Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Another lost Black Man

Plow the Don, a popular Hip Hop producer is letting the world know his hatred for women of color. Is this bash black women year? This guy went on to praise white women and to belittle black women by playing into the stereotype that black women are nothing but argumentative she-devils.

Again, we have to question what's going on in black homes when the men are growing up to hate the women who raise them.

http://www0.eurweb.com/interact/commentview.cfm?id=36284

Friday, August 24, 2007

Are our young black men lost?

Hip hop, black on black crime and the total disrespect of black women by black men begs to ask the question "Are our young black men lost?"

Young black men from the ages of 15-27 seemed to live in a world of disconnect. They do not care about much of anything, besides cars, rims, clothes, sex and money. We can point our finger at and criticize them, but what does it do for black society as a whole. Would we want any of these young 'thugs' to marry our daughters or to raise our grandchildren?

As a mother of two school age black girls, I am concerned about what the future holds for them in terms of relationship. Ladies, if you think it's hard to find a good black man now, just think about what our daughters are going to deal with ten to twenty years from now. Are they going settle a brother who only served one to 3 years in jail, comparison to the brother who served 10-20.

How can these men provide for their families with criminal backgrounds or only going after a high school education, because they were too busy trying to start their record label. Why isn't anyone teaching them that they all can't be rappers and ball players. This why the Forbes List of biggest hip hop earners isn't anything to celebrate in our community. These men make their money playing into racial stereotypes about black men and women. My fear is young men will see this as their meal ticket to fame and fortune. Why become a doctor, lawyer or educator when you can make millions taking about how many women you can get and how what kind of car you drive. Hell, porn star, Jenna Jameson make millions, but is it anything to publicizing to young girls.

True, white and asian teen age boy listen to the same music, but they take it for what it is, ENTERTAINMENT!!! They go on with they lives, go to college, build careers, have families. Our young men view it as a way of life. Whose fault is it they can't differeniate truth from fantasy?


It's time we ask ourselves why are our young men so lost.

http://rap.about.com/b/a/258240.htm#comments

Monday, August 20, 2007

We Got to Change our ways

These are 12 principles given out by Nannie Helen Burroughs years ago on how blacks can uplfift ourselves. How odd that we still have not embrace good sound advice from our elders.

12 Things Nannie Helen Burroughs Said the Negro Must Do....
1. The Negro must learn to put first things first. The first things are: education, development of character traits, a trade and home ownership.
2. The Negro must stop expecting God and White folk to do for him what he can do for himself.
3. The Negro must keep himself, his children and his home clean and make the surroundings in which he lives comfortable and attractive.
4. The Negro must learn to dress more appropriately for work and for leisure.
5. The Negro must make his religion an everyday practice and not just a Sunday-go-to-meeting emotional affair.
6. The Negro must highly resolve to wipe out mass ignorance.
7. The Negro must stop charging his failures up to his "color" and to White people's attitude.
8. The Negro must overcome his bad job habits.
9. The Negro must improve his conduct in public places.
10. The Negro must learn how to operate business for people -- not for Negro people, only.
11. The average so-called educated Negro will have to come down out of the air. He is too inflated over nothing. He needs an experience similar to the one that Ezekiel had --(Ezekiel 3:14-19). And he must do what Ezekiel did
12. The Negro must stop forgetting his friends.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Issue of the Weak

Why are black men fighting their right to demean us. David Banner going on a publicity tour and cursing out Al Sharpton for his right to degrade black women. This man is a college graduate and still uses vulgar language to respond to criticism of his music. Like so many rappers, he believes just because he does charity work he shouldn't be rightfully criticism for using some words people find offensive. Doing charity doesn't make you a better person. Heck, I know dope dealers who give out Christmas gifts to poor kids in the projects, but it doesn't make them a better person, just a nicer dope dealer.

Mr. Banner's cursing out Al Sharpton only co-signs what many in the mainstream media feel about rappers. For once I would like all these hip hop stars to just stand up and say the truth. And that is 'they don't give a damn about anyone, because they are getting paid'.

Akon, David Banner, 50 Cent, R. Kelly, and Snoop are all over thirty years old. It's it time they grow up and be real 'black' men. I swear some of our men are stuck in a state of perputual adoloscence.
http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur35951.cfm

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Wake up Call

Instead of reading about celebrity gossip, take time read about the issues at hand in the black community. Yesterday was the first day of school for children in Atlanta. A young 14 year old black girl was rape on her way home after school. We must speak out about the decaying moral fiber of the black community. Too many of our young people are raping, robbing and killing each other. Take time to read these articles regarding our black men. Black people are always saying girls are harder to raise. That's our problem, we raising our daughters, but spoiling our sons. Too many of our young black men are destroying our communities. We stand up and take responsiblity for our children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/national/20blackmen.html?ex=1300510800&en=57e0d1ceebcbc209&ei=5090

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060102184.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-08-09-justice-dept-study_N.htm

Monday, August 13, 2007

What Happen to the Real R&B Female Singers

This weekend I got to catch glimpse an old Soul Train episode. Soul Train was one of my favorite shows to watch as a little girl. Growing up in the 80’s it was one of the few places to see talented black women. Just my luck, I got to catch one of my favorite R&B singers perform, Angela Bofill. As some of you may have heard, Ms. Bofill just suffered a stroke this past month. I send my prayers out to her family. This woman is one of the truly most talented R&B singers of her generation. As she sang two of her biggest hits, I thought about the state of the music industry as a whole for black female performers. They are truly getting sold out by their male contemporaries.

In the eighties and early nineties, we had Denise Williams, Patti Labelle, Evelyn Champagne King, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Stacy Lattisaw, Jodi Watley, just to name a few. I doubt these women could get a record contract these days. With the exception of Beyonce and Mary J. Blige, there is no real stand out R&B female acts. Fantasia has become more of a Broadway star and Jill Scott still doesn’t get the love she deserves from the record industry.

Girl groups like En Vogue represented the empowerment and sensuality of being a black woman during a time when black women were still being desired and held up by our men. Today, young black girls have to Danity Kane and Pussycat Dolls as role models. They are being told you have to be skinny, light skinned and have long straight hair. These are the women black men and society has designated the version of female strength and beauty.

If you look at pop or white music, they have a diversity of female singers. Gwen Stefani, Fergie and Nelly Furtado do what I call ‘white girl’ R&B/Pop. These young women with the help of black male producers have gain fame and fortune by sounding and some say acting black. KD Tinsdale, Amy Winehouse, Sheryl Crow, and Avril Lavine do the traditional rock/pop genre with great success. Yet, Corrine Bailey Rae,a woman of color, gets most of her love and record sales from the white music community.

White women continue to grow and express their creativity as singers, while black women get thrown a bone every once in a while. This is why I believe so many black women feel animosity toward Beyonce. Unlike Vanessa Williams who garnered a few hits in the nineties along and presented herself as a true R&B singer, Beyonce has become an ‘honorary’ white girl. She represents how society feels about black beauty. It must be watered down and packaged for mainstream America. Heaven forbid she is too black. Vanessa Williams is still held in high regard in the black female community, while Beyonce is becoming our angst. Even with blue eyes, Vanessa is still one of us. I can’t honestly say the same for Ms. Knowles.

The question is who is at fault? Is it our own black male producers and record executives who have sold their talents out for the highest buck, leaving talented sisters behind?

Friday, August 10, 2007

Miss Issues 'What to Watch'

I always like to watch TV shows that enrich and benefit the lives of women of color. My favorite weekly show is Our World with Black Enterprise on TV One, Sunday's, 5:30 pm Eastern Time. Also, TV One is broadcasting the first episode of State of Our Union with Tavis Smiley and Cathy Hughes this Sunday, 6:00 pm Eastern. Watch it with your children. Both shows are very enlightening and thought provoking. Let's watch something besides reality TV and music videos as a family.

Our World discusses topics important to the black community and The State of Our Union is a open panel discussion about the black community with Black Media Professionals.