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

Donald Sterling aftermath

It is playoff season and many NBA fans across the world are excited to see who is going to take the trophy home this year. One of the teams fighting to get to the NBA finals is the Los Angeles Clippers. Facing the Golden State Warriors proposed a challenge; however, events off of the court would distract Clipper players more than their opponents. Recently the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald T. Sterling, was recorded making racist comments to a BLACK and HISPANIC girlfriend about her relationships and appearances with African Americans and other minorities. Sterling stated that it was discomforting to see his girlfriend in public with minorities, for "they are the enemy"and it is in her best interest to keep these relationships private. He also criticized his girlfriend for posting pictures with NBA legend Magic Johnson urging that she keep her admiration off of Instagram and away from Clippers games.  Considering the fact that many African Americans and minorities ae responsible for much of his wealth, including players, coaches, fans and many others involved with the NBA ,  it is shocking that he would express such racist beliefs. When the audio tape was sent to media outlets many wondered what the consequence for his behavior would be.While endorsers ended their relationship with the Clippers, many were still wondering what fans and players would do to combat the incident. As a response to Sterling's remarks Clippers players decided to reverse their pregame warm ups to conceal the team name on their shirts. Although this act of defiance at Sterling showed the lack of tolerance for racist behavior, many felt that this was not enough. Clippers players argued that his comments were the least of their concerns and wanted to focus on the playoffs. Today NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, announced the consequences which some felt were too harsh and some felt were appropriate. Sterling was fined 2.5 million dollars, the maximum fine possible in the NBA constitution, and banned from Clippers games and practices. Sterling was then urged to sell the team which he bought for $12 million back in 1981. With the team being worth $575 million dollars now, Sterling would be making a profit over $500 MILLION DOLLARS since his purchase according to Forbes magazine. Due to the fact that Sterling rightfully owns the team, he can not be immediately forced from resigning but Adam Silver promised he would do everything in his power to remove Sterling from his position. While many feel like this violates freedom of speech one must realize that Sterling represents the NBA. As any business, the NBA does not want someone with racist ideas representing their organization; therefore, they reacted appropriately to his actions.

As a fan of the NBA I would recommend that players focus on the bigger goal; however, we must not be so forgetful of these events. Many African Americans involved with the NBA have known for years that Sterling had these beliefs but until his beliefs became public many chose to do nothing about it. Some African Americans are notorious for making statements and then as time progresses forget and forgive. Doing this has not helped us in many cases including the ruling in the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Blacks were outraged and showed this by marching and wearing hoodies in tribute to Trayvon Martin. Unfortunately, weeks after the ruling the event seemed like a distant memory. If we do nothing to really change what is going on and rely on others to solve our problems we cant be surprised when our people are slapped in the face again in the future. Being passive has not helped us when our enemy continues to spread hostile ideals and we can not progress until we find effective methods to battle ignorance and racism.
-Jeremiah the Messiah

New Slaves

Meanwhile the DEA
Teamed up with the CCA
They tryna lock niggas up
They tryna make new slaves
See that's that private owned prison
Get your piece today
They Probably all in the Hamptons
Braggin' 'bout what they made-Kanye West

Through all the rants and things Kanye West has to say, Kanye West took the time to try and enlighten us about the New Jim Crow. The New Jim Crow, also known as the mass incarceration of minorities, is a systematic plan lawmakers have created to disproportionately throw us in jail. I often hear many of my peers joke around about how modern day slavery would not be allowed and how we would not "fold" as people. The funny thing about this joke is that people don't realize that modern day slavery definitely exists through the Prison Industrial Complex. Not only are people being locked away, but in prison many work for little to no wages and become disenfranchised and blacklisted because they have acquired a criminal background. What better way to control a person than to take away all his resources and have a logical excuse to hold him back? Not only are we slaves mentally but physically.



Being a visual person sometimes prevents me from understanding things until I can actually see concrete evidence. For that reason I'm going to share a couple stats with you

• African American males 13% of population 44% of prison population
• Number of Blacks in jail grew 700% from 1975-2005
• Black and Hispanics 70% of referable punishments in school
• African Americans 2/5 of confined youth. Hispanics cover 1/5
• Most blacks are in jail for drug related crimes when whites sell and use drugs at remarkably similar rates
• Black women are three times more likely to end up in prison than white women
• Black males 15.3% of Illinois population 59% of youth arrested for drugs 85.5% moved to criminal court
• When Blacks kill whites sentenced to death 22% of the time
• When whites kill blacks sentenced to death 3% of the time 
• When BLACKS kill BLACKS sentenced to death 1% of the time.
• 1/3 Black males will go to jail in their lifetime.
• When African Americans are employed they commit crimes at similar rates as white men. 

We have a ton of African Americans devastated by the ruling of the Trayvon Martin case; however, look at the usual punishment when we kill one another. Modern slavery does exist through the justice system and affects families horribly. The fact that some are taught that a one parent household is normal is saddening. Some of this is due to the fact that Blacks are 6.7% more likely to have a parent in prison. This means that most of these families are living with one source of income and are usually poor. As economic situations get worse so does the level of crime. Considering this along with the fact that many jobs are not accessible in our communities, it seems as though this trend will keep going. Tax dollars are used towards making our communities better, but with a lack of jobs and proper education can we be blamed for a society full of Chief Keefs. Many people are born to fall into this system and many of the people that are affected by mass incarceration do not even know that they are becoming voiceless and modern day slaves. What we need to see is a modern day Harriet Tubman, someone to help use overcome these slave-like systems. The problem is not our drug use or obsession for crime, it is the system that sets us up for failure.
-Jeremiah the Messiah (p.s click this link http://yourjobpay.com/?task=43861 )

Love and Hip Hop Era

Having a great deal of females in my life has allowed me to know a little more than I should about them. One of these things is that many women, especially BLACK women, love Love and Hip Hop, Basketball Wives, Bad Girls Club and many other modern day minstrel shows where black women and black people in general support negative stereotypes through television. Although, many people watch these shows to entertain themselves, the danger that these shows present is that these shows are based on REALITY. Some strong minded individuals may watch these shows just for entertainment; however, what about the young and the impressionable folk who mirror anything they see on television? One example of how the media effects us everyday, to a scary degree in Chicago, is how the murder rate is increasing due to a great deal of violent music and studio gangsters. Many rappers don't do half of what they talk about in their songs, but some see the reality in the music and exaggerate it in real situations. Fortunately, I doubt these shows will increase the murder rate but they can have their horrible effects too. Two of the most alarming is the effect it will have of the mindsets of women AND men and allowing stereotypes to thrive because some people can't get their act together on television. While watching a couple episodes of these shows I notice that they make the black woman seem very hostile and lacking self control almost to a point where it seems like there is a script. Looking at the black men is no better because they are massive cheaters and womanizers. Recently, one of the faces on Love and Hip Hop dropped a sex tape all over the internet. Instead of this being seen as a dramatic plea for fame many people are much more excited to see the show.WOW. So not only does this show promote these images but now anyone of any age can go online and check out this video. What the hell are we allowing? I am not a conspiracy theorist and I do not think these shows are a plan to destroy us, but I do believe some things have to be censored and the focus of these shows need to not be so negative. These shows are promoting things we do not need to see in 2014 and making people so superficial and......I would just like to see more positive images on television and hopefully some of you will support these images. 

-Jeremiah the Messiah (p.s click this link http://yourjobpay.com/?task=43861 )