Revisiting the ‘I’ in Individuality - Black on Black Thought
July 31, 2008
This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature.
Today we look again at the concept of individuality. James wrote a piece today called Am I destroying the black community? that is a response to something I wrote last November called How the myth of individualism is destroying the Black community. In it, he refutes many of my points, but I think at the core he misses some fundamental truths that are necessary for individual success and collective advancement.
Race Talk in America
July 9, 2008
This is part of the bi-weekly Black on Black Thought feature.
What’s up fam,
I am happy to kick off Black on Black Thought. This week, James wrote about CNN’s Black in America special (that will highlight life in Black America in all its complexity) and considers whether or not this series will over saturate America with “race talk” and its possible impact on the 2008 election. James basic conclusion is that we are reaching a saturation point in our “race-talk.” I think we are far from the point of saturation.
Dap as an act of terrorism?
June 10, 2008
Remember when Barack Obama dapped up Michelle before asserting himself the presumptive Democratic nominee?
Fox News saw this as an act of terrorism. I don’t even know what to say to that.
I really, really can’t stand Fox News. For more reasons why, check out Fox Attacks.
One Love. One II.
Sean Bell
April 25, 2008
Like many of you, I am outraged that the three detectives were acquitted of killing Sean Bell. Sean was 23 the night he was set to be married the next day and though he was unarmed, the cops thought him dangerous enough to deserve being killed. And Sean wasn’t just killed, he was shot 50 times. It is crap like this that make me upset as to why Black people fear and distrust the police.
I know there will be rallies held in New York to protest this miscarriage of justice and if you are in the area, you should go. After the marches though, Bell’s story like Amadou Diallo and others will be filed in the Black consciousness as the continuing saga of injustice that has plagued Black folk since we were kidnapped from Africa. Surely this is worth Black folk being bitter right?
Bell was killed at a strip club and the undercover detectives were there to investigate if there was prostitution going on. Prostitution is wrong I get it. But quite frankly, how in the world do you investigate prostitution? I mean you tell me that these detectives couldn’t have set up a camera and watch the footage from the precinct? Aren’t there enough unsolved murders in the hood that could be a better use of these detectives’s time? And while I don’t have a J.D., how is it these detectives were not brought before a jury?
I try to imagine the hell I would raise if one of my people suffered a death like Sean Bell. The fact is that while I never knew Sean, he is my brother and your brother too. Our prayers go out to Bell’s family and friends as they and we try to sort out this injustice.
Stay up fam,
Brandon Q.
standing up for Black liberation theology
April 22, 2008
H/t to my folks at Jack and Jill Politics for featuring this video of Michael Pfleger, a Catholic Priest based out of Chicago. When I wrote earlier about Black silence on Jeremiah Wright, I wanted to hear someone break it down like this. Enjoy and please watch the whole video. Stay up fam,
DuBois or Washington?
April 9, 2008
One of the most enduring debates in the Black Community is the philosophical divide Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois pitting the need for practical work and a liberal arts education against each other.
My former professor and now friend informed during vigorous debate once that they (Washington and DuBois) were both right in many respects and Black folks have been hoodwinked into thinking that things are “either, or” versus “both, and.” So for my people that have heard me make that argument, that is where it comes from but I digress.
My question to you is this, what would a hybrid vision of DuBois and Washington thought look like in 2008?
Stay up fam,
Brandon Q.
The Future of the Civil Rights Movement
April 9, 2008
Our good friend and true SuperSpade Jill Tubman from Jack and Jill Politics put up this awesome piece about the future of the Civil Rights Movement and how technology figures into the equation. I have posted the piece in its entirety and it is a must read.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Civil Rights Groups Wither - New Ones Taking Their Place
This Washington Post story Civil Rights Groups Seeing Gradual End of Their Era ends with this sentence though I’d like to start my response with it. It quotes E. Ethelbert Miller:
“What would happen if W.E.B. Du Bois or Marcus Garvey had a laptop?” Du Bois helped found the NAACP in 1909, and Garvey, a rival, started a back-to-Africa movement around the same time.
We are the answer to that question. In the vacuum of black leadership 40 years after Martin Luther King’s death, it’s his spiritual grandchildren that are carrying his mission forward now and not the civil rights groups he might have recognized. From the WaPo piece (emphasis mine):
In New York, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which helped shape the movement’s philosophy after adopting Mohandas K. Gandhi’s doctrine of nonviolent protest, is scarcely known outside Manhattan. CORE conceded that it now has about 10 percent of the 150,000 members it listed in the 1960s.
Black silence on Jeremiah Wright
March 15, 2008
Maybe I missed this but given the outcry over the potshots taken at Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright, where is the push back from the Black Church and church leaders in particular? Just so people are clear, Wright is being demonized by mainstream media for being everything from being a Black separatist to anti-Jew. This is an obvious smear campaign and forget about Obama for a second, this is about the Black Church, that despite its shortcomings, is a very important institution in the Black community.
Just so people know the vision of Trinity United Church of Christ;
We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian… Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain “true to our native land,” the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.
I want people to know the mission of Wright’s church, the Trinity United Church of Christ.
The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision:
- A congregation committed to ADORATION.
- A congregation preaching SALVATION.
- A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
- A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
- A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION.
- A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION.
- A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
- A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
- A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
- A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.
I have three main observations.1. Being pro-Black does not equate to being anti-anything. If you need clarification on this point, email me at bqwhite@gmail.com
2. Why don’t more Black churches have missions that are similar to that of Trinity United? I am not saying all Black churches must have the same mission statement but how many times have you seen a Black church make an explicit commitment to Africa? And why is it radical to support Africa?
3. Any sensible Black church leader who refuses to stick up for Wright is out of their mind. If a Black church can successfully be branded racist and/or separatist because they express love and support for Black people, then we as a people really need to get back to basics.
Two things you can do, call or email support to Pastor Wright ((773) 962-5650 or info@tucc.org) and if you do go to church, ask your pastor to address this issue to your congregation.
Stay up fam,
Brandon Q.
Why Barack Obama should attend the Black State of the Union
February 14, 2008
Tavis Smiley hosts and annual event called the Black State of the Union. The 2008 version will be on February 23rd in New Orleans, LA.
Last year, a big question around this event was whether or not Barack Obama was going to attend the event. He did not, but he was doing something that was much bigger: deciding to and formally announcing his run for the Presidency. Now, one year later, in the midst of a very competitive primary season, Obama faces the same question: will he go? Should he go?
Obama is not attending. Tavis Smiley is on record saying that he’s cool with that. Roland Martin at Essence Magazine thinks this was the right decision. His primary argument is that Obama must “look forward, not in the past” and that Obama “can’t be defined as the Black candidate.” He thinks that Obama should send his wife Michelle, and continue campaigning in Texas and Idaho.
I think that’s a terrible move and completely wrong, and here’s why.
Barack and Michelle Obama should both attend the Black State of the Union event. Any criticism of their attendance of this day, arguably the most important discussion of the state of this country’s Black affairs, would not only by unfounded and irresponsible, but easily refutable.
The irony of Obama and Kenya
January 28, 2008
The irony of Senator Barack Obama’s recent South Carolina victory and endorsement by Senator Kennedy is soured by the chaos and violence in Kenya. For those that don’t know, Obama’s father is from Kenya and since elections last month, Kenya has been engulfed in a vicious conflict, pitting the Kikuyus against the Luos and Kalenjins. For context, the elected President Mwai Kibaki is supported by the Kikuyus and Kibaki’s rival Mr Raila Odinga is supported by the Luou and the Kalenjins. Odinga accuses Kibaki of stealing the election. To date, reports estimate the death toll at 800. Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough about Kenya to take sides or offer meaningful commentary.
I am just frustrated because among Black folk in America, we have been somewhat vitriolic in our treatment of Black folks who do not support Obama. Supporting Clinton or Edwards does not make you a coon or an Uncle Tom. And my fear is that unlike Kenya, supporters of Clinton or Edwards (or other) have not had to fear for their life but respect and civility have taken some body blows. Maybe we could help heal those wounds by coming together to find out ways to help our Kenyan brothers and sisters.
Stay up fam,
Brandon Q.
