Black History: The Lost Episodes

Black History: The Lost Episodes

Paul Scott




Black History Month is like one of those cheesy 80's sitcom reruns. Even though you know every punch line, word for word, you, somehow, find your eyes glued to the tube every time it comes on. The Black History Show opens with slaves picking cotton and singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" before being "freed" by Honest Abe Lincoln. Then a black seamstress will sit in the front of a bus, a black scientist will get milk from a peanut and a black southern preacher will lead them on a merry march to the Promised Land. Finally, a multi-racial choir will sing "We Shall Overcome" as the closing credits roll, thanking white owned corporations with questionable hiring practices for sponsoring the program.

Every year, we are programmed to death with the same stories during Black History Month. There will be the obligatory stories about Frederick Douglas, Rosa Parks , Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and some inventor or entertainer who died broke after making millions of dollars for a white owned company. Surely, there has to be more to the black experience than that!

Contrary to popular belief, Black people did have a history before they were "discovered" by European explorers. Although, they have been ripped from the pages of history books, there existed mighty civilizations in Africa before "Europe" even existed. Scholars such as Dr. Anthony Browder, George GM James and Dr. Yusef ben Jochannan have done extensive research on the subject but because their scholarship did not conform to traditional western propaganda that promotes the idea that anything worth having came out of Europe, their works have been, largely, ignored.

As Dr. WEB Dubois wrote in his essay "The Souls of White Folk," " 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."

Even when such fan favorites such as Douglas and King are mentioned, their images are white washed, so we are left with a Frederick Douglas who never questioned the black celebration of Independence Day and a Martin Luther King who never questioned the war in Vietnam.

Also, although much of the attention is paid to the lead characters of black History, little attention is given to the supporting cast of thousands. There are hundreds of heroes and heroines that are never discussed because they dared to veer off script that promotes black intellectual, inferiority. How many people know about Imhotep, who, according to historian J A Rogers, was "the real father of medicine" or Marcus Garvey, who led the largest black movement in American history.

The blatant disregard for black history is becoming increasing problematic on two fronts.

First, it has allowed many black youth, who were denied the truth about their history, to develop a Hip Hop pseudo-history that replaces "revolutionaries" with rappers.

Secondly it has allowed nouveau, revisionist historians to create an American fantasy land where legalized slavery was never sanctioned by the US Constitution, Jim in Huckleberry Finn was never called the dreaded "n" word and right wing pundit Glen Beck is the legitimate heir to the Martin Luther King's throne.

So the challenge before us in 2011 is to find a way to change the channel and present a new, high definition picture of Black History. How do we show the real black experience without corporate, commercial interruption?

The answer is, literally, in the palm of our hands. We use social media to show the world the lost episodes of Black History. Everyday during February we should use our ipads, iphones and lap tops to post information about black history on Youtube, Facebook etc. And not just the PC fluff that we get every year. We need the (Malcolm) X- rated stuff too. Whether it be stories about ancient African civilizations, unsung African American leaders or those members of our own families who have made positive contributions to society, we must seize the time and become the executive producers of our own history.

As Malcolm X once said, "of all our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research."

In this case, the prize is not an Emmy nor an Oscar but a proud history to be passed down to future generations.

Paul Scott is a minister, activist and writer based in Durham NC He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com . His blog is No Warning Shots Fired.com

Appeal to Hip Hop Nation

Appeal to Hip Hop Nation:

Support World Conference Against Racism


Paul Scott




Ask any Hip Hop head about the genre's impact on the world and he will wax poetic for hours about how kids in Japan are break dancing and how children in Africa know the words to the latest lil Wayne song. But ask him about the role of Hip Hop in fighting for the rights of the globally oppressed and the silence is deafening.

With the far reaching impact of Hip Hop across the planet, one must ask why few have spoken out against the probable boycott of the upcoming World Conference Against Racism by the United States.

According to news reports, the US and several other countries will not attend the conference because of concern that issues such as Zionism, Reparations and the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade may be topics of discussion.

To have a country that is the home of millions of the decedents of the worst atrocity known to man refuse to participate in a discussion about racism is not only an insult to the present generation but to our ancestors whose bones lie at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

We have a right to sing our song before the world about the problems that we still face in America such as disproportionate unemployment and police brutality without our voices being drowned out by government bureaucracy.


You would think that a Hip Hop movement that has ,vehemently, opposed censorship would have their ambassadors on the front line demanding that the masses be heard. But no. There has been hardly a peep from the hardcore defenders of free speech.

Why?

Because contrary to popular belief and the anti-intellectual nature of some of their lyrics, rappers ain't stupid. They know who to mess wit'.

So why does a movement that has prided itself as being "neva scared" wet its collective pants at the thought of addressing global oppression ?

There has always been a certain amount of danger in black folks getting involved in international issues. One only has to look at the governmental persecution that black leaders such as Marcus Garvey and WEB Du Bois faced when, through Pan Africanism, they tried to expand the struggle of black folks beyond the shores of America. Also, it is more than just a conspiracy theory that Dr. Martin Luther King's campaign against the Vietnam War and Malcolm X's threat to bring the Civil Rights struggle before the United Nations hastened their early demises.

The fear of getting out of the Hip Hop sandbox and stompin' with the big dogs is not just limited to the Hip Hop movement but to Civil Rights organizations, as well.

So, it has been safer to confine ones concerns to the domestic not the foreign. In the case of the rapper, it is much safer to restrict your "beef" to another black man instead of the forces that oppress you both.

As much as many of the Hip Hop artists accuse the Civil Rights leaders of being soft, in reality, they both have the same end game strategy; total integration into the system. That is why the goals and objections of even the most "gangsta" rappers have not differed much from the status quo.

When criticized about their lyrics, some rappers are quick to claim that they are victims of society. Wouldn't the anti-racism conference be a perfect opportunity to expand Hip Hop's narrow definition of victim-hood to include the global victimization of African people? This would be a perfect opportunity to show the homies that the issues facing "tha hood" are microcosmic in relation to the issues facing black people, worldwide.

It is imperative that the Hip Hop community uses its collective resources to demand that the Obama Administration send representatives to the conference in Geneva beginning April 20th. It was not enough to register thousands of poor and oppressed black folks to vote in 2008. If, in 2009, the issues facing those people are still ignored the various voter registration drives were a waste of time and energy.

Hip Hop must truly become what it was initially meant to be, the voice of the oppressed.

Forget all the tough talk and street swagga. Until rappers can speak out against things like the boycott of the World Conference Against Racism, like James Brown said, they are just talkin' loud and sayin' nuthin...



TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ He can be reached at (919) 451-8283
info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Monkey Business as Usual

Monkey Business as Usual


Paul Scott




By now you've probably seen the infamous New York Post cartoon of two police officers standing over a dead chimpanzee with two bullet holes and the caption " They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/18/new-york-post-cartoon-race

We'll isn't that special...

Now I don't wanna come off like that church lady from the old school Saturday Night Live skit who saw the evil one's hand in every action undertaken by mankind so I'll try to be as objective as possible.

There is a reason why African Americans get uptight when animals, especially monkeys, are in any way, shape , form or fashion connected to anything dealing with black folks.

For many years, European historians promoted as scientific fact the idea that Africans were the missing link between apes and humans. However, on page 105 of Michael Bradley's book "The Ice Man Inheritance," he makes the point that feature wise, it is the Caucasian that has more in common with apes than Africans by quoting Ashley Montagu and Ivan T. Sanderson.

During World War II, some white soldiers went overseas spreading the myth that black soldiers had tails to mess up their rap with white women.

It has been suggested by some that even the movie King Kong was really about the attraction of black men to white women.

Also, I remember years back when AT@T caught heat for having an ad that had humans representing the other continents but (you guessed it) a monkey was chattin' on the phone in Africa.

So, the outrage over the Post has precedence.

This is not the first time that the NY Post has been criticized by black folks. I remember back in the day Public Enemy had a song dedicated to the racist journalism of the paper called "A Letter to the New York Post."

But the question is, with all the other stuff going on in the world, why is this story so newsworthy ?

Simple. The sidebar issues.

A lot of people are going to get a lot of mileage from this story and come next week people would have forgotten all about how the controversy started in the first place.

So, why all the static?

The Civil Rights folks need something like this every now and then. I am sure the donations have dropped since President Obama was elected and many proclaimed America as "post racial." So, the Civil Rights fighters are going to use this to prove why your tax deductible donation is still necessary.

It has been rumored for months that the Democrats are trying to get the Fairness Doctrine instated that will give the liberal tree huggers equal access to the airwaves. Ironically enough, since folks on the Left fear radical black voices, this may result in even less "controversial" authentically black issues being discussed in the media.

The Right Wing Conservative bigots may actually benefit the most from this controversy. Since the election, many have been playing the reverse race card and saying that there is some anti-Conservative conspiracy. They are playing the victim role very well.

Fox News' Sean Hannity already has a "Hate Hannity" hotline and folks like him are referring to themselves as "Conservatives in exile."

By the way, who owns the NY Post again?

That's right..Rupert "Money Bags" Murdock, who also owns Fox News.

So, I guess the world is a stage and every actor plays a part.

My prediction is...

In the end, they will all find a way to blame Hip Hop. After all, 50 Cent's "G-Unit" does stand for "Gorilla Unit," doesn't it?

Or maybe they will blame Kool and the Gang for releasing "Jungle Boogie" back in the '70's.

Who knows?



Paul Scott, Hip Hop TRUTH Minista" writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com (919) 451-8283

CrackHeads Candy Report on NBC 17

Below is a link to the story that NBC 17 did on CrackHeads Candy.

http://durham.mync.com/site/Durham/news/story/26305/crackhead-candy-raises-concern-from-parents/

The No Warning Shots "Firing Squad" should keep firing off those emails and phone calls to local FYE's (the street corner crackhead dealers) and their parent company Trans World Entertainment Corporation (the main supplier) demanding that they pull CrackHeads off the shelves, immediately!

http://www.twec.com/corpsite/corporate/contact.cfm

Also, my NC peeps should send an email to the CrackHead "crack house headquarters" in Milwaukee and tell them to keep their junk out of our state.

http://www.crackheadscandy.com/candy-info/


Remember when the operator picks up the phone to her with our "anti-crack rap.":


"Crack is wack and so is your candy!


The link to my original "Candy for CrackHeads " article is below:

http://nowarningshotsfired.blogspot.com/2009/01/candy-for-crackheads.html

NWSF Presents "The Black History Bailout Tour"

Since the election of America's first black president some are saying that there is no longer a need for Black History Month. Therefore, No Warning Shots Fired.com is launching the "Black History Bailout" lecture tour by TRUTH Minista Paul Scott.

The tour will start February 1st 2009.


To bring the tour to your city contact info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 451-8283

Puttin' Black History on the Auction Block

Puttin' Black History on the Auction Block


Min. Paul Scott


"The only someone we are shown in history is mygrandfather was picking cotton Picking cotton don’t move me" -Malcolm X


The crowd gathered around as Massa Charlie paraded the slave's around the auction block. Seems like that day they were having a special sale on the most talented slaves. Some of them buck danced for the crowd some told jokes, the slaves that got the biggest laughs sold for the highest price. The only one that wasn't sold that day was the rebellious one, Cinque, who escaped while the crowd was busy enjoying Uncle Remus play hambone on his knee. No, we aren't talkin'about Jamestown VA in the 1600's, we are talking about Harlem 2007...

Black History Month used to be a time for Black folks to shine. A time to flip tha finger at white America and tell them "If it wasn't for a BLACK MAN inventing the traffic light, just think of how high your car insurance would be..YEAH!!!" It was a time to show white folks that the so called "savages" that they kidnaped from Africa were, indeed worthy of using the same toilet as them. But now instead of looking up to the accomplishments of Garret Morgan, in 2007, we are more interested inTyrone 'T-Boogie" Johnson, the first Black man to put florescent spinnin' rims on a 74 Cutless Supreme.

Back in tha day, Black culture, itself used to besomething to be admired and celebrated, as Deacon JohnSmith could not wait to see his Lil Aisha perform her African dance at the annual church Black history program but every since Sis. Anna Mae's son told his Sunday School class that he saw Lil Aisha aka MissThixxx in the Playa Pimp video "Strippers Make My Toes Curl", the good Deacon is ashamed to show his face in church...

While the younger generation does bare someresponsibility for the current condition of Blackculture, the lion's share of the blame must fall onthe older generation.Many of our young people just don't know because no one has taught them their true history. And I'm not talking about that "jump down pick a bale of cotton"type history that is taught in school. Is it really Lil Rasheed's fault that he and his rap group "The Tar Babies" recorded a funky remix of"Zip-a -dee- do- da" when the old folks were too busy trying to catch up with the Van Morrison's to tell him.."Now, that is just wrong!" Or is it really Tanitia's fault for taking a role in the Hip Hop version ofGone With the Wind when the only version of Black History she was given came courtesy of a value meal bag from Mickey Dee's?"

The problem is the lack of value we have placed on Black History and the historical disrespect of BlackCulture. To most white folks African people had no real history until they were brought to America. Never mind all that "hogwash" about the pyramid builders, rulers of ancient empires, true people of the Bible etc. All of that was just written off by European scholars as nonsense and this philosophy is still reflected in the American public educational system, today. Before segregation you had Black teachers who may not have been experts on ancient African history but they were dedicated to instilling African values in young Black children. However, after integration you had white teachers who would not know Hannibal from Carthage from Hannibal from "Silence of the Lambs" teaching Black children/ future Black educators Black history. So even with our higher level of education in the 21st century, our knowledge of history has not advanced beyond the plantation. And yet we wonder why Black children drop out of school at alarming rates.

The Black preachers have not been much help either,as they have been more interested in producing"sanctified slaves" then giving their congregations an Afrocentric Theology that would prepare them to live in a European dominated society that would never fail to remind them that they were divinely cursed to be their flunkies.

Perhaps most dangerous, if not most relevant, today has been the white exploitation/commercialization ofBlack culture. While Hip Hop as a pseudo culture may have come out of an authentically Black experience, Hip Hop as a "business" has mostly been the brainchild of white entertainment lawyers, accountants and marketing executives. So, while many Black youth feel that they are "reppin' the 'hood" when they embrace commercial Hip Hop and transform themselves into niggaz and bitches , they are really the victim ofwhite corporate marketing schemes.

Also, disturbing are the nonBlack companies who use Black History Month as a marketing tool to getBlack folks to get off of some of their hard earned dollars every February. So Black History does not come courtesy of our Black scholars but courtesy of some white, pimply faced entry level marketing intern at Denny’s who needed a project for college credit.

So, today Black culture is basically worthless and Black Culture is just a hollow shell of what it is supposed to be . No matter what Black History Month issupposed to be in theory, in practice, it has yet to even convince thousands of Black children that they ain't niggaz. That is why I have launched a hostile take over of Black History Month called the Books or Bullets Campaign.

http://www.booksorbullets.com/

Now I know the haters are going to come with their slings and arrows, frying pans and whatever yellin"How Dare You!"But if this causes one Black child to change their perception of who he or she is; so be it!

To borrow that line from line "The Lion King, "You are much more than you have become."
It's time that someone let's them know....

Min. Paul Scott Paul Scott's blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ He can be reached a t(919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com