Studying African-American History is Vital For Our (Re)claiming It From the Culture Vultures

Will we be eulogizing the death of the "Negro" as we once knew ourselves? 

Every day a little bit of our heritage is being tossed on the garbage heap and mocked at as some of us walk - no run -  away from our "Blackness". We think we're freeing ourselves from a life of being thought of as less-than but we're just exchanging one set of shackles for another. If the Ghetto Fabulous/Bling Bling lifestyle doesn't make us permanent paupers, the sexing of any Black man (baby daddy, abuser, married, ex-con, unemployed) with a working appendage is going to kill Black women faster than anything else. The Slave Catchers won't have anyone to rail against because there won't be anyone left who's claiming to be Black.  The Pseudo-Intellegentsia bunch won't have anyone to point fingers at and look down on. White people can't understand them anyway with all that double-speak of long-windedness. Martyrdom offers no death benefits, only death. With no Black women comes the end of our society as we know it.

I'm tired of being assaulted by images of crack pipes, dirty diapers, crying babies and hood life. That was not my existence. Or worse having to endure the complete over-compensation with bragging about fast cars, fancy champagne and all the women some really unattractive guy has slept with. I'm also tired of being simultaneously ignored and vilified, told I'm not attractive because my hair doesn't blow in the wind, etc. If you were looking for a husband would any women of substance is her right mind attach herself to an uneducated, consumerist, perpetually un(der)employed, spiritually bankrupt male? Well not if she wants to elevate herself and any future children she may have. 

I made the mistake of turning to an Urban radio station last week. There was some song on where the guy was singing about laying a woman on a table to have sex with her and videotape it. Ugh! I only wish it had been phrased that mildly. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the depravity that passes for typical Black music today but I was disgusted. I told my sister that I just don't listen to these stations anymore for a reason and she replied the music had always been raunchy but it was more cleverly disguised back then. So I had to think about that. 

I'm talking the 70's & 80's. Now I remember album covers of groups like the Ohio Players who objectified women for sure with them pouring jars of honey on themselves and whatnot but they were (usually) visibly Black women, right? {I had to go searching for it - here}. I do feel as if I'm somehow trying to justify it, but you'll find an equally cheesy photo of the band grinning for the camera! I realize virtue and perfection are not mutually exclusive anywhere, but why does the wind seem to blow in our direction constantly? As a church-going child I used to look at those album covers and declare they were "nasty men" for doing that. I never once wanted to be that woman and I was never confused that it was inappropriate. Somehow it just seems mild in comparison to today, but I suppose it could be thought of as the gateway to our total cultural destruction. It was the 90's with the rise of "gangsta" rap where things came to a head and fell apart. 

It's times like these where I don't feel "Black" because a bunch of self-hating culture killers have sprung up like weeds in the garden of Blackhood to choke the life out our glorious bloom. You know how some of us refer to "those people" and declare "that's not about me". We've watched it happen but did NOT pull those weeds out. We simply mowed over them. You know how when you shave your legs the hair seems to grow back stronger and faster? That's what has happened to African-American (Black) culture. Weeds are meant to be discarded not to be passed off as an entire culture. For it to be falsely assigned as the sole definition of African-American culture is a CRIME. It is NOT what you typically see and hear in the music, film and television being force-fed today - but it has been allowed to be and THAT needs to STOP! Look at this latest form of "entertainment", the movie Next Day Air.

When two bumbling criminals accidentally receive a package of grade-A cocaine, they think they've hit the jackpot. But when they try to cash in on their luck, it triggers a series of events that forever changes the lives of ten people.

Essence magazine actually recommends this film in the issue with the First Lady and First Grandmother! Showing Blacks in all their bottom-feeding tendencies (that anyone is capable of by the way but is somehow only perpetually showcased as a strictly Black pathology) and having that be the MAIN image shown to the entire world for the purposes of ENTERTAINMENT only maintains white supremacy. Even when it's done by other Black people! It's no coincidence certain people get record deals and certain projects get the green light. We do need to strategize better but the combo of racism/self-hate begets these "gems" of foolishness. This is applied across the board throughout all media. There is NOTHING sacred anymore. 

I say we round up all the Culture Vultures and pick them off one by one. It's what you do to traitors. I'm tired of feeling embarrassed or having to take a firm stance and fend off these constant attacks or explain things to willfully ignorant people. Well...I suppose I was wandering in the wilderness myself at some point, but guess what? I got hungry and thirsty and decided to leave. I don't care that some people are making money and they were poor and blah blah cry me a river okay?! Having a million dollars on a deserted island is useless. They've torpedoed the ship and it's sinking faster than the Titanic.  Hence the conversation on some blogs about the need for divestment and building an ark to get the heck up out of Dodge! It's why I feel so angry I got suckered into thinking American Violet was a celebration of the spirit of Black women and indirectly a tribute to the our Amazons who fought through beatings, rapes and terror to overcome. 

It was just another tool of mockery to highlight the cesspool mentality. We showcase the worst of ourselves as poo on a platter, offer that up with whipped creme and call it cuisine. It's a disgrace. It's the foolishness makes me ashamed to be Black. It's not because I hate myself. I've read enough books that were NEVER offered in school to know my ancient history of our people. We were everywhere from Europe to Asia to Africa and back. We are Medici. We are Buddha. We are Christ (I don't care what anyone says about that - nobody would have to pimp those drawings of Michelangelo's bro so hard if Jesus had actually took on the appearance of white man). We were Princesses of England. We were married to a half of a famous poetic duo (Elizabeth Barrett Browning), the Queen of Sheba and everyone in between. 

We've discussed the term "Acting Black Crew" (those that promote our worst behavior and hate being educated/speaking proper English and usually don't know ANYTHING about our common history) across a spectrum of blogs (Khadija, Evia, Sarah, Halima, Lisa - see the blog rolls in case I missed a few). If you don't even know where your people came from how can you have any pride in yourself? It's why white LGBTs and white Feminists have been able to take the language of our struggles turn it into their own Industrial Complexes and make it all about them, effectively removing us from the equation.

I was having this ongoing discussion in my Rebuttal of Gay Activism Argument post last week. See I agreed with Ms. Richardson there was a problem but I didn't like the bigotry surrounding it. I can still support the idea of marriage equality for everyone because I know other Blacks will benefit from it. I cannot support white people hijacking my culture for their benefit while denying my existence. The lack of racial and ethnic pride amongst LGBTs is the reason why they've allowed a few white men take over and speak for them while shoving them back in the closet. Out of sight out of mind! From pre-Stonewall through Civil Rights through Women's Liberation and beyond there have always been Black LGBTs of both genders and Black women fighting for equality on all fronts for ALL OF US since our ancestors survived the Boat Trip From Hell. 

If there was racial pride would so many Black men have abandoned Black women right after Civil Rights and their jointly created offspring? Yes, a few people falling in love with people from other races/ethnicities is a beautiful thing but when you've got more than 70% of BW unmarried (from waiting for teh menz to return and not looking elsewhere) and/or with out of wedlock children the wheels on the bus have fallen off. Not matter how you slice it, it does NOT add up to a stable, fruitful life for the collective! At this point I say stay gone and Black women should recognize their own free agency to do whatever they like in choosing a mate as well. Just don't go running away into Black Escapist Neverland. Wherever you land you've dragged yourself (and all baggage) with you and will pass onto your children.

Why does a show like African American Lives hold such weight? The concept of tracing one's genealogy and lineage should not be such a foreign concept. Of course paying $350 for a mitochondrial test isn't necessarily affordable for everyone right now but how many people have iPhones, DVD players or are planning on attending the Essence Music Festival this year? The mtDNA test will cover numerous direct descendants (mother, sister, grandmother) so why not split it amongst 5-10 people? Wait for the economy to level off and you can't tell me nobody can come up $35. Then do the paternal test.  

I was always struck by the change that (temporarily) came over Chris Rock as the light bulb clicked on for him. He's very much a prime example of a self-hating man who takes out his inferiority complex on Black women. His jokes about our FLOTUS were oh-so-funny NOT! For all of his astute political observations, the thought never occurred to him to do a complete background check of his gene pool? He's a millionaire! 

As has been pointed out many of us come from people who've survived being enslaved, through Reconstruction, through Jim Crow and through Civil Rights. So why don't we take pride in our selves and our history like other groups do? Things are worse than ever for the majority. No - I'm not talking about a few individuals like Oprah who worked hard and took advantage of every opportunity afforded her and owns her show! She was helped by numerous whites, given good advice and discerned what was useful to her and ignored the rest. So many Black people are always complaining about O and it's not about her show content. 

They're mad because she made it without them (Black men) and doesn't feel beholden to anyone (including other Blacks). We didn't "make" Oprah and we usually don't support the ventures of Black women anyway. It's not just us, though. Didn't she have to tell certain white female Hillary Clinton supporters she was FREE? Some are mad that she won't throw open her doors and say "come on in" to a larger portion of male rap artists. Why should she? Don't we see enough mayhem and destruction as it is? Go on the Tyra Banks show. She offers little criticism and no discernment whatsoever. Or have Jay Leno snicker along beside you as you publicly trash Black women. 

That's why I was resolved to address this Asher Roth situation on Twitter (where he rehashed the Imus offense and lied about it) that happened a few nights ago. No, I wasn't more outraged because a white guy had dissed us. It was because the precedent had already been signed, sealed, delivered and sent express mail. Multiple times. Some people were outraged but even within that the focus was too much on race and not on the inherent SEXISM involved and the continued degradation of Black women. 

I'm glad Oprah refuses to have the Culture Vultures take over her show. She's had Diddy and some others on numerous times but under controlled circumstances. Believe me he knows how to be charming but he's right up there with the rest of the peddling Porno/Warfare crew. Either someone's directly involved in helping the weeds grow or they're justifying why it's okay to have them our garden. I always feel a little sadder when it's a dysfunctional Black male identified Black woman but I think it comes down to the failure to learn our history and being brainwashed. Poo and whipped creme isn't creme brule you know. 

Boy, are we going to cry and knash our teeth if we let Ebony and Jet go the way of the dodo bird. Soul Train is gone. Essence was put on the auction block. Showtime at the Apollo airs when? This is why I decided to renew my subscription to Ebony. I don't always like the content or think it's always as encompassing as it needs to be, but it's for us and by us! If we won't be then who will?

The Real Black State of the Union Pt. 2

I'm continuing the essay I began with yesterday's post. In picking up on the concern writer Stephen Talty expresses for how his bi-racial son will navigate his heritage he says the following:  

Raising Asher has made me more thoughtful about these things, and more driven too. But it has also made me harder in some ways. When I see young black dudes dressed like thugs and hanging out on local street corners--a rotten cliche, I know, but there really are black kids dressed in thug wear, hanging out on street corners half a mile from where I live--I have a different reaction now. Before, I felt a sting of sympathy for their place in life. I still hope their lives will change, but now what comes first is this thought: Man, my kid will not be standing out there, if I have to drag him off the corner myself. (My wife, I'm sure, will beat me to it.) I can't afford to ignore those young men just because I might otherwise come off as racist. The stakes are too high.

Now I tried to not be too taken aback by this overreaching sentiment. Talty is white and married to what he describes as a "beautiful Haitian woman". So I'll cut him some slack...but only a little. His concerns are worthy of discussion, but his assumption that young Black men = thugged out has me raising my eyebrow. When I was reading Tami's discussion of this she mentioned it as well and I initially didn't agree. There are thugged out young men on corners and I wouldn't want to be around them either. So my contention is that Talty didn't convey an awareness of how poverty and class play just as much of a role in the creation of his "greatest fears" as anything else. His lack of acknowledgment of how class structure, familial expectations and personal motivation operate within individuals is jarring.  He still gets to fall back into his white privilege by being above it all and having a false sympathy. It's as if he's said to himself, "those poor Negros...too bad for the racism and urban blight...maybe they would've done something more with their lives than hanging on the corner block". It's a rather paternalistic response couched in liberal white guilt about what their ancestors may or may not have done to people of color that fails to address any remedies. It's like people with superstitions who have some ritual to ward off the evil eye or something. I suppose he means well for the sake of his children but he still needs to get a clue!

He's confusing pathology with race when the argument would carry more weight within class structure, but is still ultimately lacking. As Tami says:

Racism, marginalization and poverty have ugly consequences, one of which can be self-defeating behavior and beliefs. Those things need to be addressed as surely as their causes. But these negative consequences should be separated from who we are as black people.... 

That's true but since his article opened the door though we can't afford to dismiss how some of that behavior manifests itself and is interpreted by those who do tend to fall into the lower classes. I'm talking about those that attempt to set the bar really low amongst themselves and oppose anyone who disagrees. Speaking standard English and pursuing excellence in education isn’t the single purview of whiteness. Neither is drug-dealing and indiscriminate birth practices solely the behavior of blacks.

Then as a Black woman I'm often discouraged from thinking of my needs as a female because circumstances push me to having to address race first. I'm tired of that. So many of us are automatically taught to think through the prism of race first as if we’re without a gender at all or worse that we aren’t allowed to think about being a woman period. That leans too close to feminism which is viewed as something for discontented white women. I don’t even think many of us question this until we’re put in compromising positions one too many times where the discomfort becomes unbearable. By then we’re usually so angry that it’s hard to sort through where the it ends, where it came from and why we feel so bad. 

Religious practices are also used to subjugate women throughout the world where questioning things is akin to blasphemy. Especially in certain households, the worship of an always humble and self-sacrificing male figurehead is touted as being definition and goal of womanhood. It's almost like a competition to see which female can out-God the Almighty and give up the most for the approval and comfort of others - often other women who've self-sacrificed to their detriment their entire adult lives. It's why so many just say no.

Or worse, there are women who try to overcompensate living in a patriarchal world by being more aggressive than men. Female bosses who are more demanding or young girls who join gangs this behavior is equally as troubling to me because it runs across a spectrum of society. We may be trying to survive it, but we can't quite defeat it by ourselves. Like racism.

There is such a thing as “thug wear”. I used to wonder if I’d internalized some latent racism where I felt the urge to stand apart from Black male youths who wore baggy clothes or roughhoused with each other in public. Now I realize my temperament is such that I feel uncomfortable with any male who displays a certain amount of aggression in public. I also don’t like the “fashion” some take to which we know mimics prison wear. From sneakers with no laces to sagging pants I definitely look askance at males who dress that way. I noticed the difference immediately when I lived in London where the majority of the males – and yes the Black males too - dress impeccably. I could count on one hand the sagging pants, extra large baggy shirt look. I also noticed really nice shoes that were shined and hardly any sneakers and I’m talking about walking around the street and on the Tube (public transportation). There are poorer areas in the UK – their version of the ghettos are referred to as Council Housing – but it’s a lot nicer and not nearly as blighted as it is in the US. 

How you dress can change your entire demeanor and it definitely plays into how you are perceived by people. So if you’re surrounded by people who share your background and interests then you’d notice the person who stood out by making different choices. Likewise when you step outside your comfort zone and area of familiarity with people who don’t know you, you’re making an impression. 

We know there’s this preponderance of thug culture that’s been promoted as Black culture as if every Black person lived their lives in a music video. Yes, we know that’s ridiculous but do other people? When a male rapper writes rhymes that call Black women every name but a Child of the Creator there are consequences. When people dance to these songs and others that would get slapped with an X-Rating if they appeared before the MPAA as a film and we say, “That isn’t about me” aren’t we condoning this message? 

When does the right of an individual trump the collective? This is an ongoing argument. No other group of people puts out music and promote it as a lifestyle brand while claiming it’s all in good humor. Ha-ha, I’m not laughing. Oh and before I forget some of these rap artists also claim “He started it!” when confronted about their role in this degradation. Like a 5 year old who joined in breaking whatever rules they know were set they’re looking for an excuse to do what they want for their own personal profit/fame/endorsements at the expense of everyone else. 

It’s not as if being a knuckle dragging idiot who can’t come up with something original or remotely challenging in its context is impossible. Perhaps it’s more difficult. Perhaps the white men running the “entertainment” industry need to be put on notice that the shucking, jiving and coonery won’t sell. Trust me they’ll move onto something else with a quickness. It’s us who keep supporting these images and the ones that promote them. Of course we’re not going to be perfect and we’re not going to agree what’s tasteful and what’s derogatory all of the time. Usually that litmus test can be resolved by employing the sensibilities of the fabled Big Momma, who at one time would have been at least 25 years your senior at any given time and perhaps socially conservative, but abounded in common sense. 

Oprah talked about how when she went to South Africa on one of her trips, a male greeted her “Whatssup my nigger.” Which kicked her security team into high gear. Apparently they pulled him aside and let him how inappropriate that was. The man thought it was how Black Americans greeted each other. Now that may seem rather far fetched, but once that jackal’s been let out it can’t be put back in the cage. 

Now we can say certain music, style of dress, etc. is a reflection of a deeper pathology not the pathology itself. There’s always been an element of it that has existed, like all the other ills of society because we are human beings, imperfect and with free will to do as we please. There are always consequences, boomerang effects and tangents we aren’t prepared for that will occur however. Just because weeds bloom amongst the flowers doesn’t mean they should be ignored. As they multiply they kill off all the good foliage until there’s nothing but other weeds. Do we want our culture being represented as weeds…becoming weeds? 

The Real Black State of the Union Pt. 1

So I was reading this great post "Ours Is Not A Culture Of Failure" by Tami at What Tami Said which was in itself a critique of the article "Race Still Matters For Poor Blacks" by Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune and "Raising the Obama Generation" by Stephen Talty. There are some great points being made but there are some areas where we our opinions diverge. 

From Page's article: The National Urban League released its annual "State of Black America" report. Predictably, as with previous reports that the 99-year-old league has conducted since the 1970s, the state of black America is pretty miserable.

Blacks were twice as likely to be unemployed, three times more likely to live in poverty and more than six times as likely to be imprisoned compared with whites, the study said. Blacks also lost their homes due to foreclosure at a greater rate than other ethnic groups. This is partly because many blacks had been targeted for sub-prime loans during the economic boom, civil rights groups charge, even when their credit was good enough to get them into conventional loans. 

Mainstream black leaders tend to blame black poverty on external barriers like racism, discrimination and the disappearance of low-skill jobs. Conservative critics tend to blame black poverty on black behavior, attitudes and other "cultural" conditioning.

Blah, blah, blah! My response is: it sucks to be Black apparently. Do I really need a reminder of all the problems? These Civil Rights organizations are still not providing SOLUTIONS. Let's talk about the various social classes that exist that they'd like to otherwise ignore. Having access to resources and being not only encouraged but expected to excel does impact your life. Let's talk about white racism but we're not in a position to ignore how our attitudes and choices compound it.

Tami writes:  Are low achievement, unemployment, substance abuse or criminality elements of black culture? Native culture? Italian or Irish culture? White culture?

No.

And they are not the culture of the poor either.

But these ills are often the result of living forgotten in poverty in a country that is all about symbols of wealth and "getting yours." These ills are the result of no opportunity in the land of opportunity. These ills are the result of schools with old books or no books. These ills are the result of being warehoused in dangerous, rat-trap, public-housing high rises, and tenements, and reservations and isolated Appalachian villages and trailer parks. These ills are the result of inadequate healthcare and childcare.

I agree...but I don't. Apathy, anger, depression, hostility, hopelessness, mediocrity and imbalance. I think about how all of these things color challenging situations for people of color. We can only change the things we can control. The first thing we have to control is ourselves. Then we can address the ills of society. If you're running with a broken leg you won't get very far. 

 

If the "culture" hasn’t failed it is severely damaged. Or perhaps the question that should be posed is: “What Is Black Culture?” There are differences amongst ethnic groups of Blacks as well as different behavior patterns amongst the social classes. Of course individuals make personal choices that may differ from the majority of their group of origin but certain generalities do prevail. We're not all Middle Class and we don't all possess Middle Class sensibilities. Whatever that's supposed to mean today. 

I think we can safely establish a yard stick of a dominant generic “Black” by which non-Blacks may be attributing to us all because they don't do shades of grey, er black. It’s like lumping all Asians together or not realizing that China for example has something like 50 diverse ethnic groups. I will continue this conversation in another post because despite my efforts at editing I have so much more to discuss.