Black Elites, the Kennedy Family, You & Me

I've wondered from time to time why it seems certain benevolent whites have often had more sympathy for the plight of blacks than other black people. Especially when it comes to the black elite. Perhaps hate is too strong a word to describe the standoffish attitude, but disdain or indifference could probably work equally as well. The deaths of Eunice Kennedy Shriver earlier this month followed by Ted Kennedy two days ago has me wondering about the legacy of the Talented Tenth. Lest someone accuse me of being envious of those who reside on lofty perches my reply is, nice try but no cigar. I'm considering the numerous contributions the Kennedy family have made that are of benefit to the masses. From the creation of the Special Olympics to the fight for health care we can point to specific things done on a wide scale without needing to search too long for something. Now any comparison would have to take into account the political stature of the family in question, but if you're an elite then aren't you similarly connected? Is it expecting too much to look forward to seeing similar acts of charity from others who have so much?

Would I like an excessive amount of money? Yes. Do I want education to be a goal for all my family members? Absolutely. Generational wealth? Ditto. An intact family. For sure. A network of people with influence? Sign me up please. But do you need to be an "Only One" to have those things? Last time I checked, we are free. Perhaps once and for all we should be certain to shatter any delusions about any black person being under any obligation to do anything for anybody else. We're not an island, however. Being that we discuss why black women should be able to make decisions as free agents when it comes to indoctrination of the "black community" mindset of self-sacrifice and in not choosing race as the most important quality in a potential mate, why not be free to form our own neighborhoods, make friends and follow Dale Carnegie's book about influencing others?

The black elite in the South of the United States started forming before the American Civil War among free blacks who managed to acquire property. Of the free people of color in North Carolina in the censuses from 1790 to 1810, 80% can be traced to African Americans free in Virginia during the colonial period. Free blacks migrated from Virginia to other states as did their neighbors. Extensive research into colonial court records, wills and deeds has demonstrated that most of those free families came from relationships or marriages between white women, servant or free, and black men, servant, free or slave. Such relationships were part of the more fluid relationships among the working class before the boundaries of slavery hardened.

Catering services and other skilled employment were important because they had the white contacts needed to remain within the “status quo”. The black elite also enjoyed the benefits of living within the white neighborhoods which further isolated them from the darker-skinned negro which caused them to blame them for the downward shifts in life-style choices. They felt that by “emulating” the white man could social standing and class be achieved. Wikipedia

Well...it would seem the more things change the more they stay the same.

Now we know there's class of white elites and they probably break it down a bit further by ethnicity/culture as well. Other groups have their "One-Percenters" also. We can learn something from non-black (and non-African American) elite groups. They actually make an effort to maintain some cohesiveness amongst their collective. Sure Pat Buchanan, Rush Limbaugh and their band of merry racists will trot out the red meat to throw at the white underclass but that's to keep them chasing their tails and being mad at non-whites. It's a well-documented misdirection so the wealthy can stay wealthy. If people don't do their own internal analysis of ways they've been indoctrinated they'll never progress.

I'm just curious though: what does the so-called black elite do? I think at one time it was a few people who banded together for the purpose of surviving and thriving. The focus on building intact families is normal human behavior. Yet there were always other pathologies in place that weakened their efforts from the onset. The men were engaging in gender-based skin shade racism against darker-skinned black women. I imagine that would be akin to white elites demanding all the women in their class had to have a certain hair color from birth. You can alter hair color though. Charities are great. Great publicity. Foundations can do a lot of good. They also shield family wealth and are tax-free entities.

We have a history of great philanthropy from many families. We recognize names like Rockefeller, Ford or Vanderbilt. We cannot ignore these families built their wealth doing things that would be frowned upon - or were outright illegal. When non-whites try to do the same thing no one is willing to look the other way. Some want to be invisible which is prudent. Are we wrong to have expectation of them giving something back? Families like the Johnsons - who started a publishing empire with Ebony and Jet magazines DID do something great. They contributed to the media the image of civilized, productive family-oriented and hard-working blacks. [It's a shame they weren't able or willing to change with the times and adopt to keep the magazines solvent. By comparison Black Enterprise has a print and digital version, a video widget and an Editor In Chief who uses social media.]

By contrast you have another Johnson who created BET and sought to destroy all the work of the former. I'd say "Bobcat" Bob has been wildly successful. Oprah isn't a member of the black elite though I suspect she has done more to uplift black women and girls than most of them combined. Oprah is likely to be included in Lawrence Otis Graham's follow-up book to Our Kind of People though. It gives an account of the black elite, a registry of who's in - and who's not. It seems the categorization of who gets in may have shifted slightly to allow for some favored people. The strictest definitions used to be that you had to have generational wealth. Oprah's billions are newly acquired during her lifetime which is no mean feat!! Michael Jackson is a record-breaker not only for his music but as we've discovered since his death the most generous music artist with his philanthropy.

We're constantly discussing behaviors and pathologies of the working class or lower classes and why certain things just don't work in our best interests but it's incomplete without evaluating members of the upper crust. As a collective there may be obvious separation but numerous individuals display some of the same behaviors they frown upon. We don't need to know every single venture but we can study patterns of behavior to guide us what future steps are likely to be undertaken.

"If you, as an African American, have ever wondered why some "brothers" seem to ignore your existence, even if you have the same education, this book will fill in a lot of holes for you. As I read it, I continually said to myself "So THAT'S why so and so treated me like I was the invisible woman!" I feel more sad than angry for the blacks described in the book. They are caught in a no man's land partly of their own making. They believe they are above other blacks without the family bloodlines, wealth, and education they have. Yet the Caucasians who should be their peers reject them as social inferiors because of their skin color--even if it is lighter than most other African Americans. It's a tragedy; their skills and talents are needed by us all, yet they are lost because of their own snobbery and the racism of others. Read this book, then live your life differently from these black "elite." Amazon reviewer quote.

I read a blog called The Black Socialite. I find it informative. The blog host had to turn off her comments section well over a year ago due to the vitriol of those who had axes to grind, but some people did have legitimate criticism. A certain former hip-hop Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was featured in a post for example. It was before he was charged with his crimes and booted out of office but the word had already gotten out about his nefarious behavior. So in situations like that I think it is not only necessary but wise to question why certain people would be thought of as "separate and special" from the masses when they're simply (would-be) criminals with a "pedigree".

From her post Unwarranted Hatefulness Towards the Black Elite:

Here are some simple facts. We have a vocal vanguard within the ranks of the so called Black Elite who are still out there inflicting pain on some people. They often quoted in the media and they run around making outlandish statements about class, color, and ‘pedigree.’ They are a small but loud minority who had to claw their way to the manor and are somewhat vicious in their treatment of others......They are NOT representative of the majority of the so called Black Elite. Most of the people featured on this blog go to work each day, volunteer tons of hours for community service, and leverage their resources for causes that matter to them.

That Toure article about the Martha's Vineyard crowd comes to mind. It's where the Obamas (non-elites) are vacationing, er summering right now. Now my personal pet peeve is to ask why the President is on vacation with health care circling the toilet but that's just me I guess!

So I imagine it is very similar to those of us from middle class and working class backgrounds having to see the black underclass and those with that mentality wear their dysfunction like a banner, waving it proudly. Especially if they've achieved fame and fortune from music or starring in a reality show. It's not only embarrassing but it's down right infuriating. We have a lot of fools running in our midst. Yet I wonder if by the very nature of someone declaring themselves special don't they have an added responsibility somewhere down the line? Why can't non-elites offer a similar critique often levied against them by others outside their group?

If it's just about them and their family why do they deserve any attention at all? They're not the ones keeping the Civil Rights Industrial Complex (i.e NAACP, etc) going, it's whites donating a majority of the operating expenses. Regardless of their lofty positions they are still in the end deferring to the dominant group. Why haven't they effectively elevated themselves to a dominant position? Own a major network? A movie studio? Run a distribution network? A major chain supermarket? Having 3-4 generations of an intact family is a feat considering the obstacles blacks had in place, but does that make your family elite or simply smart with a little luck thrown in? Comparing yourselves to the plight of others in your racial category who aren't doing well isn't exactly a high standard. Wouldn't a more accurate analysis come from measuring oneself against other groups' elite families?

When you do that there is no comparison. Real execution of domination required working in concert with the masses because we are a minority population in this country. Instead it would seem many have actively worked against them. So like so much within a diseased and disordered mentality there are those who like to believe they are surrounded by rarified air. Just like those of the underclasses who blame everything on "whitey" and don't want to change. Where does that leave the rest of us? Getting into one group's "club" isn't a guarantee of a quality life it's just a membership to hang out. It's another system of control. If we're leaving the Matrix we have to be free from ALL falsehoods.

I have to note that blog host hasn't revealed her identity (wisely), is an African American woman, seems to be compassionate and is fully divested. She doesn't reveal much of her life but has mentioned she's an AKA (sorority member) and her significant other is a white male. I mention these things because I think even amongst her peers she is probably living the life of a "radical" akin to how many of us regardless of our social class are taking steps towards doing. So brava to her. It just proves we have to be our own women regardless of any preconceived advantages. So many members of prominent families engage in questionable behavior that often gets swept under the rug. It only proves that in the end we're human and solely responsible for our mistakes...and what we may contribute to society in the wake of our absence.

Supplemental Reading: Our Time Will Come, But Not Likely In Our Lifetime and Banking On Our Own

Toure: Trying to Pull A Perez Hilton & Failing

I read the Black & White On Martha's Vineyard article several days ago. It was the subject of a very lively discussion at a popular black political blog. I immediately thought if I'd had it in print form it would've immediately been relegated to the trash bin. Or used for doggie liner. At least it would've served some purpose. I also wondered why that particular writer had been hired. What - was Dream Hampton or Lawrence Otis Graham not available? Then it occurred to me. This wasn't really about the tea and horsey set, it was a hit piece on Michelle Obama (and black women considered dark(er) skinned).

Say it ain't so! I'd seen this type of bait and switch before. A white editor hires a black writer to do an attack piece thinking skin color and a few positive words would confuse enough people into missing it. Exhibit A: the Salon article by Erin Kaplan that I deconstructed back in November. Now how many black people are regular readers of New York Magazine or Salon? So these weren't articles for us.

This is another case of a Pseudo-Intelligentsia Slave Catcher that I wrote about seven months ago. How can it be we're still grappling with these issues of black hatred? Clarence Thomas is doing his best to send us back to enslavement. I'm not joking folks! Some people also seem to be confused and think these situations involve blacks who are self-hating. No, their egos are firmly intact. They just abhor other black people. In this case it may have been about envy of (the status of) a particular black woman, but what goes for one goes for all. This is why David Letterman got smacked down publicly for targeting white women for denigration. This is why black women have not been protected as a collective and the writers of these hit pieces lie about their efforts at gaining the approval of racist whites, contributing to white supremacy and get away with it.

So let's get to the article shall we? This was supposed to be a discussion of where the Obamas would stay when they come to the Vineyard and getting responses from the residents. My feedback is in bright blue.

The Only Ones deal with glass ceilings at work, unfortunate misunderstandings in their neighborhoods, condescension from blacks who think their education or class makes them inauthentic, and identity crises in their kids....And while the Only Ones embrace each other, they can be dismissive of other blacks.

If you refer to yourself as an "only one" don't you think that you've set yourself apart from people in the first place and maybe you're the problem? Class envy is real, but so is contempt.

"When you see a beautiful black family with their kids, it makes you feel really good about being black,” says Chrisette Hudlin, wife of Reggie and a lifelong Vineyarder who travels there every summer from L.A. “As a person who’s high-achieving and striving for the best for their family, you’re looking at these other black people who have the same goals, and it makes you feel good as a black person. You don’t feel out of place.”

If you have to see other black people, in a specific setting to feel good about yourself then again, that's an internal character issue within you. Reginald Hudlin used to work for BET and greenlit such gems as "Read a God*amn Book" and "Hot Ghetto Mess". His contempt is so well-known Aaron McGruder's Boondocks "Hunger Strike" episode that skewered him was pulled.

Let's go the tape:

Trey Ellis says, "The black part of the Vineyard is like, I would imagine, being gay and going to the Castro. It’s this mecca where you can be yourself and be with people who have so much in common with you. No one has to feign some street cred when they’re playing tennis."

Well having lived in San Francisco I can tell you the Castro has a mix of LGBT & hetero with a lot of young kids thrown in the mix. Not to mention the fact that not all LGBTs have the same interests. The main thing that distinguishes the residents is income status as SF is grossly overpriced with 2/3s of its residents renting. Plenty of people from all social strata play tennis. You should have said yachting instead.

Obama is more a man of the people,” says a Vineyarder who’s part of black high society. “He doesn’t seem to identify with affluent black people. His wife definitely doesn’t; she is basically a ghetto girl. That’s what she says—I’m just being sociological. She grew up in the same place Jennifer Hudson did. She hasn’t reached out to the social community of Washington, and people are waiting to see what they’ll do about that.”

Ahem, when has Michelle Obama ever referred to herself as a ghetto girl? You know some of the real black elite and not these poseurs featured in this hit piece want to throttle these loose-lipped lucys right now.

This is the one particularly inflammatory piece that got everyone buzzing. It's also the one quote attributed to an anonymous source. Given what I discussed above, this is why I took the writer to task on Twitter. I would have done the same to Erin Kaplan had I had means of directly contacting her. This isn't personal. I could care less about Toure, but I do care about black women. An enemy is an enemy no matter shade or gender they come in. He wanted to dismiss his detractors as not understanding the tenets of journalism and the use of anonymous sources. Then it was about our being emotional (Angry Black Woman alert). I think it's a made up quote by the writer - who has publicly displayed his contempt for black women (which I'll discuss below). At the very least if it is a Vineyard resident it's someone who is jealous of Michelle Obama - and Jennifer Hudson! If you're an Only One why do you care about these women? What editor worth their salt would've allowed a piece like this to get published as written? This isn't investigative journalism or involving a government operative. It's pure fluff - and vitriol. That's why I know it's a hit piece.

Toure is a wanna be Perez. Perez is not a journalist either but he is a media star. Sometimes the allure of the camera, smell of cash and the pat on the head is just too much for some people. This is why you have so many lining up to participate in the Negro Superbowl aka State of the Black Union every year. Hat tip to Gina McCauley, blog host of What About Our Daughters for coming up with that one-liner. For those not caught up in the journalism swirl he is NOT respected. This article has been panned across the board but he’s going to try to milk the outrage for all he can to create more opportunities for himself.

That’s fine but I will not sit by idly while he does it at the expense of black women. Pick somebody else! You don’t get to throw rocks and run and hide. Be a man and stand up for yourself! That’s my conclusion after reading this article. Pure drivel. I know it’s hard out there for a journalist know-a-days but did you have to let yourself be used so thoroughly Toure? Ha- he volunteered for it!

Kaplan had the same excuses and mock outrage and free speech protestations. If you’re going to write something STAND BY IT don’t try to OBFUSCATE. If I’m called to “explain” myself with this post I am fully able to do so. I seek justice across the board. My motives are clear. We have to police the behavior of the would-be black assassins who are here to attack us from within. They’re so darn obvious and predictable that picking them off should be easy. The damage they do is as serious as a heart attack though. It's a slow moving poison that spreads on contact tearing away at the esteem and fiber of many, but it's especially damaging to black women.

This isn’t about a difference of opinion, the right to use anonymous sources or writing about a difficult subject. The Obamas didn’t need to be in the piece at all other than a mention in passing if that was the case. The pointed dig at Michelle was the intention behind the article. The unspoken subtext of how a brown-skinned woman from the South Side of Chicago not being “good” enough to be the First Lady is what’s at stake here. Only certain types of black women are good enough and it usually involves lighter skin, a different hair texture and other superficial traits. As someone mentioned in the comment section at NY Mag if Michelle Obama looked more like Michelle Fenty this wouldn’t even be an issue.

Exhibit B:

I realized what this person had made clear in their quote: it was the paper bag test all over again, but worse. The only thing Michelle Obama and Jennifer Hudson have in common is similarities in their height and city of birth. They are a generation apart, grew up in different neighborhoods and have nothing obviously in common to compare the two. Oh wait...they do have one thing in common. They have similar coloring - and they'd fail that test. These so-called elites (and now their wannabes) have been using advancement as cover for their assault on other blacks for many years now.

So let's get this out in the open once and for all and call it for what it is: skin shade racism. Blog host Evia at Black Female Interracial Marriage E-zine so aptly coined this term. We like to use flowery words, like colorstruck. As if it's something that has taken over us that we have no control over. By "we" I'm talking about black men using it against black women - and other black women are taking their cues from them to bash each other. These men always like to discuss and defend their racism as a "preference" or in the case of this writer who asked on Twitter why he (and by proxy other black men) couldn't talk about how much he liked light skin and found it to be beautiful when so many praise the beauty of darker skinned women. Which many black woman labeled darker skinned can attest to the fact that does NOT happen. He isn't fooling anyone. Black men (and the foolish black women who agree with them) and their preferences have been killing the black collective since post-slavery. There's no need for white racism when black people are the first in line to knock each other down for free. That's when it clicked (for me at least) why he had been hired for this piece.

About preferences: I really enjoy coffee. After trying many varietals and beans from different countries I’ve found a combo that appeals to me. I have a special occasion brew as well. It also has to be prepared a certain way and I use a specific sweetener combination. Now if I’m away from home and can’t make it the way I prefer I’ll settle for something else but I won’t really be satisfied with it. In fact I already know before I drink it that it’s a temporary fix. Sometimes I’ll skip it altogether and have a tea instead. That’s the thing about preferences. You really love it above all else. It suits you. Nothing else really compares and if you had the chance to have it all the time without the costs outweighing the benefits you would. So when you hear people talking about preferences and this is where BM come in talking about their preferences for light/white skin, the BW should know she’s been relegated to the dustbin to be pulled out and used when other options aren’t available. If she's foolish enough to stick around. And she’ll go right back there when he’s through. Preferences are desirable and coveted. If you aren’t a preference then you are not considered to be of any value beyond what resources can be taken from you (sex, money, attention, a couch to crash on).

In full disclosure I'd sent him messages asking for a clarification. Just because you read one Tweet doesn't mean you've grasped the entire conversation. He hadn't replied at that time and since I went to his page and didn't see it as part of a larger conversation I took him at his word. Mind you this is a man married to a white woman and I'm not here to disparage that. I think all black people, especially black women, African American women in particular (since so many seem to have a problem with the concept) should exercise ALL their dating and mating options, stop chasing after this mythical Black Prince (that doesn't exist) and get out in the real world and be cherished by fully functioning men who are able to love you back faithfully and unconditionally.

He only responded to me after another black male writer entered the conversation and only about this article (the you don't understand what journalism is spiel). If people had more character and a little backbone the entire collective wouldn’t be disintegrating before our eyes. Instead people mourn dead musical icons (rightfully so) but will go back to their apathy and inaction. Or as I like to refer to them as "Excusers and Deniers". The building is on fire people. Discussing the burn rate (how things aren’t that bad), which room will go first and not caring if it’s not your section of the property (classism) or insisting that a firefighter (new leadership) will show up to put it out DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO STOP THE FIRE.

People like this writer represent BM who are of little or no value to BW. Appearance, education or notoriety without character is like whipped cream on top of poop. These famous athletes, rappers, actors, music artists – whatever - are no different from the guy on the corner selling dope. They all have a hustle: to enrich themselves, usually at another’s (some easily duped BW) expense. They will pretend to be your friend, have sex with or call on you for ego stroking duty but they will not honor, cherish or marry you. Unless you have something they want: Euro features, money or access to things they want. And if they do they will not be faithful and they will still dog other BW. (Re-read that again before you get your hackles up - I said men like that not ALL black men.)

Exhibit C: Let's go to the tape -

According to Ne-yo, "All the prettiest kids are light-skinned - normally." Do you still think this is a joke? A preference? If being light-skinned is normal then what is being brown-skinned? ABNORMAL. When BM like this music artist feel so open to allow their pathologies to be on public display the entire collective is headed for destruction. And we wonder why Michael Jackson seemed so tortured and why it turned so many of us off? Looking in the mirror and seeing the truth isn't always a pretty sight.

Now if I’ve somehow misunderstood some aspect of this I am certainly willing to reconsider a point or two. What I will not do is argue about “journalistic practices” and “use of anonymous sources”. I am not a journalist, but I am a writer and I have common sense. I also care about the support and uplift of black women. No one can challenge me on that. I also stand by what I’ve written. I’ve left the Matrix. I’m honing my mind and cutting through much of the confusion that has left many of us walking in circles. I may still trip over my feet from time to time (by asking about black men stepping up collectively) but I’ve left the burning building and I’m not going back.

What about you?

***

I will continue this conversation to further discuss class, advancement and intra-black racism next. I had so many ideas while writing this post it would've been five pages long!

You're So Lame Award of Shame: Trashing Michael Jackson & Republican Foolishness

Things were looking to be chugging along until we got the news that rocked our world. I started working on a post comparing the emails of SC Gov Mark Sanford to former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick but Mrs. Sanford's kick butt and taking no prisoners attitude had me rethinking that. I celebrated her triumph from a weak-willed man instead. Not to forget about Ensign and his mistress, her husband and son...but that's just too twisted and I'm not soiling my mind with trying to figure that one out!

Then I'd heard that Mr. Truthiness himself, Stephen Colbert had made a "tranny" joke which is a big no-no. Also John Stewart had the nerve to insult Malcolm X's memory by comparing him to those hypocritical Republicans. He theorized the Democrats were like MLK. His comparison makes zero sense though and trying to deconstruct his pea brain on this one isn't worth the effort to me. See, that's why these comedians have staff writers. They're not so brilliant, irreverent or funny without them. 

I've been hearing about but not wanting to watch the widow Russert Maureen Orth on MSNBC or hack writer Toure playing in endless loops on tv trashing MJ one way or the other. Of course Orth's entire career has been solely based on trashing Jackson so this isn't surprising. CNN is asking whether Jackson transcended race which is a stupid question to begin with. Fixed News immediately chose to give unflattering coverage but that's not a surprise. Entertainment Tonight decided to show us MJ's not quite dead body being worked on by EMTs. Perez Hilton said he got slapped by a Pea and whined about it. He also claimed MJ was faking an illness for media attention. Gee here's someone who'd know all about that. 

This year's BET Awards airs tomorrow and with it's planned MJ tribute will likely be its highest rated show ever. Boy timing is everything. You know I have a BET ban in effect but broke it to see Maxwell's debut video and I'll be watching (and critiquing) this one. Chris Brown and a whole other cadre of BW beaters/abusers/haters will get to take center stage. Hurl. One thing MJ did not advocate was violence and he always spoke highly of Black women so this is an insult of the highest proportion to mar his legacy by throwing these idiots in the mix. So drumroll....the award goes to: All of Them.

There's so much foolishness going on this week they all deserve it.