Can Black People Be Racist?:
Rodney, Reginald and Reverse Racism
White America/assassinate my character.
Gotta Have It -Kanye West and Jay Z
After being caught on You Tube with a white sheet, a box of matches and a gasoline can braggin' about burning down the home of AfricanAmerican activist, Emmett Evers, Byron De la Bryant was finally being charged with a hate crime. The prosecution used hundreds of historical documents of cross burnings, brutal beatings and lynchings to prove that Bryant's actions were part of a long legacy of racist crimes against African Americans. However, after the defense showed the jury a video of the 1992 beating of Reginald Denny, they found Bryant not guilty....
April 29, 1992, millions of Africans Americans sat by their televisions outraged that the acquittal of the four white officers accused of beating Rodney King was evidence of white America's racism. Later that same day, millions of White Americans sat by their televisions convinced that the beating of white truck driver Reginald Denny by for Black men was proof of Black racism.
These two events have sparked hundreds of conversations about race over the 20 years since the LA Rebellions with most of them ending in the compromise that there are Black racists as well as White racists.
This conclusion is patently false. There ain't no such thing as a "Black racist."
African Americans can be many things: thugs, gangsta's, Republicans, etc. But the one thing that we cannot be is racist. Although most people define racism as hatred for people of a different race, a more functional definition would be having the power to enforce that hatred socially, politically and economically. And last time I checked, Black people did not posses that kind of juice.
In his work, "The United Independent Compensatory Code," Neely Fuller argued that "the only form of functional racism that exists among the people of the known universe is white supremacy." But that minor detail has not stopped folks from engaging in the never ending hunt for the nonexistent Black supremacist.
In his book, The Ice Man Inheritance, Michael Bradley traced the foundation of the myth of black racism back centuries ago when the Bantu-speaking people "enslaved" the "Hottentots" (Khoikhoi) and the "Bushmen" (San) . Because anthropologist CS Coon divided the Africans into two separate races, some have used this as evidence of "Black supremacy."
Just as many people used the beating of Denny as the quintessential example of Black racism , even today, any time Black folks start marching and yellin' "No Justice No Peace" you can bet that Fox News and others won't rest until they finally capture a Black supremacist.
This is how it has always been.
In 1915, during the height of outrage over the lynching of African Americans, the movie "Birth of a Nation" was used to justify the activities of the Ku Klux Klan by portraying Black men as rapists.
During the mid 50's when Black people were being attacked by police dogs for fighting for their rights, Mike Wallace produced an expose on the Nation of Islam called, The Hate that Hate Produced.
More recently, November 2006 after Michael Richards, aka Kramer from Seinfield, dropped multiple N-bombs, the argument quickly became "well, black comedians use the word all the time."
Who can forget , April 2007, when after Don Imus called the Rutgers University Women's B-Ball Team "nappy headed hoes," civil rights leaders and right wing talking heads found a slick way to blame it all on Hip Hop.
Recently, after the Trayvon Martin murder, Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera blamed the incident on kids wearing hoodies. And Bill O'Reilly sent his top notch producer to gang infested Chicago to promote the idea that we should be focused on Black on Black violence instead of the
Martin murder. Now, with the shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma of five African Americans, allegedly, by two White men, look for Fox to do a series of stories on the history of driveby's in the 'hood.
The purpose here is not to suggest that all White people are racists. However, without a doubt , the small group of ultra-rich people who control the resources of the planet don't live in Compton. The ones behind the curtains pulling the strings are wealthy White men.
In Dr. WEB DuBois's classic work "Black Reconstruction" it is reported that, during slavery, only 7% of the southern population owned slaves. According to DuBois, "the masses of poor whites were economic outcasts." All they had going for them was a false sense of racial superiority. In reality, Blacks and poor Whites were being manipulated by greedy Northern industrialists and the southern planter class.
Not much has changed. Perhaps there is some truth in the linefrom Goodie Mob's, Cell Therapy that warned that one day trained assassins would be coming for " n**** like me/poor white trash like they..."
Ironically, conversations have taken place between those who advocated Black Pride and proponents of White Power.
According to Dr. Tony Martin in his book, Race First, in 1922, Marcus Garvey had an Atlanta meeting with "Edward Young Clarke, acting imperial wizard of the Klan." In, A Life of Reinvention Malcolm X, Manning Marable said that Malcolm X was involved in a 1961 meeting with the KKK also in the ATL. Also, the man credited with popularizing the term "Black Power"
Kwame Ture (then Stokely Carmichael) once had a cordial debate with George Lincoln Rockwell, a major advocate of White Power.
Like EPMD would say racism is "Business Never Personal."
Hip Hop has attempted to address racism over the years from relatively light hearted songs like Kool G Rap's Erase Racism to the more militant works of Paris and early Ice Cube (before he became a movie star.) However, I think that The Lox summed it up best; it's all about "Money, Power, Respect."
The major crime of white supremacy is the hording of the planet's wealth, leaving the masses to fight over crumbs.
The solution to this country's "race problem" may have been best articulated by the late Black Panther, Fred Hampton, when he said "Power to the People." That means Black Power to Black people, White Power to White People, Brown Power to Brown people, etc.
When this is achieved maybe we can finally answer the question that Rodney King asked the world 20 years ago:
"Can we all get along?"
Not yet Rodney, not yet.
This is the second part of the month long series "Rap, Race and Riots: Hip Hop 20 Years After the LA Rebellion"
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott's weekly column is "This Ain't Hip Hop," a column for intelligent Hip Hop headz. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com website NoWarningShotsfired.com or Twitter @truthminista
Showing posts with label CNN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CNN. Show all posts
Monday, April 9, 2012
Friday, September 9, 2011
How 9/11 Missed Hip Hop
Survivin' the Era of Terror:
How 9/11 Missed Hip Hop
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott
September 11, 2001 is a day that will never be forgotten. On that day, an event happened that will effect the lives of generations for decades to come; socially, politically and economically. No, I'm not talking about the attack on the World Trade Center, 9/11/01 was also the day that Jay Z released The Blueprint...
This week, when many people reflect on what they were doing the moment the Twin Towers fell that faithful Tuesday in '01, most won't admit that they were standing in line trying to be the first person on their block to get the new Jay Z CD but that pretty much sums up the collective attitude of Hip Hop during a 10 year period known as the "Era of Terror." It can be argued that The Blueprint had more of an impact on Hip Hop than the attack on the World Trade.
While the 9/11 attack sparked a "War on Terror" that would have a major impact on nations around the planet for decades to come, the effect on the Hip Hop Nation has been minimal, at best.
But was this a matter of apathy or fear?
Maybe the streets just didn't care. For residents of the hood who were constantly trapped between gang wars and crooked cops, 9/11 was just another day in the neighborhood. One more problem to add to the 99 others that we faced on a daily basis. As long as it didn't mean that cable would get cut off or the club would shut down for the weekend, it was what it was.
The fear factor probably played a greater role, especially among the rappers, themselves. And who could blame them? Historically, Uncle Sam has never taken too kindly to being dissed in front of the world.
Dr. Martin Luther King did not really start catching major heat from the Feds until he spoke out against the Vietnam War and Muhammad Ali got his world championship belt snatched because he refused to fight a bunch of Vietcong who "never called him a nigger."
Rappers weren't the first artists to punk out when the price of Freedom of Speech got too high. During the 60's even outspoken artists such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan were accused of abandoning the anti-war struggle to either smoke dust or start making nonpolitical, country music. Not much different than the rappers of today who would rather smoke blunts and go jewelry shopping than fight the power.
We have to remember that the period immediately following 9/11 wasn't the best time to attack America's policies as the general public was out for blood and George Bush was playing an international game of "Who Shot Ya." If the good ol boys would call for the heads of the Dixie Chicks for chin checkin' G-Dub, imagine what they would have done to the brothers on the block?
Although, not totally clear on the legal ramifications of the Patriot Acts, rappers were pretty clear that political Hip Hop was deemed illegal in at least one of them. Nobody wanted to be seen as part of Bush's Axis of Evil. Spending a few months on Riker's Island was one thing but nobody wanted to wind up in a cell in Guantanamo Bay, never to be heard from again.
Remember, we saw how the face of terrorism could change overnight from "Middle Eastern" to a young black male in the hood when back in 2006, seven black men in Liberty City Florida were brought up on trumped up charges of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago.
So most in mainstream Hip Hop decided it was best to keep quiet in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. (Unless, you count Petey Pablo doing his ultra-patriot USA remix to "Raise Up. Making him the first rapper to raise his hand when Bush threw down the mandate "you are either with us or against us.")
A few artists did speak out against America's foreign policies. The usual rap revolutionaries like Public Enemy, Paris and a few others continued to do what they did best; challenge the staus quo. Also, relative newcomers like Immortal Technique began to make their fans think that there was more to the story than what they were seeing on the news. In the mainstream, fueled by the popularity of documentaries like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Loose Change, a few mainstream artists such as Eminem and Jadakis began to either literally or figuratively accuse Bush of "knocking down the towers." Also, a new group named the Black Eyed Peas asked "Where is the Love" but perhaps the most hardcore hate letter to the Prez was penned by Fredwreck and the STOP Movement.
The period has not been without it's random Sister Souljah moments such as KRS's "chickens coming home to roost-like " statement at a New Yorker Magazine panel discussion or the infamous Kanye West post- Katrina revelation that "George Bush doesn't like black people,"
However, these were exceptions to the rule of a Hip Hop "culture" that has been increasingly more obsessed with producing materialistic, Maybach music instead of message music. Instead of dealing with serious issues it is safer and easier just to simply pretend that they do not exist and the world is no bigger than the block on which one lives.
For the most part over the last decade, Hip Hop has remained mostly apolitical and detached from reality. A great escape to a mystical land where the champagne is always flowing and the strip clubs never close. Even when the rest of the world is at war.
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
How 9/11 Missed Hip Hop
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott
September 11, 2001 is a day that will never be forgotten. On that day, an event happened that will effect the lives of generations for decades to come; socially, politically and economically. No, I'm not talking about the attack on the World Trade Center, 9/11/01 was also the day that Jay Z released The Blueprint...
This week, when many people reflect on what they were doing the moment the Twin Towers fell that faithful Tuesday in '01, most won't admit that they were standing in line trying to be the first person on their block to get the new Jay Z CD but that pretty much sums up the collective attitude of Hip Hop during a 10 year period known as the "Era of Terror." It can be argued that The Blueprint had more of an impact on Hip Hop than the attack on the World Trade.
While the 9/11 attack sparked a "War on Terror" that would have a major impact on nations around the planet for decades to come, the effect on the Hip Hop Nation has been minimal, at best.
But was this a matter of apathy or fear?
Maybe the streets just didn't care. For residents of the hood who were constantly trapped between gang wars and crooked cops, 9/11 was just another day in the neighborhood. One more problem to add to the 99 others that we faced on a daily basis. As long as it didn't mean that cable would get cut off or the club would shut down for the weekend, it was what it was.
The fear factor probably played a greater role, especially among the rappers, themselves. And who could blame them? Historically, Uncle Sam has never taken too kindly to being dissed in front of the world.
Dr. Martin Luther King did not really start catching major heat from the Feds until he spoke out against the Vietnam War and Muhammad Ali got his world championship belt snatched because he refused to fight a bunch of Vietcong who "never called him a nigger."
Rappers weren't the first artists to punk out when the price of Freedom of Speech got too high. During the 60's even outspoken artists such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan were accused of abandoning the anti-war struggle to either smoke dust or start making nonpolitical, country music. Not much different than the rappers of today who would rather smoke blunts and go jewelry shopping than fight the power.
We have to remember that the period immediately following 9/11 wasn't the best time to attack America's policies as the general public was out for blood and George Bush was playing an international game of "Who Shot Ya." If the good ol boys would call for the heads of the Dixie Chicks for chin checkin' G-Dub, imagine what they would have done to the brothers on the block?
Although, not totally clear on the legal ramifications of the Patriot Acts, rappers were pretty clear that political Hip Hop was deemed illegal in at least one of them. Nobody wanted to be seen as part of Bush's Axis of Evil. Spending a few months on Riker's Island was one thing but nobody wanted to wind up in a cell in Guantanamo Bay, never to be heard from again.
Remember, we saw how the face of terrorism could change overnight from "Middle Eastern" to a young black male in the hood when back in 2006, seven black men in Liberty City Florida were brought up on trumped up charges of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago.
So most in mainstream Hip Hop decided it was best to keep quiet in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. (Unless, you count Petey Pablo doing his ultra-patriot USA remix to "Raise Up. Making him the first rapper to raise his hand when Bush threw down the mandate "you are either with us or against us.")
A few artists did speak out against America's foreign policies. The usual rap revolutionaries like Public Enemy, Paris and a few others continued to do what they did best; challenge the staus quo. Also, relative newcomers like Immortal Technique began to make their fans think that there was more to the story than what they were seeing on the news. In the mainstream, fueled by the popularity of documentaries like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Loose Change, a few mainstream artists such as Eminem and Jadakis began to either literally or figuratively accuse Bush of "knocking down the towers." Also, a new group named the Black Eyed Peas asked "Where is the Love" but perhaps the most hardcore hate letter to the Prez was penned by Fredwreck and the STOP Movement.
The period has not been without it's random Sister Souljah moments such as KRS's "chickens coming home to roost-like " statement at a New Yorker Magazine panel discussion or the infamous Kanye West post- Katrina revelation that "George Bush doesn't like black people,"
However, these were exceptions to the rule of a Hip Hop "culture" that has been increasingly more obsessed with producing materialistic, Maybach music instead of message music. Instead of dealing with serious issues it is safer and easier just to simply pretend that they do not exist and the world is no bigger than the block on which one lives.
For the most part over the last decade, Hip Hop has remained mostly apolitical and detached from reality. A great escape to a mystical land where the champagne is always flowing and the strip clubs never close. Even when the rest of the world is at war.
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Laura Schlessinger's Crazy Cure for Racism
Laura Schlessinger's Crazy Cure for Racism:
Do We Blame Dr. Laura or Dr. Dre?
Paul Scott
A broken, elderly black man limped into his doctor's office last Tuesday afternoon. His neck bore the scars of numerous lynching attempts and his back the welts of years of severe beatings. Reflected in his eyes was the pain of seeing his mother and sister raped and being powerless to do anything about it. As he described in vivid detail his many thoughts of committing suicide, the physician just sat emotionless in her chair. Finally, she scribbled on her prescription pad, "take two doses of the "N word" and call me in the morning. LOL..."
Last week, talk show host, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, came under fire for using the "N word" multiple times to help a caller get over her racial "hypersensitivity." While the purpose of the conversation was, supposedly, to give the caller life changing advice, in reality, Schlessinger was merely trying to help her predominately white audience get over their collective guilt of harboring white supremacist attitudes as she soothed them with the old standard, "Black Comedians use the N Word, Why Can't I" Therefore, if it's cool in Compton it must play well in Peoria.
Newsflash for Dr. Laura. Not all black men walk around grabbin' their crotches, showing their dirty drawers and dropping the "N bomb" like there's no tomorrow. I, personally, have never made a habit of using the word and have spoken out against its use on many occasions. Also, activists such as Gary, Indiana radio host, Kwabena Rasuliu have led multiple protests against those in the Hip Hop world who have used such ignorance as a marketing tool.
However, folks like "Sgt. Schlessiger" and her Right Wing Storm Troopers, continuously, use black entertainers as justification for their racist rants. The comedians to whom Schlessinger referred do not speak for me nor do they speak for most people of African descent. It is unfortunate that, while folks like Dr. Laura can name black comedians who use the word, they cannot name one Afro-centric historian who has put the word in a social or historical context and can explain how it became a term of black endearment.
So, herein, lies the major problem facing this country in terms of race relations: historical and cultural ignorance.
Although, the use of the "N word" pops up as a topic of discussion every few years, most people, black or white, do not know the historical origins of the word.
The word "nigger" is derived from the Portuguese adjective "negro" which was used by the early slave traders to describe their new found "property." So, when it crossed the Atlantic , "negro" was ,eventually, transformed into the word "nigger;" different spellings but for all intents and purposes, having the same meaning as they both infer that black people are less than human.
Black psychologists have suggested that the use of the word by African Americans is a subconscious response to white supremacy.
In his book, "Black on Black Violence: The Psycho-dynamics of Black Self-Annihilation in the Service of White Domination" the late psychologist Dr. Amos Wilson wrote, " through identification with the aggressor, the subject attempts to magically transform himself from the one being threatened to the one threatening; from powerlessness to powerful: from inferior to superior."
It must be noted that the degradation of black people for comedic purposes started with white black-face performer Thomas Rice's Jumpin' Jim Crow in 1830, predating early black comedians such as Moms Mabley and Redd Fox by more than a century. Not to mention that most black entertainers work for white owned companies.
While comedian Richard Pryor used the "N word" extensively in some of his early stand up routines, later in his career, following a trip to Africa, he publicly vowed to "never call a black man nigger again."
Perhaps, the group most influential in popularizing the word during the Hip Hop Era was NWA (Niggas With Attitude) of the late 80's and early '90's. However, the group was managed by Jerry Heller, a white man, who was also the co-owner of their record label, Ruthless Records. So, there have always been white business men who have supplied white Americans with an avenue to, vicariously, live out their racist fantasies through black entertainers.
While some may make the argument that it is only entertainment, the contradictions within this statement are many.
One example is that although Jewish comedians such as Jackie Mason and Adam Sandler, may make Jewish jokes, none of their stand up routines would ever be used by outsiders to make light of the Jewish Holocaust.
Also, attacks on the black community seem to be the only topics not off limit by the entertainment industry. Black entertainers from Professor Griff of Public Enemy to the late Michael Jackson had their careers negatively impacted by, allegedly, making anti-Semitic comments or songs. Ironically, Ice Cube, one of the founders of NWA was boycotted in the early 90's by the Korean community over a song he made in regards to the murder of 15 year old Latasha Harland, who was shot by a Korean grocer.
So, we see the real double standard at play.
If we are not careful, the controversy over Dr. Laura's statement will go the route of the infamous Don Imus incident as civil rights leaders and right wing media pundits will find a way to put the blame totally on rap music; blaming Dr. Dre instead of Dr. Laura.
In order to stop the Dr. Laura's of the world, this country must engage in a massive reeducation process. African Americans must learn all they can about their culture and pass the information on to future generations. Also, white Americans must be willing to hear the truth about the African American experience no matter how uncomfortable it might make them feel. This will not come from educators who fear backlash from school boards nor newspaper editors who are more concerned with offending their advertisers than serving the public good but will come from Afro-centric historians and scholars who are brave enough to speak truth to power without biting their tongues.
Unfortunately, this cure is too big a pill for most folks to swallow.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired .com. For more information about the Intelligence Over Ignorance lecture series on Race, Rap and Revolution contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Do We Blame Dr. Laura or Dr. Dre?
Paul Scott
A broken, elderly black man limped into his doctor's office last Tuesday afternoon. His neck bore the scars of numerous lynching attempts and his back the welts of years of severe beatings. Reflected in his eyes was the pain of seeing his mother and sister raped and being powerless to do anything about it. As he described in vivid detail his many thoughts of committing suicide, the physician just sat emotionless in her chair. Finally, she scribbled on her prescription pad, "take two doses of the "N word" and call me in the morning. LOL..."
Last week, talk show host, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, came under fire for using the "N word" multiple times to help a caller get over her racial "hypersensitivity." While the purpose of the conversation was, supposedly, to give the caller life changing advice, in reality, Schlessinger was merely trying to help her predominately white audience get over their collective guilt of harboring white supremacist attitudes as she soothed them with the old standard, "Black Comedians use the N Word, Why Can't I" Therefore, if it's cool in Compton it must play well in Peoria.
Newsflash for Dr. Laura. Not all black men walk around grabbin' their crotches, showing their dirty drawers and dropping the "N bomb" like there's no tomorrow. I, personally, have never made a habit of using the word and have spoken out against its use on many occasions. Also, activists such as Gary, Indiana radio host, Kwabena Rasuliu have led multiple protests against those in the Hip Hop world who have used such ignorance as a marketing tool.
However, folks like "Sgt. Schlessiger" and her Right Wing Storm Troopers, continuously, use black entertainers as justification for their racist rants. The comedians to whom Schlessinger referred do not speak for me nor do they speak for most people of African descent. It is unfortunate that, while folks like Dr. Laura can name black comedians who use the word, they cannot name one Afro-centric historian who has put the word in a social or historical context and can explain how it became a term of black endearment.
So, herein, lies the major problem facing this country in terms of race relations: historical and cultural ignorance.
Although, the use of the "N word" pops up as a topic of discussion every few years, most people, black or white, do not know the historical origins of the word.
The word "nigger" is derived from the Portuguese adjective "negro" which was used by the early slave traders to describe their new found "property." So, when it crossed the Atlantic , "negro" was ,eventually, transformed into the word "nigger;" different spellings but for all intents and purposes, having the same meaning as they both infer that black people are less than human.
Black psychologists have suggested that the use of the word by African Americans is a subconscious response to white supremacy.
In his book, "Black on Black Violence: The Psycho-dynamics of Black Self-Annihilation in the Service of White Domination" the late psychologist Dr. Amos Wilson wrote, " through identification with the aggressor, the subject attempts to magically transform himself from the one being threatened to the one threatening; from powerlessness to powerful: from inferior to superior."
It must be noted that the degradation of black people for comedic purposes started with white black-face performer Thomas Rice's Jumpin' Jim Crow in 1830, predating early black comedians such as Moms Mabley and Redd Fox by more than a century. Not to mention that most black entertainers work for white owned companies.
While comedian Richard Pryor used the "N word" extensively in some of his early stand up routines, later in his career, following a trip to Africa, he publicly vowed to "never call a black man nigger again."
Perhaps, the group most influential in popularizing the word during the Hip Hop Era was NWA (Niggas With Attitude) of the late 80's and early '90's. However, the group was managed by Jerry Heller, a white man, who was also the co-owner of their record label, Ruthless Records. So, there have always been white business men who have supplied white Americans with an avenue to, vicariously, live out their racist fantasies through black entertainers.
While some may make the argument that it is only entertainment, the contradictions within this statement are many.
One example is that although Jewish comedians such as Jackie Mason and Adam Sandler, may make Jewish jokes, none of their stand up routines would ever be used by outsiders to make light of the Jewish Holocaust.
Also, attacks on the black community seem to be the only topics not off limit by the entertainment industry. Black entertainers from Professor Griff of Public Enemy to the late Michael Jackson had their careers negatively impacted by, allegedly, making anti-Semitic comments or songs. Ironically, Ice Cube, one of the founders of NWA was boycotted in the early 90's by the Korean community over a song he made in regards to the murder of 15 year old Latasha Harland, who was shot by a Korean grocer.
So, we see the real double standard at play.
If we are not careful, the controversy over Dr. Laura's statement will go the route of the infamous Don Imus incident as civil rights leaders and right wing media pundits will find a way to put the blame totally on rap music; blaming Dr. Dre instead of Dr. Laura.
In order to stop the Dr. Laura's of the world, this country must engage in a massive reeducation process. African Americans must learn all they can about their culture and pass the information on to future generations. Also, white Americans must be willing to hear the truth about the African American experience no matter how uncomfortable it might make them feel. This will not come from educators who fear backlash from school boards nor newspaper editors who are more concerned with offending their advertisers than serving the public good but will come from Afro-centric historians and scholars who are brave enough to speak truth to power without biting their tongues.
Unfortunately, this cure is too big a pill for most folks to swallow.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired .com. For more information about the Intelligence Over Ignorance lecture series on Race, Rap and Revolution contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Lynching of Van Jones
Back in the day, the lynch mobs used to come like thieves in the night to hang black men from trees. Seems like the Right Wingers are carrying on the tradition.
It's 3AM Sunday EST and my good night's sleep was interrupted by my usual nightmare that Mike Savage and the Savage Nation had overthrown the government and were reinstituting slavery. So, I frantically, went to Yahoo news to make sure that I didn't have to grab my meager belongings and head to Canada via the nearest swamp when I saw the latest headline that green jobs czar, Van Jones, had just resigned.
Who is forced to resign at 1AM on a holiday weekend?
I guess the Conservatives felt that most black folks would be too distracted by family reunions, BBQ and old Marvin Gaye records to raise too much of a fuss during Labor Day Weekend.
What did he do so bad, anyway, record a gangsta rap version of "It's Not Easy Bein' Green?"
Now I knew earlier today when Fox News launched an "unofficial" poll that 97% of their viewers thought that Jones should be fired that this was gonna be a rough ride.
After all, they are still featuring Rev. Jeremiah Wright speeches as breaking news every time they need a black bogeyman.
They also played clips of Jones' alleged "extremist views." One clip had Jones saying that you have never seen black kids doing a "Columbine."
Well....?
It's funny how they attack extremist views but don't explain how the views are extreme.
What happened to "I may not agree with what you say but I will defend your right to say it..."
Guess that saying had as much merit when applied to black folks as "all men are created equal" did during slavery.
Oh well. I guess the only thing worst than being thrown under the bus is throwin' yourself under the Greyhound.
I wish that Jones had stuck to his guns. As the old saying goes, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
It's sad, they used to lynch black men with ropes now they lynch us with lies.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com He can be reached at (919) 451-8283
info@nowarningshotsfired.com
It's 3AM Sunday EST and my good night's sleep was interrupted by my usual nightmare that Mike Savage and the Savage Nation had overthrown the government and were reinstituting slavery. So, I frantically, went to Yahoo news to make sure that I didn't have to grab my meager belongings and head to Canada via the nearest swamp when I saw the latest headline that green jobs czar, Van Jones, had just resigned.
Who is forced to resign at 1AM on a holiday weekend?
I guess the Conservatives felt that most black folks would be too distracted by family reunions, BBQ and old Marvin Gaye records to raise too much of a fuss during Labor Day Weekend.
What did he do so bad, anyway, record a gangsta rap version of "It's Not Easy Bein' Green?"
Now I knew earlier today when Fox News launched an "unofficial" poll that 97% of their viewers thought that Jones should be fired that this was gonna be a rough ride.
After all, they are still featuring Rev. Jeremiah Wright speeches as breaking news every time they need a black bogeyman.
They also played clips of Jones' alleged "extremist views." One clip had Jones saying that you have never seen black kids doing a "Columbine."
Well....?
It's funny how they attack extremist views but don't explain how the views are extreme.
What happened to "I may not agree with what you say but I will defend your right to say it..."
Guess that saying had as much merit when applied to black folks as "all men are created equal" did during slavery.
Oh well. I guess the only thing worst than being thrown under the bus is throwin' yourself under the Greyhound.
I wish that Jones had stuck to his guns. As the old saying goes, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
It's sad, they used to lynch black men with ropes now they lynch us with lies.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com He can be reached at (919) 451-8283
info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
NWSF News 7/23: Drugs in the 'hood
In the latest edition of No Warning Shots Fired News' "Black in the 'hood" series, TRUTH Minista Paul Scott reveals how drugs got into the black community.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
NWSF News 7/22:Dr Henry Gates and Post Racial Racism
Continuing with the No Warning Shots Fired.com series "Black in the 'hood" our answer to CNN's "Black in America," TRUTH Minista Paul Scott discusses Harvard professor Henry "Skip" Gate's arrest:
Monday, July 20, 2009
NWSF News: Black in the 'hood Part I
Since CNN is doing Black in America II, this week, No Warning Shots Fired News will be doing "Black in the 'hood." In Part 1, TRUTH Minista Paul Scott tackles "What happened to black leadership ?"
Sunday, July 19, 2009
NWSF News 7/20:CNN's Black in America Sideshow
No Warning Shots Fired News: TRUTH Minista Paul Scott on CNN's Black in America II "Let the sideshow begin!
Livin' in a Zoo:CNN's Black in America II
Livin' in a Zoo:
CNN's Black in America II
Paul Scott
"I'm kickin' cold facts so true
Feels like I'm livin' in a zoo"
Public Enemy
Step Right up! In this cage we have the tame, "Negro-intellectualus." Notice his freshly pressed shirt and creased pants. Go ahead and pet him. He won't bite...However, watch out for this next animal, "Thug-ignoramus." Beware of his gold teeth and if he starts reaching for his waist band, call security, immediately!
On July 22 CNN will air Black America Part II, their second attempt to paint a pretty picture of black America for their audience. I don't know about y'all but I'm kinda tired of being poked, prodded and examined by TV network execs on a life long mission to find out what makes dudes like me tick.
No disrespect to Soledad O'Brien and the rest of the crew who produced the program but I don't think these types of shows are meant to enlighten black folks, especially the boyz in the hood.
As my lil homie Jae would say,
" How many times are you gonna describe my kitchen to me when we're livin' in the same house?"
We all have members of our families that run the gamut from "Left out Lamont," who can't keep a steady job to Buford "lil Boo Boo" Jenkins who got his degree, became a stock broker and never looked back at the 'hood.
So, we have our own "Black in America" reality series every family reunion complete with ribs and Marvin Gaye CD's.
Shows like Black in America are definitely for the Caucasian persuasion as they have always been curious about black folks.
Scholars like Dr. George GM James and William Leo Hansberry have said that the ancient Greeks were fascinated by the Egyptians and Ethiopians. The early explorers of Africa were also intrigued by the riches of the continent, so much so, that they stayed for hundreds of years.
However, after the Trans Atlantic slave trade, Africans stopped being objects of adoration and became oddities.
There are tales of Africans being held as exhibits in zoos in New York and during the early 1800's the voluptuous Saartjie Baartman aka "Hottentot Venus" was paraded around Europe so white men could gaze at her "donk."
During the late 1960's, white America's curiosity about black folks became a matter of national security because of the various "riots" that were spreading like wildfires .
In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson created the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders to find out why black folks were so angry.
The Commission released what was known as the Kerner Report which pointed to the media as partial causes of the "riots."
According to the report,
"Important segments of the media failed to report adequately on the causes and consequences of civil disorders and on the underlying problems of race relations. They have not communicated to the majority of their audience-which is white-a sense of the degradation , misery and hopelessness of life in the ghetto." The report also complained that the media was guilty of giving " disproportionate amounts of time to emotional events and militant leaders."
As far as solutions, one of the things that the report suggested was that the media needed to:
"...publish newspapers and produce programs that recognize the existence and activities of Negroes as a group within the community and as a part of the larger community."
So, the networks have followed this method of operation since then , only deviating, briefly ,during the LA Rebellion of 1992 because of their underestimation of the political potential of Hip Hop.
It must be noted that these programs also try to convey the idea that black assimilation into white culture is the ultimate manifestation of black achievement and the benchmark as to whether one has "made it" or not.
While many have quoted from WEB Dubois' , "The Souls of Black Folk," few have had the courage to pose the fundamental question that he raised in his essay "The Souls of White Folk,"
"But what on earth is whiteness that one should so desire it?"
He goes on to say that "Europe has never produced and never will in our day bring forth a single soul who cannot be matched and over matched in every line of human endeavor by Asia and Africa."
However, millions of Americans will spend hours this week watching CNN give complex answers to simple questions such as "why inner city black kids are killing each other" when black psychologist Dr. Bobby Wright gave us the answer over 25 years ago in his work "The Psychopathic Racial Personality"
"Blacks kill Blacks because they have never been trained to kill Whites, therefore it is outside their experience."
End of series.
Just once, I would like to see a network do a six hour series on what produces the white male superiority complex in men like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Or who controls the economic system that keeps the hood in perpetual poverty ?
But I guess the worn out topics of black pathologies and the salvation of assimilation are better for ratings.
Oh, well. As Blue Magic once sang,
"Let the side show begin...can't afford to pass it by...guaranteed to make you cry..."
Paul Scott's blog is No Warning Shots Fired.com He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com (919) 451-8283
CNN's Black in America II
Paul Scott
"I'm kickin' cold facts so true
Feels like I'm livin' in a zoo"
Public Enemy
Step Right up! In this cage we have the tame, "Negro-intellectualus." Notice his freshly pressed shirt and creased pants. Go ahead and pet him. He won't bite...However, watch out for this next animal, "Thug-ignoramus." Beware of his gold teeth and if he starts reaching for his waist band, call security, immediately!
On July 22 CNN will air Black America Part II, their second attempt to paint a pretty picture of black America for their audience. I don't know about y'all but I'm kinda tired of being poked, prodded and examined by TV network execs on a life long mission to find out what makes dudes like me tick.
No disrespect to Soledad O'Brien and the rest of the crew who produced the program but I don't think these types of shows are meant to enlighten black folks, especially the boyz in the hood.
As my lil homie Jae would say,
" How many times are you gonna describe my kitchen to me when we're livin' in the same house?"
We all have members of our families that run the gamut from "Left out Lamont," who can't keep a steady job to Buford "lil Boo Boo" Jenkins who got his degree, became a stock broker and never looked back at the 'hood.
So, we have our own "Black in America" reality series every family reunion complete with ribs and Marvin Gaye CD's.
Shows like Black in America are definitely for the Caucasian persuasion as they have always been curious about black folks.
Scholars like Dr. George GM James and William Leo Hansberry have said that the ancient Greeks were fascinated by the Egyptians and Ethiopians. The early explorers of Africa were also intrigued by the riches of the continent, so much so, that they stayed for hundreds of years.
However, after the Trans Atlantic slave trade, Africans stopped being objects of adoration and became oddities.
There are tales of Africans being held as exhibits in zoos in New York and during the early 1800's the voluptuous Saartjie Baartman aka "Hottentot Venus" was paraded around Europe so white men could gaze at her "donk."
During the late 1960's, white America's curiosity about black folks became a matter of national security because of the various "riots" that were spreading like wildfires .
In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson created the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders to find out why black folks were so angry.
The Commission released what was known as the Kerner Report which pointed to the media as partial causes of the "riots."
According to the report,
"Important segments of the media failed to report adequately on the causes and consequences of civil disorders and on the underlying problems of race relations. They have not communicated to the majority of their audience-which is white-a sense of the degradation , misery and hopelessness of life in the ghetto." The report also complained that the media was guilty of giving " disproportionate amounts of time to emotional events and militant leaders."
As far as solutions, one of the things that the report suggested was that the media needed to:
"...publish newspapers and produce programs that recognize the existence and activities of Negroes as a group within the community and as a part of the larger community."
So, the networks have followed this method of operation since then , only deviating, briefly ,during the LA Rebellion of 1992 because of their underestimation of the political potential of Hip Hop.
It must be noted that these programs also try to convey the idea that black assimilation into white culture is the ultimate manifestation of black achievement and the benchmark as to whether one has "made it" or not.
While many have quoted from WEB Dubois' , "The Souls of Black Folk," few have had the courage to pose the fundamental question that he raised in his essay "The Souls of White Folk,"
"But what on earth is whiteness that one should so desire it?"
He goes on to say that "Europe has never produced and never will in our day bring forth a single soul who cannot be matched and over matched in every line of human endeavor by Asia and Africa."
However, millions of Americans will spend hours this week watching CNN give complex answers to simple questions such as "why inner city black kids are killing each other" when black psychologist Dr. Bobby Wright gave us the answer over 25 years ago in his work "The Psychopathic Racial Personality"
"Blacks kill Blacks because they have never been trained to kill Whites, therefore it is outside their experience."
End of series.
Just once, I would like to see a network do a six hour series on what produces the white male superiority complex in men like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Or who controls the economic system that keeps the hood in perpetual poverty ?
But I guess the worn out topics of black pathologies and the salvation of assimilation are better for ratings.
Oh, well. As Blue Magic once sang,
"Let the side show begin...can't afford to pass it by...guaranteed to make you cry..."
Paul Scott's blog is No Warning Shots Fired.com He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com (919) 451-8283
Thursday, July 16, 2009
NWSF News 7/17:NAACP Convention: Obama Goes in Hard on Black Folks
No Warning Shots Fired News: TRUTH Minista Paul Scott asks "Why does President Obama go from a bleeding heart Liberal to a Right Wing Ultra Conservative when he talks to black folks?"
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
NWSF News 7/14: Judge Sotomayor's Supreme Court Hearing
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott: Are Latinos smarter than white men?
It depends on which Latino and which white man. "...Even Slow Poke Rodriguez is smarter than Rush Limbaugh..."
It depends on which Latino and which white man. "...Even Slow Poke Rodriguez is smarter than Rush Limbaugh..."
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Good Ol' Brotha's Club
The Good Ole Brotha's Club:
The Manipulation of the Black Mind
Paul Scott
A few years ago, a movie came out called Barbershop that enraged many of the Civil Rights folks. In the film, Cedric the Entertainer's character, "Eddie" went on a tirade and started busting up many myths plaguing the black community such as how Rosa Parks was the first woman to stand up or sit down for Civil Rights and the belief that all black folks thought that OJ Simpson was innocent. Although the scene ticked off some Civil Rights leaders, to me, the moral of the story was very clear; all black folks don't think alike.
I thought about that movie, last week ,while listening to a popular nationally syndicated black radio commentator urging his listeners to bombard Fox and CNN with emails demanding that he and a couple of other guys get more airtime. Sadly, the short list of names that he gave were already the ones that serve as the "go to people" when it comes to interpreting black thought to the masses.
While many black folks complain about a "Good Ol' Boys" Club made up of white males with the same political ideology who have a monopoly on politics, economics and anything else that they wish to control, there also exists a "Good Ol' Brotha's" Club in the black community. This network is made up of a few black intellectuals and civil rights leaders who speak for all black folks.
Historically, white America has believed that all black people have the same collective ideology so they have never really needed more than one official spokesperson.
This goes back to the late 1800's with Booker T Washington, who was considered by many to be the first national black leader. Washington gained national prominence after he delivered his "Atlanta Compromise " speech during the Atlanta Cotton Exposition in 1895.
What was dangerous about Washington leadership was the creation of the Tuskegee Machine which was used to silence and in some cases crush any who were in opposition to his position.
In the introduction to Booker T Washington's "Up From Slavery," Louis R. Harlan described Washington's Tuskegee Machine as "a network of his supporters and lieutenants in every avenue of black life." He goes on to say that Washington controlled "the editorial policies of nearly all of the black weeklies through subsidies and in a few cases, outright ownership."
So you have the seeds planted of the shaping of black thought over a century today that continues with the Good Ol' Brotha's Club and their domination of the press; both black and white.
It must be noted that when one speaks of the "black press" it is not to be misinterpreted to mean those local media outlets that are allowing the grassroots to express their thoughts but the national press that for decades has served as the only "legitimate" voice of black America.
In his book "Black Bourgeoisie, " E. Franklin Frazier says this about the black press in 1957.
"Although, the Negro press declares itself to be the spokesman for the Negro group as a whole it represents, essentially, the interests and the outlook of the black bourgeoisie."
In that chapter, he refers to Ebony and Jet as part of this elite group, two magazines that are still shaping black thought in the 21st century.
As far as the white press, they just need one of the Good Ol' Brothas to measure the temperament of the black community after some provocative action on the part of white America. They just need to be warned when the natives are restless and what it will take to simmer them back down.
Now, I don't mean to knock the next man's hustle, as the members of the Good Ol' Brotha's Club have worked hard to get where they are. WEB DuBois faced this same delima when addressing the power of Booker T Washington in "The Souls of Black Folk" but came to the conclusion that
"the hushing of criticism of honest opponents is a dangerous thing."
It must be noted that what black people need is not spokesmen but master teachers to supply the black masses with information.
This is what has always frightened those in power, not an emotional people but a well informed people.
As much as members of the Good Ol' Brotha's Network claim that they are the most enlightened and "baddest brothers on the block," as Grandma used to say when I got too big for my britches, "as bad as you may think you are, there is always somebody else badder."
There are many scholars in the black community who are experts in their respective fields and although you may hear them online on Internet radio networks such as Harambee.com or LIBradio.com, they will never be allowed to rival the platform given the Good Ol' Brothas.
Why?
As comedian, Katt Williams would say , a Chrysler 300 looks just like a Rolls Royce Phantom until a Phantom pulls up beside it.
It must be noted that the best of us have always been the ones that will bring life changing information to the masses of black people or in other words the bravest among us tell black folks what white folks don't want us to know.
We need to establish more diversity of thought in the black community not for the benefit of white America but to elevate the consciousness of black people.
Even if it means crashing the next Good Ol' Brotha's party.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com
The Manipulation of the Black Mind
Paul Scott
A few years ago, a movie came out called Barbershop that enraged many of the Civil Rights folks. In the film, Cedric the Entertainer's character, "Eddie" went on a tirade and started busting up many myths plaguing the black community such as how Rosa Parks was the first woman to stand up or sit down for Civil Rights and the belief that all black folks thought that OJ Simpson was innocent. Although the scene ticked off some Civil Rights leaders, to me, the moral of the story was very clear; all black folks don't think alike.
I thought about that movie, last week ,while listening to a popular nationally syndicated black radio commentator urging his listeners to bombard Fox and CNN with emails demanding that he and a couple of other guys get more airtime. Sadly, the short list of names that he gave were already the ones that serve as the "go to people" when it comes to interpreting black thought to the masses.
While many black folks complain about a "Good Ol' Boys" Club made up of white males with the same political ideology who have a monopoly on politics, economics and anything else that they wish to control, there also exists a "Good Ol' Brotha's" Club in the black community. This network is made up of a few black intellectuals and civil rights leaders who speak for all black folks.
Historically, white America has believed that all black people have the same collective ideology so they have never really needed more than one official spokesperson.
This goes back to the late 1800's with Booker T Washington, who was considered by many to be the first national black leader. Washington gained national prominence after he delivered his "Atlanta Compromise " speech during the Atlanta Cotton Exposition in 1895.
What was dangerous about Washington leadership was the creation of the Tuskegee Machine which was used to silence and in some cases crush any who were in opposition to his position.
In the introduction to Booker T Washington's "Up From Slavery," Louis R. Harlan described Washington's Tuskegee Machine as "a network of his supporters and lieutenants in every avenue of black life." He goes on to say that Washington controlled "the editorial policies of nearly all of the black weeklies through subsidies and in a few cases, outright ownership."
So you have the seeds planted of the shaping of black thought over a century today that continues with the Good Ol' Brotha's Club and their domination of the press; both black and white.
It must be noted that when one speaks of the "black press" it is not to be misinterpreted to mean those local media outlets that are allowing the grassroots to express their thoughts but the national press that for decades has served as the only "legitimate" voice of black America.
In his book "Black Bourgeoisie, " E. Franklin Frazier says this about the black press in 1957.
"Although, the Negro press declares itself to be the spokesman for the Negro group as a whole it represents, essentially, the interests and the outlook of the black bourgeoisie."
In that chapter, he refers to Ebony and Jet as part of this elite group, two magazines that are still shaping black thought in the 21st century.
As far as the white press, they just need one of the Good Ol' Brothas to measure the temperament of the black community after some provocative action on the part of white America. They just need to be warned when the natives are restless and what it will take to simmer them back down.
Now, I don't mean to knock the next man's hustle, as the members of the Good Ol' Brotha's Club have worked hard to get where they are. WEB DuBois faced this same delima when addressing the power of Booker T Washington in "The Souls of Black Folk" but came to the conclusion that
"the hushing of criticism of honest opponents is a dangerous thing."
It must be noted that what black people need is not spokesmen but master teachers to supply the black masses with information.
This is what has always frightened those in power, not an emotional people but a well informed people.
As much as members of the Good Ol' Brotha's Network claim that they are the most enlightened and "baddest brothers on the block," as Grandma used to say when I got too big for my britches, "as bad as you may think you are, there is always somebody else badder."
There are many scholars in the black community who are experts in their respective fields and although you may hear them online on Internet radio networks such as Harambee.com or LIBradio.com, they will never be allowed to rival the platform given the Good Ol' Brothas.
Why?
As comedian, Katt Williams would say , a Chrysler 300 looks just like a Rolls Royce Phantom until a Phantom pulls up beside it.
It must be noted that the best of us have always been the ones that will bring life changing information to the masses of black people or in other words the bravest among us tell black folks what white folks don't want us to know.
We need to establish more diversity of thought in the black community not for the benefit of white America but to elevate the consciousness of black people.
Even if it means crashing the next Good Ol' Brotha's party.
Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com
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