African Americans inspite of adversity and limited opportunities played a significant role in U.S. Military history over the past 300 years. Many believed they lacked qualifications for combat duty and were therefore denied military leadership roles and skilled training. African-Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. Military before 1940, civil rights organizations and the black press put pressure and as a result the formation of an all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1941 was born known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

All who were involved in the ‘Tuskegee Experiment’ were referred to as the “Tuskegee Airmen.” It was a program of the Army Air Corps to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and any one else who kept the planes airbound.

The Tuskegee Institute was known for its commitment to aeronautical training and the military selected Tuskegee because of this factor. Tuskegee had the facilities, engineering, technical instructors, and ideal climate for year round flying. The first students to complete their instruction in May of 1940 were from the Civilian Pilot Training Program. They expanded their program and it became the center for African-American aviation during WW 11.

The Tuskegee Airmen are a group of African-American pilots who fought in World War 11. They were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

They were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During WW11, African-Americans in many U.S. States were subjected to the Jim Crow laws.

The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the U.S., enacted between 1876 and 1965, they mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy with a ’separate but equal’ status for black Americans. This separation caused treatment, financial support and inferior accommodations to those provided by white Americans and making economic, educational and social disadvantages systemized. Public schools, places, transportation, restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains were segregated between whites and blacks including the U.S. Military. State-sponsored school segregation was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme court of the United States in 1954 in Brown v.s. Board of Education, and the rest of the Jim Crow laws were overruled by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Since the American military was racially segregated the Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to racial discrimination within the army and outside of it. Through the face of adversity they trained and flew with distinction, mostly made up of African-Americans, there were five Tuskegee Airmen of Haitian descent.

The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice and became one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II.

Proving conclusively that African Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft, their achievements, together with their supporters provided the vehicle for full integration of the U.S. military.

Despite the 477th Bombardment Group ‘worked up’ on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never actually were in combat; the Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group was the only operational unit who were first sent overseas as part of Operation Torch, then were sent to Sicily and Italy before they were deployed as bomber escorts in Europe where they were successful in all their missions.

The Tuskegee Airmen began with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks fighter-bomber aircraft, then shortly with Bell P-39 Airacobras in March 1944, then later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in June to July 1944 and finally their most commonly associated aircraft, the North American P-51 Mustang in July 1944. When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-51’s red, the ‘Red Tails’ name was given and bomber crews applied a more gushy ‘Red-Tail Angels’ nickname.

President Clinton on November 6, 1998 approved Public Law 105-355 and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama was established to commemorate and interpret the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen during WW11. This national center has a museum and offers interpretive programs run by a public-private partnership.

“A senator”, cried Damin “this is a surprise,

But please sit down so you may be apprised

Of my objectives in coming to your country,

But before I do I’d like you to give me

Some information on your family’s history”.

Sobama said “My father was an African,

From Kenya, who married my mother, an American,

When he was a student in the Hawaiian Islands”.

“We are brothers,” roared Damin, and quickly seized

Sobama’s hand which he shook and squeezed,

Then gazed at him with the utmost admiration

That the young man had attained such an important position.

“To Kenya I’ve been to visit my kin”,

Said Sobama,” but as I am an American.

It’s in my own country that I must live and work”.

Then it was Damin’s turn to speak,

“Funds I have now at my disposal,

So I want you to listen to my proposal.

Millions of people here have African forefathers,

But little do they know of any African area,

Or African language, history or culture,

But I’ll change all this in the very near future.

By founding an organization which I will name

“The Damin African Promotion Exchange”,

With you as president, and then you must enroll

African-Americans, both young and old,

In all our programs, which will embrace

Culture, language, history, and replace

Indifference with interest, disorder with discipline,

And, this is the most important thing,

Our exchange program will be designed to allow

Americans an African experience to learn how

The various people live upon our continent,

And when Africans from different places are sent

To live in America they will learn a lot

About life in the world’s largest melting pot.

And, my friend, you must remember this,

As our organisation continues to flourish

Its numbers will make it a potent force,

With political influence, and, of course,

In economic and social matters too,

Which in the future will be of help to you.

And at this stage don’t worry about money,

My supporters will always donate to any

Good cause or charity I indicate,

So there will always be funds available for DAPE”.

from “The Adventures of George”

http://www.macdonrod.com

The African Diaspora is defined by African Union as “[consisting] of people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union.” Meaning, the dispersing of Africans throughout the globe. These Africans contribute to the culture they eventually assimilate into. However, actually assimilation does not take place. They do not merely leave their culture behind and take up the one of their residence. They rather, bring part of their African culture into their new culture. They bring in language, art and customs.  Even today, people of African decent bring in forms of music, such as jazz and hip-hop. 

The African people have influenced culture and the economy way before present times. In fact the Schomburg Center for Black Culture says, “The transatlantic slave trade was fundamental to the development of the colonial economy; and after the War of Independence, the domestic slave trade was the engine that enabled the expansion of the cotton economy not only within the United States but also, through trade, to the international scene. In the twentieth century, black migrations from the South were crucial to America’s urban industrial development. They transformed a southern, rural population into a national, urban one, and the black presence throughout the country has influenced American legal systems as well as social and cultural policies and practices.” 

This is due to the large number of African people brought in by the slave trade. With a larger population than the whites, they carried a heavier influence. Even though they were discriminated, after years of continuing their cultural customs and language, it diffused into the South of the United States, and by today throughout the whole country.  

Not only was the cotton industry greatly impacted by the Africans, the iron industry benefited greatly. “Iron making was practiced long ago in West Africa. Many slaves brought to America carried the knowledge and skill of t his trade with them. It has been suggested that American ironmasters may have deliberately sought Africans with iron making knowledge and that they were the “backbone” of the American iron industry.” (Catoctin Mountain Park) 

Besides the industrial contributions, the people of African decent have given us many traditions. National holidays are designated to celebrate African heritage and African heroes. Two of these holidays are Kwanza and Black History Month. Their influence isn’t only present in North America. In Cuba, many Afro-Cubans assisted in the revolt that put Communist Fidel Castro in charge. In fact, Che Guevara, for those who do not know Che was a huge part of the revolution and a martyr for Communism, said that “The people of the streets [the Africans] are at the heart of this revolution.” Where ever the Africans seem to have gone, they made a positive impact on their community. This shows the value of their culture and heritage. Could this be a slight positive affect of the slave trade?

Not Listed, “African American Influence.” Catoctin Mountain Park. 

2003. National Park Service. 6 Dec 2006

 HYPERLINK “http://www.nps.gov/archive/cato/culthist/african.htm” http://www.nps.gov/archive/cato/culthist/african.htm

Not Listed, “The African-American Migration Experience.” Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 2000. 6 Dec 2006

 HYPERLINK “http://www.inmotionaame.org/home.cfm” http://www.inmotionaame.org/home.cfm

 HYPERLINK “http://www.african-union.org” www.african-union.org 

Image by Kheel Center, Cornell University via Flickr

How else can you explain adult women and men trampling each other over re-released retro sneakers. A person would have to be controlled and out of their mind to think such actions sane. This is the oldest trick in the book that my people fall for over and over again. The elite have warehouses full of old stuff just ready to be released to the public again. How else can you explain the constant recycling of old styles coming back again. I have mentioned countless times in my other articles this culture creation, it is real. The shoes cost $180.00, but Nike doesn’t tell you about the spare change some kid in China was paid to make them. I thought more than 10% of the population was unemployed, and plenty of people on welfare so how can so many afford this ?

These are not Air Force One’s but does it matter ? Wikipedia

The cops had to be called for assistance as if they expected such behavior. Are my people really that predictable, the answer is yes. Wake up my people and ask yourselves what is going on here ? You don’t have to be a conspiracy nut to see the set up. The cops conveniently on standby, the immediate news crews from major networks. The people who purchased these shoes gave a conditioned response.The wearing of these shoes will not make you cooler. It will not make you play basketball like Micheal Jordan. If I’m wrong in saying the black person is controlled then why would these people be out at six in the morning. I hate stereotypes as much as anybody, but most blacks I know don’t even get out of the bed into 11A.M

The Nike Jordan shoe has been nothing but a tool to cause more harm. Think about it, even back in the day how many stories you heard of stabbings, shootings and robbery because of Jordan’s. The shoe is a  status symbol in the black community and that is just sad. When I was in high school every black kid I knew had to wear these shoes. If you wore anything else you got dissed daily. The same thing will happen to all the kids in school who won’t have this new retro pair. Intelligence is not respected now days, and I feel sorry for the kids who have parents smart enough not to buy them. I’m talking about kids but all I see in the video on-line are adults setting a bad example. This greedy, superficial materialism needs to stop especially in the black community. How can you feed your kids, pay bills or make it out the hood ? The black person is tricked into buying junk they can’t afford constantly. If you can afford it even in this economy good for you, but the shoe is still not that important. If you don’t learn from history you will repeat it, and with these stupid shoes that’s what’s happening think about it.

After experiencing guys like Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, former Republican Party chairman Michael Steele, and Ward Connerly, who singlehandedly made getting into top public universities in California that much tougher for young blacks and Latinos with the passage of his Proposition 209, which killed affirmative action in the state and lowered black admissions in schools like UCLA to record lows, this former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and head of the National Restaurant Association didn’t phase me at all.

In fact, Cain and those other black conservatives I mentioned have continued a tradition, for lack of a better way to put it, that goes all the way back to Booker T. Washington 100 years ago. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise speech in 1915, in which he urged African Americans to “cast your buckets where you are” and, for all intents and purposes, accept the Jim Crow segregation and racism that was an essential part of the U.S. landscape was a landmark speech for a white, mainstream, and conservative America in which the notion of blacks being able to ride in the same trains, eat in the same restaurants, and go to the same schools as whites was unthinkable and abominable.

When I read Newsweek magazine’s cover story, “Citizen Cain”, in their October 17 issue, it merely reinforced my conviction of Cain continuing Washington’s legacy, as well as leading me to understand why Cain’s political and social views are the way they are.

For instance, in discussing Cain’s background, the article mentioned that he grew up in segregated Atlanta, the son of a chauffeur/barber/janitor who admirably worked extremely hard to provide for his family and eventually buy the family their own home, which was considered a monumental achievement for blacks in those days.

When it came to standing up for civil rights, however, that’s where I completely understood the roots of Cain’s convictions as according to the story, Cain said that him and his family “…saw (sit-ins and Freedom Rides) every day on TV and read about it in the paper, (but) Dad always said, ‘Stay out of trouble,’  and we did.”

In other words, aside from sneaking a drink in a white water fountain as a youngster, Cain, by not standing up for his civil rights, tacitly accepted being seen as an unequal human being among the whites in Atlanta and mainstream Georgia society in general – he sat down in the backs of buses and stayed away from lunch counters who had policies of not serving blacks without complaint, as well as go to predominantly black Morehouse College when, as salutatorian of his high school, he was rejected by Georgia Tech.

In my view, that was going along with the unfair status quo at a time when Rosa Parks was committing herself in the front of a Montgomery, AL bus, and Martin Luther King was committing himself in Birmingham and Selma. Not to mention those nine young people who committed themselves at Little Rock Central High School.

So I understand how and why Cain’s views developed the way it had, but as the self-proclaimed “CEO of Self”, Cain may have committed to making himself better, but where was his commitment to making his fellow blacks better off? 

I mean, here he was happily content to making his way though segregated society – or at least accepting it – while people like King were getting beaten, jailed, and killed so that every person of color, not just African Americans, could enjoy the same rights that whites enjoyed from birth.

After I read “Citizen Cain”, the prevailing thought in my mind was, “No wonder!”

No wonder that Cain feels that being poor and not having a job is the fault of the poor and unemployed themselves; I’m sure that his thinking goes along the line of, “My daddy made it through hard work, and so did I, so I really don’t see why you can’t either…and as for racism and you thinking that the white man’s the cause of all your problems, get over it.”  

That conviction is what has made Cain so popular with white conservatives and is a prevailing factor of him being a serious contender for the GOP nomination this summer. White conservatives can point to him (as well as Connerly and Thomas) and say, “See? I’m not a racist!”

What Cain, like so many other conservatives, ultimately refuses to understand is that you can’t tell people to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps if they don’t have boots at all; that it’s impossible to win a race if you have your legs tied together, or win a fight with one hand tied behind your back.

That’s the gist of the situation that the poor are in, and no 9-9-9 tax plan is going to solve that; how are people, black or otherwise, who are barely getting by on minimum wage, going to be able to give away 9% of their income without going under?

As former civil rights leader Joseph Lowery said in the Newsweek article, “He’s done nothing to further black people’s lives. All he’s doing is saying the racist stuff the mainstream GOP candidates can’t say and he’s having the time of his life doing it.”, meaning that like too many other conservatives, Cain doesn’t really care about poor people.

Or his fellow blacks in my opinion.

As for his chances of becoming our 45th president, I hope Cain gets the nomination, because Barack Obama will surely torch him in the general election and, with his impeccable campaigning skills, win by a landslide. But…

Realistically speaking, I don’t think that’s going to happen, because there won’t be nearly enough white conservatives who will be willing to vote for, and accept, a black man as their nominee for the White House.

Sure, there will be quite a few whites who will vote for Cain, as seen by the various straw polls, but there will be too many whites who just can’t see a black man as President, no matter how much he shares their views.

And these allegations of sexual harassment – shades of Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill in the 1990s – are not helping Cain’s prospects, either.

I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how things unfold. 

Condition of African Americans Before and After the Civil War

Throughout much of the history of the United States, African Americans faced much hardship and unfair treatment. To escape these hardships, many slaves often ran away to the North or even to Canada using various methods, one of them being the Underground Railroad.  Some of the hardships include being enslaved, harassed, and abused. The nation was divided over many issues, one of them being slavery. The American Civil War was started for various reasons, and one of them included righting the wrongs done to the African American society. After the Union won the Civil War and slavery was abolished, African Americans enjoyed more liberties. However, the price of their new freedom came at the cost of new problems, which might make them worse off than before.

Before observing the conditions of African Americans after the Civil war, one should identify the causes of the war and the conditions of the African Americans before the Civil War. According to Adams,  “Past generations have cited the incompatibility of the southern and northern economic worldviews, incompetent and blundering policy makers, the breakdown of the Democratic-Whig party system, and the moral debate over slavery as the critical variable to explain secession and, perhaps more important, the long bloody war that followed.” The war resulted in the freeing of the enslaved in the South, causing the numbers of unemployment to increase greatly, and also destroying the South’s pre-modern agrarian mentality (Egnal). As a result, the North’s style of economy, American Capitalism, settled into the South. However, the South’s economy was still recovering from the war, and large numbers of African Americans moved out to search for work.

One of the most common ways of escaping from the hardships of slavery for African Americans was through the Underground Railroad. This rail consisted of “Conductors” and safe houses. The conductors would take in the runaway slaves and lead them on to the next safe house, where the runaways would continue their journey through the Underground Railroad to freedom. Many leaders, such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman, who were all former slaves, led many across state lines to freedom (Vacca). Even though the slaves were escaped to the Free states, they were not always safe. If they were demanded to be returned to their master, the Northern state would be forced to return them. Because of this Fugitive Slave Act, the slaves would sometimes continue all the way into Canada, and there they would finally be safe.

The most noticeable problem after the Civil War was the fact that the former slaves were now free, but still no longer equal. This was clearly seen through the state laws that placed heavy strains on the African American community. To combat this, several groups for the advancement of Black Rights were created, but discrimination persisted and caused many losses of opportunity for them, such as good education and well paying jobs. Even though there were many obstacles, several pursued their dreams and eventually got what they wanted, like owning a good business or getting a college education.

Segregation was also a major problem that began before the Civil War, but worsened once the war had ended.  As the African Americans moved in search of a new life, they would obviously be confronted by the White community there. Life was easier to live in some communities than in others for the freed slaves. A major part of the Black-White relations had to do with the situation within the communities, which was determined by geography and culture (Bigham). The existence of slavery and practice of paternalism, which is the practice of those in authority restricting the freedoms of their subordinates, in a certain area also determined such relations. Even though African Americans were now free, segregation and Jim Crow laws showed that they were not truly free or equal in the eyes of the people. Because of these laws, African Americans often had to go to separate schools, use separate busses, drink from separate fountains, and do many other things differently from the white community. Literacy tests and poll taxes were another issue that arrived in the Reconstruction era and prevented African Americans from voting freely. The poll tax continued on for African Americans until the 24th amendment was ratified in 1964, which stopped the use of poll taxes. Literacy tests were ceased in 1965 after the Voting Rights act was passed.

One last major problem that occurred for African Americans after the Civil War was the increased hate crimes and violence committed against them. Hostility in the South was far greater than in the North since many white supremacists still resided in the south and committed many of the violent acts against African Americans. The North, being tempered by many abolitionist thoughts and ideals, were often reserved in their actions. Although there were many reason for violence, one of the most common reasons was to preserve the status quo of White domination over the Blacks. While they were enslaved, African Americans were treated well by their masters because they were considered valuable. After they were freed, however, several White racist groups no longer had a reason to refrain from acting violently against them. Several of these organizations were formed, such as the Klu Klux Klan, and committed acts of murder, kidnapping, torture, and terrorism against African Americans. Many people also acted violently because of the fear they had for their own wellbeing. Due such a large population of jobless African Americans after the Civil War, large masses of them moved out in search for jobs. Many whites feared the loss of their own jobs to the now free African Americans and retaliated with violence and threats.

It can be concluded that the status of the African Americans were both improved and worsened after the Civil War. Some things, like being free from slavery and having the opportunity to have a new life and become educated were part of the good that came out of the Civil War. However, many problems that did not previously exist also came to be due to the changes both politically and socially. Even though they were considered equal to white men, African Americans were still discriminated against though segregation, abuse, and strong violence. Many of their hardships occurred because of a series of events that were probably not thought through, such as the Civil War ruining the South’s economy and sending masses of unemployed African Americans all over the nation. Because of the fear of losing jobs to the freed slaves, many white Americans retaliated out of fear and used methods of violence, hate speech, and other similar things to try to drive the blacks away, or to prove their supremacy over the African Americans. Despite these hardships, the African American community continued to thrive and grow by forming strong groups that would eventually bring them true equality.

Works Cited

 Adams, Sean Patrick. “Clash of Extremes: The Economic Origins of the Civil War.” Journal of Southern History 76.2 (2010): 448+. US History Collection

Bigham, Darrel E. On Jordan’s Banks: Emancipation and Its Aftermath in the Ohio River Valley. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2006. Print. 

Boyer, Paul S., Clark, Clifford E. Jr., and Kett, Joseph F. The Enduring Vision, A History Of The American People. Houghton Mifflin College Div, 2004

Boyer, Paul. Holt American Nation. Holt Rinehart & Winston, 2001

Egnal, Marc. Clash of Extremes: The Economic Origins of the Civil War. New York: Hill and Wing, 2009. Print. 

 Faverty, Brenda. “Bigham, Darrel E.: On Jordan’s Banks: Emancipation and Its Aftermath in the Ohio River Valley. “History: Review of New Books Winter 2006: 39+. US History Collection

Vacca, Carolyn S. “emancipating New York: The politics of Slavery and Freedom 1777-1827.” Afro-Americans in New York Life and History 32.1 (2008) P127+ US History Collection

In that article I highlighted some reasons for this. Amongst them are Africans practice the extended family Life, Africans are their brothers’ keepers, Africans love to share and hero worship. I noted specifically that “Due to the extended family life, Africans are their brothers’ keepers. What affects one affects so many. In Facebook, I have friends from Asia (India), Europe (Britain), and the USA. Issues we the Africans discuss are not same with the ones I discuss with friends from other parts of the world. We Africans discuss things that are even seen by some as irrelevant or inconsequential. But to us in African, it matters. We want to know how our third and fourth cousins are doing in their schools are business.”

The above is a proof of what science-daily.com just published. What affects one affects another. When I was first diagnosed of Kidney failure in 2002, it was my wife that willingly and voluntarily donated one of her kidneys to save me. She was not compelled. She did it of her own account. The story clearly portrays the real African. Again when that graft failed, my immediate junior sister donated one of her kidneys to keep me living. We do not want to be alone. We love to share even our lives for one another. Of a truth we have our peculiar problems but that does not make us inconsiderate about the need and pains of our people.

A study conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center which science daily published says “researchers found that African American donate almost exclusively to their family members for living kidney transplants as compare to the Caucasians.” The study also found that “African Americans are more likely to donate to their parents compared to the Caucasians and were slightly less likely to parent to child donation.” It further has that “Caucasian donors were more likely to be related to the recipient than the African Americans.”

According to Reeves-Daniels (one of the researchers for this report) “one of the most surprising findings was that majority of African-Americans kidney donors were men and younger that the white donors.” This gives me a sense of joy and pride that Africans are their brothers’ keepers. Africans should hold their heads high anywhere they find themselves. I believe strongly that God has men and women of great potentials in every race and tribe all over the world. The idea that some are second and third class is from the father of all liars the devil. We should not underestimate our strength in unity. African leaders should sit up and make Africans proud of their continent by establishing democratic and corrupt free government. This will ever make us to be proud of our black race and continent that God gave us. AFRICA I HAIL THEE! AFRICANS KEEP THE GOOD BROTHERLY SPIRIT. I will ever be proud to be an African. God Bless Africa and Africans.  

I don’t believe in airing dirty laundry in public. I believe It says a lot more about the person doing the airing than the clothes they are putting on the line.

That was my position and still is in many ways.

However, today I’m making an exception to that rule because of the pressing nature of the times, the horrible inconsistency between what traditional African American culture says and what really is happening, and the Katt Williams anti-Mexican rant. From my perspective, the Williams rant seemed more like a dedicated slave defending his position in life than an anger/comedy piece.

To be sure, this isn’t about the Katt Williams rant per se, but it is about his rant being part of a section of the  traditional African American cultural personality. This personality is conservative, carries a very small world view, is homophobic, xenophobic, materialistic and religiously fear-based. And like the Tea Party, this small section of the populous has been seeking to define the rest of the group because people in this small section have the biggest mouths, the highest pulpits and the grandest stages.

I’m a Futurist and Sustainability advocate. I also happen to be African American. Whenever I can, I speak about sustainability and our role in making the world a better place for generations to come by changing the way we think about traditional ideas. When I bring this discussion to the African American community, I’m regularly greeted by members of this slice of African American life with blank stares and accusations that what I’m talking about is “white folks sh**”.

Amazing.

I’ve decided to show just how misguided this section of the African American cultural personality really is by listing and comparing some of these contrasting points.

“Mexicans should go back to Mexico”.

I’ve heard African Americans voice this in private and sometimes in public settings, like Katt Williams. How odd. These same people have African art in their homes, often sport red, black and green flags and attend African dance events and even give their kids African names.  I’m old enough to remember folks yelling at us to go back to Africa simply because we wanted to honor the place of our ancestor’s birth. How did we lose perspective so quickly?

“Going ‘green’ is white folks sh**”.

Well, some of this is true. During slavery and the rape of Africa,  Europeans called the people tilling the land in Africa “subsistence farmers”, that is, farmers that only took what they needed to survive. The term was derisive because the kind of farming they were doing wasn’t modern and it wasn’t mechanized. Now that we see contemporary industrial farming is killing the land and the people, subsistence farming is back in vogue, but this time it’s called sustainability or green farming. So yes, it may be renamed, but for us to diss the original green farmers who happened to be Africans simply doesn’t make sense.

“God hates gays”.

Many of us have a gay person in our family, yet we live in denial of their obvious sexual orientation. Using the Bible as a tool to denigrate someone in our family is heinous enough, but to justify bigotry in the name of the God you serve is stunning. Somehow, we have forgotten that the Bible was also used to validate an argument that Africans were 3/5ths of a human being, so slavery could continue for over 250 years with God’s blessings.

“We don’t want to go back to Africa”.

That’s what Williams said in his tirade.  The United States is my home. My people worked, built and died to make this country, so I have a vested interest here. But just as my Irish, Italian or Jewish American friends go back to the land of their ancestors, I too delight in this opportunity. My many experiences in different parts of Africa have been empowering, challenging and wonderful. Unfortunately, many African Americans have never left the state that they live in, let alone travel to other parts of the world (and a cruise doesn’t count). This directly creates a small world view and allows people like Williams to paint a parochial image of our existence.

“Spirituality is that new age stuff”.

Whenever I would say I am spiritual but not religious to my “churched” friends, they would respond by giving me that “oh, he’s one of them” looks. I’d hug them, tell them that I loved them, and walk away. If you haven’t noticed, the world is going beyond the religious shackles of dictatorial, behavior-based, reward and punishment law systems used to keep people in check, to a personal connection and inner knowing of the Creator. Of course, there’s pushback by groups like The Taliban and Fundamentalists, but the trend is clear and distinct. This change emphasizes personal responsibility and following your path. Some parts of the African American community seem to be the last ones to get the memo..

 “I’m  gonna eat what I want. You’re gonna die of something anyway”.

The healthy food movement seems to be passing the African American community by, and we are the ones most directly affected by a poor diet. This isn’t a matter of when we’ll die, but how we’ll live. It’s a quality of life issue. I’m not talking about those wonderful dinners the sisters at the church prepare that you can pick up for $5 dollars a plate. I’m talking about the processed, fatty, greasy, salted and sugary snacks that we and our children eat every day. I’ve even heard some African American sisters push back on the healthy food movement by justifying their overweight as being sexy. As one African American male I can say with authority…..no, It’s not.

Why are some Black people living beneath their intellectual means when it comes to understanding? It could have something to do with cultural competency. A specific section of the African American culture feeds on itself and creates insular rules of right and wrong. This allows people to keep things simple and leverages an anti-intellectual position without apologies. It’s something that’s happening on the broader scope in the US so it shouldn’t be any surprise that a section of the African American culture is affected, too. The challenge is that they seem to speak for all of us because of their high profile. Kind of like terrorists claiming to speak for Islam.. Whatever the case, it appears that these misguided souls are behind the social curb, but ahead in attention.

If you should have the unfortunate experience of going to a Katt Williams show live, remind yourself that you may be seeing a slice of the Black community that is living in a delusional/dysfunctional state instead of how life actually is, using anger instead of inspiration, profanity instead of dialogue and ignorance instead of understanding. Yes, there’s a market for that…probably always will be….but at what price?

Comments: US private sector job growth slowed in August for the second month in a row, but factory activity in Chicago area continued to expand. This is no consolation. The kidney is functioning normally, but the heart beat is abnormal is no news to cherish or celebrate. Obama should free himself from the Republican blackmail and increase spending enormously. He should tax the rich people and rich companies to raise funds. Over and above the deficit figures, the unemployment figures are important from the social point of view. Unless this happens, Obama’s image will go down among the American public.

News: Some US companies paid more to CEOs than taxman

Comments: Some people pay more to doctors and medical shops than for health. Paying CEOs millions of dollars at the cost of shareholders is a dirty culture that exists in all parts of the world. Maybe, in US it is critically more. The CEOs should be paid reasonably well, but exorbitant payment will invite only ridicule among the public and shareholders. Boeing’s Jim McNerney ($13.8 million), GE’s Jeff Immett ($15.2 million) and eBay’s John Donahoe ($12.4 million) and others of their ilk should seriously consider reducing their salaries in the interest of their country. When public are suffering from unemployment, underemployment, mortgage related housing problems and other economic ills, these CEOs cannot be an island of tower where they go on self raising their salaries in their companies.

News: America’s shifting demographic profile – Hispanics and African Americans account for the bulk of the population growth.

Comments: This is most expected. Most of the white people have long back abandoned the family system. Any woman can sleep with any man is the norm in America and the Western countries now. Even those people who have families are not keen in having children because they consider it a burden to bring up their children. In other words, children have a nuisance value to the parents. Apart from this, many American States have legalised the gay system of marriage. When a man marries another man, you can’t expect any reproduction out of it, can you? The same holds good with lesbian relationship between two women. These relationships are against nature. On the other hand, Hispanics, African Americans, Indians, Chinese and other immigrant tribes value their family system, consider it a pleasure to have children and raise them. Gays and lesbians are very negligible in these communities. In about three or four decades, America will be a land of Red Indians again. History seems to be reversing its role.

News: Ahead of 9/11, NY Park bars Muslim women with hijabs

Comments: Muslims are suspected everywhere for the terrorist activities. Moreover, Islamic terrorism targets only innocent public and not high profile politicians or government leaders. Talibans preach that the meaning of jihad advocated in Holy Koran is to kill innocent public wherever possible. Therefore the public hate these Islamic terrorists and their religious ideology. This has developed into a hate for Islam itself. In other words, the public are unable to differentiate between Islamic terrorists and Muslims. This is no fault of the public. The government is justified in imposing such measures to save the lives of the innocent people visiting public places. Well done, administration.

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News: NY law lets Sikh staffers wear turban, grow beard

Comments: Again, well done. Sikhs are hard working and honest people. Wherever they are, they are loyal to the organisations and to the nation they are residing. But at the same time, they are strongly religious – more religious than even the Muslims. But their religious conviction is different from that practised by the Muslims. There is no such thing like Sikh terrorism unlike Islamic terrorism practised by the Muslims. Muslim children are grown and brought up with a hate campaign. They are brain washed with ideology, which preaches that killing people of other religions is not wrong and in fact good and sanctioned in the Holy Koran. Such a hate campaign and ideology is not preached or practised by the Sikhs. Therefore, this move is a welcome move. Well done, administration.

News: US wasted $60 billion in Afghan, Iraq wars, say the panel

Comments: I think $60 billion is not the correct amount. It should be much more. Americans are idiots. They pump billions of dollars into Pakistan for making them participate in the war on terror. Pakistan and Afghan Talibans jointly plan and use this money for attacking America and killing Americans, wherever they are. In other words, American money is used to kill Americans. In other words, America bribes the Islamic militants with huge money to kill its own citizens. When will the Americans wake up? Talibans are planning to acquire the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan and use them on America. If this happens, US will be in ashes.

          For many African Americans dealing with the history of slavery is very difficult to

say the least. For some it is easier to deny the pain than to acknowledge the sufferings of

their forefathers. Because of this there is lingering anxieties in the hearts and minds of

Black people that few will ever fully examine or make conscious. Na’im Akbar refers to

this condition as the psychological chains of slavery. The author of the book The Best

Kind of Loving, Dr. Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant,(1995) calls it the auction-block syndrome. The auction block is where Blacks were judged and sold with no thought to their human dignity or feelings. It is extremely painful to think of the indignities which they suffered.Yet their experiences are part of what some experts describe as genetic memory and consequently affect the psyche of all African Americans. I believe, however, that the history cannot and should not be discounted if we are going to fully understand why African American men and women, behave the way they do. In order to begin the healing process, we need to know where the pain is coming from. To do this we must take a step back in time and critically examine how Black men, women and children were treated by white America during slavery and the century following the emancipation if we expect to find answers to today’s  problems.

          The reality is that in spite of the educational, economic and social gains that

Blacks have made, America still operates as an oppressive system that has been, and

continues to be, responsible for keeping a large number of African Americans trapped in

the lowest strata of American economic political and social life.

          I believe there is a direct correlation between Black ability and inability to problem

solve and the natural experience of being Black in America. In other words the oppressed

is not entirely responsible for his or her oppression.

          According to Dr. Gwendolyn Grant,(1995) the Black family prior to 1960 was known for its strength, endurance and stability. The survival of Black Americans in the midst of extreme cruelty and cultural deprivation has actually been attributed to a strong, stable and supportive Black family. Relationships between Black men and Black women

molded manhood and womanhood as an equal working unit, not on who was the major

breadwinner. (Grant 1995). The struggle Between Black men and Black women, Elsie B. Washington (1996) gives an overview of the Black male, Black female relationship beginning with slavery. She chronicles the barriers Black men and Black women faced during emancipation, through reconstruction, through the great migration, through the roaring twenties, and the Great Depression and up to the civil rights movement.

          According to Dr. Andrew Billingsly in Climbing Jacobs Ladder, (1992),  he confirms Dr. Grants assessment of the Black family, he writes: “For the hundred year period between the end of slavery and the aftermath of World War II, the structure of African American family life was characterized by a remarkable degree of stability. Specifically, the core of the traditional African American family system has been the nuclear family composed of husband and wife and their own children. Divorce was rare and couples stayed together till the death of the spouse. Children lived with their parents until maturity, then started their own families. As late as 1960 when uneducated Black men could still hold good paying blue collar jobs in the industrial sector, married couples headed 78 percent of all Black families with children. By 1970 only 64 per cent of African American families with children were headed by married couples. This declined steadily to a minority of 48 percent by 1980, and 39 per cent by 1990 and the trend is likely to continue into the future”. (Billingsley 1992)

          Dr. Billingsley goes on to point out that beginning in 1980 for the first time in

history, female headed families with children out-numbered married couple families with

children. What is important to note here is that Dr. Billingsley is speaking of all families.

This is the first time since slavery that a majority of Black children are living in single-

parent families.

          Dr. Billingsley is an optimist and his works on the Black family centers around its

flexibility and adaptability instead of its pathology. He underscores that marriage is one

of several basis for family formation and endurance. Black men and women have been

avoiding or abandoning marriage in record numbers during recent years, and this trend

speaks more to the shift in the marriage relation than to the family structure itself. This

trend simply means that a number of alternative family structures have arisen in post

industrial America that are more suited for the diversity of the African American family

structure.

          Unlike Dr. Billingsley, Dr. Washington sees the great migration as the turning

point for the change in the Black family extended structure. She states that it was during

this time that parents and children moved away from grandparents, aunts and uncles who

not only provided support as part of the extended family network but also served as

unpaid childcare takers and mediators of martial disputes and disagreements. It’s

 important to note that white sociologists view the extended family structure as a foreign

             concept but it was contrary to the individualistic, Euro-centric viewpoint which stresses

              every man and every family for themselves. (Washington 1996)

          Dr. Washington suggests that some areas of conflict between Black men and Black

women were compounded by the structure of the civil rights organizations. For example,

many of the organizations were closely allied and modeled after Black churches where

men were the leaders. In most churches the pastors and important officers were men,

while women were assigned to manage auxiliary and support areas. White men had the

vast majority of the leadership roles in the larger society, so it seemed to be “equal”.

Black men had to be the leaders in Black organizations. Or, as Dr. Washington points

out, Black men and women believed that to be integrated with whites, they needed to behave the same as whites. For the most part, Black women in the movement were ready for Black men to take the lead and stand up to the system in a forceful non-violent way and Black men did just that. (Washington 1996)

          Education attainment also became a great unequalizer between Black males and

Black females. Almost invariably in any number of Black families with male siblings,

one or more of the females will obtain a college education. Why is this? Unlike their

sisters, boys are encouraged to be willful and involved in sports and other “manly”

pursuits, or to work part-time. Girls on the other hand are taught to be disciplined to study

hard and help out in the home. This difference in educational attainment for Black males

and Black females has a historical base. Black parents encouraged their girls to be good

students because college was the only way for them to avoid “Miss Ann’s “ kitchen.

Their sons on the other hand who could earn “good” money in the factories and

foundries, often dropped out of school early to get a job. This historical adaptation to

post-war condition has evolved into desperate expectations for Black boys and

girls. (Washington 1996)

Bell Hook In her book, Yearning,(1990) writes…”Until Black men can face the reality

that sexism despite the impact of racism in their lives…Historically the language used to

describe how Black men are victimized within the American racist system has been

sexualized. When words like castrations, emasculation, impotency are common used

terms to describe the nature of Black male suffering, a discursive practice is established

that links Black liberation with gaining the right to participate full with patriarchs.

Embedded in the assumption is the idea that Black women who are not willing to assist

Black men in their efforts to become patriarchs are the “enemy”…Until Black men and

women begin to seriously confront sexism in the Black communities, as well as within

Black individuals who live predominately in white settings, we will continue to witness

mounting tensions and ongoing divisiveness between the two groups. Masculinity as it is

conceived with patriarchy is life-threatening to Black men (Hook 1990).

          By tradition and circumstance Black men occupied the dominant role in most

Black families and organizations, and Black women had largely accepted this. However,

the financial independence which came when education and better paying jobs made

Black women less willing to put up with sexism, or any other type of abuse from Black

men. Black women also had more control over their lives with the advent

of easier methods of birth control and legalized abortions, which they took advantage of,

often over the protests of Black men. However, Black men did not see themselves as

oppressors of their women but rather they saw themselves as the victims of white

America. Black women who make more money than Black men are often said to have an

“attitude” that makes Black women less desirable as marriage partners. Other women

sympathetic to the Black mans plight, agree that his life is more difficult. (Hooks 1990)

          Dr. David Elwood, In his book, Poor Support,(1998), states that there is accumulating evidence to support that part of the problem with Black male, Black female relationships, is the lack of jobs available for young Black men. According to Children’s Defense Fund Director, Marian Wright Edelman, in the 1980’s there were 12 million more white men in the labor force than white women. At the same time the average number of Black women employed exceeded the average number of Black men who also had jobs.(Edelman 1998). By the late 1980’s high paying blue collar jobs had all but disappeared due to the epidemic of plant closings.

          David Driver in his book, Defending the Left, (1992) presented these numbers on

the dismal picture of the U.S. job market:

          By 1990, 32 percent of Black men in their prime productive years aged 20 to 44

were without work. In 1930 a full 80 per cent of all Black men were employed. By 1993

the number of employed Black men had dwindled to 56 per cent.(Driver1992)

          Surveys indicated that many Black men say that a woman with more education

and/or higher salaries does not intimidate them. Money however continue to be a sore

point between Black men and Black women. Some Black men say, it is not so much

The money or the degree, but the attitude of superiority, that these Black women bring to

 the relationship.

          African American Sociologist Dr.Henry Allen writes in his book, The Black Family, (1998) that perhaps the most difficult obstacle Black families face is not moral, economic, or organizational but physiological-culture”. Also in Friends, lovers and Soulmates, by Black Psychologists Derek and Darlene Powell Hopson,(1994) they suggest that Blacks have internalized the irrational message of racism, and they feel a sense of unworthiness and powerlessness that creates low self-esteem, depression and self defeating behavior.

          An essay which appeared in Lenora Fulani’s book, The Psychopathology of

Everyday Racism and Sexism,(1998) Judy Simmons advances these perceptions:

“…We (Black) women have had a high degree of responsibility, decision making power

and self reliance in the family and social matters; however, I think many of us have

neither sought nor enjoyed our independence. We wanted and expected to be a part of the

romantic nuclear family, despite all of the evidence we have had for generations that this

is a slim possibility. So we’ve tended to feel cheated and mistreated by men and

life. Since we do not realistically prepare ourselves for the responsibilities that remain

after our dependant-mating dreams die, we are usually under the gun financially and

psychologically, overwhelmed, overburdened and feeling powerless”.(Simmons1998)

          Dr. Cornell West, professor of religion at Harvard, agrees with the Hopsons, that a

profound sense of psychological depression, sense of personal worthlessness and social

despair have befallen African Americans. Dr. West is quoted in Washington’s book as

saying; “The frightening result is a numbing detachment from others and a self-

destructive disposition toward the world”. He goes on to say. “Life without meaning,

hope and love breeds a cold-hearted, mean spirited outlook that destroys the individual

and others”(West 1998)) Dr Washington agrees that much of the negative behavior exhibited in Black male/Black female relationships fit Dr. West’s characterization of “cold-hearted” and “mean-spirited”. Adultery and abandonment of one’s spouse and children, she writes are indeed cold hearted, selfish and cruel. Physical and mental abusiveness is indeed mean-spirited behavior.

          Black women are always listening to people (usually men) telling them they have

an “attitude” problem. “Individually and as a group, Black women have been called

bitchy, bossy, and evil.

          The Editor-in-Chief of Essence Magazine, Susan Taylor has expanded on the

criticism; She says; Black women are not bitchy, bossy or evil. She believes that Black

women are just plain tired. Tired of man troubles and money troubles and work

troubles. Tired of having people play games with our heads and bodies, and our feelings.

Tired of feeling anxious and tired of being worried. Tired of working so hard and being

blamed for so much of what is goes wrong. Tired of feeling powerless, and tired of being

disappointed, and tired of being called too string.( Taylor)

          In Cool Prose, which is authored by Richard Majors and co-authored with Janet

Mancini Billison,(1995) the collaboration of the two produced a summation which surpasses most of the others who have attempted to provide insight on the Black mans dilemma.

“Historically, racism and discrimination have inflicted a variety of harsh injustices

on African American males in the United States. Being male and Black has meant being

psychologically castrated and rendered impotent in the economic, political, and social

 arenas that white men have historically dominated. Black men learned long ago that the

            classic American virtues of thrift, perseverance, and hard work did not give them the

            same tangible rewards that whites received. Often Black men are the last ones hired

             and the first ones fired. Yet Black men have defined their manhood in terms familiar to

             white men; breadwinner, provider, procreator and protector. Unfortunately unlike white

             men, Black men have not had consistent access to the same means to fulfill their dreams

            of  masculinity and success. Many Blacks become frustrated, angry, embittered, and

             impatient. For some Black males the two most common responses to blocked

             opportunities are rigidity and aggression. In American society some Black men exhibit

             their masculinity through violence, toughness and the symbolic control of others.

             Nancy Boyd Franklin, professor of psychology at Rutgers University believes

that African American men and women are greatly impacted by distorted and negative

images of themselves. She believes that what keeps Black men and Black women apart

have more to do with external forces and their own internalization of negative,

victimizing messages. Through literature, the printed and electronic media, America has

historically demeaned Black intelligence, morals and physical attributes.(Franklin 1989)

          In place or reality, white America, or what Dr. West calls “White Supremist

ideology” has presented negative, stereotypical images of African Americans and Black

culture. The consistent lack of positive Black images is psychologically devastating to

African Americans. The demythologizing of Black sexuality is crucial for Black

America. So much of Black self-hatred and self-contempt has to do with the refusal of

many Black Americans to love their own Black bodies according to Dr. West;

Black men need to understand that attitude is perceived as a message to the world

that say. “I can take care of myself” All attitudes are not always negative. Positive

attitude or truth telling, comes out of real strength. It is an example of how Black women

have managed  themselves through all these hard years. Positive attitude helps us get

what we need and deserve. Attitude becomes negative and self-defeating when it creates

a defensive posture that we put around ourselves. Like a wall, to keep from feeling any

more pain or loss. Attitude is a way of concealing vulnerability. When a Black female

shows a lot of negative attitude, there is always an underlying reason.

          In conclusion, it is obvious that many external and internal factors affect Black

male/Black female relationships. Many of the external factors are beyond our power or

control. Yet there are some things we can control. We can change how we define

ourselves. We can place more emphasis on spiritual development. We need to know our

history. We will not be so quick to judge each other or ourselves for our shortcomings.

Knowing our history will allow us to celebrate the determination Black men and Black

women have demonstrated in the past, and continue to demonstrate in spite of horrendous

odds against us. Knowing our history will help us build stronger male/female

relationships.

Works Cited

     Allen, Henry, The Black Famly: Its Unique Legacy, Current Challenges, and Future Prospects, In Lee ed. The Black Family, Past, Present and Furute. Grand Rapids: Zondervan 1998

     Billingsley, Andrew, Climbing Jacobs Ladder: New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992

     Driver, David, Defending The Left: Chicago: Noble Press, 1992

     Ellwood, David, Poor Support, New York: Basic Books, 1998

     Franklin, Nancy Boyd, Black Families in Therapy: A Multi Systems Approach, Guilford Press, 1989

     Fulani, Lenova, The Psychopathy of Everyday Racism & Sexism: Harrington Press 1998

     Grant-Godsby, Gwendolyn, The Best Kind of Loving: New York, Harper Collins Publishing, 1995

     Hooks, Bell, Yearnings, South End Press,1990

     Hopson, Derek and Darlene, Friends, Lover, Soulmates: New York, Simon & Schuster 1994

     Majors, Richard and Billson-Mancini, Jane,Cose Pose, New York, Simon & Schuster 1995

     Washington, Elsie, Uncivil War the Struggle Between Black Men and Women, Chicago, The Noble Press 1996