Tyrese vs the Real Decepticons

Tyrese vs the Real Decepticons

Paul Scott





Last Summer, fans flocked to movie theaters in droves to see Tyrese Gibson help the Transformers save Earth from the Decepticons. Now, he is in a fight with the real "Decepti-Cons" who are destroying the 'hood.


You know who I'm talking about. Go to any 'hood in America and you will see the invaders who pimp the community with overpriced chewing gum, stale potato chips and enough 40's to get the whole city tipsy. If you go in and ask for a bottle of natural spring water, you're fresh out of luck but if you are searching for a vintage bottle of 1988 Olde English 800, they got you.

Last week, during a radio interview on Wilmington, Delaware's Kiss 101.7 , Tyrese went in on the "homies" there for allowing a liquor store to be in close proximity to a school. Apparently, this did not sit too well with the station's head dude who, allegedly, bounced him out the door, not because of his stance against liquor stores near kids but because he had the nerve to refer to his listeners as "homies" on a Hip Hop radio station.

(Doesn't make sense to you, either, huh?)

Either way, allegedly, Tyrese's music has been banned from the station until further notice.

As Gibson has pointed out, this is not just about Wilmington. Go to any poor community in America and you will find more liquor stores (liquid crack houses) than anything else. For years, community activists have accused the high proliferation of these stores in predominately Black and Latino neighborhoods as being acts of genocide. However, while community activist Raheem Jackson can stand in front of a store with a protest sign and bullhorn for years and be ignored, one word from a celebrity like Tyrese can spark a revolution. An issue that has plagued communities for years is now being discussed at bus stops, in barbershops and tattoo parlors.

This is why Tyrese's stand sent shock waves through an industry that works in cahoots with corporations to keep the masses of the people blind to the facts.

What if people start really examining the question of why there are really so many liquor stores in the 'hood and then demand answers? Or if people start actually organizing to push legislation to keep liquor stores out of school zones? How about if other artists start using their star power to raise questions, not only about liquor stores but the prison industrial complex, high unemployment in "urban" communities, or how drugs really get into the 'hood ? It could start a domino effect that could upset the socio-economic order of this country.


That is why a socially conscious artist who uses his celebrity status to do more than make people buy cds or movie tickets is considered a threat. And many who have dared to speak out against social injustice have committed revolutionary, career suicide.

Instead of addressing complaints by celebrities, the "Decepti-Cons" use the oldest trick in the book: try to discredit the messenger. Back in the day, they would call outspoken artists, "Communists," then "militants." Today, they try to make using the term "homie" a federal offense.

Another tactic that they have used is a con game called the "straw man fallacy," which is when the real issue is replaced by a fake issue that has nothing to do with the real issue in order to distract attention from the real issue. (Rewind that back twice and think about it.) In this case, they are using Tyrese's, allegedly, dissin' the folks in Delaware as a straw man argument to draw attention from what should be the primary question, "should liquor stores be near schools."

As they say, the players change but the game remains the same.


Unlike the poor righteous teachers who are the community activists, celebrities have something we don't; influence and access to capital. Suppose, Tyrese and a few of his Hollywood homies put some dollars together and open up a health food/book store in Wilmington to compete with the liquor store? Or, what if he takes some of that Transformer money and opens up a radio station in Delaware that features talk shows and plays nothing but conscious Hip Hop? The possibility is there but it all starts with a conversation.

However, we can't put all the weight on celebrities. They can be catalysts for change but the real work is going to have to be done by the homies in the 'hood who are tired of seeing their children drop out of school in order to embrace a life full of addiction and prison bids.

Even though Megatron and his crew have lots of power, we must be willing to fight them if we are going to save this generation from destruction. And this fight won't be easy.

We must all make a commitment to become the "Transformers" of our own communities.

As Optimus Prime said at the end of Transformers 3 ” there will be days when we lose faith but the day will never come when we forsake this planet and it's people.”

Or the ‘hood.


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

40 Acres and a School

40 Acres and a School:
Reading, Writing and Reparations

Paul Scott



"As long as you can be convinced that you never did anything, then you can never do anything"

Malcolm X




There is something called a self -fulfilling prophecy. If you promote an idea long enough, it will become reality.

So it is with the notion that black males are doomed to academic failure.

It was announced a few days ago that the Durham Public School System will receive a grant from the National Association of Educators for 1.25 million dollars to, once again, engage in the never ending quest to save black males from falling into the dark abyss of educational obscurity.

Yet another bureaucratic attempt to solve societal problems by throwing a boat load of money at it.

While this is a novel idea, there is just one itty bitty little problem...

It never works.

Despite the best intentions of those who cried through "The Blind Side" and came of out the theatre vowing to save black kids, the money never quite makes it from point A to point B. By the time they pay some out- of- towner big bucks to administer the funds, pay the rent for his office and the note for his company car, the poor black kids will be lucky to get a #2 pencil out of the deal.

(Look at how much money has been spent to solve Durham's "gang problem.")

According to news reports, the scraps will be used to do things like allow teachers to visit the homes of troubled students.

(Note to the brainiacs in Raleigh. If you use some of that educational lotto money to pay teachers a decent salary so they don't have to moonlight taking orders at Big Bob's Burger Barn, maybe they will have time to chill out with Lil Tyrone Johnson's family in the evening.)

No diss meant to the Ph.D card carrying DPS administrators but to use text-terminology, ITSS. (It's The System, Stupid!)

To truly close the achievement gap we must first have the courage ask the fundamental question, "how did we get here in the first place?"

The reason why this question is rarely posed is because to get to the answer we have to wade through the murky waters of institutionalized academic racism.

The truth of the matter is that black children are in their present state because, for so long, African Americans were denied educational equality and thusly, economic opportunities.

For many years, African Americans have fought for reparations for slavery, an effort to gain compensation to repair the damage caused by centuries of free labor. If any restitution must be given, it must start with the educational system and it will cost a whole lot more than a million dollars and some change per school system.

What would be required would be a total revamping of the entire educational system. There must not only be a radical redistribution of resources but a change in the national curriculum that has too long downplayed the achievements of people of African descent and over exaggerated the achievements of Europeans.

This is the only way to turn gang members into college graduates. Trying to teach troubled black youth without taking a systematic approach is like putting a band aid on a bullet hole. Yeah, it will stop the bleeding for a while but...

Now, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for Thaddeus Stevens' promised 40 acres and a mule carrying a set of encyclopedias on its back. So, until then there are a few things that can be done, immediately.

First, we, as a community, must at long last have that long delayed open and honest conversation on race and how it has historically impacted the education of African Americans. If we don't put black underachievement in the context of the African American experience then all the positive press generated by the receipt of the grant money will only serve to propagate the idea that African Americans are innately, academically challenged.

Secondly , all African American children should be required to take a course in Afrocentricity. Every black child should know bits of information like despite the negative stereotypes of Africa as a place filled with ignorant savages , according to researcher Basil Davidson, during the 16th century, Leo Africanus said "more money is made from the book trade than any other line of business." Contrary to the belief of some members of this generation, the crowning achievement of black culture was not Jay Z performing at the World Series.

Lastly, it is a worn out cliche but administrators must learn to think outside the box. They must have the courage to support those who dare to take the road less traveled in order to reach our children. Therefore, DPS must not simply hoard resources but must share them with organizations outside of the traditional school system that work with black males, like the Rights of Passage and New Horizons Training for Success. Since Martina Dunford's Training for Success program helps guide many black males, who are victims of the mis-educational system, it will be a travesty if her program doesn't receive a big slice of that million dollar grant pie.

Until we take these steps we'll just be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

The Beatles once said that "money can't buy you love."

Unfortunately, It can't buy you knowledge, either.


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