The Black Informant

Has Black History month become passé to Black America?

I think the recanting of old tales of how people like Harriet Tubman narrowly escaped the clutches of bounty hunters are beginning to loose its value to much of this emerging black generation (18-24). What is even sadder is that unless there is a movie about black historical events staring Denzel or Foxx, black history has become a fading subject.

This is not a call to make black history more “hip”, instead we should blend the celebrations of our past contributions to this country with our present contributions. Of course, this will mean that there will be an acknowledgment that blacks have made great strides since the days of Jim Crow and beyond (something that Liberalism does not want to draw attention to).

Here is an excerpt from an article on how much history has been forgotten by this generation:

This semester, as an experiment, I asked my students to survey three people (two of them college students, one a person over 25) about Martin Luther King, Jr., a man they’ve surely studied at length in school. Almost all of the respondents volunteered that King was most famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech, and most said “elementary school” when asked where they had learned about King. But not that many people knew that King had opposed the war in Vietnam. And here’s generational narcissism and painful memory at work: the 45- and 50-year-olds surveyed thought Martin Luther King was close to their own age today when he was assassinated. Younger people were better at estimating the correct age (39). (more…)

The following was a question that was given to 8th graders in a recent study:

The phrase “Jim Crow” refers to laws that

A) made liquor illegal
B) enforced racial segregation
C) restricted immigration to the United States
D) protected the environment

Only 35% of this children got it right.

Here is another one:

6. What was one consequence of Nat Turner’s rebellion?

A) Large numbers of slaves fled to the North.
B) Slave revolts broke out throughout the South.
C) Conditions for slaves on many southern plantations improved.
D) Southern states passed laws designed to tightly control slaves.

Only 26% got this one right.

The only way our kids will not only remember important historical events from the past is to show them how the sacrifices of the past are directly tied to the successes of our present. Minimize our present successes and the only picture of black contribution to this country to our kids will be a picture of never-ending-struggle without purpose—just what Liberals want!

Related Links:

Black History events poorly attended

Slippery Rock University and the Black Action Society hosted almost two-dozen events celebrating Black History Month in the past few weeks, but with sub-par attendance from the SRU community.

…Land said that some students complained that most of the Black History Month events were held on the same night as basketball games; however, she said that lots of people showed up for the Mitch Hedberg stand-up comedy show Wednesday, despite a basketball game going on. (more…)

The Nation’s Report Card

Excelling young black men!

Since 1987, the San Diego chapter of The Links Inc. – an international, historically African-American women’s group dedicated to improving conditions for blacks through community outreach – have given Achiever awards to deserving young men.

The 18 seniors honored yesterday at the Sheraton San Diego Harbor & Marina received college scholarships ranging from $800 to $2,500, organizers said. And each was given a laptop computer for his efforts.

…It’s partly about encouraging the young men to become future leaders and partly about the teens bonding to create a positive, confident type of “pre-fraternity,” as one student said. (more…)

More buried history: Black slave owners in the US

A very interesting read!!
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In many instances, free black slave owners shared a similar view of slavery with their white counterparts. Slave owners of both races occasionally manumitted a trusted servant and in the same moment requested the sale of another slave. The act of freeing one or several slaves while others remained in bondage did not constitute a firm commitment against slavery, but a personal view which acknowledged that some slaves, through merit or hard work, deserved their freedom, while others were destined to be slaves until death. So when philanthropic free blacks purchased slaves and then emancipated them, they were not always paternalistic owners as Carter G. Woodson suggested.

For example, Richard Holloway, Sr., a free black of Charleston City, bought a slave named Charles Benford in order that the slave might enjoy his freedom. Yet at the same time, he owned other slaves who were not treated so kindly. In 1834, for instance, he purchased a Negro woman named Sarah and her two children, Annett and Edward, from Susan B. Robertson for $575. Within three years after the purchase, he apparently became dissatisfied with the slave family and sold them for $945. Even though Richard Holloway, Sr., allowed a trusted servant to enjoy a greater degree of freedom, he was still a slaveowner for profit. So he sold and purchased slaves as an investment even while he held other slaves for benevolent reasons. To consider him a benevolent master would be erroneous because he also exploited other slaves for his own benefit. (more…)

Related links:

Black slaveowners in South Carolina

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You will be somewhat hard-pressed to find this particular historical fact listed on the Internet, or in most of our schools.

A good alternative to Ipod

Pictured above: NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra

Digital music has certainly come a long way since the early days. I can remember the first day I downloaded my first mp3 file from mp3.com VIA DIAL-UP!!! About an hour later, I had downloaded my first song and I was hooked!!

Burning my own customized CDs was OK at first, but when you have kids they quickly become the toy of choice around the house. I thought about getting an Ipod, but they were too expensive (way overpriced in my opinion). So I began to look for an alternative.

A friend of mine told me about the NOMAD series from Creative. The price was enough to catch my attention. The 30 gig hard rive along with the good reviews was enough to sell me on this product. This player puts out a very good sound quality that any music enthusiast would find impressive. With a price of about $194 (as of a few days ago), you will see why this player makes a good alternative to Ipod.

Now I am able to store my entire music collection on one device and listen to it wherever I wish to take it. I also recently bought an FM transmitter (about $20) that allows me to hear my music in the car on the FM band. Incorporate Podcasts on this or any mp3 player with plenty of space and you can pretty much create your own radio program complete with news and the music of your choice.

If you have an mp3 player that you would recommend, please do so on the comments link below.

AN unexpected CD review…

Probably my favorite type of music I enjoy listening to is Jazz and Smooth Jazz. Give me a nice warm summer evening with an open sunroof and a peach smoothie in my hand (sounds corny, but oh well this is my fantasy ) and I am just set.

I happened to recently come across an artist that surprisingly has never caught my attention until now. Marcus Johnson, jazz pianist did a live CD back in 2003 entitled In Person - Live At Blues Alley. If you like George Duke, then you will like what this guy can do to a keyboard. I especially like the fact that this is a live CD. This CD has a lot of energy with long sets. Personally, I think this is a “must buy” for any smooth jazz collection.

Here is a link to his site

Cook something different this weekend!! (Beef patties)

For you health nuts out there, you can replace the traditional beef you get out of most grocery stores with free range buffalo Beef as it has less fat then your more traditional beef. Before you say “eeeeeew!”, let me tell you that my family and I do eat Buffalo at least once to twice a month. To us, it taste just like your traditional beef (with the same texture) except it is not as flavorful. It is still a very good alternative rather than soy “meat” (if you want to call it that). Many health food stores carry buffalo as well as a growing number of general grocery stores. You can also replace flour with unbleached flour and sea salt with regular table salt.

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Filling

2 tb Oilve oil
1 Onion;finely chopped
3 Garlic cloves;finely chopped
1 lb Ground beef; lean
1 tb Curry powder
1 ts -salt
1/2 ts -freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c Bread crumbs, dry
1/2 c Chicken stock ;or water
2 Green onions;finely chopped

Pastry

2 c Flour;all purpose
1/2 ts Tumeric
1/4 ts -salt
2/3 c Shortening or Butter
1/4 c -ice water or more if necessary
1 Egg; lightly beaten

Heat oil in large heavy skillet. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring till onion wilts. Add ground meat. Cook, stirring until meat is browned and combined with onions. Sprinkle with curry, salt and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes. Stir in breadcrumbs and stock or water. Cook, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Mixture should be thick but not dry. Stirin green onions.

Make pastry by combining flour with tumeric and salt. Cut in butter or shortening until in tiny bites. Add water; gather into a ball. Roll out to about 1/4″ thickness and cut into 4″ circles. Gather remaining dough together and lightly cut out again. Place about 1 Tbsp filling on each circle. Brush edges with lightly beaten egg, fold over and seal. Preheat oven to 400F. Place patties on cookie sheets lined with aluminium foil. Brush lightly with remaining lightly beaten egg. Bake 25 to 30 till browned.
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Turks and Caicos
RECIPES FROM TURKS AND CAICOS

Why is it that Blacks don’t travel?

Earlier I expressed how tired I get from time to time when I read just about any news out there pertaining to black Americans. Most of what we here in the press is our so-called never ending struggle to be seen as “equals” in the eyes of whites.

When this kind of rhetoric is played over and over again, the obvious effect it leaves is a very bleak picture of yourself as well as the black community at large. Doing things like travel (outside the typical places we may go like to the Caribbean, Florida, etc.), camping, skiing, or even learning a different language seems like something that only whites should do for many in our community. I will mention here that fortunately there is a tiny “up tick” of black folk that are venturing out in these areas.

One of the reasons you will get from many black Americans as to why we do not travel as much will be an issue of economics. As true as this may be for some, I submit that it has more to do with the fear of the unknown and our willingness to allow media and our false perceptions of the rest of the world than the lack of finances. If this trend could be simply blamed on the lack of finances, why is that Africans can be seen traveling as well as taking up residences all over places Europe? Answer: many Africans are taught that the world is just as much theirs as anybody else while black Americans are taught that that the world owes us (”why should I visit somewhere like The Netherlands? They haven’t done anything for me.” This would be a typical response you would get from many black Americans. ) Simply put, if we can save enough money to go to places like the Caribbean, Las Vegas, etc. , we can do the same for places like Europe and beyond. It may cost a little extra, but it is something that I know we are quite capable of doing. Bottom line, it is all in how we manage our money (which is a whole issue in of itself).

Here is an excerpt from an article that I just came across that further discusses what I have been talking about in this piece:

When was the last time you hopped a plane and jetted off to Paris? How about Milan, Toyko or even Sydney? The fact is, not a lot of young african-americans venture to foreign countries. There must be a reason for the low numbers of black travelers. Could it be fear, lack of travel funds, lack of interest or unfamiliarity with possible destinations? Most travelers have crossed paths with one or a combination of all of these at some time or another, but while walking the streets of Stockholm, Madrid and Krakow, I noticed a familiar site….the absence of black faces. (more…)

Related Links:

>ugogurl.com

>Blacks in Tokyo

>Cafe de la soul

No one should have a lock on your vote!! More political parties to consider…

Constitution Party (http://www.constitution-party.net/)

Former Nixon Administration official and Conservative Coalition chairman Howard Phillips founded the US Taxpayers Party in 1992 as a potential vehicle for Pat Buchanan to use as a third party vehicle — had he agreed to bolt from the GOP in 1992 or 1996. The USTP pulled together several of the splintered right-wing third parties — including the once mighty American Independent Party — into a larger, more visible political entity (although some state affiliate parties operate under names other than the USTP). Renamed as the Constitution Party in 1999, the party is strongly pro-life, anti-gun control, anti-tax, anti-immigration, protectionist, “anti-New World Order,” anti-United Nations, anti-gay rights, anti-welfare, pro-school prayer … basically a hardcore Religious Right platform. When Buchanan stayed in the GOP, Phillips ran as the USTP nominee in both 1992 (ballot status in 21 states - 43,000 votes - 0.04%) and 1996 (ballot spots in 39 states - 185,000 votes - 6th place - 0.2%) — and as the Constitution nominee in 2000 (ballot status in 41 states - 98,000 votes - 6th place - 0.1%). The party started fielding local candidates in 1994. Still, for a new third party attempting to grow, the party has fielded disappointingly few local candidates since 1998 (and the few they have fielded have not performed well). The party received a brief boost in the media when conservative US Senator Bob Smith — an announced GOP Presidential hopeful — bolted from the Republican Party to seek the Constitution Party nomination in 2000 (although Smith exited from the Constitution Party race just two weeks later). At the 1999 national convention, the party narrowly adopted a controversial change to its platform’s preamble which declared “that the foundation of our political position and moving principle of our political activity is our full submission and unshakable faith in our Savior and Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ” — although the party officially invites “all citizens of all faiths” to become active in the party. Any national candidate seeking the party’s nomination is explicitly required to tell the convention of any areas of disagreement with the party’s platform. In Spring 2002, Pat Buchanan’s 2000 VP runningmate Ezola Foster and many Reform Party leaders from California and Maryland defected to the Constitution Party, providing a nice boost to the party. Conservative attorney Michael Peroutka is the CP’s 2004 Presidential nominee. The CP’s old site is still online, too.

Constitutional Action Party (http://www2.ari.net/home/CAP)

The CAP is a tiny Religious Right party that wants to abolish the federal income tax, ban all abortions, end Affirmative Action, impose protectionist trade tariffs, fight pornography and end federal involvement in education. CAP founder Frank Creel wrote Politics1 in January 1999 that the CAP “has had virtually no success since its 1995 founding. It has no local chapters anywhere, no candidates for office and no prospect of running a presidential candidate in 2000. There is little to no prospect that we will be able to hold a convention anytime soon. … Only some sort of economic or other catastrophe will produce conditions favorable to the emergence of a new party.” Still, the CAP keeps it small web site online, and recently updated the design. The CAP fielded its first candidate in 2002, when CAP Chair Frank Creel ran for Congress in Virginia.

Refuse the National I.D. Card (commentary by Charlotte Iserbyt)

Now HERE’S something that has probably flown under your radar.

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The drivers license (semantic deception for internal passport) legislation (H.R. 418), which passed the Congress and is on its way for passage in the Senate, is more serious than one may think due to the fact it was designed by two ex-KGB Chiefs, one of whom,Yvgeny Primakov, was the President of totalitarian Russia in the late nineties. (The merger of the KGB and the FBI has been in the works since 1985 when President Reagan signed numerous agreements with Gorbachev, one of which was the infamous education agreement which merged our two education systems. Another agreement was signed between the Soviet Police and New York City Police which allowed Soviet policmen to assist in the arrest of fare beaters in the New York City subway system.These activities, unknown to most Americans, represent just the tip of the U.S.-Soviet exchange agreements iceberg. )

TIME magazine, 7/5/93, in an article entitled “A New World for Spies”, illustrates the extent of the partnership between the United States and Russia. It states: (…more)

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My God!! We voted in a Conservative and we are now getting a Socialist. I will try to follow this story in the days ahead.

When someone HAD to pray…

This was one of those articles I started to skip, but as I kept reading, it gave me a good laugh with some pause.

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She is a best-selling author known for novels about vampires. He is a minister who says he has seen and talked with angels. Anne Rice and Howard Storm have never met, yet they are working together to promote Storm’s book, My Descent Into Death: A Second Chance at Life (Doubleday, $14.95).

Rice sees nothing strange about their collaboration. “Vampires and angels are very similar,” she says. “My discussion of vampires has always presented them as sort of the elegant inverse of angels.”

Rice says she, like Storm, was a “fashionable atheist” for many years. She re-embraced her Roman Catholic faith …(more)

The qualifications of being considered “black”: #3. Must have lived in the hood

This is a very common misconception and very self-explanatory. I think that most of us have plenty of stories where someone (maybe even you) was made to feel “less than” because you have never experienced the “hard life” of the inner-city. Inner-city life is seen as a rite-of-passage if you are to be considered to be “black”. Miss this opportunity, and you may as well be wearing your argyle socks and checkered shirts in the tradition with Steve Eurkle to some. Simply put, if you were raised in suburbia, you are soft.

For the many black Americans that buy into this ideology, this is used as a way to eliminate the possibility of parity with other races (i.e. the image of struggle must always synonymous with blackness. Take away struggle we have lost our chance to put “whitey” under our foot. Our very blackness may be at risk as well). When you look at past history in this country, white people have walked on the moon, built great industries, developed ways for us to travel faster from city to city, developed vast communication networks, etc. The one thing that many whites have not been able to accomplish is to survive in the inner-city of today. In fact, they have a name for it, it’s called “white flight”. For people who carry this “rite-of-passage” ideology, surviving inner-city life is the one experience that we can honestly say that we have greater ownership than whites.

In the America of today, there is an increasing amount of black Americans that are born and raised in the suburbs rather than the inner-cities across this nation, however, this rite-of-passage ideology still exist. One place you will see it of course is in much of hip-hop music. Entertainers will boast about their “hard-knock life” in the hood while at the same time spend 12+ songs on their Cd’s trying to convince you that they are still “keepin’ it real” in their million dollar mansions. One of the worst yet amusing examples I have seen this was with my friend’s younger sister. This girl always prided herself on being “down”, however, this one particular day she took it a little to far. One day, all of a sudden this girl from NORTH CAROLINA began to use dialect as though she was from Brooklyn, New York. AND SHE WAS SERIOUS (Yikes)!!! Being from New Jersey myself, I quickly pick up on how she pronounced the word “talk” “Tawk“. Needless to say, I had to tease her about this for days.

Why was this young girl so carelessly willing to trade in her southern dialect for a northern one? Did she feel that she could not be accepted acknowledging her “rural” roots? Now granted, this was a very light incident, however, this is something that is played out in many suburban communities: Kids trying to be “inner-city” on Mockingbird Lane.

There is nothing wrong in acknowledging where you came from and/or being proud of it. Unfortunately, we set up OUR race for further inter-divisions (if that is a word) when we equate “blackness” with a person’s place of origin.

A response to yesterday’s commentary

The funny thing about my site is that I get very good traffic, but very few comments. Once in a while when I do get a good one, I like sharing it with the rest of my readers. I really enjoy reading the life experiences of others like yourselves. There is so much to learn :)!

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I can relate to this article. I am a “product” of a 40-year multi-racial marriage. My father is African-American and my mother is Japanese. I grew up having to fight other black kids because I was Japanese, Japanese kids because I was black, and white kids, well just because. I was told repeatedly to my face, “Your not black!” and just had to deal with it through adolescence. I tried to date sistas, but I wasn’t “cool enough”. I was a shy, athletic, nerdy type of guy who was into jazz and cruising. Sistas just didn’t want to be with me.

I eventually joined the military and had relationships with African-American women, but they never turned out to be anything serious. We were just too young, had no desire on settling down, and probably just a bit too wild. In fact, I dated any type of woman, it didn’t matter - I just wanted a woman! In my mid-twenties, I started to become tired of the club scene and focused on finding someone my parents would like. Of course, my first choice was a beautiful sista to whom I was greatly interested. My downfall? I wasn’t “hip” enough; further, I wasn’t “black enough”. The cycle began to repeat itself. Unfortunately it did not work and I was kicked to the curb. I tried a few other times focusing on a woman like my sister – strong, smart, level headed, and compassionate. I wasn’t focused too much on wealth or material issues; I just wanted a woman who would help me raise a family together.

Eventually, my scope expanded, my attitude changed, and I began to include women who also resembled my mother. I finally married a Japanese woman, not because whatever stereotypes, but because she reminded me of home, carried all the family qualities I desired, and just hit it off. I am absolutely positive there are plenty of beautiful black women I could have married, but our paths did not cross. I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to meet my wife now. Yes, I do enjoy doing things in with my “mixed kids” not because I feel they are different in any way, it is because I love them. They are my ONLY children and I am their father. There should never be something wrong with that.

I love my father; he is a strong, positive black man who raised me to be just as strong and positive – in which he succeeded; and it is my goal to live my life in honor of my mentor - regardless of my being mixed. At the same time, I am extremely thankful to my mother who taught me her culture, her religion, and how to be a compassionate man. Both parents showed me how to make it work without having to give up too much of your spirit or your soul. They loved each other 40 years ago, and still love each other today. That is my desire, my game plan, and my goal. Love has everything to do with it.

Is it difficult being mixed? Yes, most definitely. Am I happy to be a African American? Of course I do, I would never trade it for the world. Bottom line - I respect and cherish both ethnicities and will be happy regardless of the thoughts of others…and I will teach my three boys the same way.

The qualifications of being considered “Black”: #2- Must have two “black” parents

People of multi-ethnic origin in many cases have been faced with just as much racial bigotry as most people with two black parents. This is especially true if their skin tone happens to be of a lighter shade. Listen to many of these multi-ethnic people and they will tell you that at some point in their childhood, they had to make the decision of what race they would embrace as their “true identity”. For the ones that choose to be considered “black” the question then arises weather or not the perceptions of the black community has anything to do with their choice. The same applies if this person chooses to identify themselves as white. Of course, the choice of what ethnicity this person will embrace is virtually eliminated if their skin tone is of a darker shade.

The real hypocrisy behind this perception by many in the black community is that many black Americans are not full-blooded Africans themselves. In fact, one would be very hard-pressed to find one black American that has a consistent 100% African bloodline. History proves the fact that a good percentage of us have either white or Native American blood flowing through our veins. The Native American part I think most of us can deal with, but when you mention “white”, the doubts and regrets begin to surface in our minds. It is true that white slave owners did in fact rape some of their women slaves, but this was not always the case. There are many stories throughout history where these two groups were brought together through love on many occasions (despite the fact society did not accept these types of unions).

Regardless if it was rape or love, we as black Americans are all the end result of multi-ethnic unions. This is why the whole argument that blacks should not marry any other race for preservation sake is ridiculous. Today, we are faced with the choice to either deny our “full” history, or embrace it and learn from it.

As for me personally, I am married to a very beautiful and wonderful black woman with whom I have absolutely no regrets on marrying. In case you are wondering, I do not fantasize on being with any other woman except the one that I am married to. This may seem hard to believe for some, but it is very true.

I have met many brothas who have chosen differently in who they married (not too many cases the other way around, although they do exist) who could tell you story after story of friends and family members who have virtually disowned them because they feel that they for some reason have betrayed the black race.

Patti Hairston, 44, elementary school teacher, gives us an example of this “assumed” self-hate one must have to consider someone of another race:

I see my brothers on a daily basis taking so much pride in spending time with their mixed kids in the mall, in the park or just taking their kids shopping, and I often I wonder if this brother has any black kids who would love that same kind of attention or, better yet, just would love to be able to be in the presence of their daddy. When I see a brother with a nonblack woman he seems to be so proud to have her on his arm; I always pray that he’s with her because he loves her, not because she’s not black. For the black men who date white women exclusively, I realize there is a self-hatred going on. (…more)

(please note: There are many black men that share this same opinion just as Patti. This was just an example I found online)

The worst thing about all of this is that many of the children (to some degree) of these interracial relationships are made to feel “less-than” by both sides of their ethnic make-up.This is why as I mentioned earlier, many of them are forced by society to make the awful choice of what race they will identify with the most.
In the end, it is the responsibility of the parents to instill in their children the value of being made up of different races. Society will always look at the color of the skin, however, we begin to cross the line of destructive silliness when we make these individuals “choose a side.”

Black Movers and Shakers: Phillip Clay

When Phillip L. Clay, Ph.D., was appointed as the chancellor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on July 1, 2001, he became the highest-ranking Black official in the Institute’s 136-year history. The position of chancellor is one of the two most senior academic officers at MIT. As chancellor, Clay has oversight responsibility for undergraduate and graduate education, student life and services, research policy, strategic planning, campus development, international initiatives and the management of MIT’s large-scale institutional partnerships.

Click here to continue reading his biography on thehistorymakers.com.

The Moynihan Report: Something worth reading

I will be the first to admit to you that I have never read this report. Although this report (originally drafted in 1965 by Daniel Patrick Moynihan on the state of black America in that day) may be a little dated in some of its numbers, I found that after reading some of the excerpts many of these problems still exist in our community.

If you are anything like me, I really dread reading about stuff that is “wrong” with black America. I think by now most of us have all the major statistics memorized.

I guess when I bring up issues like what this report addresses, I do so with a hope that one day some of us would be motivated to do our part to reverse these negative statistics. Thankfully, a growing number of us are doing something about it, however, many more are still needed in this fight for our future generations.

Below is a small excerpt from this report that deals specifically with the black male and the negative cycle many of them find themselves in today. I found it to be pretty interesting as I am sure you will as well. At the end of the excerpt, I will provide you with a link to a commentary that is like an addendum to the excerpt as well as a link to the full report itself.

Margaret Mead has pointed out that while ‘In every known human society, everywhere in the world, the young male learns that when he grows up one of the things which he must do in order to be a full member of society is to provide food for some female and her young.’ This pattern is not immutable, however, it can be broken, even though it has always eventually reasserted itself.

‘Within the family, each new generation of young males learn the appropriate nurturing behavior and superimpose upon their biologically given maleness this learned parental role. When the family breaks down . . . this delicate line of transmission is broken. Men may flounder badly in these periods, during which the primary unit may again become mother and child, the biologically given, and the special conditions under which man has held his social traditions in trust are violated and distorted.’. .

A cycle is at work; too many children too early make it most difficult for the parents to finish school. . . . An Urban League study in New York reported that 44% of girl dropouts left school because of pregnancy. Low education levels in turn produce low income levels, which deprive children of many opportunities, and so the cycle repeats itself. . . .

At this point, the present tangle of pathology is capable of perpetuating itself. . . . The cycle can be broken only if these distortions are set right.

In a word, a national effort towards the problems of Negro Americans must be directed towards the question of family structure. The object should be to strengthen the Negro family so as to enable it to raise and support its members as do other families. After that, how this group of Americans chooses to run its affairs, take advantage of opportunities or fail to do so, is none of the nation’s business.

To read the commentary on this excerpt, click here.
To read the full Moynihan Report, click here.

Pay Up, Honky

Black newspapers find that crying racism can be good for business.
BY KEVIN HOFFMAN for clevescene.com

“Black people, wake up!” shouts the ad running in local black newspapers. “Do not spend your money with Kohl’s Department Stores or T-Mobile Wireless . . . Help us prove their racist stereotypes wrong.”
From the hyperbolic tone, you’d think the companies had installed whites-only drinking fountains. But the outrage stems from something a bit more pedestrian. Black newspapers are crying discrimination because the two companies don’t spend enough money with . . . black newspapers.

City News and the Akron Reporter are running the ad as part of a nationwide effort organized by Les Kimber, whose California marketing agency sells advertising for black papers. “Essentially, a group of publishers have decided to use the boycott as a marketing tool in …(more)

The qualifications of being considered “Black”

Hopefully, over the next couple of days, I will be addressing the following points that I have noticed all throughout my life on what WE think it takes to be considered “black” in America:

#1. Skin tone
#2. Must have two “black” parents
#3. Must have lived in the “hood”
#4. Must hold the belief that all whites have an evil intent towards blacks
#5. Must vote a straight Democratic ticket
#6. Must always consider a black spouse over all other choices.

#1. Skin Tone

Not a new issue

After the Civil War, light-skinned mulattoes further disassociated themselves from darker-skinned blacks. The Bon Ton Society and the Blue Vein Society were formed and applicants had to be fair enough so the blue veins on their skin were visible. Fraternities and churches would use the paper bag test. If the skin of an applicant was darker than the bag, he or she couldn’t join. Sometimes, a fine-toothed comb was hung at the door. If one’s hair snagged in the comb, entry was denied. (Straight hair was often regarded as “good hair” — as opposed to tightly curled hair — often associated with lighter skin.) (more…)

Not an everyday issuse, but it still exists

I think that most of us can agree that although we do not see the heated tension between light-skinned black folk and darker-skinned (how can black be light is a mystery all to itself), this subtle resentment towards lighter-skinned blacks does still exist in the black community. I can’t help but to crack up every time I see a commercial that has the typical light-skinned black male with the blow out hair (you know, hair like Lenny Kravitz). I say to myself, “this must be their way of appealing to ‘people of color’ instead of just settling for a darker-skinned person”. I dunno. Maybe I am reading a little bit too much with the commercials, but one thing is for certain, Hollywood isn’t the only one that has a preference of light-skinned over dark.

Light skin is the color of choice for most actors you will find in many of our music videos. Not only that, as a black man I can also tell you that many (not all) brothas that I talk are admittedly drawn to a light-skinned sistah a lot quicker than a darker skinned one.

Because we live in a world where to some extent people are still judged on the color of their skin, one does not have to look hard to see the cases where lighter-skinned blacks were given better treatment than us darker-skinned ones. In many cases I have seen how this has created a wedge between the two shades. It is situations like this that will cause some darker-skinned blacks to accuse the lighter -skinned ones of “not being black enough”, or “ashamed of their race”. Again, I must stress that even though this is not an everyday “visible” occurrence, the animosity does still exist subtlety.

It is almost the norm these days to see many of our black athletes either dating or married to a female with a much lighter completion than him. To some, this is seen as an abandonment of their “true blackness”. Bryant Gumble, for example, was labeled by many in the black community with what I would consider “double jeopardy”: He was a light-skinned black man who did not have the stereotypical mannerisms, and he married a white woman after his divorce to a black woman.

Bottom line: What I have seen in all my years is a general unity amongst blacks of all shades up until the lighter skinned amongst us get the preferential treatment. Instead of us getting angry at the system that condones this kind of practice, many times we turn our frustrations on our very own. Sooner or later, we will look at them as “less than black”.

Related Links:

Skin Games: Color and Skin Tone in the Black Community
Play explores corrosive prejudice within black community

Did black Americans actually fight for the confederacy?

Yes, according to Alan Lovell of Piedmont college. He discusses how blacks willingly fought for the plantations of the old south. I have also read from multiple sources that blacks did in fact on their own accord fight for the confederacy. We can thank political correctness along with just plain ignorance on our part for allowing these historical facts to fade into oblivion.

However, African-Americans did fight and die for the Southern cause. In a letter to President Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglas himself stated, “There are at the present moment many colored men in the Confederate Army doing duty not only as cooks, servants, and laborers, but real soldiers, having muskets on their shoulders and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down any loyal troops and do all that soldiers may do to destroy the Federal Government and build up that of the rebels.” [In Williams, On Black Confederates] Douglas’s report is clear; African-Americans were fighting as real soldiers in the Confederate Army. (more…)

As you my know, one of the main things that I try to do with this site is to discuss issues from a very different angle. Since I found the history of black confederates very intriguing, I decided to dig a little deeper.

No Photoshop doctoring on this one on my part either. This is J.J.Johnson, Editor-n-Chief of www.sierratimes.com. Here is an excerpt of an article he wrote expressing his defense of a proud black heritage that is mingled with both confederate and union blood (please read the entire article when you get a chance):

Okay, so what’s wrong with me? In celebration of slain Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King’s day (week?) if I watch enough news, I should be out there with my black brethren yelling, screaming and looking to burn every free waving set of Stars and Bars I run across. So what’s wrong? Shouldn’t I be offended as well? In a way, yes. I am. And here’s why: I had ancestors who fought on both sides of that war – which was anything but civil. Surprised? Yes, in Northern Mississippi in fact. Cousin against cousin. One man trying to protect what was his, and one who escaped slavery only to be drafted into taking his cousin’s land away. This little fact, along with all the arguments about Southern Heritage, Southern Pride and Remembering the Gentlemen who in died war gets lost in all the noise about why it’s so “insensitive.”

…And I am just fed up with it.

More than that, I’m fed up with the yellow-bellied, white guys who don’t have the guts to fight back on the issue. I know, no one wants to get labeled the “R” word. To politicians, it’s a label that’s worse than being called a liar, an adulterer or a draft dodger. And heaven knows, you white guys in the public sector better not even bring it up at work or in public. There’s a civil rights lawsuit with your name on it. Yet, I know how many of you – especially you folks south of the Mason-Dixon line must feel right now. (more…)

Walter E. Williams (yes, the nationally-recognized economist) also has a short piece on this same page. Here is an excerpt:

Black civil rights activists and their white liberal supporters who are attacking the Confederate flag have committed a deep, despicable dishonor to our patriotic black ancestors who marched, fought and died to protect their homeland from what they saw as Northern aggression. They don’t deserve the dishonor. (more…)

So as you can see from just the excerpts that I have presented to you, our fight against anything that reflects the confederacy is an ignorant one. By demanding that this part of our history is “white-washed” into oblivion, we are in effect burying a part of ourselves. If you reading this posting, and you happen to be black, before you get angry I want you to realize one thing: Many of our ancestors did in fact fight for the confederacy on their own accord and not because of any kind of threat. If this was the case, don’t you think they would have banded together with their confederate guns and go out with guns a-blazing’? I personally believe that many of these black Americans faught for more personal reasons rather than for the preservation of slavery.

Will you choose to honor them this black history month, or give in to a PC cover-up?

Related links:

BlackConfederates.com
Black Confederates Fact Page
Shades of Gray: Did Blacks Fight Freely For the Confederacy?

Non-group-think need not apply

“I was kind of lynched, so to speak,” said Willie Breazell to the Gazette-Telegraph, when he was forced to resign his post as president of the Colorado Springs branch of the NAACP.

And he had still more to tell to the Wall Street Journal, that reported him as saying, “If you join the NAACP, you sacrifice some of your liberties, and if you don’t have the group-think mentality, you won’t last.” Just what set the big boys at the national NAACP against Breazell? He had the temerity to write an article supporting school choice and vouchers. (more…)

So little has changed since.

From Issues & Views Summer/Fall 1999

Weekend Health Clinic: Featured Black health site for week of 2/20/05

Vegetarian Soul Food (http://groups.msn.com/VegetarianSOULFOOD)

Welcome to the Vegetarian Soulfood Website. We are a group of vegetarians committed to the health and spiritual development of African Americans. As we all know, traditional African American recipes (chitterlings’, hamhocks & blackeyed peas, fried chicken, etc…)-while admittedly good tasting, is unhealthy. OK, so you want that “soul food” taste, the one you grew up with and can’t help but desire….I’m hearin ya.You can actually have a great vegetarian meal “almost” like mama’s cookin’- without meat. The trick is to be real clear about what actually creates the favors you desire. ..If you really thought about it. All those meals you had were cooked, were with your basic soulfood spices and ingredients (many of which you probably still got in yo’ cabinet). These spices are the key to getting that soulfood taste. The meat itself is actually pretty tasteless without all that “stuff” on it. So join in, learn, share and make new friends.

-Peace & Blessings, Veggie Sistah

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********MORE LINKS ADDED!!!!***********
Check out the Natural Health Links section for these great resources for better health!
BTW - Someone asked about the Dallas area and there is a vegetarian association there as well. That link has also been added!!