Desegregation and the Black Community

   In the days of segregation many were forced to stay within their own communities in order to obey the law and or distance themselves from those of other backgrounds. Although some wished they had a choice, many used these times of chaos to strengthen their own communities through business and community. At this point in time people had businesses in their community filled with people that were of the same race and or ethnicity which kept the money within the community and made it stronger. In order to destroy these communities an outside force had to be responsible but throughout time many problems came from within the community. For example, in Tulsa, Oklahoma a wealthy African American community known as the Black Wall Street, one of the wealthiest Black communities in the United States, came to existence. Due to the fact that some hated to see progress in the Black community, members of the Klu Klux Klan along with white civilians held race riots in order to destroy this area. This area served as a threat to white superiority and dominance and for this reason they wanted to destroy it. In the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921 this area was destroyed and it took many years to reconstruct it. At this time many communities were destroyed and Black business owners were like prey because they symbolized progression. Many of these businessmen were wrongfully murdered or forced out of town for this reason and Black pioneers of journalism such as Ida B. Wells, tried to combat this white resistance and racism through spreading knowledge of these wrongdoings to the Black community. By the time these areas were reconstructed desegregation was implemented and many were encouraged to step outside their communities for resource. This trend would later be a blessing and curse to the Black community years later.
                                  
Desegregation led to many resources and opportunities being available for many people of different backgrounds. Many people are allowed to coexist and go to other communities for education, jobs, as consumers and tourists. Although many venture out they still maintain strong relationships with their community as a whole.and fund many things unconsciously through their support of local businesses. In America, the melting pot, we have many ethnic groups forming their own neighborhoods but can still classified under one title when in comparison to others. WHITE, ASIAN, HISPANIC....etc; however, when it comes to the Black community.........or whatever we have, there is no sense of solidarity due to conflict and traditions of destruction. In many riots throughout the Civil Rights struggle, especially in the 60's, Black people destroyed their own communities through looting and chaos. Not to stir up hostility or encourage outward violence, but why would one destroy their own community to prove a point to an oppressive force? Some argue that these acts were symbolic of the lack of tolerance for a slum like environment or condition. I still wouldn't support the destruction of whatever we did have though. Besides the physical destruction of neighborhoods many people within the Black community began to shop elsewhere because of the freedom to do so. Our mistake was equating desegregation with freedom. The more we began to shop elsewhere the more this became a habit and the more money the Black community could have made was being spent elsewhere. This led to Black businessmen and women being discouraged and unsupported which is one reason there are few Black owned businesses today.

Today the same trend is still present when looking at the fascination we have with foreign brands. One can spend so much on True Religion jeans and Michael Kors and brands that the makers do not even want us in. We can shop elsewhere in other neighborhoods before we try to support any business in our community or even each other. For that we are all guilty, including me. Still we have to realize that the more we spend elsewhere the more money we lose out on and the weaker we become compared to others. Sadly, if we buy things in our own community we still support other communities because the people behind our counters aren't even African American and are notorious for mistreating us. When these businesses open up in our communities I don't see boycotts or competing businesses. When looking in other communities I don't even see others moving in too frequently. Consider white flight: White communities moving away at the sight of a few minorities to preserve resources and support tradition and dominance. This did have ill intentions but also strengthened them to a point where they are economically powerful. What can we as Black folks do about gentrification though? Not much unfortunately. Our communities are not being controlled by us. I call on young entrepreneurs to encourage Black business and consumers to benefit our community more. I also challenge the Black elite to give more efforts to give back to the communities they come from and live off of. Money will never solve all of our problems, but money can help benefit us in many ways including education, job creation, recreational facilities and many other public interests. It was a point in time where others had to step in to disrupt our progress. No need for chains and whips when our minds are gone because we continue to hurt our own communities through the murder rate and tradition of hate. Segregation supported many evils our society needed to move past; unfortunately, since its termination the decline in Black Power is happening through the lack of REAL community.
-Jeremiah the Messiah

The Boondocks : Is it really that funny?

As a child I grew up watching many cartoons such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, King of the Hill and many other humorous family shows. These shows were hilarious but it frustrated me not having a show where the characters looked like me and gave my perspective of life through my type of humor. When the Boondocks, created by Aaron McGruder, finally aired on Adult Swim I was amazed at how funny it was and how often I was able to relate to many of the situations I would see in every episode. At first I watched the show strictly for entertainment because I thought the show was just pure comedy; however, after seeing real clips of the characters depicted in the Boondocks I realized the show was based on real life situations. The Boondocks uses extreme satire to make us all laugh, but more importantly show us how ridiculous we can be in real life and spread a message at the end of every episode.

When looking at the main characters of the show you can recognize who these people symbolize through their acts. One of the funniest characters on the show is Uncle Ruckus. Uncle Ruckus is an extremely racist Black male who denies his blackness and puts Blacks down whenever he sees an opportunity. This character is a representation of how many Blacks may tear each other down, hate themselves and quickly lean towards the white race for benefits or to distance themselves from other Blacks. Tom Dubois, a well off district attorney married to a white woman, symbolizes some of the Black elite who may forget where they come from or distance themselves from Blackness through economic freedom and or a different community. Stinkmeaner an old bitter man responsible for "NIGGA MOMENTS" represents ignorance in general that can cause us to lose our minds if we let it get to us.

 Rappers Thugnificent, Gangstalicious, and the Lethal Interjection crew are just representations of ignorant studio gangsters that don't realize how they can be influences on weak minded individuals. One of these weak minded individuals is Riley Freeman, who is a young, impressionable boy that stays on top of the latest trends and is stubborn to the advice of his older self conscious brother Huey Freeman who is essentially the main character. Every time Huey has an idea, especially when it deals with revolutionary thought, he is shunned which depicts one of our biggest problems in the Black community: THE FEAR OF BEING "PROBLACK" OR BRAVE ENOUGH TO STAND UP TO WRONGDOINGS WE SEE SO OFTEN. Last but not least we have Granddad who is a former civil rights hero who no one listens to most of the time just as many don't respect their elders.

Recently Aaron McGruder gave us Season 4 of the Boondocks but already I have an episode I find interesting. This picture above is from episode 3 of Season 4 where the popular show Breaking Bad is picked at. Huey tries to create a bomb but lies to his Granddad and says it is hair gel. When Granddad runs out of real gel he uses the product and discovers that it grows hair overnight. Unfortunately, when Huey comes clean the product is still able to be sold for Black women have so many dangerous chemicals in their hair they would not care if BOMB FLUID THAT COULD BLOW THEIR HEAD OFF was in products as long as they could have (I quote) "WHITE BITCH HAIR". How ridiculous right?! But then not really because Black women already use harmful products to straighten and perm their hair anyway. Although I THINK Black women wouldn't take it that far, it is still saddening seeing the sacrifices many Black women make to have hair that is seen as beautiful when these products cause short term beauty and long term damage to their heads. This is just one of many episodes that have a message we need to analyze and although it is meant for entertainment we need to really pay attention to what we are watching. AND THANK MCGRUDER.
-Jeremiah the Messiah

Greek History is Black History

As a member of Kappa Alpha Psi and the Divine 9, a group of the nine most prestigious Black Greek Organizations, I often get a lot of questions on my involvement and the status of these organizations. As an individual first then a member of my fraternity I try not to be biased and give my honest opinion and advice after hearing comments and questions from the public. One of the most interesting and thoughtful questions I was asked was: "How do Black Greek Organizations embrace the African American Culture and or help with the problems we see in our communities?"

When one asks this question he or she must understand first that Divine 9 history is Black history. These two forms of history actually coexist and many great leaders throughout the struggle have been a part of these organizations or received help from these organizations. For example, the picture above includes, Martin Luther King, Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson and Hosea Williams who were all members of different Black greek organizations. Even considering court cases such as Brown v. Board, which were very important and were made possible by great men including Thurgood Marshall, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, you can clearly see the help of these fraternities and sororities in support whether monetary or involvement. Two of the best centers in NBA history, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlin, happen to be members of Kappa Alpha Psi. In almost every sector of the workforce there has been a member of a Divine 9 fraternity or sorority that has helped make great milestones for African Americans. But beyond the Greeks that were fortunate enough to reach fame, many members go on to make changes in their communities in whatever field they choose to go into.

  By embracing our founders and learning the history of our respective organizations and others, we embody Black culture and live on the legacy. A lot of people discuss Greekdom and sometimes it makes me think would our respective founders be proud of the things happening today. My answer is always ABSOLUTELY. These organizations continue to live out the legacy of service through partnerships in the community and guide right programs benefiting the youth. As Black individuals that made it to college and or have successful careers, it is our responsibility to service the community especially the communities we come from. It is our responsibility to motivate students that they can achieve anything they imagine and go on to help their communities in the future. Not only are we changing our communities through the youth but helping with causes that effect our communities and society as whole such as Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Cystic Fibrosis, Gang violence and many other causes. We continue to promote academic achievement and help build the Black community as time progresses.
-Jeremiah the Messiah

Progress since Brown v. Board

Linda Brown an African American girl trying to get an adequate education traveled several miles to reach the black school she attended when a white school was only a few blocks away. Due to the frustration of her father and many others Brown v. Board of Education (1954) along with four other cases led to the desegregation of schools, for segregation made some "inherently inferior". After the courts called for the desegregation of public schools many states saw extreme forms of white resistance such as the Little Rock Nine (1957), where military force was needed to help schools integrate nonviolently. Because integration caused chaos throughout the nation, courts ordered schools to desegregate with "all deliberate speed". Resistance continued for many years and in the Freeman v. Pitts case in 1992, the fact that many areas were still not fully integrated was broadcasted. Almost forty years later the dreams of full integration had not come true.

 Today many students have the opportunity to attend schools with many other races and feed off of diversity. Unfortunately, many of these diverse schools are either selective enrollment or acceptance depends on location. Back in the 1950s many children suffered because of the color of their skin. Nowadays children are suffering because of standardized tests they aren't prepared for or the district they live in. Although one would think public schools are available to the the public, if one lives too far from the school they want to go to they might be rejected. At this point one must rely on their merit and knowledge to get into the top school. Sadly, many neighborhood schools, especially those in predominantly minority communities, are not preparing children for success due to a poor curriculum and the lack of proper funding. While these children struggle, those fortunate enough to get out of the neighborhood or those living in better communities with better schools are able to get more resources making their dreams more realistic. These schools have beautiful campuses, new stadiums and books while many neighborhood schools barely have decent looking books. How much progress have we really made when minority groups are suffering just as bad as they were in the 50s? When these students realize that their education wont do much for them many turn to alternative lifestyles because somehow they still have to eat. Today education funding typically costs 5000-18000 across 892 districts per pupil while it costs 52,545-96,087 per inmate in the Illinois youth centers. This means it is taking way more effort to lock these students that fall into the wrong path up when it would cost way less to provide a proper education. Diversity is beautiful; however, when a small amount of each community is able to receive these benefits we have a serious problem. Not only are these neighborhood schools inadequate, but many of them are closing due to the lack of performance. What happens to these students afterwards?
The system broken, the schools closed, the prisons open
We ain't got nothing to lose motherfucker we rollin-Kanye West (Power)
~Jeremiah the Messiah