’, who come from many different environments but are nonetheless, motherland children to clean this up from within.
I started a neighborhood watch in my neighborhood to avoid Police interference that was beginning to emerge (we have children here that we refuse to have targeted by racist cops so much has been documented and presented at city hall to successfully block their effort…). The people were largely apathetic and probably wouldn’t have started one without someone standing and organizing because they were afraid and did not realize how much power the unified voice really has.
The point I make is this… Anyone who feels strongly about cleaning up a community can take a stand. It matters little what income bracket the people in your neighborhood are in if you treat them as humans and come together. Most mothers do not want their children subjected to violence. It is not difficult to appeal to someone from this perspective, for example.
I could go on and on, but I think I’ve made my primary point.
WE have to LOVE us, regardless. Love and hands on healing in the community is what will overcome racist/classist sabotage.
There is no ‘us’ against ‘them’ in the Black community… Such an idea is the seed implanted in our community to divide us, and it is the only thing that has been successful in creating division to such a strong degree.
I fully agree with sentiments in this thread regarding hiring private security for black neighborhoods. It’s a powerful idea.
Thanks Clare. Insightful and dead on point as always.
Purple Zoe said: “I think we have to be very careful to avoid classist mentality as a people. It is far more destructive within the Black community than many realize.”
Are you implying that it is classist to identify the source of the gunfire within our communities? Do you really think that it’s the Black middle class that’s shooting down other Blacks? Or should we just pretend not to notice who’s doing what among our people? This is what I mean when I talk about denial. To solve a problem, you have to clearly identify the various sources of the problem.
Let’s tell the plain truth: Most of the violence in our community is being committed by a specific demographic within our race. Casual observation lets you know that most of the violent crime within the Black community is being committed by a segment of the welfare recipient population.
In addition to getting away from denial, we also need to abandon either/or thinking. There are various levels of causes for problems: immediate, secondary, tertiary, etc. A subsection of the welfare-recipient population is the immediate cause of the carjackings, robberies, and murders within our communities. To identify this group as the immediate cause does not mean ignoring the secondary causes of institutionalized racism.
Purple Zoe said: “If we treat folks from lower income brackets with disdain, we are only perpetuating the cycle of self hatred within the community.”
Who said anything about treating folks from lower income brackets with disdain? I’m not even saying that Section 8 recipients should be totally excluded from stable Black communities. What I am saying is that we should learn from our experiences. Experience has shown that when too many welfare recipients move into an area, they duplicate the same nightmarish conditions that they themselves wanted to get away from.
I don’t know where the tipping point is, and how many are “too many.” I do know that we need to be able to have some honest conversations about all of this. How many more previously-healthy Black communities must we sacrifice?
Purple Zoe said: “I see so many people of color that can’t even look at each other as they pass each other in the street.”
This sounds like more denial. I’m assuming that you’re Black and you live in the Black community. Therefore, you really have to know that many Blacks HAVE LEARNED to be afraid of looking other people in the face. You also have to be aware of the fact that people have been assaulted and shot for “looking at someone wrong.” Let’s get real about this.
Purple Zoe said: “Anyone who feels strongly about cleaning up a community can take a stand. It matters little what income bracket the people in your neighborhood are in if you treat them as humans and come together.”
This is naive and potentially fatal. There have been several unarmed neighborhood organizers over the years that have been murdered by the gang members/drug dealers among us. I’m thinking about an entire family (I believe in Detroit) that was killed when their home was torched by gang members. The gang members didn’t appreciate the wife’s efforts in cleaning up their community.
We like to pretend that the criminals among us are like the lovable delinquents on an episode of “Welcome Back Kotter” or “Good Times” who only needed a reassuring hug and a round of singing Kumbaya. They are not. They have more in common with the brutal warlords in Somalia and the depraved child-soldiers in other parts of Africa.
If we told the truth, we would have to admit that many of the juvenile criminals among us actually ARE child-soldiers working for (or aspiring to work for) brutal warlords. And back to demographics, which population is supplying the child-soldiers among us—the Black middle class or the Section 8 population? We all know the answer.
Holding hands and singing Kumbaya is not going to solve this. The immediate problem of ensuring security once the child-soldiers and aspiring warlords are dumped among us requires professional security forces.
[As an aside, it's been extremely upsetting to note the parallels between African warlords & child-soldiers and the chaos in many African-American communties.]
As far as coming together, exactly how do you “come together” with people who feel entitled to randomly shoot volleys of gunfire each New Year’s Eve? How do you come together with mothers who feel entitled to allow their children to leave piles of broken bottles throughout the neighborhood? I won’t ask how you come together with people who want to rob, rape, and kill you. Enough already.
Purple Zoe said: “Even Rev. Al Sharpton has created a wedge with the ‘Hig Hop community,’ when what we should be doing is coming together and not criticizing from afar turning up our noses.”
Why do you accuse Rev. Sharpton of creating a “wedge” when he stood up in support of Black women’s dignity? Why don’t you describe the rappers’ actions in disrespecting Black women as “creating a wedge”? If I understand you correctly, demeaning and degrading Black women does not constitute creating a division among Blacks. However, anyone who criticizes those who demean us IS creating division among Blacks. This makes no sense.
I also note the subtle accusation of snobbery regarding what Rev. Sharpton calls a “campaign for decency.” (The bit about “turning up our noses.”)Having standards is not the same thing as snobbery. Why have we started conflating these two concepts and where did this aversion to standards come from? The more I think about this aversion, it feels like a collective admission of inferiority. Historically, our people did not have a problem with standards. Any standards anyone set, we were prepared to meet and overcome. We desperately need standards today.
Peace.
The murdered family I mentioned above lived in Baltimore. From BlackPressUSA.com:
“BALTIMORE MOURNS PARENTS, FIVE CHILDREN KILLED IN ALLEGED ‘REVENGE’ ARSON. More than 2,000 friends and neighbors paid last respect to a mother and five children of a Baltimore family who were killed in a house fire believed set by vengeful drug dealers. A day earlier, a seventh family member dies from injuries he received in the Oct. 16 fire. Funeral services were held for Angela Maria Dawson, 36; and her children, 9-year old twins Keith and Kevin, Carnell Jr. 10, Juan Ortiz, 12, and LaWanda Ortiz, 14.”
“During a press conference, police commissioner Edward Norris, calling the day the saddest in his career, admitted that the reality of life in Baltimore—despite his zero tolerance for drug dealers—is that when a family like the Dawsons is threatened by drug dealers, there is little the police can do besides relocating them for their own protection.”
“A message of death was sent to Angela and Carnell Dawson when they asked dealers selling drugs in front of their East Baltimore row house to move and set up business elsewhere. The heartless answer from these street thugs came Oct. 4 when they threw two Molotov cocktails into the family home.”
Note: this was only the first arson attack. “Mrs. Dawson, realizing the deadly danger posed by the attempted arsonist, wrote a hand-written note to police asking for help.”
The family was killed by the second arson attack two weeks later on Oct. 16. “One resident said the house looked like it ‘blew up, just burst into flames,’ as if caused by ‘an incendiary device.’”
Denying and minimizing the brutality of the criminals among us leads to not setting up the following defensive measures: No defense perimeter; no armed security guards; no look-outs. Let me be clear: I am not in any way blaming the martyred family above for their deaths. I’m saying that the “reach out and come together with the criminals” rhetoric that many of us like to engage in has deadly consequences.
Peace.
It could be naive but I believe dialogue is important between classes. Your interpretation of my take is interesting.
I embrace the stand taken against the demeaning of women and the demeaning of our people, but I do feel that an open dialogue is important so we don’t war within the community with each other more than we already do. Attacking a generation when HipHop is a wider field than ‘Gangsta’ rap can cause unnecessary separation.
I’m all too aware of the systematic conditioning we have been subjected to as a people, and feel we should make efforts to unify one person at a time even.
I certainly am not speaking of holding hands and singing Kumbaya. I don’t know where you saw such a suggestion in what I wrote.
I don’t believe I was sarcastic with you and hoped for a dialogue where we could speak without sarcasm. Maybe this is not the case. Rather than engage in a hostile dialogue when my intention is to discuss possible solutions, I’ll step back.
I can appreciate the severity of neighborhoods in deep chaos, and agree with the idea of neighborhoods investing in security. I think it’s an incredible idea. I stated that in my initial post.
The neighborhood-area I live in is semi-harsh but larger issues decreased since we began the neighborhood watch (although we have started the watch for different reasons).
For this reason I can only speak from experience.
I would like to add before I go that section 8 is not a welfare recipient program. Factually speaking it is a program for rental assistance. Plenty of section 8 and rap (another assistance program) recipients hold jobs (I think anyone making under 20K a year or somewhere in that ballpark can request it) and do not receive welfare assistance. It assists families with disabled children, adults, and etc as well.
Peace be upon you and good fortune in your efforts, Khadija.
PurpleZoe Said…
I think we have to be very careful to avoid classist mentality as a people. It is far more destructive within the black community than many realize. If we treat folks from lower income brackets with disdain, we are only perpetuating the cycle of self hatred within the community…WE have to LOVE us, regardless. Love and hands on healing in the community is what will overcome racist/classist sabotage.
I think the point you make about avoiding classist mentality is very valid in relation to black people generally – we do need to avoid a classist mentality. At the same time, Khadija’s plea to face up to a serious problem is equally valid and Khadija has clearly explained the rationale behind her arguments:
…To solve a problem, you have to clearly identify the various sources of the problem. Let’s tell the plain truth: Most of the violence in our community is being committed by a specific demographic within our race. Casual observation lets you know that most of the violent crime within the Black community is being committed by a segment of the welfare recipient population… I’m not even saying that Section 8 recipients should be totally excluded from stable Black communities. What I am saying is that we should learn from our experiences. Experience has shown that when too many welfare recipients move into an area, they duplicate the same nightmarish conditions that they themselves wanted to get away from. I don’t know where the tipping point is, and how many are “too many.” I do know that we need to be able to have some honest conversations about all of this. How many more previously-healthy Black communities must we sacrifice?… There have been several unarmed neighborhood organizers over the years that have been murdered by the gang members/drug dealers among us. I’m thinking about an entire family (I believe in Detroit) that was killed when their home was torched by gang members. The gang members didn’t appreciate the wife’s efforts in cleaning up their community… As far as coming together, exactly how do you “come together” with people who feel entitled to randomly shoot volleys of gunfire each New Year’s Eve? How do you come together with mothers who feel entitled to allow their children to leave piles of broken bottles throughout the neighborhood? I won’t ask how you come together with people who want to rob, rape, and kill you.
If you want a constructive dialogue, you need to be fair…Khadija is rightly concerned about the destruction of decent black neighborhoods and has suggested a number of solutions. I don’t think it’s fair to imply (no matter how politely or subtly you do this) that she is advocating classism/ divisions among blacks.
Purple Zoe said: “I don’t believe I was sarcastic with you and hoped for a dialogue where we could speak without sarcasm.”
I apologize if my comments were angry, sarcastic, or part of a hostile dialogue. I must admit that I am extremely angry about the destruction of my childhood neighborhood.
However, let me explain what elicits that type of response from me: I’m deeply resentful of decent people being put on the defensive when they voice disapproval of the violent and destructive behavior of the Black underclass. It’s as if any Black person that has a problem with underclass/prison/criminal culture has to first prove that: (1) they are not an Uncle Tom, and (2) that they are not a snob before they might be granted permission to obejct to the madness in the Black community.
The Blacks who are killing other Black people are never challenged as to whether or not they have any loyalty to Black people. They are never challenged “to LOVE us, regardless.” The things they do are never characterized as “treating folks from” [higher] “income brackets with disdain.” They are never accused of creating wedges and division within the community. And never accused of, God forbid, being snobs.
Maybe I misinterpreted the spirit of your comments, but it felt as if you were speaking as if (of the two of us) you are the only one that truly loves Black people regardless. And that you are the only one that is in favor of dialogue. I’m all for dialogue, therapy, and whatever else has to happen to repair the many sick people among us. However, we can’t address any of that in the absence of physical safety.
[Regarding classism: I'm not really sure what relevance this has to do with the Black community. The number of us that are actually upper-middle or even middle class is small (using "White folk's" income scale). What we call middle class is actually working class and lower middle class. Even those of us in the middle-class are, at most, only two generations away from abject poverty. We're also, typically, one missed paycheck away from homelessness. However, reasonable minds can disagree about this.]
I’m also weary of empty slogans. Had you described a specific plan for “coming together” I would have been delighted to hear it and discuss its merits. These slogans all sound the same to me at this point: “knowledge of self;” “put our arms around our youth;” “it takes a village.” The slogans have become a substitute for a real plan with concrete steps.
I’m still interested in (and eager to discuss) any concrete ideas and suggestions that you have for improving our people’s circumstances.
Peace.
Khadija, I just wanted to commend you on your brilliant last two responses to Purple Zoe’s posts. I think it is the fear of being labelled a “sell out” that has discouraged a necessary and warranted aggressive critique and comdemnation of those amongst us who for whatever reason, (self hatred, childhood abuse, etc…
want to destroy us. When we get serious about change and saving ourselves there will be no such hesitation in identifying and removing any threat to our survival irregardless of the social strata in which it originates.
Ruminations said:”If you want a constructive dialogue, you need to be fair…I don’t think it’s fair to imply (no matter how politely or subtly you do this) that she is advocating classism/division among Blacks.”
Jane said:”I think that it is the fear of being labelled a ’sell out’ that has discouraged a necessary and warranted aggressive critique and condemnation of those amongst us who for whatever reason, (self-hatred, childhood abuse, etc…
WANT TO DESTROY US.” [Emphasis added by me.]
To both of you: Thanks for your support. I knew that my loyalty to the Black community would be questioned (subtly and otherwise) once I attacked the “sacred cow” of Black underclass violence, and made the connection between this behavior and the destruction of decent Black communities.
Jane, you’re absolutley correct: Honest discussion of this issue is taboo among us; and anybody who wants to speak honestly about this is quickly silenced by accusations of snobbery, classism, Uncle Tomism, etc.
I refuse to be silenced.
It’s a peculiar thing: we only seem to rally around Black people who are doing great harm to the rest of us. There’s plenty of compassion for the criminals who destroy our communities and our lives, but no compassion for their victims. That’s why I felt it was important to post the details about the Black family that was murdered after objecting to other Blacks turning the front of their house into an open-air drug market. Who even remembers them?
Again, it’s a weird thing: When discussing these matters in person, I usually don’t have to deal with “sell out” accusations—-I think my African-American Muslim identity and name discourage people from playing “Blacker-than-thou” with me. LOL!
To all who disagree with my comments: As I told Purple Zoe, I welcome serious conversation about these issues. I don’t claim to have any, much less all, the answers. What I have at best are suggestions. I don’t have a problem with anyone disagreeing with my positions. I think anyone who has paid attention to the totality of my comments at this blog have noticed that I’m a big girl, and capable of reconsidering my positions in the face of better information. I just don’t like being bashed with empty slogans, and playing “Blacker-than-thou.”
Peace.
I think that both Zoe and Khadija make some valid points. But from where I stand I see two types of black people that are enemies. They are the more affluent assimilationist blacks with a little money/influence that are willing to turn their back on the black community for the slightest crumbs.Then there are the criminal hoods that destroy the black community at all cost so they can live in confort. These two elements are two sides of the same coin. No matter which one they are, they seem to revel in conspicuous consumption,materialism,excessive individualism and self-hate. The more affluent ones give the middle class its black eye and the less affluent ones of this type gives the lower classes its black eye. The best way to get rid of them both is for the sensible elements of all these segments to create and support viable like alternatives schools , businesses,etc. I also agree the suggestion of block clubs, private security guards,etc.Judging from things, this IS long overdue.I also think these folks should be called out, but what would be better is to beware of the mentality of both of these characters and make concerted effort not to pick up these traits; and create the norms,institutions to counteract them. But in discussions like these, alot of times, the problem seems to be that people do not make a point of isolating the elements of the characters they are talking about by clearly distinguishing between the constructive elements of the different groups and the nonconstructive ones. I say this because alot of times when people criticize the black underclass, they do not distinguish the law-abiding element-which is the vast majority-from the hardcore criminal element. Or when they criticize the black middle class, they do distinguish between the ones that have not forgot where they came from and give back-from the ones that have rejected the community and don’t. I would also like to say that while we do these things, we should have some compassion on these types of people, because if not for fate,God,education, hope or whatever-we could be them. However, when they do not make the concerted effort to improve, confront, go around them, and continue getting together with the constructive ones. I guess I am just saying that the problem is crossclass and that they are two sides of the same coin.
I think that both Zoe and Khadija make some valid points. But from where I stand I see two types of black people that are enemies. They are the more affluent assimilationist blacks with a little money/influence that are willing to turn their back on the black community for the slightest crumbs.Then there are the criminal hoods that destroy the black community at all cost so they can live in confort. These two elements are two sides of the same coin. No matter which one they are, they seem to revel in conspicuous consumption,materialism,excessive individualism and self-hate. The more affluent ones give the middle class its black eye and the less affluent ones of this type gives the lower classes its black eye. Because one takes takes out the community without giving back and one destroy the community without putting anything with it. The best way to get rid of them both is for the sensible elements of all these segments to create and support viable like alternatives schools , businesses,etc. I also agree the suggestion of block clubs, private security guards,etc.Judging from things, this IS long overdue.I also think these folks should be called out, but what would be better is to beware of the mentality of both of these characters and make concerted effort not to pick up these traits; and create the norms,institutions to counteract them.I have seen the actions of both of these types and I’m am disturbed by it. But in discussions like these, alot of times, the problem seems to be that people do not make a point of isolating the elements of the characters they are talking about by clearly distinguishing between the constructive elements of the different groups and the nonconstructive ones. I say this because alot of times when people criticize the black underclass, they do not distinguish the law-abiding element-which is the vast majority-from the hardcore criminal element. Or when they criticize the black middle class, they do distinguish between the ones that have not forgot where they came from and give back-from the ones that have rejected the community and don’t. I would also like to say that while we do these things, we should have some compassion on these types of people, because if not for fate,God,education, hope or whatever-we could be them. However, when they do not make the concerted effort to improve, confront, go around them, and continue getting together with the constructive ones. I guess I am just saying that the problem is cross class and that they are two sides of the same coin-and should probably be dealt with that way more often. One more thing, when people mention structural issues, the misconception seems to be that people are implying that the people they are talking about do not have agency or are justified in what they do when that is not necessarily true.Just that these if big things are not addressed,they give ammunition to the bad decisions of these types of people-who do not need to be excused.These things need to be looked at to solve the symptom once and for all. I say this because we live in a society that wants quick answers and simple solutions when things are often more complex than this-and black people are not immune to this.
I need to make a correction.
I meant to say or when they criticize the black middle class, they do NOT distinguish between the ones…you get it.
I would also like to say to Khadija that I do not assume she necessarily want quick answers and simple solutions-judging from her other posts-but when people mention the issues she bring up-it DOES come across that way to me that they seem to be the type like this. Also, I live in a neighborhood in transition so I have seen the blacks that have turned their back on the neighborhood and the rising crime in the neighborhood from some of the tough street element of poor.
abw said: “…[f]rom where I stand I see two types of Black people that are enemies. They are the more affluent assimilationist Blacks with a little money/influence that are willing to turn their back on the Black community for the slightest crumbs. Then there are the criminal hoods that destroy the Black community at all cost so they can live in comfort. These two elements are two sides of the same coin. No matter which one they are, they seem to revel in conspicuous consumption, materialism, excessive individualism and self-hate.”
Amen! And thank you for expressing the point that I wanted to get across much more clearly than I was able to communicate it myself. In the course of acting out their sickness (extreme individualism, materialism, and self-hatred) both groups of internal enemies are destroying the rest of us.
I also agree that simultaneous multiple strategies to deal with this need to happen: efforts to “de-program” the sick people that can still listen to reason; protect ourselves (physically and politically) from the ones that can’t listen; and create/strengthen institutions that support healthy, self-respecting Black people (to prevent this mental contagion from spreading any further). As I said earlier, the analysis & strategy needs to be “both/and” and not “either/or.”
Also, as you said, the problem is “cross-class.” This is one of the reasons that I’m not really convinced that class issues are relevant to the Black community. In my view, the underlying problems revolve around values, not class/income. Both categories of internal enemies have the same distorted values and are worshipping the same “golden calf” at the same altar.
To me, it’s not about money. [As mentioned before, most of us are one missed paycheck away from homelessness; and at most two generations away from abject poverty.]Those of us that are still clinging to “old-school” Black values are in one category [regardless of income]. Those of us that have bought into White materialism and individualism [and let's just call it what it is---selfishness] are in another category [regardless of income].
Peace.
I am glad you commented Khadija.I am glad you clarified.I disagree that class is not an issue because it is an issue for the whole world in general, and this country, in particular. We are not immune from classism because we are part of the world and this country.I think more importance should be put on class, but I am well aware that it is not the only issue. Problems affecting black people are based on internal/external colonialism,racism,class and other ism’s. Part of the problems with our value systems stem from this and are made worse because of them. We need to be aware of this stuff;and we do need a change of values though. We need constructive criticism too. I just feel like sometimes, rich and middle class black people generally are too quick to make poor black people the whipping post of things that they are not immune to themselves(and don’t intend to fix) even though I am not poor. I also feel that folks focus on personal responsibility to hide their acceptance of the way things are and their culpability in situations for not trying to be of any assistance.That was my issue with, for example” Cosby when he said “the middle class and poor” did not keep up their end of the deal without criticising the role of the black elite.I would not have had any problems if he called out the foibles of the whole community and criticized it class by class because we do need it. He talked nearly only about how the poor buy “100″ dollar sneakers, but why not the lexuses some middle class live to buy every year when they ain’t paid for the first, or the luxury boats,krystal, furs, and blood diamonds of the black elite. I will just say that the poor are not above criticism but the criticism should not stop at them; and they should not be allowed to be the scapegoat of all wrong with Black America and the country. Thank You.
Oh, about the personal responsibility part, I know you did not really bring that up.
abw raises the topic of Bill Cosby….
Khadija silently rolls her eyes and shakes her head slowly at the mention of this name…..[Smile!]
Which Bill Cosby are you referring to? The “he cheats on his beautiful Black wife” Bill Cosby? The “he cheats on his beautiful Black wife with White women” Bill Cosby? The “he has no interest in supporting his alleged illegitimate child so she grows up to attempt to extort money from him” Bill Cosby?
I find it extremely difficult to entertain lectures about personal accountability from persons whose lives do not reflect those values.
If he would show some humility and acknowlege his own failures to practice what he’s preaching, I would be somewhat more receptive to listening to what he has to say. He talks about all of the negative behaviors as if he’s never participated in them. For all we know, he’s a deadbeat “baby daddy” [God, I hate these expressions that we've come up with to accommodate our family disintegration!] just like the fools he criticizes.
On the other hand, despite the distaste I feel for him, I find that there are large chunks of truth in what I’ve read of his statements.
I agree with you that the Black poor should not be scapegoats for all that is wrong with Black America. However, they also shouldn’t be lifted up as sacred cows that are above reproach.
In terms of the personal responsibility issue: No, I didn’t originally bring it up, but since you mentioned it…[LOL!] This is another area where reasonable minds can disagree. To me, the issue boils down to a person’s beliefs regarding free will. I believe in free will. This doesn’t mean that I ignore the impact of external circumstances, but I believe that at the end of the day people make choices in their lives [excluding those persons who are truly insane & otherwise seriously impaired].
However, I realize that my perspective on things is different from that of many Blacks. I know that I’ve been affected by the years that I spent doing indigent criminal defense. Years ago, one of my mentors [a feisty Black woman that prosecutors fear] warned me that once you start doing criminal cases in volume, you no longer view people the same way that laypersons on juries see people.
She was right. I went into it believing all the typical dogma regarding the Black underclass which absolves them of any responsibility for their actions. Ultimately, I had to stop doing criminal defense for my own peace of mind. This is what I learned before I changed my area of practice:
[1] People do what they want to do. The excuses and fake remorse only comes after they’ve been caught. At first, I was amazed by the number of clients that delighted in bragging about and showing off their atrocities with cell phone videos that they played at parties. The very last criminal case that I second-chaired with a coworker involved a client that had allegedly bragged at parties about how he had set the apartment fire that resulted in the deaths of a husband and his four children.
[2] People can rationalize and justify absolutely anything that they want to do. For example, regarding the stepdaughters that they had molested, many of the clients would try to “explain” this to me by stating that the girl “was already having sex.” I suppose this is the underlying theory behind this excuse: Non-virginal girl = already “ruined” = deserving prey.
I did my job, and got “Not Guilty” verdicts in several of these cases. Most of these clients’ girlfriends would “stand by their men” and were more interested in maintaining their relationship [such as it was] with these guys than protecting their own daughters. In the child welfare court context, I did my assigned job and helped many of these types of mothers regain custody of their sons only and leave their victimized daughters in foster care.
[3] The prevailing dogma in the Black community that absolves them of any free will or personal responsibility is a useful cover for Black predators. The predators that I defended weren’t as eloquent as Michael Eric Dyson, but they were almost as talented as he is in terms of “spinning” excuses for inexcusable behavior.
It’s time for me to leave memory lane for now. [Khadija silently rolls her eyes at the thought of Michael Eric Dyson...]
abw: Thank you for your thoughts. I learn a lot from each exchange of ideas. [Kudos to Clare for providing this forum.]
Peace.
Khadija I must say for the first time I am completely dissapointed in your post. You forgot the Bill Cosby that abused his female house guest and paid her off to avoid a trial that included up to 10 additional victims. Talk about a man of strong moral character. LOL!
You are correct! Free will is our way out of the jungle culture that we’ve found many of our brethren forced into. The only problem is that too many seek after the riches and prosperity dangled before them and lose their sense of responsibility. They are faced daily with making a choice of money before morality with money providing the immediate gratification.
We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog discussion to announce that Change Agent has caught Khadija in a glaring error of omission regarding “America’s Dad,” author of the best-selling book titled “Fatherhood,” that paragon of virtue: Dr. William H. Cosby…..[Gasp! Shudder!][LOL!!!]
So many scandals, so little time. I must confess that Dr. William H. Cosby dropped off my radar after the attempted extortion incident. I know, I know, I should have kept up. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I vaguely recall the incident you described above. Since I didn’t bother to read the news stories about this settlement, I had no idea that Dr. William H. Cosby allegedly was an aspiring rapist.
Perhaps he should write an additional book about the handling and use of date-rape drugs. I’m sure that Dr. William H. Cosby realizes that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. I’m also pretty sure that there’s an audience eager for his expert guidance in this subject.
In light of the above, Dr. William H. Cosby should strongly consider inviting R. Kelly to join him in his book tour & lecture series.
We now return to our regularly scheduled blog discussion….
Change Agent: In all seriousness, thanks for pointing out this critical piece of information. I try to keep a running tab of those among us [who have a platform, and are therefore potentially dangerous] who have gone beyong being merely annoying to being ultra-foul.
Peace.
I see choices and circumstances as being responsible for the problems we see. I really do. I just stress circumstances because circumstances contribute to certain choices. Also because some people have not been able to leave poverty despite making good decisions. But I know choice is a factor for the simple fact that everybody poor,abused,etc. have not taken out their anger on the world though a few have.They made correct choices inspite of this. Also, that people with more advantages in life have made dumb choices just cause-not out of well-meaning intentions,risk,-just cause.Oh, yeah-and Bill Cosby’s foibles were not lost on me either.This did not help his cause with me either!He scolds black kids for underestimating education(sports/entertainment) although he dropped out to pursue comedy.I think he did go back and he DOES give to a few HBCU’s but he tell people to go to school and not take risk though he did. He talk about how the poor and middle class do not raise their kids although he had a daughter with a drug habit. I have empathy for her and know she could very well be me; and I am aware he makes mistakes because we all do being human. But he is chastising others on their parenting skills while his own kids went astray(which seems to show he made at least a few mistakes in the said department.)He complains about people having kids out of wedlock when he is accused of the same thing.He calls out rap-accurately for misogyny and violence against women although he is accused of rape by two women we know of. The irony-the double standards. Personal responsibility is commonsense;and it would behoove people to follow it and not ignore it or whatever-but that just it. These guru/pundits/advocates that proclaim personal responibility seem to do a questionable job of following their own advice. He is not the first shining light of personal responsibility to fall short of it. I know he is human and people make mistakes but it IS silly to judge and call people out on the same mistakes you make. I do not hate the man but I have issues with his message-specially since he has not always step up to the plate himself. Peace.
LMAO@Khadija
Change Agent said: “Free will is our way out of the jungle culture that we’ve found many of our brethren forced into. The only problem is that too many seek after the riches and prosperity dangled before them and lose their sense of responsibility.”
I think you’re being generous with our “talented tenth.” Too many of us [yes, I'll lump myself into this category for the purposes of this conversation] never had a sense of responsibility to our brethren to begin with. And, as abw has eloquently pointed out, the entire Black community has “foibles” [abw is being generous and polite by using this word] that need to be called out and addressed class by class.
The only difference [and it is a critical one in terms of setting priorities for the "call-out"] is that in general, the Black middle class is not running around beating, carjacking, raping, and killing people. We are also not generating the people among us that are engaged in these activities. This is why I keep bringing up underclass violent crime in these discussions. Our lives are in danger!!! And right now, it’s not the Klan that is the greatest immediate threat to your life and that of your family.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what steps I can take to increase my own and my loved ones’ safety. I hope as many of us as possible will pull the rose petals off our glasses and start taking steps to protect ourselves from some of our brethren.
Change Agent was also being generous in referring to what’s going on as “jungle culture.” It’s gone way beyond that: We are 1.5 steps away from Rwanda. It’s getting closer; I can feel it. Can you? Our lives are in grave danger.
This is what I’ve been contemplating lately: Not only has the nature of poverty changed over the years, but the nature of crime among us has also changed. We desperately need to change our priorities to meet this new threat. This means that we have to change our discourse away from our knee-jerk excuse-making if we want to save our lives. I submit to you that our focus on external circumstances will be the death of us if we don’t change course. And soon…Rwanda is right around the corner. Let me explain why I’m saying this:
Black people have always been poor, but before now we always had dignity. No matter how poor we were, we still lived our lives with self-respect.
For example my parents, etc. grew up in tenements—nobody urinated in the hallways as has become a common practice in the housing projects that were built to replace these tenements. Whenever I hear people talking about our external enemies, my mind often drifts back to the question: How does fill-in-the-blank-external issue explain people urinating on the floors of their own hallways? Something other than poverty has people pissing in their own hallways. We need to rethink our analysis of this situation.
The nature of the crimes we commit has changed also. We’ve learned how to commit crimes against humanity. Even worse, we’ve also developed a critical mass of Black people that are comfortable and accepting of these crimes [as long as they aren't committed against them]. This is extremely dangerous. This gets back to the clients’ bragging and cell phone videos that I mentioned above. I wasn’t all that shocked at the clients; I was shocked that there’s an accepting audience of Blacks that enjoys watching this stuff.
This mindset is more common than most of us realize. And it’s not just limited to the Black underclass. The same excuse that I heard from the clients who molested their girlfriends’ daughters ["she was already having sex"] is the same justification that I’ve heard from middle-class Blacks regarding the R. Kelly child molestation case. ["You can tell from the video that this girl is experienced." As if this makes it okay.]I’ve gotten into arguments with other middle-class Black women about this. I’ve even heard that people have set this video to music. Just imagine—there are Black people out there shaking their rumps to the backdrop of an underage Black girl being molested.
This attitude is what genocide is made of.
I’m only mentioning class here to emphasize that this depraved mindset is not limited to the underclass. The violent underclass acts this stuff out, and many of the rest of us condone it by making excuses.
[On that note, why is Dr. William H. Cosby still being received in respectable circles? Yes, I believe in the presumption of innocence etc. However, anybody with his type of scandal shouldn't be invited to speak to anybody about anything. This is another example of moral squalor and devaluing women. As I suggested above, it would be equally appropriate to have R. Kelly talk to our young people. But, I digress from my main point...]
Brace yourself for the rest of this; it’s beyond sickening. Why do I say we’re 1.5 steps from Rwanda? One case and our lack of response to it: the Dunbar Village gang rape case. Broad outline of this incident: Dunbar Village is a housing project in West Palm Beach Florida. A few months back (I think in June), 10 Black teenage males invaded an apartment that a Haitian woman and her 12 year old son lived in. These individuals spent approximately 3 hours gang-raping the woman and beating her son. As their finale, they forced this woman at gunpoint to perform oral sex on her own son. They then poured cleaning fluids over the two and into the boy’s eyes (temporarily blinding him). Apparently, they intended to set the two on fire, but couldn’t find a lighter.
Despite screams echoing through paper-thin walls, not a single neighbor lifted a finger to dial 911 during this marathon atrocity. And, if the quotes from the local papers are accurate, the neighbors are still rather blase about all of this. The mother and son had to walk themselves to the nearest hospital after the attack.
This attitude is what genocide is made of. These are the sorts of crimes I previously only read about happening in death camps. Your life is in grave danger.
In addition, none of our national leaders or organizations have responded to this situation. Just Google this story and the blogs covering it. You’ll be amazed. I think part of our lack of response stems from the fact that this atrocity doesn’t fit into our habitual paradigm of “Let’s rally around the young Black men who are under attack from the slavemaster.”
We need to change this paradigm to accomodate taking steps to protect ourselves from some of our brethren. Another part of our lack of response stems from the fact that Black women’s lives are considered to have no value at this point. We’ve had about 25 years of hip-hop marketing the hatred & denigration of Black women. Marketing matters, and plays a part in influencing people. If it didn’t, companies wouldn’t spend huge sums of money on advertising.
When I hear Michael Eric Dyson spin his fast-talk excuses, I wonder what would happen to him if he was tossed into prison among the very people he ardently defends: he would probably be raped.
Thank you for indulging me in this long-winded ramble. This has been on my mind for a while now. I don’t mind admitting that I’m worried. I’m worried for my own safety, and yours too. Our people are on a death march into the abyss, and we’re going to need as many conscious people as possible still around to stop it. Please do what you can to protect yourself and your loves ones.
Peace.
Khadija, I feel also that we are on a slow march to “something”, though I’m not sure what. When I look globally at what is happening to Black women I can’t help but think that it is all connected some how. From the particularly vile deboquery(?splg)being perpetrated on Black women and children in the Congo by Black male soldiers; to the vilification of black women in western media; and to our seeming indifference to black death period be it the physical death seen in the genocide in Sudan or the mental Black death that is encouraged by this white supremists culture.
I think that as a group in this culture we have become used to the idea of black suffering and death to a certain degree, this is nothing new to us. However it seems that we are in the midst of becoming accostomed now to black torture and murder. Are we being ‘fattened up for the kill’ (so to speak). I too am very unnerved. And, where is the resistence? Is this the end of us? I don’t know.
Jane said: “…I feel also that we are on a slow march to ’something,’ though I’m not sure what. When I look globally at what is happening to Black women I can’t help but think that it is all connected somehow.”
We’re on a slow march to total irrelevance; similar to that which exists in Africa. For all practical purposes, Africa has dropped off of this planet. Africans don’t control anything of significance, and they don’t influence anything that happens on the continent. Africa exists now as a playground for other people’s agendas—from Chinese entrepreneurs to Western multinational corporations to Bin Laden. They are free to starve and do whatever they want to do to each other [as in Rwanda], as long as they don’t interfere with these other people’s plans.
So it will be with us, if we don’t change course right now. Other ethnic groups [Latinos, Asians, and other "honorary Whites"] are riding our civil rights coattails, and living out their dreams at our expense.
We are well on our way to becoming a permanent underclass in this country. White America currently makes a lot of money off of “servicing” our dysfunction—from the prison contractors to the social service agencies to the court systems. Because there’s still a lot of money to be made off of us, I don’t foresee genocide coming from the outside [at this point].
However, non-Blacks will let us stage our own “mini-Rwandas” as long as we keep the atrocities confined to our quarantine zones [otherwise known as slums]. In time, we will be submitting our pleas to Hispanic-American and Asian-American overlords. For a sneak peek at coming attractions throughout the country, just look at how Black folks have fared under the Cubans in Florida and the Mexican mayor in Los Angeles.
I think you’re right that it’s all connected. It’s similar to the pattern in Africa. Outsiders started many of the problems, and we [due to brainwashing & poor strategic choices] keep these problems going. Now the sheer increasing numbers of dysfunction among us is creating a qualitative change in our dysfunction.
As you noted, we’re escalating to becoming used to inflicting torture and murder on each other [and enjoying it as entertainment].
There is resistance. If you Google Dunbar Village on the blogs, you’ll find that several steadfast Black women have stepped up to the plate to deal with this atrocity. It was a very small gesture on my part, but I felt somewhat less agitated after contributing to the fund at the victim’s church. I would suggest that we all look for something that we can do to help. This woman and her son need help relocating, not to mention counseling, etc.
There is also still a chance to turn our march toward permanent underclass status around. As I said in an earlier comment, I don’t claim to have answers. For now, all I can suggest is that we look for ways to strenghten and build our families and Black institutions. In my case, I was happy that cousins and I were finally able to convince other relatives to pool their money, stop renting, and buy an affordable building to live in. The positive changes that I’ve seen seem to happen one acquaintance and one relative at a time.
Peace.
@ Khadija
I agree with most of your post, but I found a few statements quite troubling. For example, you said
“When I hear Michael Eric Dyson spin his fast-talk excuses, I wonder what would happen to him if he was tossed into prison among the very people he ardently defends: he would probably be raped.”
This sure reads like you are advocating rape and I don’t it serves anyone to make this statement. And rape in prison is just as little talked about as Dunbar Village and the kicker is that black women pay for male prison rape as well. For when your man comes home and doesn’t tell you what happened to him in prison, you don’t know what you are getting.
You clearly do not know much about Dyson either. I am not saying he does not DESERVE to be criticized. I am beyond disturbed at a lot of his recent defending of hip hop, but he has been an advocate for black women when they were none. Further, he has a brother on death row and he was a teenage father on welfare himself. He knows a lot about the “very people” you are talking about because he was one of those people. That might explain why he is a tad bit sensitive to the black us versus black them dialogue. Dyson almost made a lot of the same points about Cosby that are being discussed in the comments here. No credit for that? I don’t find it so easy to disregard nearly 20 years of academic work and social commentary because you disagree with a few comments.
Further, this statement:
“We’ve had about 25 years of hip-hop marketing the hatred & denigration of Black women.”
is completing inaccurate. Hip Hop has only been around a little over 30-35 years and in its early days there were plenty of positive images and voices of black women. In the early 1990s, you had the Queen Latifah, Yo-Yo, Monie Love, and many others that voiced empowering messages for young black women and what happened? Black women FAILED to support these artists. We didn’t buy their records, we did go see them in concert, and they disappeared. Now we are stuck with that mess they are churning out now.
Yes, black women, all women are being victimized by hip hop music and culture, but we also had a valuable opportunity to make our voices heard in that genre and failed to support the opportunity. We could have had our voices counted and we turned our backs. We have some responsibility in our current status in hip hop culture.
Hip Hop music and culture does not explain why we have legions of women of color and white women either completely clueless or completely silent about Dunbar Village. Oprah has a townhall meeting over Imus, but is silent as church over Dunbar Village. Why aren’t we protesting her? Her media and marketing machine has been just a adept at silencing particular kinds of black women and particular issues that affect black women. NOW was more upset over Hilary’s cleavage than about discussing Dunbar Village. How many times have the great white mother organizations used their media and marketing machines to marginalize women of color?
The hip hop blame game is troubling to me because I could point the same fingers at numerous other cultural genres that damage the black community and black folk don’t want to talk about those. Hip Hop is a easy fall guy.
“Lately, I’ve been thinking about what steps I can take to increase my own and my loved ones’ safety. I hope as many of us as possible will pull the rose petals off our glasses and start taking steps to protect ourselves from some of our brethren.”
um, “Khadija”, is it?
I’d like to know how us good negroes intend to protect ourselves from the bad ones. Surely you have ideas.
Could you give us just a couple of bullets?
khadija, your posts on this blog have been the most refreshing writings I have seen in ages.
You are not alone in your thoughts and beliefs.
The comparison to Rwanda and Sudan is completely accurate.
Wow. I can’t respond to everything that was said. But I just want to say that I’m glad to find like-minded people, and look forward to reading future posts.
Tracey said:”…This sure reads like you are advocating rape and I don’t it serves anyone to make this statement.”
I’m shocked to hear that it could be interpreted that way. That is NOT AT ALL what I meant. And I also didn’t mean the statement as sarcasm or irony. Let me try to restate the point I was trying to make another way: I question whether most of the excuse-makers have any real concept of what the criminals among us are capable of doing to THEM personally.
The excuse-makers discuss these horrific crimes in such a dispassionate, clinical manner that I begin to wonder if they have any empathy whatsoever for the victims. Typically, they gloss over the victim’s suffering with a quick statement like “Of course, it’s a terrible tragedy..blah, blah..” and quickly get to the real focus of their efforts: excusing the inexcusable. It’s almost like they think their advocacy on behalf of the violent underclass is going to keep them safe. Excuse-spinners talk about these atrocities as if they don’t understand that they could be the next victim.
As far as Michael Eric Dyson’s personal history, or any advocacy that he has done for Black women; you’re right: I don’t know much of anything about him aside from the fact that what I have heard from him annoys me. If you could suggest any reading material that would give the broader picture of his past support of Black women, I’d appreciate it.
Regarding prison rape (and consensual sexual activity in prison too): I think we as a people need to contemplate the motto from the gay activist group ACT-UP: SILENCE = DEATH. I’ll try to keep this part quick, because this is one of my foam-at-the-mouth-soap-box-rant issues. Our cultural taboo against honest discussion of sex is killing us. The taboo against having any sort of a conscious plan as to how one is going to manage one’s sex life is only part of the problem.
[My religious community is really, really bad about this. "If you just stay away from zina (fornication/adultery) everything will be a-okay." Nobody wants to talk about how you being faithful won't protect you from STDs if your husband is unfaithful, or other real-life scenarios.]
Denial/wishful thinking on the part of Black women is another part of this problem. Do we really think that our men take vows of chastity when they go to prison? Do we really believe that our men can single-handedly fend off sexual attacks from twenty other guys? Or would we rather just not think about it?
When our beloved is a drug addict, does it really never occur to us that he might be giving sexual favors to Mr. Drug Dealer in exchange for drugs? When we choose to stay with men who are unfaithful to us, do we really think they use condoms with their women/men on the side? Or would we rather not think about it?
Regarding what you’ve called “the hip hop blame game”: Let me state my biases up front—I have zero affection for this genre of music. I couldn’t stand most of it as a teenager in the ’80’s; and I dislike it even more as an adult. I agree with you that this stuff is not the sole, or even primary cause of what’s wrong with Black folks. We had a lot of pre-existing issues that made us vulnerable to a variety of negative influences. However, I do believe that hip hop is exacerbating our problems by marketing life/community-damaging ideas to young & impressionable minds.
Tracey said:”…I could point the same fingers at numerous other cultural genres that damage the Black community and Black folk don’t want to talk about those. Hip Hop is an easy fall guy.”
I say let’s call-out any and every cultural genre that’s damaging the Black community. Every single one. Including things that I might happen to like. The same way I’ve decided to reconsider and give up