STOP Being Niggardly

The title, "Stop Being Niggardly And Nine Other Things Black People Need to Stop Doing," was an eye opener itself.  'Excuse me,' I thought as I flipped the hardback over, staring into Author Karen Miller's eyes, which seemingly said "I dare you to read it." The word Niggerly in white letters on the front cover spanned across a red banner to me meant ghetto, ignorant, selfish and cruel, yet dictionary.com classifies it as stingy and not generous.

Refreshingly delivered with a blazen boldness, she tackles issues and turmoil, along with the sacrifice, support, strength and power needed to help recifty the rage and spirit of hopelessness in the black community. This book was started out of frustration the same way this blog was concieved out of a desire for hope and change. Too often we as blacks get bent out of shape over what we can't control but are content to complain about what we can. Instead of focusing energy on the "white man," white power and the odds against us, how about shifting our focus and energy on educating our youth, flourishing our communities with black business and home ownership while attacking detrimental issues like gang violence, teen pregnancy, black on black crime and the rampant rate HIV is currently thriving? It takes a village right?

Inspired by Nannie Helen Burroughs, the daughter of ex-slaves, and her book Twelve Things the Negro Must Do, penned in the 1890's, her motto spoke volumes: "we specialize in the wholly impossible." Even with the decked stacked against her (denied a teaching position after graduating with honors; she started her own school) she allowed her drive and thirst to achieve more, guide her. Here we are in a world full of freedom, experience, opportunity and possiblity and yet we limit ourselves. Out of the 10 things Black People Need to Stop Doing, my three favorite:

1. Stop Complaining and Start Planning:  When you fail to plan, you plan to fail and we owe it to ourselves to get our lives in order. A map is a needed guidline of where you're going and how to get there.

2. Stop Tearing Down Our Heros: Its as if we can't wait to tear people down. Hero's make the world go 'round. They inspire hope, can empower the soul and motivate being. Without them, we have nothing to base a foundation on.

8. Stop Being Fat!: Blacks are the line leaders in major health- risk categories including cancer and diabetes, with "four out of five African-American women either overwight or obese." Once your health is gone, that's it. Stop making excuse for poor health and kill the bad habits because if you don't, it'll kill you.  Nothing feels better than healthy.

"I have learned that change doesn't come in comfort. We make changes when there is pain and discomfort. I want people to be upset, and I want them to talk about it, and I want us to come together and work toward some solutions and make some plans." - Karen Hunter

HIV...you want it?

No? You sure? So why is it that AIDS continues to spreat at an alarming rate, especially in the black community? Coined by Jay-z "men lie, women lie, numbers don't," these numbers tell it all: African American women comprise 72 % of all new HIV cases; every 35 minutes a women is diagnosed. AIDS in the NUMBER ONE killer of African American women between the ages 25-34. Black Men account for 65% of new cases among all blacks while African Americans make up 50% of new diagnoses. Scary Right?

Its obviously not enough to be scared because these statistics continually increase. We have to stop being scared to speak up and educate our people out of fear because fear is killing us. AIDS is alive, thriving and preying on our community. The rate of HIV/AIDS in our nation's capital, Washington D.C. rivals that of some developing nations. And some still believe that only gay people can be diagnosed with HIV. Yes the Down Low in the black community is still running rampant but the sad thing is these black men don't consider themselves gay and still sleep with women, further passing this disease along. Heterosexual contact follows close behind with intravenous drug use, then male-to-male intravenous drug use trailing.

The H in HIV stands for Human which means this is a humans disease and any part of the body that breaths is susceptible.  We have to make education a priority so we can silence this deadly killer. In honor of World AIDS day, do yourself a favor and get tested today. Being knowledgable is sexy; ignorant is not...who's with me?

The possibility of Detroit...

The region responsible for birthing life into the automobile industry has recently been deemed the Motorless city. What once boasted diverse filled summers swimming in festivals and events, celebrating everything from international ethnicities and the blues to the syrupy smooth sounds of the Motown era has been nicknamed the city of Death. Streets that once bellowed tunes, trumpets, bright lights and casino lined streets now lay in ruins of debris, busted dreams and broken spirits. Some say Detroit has flat-lined; Palladium Boot Co. begs to differ.

Underneath the gory, dark, drastically violent and poverty stricken  images that have plagued television sets across the world, lies less than one million people who still call 'The D' home.  The city feels like a forgotten one, with the most important asset being left behind: the people.Clad in black Baggy Canvas style Palladiums along with a few Detroit locals including entrepreneur Phil Cooley, Johnny Knoxville journeys through the city limits, soaking up the magic, beauty and humility of a city that was left for dead.

Detroit represents more than what Dateline showed. Sure, there's violence, high crime and unemployment but name one city where that's not the case. I'll wait. Exactly. As Johnny walks through the fragments and remains of the East Town Theater, which was converted into a rock venue in the late '70's, you can almost feel the guitar riff of MC5's guitarist Wayne Krammer or picture Alice Cooper and his top hat roaming the stage rocking out hit after hit. Detroit Lives doesn't feel like anything you've seen recently about Detroit or any other city for that matter. Its a living testimony of what happens when achieving the American Dream has nothing to do with race, violence, crime and poverty  and focuses more on fostering opportunity, preserving a legacy and the possibility of hope within a community.

Ever wonder how to combat a drug epidemic? Take a page from the Heidelberg Project play book where creator Tyree Guyton took abandoned houses in the Ghetto, cleaned them up, injected color, toys, stuffed animals and resurrected it into an outside art gallery. In response to the lack of food in the city, one Detroiter took impoverished areas occupied by  abandoned lots and harvested farms filled with produce that will find homes in local restaurants and on kitchen tables. The Russell Industrial Center, an old warehouse that has been converted into loft style spaces, are bringing artists from around the world into the city to hang out, set up shop and create life and art in Detroit. To shine positivity on a city the world sees drowning in a sea of hopelessness, Art Director Katie R. created North End Studio and filled it with lights, music and art as a means to give Generation Y and Z a creative outlet.

Detroit Lives took the hope, survival, possibility and spirit of a city and its current state of crisis and turned it upside down. A city that has for so long been misunderstood, ridiculed and stereotyped is a volume speaking spokesperson for its people. A savior in the form of large chain stores is not what Detroit needs. Its needs entrepreneurial spirits from people looking for a fresh start and a chance to empower, invest and build their own communities. A place where homes and property can be purchased for little, food can be grown locally and spaces rented for next to nothing feeds the imagination and opens the door to endless possibilities. End of Detroit? More like the beginning of a rebirth. Thanks Palladium.

Real men don't sag

These days, a sagging pair of jeans is as common to see as a car on the streets. They're everywhere! Enough already...don't you agree? And whoever said that having your drawers showing was sexy? Such a jail house mentality. Its really time to wake up already. And boy did I feel refreshed after reading the November 2010 issue of GQ featuring Swizz Beatz.

Baggy jeans was so 2010. With the ringing in of a new year in less than 2 months, 2011 is all about presentation. Its how you rock it that counts. Giving old-school a fresh twist this season is...Bow Ties? Absolutely, agrees Beatz. So much that you can find footage of the professional beat maker posted at www.gq.com giving a personal how-to on the art of this fun accessory.

Polka dot Bow Ties, wool checkered suspenders and fedora's O my. From Uniqlo, he rocked kangol styled hats and Michael Kors sexy specs.  But I absolutely admired the purple Versace sweater. Somehow that David Hart Bow Tie brought it all together.
You rocked it Swizzy.

10 reasons I hate Black people

Came across another website today titled www.gutrumbles.com. The last post was wrote on July, 12, 2004 entitled "10 reasons why I hate black people." The author Rob, who goes by Gut Rumbles, wrote the blog. He's white. And he really doesn't hate black people. Just some of the things they do. Sadly there is a lot of truth in these statements. As a black women, I'm faced with them on a daily, lowering my head in embarrassment at some of them. However, its not just black people these pertain to. He made some really valid claims...just wished he would've done so in a more people friendly manner. Here's just a few...

3) Being black is no excuse for failure. You may have a steeper climb, but you can make it. Look around. A lot of black people have. You can do it, too.
...Society paints such a bleak picture of Black America. That our communities are fill with violence, gangs, killings, high teen pregnancy rates and high school drop outs. And thus far Society has been right. Black people we gotta Wake up! Really look around. WE have to take our communities in our own hands. Law enforcement is not going to/can't do it. Who really wants to serve and protect the 'hood?

5) Learn to read and write. That's not "acting white." That's the key to success anywhere you want to go. And ANYBODY can master those tools.
...I have never heard anybody say they did not benefit from some form of education. How embarrassing is it to sit in public and hear young black kids that don't know how to talk. Reading and writing are fundamental skills of everyday life. It breaks my heart to hear young people say they don't like to read. Too often young, black America associate ignorance with being cool. There is nothing cool about not being able to use basic knowledge to get ahead.
 
8) Black men: raise your goddamn children. I've heard this shit too often to recall--- some 20-something black guy bragging to his buddies at work that he KNOWS he's a man because he's sired three children by different wimmen. He doesn't know his kid's names, but that doesn't matter to him. He thinks he's a man. Dogs do what he did. Fathers don't.
...Wow! Black men...I am begging you...if you don't plan on buttering the biscuits when they pop out the oven...don't knead the batter lol. In all seriousness, ladies as well as men, the only people who ends up truly hurt and disappointed when you decide to walk away are the kids. The exact same ones that did not ask to be here in the first place. I can attest to that. Single mothers are struggling to hold the household down, the same household that you help create.

10) Blame all of your problems on ME. That's right. If you are unemployed, living on a welfare check, semi-raising illegitimate children and unable to read the want ads in the newspaper, I DID THAT TO YOU. Me. Whitey. It ain't YOUR fault. Racist bastards such as myself took away every opportunity in your life, made you drop out of school and become pregnant or a jailbird and bitter because manna from heaven didn't fall right into your lap. Just do me one simple favor. Take a good, long look in the mirror before you point a finger at me.
...I understand slavery. But it was 400+ years ago. We have to start taking responsibility for our own actions. Nobody said that life would be easy, but it is worth it. If you are not happy with your situation change it or stop complaining because complaining is not going to get you anywhere but wallowing in misery. White people are not holding us back. We are. There is nothing wrong with receiving welfare or government assistance. There is a problem with it when people abuse it, refusing to get out and work to get theirs own. That is a selfish mentality to have and it leaves the people who really need it, paralyzed and without help.
 
Although there are lots of truth in these statements, these are touchy subjects. The only way to combat them are to have open and honest discussions about it.  The floor is all yours...

Black people love their white friends...

Came across a website today, blackpeopleloveus.com, which totally threw me for a loop. At first. I got that it was a joke...I guess I just don't understand the joke. It's supposedly narrated by two white people, Sally and Johnny who go on about how much their black friends love them. I got that they were trying to be funny by making fun of stereotypes deemed by both black and white people...I think I'm trying to hard to find the humor in this. For example, on their About Us page, they talk about how they are just average people who grew up doing average things like horseback riding, golf and gardening, things that don't really exist in your average black neighborhood. Having a hard time understanding the humor; it totally went over my head. Reading other people's comments on their Your Testimonial page (comments others have left) has only left me confused further...did you get it? :/

Natural vs. Relaxed: Jill Scott

Jill Scott, the soul and r&b songstress and song-writer, recently chopped off her au natural hairdo for a sultry, spikey relaxed one. Let the people sound off! We have a war going on with us: Black people vs themselves, each other, our choice in dating, the way we wear our clothes and lastly, the state of our hair. Why is Jill's choice deemed an outrage to the natural community? It did not change the sound of her voice, her talent or intelligence. Maybe it wasn't working for her anymore...or maybe she needed a change. Whatever her reasoning is, it is her choice. Must we come down and judge our people everytime they make a decision that doesn't mesh with our belifs?