The Rock & Rape of Black Women
Min. Paul Scott
"Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good..like a black girl should."
The Rolling Stones
During my morning commute, I usually station surf to pass the time. As much as I like black radio, when I find myself deciphering Lil Wayne lyrics, it's time to turn the dial. Most of the time I'll luck up on an old Earth Wind and Fire jam to put me in a mellow mood, but yesterday, I heard something that made me throw on my breaks in the middle of a busy intersection; an oldies rock station was blasting a song that celebrated the rape of black girls...
Back in '71, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones released a hit record called "Brown Sugar." The song begins with a lyric about a slave owner getting his thrills off of beating black women and raping them. He goes on to rejoice over how good sex with black women is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4O80NpnpHw&feature=related
I guess the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.
Years later, since the black militants didn't snatch him off stage and beat his behind, he felt it safe to record "Some Girls" in which he, after talking about the materialistic attitudes of women of other nationalities, proudly proclaimed that "black girls just want to f*** all night."
The reason why a discussion over old Rock and Roll lyrics is relevant in 2009 is quite simple.
Although we have discussed the misogynistic lyrics of Hip Hop artists , for well over a decade, we have left rockers such as Mick Jagger out of the conversation. We call it disgraceful when a black male rapper makes a record calling a black woman a "ho" but when Lou Reed refers to black women as "colored girls" on "Walk on the Wild Side," we call that a classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pAE5G5OBzw
Does this mean that sistas shouldn't get upset when rappers see them only as "Ho's ?"
Of course they should.
But The Stones and 'em were dissin' sistas long before the Bad Boys made "Veronica" or Slick Rick first performed "Treat em Like a Prostitute."
Also, as social scientists such as Dr. Amos Wilson and Bobby Wright have taught us, we must trace the historical roots of the pathological behavior exhibited by some black men.
If we are to stop the misogynistic lyrics in Hip Hop, we must admit that the rappers are mimicking white men who have abused black women for hundreds of years with impunity.
The relationship between white men and black women has always been a taboo subject in the African America community.
Many in my generation never dared ask great grandma how she wound up with those green eyes and that buttermilk complexion as we sat around the Sunday dinner table. So, we just wrote it off as having some "Indian" in our family tree and continued grubbin'.
In reality, during slavery and into the early 20th century, many black women were raped by white men while their husbands cowered in corners. This feeling of helplessness resulted in misplaced aggression in black men in which they began to blame black women for being raped. This disorder has now manifested itself in the actions of their great, great grandsons.
While many of the relationships between white men and black women were forced, that was not always the case.
According to historian E. Franklin Frazier, in his book, "Black Bourgeoisie,"
"In giving themselves to their white masters, there were certain concrete advantages to be gained." These advantages ranged from better food and clothing to the possibility that their mulatto children would enjoy special privileges or even be emancipated.
So, maybe some black women actually felt honored that Jagger thought enough of them to shout them out on a record. Perhaps that is why, more recently, there was little fallout when a lost tape (Oh, Foolish Pride) by white rapper, Eminem, on which he disrespected black women, was discovered.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDJDhVkRhtQ
What is most disturbing is that songs such as "Brown Sugar" are still played on the radio, today, without protest, while Hip Hop is under constant scrutiny.
Even though some may say that this is a case of digging up ancient history, there is no statute of limitations on the degradation of black women and Mick Jagger and the rest should be held accountable in the same manner as those wrinkled, old Nazi war criminals.
Most importantly, we, as black men, must fight against the abuse of black women in honor of our ancestors who couldn't.
We must never forget the horrors of that period of our history no matter how it is celebrated in song.
We must always remember, as Styles P once rapped,
"Even though my skin's kinda light that means my ancestors were raped by somebody white."
Min. Paul Scott is founder of the Messianic Afrikan Nation ministry in Durham NC. He can be reached at (919) 972-8305
info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Showing posts with label Rhianna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhianna. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
NWSF Announcement: Black Culture Bailout Tour Comes to NY
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott will bring the Black Culture Bailout Tour to New York City next weekend. He is scheduled to take part in the Great Debate #4 "Is Hip Hop Good for Black Folks" 3/15 in Harlem NY.
http://nowarningshotsfired.blogspot.com/2009/02/blog-post.html
Last February, Scott started the Black History Bailout Tour (now the Black Culture Bailout Tour) to raise awareness about the need to preserve black culture in the "Obama Age" when many people are saying that we are living in a "post racial America."
For more info on the Black Culture Bailout Tour contact (919) 451-8283
info@nowarningshotsfired.com
http://nowarningshotsfired.blogspot.com/2009/02/blog-post.html
Last February, Scott started the Black History Bailout Tour (now the Black Culture Bailout Tour) to raise awareness about the need to preserve black culture in the "Obama Age" when many people are saying that we are living in a "post racial America."
For more info on the Black Culture Bailout Tour contact (919) 451-8283
info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Hip Hop's Judgement Day
Hip Hop's Judgement Day
Paul Scott
For everything there is a season; a Day of Reckoning; a Judgement Day. Now it's Hip Hop's turn.
On March 15th in Harlem NY, some of the greatest Pan_ African thinkers will gather to put to rest once and for all, the matter of, "Is Hip Hop Good for Black Folks ?"
While the issue of the positive and negative nature of Hip Hop has been discussed for over 20 years, rarely has this topic been entertained from an Afrocentric point of view. Therefore, most Hip Hop discussions have never ventured far beyond the topics of "dirt words" and "young men pulling their pants up."
Consequently, the view of Hip Hop through an Afrocentric prism has been clouded by the European concept of morality and its many contradictions.
While some may blame the failure to tackle this issue on black youth, in actuality, the reason for this breakdown in communication is multifaceted.
First, while writers such as WEB Dubois wrote extensively about the duality of race and the idea of being both African and American, simultaneously, they never had to deal with members of a "Hip Hop Generation," who have to struggle with the concepts of being "Hip Hop," African and American even when these concepts are diametrically opposed to each other.
Secondly, the elders of the community greatly underestimated the cultural impact that Hip Hop would have on the world during the early days of its conception. What many people considered noise or just a temporary fad in black music in the early 80's,within a decade had morphed into a cultural juggernaut that began to eclipse both the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. What was thought to be a passing phase had now begun to shape the perception of African people, globally and had moved from the arena of entertainment to become a major social, economic and political force.
Thirdly, although many in the black community misjudged the longevity of the pseudo-culture, corporate entities latched on to the Hip Hop movement and turned what began as two turntables and a microphone into a multi -national billion dollar business. While during the early 80's there was a possibility to appeal to the consciousness of the early practitioners of the art form, by the mid 90's the seductive lure of Capitalism had made the success of such appeals improbable.
Perhaps most troubling is the fact that the Pan African community has not held a plebiscite to construct an official position to define Hip Hop from a Pan Africanist point of view. Without a solid consensus, there was no scale available to weigh in the balance the deeds of Hip Hop artists versus the key attributes of African culture/spirituality . It was allowed to become all things to all people and since the majority of those
financially supporting the art form were white middle class Americans, Hip Hop began to reflect either their world view or their warped perceptions of what it meant to be black in America.
In 2009, the black community finds itself at a crossroad. Where we go from here culturally, economically and spiritually depends on the outcomes of events like the Great Harlem debates.
On March 15th, we raise the issue, Iis Hip Hop good or bad for black people?"
The answer we give will determine the destiny of a generation.
(The Great Debate 4 " Is Hip Hop Good for Black folks" is sponsored by CEMOTAP and will be held at 3PM March 15th at Salem United Methodist Church . For more information contact (347) 531-8936
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
Paul Scott
For everything there is a season; a Day of Reckoning; a Judgement Day. Now it's Hip Hop's turn.
On March 15th in Harlem NY, some of the greatest Pan_ African thinkers will gather to put to rest once and for all, the matter of, "Is Hip Hop Good for Black Folks ?"
While the issue of the positive and negative nature of Hip Hop has been discussed for over 20 years, rarely has this topic been entertained from an Afrocentric point of view. Therefore, most Hip Hop discussions have never ventured far beyond the topics of "dirt words" and "young men pulling their pants up."
Consequently, the view of Hip Hop through an Afrocentric prism has been clouded by the European concept of morality and its many contradictions.
While some may blame the failure to tackle this issue on black youth, in actuality, the reason for this breakdown in communication is multifaceted.
First, while writers such as WEB Dubois wrote extensively about the duality of race and the idea of being both African and American, simultaneously, they never had to deal with members of a "Hip Hop Generation," who have to struggle with the concepts of being "Hip Hop," African and American even when these concepts are diametrically opposed to each other.
Secondly, the elders of the community greatly underestimated the cultural impact that Hip Hop would have on the world during the early days of its conception. What many people considered noise or just a temporary fad in black music in the early 80's,within a decade had morphed into a cultural juggernaut that began to eclipse both the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. What was thought to be a passing phase had now begun to shape the perception of African people, globally and had moved from the arena of entertainment to become a major social, economic and political force.
Thirdly, although many in the black community misjudged the longevity of the pseudo-culture, corporate entities latched on to the Hip Hop movement and turned what began as two turntables and a microphone into a multi -national billion dollar business. While during the early 80's there was a possibility to appeal to the consciousness of the early practitioners of the art form, by the mid 90's the seductive lure of Capitalism had made the success of such appeals improbable.
Perhaps most troubling is the fact that the Pan African community has not held a plebiscite to construct an official position to define Hip Hop from a Pan Africanist point of view. Without a solid consensus, there was no scale available to weigh in the balance the deeds of Hip Hop artists versus the key attributes of African culture/spirituality . It was allowed to become all things to all people and since the majority of those
financially supporting the art form were white middle class Americans, Hip Hop began to reflect either their world view or their warped perceptions of what it meant to be black in America.
In 2009, the black community finds itself at a crossroad. Where we go from here culturally, economically and spiritually depends on the outcomes of events like the Great Harlem debates.
On March 15th, we raise the issue, Iis Hip Hop good or bad for black people?"
The answer we give will determine the destiny of a generation.
(The Great Debate 4 " Is Hip Hop Good for Black folks" is sponsored by CEMOTAP and will be held at 3PM March 15th at Salem United Methodist Church . For more information contact (347) 531-8936
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
NWSF Bullet: The More Things Change....
Being black in America is like a roller coaster ride at Kings Dominion. One minute you're at the top of the world looking down on creation and the next minute you're at the bottom holding your stomach wondering why you got on that crazy thing to start with.
Not even a month ago, black folks were on a natural high over the inauguration of Barack Obama. Seems like just yesterday folks were all googly eyed over President Obama dancing with his lovely wife Michelle at the Inaugural Ball. Every news channel was showing the first couple as the epitome of black love.
We were so proud.
But what is the main news story on every radio station and anywhere two or more black folks are gathered, today?
Chris Brown allegedly giving his girlfriend, Rhianna, a beat down...
Now, I'm not saying that this is not news. They are one of the hottest couples in the biz today. My concern is the attention we give trivial things while the rest of the world deals with grown folks business.
This being Black History Month, there are a million other things that we could focus on besides who drop kicked who this week.
And based on the fact that the media rarely cover more than one black issue at a time "Chris vs Rhianna" is taking up a lot of valuable space.
Also, mainstream America still has a myopic view of "blackness." So as far as the jacked up image of black men, we're back to business as usual.
Does Chris Brown represent all black men in America ?
Of course not.
Neither does President Obama to tell the truth.
However, with all the build up of the coming of the "new black man" over the last year, the alleged fight is kinda disheartening. It is a shame that news about the President's economic recovery plan was bumped by some ghetto mess.
Maybe one day we'll get our priorities straight.
Until then, more news about Chris and Rhianna tonight on the 11 o'clock news.
Not even a month ago, black folks were on a natural high over the inauguration of Barack Obama. Seems like just yesterday folks were all googly eyed over President Obama dancing with his lovely wife Michelle at the Inaugural Ball. Every news channel was showing the first couple as the epitome of black love.
We were so proud.
But what is the main news story on every radio station and anywhere two or more black folks are gathered, today?
Chris Brown allegedly giving his girlfriend, Rhianna, a beat down...
Now, I'm not saying that this is not news. They are one of the hottest couples in the biz today. My concern is the attention we give trivial things while the rest of the world deals with grown folks business.
This being Black History Month, there are a million other things that we could focus on besides who drop kicked who this week.
And based on the fact that the media rarely cover more than one black issue at a time "Chris vs Rhianna" is taking up a lot of valuable space.
Also, mainstream America still has a myopic view of "blackness." So as far as the jacked up image of black men, we're back to business as usual.
Does Chris Brown represent all black men in America ?
Of course not.
Neither does President Obama to tell the truth.
However, with all the build up of the coming of the "new black man" over the last year, the alleged fight is kinda disheartening. It is a shame that news about the President's economic recovery plan was bumped by some ghetto mess.
Maybe one day we'll get our priorities straight.
Until then, more news about Chris and Rhianna tonight on the 11 o'clock news.
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