It seems that the world has grown irritated with EssenceMagazine for hiring a new white fashion editor. Michaela Angela Davis, a former employee, has blasted the organization for effectively betraying its constituents with the non-traditional hire. She cites mass discrimination that has historically occurred within the fashion industry and seems disappointed that “our space” no longer belongs to us.
I certainly empathize with Davis’ point. Davis is a strong and direct black woman (I had her on my show), one who has very little tolerance for those who deviate from what she perceives as righteous ideology regarding women and minorities. Her passion for the issues that affect us seems to come from a genuine place, like a black woman who has seen enough and refuses to allow herself or anyone like her to be victimized by a clearly racist and sexist society.
Heather Ellis is a college student facing15 years in prison for cutting line at Walmart - visit www.SaveHeatherEllis.com for more details on the national protest to be held in Kennett, MO on November 14.
According to the family, the prosecutor in the case, Stephen Sokoloff, has asked for the trial to be moved to Bloomfield, MO, a town with less than 20 African Americans in it.
I had a very close friend who described a situation in which she was "scheduled" to be raped during a field exercise by some of the men in her military unit that were not happy with her. Fortunately, there was a man in her unit who cared enough to tell her what was going to happen. I can only wonder what happens to other women put in that unfortunate situation. This is not to say that rape or sexual abuse occurs regularly in the military. But it is to say that when it does appear to have occurred, we should let them know that it is not acceptable.
The case of Lavena Johnson is one that not only brings tears to your eyes, it boils your heart. This young woman, only 19 years old, was found shot in the head, with a broken nose and acid on her genitals (a way to cover up DNA evidence in rape cases), with her death being ruled a highly questionable suicide. No one in the military is willing to thoroughly investigate the case, and they only say that the case is closed. I have done some research on Lavena, and my questions have certainly not been answered. A news story about her horrible experience is in the video below, and I encourage anyone who cares to pass this message onto others.
For those who may not understand why I had to challenge Barack Obama's contribution to the perception of black men being irresponsible, perhaps you can get it now. Fox News recently did a segment about "why black women on TV tend to be angry". In the segment, they make continuous reference to the "angry black woman", and point to several examples of black women who tend to be angry during interviews. The video clip is at the bottom of this comment.
I am not a fan of such stereotypes, and I hope that any black woman who is offended by this stereotype can understand why many black men are not happy with the stereotypes that are placed upon many brothers. I have always worked to be a responsible man. I personally find it offensive (whether Obama or anyone else is alluding to this concept) when others imply that black men as a collective behave irresponsibly. I agree with Malcolm, who felt that no matter how much respect people had for him, "if you insult my people, then you are insulting me".
I received about 130 emails yesterday from people who had mixed opinions about my article on Senator Obama's comments about black men needing to learn the art of fatherhood. They've been interesting and seem to call for more discourse. I noticed that the opinions were right down the middle and many of them were very strong in either direction. I will do a video on the topic soon, but I wanted to pose some quick thoughts I had as I was reading the emails (and yes, I do read my email and try to respond to you. I only ignore people who come off as flat out lunatics, since I don't mess with crazy people). Here are my thoughts.
1) Why do we assume that a broken family implies that a man "ran away from his responsibility"? Is it not also the case that many relationships also end due to actions of the woman as well? All of us know of at least one "insane baby's mama" - either you have dealt with one, been in a relationship with a man who was dealing with one, or perhaps you have BEEN ONE! This does not imply that the end of the relationship is most likely the fault of the woman, but it does take two to tango.
2) No. I didn't make my statement for political purposes or to make money. I don't get paid for what I do on the internet, and I am NOT a politician. I consider politicians, as a general rule, to be liars, and life is too short for me to spend all my time lying. Telling the truth is the only way I can sleep at night, even if it implies that some people don't like what I have to say. One thing you will always get from me is a straight shot, I assure you of that.
3) Yes, I support Obama 100% . Critiquing someone and keeping them honest doesn't mean you hate them. I critique my mama and I love my mama.
4) Obama has made a commitment to being race neutral in this election. However, if he or anyone else chooses to address race in this election I ONLY ASK THAT THEY BE FAIR. For Barack (or anyone else) to shut down anyone who speaks honestly about racism, and then to contribute to racial stereotypes about black male irresponsibility is not balanced. For those who feel that Obama was "telling it like it is", please remember this: Dr. Jeremiah Wright was also "telling it like it is", but he was shut down, disowned and told that his words needed to be muted. Honesty should not know racial boundaries. If Barack Obama is not comfortable going into a group of white males and being honest about racial stereotyping, then it is not acceptable for him to do that to black men.
5) There are ALWAYS going to be people in every group who do the wrong thing. White women are not stereotyped by the actions of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. I would never stereotype black women for the actions of a few "insane baby's mamas". So, the notion that it is ok to define black men by the actions of a select few is equally problematic. However, it is comfortable to say "these brothers need to start doing right" because it alleviates anyone else of the guilt of whatever role they play in the breakdown of their families, and it also contributes to the 400 year tradition of defining black men as being socially inferior. A person could just as easily celebrate the great choices of positive black men as he could mulling over the actions of the irresponsible.
Here is the issue: I do not feel that Barack would go into any other venue and paint any other group with a blanket indictment. He would not say "too many Jews support killing Palestinians", or "too many Catholic Priests are molesting little children". So, I am not sure why it is ok to say that "too many black men are ignoring their responsibilities and not being fathers". While all three of these stereotypes may have some element of truth to them, it seems that "truth in stereotyping" is only acceptable when dealing with black folks.
Racial conversation must be HONEST AND BALANCED. If you would not say something to a group of white men, then please don't say it to me.
I swear, if there were ever any group of people who refuse to listen to you the most, it's your own kids. I can get tens of thousands of black kids around the country to listen to me, but my daughter and God daughter never seemed to hear a word I say.
However, I will focus on the positive and say that my God child, Monique Roberts, must have been listening to something I've been telling her all these years. Monique is an amazing amazing amazing specimen: When she was 12 years old, she was nearly 6 feet tall, wore size 13 men's shoe, and had fingers 2 inches longer than my own. She was not only tall, but amazingly coordinated and could piggy back ride me all the way down the street. I am not a light little man, I weighed over 200 pounds at that time, so I was quite a load.
Monique could have been a superstar athlete in many sports, and I just told her that she should choose one. I felt that her athletic ability could get her letters and offers from any school in America. Well, my dreams came true exactly as I had envisioned. Monique became more involved in track and field during high school and became the #1 high jumper in the United States. She is also set to break a 20 year old New York State record in the Pentathlon, which takes advantage of the fact that she is such a versatile athlete (she is not just tall, but she is stronger, faster and more coordinated than her competitors). Her success culminated with her accepting a full scholarship to Columbia University this fall, which was actually the school I recommended for her! She wanted to come to Syracuse at first (since she is going to study media), but I felt that Columbia would be a better fit since she would be in the New York media market. I apologize to the Syracuse University coaches for recommending that she go to Columbia, but SU was her second choice. Also, my brother is about to attend an Ivy for his MBA, so I think our family might be getting a little snooty in our old age (haha!). The only other place I would have sent her would have been Spelman College, which is the top school in America.
What's best about Monique is that she is as intelligent and beautiful as she is athletic. She could easily be one of those super model professor athlete ladies in a blockbuster film one day. I am incredibly proud of her.
So, I thought I would share a video of her high jumping. This was her best jump, 5'11", which made her the #1 high jumper in the US. I also think that she could actually be Olympic champion in the heptathlon with the right coaching. So you see? I REALLY DO have a personal life, sort of.
