Yes Virginia, There is a Kwanzaa

There had been much speculation as to whether President Obama would cosign Kwanzaa, this year. However, looks like the Prez and First Lady issued an official statement, yesterday.

Funny, but the mainstream media seem to have not gotten the memo.

The only major newspapers that I see that have picked up the story are the LA Times and USA Today.

Also, both papers only mention the Kwanzaa address on their Internet blogs, not the print additions. (The USA Today blog is actually about my article, "Christmas, Kwanzaa and Obama."

Even Fox News, the network that issues a news alert every time the President sneezes is keepin' this on the hush hush. I guess they are too busy trying to blame the Obama Administration for the attempted airplane bombing.

Is the "black holiday" a victim of a media "blackout?"

Let it be known that there are Kwanzaa events taking place all over the country.

Just because you don't see it on the news does not mean that it's not happening...

The Great Kwanzaa Debate: TRUTH Minista Paul Scott vs Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson

Is Kwanzaa Racist?

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott vs Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson

Part 1
http://www.zshare.net/audio/702954129dbed51d/

Part 2

http://www.zshare.net/audio/702956227eef8d64/

Kwanzaa Greetings to the Right Wingers

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott is scheduled to debate Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson on "Is Kwanzaa Racist?" The segment will air 12/23 at10AM EST.

To listen live go to:

http://www.bondaction.org/media/radio/radio_clock.php

12/23 TRUTH Minista Paul Scott to Debate Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson About Kwanzaa

The Associated Press is running an attack on Kwanzaa in a story today called "Kwanzaa Celebrations Continue, but boom is over."

The story quotes Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, who you may have seen many times on Fox News as
saying:

"Get rid of it," said Peterson, who is black. "Reject it completely. Just as we would do if a white racist came up with a false holiday to celebrate whiteness."

I am scheduled to debate Rev. Peterson on his nationally syndicated radio show on 12/23 at 10AM EST about Kwanzaa.

To Listen go to:
http://www.bondaction.org/media/radio/radio_clock.php

Christmas, Kwanzaa and Obama

Christmas, Kwanzaa and Obama:
Cultural Diversity or Religious Division

Paul Scott



Twas the night before Kwanzaa and all through the White House, staffers gathered to watch President Barack Obama, decked out in a red, black and green dashiki, deliver his first annual Kwanzaa address, urging Americans to practice the Nguzo Saba (the seven principals of Kwanzaa.) He ended his 45 minute speech with seven extremely loud shouts of "Harambe!" which scared the heck out of Conservatives and had Birthers across the country engaging in frantic Google searches , confident that they had finally come up with, indisputable, proof that Obama is part of some radical, militant foreign nationalist organization, deserving immediate deportation....

'Tis the season to be jolly; a time of gifts, celebrations and endless debates over whether black folks should celebrate Christmas or Kwanzaa. This is an especially touchy subject in the era of America's first black president , when any outward expression of "blackness" is subject to a vicious attack by Fox News for being separatist, divisive or just out of sync with the times.

While many African Americans will spend sleepless nights agonizing over whether they should hang stockings over fireplaces or place kinaras on coffee tables, the real topic of discussion should be the need for mutual respect for religious and cultural expression.

Historically, organized religion has had more to do with politics, economics and cultural hegemony than establishing a spiritual relationship with a Divine Being. This is clearly seen if one looks at the religious history of the descendants of those who have suffered under slavery and colonialism.

We must first start with the Portuguese missionaries who sought to "civilize the savage Africans." It is not the point here to question the religious zeal of the early Christian missionaries but to point out how they laid the foundation for slavery and economic exploitation in areas such as the Congo.

In his book, "Africans in History," Basil Davidson points out that Christian missionaries arrived at the same time as the exploiters in the Congo as early as 1483. This exploitation continued throughout the 20th century. As WEB Du bois wrote in his essay "The Rape of Africa, "the missionaries ,still believing in the expanding trade of the 18th century, coupled commerce with missionary effort and did not see the inherent contradiction between them.

Du bois further wrote "the result was that the missionary and the merchant worked side by side and hand in hand."

In America, it must be remembered that the enslaved Africans were not allowed to read the Bible and had to accept the interpretation of the scriptures by their oppressors as the Gospel, most of it resting on the false ideology of "the Curse of Ham" that forever condemned the sons and daughters of Africa to servitude.

This history led to the formation of various African American religious movements over the last 150 years that have tried to retrieve a sense of spiritual identity that was left on the shores of West Africa.

Out of this context, Kwanzaa was born. Although the celebration was first celebrated by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga in 1966, Dr. Ishakumusa Barashango wrote in "Afrikan People and European Holidays: a Mental Genocide" that " Kwanzaa was the kind of celebration that was common to most African societies, though the name would be as varied as the many languages that are spoken on the continent."

Unfortunately, just like Christmas with it's commercialization, Kwanzaa has lost some of its meaning in recent years, prompting some to parrot the false pronouncement that Kwanzaa is not a "black holiday" in an effort to get corporate sponsorship dollars and advertisements from those who would frown on bankrolling a "separatist holiday." However, it cannot be overstated that Kwanzaa is just as African as St. Patrick's Day is Irish.

Also, some have mistaken the "nonreligious" Kwanzaa as an Afrocentric alternative to Christmas. This idea is false both geographically and theologically. From a geographic standpoint it would be impossible to deny the Afro-Asiatic origin of Judeo-Christianity as recorded by Afrocentric scholars such as Dr. Yosef ben Jochannan, John G. Jackson and Rudolph Windsor.

Theologically speaking, the principals celebrated in Kwanzaa and Christianity, as well, existed in Africa thousands of years before the first church was built. So, the idea that Kwanzaa is just a cheap substitute for Christmas is just a cover for those who do not have the courage to challenge traditional western, Euro-Christian thought.

The question facing us this year is can we put aside political and religious dogmatism and accept the beauty of cultural diversity? This is the only way that we will be able to achieve the proverbial "peace on Earth and goodwill towards men."

So, to my open minded liberal peeps sippin' egg nog while reading this article, I wish you the universal season's greetings of Peace, Love and Happiness.

And to the ultra conservative, closed minded bigots who, by now, are yellin' "Bah Humbug" at their computer screens.

"Habari gani, haters !"


Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com For information about the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign lecture tours visit ioimovement.com

Must Hear Beats and Mics Interview!

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott addresses the Hee Haw Hip Hop controversy and "Operation Dumb Down" on Beats and Mics.com

http://beatsandmics.com/MINISTER-PAULSCOTT-12-09.html

What's Good About Gucci Mane?

What's Good About Gucci Mane ?:
Music, Marketing and Mind Control

Paul Scott


"It's all a part of fightin' devil state mind control
And all about the battle for your mind, body and soul."

"What Would You Do?" Paris



Meet Radric Davis aka Gucci Mane, a rapper with mediocre talent who is poised to become rap's next superstar. All over the Hip Hop universe, hypnotized fans scream "Gucci!," every time his song comes on the radio. How can this man go from mix tape rags to mega-stardom riches? Only in the Hip Hop Twilight Zone...

On December 8th, Gucci Mane will drop his latest CD, "The State vs Radric Davis." While arguably, not as "street" as his mix tape offerings, the content doesn't differ much from the same ol' Hee Haw Hip Hop coming out of the South dealing with money, drugs and hyper- sexuality.

This bring us to the fundamental question that few have had the guts to ask.

What's so good about Gucci Mane?

It must be noted that not everyone is sippin' on the Gucci Grape Kool Aid. A few months ago students at NC A@T and Florida A@M objected to their tuition money being used to fund the physical and mental genocide of black children by protesting Gucci's inclusion in their homecoming concerts.

But besides a few rebellions on college campuses, it seems that most Hip Hop heads are ready to crown Davis the new ruler of rap.

While most of the mentally dead will credit the popularity of Gucci as just good promotion by Warner Brothers, there is a thin line between marketing and mind control, as they both seek to influence human behavior.

One of the most diabolical masters of mental manipulation was Adolf Hitler's minister of propaganda, Paul Joseph Goebbels, who perfected the idea of the "Big Lie;" a falsehood told enough times will eventually be accepted by the masses as the truth. So if you tell a person that a rapper is hot enough times, (especially the weak minded) he will eventually go out and by the cd.

Why do we not believe that the Nazi's who own the major record labels have a stable of their own ministers of propaganda hard at work marketing madness to the masses under the guise of music?

Mental manipulation has also been used as an agent of social control by the US government. Although unknown by most Americans, the CIA has conducted many psychological experiments under their chemical and biological warfare research programs.

In her book, "Medical Apartheid," Dr. Harriet Washington, quotes the research of Allen Hornblum , who stated that between the 1950's and 70's, Dr. Albert Klingman conducted chemical warfare tests on predominantly black inmates in Philadelphia's Holmesburg Prison as part of the CIA's MK-ULTRA program.

Could this be part of the reason that the Fed's are giving out so many 12 month sentences to rappers, including Gucci Mane, in an effort to convince black youth that spending time in prison is part of a rites of passage ? Or the reason that Davis is on the front of his CD cover dressed in a prison uniform with a handcuff (shackle) on his wrist?

It must be also noted that under MK-Ultra, drugs such as LSD were used as part of the experiments.

In his book, "Behold a Pale Horse," William Cooper alleges that during the height of activist mobilization against the Vietnam War, " Dr. Timothy Leary introduced drug culture to American youth under the CIA project, MK-Ultra."

This allegation is also echoed by Peter Doggett in his book "There's a Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars and the Rise and Fall of the '60's "where he writes " there are conspiracy theories that Leary, himself, was a CIA agent."

Doggett also records Kwame Ture's (Stokely Carmichael) attempts to keep drugs out of the Black community and the Black Power Movement when he warned, " The reason why drug use has reached the proportion that it has today in our communities is that the political consciousness of our people is rising and in order to dull the political consciousness of our people, the oppressor always sends more drugs into the community."

Today, LSD and heroin have been replaced by malt liquor, blunts and crack as the opiates of the people, which is possibly why artists like Davis propagate the idea of getting "wasted." This is an especially crucial point to consider when the racist right wing are in the process of organizing their forces for the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.

In 2009, we are facing what rap researcher Professor Griff calls "the covert psychological war on Hip Hop."

So what do we do?

Can we continue to allow peer pressure from 13 year olds and those with teeny bopper mentalities prevent us from raising the tough questions ?

I say no!

The more you know the more you owe the younger generation an explanation for why the various pathologies from which we suffer exist and the role that the entertainment industry plays in our destruction.

The point of this article is not to offer ,indisputable, proof that Gucci Mane's music is part of some vast conspiratorial plot to destroy black people. (Though it does not refute the idea, either.)

But it is foolish not to consider, as a possibility, that mind control techniques could be used by the music industry to sell CD's and, also, by those who wish to keep black people disenfranchised.

We must, continuously, remind our people of the words of the great funk philosopher, George Clinton,

"Mind your wants because there's someone who wants your mind."

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
For information about the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign go to http://www.ioimovement.com

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott Lectures at Illinois Wesleyan University 12/3

The Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour came to Illinois Wesleyan University on 12/3. TRUTH Minista Paul Scott conducted a Hip Hop roundtable discussion and was also the keynote speaker at the Kwanzaa celebration.

To arrange a date for the Intellegence Over Ignorance Tour contact (919) 451-8283 or email info@ioimovement.com

The Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour Comes to llinois

A part of the Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour, TRUTH Minista Paul Scott will be giving a lecture titled "The Truth About Hip Hop" on December 3 at Illinois Wesleyan University. He will also be the keynote speaker at the Kwanzaa event later that night.

http://www.iwu.edu/CurrentNews/newsreleases09/evt_KwanzaaCelebration_01109.shtml

How the South Destroyed Rap

How the South Destroyed Rap:
Time to Stop Hee Haw Hip Hop

Paul Scott


"All my brothas eatin' chicken and watermelon
Talk broken English and drug sellin'"

My Philosophy- Boogie Down Productions



Hip Hop is many things to many people depending on which side of the planet you rest your head. New York is honored for being the birth place of the genre. Cali is known as being the place that capitalized off of gangsta-ism (for better or worst.) And the South is known for what can best be described as "Hee Haw Hip Hop"; that throw back to the era when people lived in the land of cotton, old times there are not forgotten.

Welcome to Dixie Land.


While many Hip Hop headz will, vehemently, argue against criticizing any one region for the demise of the genre, it must be admitted that the worst form of Hip Hop for the last decade has originated below the Mason Dixon line. While other forms of Hip Hop have at least tried to convey some sort of message, Southern Hip Hop is as devoid of style as it is substance, that is, unless you consider dudes with gold teeth rappin' like they have a mouth full of snuff some sort of swagga chic.

The rappers of the South Coast seem to go out of their way to rep the stereotype of country folks having the intelligence level of a watermelon to the fullest. Every time, I hear a Gucci Mayne or Plies song on the radio, I think that my IQ drops a couple of levels.

It must be noted that this has not always been the case.

The history of southern Hip Hop can be traced back as far as the early 80's with an artist named Shy D and his Planet Rock type rhythms. He was followed by Luke "Skywalker" Campbell and the 2 Live Crew who gained world wide fame for their mixture of Hip Hop and hedonism and their attempts to push the 1st Amendment to the limit by claiming that they could be "as nasty as they wanna be."

Like NY Hip Hop, the South also had a brief conscious era ushered in by the Dungeon Family (Outkast, Goodie MOB) in the mid 90's. However, just as gangsta rap replaced East Coast conscious Hip Hop in the early 90's, "Crunk Music" replaced the socially conscious rap of the South by the late 90's.

Much of the credit for this can be attributed to the mastermind Steve Gottlieb, at the time, owner of TVT records, a company that started off selling TV show themes but found out that they could make a whole lot more money popularizing retarded rap (Ying Yang Twins) and making, otherwise, intelligent black men (Lil Jon, reportedly has a Masters Degree) sound mentally challenged.

The question we should ask ourselves is how can an area with more than its share of black institutions of higher learning (especially the ATL) now be famous for producing music only suitable to step and fetch to?

Historically, perhaps, it has something to do with the post Civil War Era as many black folks left the South to go North where getting an industrial job required a higher level of education than it took to pick tobacco.

Also, according to Dr. Noliwe Rooks in her book, "White Money, Black Power," "southern whites feared that education for blacks would provide African Americans with the means to, eventually, upset white supremacy."

Dr. Claude Anderson in his book "Black Labor, White Wealth" argues that after slavery, "cultural customs and laws forced the newly emancipated blacks to conform to the historical image of blacks as common labors."

So the plot was clear, keep black folks deaf, dumb and blind to preserve white socio-economic hegemony. We see the same method of operation today with "Operation Dumb Down," today. This is why most commercially successful southern rappers sound like they are just two feet off the plantation.

In an effort to preserve the status quo, the powers that be are determined to destroy Hip Hop and take the minds of black children down with it.

If the rationale for "Operation Dumb Down," is, indeed economic, then the counter solution must also be economically based.

As Jay Z said, "men lie, women lie, numbers don't."

This, so called, holiday season is the period when the entertainment industry counts on making most of their money by pushing anti-conscious Hip Hop. This is why we are using "Black Friday" to kick off the "Black-out Ignorance Boycott." We are asking that those who truly appreciate black culture and want to save Hip Hop not purchase anything that disgraces our culture from November 27-January 1st (the end of Kwanzaa.)

Instead of buying music to put us to sleep, we must support artists that are trying to wake us up, whether it be internationally known Hip Hop pioneers like Rakim or up and coming MC's like Pittsburgh's Jasiri X. With the educational challenges that our young people face, we must also start buying more books and less video games. Also, instead of paying hundreds of dollars to turn our youth into walking billboards, advertising everything from Home Depot to Mountain Dew, we should seek out designers that have clothes with positive messages.

This makes a whole lot more sense in tough economic times than spending what's left of our hard earned cash on bamboozled bammas who happen to have hot beats.

Now we are aware that some folks are going to miss the point of this call to action and dismiss this as a case of "hatin' on Hip Hop" as that is what they have been programmed to do. Some will even argue that we are in control of the images of us that are projected around the world.

Dr. Bobby Wright put it best in his book, "The Psychopathic Racial Personality," where he discussed "behavior modification" by quoting psychologist Dr. BF Skinner who wrote "it is possible to delude people into believing that they have the essence of life-Freedom and dignity-and still control them."

So, as in the days of Harriet Tubman the condition of our people remains the same.

Some folks just don't want to be emancipated from mental slavery.

As the great heroine once said.

"I freed a thousand slaves..I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves."


TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com For more information on the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign visit http://www.ioimovement.com

NWSF Bullet: Four Loko Update

You may remember, the NWSF article last Memorial Day that exposed Four Loko Malt Liquor.

Also, WNCN did a story on the product.

http://durhamcounty.mync.com/site/durhamcounty/news/story/35583/durham-man-thinks-malt-liquor-drink-looks-too-much-like-soda/

Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Feds are giving the makers of Four Loko and other makers of Malt Liquor "energy drinks" 30 days to prove that the drinks are not harmful.

In 1998, Paul Scott led a succesful campaign against Phat Boy Malt Liquor. For information about the IMANI (Inspiring Men to Act Against Negative Influences) lecture on alcohol marketing to young people, contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

The World is a Ghetto: Economic Apocalypse Now

The World is a Ghetto: Economic Apocalypse Now

Paul Scott



"Families buying dog food now. Starvation roams the streets."

Village Ghetto Land- Stevie Wonder




Back in 1972, the funk band, War, recorded the grim hit ,"The World is a Ghetto." I thought about this dire ditty when I read an article last week about a recent study out of the Sanford School of Policy that announced the shocking (yet, self-evident) revelation that poverty has something to do with drop out rates and out of wedlock births.

No shellac, Sherlock.

I wish that I would have been part of that little study, I could have given them a whole laundry list of social ills that are caused by being broke ranging from high blood pressure, nervous breakdowns to a rare form of Tourette Syndrome that makes one have the irresistible urge to kick the neighbor's poodle for no apparent reason.

Yeah, I've heard the talk about how the Reagan-esque voodoo economics of the stimulus package is finally beginning to bailout the average Joe and how the report of the 10% national unemployment rate is just an illusion or part of some vast right wing conspiratorial misinformation campaign.

I don't mean to burst any one's bubble or rain on your parade but I don't think that post recession America is going to differ ,significantly, from recession America. Kinda like when gas prices all of a sudden jump to $4.00 a gallon. Sure, the prices will eventually go down but you know in your heart of hearts that the days of $1.25 a gallon premium are dead and gone.

We are quickly moving into an era where there will only be two groups of people; the haves and the have nots. While in the past, the average homeowner may have been two paychecks away from the poor house, nowadays, a short bout with H1N1 will have you up all night trying to figure out how you're gonna fit your giant flat screen TV into the homeless shelter.

Welcome to the ghetto.

Although the term "ghetto" is usually meant to describe a place full of poor African Americans and Latinos, the term was originally used to describe a place where European Jews were forced to live around World War II and also places where immigrants resided when they came to America. However, in the 21st century, ghetto-ism has taken on a more universal meaning; a place of hopelessness and despair.

Contrary to popular belief, the ghetto doesn't start at the first boarded up house in Northeast Central and end at the first coffee house downtown. The ghetto is a village without boundaries.

While most well -off folks only know the ghetto as the home of 70's sitcom, "Good Times" reruns, those of us who have ever had to dine on "Oodles of Noodles Surprise" every night for dinner are well acquainted with the place

There was a time when poverty was seen as a condition of the chronic underachievers. You know, the kids who skipped Algebra class to hang in the hallway quoting Run DMC lyrics. But now, for many, unemployment is in the "stuff happens" category, striking even the most educated, hard working person for no rhyme nor reason.

The gainfully employed are now seen as those who have their positions simply because "somebody up there likes them." In this case, I am not referring to the proverbial "man upstairs" but the head honcho in the seventh floor corporate office who makes the hiring/firing decisions. We live in a time when a human resource department has become a virtual Mt. Olympus with folks with almost god-like powers granting favors to those who swear their undying allegiance, vowing to sacrifice coffee breaks, holidays and family time on the altar of economic stability.

So, the writer with the cushy job and the scenic view at the newspaper's corporate office may not, necessarily, be a better wordsmith than the poor, unemployed journalism major holding a "Will Write for Food" sign in the Herald Sun parking lot. Or the lucky sap who is charging $50 a pop for balcony seats to see him perform at the DPAC (Durham Performing Arts Center) may be no more deserving of the spotlight than the guy with the four string guitar singing his heart out on the sidewalk of Ninth Street.

Economic success is not an exact science.

So, are we quickly approaching a sci-fi -type Apocalypse where bands of roving poor folks will start rollin' up on suckas sportin' Argyle sweaters and drivin' Volvo's, jackin' them for their Starbucks money?

It's possible. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

As hardcore rapper, Freeway, once warned when facing economic uncertainty, "if my heat stops workin'...I'ma rob me a person."

Maybe there is a bright side to these days of gloom and doom. Perhaps the recession will force us to focus on the important things in life.

Maybe, we will stop being so blinded by the bling of celebrities like Jay Z and Paris Hilton and realize King's dream of judging a person by the content of his character and not the size of his paycheck.

I don't know.

But in the perpetual, purgatory of poverty, one thing is certain. We'll have more than enough time to figure it out.

As the late, great funkster, Rick James once said;

"One thing 'bout the ghetto, you don't have to hurry. It'll be there tomorrow. So, brother, don't you worry.


Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com . To join the "No Warning Shots Firing Squad" on Twitter visit twitter.com/NWSF

Thug-o-phobia: The Real Reason we Can't Stop Gangs

Thug-o-phobia: The Real Reason We Can't Stop Gangs

Paul Scott



"In Durham they say we gang bang.
All around the world it's the same thang."
Unless we're shootin' you don't know my name
That's the only way we gain fame."

Thug-o-phobia-TRUTH Minista




Go to any major city in America and ask residents what are the major problems facing their communities and you can bet somewhere in their top 5 will be gangs; that dreaded group of young'uns who go 'round robbin' and pillagin' innocent town folks. Durham, NC is no different, as since the late 90's, the city has been portrayed in the media as the gang capital of the South. This has resulted in an epidemic of "thug-o-phobia" that has town folks seeing gangsters behind every street light post.

In some ways, Thug-o-phobia has become the new radical chic of the 60's, as there is something dangerous, yet exciting about gangsta-ism i(n a James Dean kind of way) for many suburbanites . So, any O.G. (Original Gangster) Joe who rolls into town with a tall tale about how he "was a member of the notorious, Riverdale "Archie Gang" but experienced an epiphany on his way to Pop's Drive Inn to do a drive-by on rival gang "The Jugheads" is welcomed with open arms to "save Durham's youth."

While the local guy with a workable solution based on a strong socio-economic analysis of the problem may be ignored, any out of town slickster with a henna tattoo of Bugs Bunny on his shoulder is given the key to the city.

Since the gang problem has been an issue in Durham and many southern cities for over the last decade, we must explore the many reasons why a college town bustin' at the seams with smart folks, can't seem to get a handle on the problem?

First, there has been little effort to understand the history of gangs in this country. Although most people assume that gangs started in South Central Los Angeles with the Bloods and the Crips, the truth is that gangs in American started when European immigrants organized themselves into protection societies. Later, some of these organizations became organized crime families. This is ,somewhat, similar to the origins of the modern urban street gangs, however, the Bloods and Crips did not come into national prominence until the mid to late 80's.

While poverty and lack of employment may have played a major part in the criminalization of gangs, many will agree that it was the drug trade that gave rise to violent gang activity. Some have alleged that 40 years ago heroin was purposely introduced into black neighborhoods, as well as the hippie counter culture in order to stifle activism; opening the door for the problems we are experiencing, today. Also, authors like Gary Webb, in his controversial book "Dark Alliance," traced the government's alleged role in the crack epidemic in Los Angeles during the mid 80's.

It must, also, be noted that the act of "fighting gangs" is, in and of itself, a cash cow. Many people are depending on the continuous cycle of gang violence to pay their mortgages and to send their children to college. One can only guess the money that goes towards paying "gang experts," sponsoring gang awareness seminars and maintaining the prison industrial complex.

While the role of pop culture in promoting gangsta-ism is often discussed at anti-violence workshops, most presentations only deal with surface issues that begin and end with placing the entire blame for gangs on Hip Hop music. Although such rappers as Snoop Dog (Crip) and the Game (Blood) should be held accountable for the role that they have played in the destruction of our communities, most folks are totally oblivious to the names of the rich business men who sign their paychecks. Although many people would recognize rapper, Lil Wayne (Blood affiliated), they wouldn't recognize Jimmy Iovine (Interscope, which distributed Death Row Records) or Sumner Redstone (Viacom, parent company of BET,MTV, VH1) if they bumped into them on the street.

Hollywood's role in glamorizing the gangsta lifestyle also must not be ignored. While movies like "Colors," " Boyz in the Hood" and "Menace II Society" may have sparked America's fascination with gangs, HBO's 1994 documentary , "Gang Wars: Bangin' in Little Rock" served as a major recruiting tool for gangs outside of Chicago and California.

The key to solving the gang problems is as multifaceted as the reasons for their existence. Contrary to popular belief, one size does not fit all.

Although, gang membership is not limited by color nor class, the rationale for an African American or Latino child joining a gang as opposed to a white child may be ,vastly, different. There may, also, be different reasons for a kid from the 'hood gang bangin' than a kid from the 'burbs. Unfortunately, Durham has been slow to embrace the cultural educational solutions that have been effective in larger cities for fear that they may be seen as divisive. We must listen to those voices who can address the problem from a cultural perspective.

Also, the calls for more activities for Durham's young people are often drowned out by the traditional "tough on crime" rhetoric.
City officials must make funding youth activities more than just a slogan to get votes during election time.

Lastly, the city officials, educators and religious leaders must sponsor more town hall meetings to come up with workable solutions instead of the usual "An Idiot's Guide to Gangs" type format.

If we do not come up with new and innovative solutions to the problem, 10 years from now we'll still be jammin' to the same ol' song:

"In Durham they say we gang bang...."


Min. Paul Scott is founder of the Messianic Afrikan Nation  For more information contact (919) 972-8305

Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour Continues 10/29

The Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour continues. I had the pleasure of speaking to some students at Carrington Middle School in Durham NC. To schedule a lecture contact (919) 451-8283 or info@ioimovement.com

NWSF Bullet: Merchandising Michael

I will be the first to admit that I like Michael Jackson's music. I've been a fan since the "I Want You Back" days.

However, I have mixed feelings about the new movie coming out tomorrow. I'm not sure that it is an honest attempt to pay tribute to one of the world's greatest entertainers or just a scam for greedy media moguls to recoup some of the money that they lost when Jackson died.

Also, there is the issue of the hypocrisy that folks like Rev. Al Sharpton brought up after The King of Pop's death. Rev. was right, many of the same people who were boo hooin' last July, were hatin' on him the day before he died.

I remember the video channels playing "They Don't Really Care About Us," Jackson's most political song. The same stations probably hadn't played the song since some people criticized the lyrics as "anti-semitic."

A lot of folks hated Jackson's political side that began to surface after the accusations of his having improper relations with children.

Now I wasn't really feelin' all the damage control when he was on the tube talkin' about how proud he was to be a "black African American."

(I wasn't with the OJ Simpson attempt to prove that he was "down with the brothas, either)

But when MJ started calling out the big shots who control the music industry, I was impressed!

What is sad is that the movie will probably make millions more than his come back attempt would have made. To most folks, Mike was a 50 year old has been.


It could be argued that Tupac Shakur would have long been replaced by the Lil Wayne's of the world if he hadn't been killed.

Americans seem to really dig posthumous music.

I guess Notorious BIG was right.

"You're nobody till somebody kills you."

Confessions of an Angry Black Man

Confessions of an Angry Black Man:
White America's Guide to Understanding Black Rage

Paul Scott




James Baldwin once said that to be black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage. Maybe that explains why the black guy in the car next to you looks like he just had a bowl of nails for breakfast.

Most white Americans are of the opinion that these are happy times for black folks. You know, with the dude that everyone assumes is our "homie" in the White House and all. Even hardcore Hip Hoppers like Jay Z and Young Jeezy took brief hiatuses from rapping about guns and drugs to acknowledge the historic 2008 presidential victory. So even the most liberal white guy greats the permanent Ice Cube- like scowl on my face with the comforting words of "why so glum, chum ?"

For many African Americans, the euphoria of the last election has not lived up to the hype. This is compounded by the increasing attacks on "blackness" by the right wing under the guise of critiquing the Obama administration.

So, as comedian Richard Pryor once said, "I got a right to be hostile, my people are being persecuted!"

While today's average white American sees the modern expression of black anger as something as commercially, superficial as Kanye West snatchin' a microphone from Taylor Swift, black rage is deeply rooted in American history.

One of the first instances of black anger in written form was Wilmington NC native David Walker's, "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World."
The 1829 pamphlet boldly warned America that "woe, woe will be to you if we have to obtain our freedom by fighting." Not quite the sentiment of the stereotypical "happy go lucky darkie" of Antebellum America folk lore.

Black disillusionment continued after World Wars I and II as the black soldiers who risked their lives overseas experienced as much racism on foreign soil as they did domestically. It has been recorded that German prisoners of war received better treatment than African American enlisted men. The soldiers also returned home to see black men lynched while still in uniform.

The condition of African Americans did not change during the following decades, prompting Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer to proclaim in frustration that she was "sick and tired of being sick and tired."

Black rage of the Civil Rights Age came to a head after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, resulting in the burning of many American cities, bringing to fruition the prophesies of Black Power prophets of rage like Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) and H. Rap Brown (Jamil Al-Amin).

Black anger trickled into the 80's and early 90's with a series of rebellions accompanied by a soundtrack courtesy of a politicized Hip Hop movement courtesy of groups like Public Enemy; the rebellions after the so called "Rodney King Trial" being the most reminiscent of the explosive 60's.

Not only black rage but protest in general was subdued after 9/11 as anything even remotely resembling anti-Americanism was seen as a threat to national security and carried with it the possibility of a lengthy stay at the Gitmo Hotel.

In 2009, the current state of affairs in this country threatens to wake the sleeping not -so- jolly black giant.

However, the spark that may ignite Baldwin's, "Fire Next Time" may be mostly based on a deep sense of hopelessness.

Many African Americans are now questioning whether things will ever get better. I mean, there are just so many times that you can ,unsuccessfully, play the Lotto at your local convenience before storming to the exit knocking over a rack of potato chips on your way out.

What if the unemployment rate never goes down?

What if 2010 brings about another Republican revolution?

What if the mass mobilization of the right wing base is successful and President Obama does not win a second term and the miracle of a black president goes down in the annals of American history as a fluke?

This state of fear and frustration is worsened by ultra conservative talking heads who insist on pouring gasoline on the fire on a daily basis.

There is an old adage in the black community that if you tell white folks what they want to hear, all will be right with the world.

Therefore, white America may be totally oblivious to the black rage bubblin' under the surface until it boils over.

The average Joe Bob will believe that everything is fine and dandy until Willie Smith, his mild mannered black coworker goes off on a tirade about "400 years of oppression," after he, politely, asks him for one of his doughnuts one morning.

So, the question that is being posed in 2009 is the same question that poet Langston Hughes asked in 1951,

"What happens to a dream deferred?"

I don't know, America. You tell me...


Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Quiet Riot: Campuses Rebel Against Gangsta Rap

Quiet Riot: Campuses Rebel Against Gangsta Rap

Paul Scott




In 1971, Gil Scott Heron recorded, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Although the song was written during the time of the Vietnam War, Heron could have just as easily been talking about the war against gangsta-ism being waged on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's), today.

Across the country , students are protesting the fact that student funds are being used to give fat paychecks to Hip Hop artists that promote violence and disrespect of women. Every year, black institutions of higher learning, collectively, spend millions of dollars bankrolling Hip Hop homecoming shows that promote the worst kind of anti-intellectualism.

Unfortunately, except for a few Hip Hop websites and scant local media coverage, the protests have received little attention from a black community that should be rallying around such efforts to protect the minds of African American youth.

Earlier this month, students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, NC protested an appearance by rapper, Gucci Mane because of his lyrics that glorify gang life. Although, the concert is still scheduled for October 31, the students were successful in getting North Carolina A&T administrators to drop the school's support of the show.

Now, The FAMU People's Coalition, a group of students and community activists around the campus of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University have started a campaign against their upcoming homecoming show with the rallying call,' You Call that a Concert?".

According to group co founder, Terrance Darnell during an interview with No Warning Shots Fired.com, the current FAMU concert lineup is in direct conflict with the cultural and social guidance that the institution is supposed to provide. The lineup was originally scheduled to include Gucci Mane but he will not attend, supposedly, because of legal issues.

"The University shouldn't validate these artists, " said Darnell.

It has been reported that a HBCU can invest upwards of $100,000 to put on these types of shows , money that Darnell says should be put to better use.

"The money could have gone to get a higher caliber of artist," he said.

On the organization's website , they list a group of performers whom they feel would better represent the university's mission statement including, Common and Lupe Fiasco.

Although, many people believe that all young black people support the gangsta-ism of some of today's Hip Hop artists , Darnell says that his group's own research contradicts this long held myth.

"Where are all the people endorsing this" he asks? "The majority of the people understand where we are coming from."

Perhaps, the bigger question is why is so little attention being paid to these gangsta rap rebellions ? It can be argued that if the students of HBCU's were involved in some negative activity it would be front page news. However when young folks raise their voices against negative noise, the silence is deafening.

In an era when the educational gap between black males and their peers just keeps getting wider and children are being killed on the streets by senseless, gang violence, how can we hold our tongues and refuse to speak out?

Where are the religious leaders who should be on the front line of this fight? Where are the educators who should be waging war against the destruction of young minds? Where are the alumni of HBCU's who should be upholding the honor of their schools?

Could it be that the blood money that these concerts generate makes those who should be aiding the protesters look the other way?

The activities of these activists should be the main topic of conversation in barbershops, community meetings and Sunday morning church services in every city in America. Members of the community should be textin' and tweetin' this information to their circle of friends until the wee hours of the morning.

Some my ask, why with all the problems facing black folks, should we be so concerned about a rap concert?

Terrance Darnell said it best.

"I'm not willing to have this on my conscience when I'm 70 years old."

Neither should we, brother. Neither should we...


For more information on the FAMU People's Coalition visit http://petitionfamuconcert.blogspot.com/ or on Facebook (You Call that a Concert?)




Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com He recently launched the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign http://www.ioimovement.com/

TRUTH Minista on Chuck D's Air America Show 10/18

I am scheduled to do my segment on Chuck D's (Public Enemy) Air America Show, "On the Real" at around 12:30AM EST Monday morning. It's a two hour show and starts 11:PM EST Sunday Night.

http://airamerica.com/ontherealwithchuckd/

Rush, Rams and Reverse Racism

Rush, Rams and Reverse Racism:
The Right's Search for a Black Racist

Paul Scott



With the announcement of Rush Limbaugh's failure to purchase part of the St Louis Rams football franchise, the Right went on a safari to track down the ever elusive, black racist. As usual, the race hunters came up empty. The best specimen that they could capture was Fox News Channel's token black commentator, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill with a picture of former Black Liberation Army member, Assata Shakur on his website. Hardly, evidence of a violent plot to take over America by spear wielding black militants.

The reason why the Right Wingers have never been able to successfully cage a black racist is simple. They don't exist.

Now this may be a hard pill to swallow for those who, wholeheartedly, believe in a warped version of the law of opposites.

If there is white racism, surely there must be black racism. If whites have ,historically, enslaved and oppressed blacks, there has to be some remote island out in the Atlantic where Bobby Whitman is being forced to pick cotton and sing Barry Manilow songs while Tyrone Jackson stands over him with a whip and a tall glass of Country Time Lemonade.

However, this Bizarro World of black supremacy only exists in the minds of Ultra Right talking heads and those who set their watches by the Glenn Beck Show.

For years, the Right has used the charge of "reverse racism" to hide their collective fears that they are losing control of America. Oddly enough, many people who scream racism don't have the foggiest idea what the word means. While the definition of "racism" may be a doctrine of racial superiority, the functional definition is the power of a group to exercise this doctrine over others. Therefore, as author Nelly Fuller wrote "the only form of functional racism that exists among the people of the known universe is white supremacy."

The doctrine of white supremacy is so entrenched in this society that even an African American president of the United States is not exempt.

So, sorry folks, by this definition, African Americans cannot be racist. We can be a lot of things; prejudiced, bigots, etc but the one thing that we cannot be, for social and economic reasons, is racist.

It must be noted that in order to find a black racist apologists for white supremacy have had to reach back centuries.

In his book, "The Ice Man Inheritance: Prehistoric Sources of Western Man's Racism, Sexism and Aggression," Canadian author, Michael Bradley traces the foundation of the myth of black racism back centuries when the Bantu-speaking people conquered the Khoikhoi and the Saan. Because anthropologist CS Coon divided the Africans into two separate races, some have used this as evidence of "black supremacy." However, Bradley also quotes anthropologist Ashley Montague as saying, " The modern conception of race owes its widespread diffusion to the white man. Wherever he has gone he has carried it with him."

America's search for black racists carried into the Civil Rights Era when Mike Wallace introduced America to Malcolm X via the documentary "The Hate that Hate Produced," which, like future programs ,confused reactionary racial rhetoric and calls for black self empowerment with black socio-economic supremacy.

This was also evident in the late 60's and early 70's, when those attempting to label the Black Panther Party as "racists" ignored the fact that Panther ideology was based on Marxism which downplayed race in order to organize the oppressed working class and also the fact that the party had many white supporters including celebrities such as Jane Fonda and Marlon Brando.

This frantic search for black supremacy continued into the 80's and 90's when black leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Minister Louis Farrakhan and Rev. Al Sharpton were labeled racists as well as entertainers such as the rap group, Public Enemy.

We see the same trend continuing over the last year as Conservatives tried to link black racism to the Obama administration by their attacks on the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Even the Latino community was not spared as Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor was portrayed by the conservative media as a brown racist.

So, it is not black racism that is the problem, it is conservative talk show hosts such as Sean Hannity, Mike Savage and Rush Limbaugh who spew their hate filled venom across the planet via their satellite powered pulpits, 24 hours a day.

If Limbaugh and his ilk want to see a real racist, they need to look no further than their own bathroom mirrors.


Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

NWSF Bullet: Rumor that Fox News Fired Dr. Marc Lamont Hill

The folks on the Right are buzzing over a rumor floating around on the 'net that Murdoch and company have given their token black commentator , Dr. Marc Lamont Hill the axe. This comes after they made a big stinky over Hill's web page that they said supported folks like former Black Liberation Army member, Assata Shakur.

Kinda reminds me of the old story about the little girl who picked up a rattlesnake that promised not to bite her. When the snake bit her he simply said, "You knew I was a snake when you picked me up."

The question that folks always ask is "why do black folks go on fox, anyway." As someone who has appeared on the channel multiple times, I also get that question.

Some may suggest that we are just gluttons for punishment. However, the truth is the black "Good ol' Brotha's Club" already has the Liberal media on lock down. So, we go on Fox hoping to get a good punch in before we get caught off.

But that doesn't change the fact that you're still dealin' with the Empire of Evil.

As the old folks used to say, "lay down with dogs; wake up with fleas."

Author Exposes the Real "Durham County Secrets"

Author Exposes the Real "Durham County Secrets"

Paul Scott




A few months ago, the trailers for ION network's new cable series, "Durham County Secrets" had residents scrambling to make sure that the closets holding their skeletons were securely locked. To the relief of many, the series had nothing to do with Durham NC.

However, in his new book, "Liberalism, Black Power and the Making of American Politics 1965-1980," Vanderbilt University professor, Dr. Devin Fergus, uncovers some secrets that are sure to have Durham folks talking.

In the book, Fergus writes about the Black Power Movement in North Carolina and how it was co-opted by Liberalism. Interestingly enough, he devotes the first two chapters to "the Bull City."

In a recent interview with No Warning Shots Fired.com, Fergus, a New Jersey native, said that he is no stranger to the Tar Heel State having spent his summers down south. Durham was of special interest to him because of the flattering words that Dr. WEB Du Bois gave the black entrepreneurial spirit of the city in the early 20th century and because of the late Minnesota senator, Paul Wellstone's 1969 thesis, "Why They Believe in Violence" which predicted that "Durham was on the precipice of race war."

Fergus also said that one thing that grabbed his attention about Durham was former black power activist, Howard Fuller.

Although, Durham is often praised as being "Black Wall Street" and a haven for the black middle class, the Black Power Movement, which was popular with less affluent members of the city's African American community, is rarely mentioned in books. Even though, E. Franklin Frazier writes in his classic work, "Black Bourgeoisie," that "the capital of the black bourgeoisie was Durham NC," few books mention the city as a hotbed of black militancy.

This is the segment of the population that Fuller set out to represent.

The book chronicles Fuller's struggle with Durham's black middle class, some of whom saw his militancy as a threat to their social and economic stability.

Although some in Durham have, continuously, argued for Afrocentric education for black children, Fuller started Malcolm X Liberation University as early as March of 1969. By the fall of 1970, based, partially, on the efforts of some members of Durham's middle class, MXLU was forced to seek greener pastures in Greensboro, NC.

Later in the book, Fergus moves his focus to other areas of North Carolina, writing about black empowerment projects from Winston Salem's chapter of the Black Panther Party to the mobilization around the Joan Little case and Warren County's Soul City.

While much of the focus of his book is on the black middle class's relationship with black power, he also writes of white liberalism and its attempt to push black militancy into the more socially acceptable political arena.

While some may consider "Liberalism, Black Power and the Making of American Politics" controversial, for a black Hip Hop generation searching for answers to what happened to the "black pride" about which their parents would brag, Fergus's book is a secret that now must be yelled from rooftops.

Dr. Devin Fergus is scheduled to come to the Triangle on a lecture tour the weekend of October 23rd. For more information contact rhuff@ugapress.uga.edu

***On Sunday October 25th he is scheduled to appear at Hayti Heritage Center in Durham and on Monday November 2 at UNC.



Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

NWSF Bullet: From Def Jam to Death Jam

As I sit here watching VH1's Hip Hop Honor's Def Jam," I am reflecting back to the first time that I heard T-La Rock''s "It's Yours."

Could it be that it was all so simple then?

I remember Def Jam in its heyday. LL Cool J's "Radio" was just as hard as anything that is played on the radio, today sans the profanity and tales of drug sells.

I remember the first time I heard Public Enemy's "Rebel With a Cause." Over 20 years later, as I watch the group perform the song, just like a generation ago, even some folks in that room like the music of Public Enemy but despise the message of Public Enemy.

To Def Jam's credit, even though the label did go gangsta with some of its artists, the label never totally lost its soul.

Even DMX wasn't void of a conscious as some of the West Coast artists seem to be.

However, I guess what is most disappointing about Def Jam is that the label had the opportunity to be the leader that could have preserved what was good about Hip Hop. Instead as Hip Hop changed, so did Def Jam. As evidence by Rick Ross, who is performing as I write this.

Maybe someday, someone will realize that a "def jam" doesn't have to celebrate black death.


TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com

NWSF Bullet: Attack On Assata Shakur Continues

A few months back, NWSF covered the renewed attempts to get 60- 70's activist, Assata Shakur extradited back to the US.

Over, the last couple of weeks, the media have again been running reports about Shakur. The first being Right Wing stories about Fox News commentator , Dr. Marc Lamont Hill's, alleged support for Shakur.

Today, CBS is running a story about activists who sought political political asylum in Cuba.

What makes this story interesting is that CBS (not known to make mistakes) is reporting that Assata Shakur is the mother of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

Assata was Tupac's aunt by marriage. Pac's mother is Afeni Shakur. Maybe, tying Assata to Tupac will increase interest in the story?

If the news is getting that little bit of info wrong, what other misinformation is being spread about Assata Shakur and why?

Hmmm?

Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour Continues 10/11

As part of the Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour, TRUTH Minista Paul Scott speaks at The Rights of Passage Program, Durham NC. More dates coming. Stay tuned.
To arrange a tour stop contact (919) 451-8283 or info@ioimovement.com

Time to Cancel Columbus Day

Time to Cancel Columbus Day

Paul Scott



"Information we get today is just wack. But ask yourself, why is that?"
Hip Hop artist KRS One




As a child, I don't know what I learned first, the lyrics to the Jackson Five's hit "ABC" or that little ditty about Columbus sailing "the ocean blue in fourteen-hundred and ninety-two." Anyway, the latter had a much greater role in shaping my world view and that of many others.

October 12, is Columbus Day; a time that is traditionally set aside to honor the "founder of western civilization," Christopher Columbus.

However, to some of us it is the glorification of one of the greatest lies ever told in the history of mankind. For the drones who will be partying on C-Day, I bet not one of them will ask the basic, fundamental question "How can someone discover a new world when there were real live breathing human beings already there?"

But, in America, not only do folks celebrate such outlandish myths, they create holidays around them.

I never understood the proper way to celebrate Columbus Day, anyway. What do you do, go out and "discover" the UPS package left on your neighbor's doorstep?

What many people recognize as Columbus's great "discovery" merely marks the beginning of European western imperialism.

According to James Loewen in his controversial book "Lies My Teacher Told Me," the coming of Columbus should be remembered for two things; "the taking of land, wealth and labor from the indigenous people, leading to their extermination" and "the transatlantic slave trade."

If you don't believe me, the next time you run into a Caribbean Arawak...

Oh, that's right you can't because, thanks to good ol' Chris, they don't exist, anymore.

Also, it must be noted that, according to researchers such as the late Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, author of "They Came Before Columbus," African people (among others) visited the West long before the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria dropped their anchors in the Caribbean.

So, the real purpose of Columbus Day is to reinforce the idea of European global Manifest Destiny, "the white man's burden" or whatever excuse used to justify the subjugation of the non-European people of the planet.

What is most disturbing is the fact that falsehoods such as the Columbus myth still form the cornerstone of the United States educational system.

This is especially sad during a time when a nonwhite person is leader of the free world.

I don't care how many education initiatives that President Obama launches, unless the citizens of this country challenge traditional western thought, they aren't worth a hill of beans.

How can we encourage our children to value education when we allow myths to go, unchallenged ? How can we ask our youth to think for themselves and not succumb to the evils of peer pressure if we,as adults, don't have the guts to smash the idols of our collective intellectual oppression ?

We tell our young people not to believe the images that they see on BET and the lyrics they hear on Hip Hop radio stations but at the same time we tell them it's okay to believe in historical fairy tales.

It is time that we finally have the courage to stand up and say that we will no longer allow lies parading as truth to poison the minds of our children. In order to do this we must not only tell the truth about Columbus Day but all the other myths that plague us.

Collectively, we must push for a society where truth trumps educational dogmatism.

Over the last year this country has changed politically. Now it is time for us to change mentally.


Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com

The Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour Continues

As part of the Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour, TRUTH Minista Paul Scott lectures on the origin of gangsta-ism at WD Hill Recreation Center in Durham NC.

Hip Hop, Homecoming and Hoes

Hip Hop, Homecoming and Hoes:
How HBCUs Fund Gangsta Rap

Paul Scott



It's Autumn. A time when HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) across the country celebrate homecomings. It's a season of football games, marching bands and step shows. It's also a time when universities pay major dollars to rappers who act like they have never seen the inside of a classroom.

Recently, students at North Carolina A@T and FAMU protested the inclusion of Gucci Mane in their annual homecoming concerts. The students felt that with the spilling over of gang violence onto college campuses, to roll out the red carpet for one of the major purveyors of all that is wrong with Hip Hop would not be a good look.

Although the Gucci guy is still scheduled to roll into Greensboro Halloween night, because of the student protests, the university's administrators decided to take the school's name off of the marquee.

I don't know why the "Aggies" are singling out Gucci Mane since there is nothing, even remotely, unique about his Dirty South swagga and "trap tales." But I really don't care why they put Gucci on blast. The revolution against this foolishness has to start somewhere and I can think of no better place than a predominately black institute of higher learning and I can think of no better time than now.

This is not the first time that college students have taken a stand against the violence and misoginy in most commercial Hip Hop. Back in 2004, the sisters of Spelman put heat on Nelly in response to his Tip Drill video that featured a black woman's derriere being used as a credit card swiper.

But it has not happened nearly enough. While many people have looked to the teeny bopper "106 and Park " crowd to be the vanguard responsible for stopping "gangsta rap" the real responsibility lies at the feet of college students.

It is a well known fact that most entertainers don't make their money selling cds, especially in the age of youtube and Limewire but they make their spending cash via concert tours. Many of theses concerts are held in conjunction with college activities such as homecomings and spring break events.

So, in essence, it can be said that HBCU's bankroll much of the music that promotes black on black violence and the disrespect of black women.
Although, some my argue that college coeds are old enough to know the difference between the fantasy world of Hip Hop and real life, their little brothers and sisters are not. By supporting artists that promote negativity the students are helping to fund the destruction of the generation coming up behind them.

Despite the fact that some of these colleges have Hip Hop classes and frequently sponsor Hip Hop conferences that bemoan the current state of Hip Hop, unfortunately, these initiatives have not helped the students develop a workable strategy that would force Hip hop artists to produce the type of music that many college educated students profess to want.

This is not to say that white colleges are bastions of morality, by any means , as the keg parties and "girls gone wild" scenarios are things that legends are made of. So, the question that some may ask is whether black institutions should be held to higher standards.

Of course they should.

Our ancestors did not sacrifice their lives so that black students today can listen to "tha Gooch " rap about gettin' wasted.

More than that, they owe it to the future generation who should be looking to them as the ones who will finally end centuries of perpetual black misery.

Black colleges across the country should ban together and place a moratorium on the minstrelsy so prevalent in much of today's Hip Hop. The student body presidents at HBCU's should draft a "manifesto against the madness" and vow not to spend student funds to bring rappers that shame the black community to their campuses. Instead they must seek out those artists that seek to encourage young black children to strive for college yards instead of prison yards.

So, intelligent brothers and sisters of HBCU's, the choice is yours. Are you going to raise your voices against Gucci gangsta-ism or are you going to be at the next concert singin' "Freaky Gurl " at the top of your lungs? "


Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 451-8283 For more information on the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign go to http://www.ioimovement.com/

Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour Kicked Off Today

"TRUTH Minista" Paul Scott's Intelligence Over Ignorance Tour, officially, kicked off today with a lecture at New Horizons/Training for Success in Durham.

More dates on the way. stay tuned.

To schedule a date in your city contact info@ioimovement.com or call (919) 451-8283

We Murdered Derrion Albert

By now everyone has seen the video of the brutal murder of Chicago honor student Derrion Albert who was beaten to death September 24th.

Since the murder, many people have been pointing fingers as to who is to blame for the death of Derrion.

Of course, we know that the teens who beat him ,unmercifully, are to blame but in the bigger picture, we murdered Derrion Albert.

No, most of us weren't there swinging 2X4's or throwing blows but we are just as guilty.

I'm talking about those of us who sat around watching the murder video on youtube like it was some snuff film.

I'm talking about the men who sat around all day watching football games and scratching themselves instead of getting involved with activities to help the youth.

I'm talking about those of us who have become so accustomed to murder and mayhem in our music that we have forgotten the impact it makes when the whole world watches videos of black people behaving like savages.

So we shouldn't mourn for Derrion. We should mourn for ourselves.

Because his blood and the blood of many other children is on our hands...

Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com


The following tribute is by Focus 1 (Christopher LeMark) of Chicago. He can be reached at LeMarkFrazier@Gmail.com

Follow the Leader: In Search of Hip Hop's Talented Tenth

Follow the Leader:
In Search of Hip Hop's Talented Tenth

Paul Scott



"I'm here to break away the chains, take away the pains, remake the brains..."

Follow the Leader -Eric B and Rakim 1988




Twenty years ago the members of Public Enemy announced that they were going to raise up a nation of 5,000 black leaders. For a time it seemed to be working as many black folks started reading Afro-centric literature and listening to lectures by black scholars for the first time. This is not much different than Dr. WEB Du Bois's efforts a century earlier to cultivate a "talented tenth" that was supposed to uplift the black race. But in 2009, when ignorance is produced in mass quantities, the question that we must ask is where are they now?

If Du Bois's challenge was to uplift a people just two generations up from slavery, why do we find it so difficult, in the 21st century, to organize against ignorance?

During the era 1988-92, members of the Hip Hop Nation tried to develop a massive mass education project . For example, KRS not only tried to organize H.E.A.L. (Human Education Against Lies) but also released the timeless track, "My Philosophy" which, till this day, is still one of the greatest arguments against anti-intellectualism ever recorded.

Groups like the X-Clan moved a whole generation towards Afro-centric thought and exposed a nation of black youth who had only known of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King to the philosophy of Garvey-ism via songs such as "Funkin' Lesson."

The impact of the 5% Nation (NGE) cannot be overstated as groups such as Brand Nubian and Poor Righteous Teachers saw it as their spiritual mission to "civilize the uncivilized."

However, by 1992, the age of enlightenment gave way to Hip Hop's Dark Age, in which, we still find ourselves 17 years later.

The reasons for this backwards journey are many.

However, we must start with the nature of the beast, the music industry ,itself, and it's relationship to "revolutionary" music a generation prior to the "conscious" Hip Hop age.

In his book, "There's a Riot Going On," Peter Doggett writes of a meeting of advertising agencies and entertainment conglomerates that was held in October of 1968 called "Selling the American Youth Market," which was followed two months later by a Columbia Records marketing campaign called "The Revolutionaries are on Columbia." Thus, the revolutionary energy of the Vietnam Era was quickly co-opted and transformed into a Capitalist marketing scheme. The music that was once radical became politically ambiguous, at best.

If we juxtapose this with progressive Hip Hop music, we see that with the commercialization of the politically charged rap it began to loose it's militancy , attempting to attract the coveted crossover market. This was also exacerbated by an American political structure that has always seen intelligent African Americans as threats to national security. Not to mention a corporate America that has grabbed every opportunity to "dumb down" the youth in an effort to make them more vulnerable to marketing schemes and corporate exploitation.

While many of the causes have been external, they have been internal, as well.

Although, members of the era of conscious Hip Hop waxed poetic about the conspiracy to dumb down black youth, they were ill prepared to do anything about it. So why should we be surprised in the 21st century that the fruits of this labor have come to fruition? Also, we must admit that too many in that era gave VIP (Very Ignorant People) passes to the early gangsta rappers in the name of Hip Hop unity. This has produced the dilemma in which we find ourselves, today.

While Kwame Ture' spoke about "making the unconscious, conscious" until his dying day, what has developed is an "anti-conscious" movement. Biblically speaking, they are those who are destroyed not for their lack of Knowledge but for their rejection of it.

This is the target audience of today's representatives of what is passing for a black consciousness movement, many of whom were either in elementary school or not even born at the height of the political rap era, 20 years ago.

The problem with the new school Hip Hop intelligentsia is that they have so much dumbed down their messages that they have become the antithesis of the mission to uplift black people. Many of them have become less disciples of Rakim and more so followers of Nas, whose lyrical contradictions oft times outweigh their potentially, powerful impact. Also, because of the misuse of social networking sites such as youtube and Twitter, they have tried to out-gangsta the gangsta rappers , often bitterly attacking those who should be their comrades in the struggle.

Perhaps the biggest fault lies at the door of those who Du Bois would have referred to as his talented tenth; the college educated, as many of the music moguls with higher education are the main purveyors of the worst examples of anti-intellectualism; Sean Combs, Dame Dash, Suge Night, David Banner, etc.

While the call for 5,000 black leaders in the 80's was admirable, what we need now is a call for 5,000 black poor righteous teachers who realize that ,despite all the rheatoric, the greatest threat to global white supremacy (misnomered racism) is not a gun but a book.

The battle for the minds must start in our own communities as we must dedicate our lives to raising the consciousness of those around us.

Because, as Du Bois wrote in 1903 in "The Negro Problem," "if you do not lift them up, they will pull you down."



Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 451-8283 To learn more about The Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign visit http://www.ioimovement.com/

Durham Case of Swagga Jackin'

Love it or hate it, one of the things Hip Hop used to pride itself in was its originality. The Cardinal sin of Hip Hop was "bitin' " another rappers rhymes.


If only writers had the same code of ethics.

If you have followed the news in Durham over the years you can probably "feel me" on this one.

As an underground writer, I have always been more of an outcast. Like the early underground Hip Hoppers, I had to hustle (ie use guerrilla activism/journalism) to get my message out.

(Although they say "controversy sells" sometimes you can only sell it on the street corner.)

Anyway, some local writers have had more access to the mainstream press.

All well and good and I'm not hatin'.

But the problem comes when you work hard to be original and you see the fruits of your labor, unashamedly, in the mainstream by another dude.

Back in the late 90's, I remember working tirelessly to stop a malt liquor from being sold in the 'hood. I turned on the TV set one day and saw this dude talking about how he was fighting against the 40 oz.



This is also repeated in a book about black barbershop talk(or something another) where the author writes about how this same guy called for a boycott of Phat Boy Malt Liqour.

Coincidence? Maybe...

But then a few years later, I made a call for for black men in the city to gather to help stop the violence.

A week later...you guessed it.

Then when I started promoting Afrocentric Theology...

And still 'till, this very day, as I have been trying for the last few weeks to address the issue of the failure of the local school system to close the achievement gap. I looked in the local paper and once again...

Same dude. History keeps repeating itself.

It's kinda like an unsigned artist who gets his song stolen by an established cat with a record deal.

Oh well, I guess imitation is the highest form of flattery.

But sometimes as the Hip Hopper's say "swagga jackin' " is just "swagga jackin."

September 27th: What Happened to Black Consciousness?

There was a time when there was a vivrant Black Consciousness movement in this country. A period, when Knowledge was revered and the pursuit of it encouraged.

However, in 2009, Black Consciousness seems more like gangsta rap.

What happened?

On Sunday ,September 27th at 10AM on WRBB (104.9) in Boston, Bro. Adika and TRUTH Minista Paul Scott will discuss the future of Black Consciousness.

To listen live go
http://wrbbradio.org/index.php?n=listen

Rev. Al "Razor Sharp" Sharpton to Take on WWE

Rev. Al "Razor Sharp" Sharpton to Host WWE Raw



Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. I just saw where Rev. Al Sharpton is going to be the guest host on World Wrestling Entertainment's top rated show, Raw, next week.

Is nothin' sacred?

I haven't been this disappointed since MC Hammer was dancing around with a bucket of fried chicken in those KFC commercials back in the day.

Now, I know that WWE has millions of viewers but I just don't see why the good Rev would lower himself to appear on a show with overweight men in tights beating each other's brains out with steel chairs.

Say it ain't so!

Maybe there is a method to his madness.

Since the running gimmick on Raw is that the guest host picks the matches for the evening maybe Rev. Al is going to present the Wrestlemania of Politics featuring:

In a leather strap match Glenn "No Respect" Beck will take on Van "the Buzz Saw Czar" Jones.

In a Diva' s swim suit match match: Ann "Annihilator" Coulter will take on Michelle "Bring the Drama" Obama.

For the WWE tag team championship: The Masked Foxes, "Wild Bill" O'Reilly and Sean "The Shark" Hannity will fight THE CN-Enemies, Rollin' Roland Martin and Larry "the Killer" King.

And in the main event, for the heavy weight championship of the world, Barack "tha Bomb" Obama will battle "Joe "You Lie" Wilson in a cage match.


Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com He can reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 451-8283

What About Our Children, Again?

What About Our Children, Again?

Paul Scott


Back when I was in school the blue eyed soul group, Hall and Oates had a song that had the chorus, "you're out of touch, I'm out of time." The song was about some dude who couldn't get along with his main squeeze but it also sums up how I felt while watching the MSNBC special "About Our Children," last night.

The program was promoted as a Bill Cosby Town hall meeting, so like many folks, I tuned in to expect to see Dr. Cosby ranting and raving about how Hip Hop is destroying the minds of young black children especially since he had tons of material following last week's MTV Video Music Awards. I assumed that as the credits were rolling he would still be pointing his finger at the camera and yelling, "Now about that Kanye West fellow...and who told that little girl to jump on the stage with Jay Z !"

But no, as Cosby pointed out during the intro, it wasn't his show; he was just the draw.

That was pretty much the case.

As with most meetings that deal with the plight of "troubled youth," the MSNBC program suffered from the same problem; wrong place and wrong people.

The meeting took place in a nice auditorium at Howard University in Washington DC. I think that it would have been more realistic if it would have been held at one of the many community centers in the 'hoods of DC but I guess that wasn't the ambiance that the producers were trying to create.

On the panel you had a bunch of mostly private school educated folks who would probably wet their pants if one of their students threw up a gang sign during English class. You had the professors professin' about the problem. You had the ,obligatory, lady who looked like she just stepped out one of those movies where the great white hope goes into an inner city school and within the first 6 weeks all of the students become Phi Beta Kappa candidates. I'm still not sure how comedian, Paul Rodriguez wound up on the panel, I guess Chris Rock was busy.

They even showed scenes from a few schools where the children all wanted to grow up to be doctors and teachers. Not one mentioned wanting to be Lil Wayne's hype man or a forward for the Chicago Bulls.

Where were the real people? Where were the community activists that could have told the challenges that they face in trying to change their local school systems? Where were the "inner city" teachers who would have been told where to go and what to kiss if they tried to implement some of the feel good strategies that the panelists suggested? It would, also, have been nice if they would have ,at least, allowed the parents of "at risk youth" to Twitter in some comments even if they couldn't make the pilgrimage to the nation's Capitol.

But instead you had a two hour visit to a fantasy world where the children always beat the tardy bell and the hallways smell like Lemon Pledge instead of stale urine.

I can't really say that watching the program made me a better parent or taught me much that I didn't already know. I can think of a few scholars (Jawanza Kunjufu, Na'im Akbar) that would have kept me from watching the clock hoping that I wouldn't miss the kick off of the Cowboys/Giants game for most of the program.

Maybe it's not all that deep. Perhaps, the problems facing our children can be solved with nice polite town hall meetings where people sit unemotionally, quiet as a panel of really smart folks gives them advice to save their children who step over crack pipes and broken wine bottles on their way to class every morning. Or maybe the solutions are so controversial and advanced that the folks over at MSNBC wouldn't dare allow "real folks" on national TV to discuss the issue.

Or maybe there could have been a good mixture of the two possibilities?

But as Hall and Oates sang , at the end of the program, I think that most of us were left with "manic moves and drowsy dreams or living in the middle between the two extremes..."

Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 451-8283 He recently launched the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign. http://www.ioimovement.com/

Intelligence Over Ignorance Interviews the Hip Hop Educator

Rappin' With the Hip Hop Educator
To many people, the terms "Hip Hop" and "education" are polar opposites. However, Miami's, Tony Muhammad thinks differently. Known as the "Hip Hop Educator" Muhammad has been successful at using the art form to educate the children of Florida.

For the full article visit the Intelligence Over Ignorance Website:
http://ioverimovement.blogspot.com/2009/09/rappin-with-hip-hop-educator.html

Will the Real Jackass Please Stand up

In the news tonight, President Barack Obama called someone out today in a major way. No, it wasn't Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the talking heads that have been criticizing his every move. It wasn't the radio show hosts who have been taking turns dissin' the First Family since they stepped into the White House. It wasn't even Rep. Joe Wilson, the dude who yelled out "You Lie!" during Obama's health care speech. No, the target of the president's sharp silver tongue was the real major threat to his health care agenda; Kanye West.

The Hip Hop world is buzzin' about President Obama dissin' West by calling him a jackass via an "off the record remark."

(Word of advice Mr. President, in the cut throat world of journalism, there are no "off the record remarks.")

Now I don't think what Kanye did to Little Taylor Swift was cool at all. Seems that every since West made his infamous "George Bush Doesn't like black people" remark a few years back there has been an attempt to dumb him down. I bet one of the industry big wigs and his goons pulled him into a back room and "strongly" suggested that he kill the political commentary and stick to rapping about money and hos.

So, no excuses for Kanye's behavior.

But that's beside the point.

If the president can brush off talking heads calling the mother of his children a female dog and a preacher saying that he hopes that he dies, why did he feel compelled to call out a rapper?

Well, rappers are easy targets. For most white folks a rapper is synonymous with a young black male who needs to be disciplined. Remember, after the Don Imus "nappy headed ho" scandal, the conversation switched from white male bigotry to a conversation about Hip Hop lyrics almost overnight.

Also, the picture of Kanye West on the cover of today's USA Today over the caption 'What Happened to Civility" could easily be seen as a not -so- veiled attempt to portray young black men as "uncivilized.

Perhaps the worst thing that will come out of the whole West/Swift ordeal is the next time some right wing kook decides to yell "you suck!" at an Obama press conference the good ol' boys will brush away all criticisms with "well, what about when Kanye West...."

I just think that if President Obama wanted to call someone a jackass, he had a whole staff of commentators at Fox News that would have fit the description better than a confused rapper....

Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com

NWSF Exclusive: Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign

Concerned that President Obama's recent speech on the value of education may not have resonated with the Hip Hop generation, a NC activist has launched a campaign that targets "ignorant rap."Durham minister and activist, Paul Scott has just started "Intelligence Over Ignorance," (http://www.ioimovement.com) as an effort to counter the anti-intellectualism found in most of today's commercial Hip Hop.

Scott says that for the last 15 years there has been a concerted effort on the part of the music industry to dumb down African American children.This is especially crucial as many school systems are trying to find ways to close the educational gap between African American students and their peers."We will never be able to close the educational gap until we close the mouths of some of these rappers," says Scott. As part of the campaign, Scott is urging the community to ostracize rappers who promote "mentally challenged music" and replace them with those who inspire children to grow, intellectually.

Scott is a minister activist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com . He first gained national attention in 1998 with a successful boycott of Phat Boy Malt Liquor. in 2003, He led a protest against Hip Hop star Nelly's "Pimp Juice" energy drink. For more information contact (919) 451-8283 or info@ioimovement.com or visit the website http://www.ioimovement.com

Fear of an Intelligent Black Man

Fear of an Intelligent Black Man

Paul Scott


"If I'm not who you say I am then you are not who you think you are."
James Baldwin




I want to extend my sincerest apology to the Right Wing Republicans; the Tea Party people , the Birthers, etc. For the last year, I have been calling you "narrow minded bigots who are just hatin' on the president because he's black!" However, based on the events of the last few weeks between the hecklers, the protesters, and the media lynching of former Obama green czar, Van Jones, I stand corrected. You guys don't hate him because he's black. You hate him because he's smart...and black.

Back in the early 90's there was a short lived fashion trend when black youth like the ones wearing Scarface T shirts, today, were proudly sportin' shirts with slogans such as "Knowledge is Power," "The Blacker the College the Sweeter the Knowledge" and my all time favorite, "Warning: Educated Black Man."

The latter was the expression of a sentiment that has existed in this country for centuries. White America is scared to death of a black man who can read and articulate a position.

On the plantation "Simple Jim" and "Big Buck" were never threats to the status quo . Nor are Krazy K and T-Bone who walk around with guns in their waste bands shouting obscenities at anyone who passes by. However, "uppity Negro" Frederick who would hide behind the barn and read a book and Marcus who walks around with "48 Laws of Power" instead of a 40 oz of Old English have always been public enemy #1.

Historically, it must be noted that up until the later part of the 19th century, black people were not ,legally, allowed to read as the plantation owner didn't want the people on whom he counted to pick his cotton to have delusions of grandeur that they could one day be running the joint and make his little rotten kids pick the cotton, themselves.

During the period following slavery it was necessary to give the newly emancipated slaves just enough training to make them productive parts of an economic system that was changing from agricultural to industrial. The idea was never to give the masses of black folks enough education to achieve equality with white Americans.

While an education indeed, was hard to obtain during the 1800's,some were able to break the color barrier. In 1826, John B. Russwurm became the first black college graduate. It must be noted that many of these early intellectuals used their education to write and speak out against slavery and later, with the coming of the WEB Dubois' and the William Trotters', speak out against racial inequality.

The continuing education of the masses of black folks has always been a controversial issue.

According to Harold Cruse in his book, "Plural but Equal," during the 1880's there was an attempt to pass a bill by Senator Henry Blair that would have required the government to provide $77 million dollars to be spent "equally for the education of all children, without distinction of race or color." This was followed by the investment of white philanthropists in the movement of Booker T. Washington that favored an industrial education for black folks instead of the challenging white folks intellectually and politically as advocated by Du Bois.

During the mid 1900's, many African Americans thought that public school desegregation (Brown vs the Board of Education, 1954) was going to be the key to social and economic equity that we have yet to achieve.

In regards to the Black Power Era of the 60's, while white washed history paints the protesters as "angry black militant thugs," it must be noted that the most vocal members of the leadership were intelligent and college educated such as Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) and H. Rap Brown. And while the powers that be may have feared Black Panther, Huey P. Newton's gun, they were more afraid of the bullets that came out of his mouth.

It must also be noted that while Malcolm X went to prison as a street cat he came out of prison as one of the greatest debaters this country has ever known, often debating his philosophies on the campuses of major white universities.

During the "conscious" Hip Hop era (1988-92) it must be noted that those rappers who promoted intellectualism and academic development were demonized by those in power but the rappers who glorified gangsta-ism are still making CD's, endorsing products and even making kiddie movies twenty years after the fact.

I am sure that many of the parents who yanked their kids out of school, last week ,so they would not hear Obama's "stay in school" speech, have no problem with their children listening to Lil Wayne.

So, the problem of white intimidation by black male intelligence still exists to this day. Just ask any black student who was directed to the gym or the wood shop class by his advisor while his white counterpart was guided to the chemistry lab or advanced physics. Or the black man with a Master's degree who gets passed over for a promotion that is given to Jim Bob, who barely has a GED.

Maybe the attacks on black men like Van Jones and Barack Obama will serve a greater purpose.

We must use these intances as "teachable moments" to tell our young people that racists don't hate strong black men because of the color of their skin but they fear the genius that lies within.


Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 451-8283
For more information on the "Intelligence Over Ignorance" Campaign go to http://www.ioimovement.com/