I was tipped off by a friend that this email is being sent around by McCain supporters. It infuriated me on so many levels.
One, Wheeler is my mother's maiden name and what a disgrace this is to have associated with that name.
Two, it's based on ignorance, fear and lies. It's hard to not be upset by things like this who are going to people who will not take the time to wade through all of the lies and hypocrisy and just accept it at face value. I would love for this to be exposed to as may people as possible and hopefully, just maybe at least one of the recipients of this email or someone who believes this way can be "converted".
Third, Obama has never rejected his White mother's heritage. This is absolutely false. It's sickening that these people who are the reason why mixed people (such as myself) more strongly identify as being Black...google PLESSY VS. FERGUSON. It's their laws that make it so. I do not recall that is was Obama who labeled himself as one race or another. I believe that he behaves as a member of the Human race.
And finally, the fact that they refer to Obama as a descendant of Arab slave owners. I am not sure but it seems that throwing Arab in there is another stab at making terrorist insinuations. People who think like this (below) tend to lump all Middle Eastern and Muslim people together (racial profiling) and use 911 to continually insense hatred toward all of the people of that region. Furthermore, we are all potentially descendants of slave owners thanks to the Mid-Atlantic slave trade and the atrocities that followed. If anyone had the pleasure of watching Henry Louis Gates' documentary where he traced the DNA of several African Americans, you will remember that Quincy Jones' DNA was traced to slave owners. Not only that, there are cases where Black people in America owned slaves. Mostly for the purpose of freeing our own families or ourselves from bondage!! So this alone makes their "inciteful", negative argument ridiculous.
If anything, Obama is more African American than any of us as his father was African and he is American. Most African Americans are at least 6 generations removed from Africa, thus the controversy of determining a proper "label" for "descendants of American slaves brought forcefully here from Africa". I guess that would be too long to put next to a checkbox on applications.
These are just some of my initial reactions to this email and I am by no means a historian. I am sure there are more flaws with the arguments presented by the Hate Mongerers (and perhaps some of my own although I tried to do my homework).
So many untruths...this is the email below in it's entirety. Beware it is nasty, ugly and hate filled. Having said all of that, it's so damn crazy that it really shouldn't be taken seriously anyway. It's just scary that some people are actually not going to recognize that.
Email begins:
>> > Jack Wheeler is a brilliant man who was the author of>> > Regan's strategy to break the back of the Soviet>> > Unionwith the star wars race and expose their inner>> > weakness. For years he wrote a weekly intelligence update>> > that was extremely interesting and well structured and>> > informed. He consults(ed) with several mega corporations on>> > global trends and the future, etc. I think he is in>> > semi-retirement now. He is a true patriot with a>> > no-nonsense approach to everything. He is also a somewhat>> > well known mountain climber and adventurer.>> > Written by Dr. Jack WheelerThe O-man, Barack Hussein Obama, is an eloquently tailored empty suit. No resume, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, no balls, nothing but abstract empty rhetoric devoid of real substance. He has no real identity. He is half-white, which he rejects. The rest of him is mostly Arab, which he hides but is disclosed by his non-African Arabic surname and his Arabic first and middle names as a way to triply proclaim his Arabic parentage to people in Kenya . Only a small part of him is African Black from his Luo grandmother, which he pretends he is exclusively. What he isn't, not a genetic drop of, is 'African-American,' the descendant of enslaved Africans brought to America chained in slave ships. He hasn't a single ancestor who was a slave. Instead, his Arab ancestors were slave owners. Slave-trading was the main Arab business in East Africa for centuries until the British ended it. Let that sink in: Obama is not the descendant of slaves, he is the descendant of slave owners. Thus he makes the perfect Liberal Messiah. It's something Hillary doesn't understand - how some complete neophyte came out of the blue and stole the Dem nomination from her. Obamamania is beyond politics and reason. It is a true religious cult, whose adherents reject Christianity yet still believe in Original Sin, transferring it from the evil of being human to the evil of being white. Thus Obama has become the white liberals' Christ, offering absolution from the Sin of Being White. There is no reason or logic behind it, no faults or flaws of his can diminish it, no arguments Hillary could make of any kind can be effective against it. The absurdity of Hypocrisy ClothedIn Human Flesh being their Savior is all the more cause for liberals to worship him: Credo quia absurdum, I believe it because it is absurd. Thank heavens that the voting majority of Americans remainChristian and are in no desperate need of a phony savior.His candidacy is ridiculous and should not be taken seriously by any thinking American. Pass this on to every thinking American you know!
This is the most insane issue yet! I guess it's frustrating for the Clintons (with their long list of scandals) not to be able to get anything on the candidate himself and have to settle for going after his friends.
Now, they go after the only candidate not born and raised in top income brackets by taking a true and innocent comment out of context. People are acting like he condemned religion, hunters, or poor people. He didn't. He didn't condemn anything. He simply said that when times get rough, people can go a little further to the extreme than they normally would. The reason it ends in hatred of immigrants, other races, single issue voting (guns/abortion), or religious extremism is that people have been shut out of the political process and government. They feel powerless to change their situation.Hillary made a big deal out of this because she wants people to fear Obama and she is desperate seeing the polling out of PA. Out of the three candidates Barack is the only one that can relate to the struggles people in PA, IN, and WV are experiencing. He actually lived in a paycheck to paycheck household. Neither McCain or Clinton can claim that - that is why she is fear mongering. It threatens her that she is actually having to run for the nomination. Indignant, she thinks she deserves to be crowned - she had the audacity to question Obama's judgement and experience even though she made no plans for any campaigning beyond Super Tuesday? Talk about elitist and out of touch!
Obama has changed politics dramatically. He's gotten young people involved, he's inspired us to do more in our communities, he has taken the high road and is succeeding. It's infuriating Hillary and I'm tired of her scratching and clawing at anyone who stands in her way. She is damaging the party, her own reputation, and is making Obama's run in the General Election more difficult. She sounds pretty bitter. Hillary's new campaign slogan - Poorly Run From Day One
To: RESIDENTS OF AMERICA:
Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and all through out our United States, people have been beaten down so long. They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter. Barack Obama, 4/11/2008 "The underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are frustrated and rightfully so," Barack Obama, 4/12/2008 "I want to campaign the same way I govern, which is to respond directly and forcefully with the truth," Barack Obama, 11/08/07 Qoute From the movie "Network" 1976 Howard Beale: I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's work, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. Howard Beale: [shouting] You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, [shouting] Howard Beale: 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: Howard Beale: [screaming at the top of his lungs] "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Howard Beale: All I know is, you've got to get mad. You've got to say, "I'm a human being, goddamn it. My life has value." Howard Beale: We'll tell you anything you want to hear, we lie like hell. Howard Beale: You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here, you're beginning to believe that the tube is reality and your own lives are unreal. You do. Why, whatever the tube tells you: you dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even think like the tube. This is mass madness, you maniacs. In God's name, you people are the real thing, WE are the illusion. If You Feel As An American That Because Of The Previuos Administrations of the last 20 Years, Actions or Inactions, Have Left You Bitter Or Frustrated and Angry. I Write This To Poll America Since The Media Can Poll Everything Else Except This. If You Can Identify With This Petition? Please Sign This Petition Sincerely, The Undersigned
Please let me know if you have a location for a local Nation for Change Rally. I would like to hold one at a local college if possible as we already have a lot of supporters there. We will need signs asking our pledged delegates that have said they will support Hillary despite our votes to do what's right.
Please let me know if you have a location, already know of a rally, or can help.
Stephanie Marushia
learninginspire@gmail.com
757-650-6393
Dear Fellow Barack Obama Supporters,
I am on a mission to create the winning 30 second ad for Obama's campaign...I need YOUR HELP to do so. This is for the cause and there will be no financial compensation.
If you would like to appear in the ad, please email me a color photo of yourself (if there are minor children, parents please authorize). Subjects need to be standing in front of a plain white background. You can wear cultural dress or trendy clothing as long as it is tasteful. Express your individuality by wearing jewelry, hats, scarves, whatever you like.
The mission of the video is to show the diversity of Obama's supporters. All ages, genders, cultures are welcome and encouraged to send photos. So here is what I need from you...
Please email me a digital jpg image file to o@raineydayprodz.com
Shoot the image in the highest resolution that your camera can be set to with a minimum of 5 megapixels (approximately 2592 x 1944 resolution) with decent lighting.
I have posted the sample picture on my main page as my profile image. Please get your composition as close to this as possible, leave more white on the edges if you like. I can crop the images.
You may have more than one person in the picture if you like, just connect by holding hands with arms extended please.
The other thing I need from you is your permission to use the image for the purpose of airing it in a national commercial. Please type a sentence or two to this effect in the email that you send with the photo attached and conclude the email message with your name. This should serve the purpose of an electronic signature should I run into any copyright issues (which I would certainly love to avoid)...
The deadline for submission of the video is April 1, but I would like to have this finished prior to the last minute so get these in to me a.s.a.p.
If you are under contract as a model or actor/actress, please do not submit an image as I do not want to have issues with you breaching your contract.
Thanks,
Jacqueline
Our Patriotism can soar when we come together with great energy and positiveness and hope for a better America.
When times are hard, we need strong leadership at all levels(National, state, local, community, homes) that will help Americans move past blame and call us to pull together working towards interdependent solutions.
Any other suggestions?
It Will Then Be Forwarded To Senator Barack Obama Headquarters
http://www.petitiononline.com/obamausa/petition.html
My second grader is learning this song in class. I didn't learn it until I was in High School and it was not in a school setting, but in a community based organization. We should not only learn the Star Spangled Banner but the inspiring anthem below...
Written by: James Weldon Johnson
Lift ev'ry voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring. Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, High as the list'ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chast'ning rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet, Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might, Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee, Shadowed beneath thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land.
Breaking News!
Yesterday Maria Shriver Endoresed Senator Barack Obama
They Can Hear Our Horns Honking Today is the day america speakes up, gets involved. Remember Honk Your Horn 12 Noon est. 11am. cst 10am. mst 9am. pst.
If Maria Shriver who is married to ( The Terminator) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger A republican who has given his endorsement to Sentor John McCain of Arizona. If she can honk her voice and give her endorsement to Barack Obama. We can too. Can you Feel The Change. Its Beautiful Come Out And Support Barack Obama Spread the News of Change. I can see change all over this is history all the way across the board on the democratic side. It is truly amazing to see us as one nation come together and realize that it takes all of us to bring a start to change lead by hope and inspiration that touches and reaches our true souls and sincere thoughts..
Honk For Unity, Honk For Obama
Read Article Below from LA TIMES
Story From latimes
This is a great link to a 4 minute video about Black History.
http://www.pww.org/article/view/12437/
I find myself becoming more excited every day now that I am paying attention to current events in a way that I haven't ever really done before.
I wrote a poem about 5 years ago called Some Things Are Meant For Tomorrow. It turned out to play an essential role in reminding myself to take things one day and one step at a time and to not spend a lot of time worrying about the things that weren't going right in my life and around me in my community.
Reading this poem along with this scripture has helped me get through some of my life's trials and drama. I've also taken some "risks" since then, falling in love, getting married and moving across the country. I have suffered setbacks in between that time also, namely losing my dear mother to cancer.
Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Some things it's not meant for us to saySome times it's best that I stay awaySome things ARE better left unsaidcuz sometimes I just need to clear my head.
Some people will never seem to get itOther times there will be folks who will help you end your sentenceSome times it seems we can almost read each other''s thoughtsTry not to worry too much about the have nots.
A lot of times I slip and forget what I was about to saySo much on my mindfrom the grind from day to dayAt all times just remember it's okTo close your eyes, block it all out to pray.
Some things are meant for tomorrowSome things can waitPromise me one thing though...you won't wait 'til it's too late.
For me the meaning behind this short poem has been twofold. Originally, I was speaking to young people that I saw around me with so much potential and so little motivation...I was also speaking to myself. I don't even think I knew that at the time that I wrote it. I had a sense of hopelessness for myself and felt like I was passing on some kind of torch...but that was just some kind of evil washed up vibe that was haunting me. Little did I know at 28, I still had a lot of goals to set and attain.
My risks have been rewarding and my setbacks have given me strength.
I had to prepare my mind for change before I could make any significant progress in my life. I had to first believe that I was worthy of having something better in life than my present situation alluded to.
For me, everything that life has shown me up until this point has left me skeptical, yet hopeful...the reason it has taken me this long to support Barack more than just in theory. I don't like to be one who jumps on the bandwagon late in the game, however I feel compelled to be onboard with this campaign at this point.
I must say that any time someone gets into politics, they have to play that political game which immediately insinuates "dirty" to me. So in other words, I was not inclined to get my hopes up early on. Fortunately for all of us, Barack Obama has done his best keeping things above the belt with his fellow Democratic candidates even when the media tries to lure him into the trap of playing dirty.
He is changing the game. What's interesting to me is that as much as I love the idea of having an African American president, I was not going to vote for him just because he looks like me...I'm actually mixed with African American and White just like he is...no matter how he looked, he was first a politician to me. Now that I am paying attention, I see that he is the right candidate to lead us into a better future...not because he is Black, but because he has prepared himself to hold this position and he is worthy. He speaks the same language that I speak and that is of hope, change and progress in the face of adversity and doubt. It's time to be lead by a visionary not just another politician.
I will tell you just one more reason that I was not immediately onboard with Obama just because Common made a reference to him in one of the best Hip Hop remixes of this century "Why?" by JadaKiss. I may go to the Waffle House on the advice of Outkast (which was really gross, by the way), but I will study a candidate a little more than a dining establishment before I support wholeheartedly. Well, I had read an article a few years back about how the media refers to African Americans as the "Black community" or the "African American community" as if we are monolithic and that we will all just follow like sheep when the polls open...you know the old "well, I guess we'll go vote for the lesser of the two evils."
The democratic party has taken our vote for granted for many years now. I did not want anyone (especially white people) to assume that I was mindless enough to choose my candidate solely based on race. It was some kind of twisted way of saying, "I'll show them that we're not like them," with Barack Obama taking the brunt of that.
Out of a feeling of sheer rebelliousness, I knew that I would require more of Barack Obama than I had looked for in candidates of the past. Is this my own form of hand me down racism, self hate? I don't even know what to call that. Why wouldn't I just give this brother my vote as I had just given my votes to Clinton, Gore and Kerry in elections past?
Well, one factor that is involved is that we have our first real potential to have a Woman president as well. What a predicament. Everyone is sweating Hillary so I have to at least get a feel for her before I decide. I am not only Black, I AM A WOMAN, so the feminist in me has to give her the time of day.
To me, Hillary seems too much like the men I mentioned in the past who I just thoughtlessly handed my vote to. Yeah, she's a woman, but other than that she seems to play the game dirty like all the rest. She impresses me and I take nothing from her, but upon watching the first debate that I watched (in SC) I was not convinced that things would be much different with her in office.
Another factor was probably the doubt in my mind that America is ready for a Black man to become president...assuming that a White woman would make it into the white house before anyone of color. Self defeatist thinking I guess...but I have been moved by the diverse support that it seems Obama has alligned.
I just kept thinking about that word "electability" that the media kept throwing around when Howard Dean made that funny noise...I thought that was the dumbest reason to ridicule someone, like we were back on the monkey bars in 3rd grade. I thought that it wouldn't matter which candidate I liked because it would all come down to "electability" and we'd end up going to the polls to once again hand over our vote not FOR anyone, so long as that someone was AGAINST the Republicans.
Now I see that I was overthinking things that I shouldn't have even wasted time on and I should have followed my gut from the beginning.
Before I began paying attention to this campaign, I eavesdropped on people talking about how it'd be so smart for Obama and Clinton to run together as running mates...after seeing their chemistry I see that as a horrible idea.
It'd be great if Edwards becomes Obama's running mate (oh, yeah...that other guy who got overshadowed but actually had a good platform) a thought that I'm sure many of us had the day he dropped out of the Presidential Race. But that's an issue to wait until tomorrow to deal with.
So for today I am just excited to feel like I want to become involved with the world again, to participate and exercise my rights, the ones that my ancestors sacrificed SO MUCH for...Obama, I got yo' back and it ain't on GP, it's because you have brought hope off of the shelf and dusted it off for many Americans. You are living proof that change is not just something that is jingling around in my pocket reminding me that pay day isn't until NEXT Friday.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that alone.
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.”---Bertolt Brecht.Is there really anyone who says that Hip-hop doesn’t need to purify its image? I can’t readily find anyone who disagrees that the American subculture of Hip-hop has some serious internal struggles. Sadly, when in juxtaposition with mainstream American culture, these struggles seem to become marketing tools. As of late, the theme of controversy that reigns over rap music is the genre’s most reliable promoter. However, it wasn’t always this way, nor do diehard Hip-hoppas want that to become the norm.
In the early 1970’s a generation of unguided, voiceless young people created relatively inexpensive ways of expression. DJ Kool Herc introduced the famous Jamaican-influenced breakbeat style of mixing records. Later, Grandmaster Flash piggybacked on the idea and started cutting and scratching, adding a new element to DJ’ing. When people began reciting lyrics over these popular beats, they were called emcees (rappers). Others began freestyle dancing, and break dancing was invented. In the spirit of the times, artists without canvases began “tagging” or “bombing” train cars and walls with illustrations, (usually illegal) documentation of current events.
When Kurtis Blow signed the first major record deal with Mercury records in 1980, nobody anticipated that two decades later Hip-hop would be a multi-billion dollar industry. Absolutely no one could have predicted its popularity would lead to the creation of countless independent labels and new categories at the Grammy awards, and encapsulate the blueprint for much of urban life. Unfortunately, that would haphazardly include the bad with the good.
The “new-school” of Hip-hop is foreign to implicit “old-school” values. Could it be that because the pioneers of rap music—the emcees, deejays, break dancers, graffiti artists, b-boys and girls—had no moral vision for their favorite pastime or an expectation it would become a respected art form, and entire lifestyle for generations to come? This is, in fact the case. Maybe that’s why old school styles are making a comeback. Possibly a form of education.
So, it seems the anger and rebellion that is at the root of the genre has prevailed; however the integrity and respect for the aforementioned basic artistic fundamentals of Hip-hop have long since been abandoned for commercialism. Rapper wasn’t always synonymous with thug or gangsta. Women weren’t always referred to as bitches and hoes. We were once flyy, ‘round the way girls. We had love for each other and ourselves.
Hip-hop’s internal battles are nothing new. Battling is part of the culture, e.g., the dozens, LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe D, DJ battles, etc. But with many artists unable to distinguish between reality and their recordings, it’s no wonder that it becomes difficult for listeners and fans to know where the person ends and the persona begins.
In the place of songs for modest price, there are now also clothing lines, best-selling books, comedians, athletes, sitcoms, and feature length films. This is great for economic development in our community if in the hands of responsible Hip-hoppas, but bad for the consumers if the messages portrayed are reckless. An example of reckless money-making is the movie Friday, written and directed by entertainment industry mogul Ice Cube, in which the central theme of the movie is smoking weed. Personally, I love the movie, however, Ice Cube does not smoke weed in real life. Other misrepresentations are emcees that act like pimps and players on their songs, but go home to their wives and children after recording projects that will have mass appeal to an already morally challenged audience. People like Dr. C. Delores Tucker do actually want to blame rap for societal ills, but that is not always seen as being proactive. The idea here is not to bash these artists. But to hold them and their corporate backers accountable for the mainly apathetic images they emit which help to shape the fabric of our daily lives (NCBW 1).
Yes, rap is a voice for the voiceless, but, rappers watch what you say. All of what’s being said is not an accurate account of what’s going on in the ‘hood. More people do need to take a stand for making sure the truth gets across and not just rhyming about things that are integral to a people’s demise: stop reinforcing smut and validating genocide!
Simultaneously, however, there has been a strong grassroots movement to the contrary. Numerous people in the industry realize that the power of music isn’t always represented by record sales. While any financially successful businessperson in the Hip-hop industry will tell you that s/he has sold a part of her/his soul in order to reach mainstream, they will likely tell you that without doing so, they would still be poor, struggling artists with no radio or television exposure.
But the struggle is deeper than that. One reason the late Tupac Shakur is still one of the most powerful voices Hip-hop ever heard is that he bridged the gap between Hip-hop and the deep-rooted “Revolutionary forces that have in the past, and continue to work uncompromisingly in the resistance against our repression…these forces were targeted and became victims of Cointel-Pro’s agenda for destruction. These forces waged the struggle at their best, and it is important that their sacrifices be put into context.” (Shakur 2)
With reactionaries trying to pass bills to censor Hip-hop, people such as the Nation of Islam’s Minister Benjamin Muhammad realize that “what we have to do…is to be a little bit more conscious of not only the internal struggle, but the external forces that causes us sometimes to have the internal contradictions among ourselves.” (Hip-hop Under Attack” 1). At a Hip-hop Summit in 2001, Minister Louis Farrakhan asked those in attendance, “Will you accept your responsibility as a leader?” (Muwakkil 3)
Artists find it difficult to assume the role of leaders partly because of music industry executives who, according to CEO or Rocafella Records Damon Dash, “…tell you what they want to play. Radio tells you you have to make a record that fits the format. It’s not our fault.” (Hip-hop Under Attack” 7). To this, rap innovator Chuck D adds, “I could never blame it on the artist. I just think there has never been no overstructure [sic]. It’s almost like the game got no coaches, no referees…” (Hip-hop Under Attack” 10).
Whose job is it to watch over the consumption of rap music? Accountability must begin with parents of children, but it is unrealistic to make them bear all of the responsibility. The American Academy of Pediatrics says, “Awareness of, and sensitivity to, the potential impact of music lyrics by consumers, the media, and the music industry is crucial. It is in children’s best interest to listen to lyrics that are not violent, sexist, drug oriented, or antisocial.” (1219) For people who are in the business strictly for the financial benefits it is easy for them to pass off these ideals as an attack on gangsta rap. Not everyone who mentions that rappers need to clean up their messages is an advocate of censorship, but some simply want to encourage social responsibility.
Up until 1996, research was not developed enough to determine “a cause-and-effect relationship between sexually explicit or violent lyrics and adverse behavioral effects…[However] in some cases lyrics communicate potentially harmful health messages” (AAP 1219). This is something that our community can’t afford to do. Death by a firearm is the highest cause of death among our young men, and the music not only reflects that, it also seems to evoke the lifestyle.
The emergent evolution of Hip-hop has hastened the need to rectify the state of the industry that has the most influence over young people in the world. It has escalated from friendly freestyles to bitter battles, courteous competition to cutthroat court cases.
The time is way past due for representatives of Hip-hop music to take a stand on issues facing our communities, and some are. There has been enough of the misogynistic, sex, drug, and violence driven record sales being the excuse for artist irresponsibility. In the past ten years, this has become the norm.
Now that they have their foot in the door to be able to have an impact on others in their communities, some are reaching out to benefit those from which they come. Whether their goal is to buy their mother a home outside of the ‘hood, organize Hip-hop summits, or make a call of action to restore educational funds to the New York public school system, Hip-hoppas are making major power moves. (Lewis 22)
It is unfair to place insurmountable pressure on individuals because of what they may represent. But one thing is for sure; without giving the inalienable youngster proper historical perspective, we may not be able to keep the future of Hip-hop from happening to us instead of determining it.
Works CitedAmerican Academy of Pediatrics. “Impact of Music Lyrics and Music Videos on Children and Youth.” Pediatrics 98 (1996): 1219-1221.
“Hip-hop Under Attack.” The Source Magazine Jan. 2003: 1-14.
Lewis, Miles Marshall. “Russell Simmon’s Rap.” The Nation. (Jan 2003): 21-23.
Muwakkil, Salim. “Farrakhan and Hip-Hop: A Not-So-Odd Couple.” Chicago Tribune 25 June 2001. 4 Mar. 2003.http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0625-05.htm.
National Congress of Black Women, Inc. Crusading Against Gangsta/Porno Rap. 2001http://www.npcbw.org/newweb/rap.htm.
Shakur, Dr. Mutulu. “Support Today and Dare to Struggle.” Mutulushakur.com 2002. 3 Mar. 2003 http://www.mutulushakur.com/daretostruggle.html.
There is no better time than now to let everyone know that I am a firm believer that Media Literacy should be taught in every classroom across America. I feel like I am on an island alone on this topic even though it's the key to solving many of our problems in society very much from the ground up. There is already wonderful curriculum that has been created and I have actually taught this subject in a couple of settings. I am not a certified teacher, but each time that I have introduced the subject to young people, it sparks such intriguing discussions.
Part of why I get frustrated with society is because with all the talk, talk, talk, no one in the political spotlight really seems to address this issue. I watch panel discussions about Hip Hop or social issues which effect the African American communities as well as the US as a whole, and all of the speakers are very passionate, concerned, eloquent, tap dance right around it...yet miss this major point for me.
Just like lobbyists, the media is such a powerful institution in our country that it's hard to tell who's in whose pockets sometimes. We know that the Bush's have Rupert Murdock (FOX) in their pocket. That's why once I figured out that Mr. Murdock also owned MySpace I quickly closed my account. It is hard to stand for everything that is good and right...impossible even, but somehow that small action made me feel like I was making a political statement. Did anyone from MySpace join me over at another less popular friend site? No, only one person...but that person was my 16 year old niece so I would like to think that she learned something from that. I think that's what it's all about, taking unpopular stands on issues which you feel strongly about and teaching others why you made the choice you made. Letting younger people know that they don't have to do things because "everyone else is doing it". Each One Teach One unless or until you are in a position to effect change on a larger scale.
Watch the documentary Outfoxed if you haven't already. What else don't we know about the media monopolies though? Too much. Where do we start? Probably the internet is the best place to begin research. See, condemning TV and saying that the Internet is evil is such a reactionary attitude in my opinion. It's not evil in and of itself. It's an extremely powerful medium and can be used for progress. It all depends on our use of it. But I am likely preaching to the choir.
Instead of censorship or attacking controversial artist's lyrics...why not teach people HOW to listen. Teaching people how to decipher through the media's constructions will double as teaching people how to THINK for themselves and therefore LEAD for themselves and others. With the dumbing down of America, we have to address this need for every person's ability to make better choices and think for themselves and not succumb to society's often very low expectations of them.
I grew up listening to Too Short, the KING of raunchy booty shaking nasty pimpish demeaning rap and yet I didn't go down the path to become one of the women in his freaky tales. I don't believe in censoring artists and I don't believe in covering our children's eyes and ears to the harsh realities of the world.
I am convinced that there needs to be public discourse on artist responsibility, but having briefly worked with teenagers, I can assure you that before we jump down the throats of these artists we need to jump on some of the uninvolved parents who, by free will choose not to teach their children how to navigate through the pitfalls that are not going to go away any time soon. They will choose instead to turn a blind eye or condemn these things, but that will not prepare a child for when they are out of their parent's care.
There will be strip clubs, alcohol, drugs, gangs and violence. There will be porn, peer pressure, sex and perverts in America...but just as we teach our children to brush their teeth to keep the germs and bacteria off and prevent cavities, we must also teach our children that the media is not God. and no form of media should dictate over their lives and their daily choices and behavior and that they have minds of their own no matter how much Maury they watch or whatever questionable music they listen to. Help them be empowered enough to make better viewing, listening and nutritional choices. Explain that these money grubbing pigs who run corporations don't care about their well being, they just want them to CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME.
Then make them turn off all noise and read a book to exercise that tool between their two shoulders. They may just stare at the ceiling and never flip a page, but it's our job as parents to give them structure, give them food for thought, direction and discipline. Parental controls on remote controls are not to infuriate our teens, but to show how much we love them by the limits we set. They will understand later...or maybe they won't, but we will have at least attempted to let them know that we have choices in life...we don't have to sit and become brainwashed by society about what to wear, what to eat, where to go, how to get there, what kind of car to drive and what kind of friends to take with us.
In our house, everyone knows to mute the commercials because MOM can't stand them. They are loud, obnoxious and always trying to tell me that I need something that I didn't even know existed or wondering if I have some type of condition that requires that I take a pill...giving me side effects that are worse than the original condition. It's really sickening. RLS and ED pills...I am so tired of hearing these silly ads...I am tired of being made to feel fat because I have a few extra pounds and that I need to buy something that will solve that. I can solve that without any gimmicks...it's called taking a walk, a jog, doing some callisthenics.
Parenting, a thankless job...It's the hardest job in the world, even harder now with so much technology and media influence available to us and at our young people's fingertips, on every billboard, flyer, soda machine, on every radio station...and they haven't even turned on a TV or computer yet! I don't claim to be Mom of the year or have all of the answers, but as we have three girls and a boy to raise, you better believe that I will take every opportunity to broaden their horizons without putting peripheral blinders on them.
For some great reading by a wonderful thinker on subjects such as these read:
Check It While I Wreck It Black Womanhood, Hip Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere
by Gwendolyn D. Pough
You don't have to be a Black Woman to appreciate this book.
Another resource with excerpt below:
www.medialit.org
Five Key Questions of Media Literacy
1. Who created this message?
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
3. How might different people understand this message differently than me?
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?
5. Why is this message being sent?
Five Core Concepts
1. All media messages are ‘constructed.’
2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.
3. Different people experience the same media message differently.
4. Media have embedded values and points of view.
5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.
2005 / Center for Media Literacy
Support Obama Day (February 4, 2008)Honk Your Horn Support Barack Obama 2008We now are in a Head to Head Battle with Senator Hillary Clinton this is our Super Bowl. Lets come out of this Champions..
Come out and show your support for Barack Obama 2008.
On February 4, 2008! The People of the United States, can show the world just how “United We Are” by Honking There Horns at the same time all over the Country. The Times is set as followed. East standard time (EST) at 12:00 Noon, Central Standard time (CST) at 11:00am, Mountain Standard Time (MST) at 10:00am, Pacific Standard Time (PST) at 9:00am. In Support of Barack Obama for President.We Can Change!
Thanks to all the hard work of many, many volunteers, Obama today filed petitions with 19000 signatures from Virginia registered voters to become the first candidate of either party to be on the Virginia primary ballot.
Thanks to ALL who helped.
