For many African Americans the term "Go back to Africa" is the ultimate insult , rivaling the dreaded "N word." However, a Durham NC activist and minister is urging African Americans to do just that this Black History Month. Not in a physical sense but academically, spiritually and culturally.
"Growing up,' Go Back to Africa was the ultimate diss among classmates, often leading to either tears or fist fights, says Paul Scott, "Now, the term is widely used by racists as an insult."Paul Scott, is urging African Americans to "upgrade" black history by including African History in Black History celebrations and school curriculums across the country.
"We cannot just be happy that black history is being taught and celebrated," says Scott, "We have to ask which type of black history is being taught, the version about African kings and queens or the one that begins with happy-go lucky slaves picking cotton on the plantation."Scott hopes that the same way the Hip Hop Generation has tried to take the sting out of the "N word" they will take the sting out of "Go back to Africa" by promoting Afrocentric education.
"Historically we have been taught that nothing good has come out of Africa and it has infected our young people with the fatal disease of self-hatred, says Scott, "Only through education can the healing begin."
Paul Scott is a minister, writer and activist who recently started the "Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign." In 2000, he coined the phrase Afrikan Liberation Theology which is the "Black Liberation Theology for the Hip Hop Generation." Scott has been a guest on talk shows across the country including Fox News and MSNBC discussing Hip Hop, rap, race and religion. His blog is No Warning Shots Fired.com
For more information contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Go Back to Africa!
Go Back to Africa:
Hatin' on Black History
Paul Scott
"Go back to Africa!"
Back when I was in elementary school that statement would either lead to fist fights or tears, depending on the the temperament of the target of the diss. Although many black folks can recall, in vivid detail, the first time they were called the "N word," and how they eventually got over it, for me, "go back to Africa" has not been easy to shake.
See, for black kids like me, being told to take a trip back across the Atlantic was the ultimate insult as it meant being exiled to a place where cannibals with bones in their noses ran around with spears, just waiting to catch some unsuspecting, stiff slippin' so that he could be Sunday evening supper.
After all, this is the image of Africa that black kids were given courtesy of those old Looney Tune cartoons and Tarzan movies.
Unfortunately, the educational system back then did nothing to counter this negative depiction of Africa. The textbooks only reinforced the idea of "the Dark Continent" as a god forsaken place that made no contribution to civilization besides slave labor.
In the early texts , Africa was divided into "white" Africa (Northern Africa) and "black" Africa (Sub Saharan Africa) . So the achievements of the ancient Egyptians were credited to Greek invaders and the empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai were written out of history, altogether.
Things have not changed much since I was young. An unbiased view of African world history is still sadly missing from most school systems to the detriment of thousands of black children every school year.
While it is widely accepted that Afrocentricity was a product of the Black Power Movement of the late 60's , it actually started more than a hundred years earlier.
According to Dr. Mia Bay in her book "The White Image in the Black Mind" as early as the 1830's scholars such as John Russwurm and David Walker were championing the idea of the African American connection to the great ancient civilizations of Egypt.
In his 1920 essay, "The Souls of White Folks," Dr. WEB Du Bois proudly proclaimed, "Europe has never produced and never will ,in our day, bring forth a single human soul who cannot be matched and over matched in every line of human endeavor by Asia and Africa."
In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded Black History Week (later Black History Month). However, as he wrote in his book "The Miseducation of the Negro " in 1933, teaching African Americans that they had accomplished just as much as any other race would "upset the program of the oppressor in Africa and America." Therefore, there has been a concerted effort to confine all talk of black history to the period after the 18th century.
The modern concept of Afrocentricity can be attributed to professors such as Dr Molefi Asante, Dr. John Henrik Clark and Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan, as their works created a series of arguments and counterarguments over the validity of Afrocentric scholarship in the mid 90's.
Although many bemoan the educational gap between African American children (especially males) and their peers, the suggestion of Afrocentric studies as a viable solution to the problem more times than not falls on deaf ears. Despite the fact that many members of my generation who developed a zeal for reading were inspired by a single book dealing with the African experience whether it be "Stolen Legacy" by Dr.George GM James or "Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization" by Dr. Anthony Browder, many do not believe that books dealing with the African experience could have the same effect on this so called Hip Hop generation.
There are several factors which have served as stumbling blocks to Afrocentricity being included in school curriculum, despite years of prodding by grassroots activists concerned about the welfare of black children.
First, it must be understood that while Afrocentricity is an academic construct, for many, the idea is politically charged. Any call for the affirmation of one's "blackness" is usually drowned out by cries of reverse racism and divisiveness
Secondly, Afrocentricity challenges the very foundation of western thought. Many will shudder at the mere fact of their adoration of Greek culture being challenged by pre 19th Dynasty Egypt.
Finally, the resistance that comes from school administrators and educators who have a vested professional interest in preserving the status quo is perhaps the main obstacle . Either they do not have sufficient knowledge of black history, themselves or do not have the courage to challenge the false doctrine of educational white supremacy. As James Lowen wrote in his book, "Lies my Teacher Told Me," "perhaps the most pervasive theme in our history is the domination of black America by white America."
So they are more comfortable allowing our children to become indoctrinated with Hip Hop lyrics and gang rituals instead of inspirational messages of self empowerment.
As we approach this year's Black History Month observation, parents, activists and concerned citizens must demand not only that the concept of black history be expanded to include the entire scope of the African experience but that it be incorporated year round into the curriculum.
One can only guess how much further along, socially, politically and economically my generation would have been if we had only been exposed to the greatness of African cultural history at an early age.
Sadly, 30 years after the fact , I am still angered by the "Go Back to Africa" comments not so much, now, by the ignorance of my white classmates but by my own ignorance that allowed me to take it as an insult in the first place.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Coming in February, the Intelligence Over Ignorance "Take Back Black History" lecture tour.
Hatin' on Black History
Paul Scott
"Go back to Africa!"
Back when I was in elementary school that statement would either lead to fist fights or tears, depending on the the temperament of the target of the diss. Although many black folks can recall, in vivid detail, the first time they were called the "N word," and how they eventually got over it, for me, "go back to Africa" has not been easy to shake.
See, for black kids like me, being told to take a trip back across the Atlantic was the ultimate insult as it meant being exiled to a place where cannibals with bones in their noses ran around with spears, just waiting to catch some unsuspecting, stiff slippin' so that he could be Sunday evening supper.
After all, this is the image of Africa that black kids were given courtesy of those old Looney Tune cartoons and Tarzan movies.
Unfortunately, the educational system back then did nothing to counter this negative depiction of Africa. The textbooks only reinforced the idea of "the Dark Continent" as a god forsaken place that made no contribution to civilization besides slave labor.
In the early texts , Africa was divided into "white" Africa (Northern Africa) and "black" Africa (Sub Saharan Africa) . So the achievements of the ancient Egyptians were credited to Greek invaders and the empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai were written out of history, altogether.
Things have not changed much since I was young. An unbiased view of African world history is still sadly missing from most school systems to the detriment of thousands of black children every school year.
While it is widely accepted that Afrocentricity was a product of the Black Power Movement of the late 60's , it actually started more than a hundred years earlier.
According to Dr. Mia Bay in her book "The White Image in the Black Mind" as early as the 1830's scholars such as John Russwurm and David Walker were championing the idea of the African American connection to the great ancient civilizations of Egypt.
In his 1920 essay, "The Souls of White Folks," Dr. WEB Du Bois proudly proclaimed, "Europe has never produced and never will ,in our day, bring forth a single human soul who cannot be matched and over matched in every line of human endeavor by Asia and Africa."
In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded Black History Week (later Black History Month). However, as he wrote in his book "The Miseducation of the Negro " in 1933, teaching African Americans that they had accomplished just as much as any other race would "upset the program of the oppressor in Africa and America." Therefore, there has been a concerted effort to confine all talk of black history to the period after the 18th century.
The modern concept of Afrocentricity can be attributed to professors such as Dr Molefi Asante, Dr. John Henrik Clark and Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan, as their works created a series of arguments and counterarguments over the validity of Afrocentric scholarship in the mid 90's.
Although many bemoan the educational gap between African American children (especially males) and their peers, the suggestion of Afrocentric studies as a viable solution to the problem more times than not falls on deaf ears. Despite the fact that many members of my generation who developed a zeal for reading were inspired by a single book dealing with the African experience whether it be "Stolen Legacy" by Dr.George GM James or "Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization" by Dr. Anthony Browder, many do not believe that books dealing with the African experience could have the same effect on this so called Hip Hop generation.
There are several factors which have served as stumbling blocks to Afrocentricity being included in school curriculum, despite years of prodding by grassroots activists concerned about the welfare of black children.
First, it must be understood that while Afrocentricity is an academic construct, for many, the idea is politically charged. Any call for the affirmation of one's "blackness" is usually drowned out by cries of reverse racism and divisiveness
Secondly, Afrocentricity challenges the very foundation of western thought. Many will shudder at the mere fact of their adoration of Greek culture being challenged by pre 19th Dynasty Egypt.
Finally, the resistance that comes from school administrators and educators who have a vested professional interest in preserving the status quo is perhaps the main obstacle . Either they do not have sufficient knowledge of black history, themselves or do not have the courage to challenge the false doctrine of educational white supremacy. As James Lowen wrote in his book, "Lies my Teacher Told Me," "perhaps the most pervasive theme in our history is the domination of black America by white America."
So they are more comfortable allowing our children to become indoctrinated with Hip Hop lyrics and gang rituals instead of inspirational messages of self empowerment.
As we approach this year's Black History Month observation, parents, activists and concerned citizens must demand not only that the concept of black history be expanded to include the entire scope of the African experience but that it be incorporated year round into the curriculum.
One can only guess how much further along, socially, politically and economically my generation would have been if we had only been exposed to the greatness of African cultural history at an early age.
Sadly, 30 years after the fact , I am still angered by the "Go Back to Africa" comments not so much, now, by the ignorance of my white classmates but by my own ignorance that allowed me to take it as an insult in the first place.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Coming in February, the Intelligence Over Ignorance "Take Back Black History" lecture tour.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Time to Flush Rush: Rebellin' Against Right Wing Radio
Time to Flush Rush:
Rebelling Against Right Wing Radio
Paul Scott
Like many folks over 30, I barely listen to the radio anymore. Hearing Jay Z and Lady Ga Ga in heavy rotation gives me a migraine. Unfortunately, courtesy of of a busted cd player, I, recently, found myself channel surfing for the first time in months. Last week, I came across the usual hate filled Republican paranoid ramblings about how the evil Obama must be stopped, the vast Left Wing conspiracy to to turn us all into Commie zombies and how illegal aliens and welfare cheats are going to bring this country to ruin. Even the tragedy in Haiti couldn't stop the self-righteous Right from getting in a few partisan cheap shots under the guise of concern over misappropriation of funds.
Welcome to the wacky world of Rush Radio.
Raleigh NC's 106.1 FM has once again undergone a metamorphosis, this time transforming itself into a conservative talk station known as "Rush Radio" because of the acquisition of its star player, Rush Limbaugh and his homies, Sean Hannity and Glen Beck. This is not limited to the Tarheel state but seems to be a trend sweeping the nation as radio mega corporations such as Clear Channel have found a bigger market in catering to Obama haters rather than Kenny Rogers music lovers.
Talk about overkill. The residents in my neck woods, the Raleigh-Durham area, are already surrounded by wall to wall Right Wing sound 24 hours a day. The area has the extremely popular WPTF 680 AM as well as, WZTK Talk 101FM beaming in Mike Savage a few counties over , courtesy of a 100,000 watt high powered system.
Anyone with a basic understanding of military science knows the strategic advantage of controlling the airwaves. The first thing that you do when conquering a country is to take over the radio stations. Since the Right Wingers see themselves as being engaged in a life or death struggle against the Obama Administration and all things left, it makes perfect sense that they are planning to convert your local country music station into a Conservative central command center .
Now the Conservatives will argue that there is a disproportionate number of liberal media folks.
Cow chips!
Name me one Left Wing commentator that can mach the amount of venom spewed by the Right's treacherous trio of "Hear all Evil, See All Evil" and Speak All Evil." (Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh.) For every Alan Colmes there are 100 Bill O'Reilly wannabes in cities across the country.
In NC, I wonder which "liberal" station will be able to hold back the red tide of Republican racism?
NPR's affiliate, WUNC?
Don't be ridiculous.
I can't listen to NPR more than five minutes without developing a severe case of narcolepsy. I have this reoccurring nightmare that after listening to Morning Edition on my morning commute, I run off Interstate 40 and wake up in the ER serenading the nurses with a morphine induced rendition of "Imagine."
This is a really tough spot for black dudes like me. While the Right is busy turning morning radio shows into Conservative chat war rooms, we are busy boppin' to Lil Wayne lyrics and hearing DJ's joke about the celebrity gossip they saw on the Wendy Williams Show the previous night.
Even in an area where there are many historically black colleges and financially well off black folks, black talk radio is limited to a low watt AM station and a few hours on the local urban station on Sunday morning while most folks are headed to church.
Although there are a few African American anchors on the tube, for the most part ,they play the roles of objective journalists and not the fire breathing demagogues on Fox News.
As much as we enjoyed seeing Roland Martin On CNN last summer, to middle America, he will simply be remembered as the black fill -in who taught his rather stiff co-anchors how to get down, get funky and get loose while delivering the news.
The print media are no different, as the black columnists are either Conservatives or have found a niche airing black folks' dirty laundry in public, ala Bill Cosby.
So, the local newspaper is more likely to hire the suit and tie wearin' , clean cut dude who, politely, enters the morning staff meeting with a cup of decaf and a doughnut than the dude sportin' shades and military fatigues who swaggers in with a can of Red Bull and a fist full of rage.
See, the liberal media run away from controversy. For the Right, controversy sells.
The liberal media outlets are scared of losing the Francine's Flower Shop account if they get too radical but the more racist the Conservative talking heads get, the more advertising dollars they receive from "Big Bubba's Bullets and Beer."
Somebody has to put a stop to the Right Wing plague that is infecting the radio.
I suggest that this Martin Luther King Day we start a rebellion against Rush Radio aka Flush Rush and use our Facebooks and Twitters to combat the poison propaganda of the Ultra Right menace.
Seems like the Left is in dire need of a shot of testosterone or, as they say in the Hip Hop vernacular, some thug motivation.
Now, I don't consider myself a Lefty but what ever Limbaugh is for I'm against and whatever Beck is against, I'm for. So, excuse me if I don't speak proper Liberal-ese but:
"Get out there and win one for the Gipper...um"
"Fight for your right to party...urr"
"Open the window and yell "I'm mad as..."
Aw, you get the point.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
To join the campaign to get No Warning Shots Fired in your local paper, contact the editor, today! Coming in February, the "Take Back Black History" lecture tour.
Rebelling Against Right Wing Radio
Paul Scott
Like many folks over 30, I barely listen to the radio anymore. Hearing Jay Z and Lady Ga Ga in heavy rotation gives me a migraine. Unfortunately, courtesy of of a busted cd player, I, recently, found myself channel surfing for the first time in months. Last week, I came across the usual hate filled Republican paranoid ramblings about how the evil Obama must be stopped, the vast Left Wing conspiracy to to turn us all into Commie zombies and how illegal aliens and welfare cheats are going to bring this country to ruin. Even the tragedy in Haiti couldn't stop the self-righteous Right from getting in a few partisan cheap shots under the guise of concern over misappropriation of funds.
Welcome to the wacky world of Rush Radio.
Raleigh NC's 106.1 FM has once again undergone a metamorphosis, this time transforming itself into a conservative talk station known as "Rush Radio" because of the acquisition of its star player, Rush Limbaugh and his homies, Sean Hannity and Glen Beck. This is not limited to the Tarheel state but seems to be a trend sweeping the nation as radio mega corporations such as Clear Channel have found a bigger market in catering to Obama haters rather than Kenny Rogers music lovers.
Talk about overkill. The residents in my neck woods, the Raleigh-Durham area, are already surrounded by wall to wall Right Wing sound 24 hours a day. The area has the extremely popular WPTF 680 AM as well as, WZTK Talk 101FM beaming in Mike Savage a few counties over , courtesy of a 100,000 watt high powered system.
Anyone with a basic understanding of military science knows the strategic advantage of controlling the airwaves. The first thing that you do when conquering a country is to take over the radio stations. Since the Right Wingers see themselves as being engaged in a life or death struggle against the Obama Administration and all things left, it makes perfect sense that they are planning to convert your local country music station into a Conservative central command center .
Now the Conservatives will argue that there is a disproportionate number of liberal media folks.
Cow chips!
Name me one Left Wing commentator that can mach the amount of venom spewed by the Right's treacherous trio of "Hear all Evil, See All Evil" and Speak All Evil." (Beck, Hannity and Limbaugh.) For every Alan Colmes there are 100 Bill O'Reilly wannabes in cities across the country.
In NC, I wonder which "liberal" station will be able to hold back the red tide of Republican racism?
NPR's affiliate, WUNC?
Don't be ridiculous.
I can't listen to NPR more than five minutes without developing a severe case of narcolepsy. I have this reoccurring nightmare that after listening to Morning Edition on my morning commute, I run off Interstate 40 and wake up in the ER serenading the nurses with a morphine induced rendition of "Imagine."
This is a really tough spot for black dudes like me. While the Right is busy turning morning radio shows into Conservative chat war rooms, we are busy boppin' to Lil Wayne lyrics and hearing DJ's joke about the celebrity gossip they saw on the Wendy Williams Show the previous night.
Even in an area where there are many historically black colleges and financially well off black folks, black talk radio is limited to a low watt AM station and a few hours on the local urban station on Sunday morning while most folks are headed to church.
Although there are a few African American anchors on the tube, for the most part ,they play the roles of objective journalists and not the fire breathing demagogues on Fox News.
As much as we enjoyed seeing Roland Martin On CNN last summer, to middle America, he will simply be remembered as the black fill -in who taught his rather stiff co-anchors how to get down, get funky and get loose while delivering the news.
The print media are no different, as the black columnists are either Conservatives or have found a niche airing black folks' dirty laundry in public, ala Bill Cosby.
So, the local newspaper is more likely to hire the suit and tie wearin' , clean cut dude who, politely, enters the morning staff meeting with a cup of decaf and a doughnut than the dude sportin' shades and military fatigues who swaggers in with a can of Red Bull and a fist full of rage.
See, the liberal media run away from controversy. For the Right, controversy sells.
The liberal media outlets are scared of losing the Francine's Flower Shop account if they get too radical but the more racist the Conservative talking heads get, the more advertising dollars they receive from "Big Bubba's Bullets and Beer."
Somebody has to put a stop to the Right Wing plague that is infecting the radio.
I suggest that this Martin Luther King Day we start a rebellion against Rush Radio aka Flush Rush and use our Facebooks and Twitters to combat the poison propaganda of the Ultra Right menace.
Seems like the Left is in dire need of a shot of testosterone or, as they say in the Hip Hop vernacular, some thug motivation.
Now, I don't consider myself a Lefty but what ever Limbaugh is for I'm against and whatever Beck is against, I'm for. So, excuse me if I don't speak proper Liberal-ese but:
"Get out there and win one for the Gipper...um"
"Fight for your right to party...urr"
"Open the window and yell "I'm mad as..."
Aw, you get the point.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
To join the campaign to get No Warning Shots Fired in your local paper, contact the editor, today! Coming in February, the "Take Back Black History" lecture tour.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Callin' Out the Hip Hop Intellectuals: Time to Battle!
Callin' Out the Hip Hop Intellectuals
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott
"Is you down to go pound for pound, toe to toe, blow for blow, round for round?"
Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz - Lost Boyz
You know the ones. Every time that there is an issue dealing with Hip Hop, it is their smiling faces that you see on TV hawking their latest book. They are the "Hip Hop Intellectuals;" that small group of highly paid university professors and media personalities who have been in charge of defining Hip Hop for the masses for the last 15 years.
While the "street scholars" have been trying to use Hip Hop to uplift black people, they have been making a living explaining black culture to white America. While we have been fighting to raise the Hip Hop Nation to a higher level of consciousness, they have been busy trying to keep it dumbed down, as not to frighten or offend their white benefactors.
While we have fought for change, these Hip Hop intellectuals have made sure that things have stayed the same.
Have you ever asked yourself with all those brainiacs on college campuses with untold amounts of resources why Hip Hop seems to be in a worst condition than when the Hip Hop Intellectual movement started? Have you ever wondered with all these major universities with "Hip Hop courses" that they never seem to be able to stop the negativity in Hip Hop but have conferences, every year to discuss "the problem."
Even though they may get on CNN and debate each other, when was the last time that they debated a member of the street conscious community?
.
That's why in 2010, I'm throwin' down the gauntlet.
Hip hop was created on battlin' right? Which MC had the most skills.
So, I am challenging the Hip Hop intellectuals to a battle. I'm not talking about the the "106 and Park" type battles where rappers diss each other. I am talking about a debate over the best analysis of the condition of Hip Hop in 2010 and what it means in the context of the African American experience.
As EPMD said back in tha day, "if you're thinkin' about battlin' you better come prepared. Go get your shield and your armored gear!"
To answer the 2010 "Battle for Hip Hop Intellectual Supremacy" contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott
"Is you down to go pound for pound, toe to toe, blow for blow, round for round?"
Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz - Lost Boyz
You know the ones. Every time that there is an issue dealing with Hip Hop, it is their smiling faces that you see on TV hawking their latest book. They are the "Hip Hop Intellectuals;" that small group of highly paid university professors and media personalities who have been in charge of defining Hip Hop for the masses for the last 15 years.
While the "street scholars" have been trying to use Hip Hop to uplift black people, they have been making a living explaining black culture to white America. While we have been fighting to raise the Hip Hop Nation to a higher level of consciousness, they have been busy trying to keep it dumbed down, as not to frighten or offend their white benefactors.
While we have fought for change, these Hip Hop intellectuals have made sure that things have stayed the same.
Have you ever asked yourself with all those brainiacs on college campuses with untold amounts of resources why Hip Hop seems to be in a worst condition than when the Hip Hop Intellectual movement started? Have you ever wondered with all these major universities with "Hip Hop courses" that they never seem to be able to stop the negativity in Hip Hop but have conferences, every year to discuss "the problem."
Even though they may get on CNN and debate each other, when was the last time that they debated a member of the street conscious community?
.
That's why in 2010, I'm throwin' down the gauntlet.
Hip hop was created on battlin' right? Which MC had the most skills.
So, I am challenging the Hip Hop intellectuals to a battle. I'm not talking about the the "106 and Park" type battles where rappers diss each other. I am talking about a debate over the best analysis of the condition of Hip Hop in 2010 and what it means in the context of the African American experience.
As EPMD said back in tha day, "if you're thinkin' about battlin' you better come prepared. Go get your shield and your armored gear!"
To answer the 2010 "Battle for Hip Hop Intellectual Supremacy" contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Postponing King's Post Racial Dream
Postponing King's Post Racial Dream:
Exaggerated Rumors of Racism's Demise
Paul Scott
The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday usually ushers in the season when America turns black. The period between MLK Day and the end of February has, traditionally, been the one time of year when black history is taken out of the closet and placed, briefly, in America's living room. However, during an era when many folks are parroting the line that we live in some sort of a "post racial America," the glow of black commemorative celebrations seems to be fading into obscurity.
Some argue that with the election of America's first black president, the glory days of the annual American collective group sing along of "We Shall Overcome" have come and gone. To hear the homies on the Right tell it, racism in the "20 dime" only exists in the minds of a few disillusioned, radical extremists who just can't let go of the past.
Contrary to popular belief, the idea that Americans have somehow, outgrown throwing racial temper tantrums did not begin on November 5, 2008 with the election of Barack Obama. To hear some folks tell it, this country has been "post racial" every since Abraham Lincoln delivered his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
I am sure that the newly emancipated slaves were hit with the post racial argument when they dared to argue for their 40 acres and a mule.
I can hear Bill O'Reilly's great, great grandfather yellin' , "Hey, you pinheads got your freedom; stop your whinin' !"
Shortly afterwords, during the short lived Reconstruction Period, the fact that black folks won political offices in the South, for many, was proof positive that they had reached the proverbial Promised Land.
Unfortunately, those advancements were quickly rendered null and void by the Compromise of 1877.
Oh well, back to the drawing board.
During World War I, many black soldiers believed that if they picked up a rifle and risked life and limb to fight for Uncle Sam, they would be welcomed home as heroes instead of returning to the sight of black veterans hanging from trees still sporting their uniforms. This was followed by the Red Summer of 1919 and some of the worst racial unrest in American history. Hardly evidence of a new era of racial equality.
The election of John F. Kennedy signaled to many the death of racism but events like the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four little black girls and the antics of Bull Connor reminded Americans that the rumors of racism's demise had been largely exaggerated.
When Rev. Martin Luther King Jr called 250,000 men ,women and children to Washington DC in 1963 for the big love fest, many believed that, surely, freedom bells would be a ringin' from "the prodigious house tops of New Hampshire" to "every hill and mole hill in Mississippi" and all 'hoods in between. However, an assassin's bullet and days of rioting slapped America back into reality.
Following King's assassination, neither the Johnson Administration's poverty programs nor Richard Nixon's "minority" economic development initiatives prevented Ronald Reagan's "voodoo economics" of the '80's from putting black folks back in the poor house.
The 90's euphoria of the election of the saxophone playin', "honorary black" president Bill Clinton, served only to soften African Americans up for the Republican backlash that resulted in Bush II and such calamities as the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.
Even in today's superficial world of entertainment, some believe that white kids blastin' Lil Wayne on their stereos and wearing their pants hangin' down to their ankles somehow signifies that we are truly one big happy (though slightly dysfunctional) American family.
Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder ticked a lot of people off when he called America a nation of cowards when it comes to discussing race.
Americans aren't scared to discuss race, they just find it more politically expedient to ignore the issue all together.
So, we sit around waiting for the next racist boot to drop or as Dr. King's rival, Malcolm X put it, continue "sitting on a powder keg." Then one day, somebody like Senator Harry Reid makes a bone headed racist comment or some yahoos in Columbia SC go around painting racist graffiti on buildings to disenfranchise black voters. Only then do we feel obligated to yell out the traditional response of mock surprise,
"I can't believe that this sort of thing is happening in 2010 ! " (As if 2009 or 1963 would have made the events more socially acceptable.)
So, as I prepare to sit around the house on January 18th watching the Dr. Martin Luther King documentary for the umpteenth time, I can't help but think about how the more things change, the more they stay the same....
Free at last. Free at last?
Not yet Doc. Not yet.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com To join the campaign to bring the No Warning Shots Fired column to your local newspaper, contact the editor, today.
Exaggerated Rumors of Racism's Demise
Paul Scott
The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday usually ushers in the season when America turns black. The period between MLK Day and the end of February has, traditionally, been the one time of year when black history is taken out of the closet and placed, briefly, in America's living room. However, during an era when many folks are parroting the line that we live in some sort of a "post racial America," the glow of black commemorative celebrations seems to be fading into obscurity.
Some argue that with the election of America's first black president, the glory days of the annual American collective group sing along of "We Shall Overcome" have come and gone. To hear the homies on the Right tell it, racism in the "20 dime" only exists in the minds of a few disillusioned, radical extremists who just can't let go of the past.
Contrary to popular belief, the idea that Americans have somehow, outgrown throwing racial temper tantrums did not begin on November 5, 2008 with the election of Barack Obama. To hear some folks tell it, this country has been "post racial" every since Abraham Lincoln delivered his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
I am sure that the newly emancipated slaves were hit with the post racial argument when they dared to argue for their 40 acres and a mule.
I can hear Bill O'Reilly's great, great grandfather yellin' , "Hey, you pinheads got your freedom; stop your whinin' !"
Shortly afterwords, during the short lived Reconstruction Period, the fact that black folks won political offices in the South, for many, was proof positive that they had reached the proverbial Promised Land.
Unfortunately, those advancements were quickly rendered null and void by the Compromise of 1877.
Oh well, back to the drawing board.
During World War I, many black soldiers believed that if they picked up a rifle and risked life and limb to fight for Uncle Sam, they would be welcomed home as heroes instead of returning to the sight of black veterans hanging from trees still sporting their uniforms. This was followed by the Red Summer of 1919 and some of the worst racial unrest in American history. Hardly evidence of a new era of racial equality.
The election of John F. Kennedy signaled to many the death of racism but events like the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four little black girls and the antics of Bull Connor reminded Americans that the rumors of racism's demise had been largely exaggerated.
When Rev. Martin Luther King Jr called 250,000 men ,women and children to Washington DC in 1963 for the big love fest, many believed that, surely, freedom bells would be a ringin' from "the prodigious house tops of New Hampshire" to "every hill and mole hill in Mississippi" and all 'hoods in between. However, an assassin's bullet and days of rioting slapped America back into reality.
Following King's assassination, neither the Johnson Administration's poverty programs nor Richard Nixon's "minority" economic development initiatives prevented Ronald Reagan's "voodoo economics" of the '80's from putting black folks back in the poor house.
The 90's euphoria of the election of the saxophone playin', "honorary black" president Bill Clinton, served only to soften African Americans up for the Republican backlash that resulted in Bush II and such calamities as the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.
Even in today's superficial world of entertainment, some believe that white kids blastin' Lil Wayne on their stereos and wearing their pants hangin' down to their ankles somehow signifies that we are truly one big happy (though slightly dysfunctional) American family.
Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder ticked a lot of people off when he called America a nation of cowards when it comes to discussing race.
Americans aren't scared to discuss race, they just find it more politically expedient to ignore the issue all together.
So, we sit around waiting for the next racist boot to drop or as Dr. King's rival, Malcolm X put it, continue "sitting on a powder keg." Then one day, somebody like Senator Harry Reid makes a bone headed racist comment or some yahoos in Columbia SC go around painting racist graffiti on buildings to disenfranchise black voters. Only then do we feel obligated to yell out the traditional response of mock surprise,
"I can't believe that this sort of thing is happening in 2010 ! " (As if 2009 or 1963 would have made the events more socially acceptable.)
So, as I prepare to sit around the house on January 18th watching the Dr. Martin Luther King documentary for the umpteenth time, I can't help but think about how the more things change, the more they stay the same....
Free at last. Free at last?
Not yet Doc. Not yet.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com To join the campaign to bring the No Warning Shots Fired column to your local newspaper, contact the editor, today.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Black History Month Lecture Tour
Coming February 2010
The Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign
Presents
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott
Taking Back Black History
To book a date call (919) 451-8283 or email info@ioimovement.com
The Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign
Presents
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott
Taking Back Black History
To book a date call (919) 451-8283 or email info@ioimovement.com
Saturday, January 2, 2010
NWSF Bullet: Professor Griff in NC
The father of conscious Hip Hop, Professor Griff (Minister of Information for the group Public Enemy) gave a lecture in Raleigh, NC, tonight. Although many people think that Hip Hop is just music, it's deeper than you think...
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