Dredlocks Tree

Next Book Reading: February 25th

2012-01-31T20:04:00.000-08:00

So I'm getting ready for another book reading coming up on the 25th, but this time I'm letting our suns take the podium to have their say on what it is exactly they want from us grown ups, Obama, our educational system and male/female relationships. If you too have something to say about the plight of young males of African descent, let me know so I can make sure you're part of this important, open and free discussion. I'll provide the details soon. In the meantime and always, peace n gratitude!

Pro Doesn't Have to Mean Anti

2012-01-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

Teaching our youth that the white man is responsible for all of their problems is the same as naziheads teaching their youth that all their problems come from Black people. Our marginalized sons, esp and their marginalized sons are hungry for fathers, big brothers and answers, so it's very easy for us to lure them into our personal agendas while in the end leaving them disillusioned and stuck in anger mode. As elders, it's important to remind them of accountability, personal responsibility, reflecting on the self, owning up to their poor choices and refusal to look at how they themselves add to their own demise. Yes, Euro-Americans and anyone with similar skin traits benefit from racism. Yes, the system is set to fail Black children. And yes, we have a President that looks like them but is too afraid to represent them for fear of losing conservative votes. And yes too, the white man exploited the beef between Elijah Muhammad and Malcom X. But who pulled the trigger?...

Pause/Reflect...Now, What?...

2012-01-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

Teacher, don't just ask for an essay on the I Have a Dream speech. Think beyond formula. Ask us where we think the dream is now; if our education changed much since the 1950s, if we have jobs, and if police crime watch towers are in all neighborhoods or just in ours.

Our Sons in Art Form...

2012-01-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

Later this summer I'm giving 12 local artists and photo-storytellers a chance to display their artwork with the general population. The theme will be around my book on young, marginalized males; their everyday struggles and how they overcome. Below are some samples of what we hope will both inform and inspire--

Cecil Bernard

Jay Doune

Steve Williams

Ije Akpoke

Jimbe

Chris Carter

Ocean Morisset

Paven Carter

Terry Beverly

Stay tuned...

Why Your Kid Doesn't Like to Write...

2012-01-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

Teacher spends more time on correcting spelling
than on what he has to say;

She was taught early on that good writing means
having someone else's voice;

He doesn't want to get picked on
for being different;

If she stays still
she's forced to reflect on her actions;

He won't ask for help
cos he doesn't know what help looks like.

The Andrew Glover Youth Program

2011-12-19T19:31:00.000-08:00

I recently had another opportunity to not only sell my books, but also talk to a group of teens who avoided incarceration by entering an alternative program for youth offenders. The Andrew Glover program is one of those jewels in our community that work to keep as many youngsters as they can from entering the prison system. I was honored to be asked to speak to their current clients and grateful for the respect the youth gave me. It was a reminder to myself of why I chose a career in helping young people reach their potential in and out of the classroom. It began as a chance visit on campus by one of their staff. She read my book and within days contacted me about purchasing copies for the Program, then invited me as their guest speaker for an event celebrating the completion of required time and work. I was especially honored by the fact that the Program's director, Angel Rodriguez gave the okay for all this to happen. I'm looking forward to more collaborations with these good folk, as well as other forward thinkers who are dedicated to the saving of our sons and daughters.

Pause, Reflect and Eject: A Note to Parents

2011-11-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

My understanding is that we’re here to bring forth a well-adjusted young man; to bring the spark back in his eyes. The same spark he lost some time around junior high school, and maybe even before that, when the world went from amusement park to war zone. Let’s not ask what they don’t hear. Young people hate stupid questions— What’s wrong with you? Why do you stay out late? Who are you hanging around? Did you do your homework? Try, instead, Are you happy? Are you happy living here? What is it like to be you? How can school become more fulfilling for you? What am I not getting? So let’s put the punitive approach aside and find alternative ways of relating to our handsome young man, without all the judging and usual chastising, but to allow him to process and relate back in his own way. Let’s press PAUSE, REFLECT and EJECT old ways of parenting and teaching, since he’s not responding to traditional formula. Pause to notice what isn’t working. Reflect on how it felt when you were his age and add to that his indifference, disillusionment and functional depression. Eject your assumptions about him and start from here.

K Workshops

2011-11-22T05:42:00.001-08:00

Besides writing books for and about hard to reach populations, I also teach language arts and urban psychology, and do workshops on topics ranging from general life skills to alternative education. For those interested in having me come speak to their students and participants, the following is a list of workshops I've either done or are on-going--

Message to a Youngblood - Reaching and Understanding Our Sons
Before You Fly Off - Lessons and Advice for Our Teen Daughters
English Can Be Fun -- Helping Students Fight Their Fear of Writing
Educating Urban Youth - When the Curicculum Doesn't Fit
Counseling the African American Male - The Audacity of Not Judging
Trouble Girls - Working With Female Teen Bullies
Single Parenting - Parent Stress/Peer Pressure
The Marginalized Student - From Identifying to Celebrating
Am I in the Right Major? - Learning and Developing College Skills
Prison Bizness - Why Are So Many Black Men in Jail?
Teaching the Young, Gifted and Incarcerated
You Talkin' to Me? - The 411 on Conflict Resolution
Gay Youth - Counseling Them, Counseling Us
Beyond the Bling - Black Male Self-Awareness
Black Masculinities - Hyper-Masculinity in the Black Community
Love and Happiness - Developing a Relationship With Yourself First!
Creating Your Job and Finding True Purpose
Learning How to Better Manage Your Time
Wholistic Wellness - Creating a Positive Environment For Success
Writing the Autobiography - Leaving Your Written Legacy
The University Male Center - Challenges, Tools, and Leadership
The New Academic Advisor - A Different, More Wholistic Approach
Despierta! - How Culture Can Affect Academic Performance
Toxic People - The Art of Recognizing and Avoiding
Doing It Your Way - How to Self-Publish Your Book
Doing It Another Way - How to Create, Market and Sell Your T-Shirts
No Rage, No Guilt - The Difficult Process of Addressing Race-ism

K Books
Message to a Youngblood - A Conversation with Our Sons
Before You Fly Off - A Father Offers Advice to His Teenage Daughter
Before You Fly Off - Volume Two (Released July, 2009)
The Dredlocks Tree - Prose and Poetry
Throw - Photos and Words (tba)

Recent Essays
From Ground Zero With Love
50 Means Reset
The Color Complex
One Drop of Blood
How the Haitian Government System Works or, The Waiting Game
Dear Oprah
If I Interviewed Obama...
The Writing Process: On Writing For and About Young Black Males
When Doves Cry - The 2010 Haiti Earthquake
Dancehall Music is Not Reggae
When Dumb Wasn't Cool
Bang, Bang. I'm Dead!
Youth Participation in Neighborhood and Community Settings
Letter to My Prez - Wyclef Jean for President
The Other Writing Process
How'You Like Her Now?-- The Makings of An Irish Rasta

Interviews
Naj
If Life is a Dance, Where's the Music?
Akasan: Rap and Hip Hop in the Haitian American Community
Generation Entitlement: Where We Went Wrong With Our Youth
What Are You Doing Here? - A Conversation With a Former Inmate

My current project is on the overall development of young urban American Black males; how parents can better relate to their troubled sons; their education and spiritual wellness; social identity concerns; hyper-masculinity and buffoonery; and how we can help them define and discover their purpose.

"Most books about us are about teaching us how to fit in.
Your book helps us understand our rage and learn how to be ourselves in a world that has a problem with that."‎--22yrld Tariq

For more info on workshops and book orders, feel free to contact me at Lifejak@aol.com

Thank you again for your kind support!

The Year the Butterfly Was Mine

2011-11-22T05:20:00.000-08:00

All writers and poets have their favorite pieces. This here one is mine...

In a forgotten lazy junkyard
I saw him
Kicking empty cans with an agitated foot
Though we shared the same pair of eyes
He couldn’t see beyond the rage
That was badgering his mind
I remember his mother telling him
Son, it’s time you put away the gun
He stormed out the house, ran as fast as he could
Until he couldn’t anymore

The year the butterfly was mine…

He was a victim of circumstances
His old man died before he even knew him
He went on a mission
Crashing in and out of people’s lives
Too jaded to see his higher side
There were tell tale signs
Of a famous story waiting to be told
Iron bars would test his might
But that was how he found my name

The year the butterfly was mine...

In time, I’d wait for as long as he let me
As his questions became my answers
His eyes tired, but mine wide open
For the life he never had
So we took our last kick into the dusty air
Before the years began to gray
I still remember that wounded little boy
And the man who saved his life

The year the butterfly was mine…

From my book of poems, The Dredlocks Tree (2008)

Reflections and Other Gymnastics...

2011-11-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

Book Reading

2011-11-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

Book Reviews for Message to a Youngblood

2011-11-08T05:42:00.001-08:00

"This book is a real meal. It reminds me of James Baldwin's "Letter to My Nephew" at the beginning of THE FIRE NEXT TIME. I used to teach on Rikers Island and I now teach so-called 'at risk youth' in an alternative education program. I know from experience that the audience to whom Mr. Koromantee is writing--whether the kids are Hispanic, Asian, White, or Black--scoff at most books that are written for them. This is a book that rings true and avoids the traps that most of those books fall into. For one thing, it's not patronizing. For another, it doesn't call on kids to compromise and make peace with 'the man'. It's a message that goes straight to the heart of what it means to be a man in this screwed up, greedy, racist society. This is a great book for any kid. I suspect that teachers who give it to students who 'can't read,' will find that they suddenly can read."

"I have had my copy of the book for approx one week and already someone has borrowed it! Ugh! Sending them your way for their OWN copy! Did i mention that my copy is SPECIAL? Yes, it is autographed for ME from YOU!"

"This book gives voice to our young African American men so that we can create a diaglogue, better understand the world from their view point and close the generational and communication gap that often plague us. Please consider supporting this work. I think you'll find you'll really enjoy it."

"Message To a Youngblood" is an uplifting read that discusses some of the most prevailing social issues concerning young men. What I love about the book is that It is a simply read that is not boring and people of all educational backgrounds can learn, enjoy, and gain further insight from. This novel is a page turner from beginning to end and I promise everyone you will not be disappointed."

"I got my copy of MESSAGE TO A YOUNGBLOOD in the mail a few days ago. I have to say this was an easy read with much practical and 'life-saving' information for our sons and brothers. Written with much care and wisdom, Mr. Koromantee covers all aspects of not only the problems that exist with marginalized young men, but also real, practical, workable SOLUTIONS. This book should be in every school, after-school program, workshops, boys home, etc. I love the section for educators on how to use the book as well. What a wealth of information! Thank you Mr. K!"

The Misedcation of the Black Child

2011-11-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

"When I attended grade school, there were always photos of great White men on the walls yet none looking more like my father; and Dick and Jane lived in a house that had a foyer, but I didn’t know what a foyer was since no one in my neighborhood had one. In middle school, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. seemed to be the only celebrated Black man. I remember being confused about the inner-city riots. My parents were too busy assimilating/surviving to break anything down for me, and my White teachers couldn’t find the words to explain why Black folk across America were so enraged. I just remembered the worrying in their eyes and this feeling of not being a cute Black kid to them anymore, but now officially a nigger. By the time high school came around, those same White teachers turned into cranky White instructors who taught me about the Romans, Saxons, Vikings, Sami and Gaul yet left out the Mali, Kush, Songhai, Moors and Zulu. I was taught civilization started with the ancient Greeks, but my social studies teacher skipped the part where they stole from Africa; that Queen Cleopatra seduced Caesar but nothing on Queen Nzinga and how she led an army against European invaders. I learned stuff like George Washington never told a lie, but not that he owned slaves; that Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the United States by purchasing the southern territories from France, but it was with the help of the Haitians. And then there’s the standard Columbus discovered America, but I had to find out on my own that the Italian colonizer had originally set sail for India and got lost, so he named the Carib islands ‘West India’ to save face. I even learned about the Jewish holocaust ‘til I could recite pages off Anne Frank’s diary. But the on-going African holocaust was kept out of my textbooks and classroom discussions.

Like most African and West Indian American teens, I graduated high school having learned absolutely nothing about myself except that I started off as a slave from a savage continent, struggled through Jim Crow Laws, moved north for better job opportunities and was finally allowed to vote, thanks to the Civil Rights Movement. Other than that, I was invisible."

Excerpt from my book, Message to a Youngblood

How Can We...

2011-10-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

How can we tell him to man up and suppress his feelings and then later say man up and communicate his feelings? I'm just askin...(photo by Ocean Morisset)

Message to a Son

2011-10-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

"Black people do have power; just that we lack vision. No matter what you heard about former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, he used to force White city contractors to hire Black workers and invest in our hoods if they wanted their bids secured...And no, you're not crazy. Just overstressed from having so few job options, an education that works against you, a society that marginalizes you, a country that under-educates but over-incarcerates young Black males, and the fact that we don't look out for one another in the same systematic way other groups do." (Excerpt from my latest project Message to a Youngblood).

Ostend Street

2011-10-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

What is Black Now? And Are We Even Ready to Talk About It?....

2011-10-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

In his latest book Touré asks the question, What does it mean to be 'black' now? Says we should ”attack and destroy the idea that there is a correct or legitimate way of doing blackness...post-blackness has no patience with self-appointed identity cops and their cultural bullying.” Now, that might be some fighting words for some of my diehard red, black and green. But if we take a min to consider where Toure's trying to go with this, we can at least appreciate the idea of finally placing individuality before collective pressure to represent/less and fit in/more. Maybe that's one of the reasons why so many of us get upset at father Cosby's call to clean up our dirty laundry and stop the victim game. Or why Obama wants to be Prez and not Black Prez. As much pride as there is in carrying our Black, we tend to forget the pride of just being. The luxury Whites have of getting up in the morning to simply be, without the preoccupation of skin color. No matter what you think of Toure's views, we can't call him a sellout just cos he wants us to be ourselves, without having to prove the obvious-- hair, lips, nose, melanin and yea, the everyday hassles of race-ism. But being yourself, from attitude to fashion to choice of music to who we vote for to who we call friend to who we love to social consciousness to lack of social consciousness and back to attitude; being yourself is the real emancipation, if we can get there. I'm just sayin...

On-Line Book Orders

2011-10-16T02:47:00.000-07:00

On-line purchasing of my latest book, Message to a Youngblood is now available on Amazon.com. Once again, thank you for the kind support and admiration!!!

"The book is written in such a way that both the youth and parent can read/learn/grow together. It's also a useful tool for a young male who may not feel comfortable speaking openly about his feelings, including rage and functional depression. I'm a counselor and educator at heart, so this is not just about selling books. The business of saving our sons and daughters is serious and personal to me. I want to make a difference, and with this book I believe i did."

Love Is...(Message to a Youngblood)

2011-10-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

"...And LOVE IS pointing out her haters to her, so she can watch her back; LOVE IS not letting her ignore her close friends and family just 'cause she found true love; LOVE IS pressuring her to graduate when she tells you she'd make a great mother; LOVE IS saying she's beautiful without the weave, hair piece or wig; LOVE IS understanding how your preferring girls with long hair and lighter skin complexion adds to her own rage and self-esteem issues; LOVE IS inviting her to debate with you and your friends on serious topics and world events; LOVE IS taking her to see movies that also make people reflect; LOVE IS teaching her that female empowerment doesn't mean male disempowerment; LOVE IS asking her when was the last time she apologized to someone and why?..."

New Book Release: Message to a Youngblood

2011-09-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

That's the problem with formula. Experts end up talking to one another and around the young person the book is supposed to be for. Looks nice on paper or even up on a popular bookstore shelf, but if the youth ain't feelin it then you can't say you're an expert. But that's just my take on it. Everybody got their take. Here's mine...

I'll share reading dates later.

From Ground Zero With Love

2011-09-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

It's proper to send light to the families, partners and friends who lost their loved ones on 9/11. And it's even more proper to take a min to honor the innocent who didn't leave world trade center in time. But let's also keep in mind that 9/11 also means remembering how White America unleashed her hatred for 'different' right after the twins fell. We had a mayor, already famous for his racist jargon and policies, who used the unfortunate event to spew his political agenda and a President who encouraged division. When Bush told America "you're either with us or against us", it gave racist Whites permission to take their misguided rage on innocent muslim americans and anyone perceived as not being 'american' enough. I was just moving back to nyc from nc where trigger happy southern Whites were putting U.S. flags on their cars and trucks, on their porches and wife-beaters. I remember the language of hate that was taking over the magnolia air and one of my neighbors, an African American muslim woman who was forced to move out of her house cos she refused to stop wearing her abaya. and I remember the term 'terrorist' being thrown around by even some american Blacks who had somehow forgotten how the united states came to be, in the first place.

By the time I reached the gw bridge, NYC was in a total depression and Tribeca was the last neighborhood anyone wanted to live in, what with the fallout from all the debris and scattered body parts. This wasn't another sequel to Die Hard. This was real. And you could tell that White America, especially, was experiencing shock from a loud global wake up call. But most European Americans tend to be in denial about reality checks, either from miseducation or a plain unwillingness to admit that they benefit from racism. So rather than consider historical karma, the majority of them got caught up in the blame game except some like Scottish-American author, Jason Trask (I'm still learning to stop using colors to describe persons without sounding like a research scientist). I guess you can call my buddy a liberal, if we're looking for a box to fit him in. Some people need boxes and categories when choosing their music. But I'd rather call Jason a socially conscious citizen of the world, besides my best friend. He didn't get jumped or called names, or was forced to move his wife and kids to a safe zone. But he had to endure ignorant, paranoid neighbors and co-workers who called him a communist for refusing to put up a U.S. flag at his own doorstep. He was even called in by his supervisor to explain his unusual 'foreign' behavior. I grew up in Montreal, so I know about White on White isms. In Quebec, the beef was over language, not skin color. So I wasn't surprised at all that his own tribe was getting ready to light that torch on his ass! But for whatever reason, they let him live. That's if, of course, calling someone a crazy liberal is letting them live.

While Jason was standing up for his american rights, my mother was being harassed by her White neighbor for not putting up her U.S. flag. If you know anything about haitian immigrants from the Duvalier/Papa Doc days, you already understand why my mother allowed the woman to stick a flag on her window as proof of her loyalty to the good U.S. of A. And if you know me well enough by now, you're absolutely correct in assuming I ripped that damn thing off my mama's window and told the old bat what she can do with her pride! Cos for most African Americans, the American flag is a symbol of contradictions. Like an uncle who molested you when you were a child but is now paying for your college tuition.
Come 9/12, we'll all go back to our everyday lives. We'll forget all the speeches made my the politicians, all the recited names of those gone, all the hype about being as one and resume to being the fragmented society we really are; fragmented by skin shade, income status, languages, gender, sexuality, religion, voting ballots and move on to Halloween candies and masks. Mattofact, Columbus Day's coming around soon, and no one will stop to ask why we gave the original terrorist his own holiday? or more immediate, why homeland security isn't profiling men who look like timothy mcveigh since he's the one who bombed us six years prior to 9/11? Why po-po still focuses on me and anyone else who looks like me? but we'll move on, ignoring such questions and pretend we all get along; that we all are glad that president obama finally said the bad words-- "The unemployment rate for African American youth is the highest". But if there's a slightest part of you that rejects the pomp and circumstance and is willing to gain a more inclusive definition of what it is to be an american, checkout Jason's book, I'm Not Muhammad. It's a story about not only what went down in downtown NYC in 2001, but also about what brings all of us together, as opposed to apart.

Show Our Colors, Not Your Ass!!!

2011-09-04T07:18:00.001-07:00

Every year round this time, Carib folk from and around Brooklyn, NY take over Eastern Parkway to celebrate the annual West Indian Day Parade. I used to go as a child when the Parade was a gigantic/awesome gathering with floats showcasing each Caribbean flag/music along the sidewalks filled with food vendors who, in turn, showcased the matching flavors. I stopped attending when the event became more of a dangerous place to be caught in, what with gangsta wannabe's turning it into an excuse to shoot at one another other. It became something both residents and visitors tolerated, until NYPD decided to curb the ra-ra. Now the floats pass through Crown Heights and down to the plaza circle without the usual threat of violence in the air. Folk can relax. Barricades are no longer weapons of terrorism but symbols of order. And yet I still haven't been back to at least try some jerk chicken. Because the focus seems to be more about showing our asses instead of our colors.

Maybe I'm just getting older and less tolerant of nigga mess. But I want more from us as a people, if not a race. Too much self-debasing and compromising of what cultural pride looks like. I know. What's wrong with just having a good time? Nothing, if you consider a good time bending your back forward to let another dry fuk you for all to see, or cheering a 5yrld girl for gyrating her privates in front of grandma. Or better yet, a group of males bumrushing a female to show what they do when the lights are out, while the female grins at the mere spectacle of it all. If we're okay with teaching our sons and daughters that showing your ass is showing our pride, then let's not act surprised when non-Family members don't take us seriously. Let's not act dumb when our young men use their flags as gangsta' face masks to emulate gang mentality which have nothing whatsoever to do with Caribbean plight and forward movement, but everything to do with misguidance and identity crisis.

Remember the Puerto Rican Day Parade some years back when the women were terrorized by grimies? Remember just last year when po-po had to interrupt the Dominican Day Parade cos some of the participants mistook mob mindset for ethnic pride? And remember how this year, Dominican ra-ra was forced to shutdown due to rain and how both the grown-ups and NYPD privately thanked God for it? I'm bringing this up cos I'm wondering if we're at a crossroads of defining who we are, where you have those who see a parade as an opportunity to display flags and colors, and those who see it as an opportunity to wile'out. Kinda' reminds me of a similar on-going debate between 'gays' who see pride as exhibitionism and those who'd rather push with their clothes on.

Look, I'm not trying to force my values on anyone here. Go do you! But as for me, I'd rather celebrate West Indian pride by remembering our Maroon and Rastafarian heritages, how Ayiti gave each island the blueprint for independence and how our rich African traditions still show in our costumes like the one here representing the Devil. In modern times, Devil Man is called upon by painting the body either blue, red or black; sometimes mud, but the one color is smeared from head to toe and the horns add to the drama. This is all part of the Jab Jab, an offshoot of the Parade that actually occurs before sunrise. The idea is that the Devil walks through town warning people about not paying for their wickedness. It's all mythology, of course. And then the myth got hyjacked by some parade marchers who sexualized the character (FYI-- The island of Grenade is currently considering banning the sexually provocative 'devil man', while parade supporters are siding with freedom of expression). But a quick lesson in American colonial history will teach you that the full coloring of bodies or tarring actually began as a form of collective protesting when male slaves smeared themselves with tar, mud, paint or molasses so their masters wouldn't recognize them. As in, I'm stealing the very molasses I'm forced to cultivate for my keeper. Hence, the French term-- Jab Molassie. Just one of the thousands of daily rituals we used to do collectively (and still do) to compensate for the chains around our necks, both literally and figuratively. The blowing into the conch shell is a symbol of Haiti's determination to withstand the tides of imperialism and global economic punishment for having the audacity to stand for something; for believing, still, in her pearls even if crime lords and egotrippin' government officals in Port-au-Prince are blocking progress. Think about that while you're out there enjoying all the fun. Think about what it took for you to even be able to show your ass! And maybe then you'll understand why I want more.

Note: A few hours before posting this note, a young man at the parade was shot in the leg.

In the Meantime...

2011-09-04T07:17:00.001-07:00

Now that the creative part of the business of writing is done comes the printing process, having the right look for the book so it catches the eye and holds the attention. After that is a matter of finding someone who'll listen...In the meantime, I'm putting together some of my newer prose in my second book of poems, Throw...

She wears sea shells on her ankles.
The sound of her footsteps and goes back to a time
When Black women ruled sub-sahara.
Her robe smiles the color of sassafras
And captures the wind's most delicate secrets.
If you're at a crossroads,
Her gift for seeing the unseen will resolve your angst.
If it's a timeline you need
For a blessing that's divinely yours,
She can pull it out of her hair.
She can do these things like you know your name.
But she can't call a friend to see how he's doing.

MJ

2011-09-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Brow
parts the air
like Shango knows
your truth.
Poise
and majestic.
He speaks
from intuition
sees
with his eyes
closed.
Didn't know his swag
until it shaped
his footsteps,
the way wisdom
shapes
a man's
worth.
But dig his
masculinity!

Sign of the Times...

2011-08-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

He from Senegal by way of Harlem
Il est Africain but only when his parents are looking
Otherwise, he pulls his pants down more than some
Between leaving his building and heading back in
Cos he knows better to, if he doesn't wanna get picked on
He even learned to say 'nigga' cos he wants so badly to be Black

He from Senegal
But doesn't like it when you tell on him like that
Cos no one wants to be african
But everybody wanna be nigga!

You

2011-08-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

You
fall in line
cos you don't mind
chains around your smile
are you hungry?
of course, you are
but you keep your pride down
pretend you like it raw
when they're drilling your backside
some say money comes before aspirations
while some aspirations are merely illusions
one thing for sure
if you can't see from this angle
everybody gotta do their dirt if they want that tv cable

You
go by the trends
cos you got nothing of your own
to make true friends
are you angry?
of course, you are
but you fake the fake
pretend you still know your name
when they're feeding your frontside
some say fame comes after the give up
while some give it up even after the wake up
one thing for sure
if no one's told you yet,
only the free know not to forget.

From my next book of poems, Throw

Marked Man

2011-08-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

"You are a marked man ~ Kahlil Koromantee ~ your compassion and the conviction of these words are pure and penetrating. You are marked because you have the courage to put yourself out there in words and deeds for all to see. This is a singular gift and the fact that you are a teacher multiplies that gift exponentially. The world is a much more interesting place because of your presence in it. You are making a difference. Your mark is made in the hearts, minds, and lives of all your students, friends and people who know, respect, and love you. A humble observer."

And this is why I do what I do...Thank you!

Last Sketch In...

2011-08-08T23:42:00.000-07:00

‎17yrld illustrator, Chris Carter saved the best for last. I wanted to add visuals this time around, especially for the male readers, and Chris came thru once again; just like Nchewu Akpoke and Rajiv Mahadeo came thru with their own sketches. (Rajiv, by the way, did the cover for my first book of poems, The Dredlocks Tree).Thank you, guys for your amazing input to this project!!!

And so the printing begins...

Chapters from My Books on Young Urban Black Girls...

2011-07-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Vol. 1:
So you think you're ready to party?
Boyfriends, and boy friends
What a high school freshman should never do!
Peer pressure/parent stress
Sex is good; it's timing that can be bad
Image and perception
Confidence: the ultimate form of self-defense
Assertive vs. aggressive (there is a difference)
Black men's perceptions of American Black women
When your hood is a war zone
Rewards and dangers of using the Internet
What most dads want from their teen daughters (what this dad wants)
So hard to say goodbye; even harder to say I'm sorry
I hate you, you hate me!
It's your life but,..

Vol. 2:
Check your self (and not just your accessories)
Your parents' baggage is not your handbag
Girl bullies
The skin color game
White boys who like to kick it with Black girls
Bisexual or dl boys, and why they'be frontin'
Developing a relationship with yourself first
Back to the weight thing
Love upside down
The 1-2-3's of communicating
Depression (the other mirror)
Tetimony: lunch with dad
How to be a stress-free parent?
When water is thicker than blood
Dear dad

Note: The male counterpart to these books is scheduled for release September 2011.

Get Out Their Way!

2011-07-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

The youth don't trust us cos of our contradictions and they refuse to take advice from anyone who buys into a system that they know fails them. When we gripe over their use of the N word, we forget we're still using National Association of Colored People and United Negro Fund. The way they look at it, if we don't mind still calling ourselves 'colored' and 'negro' then 'nigga' should be the least of our problems. Cos they got much more important sht on their minds. Like being forced to find jobs under the table, since having a Black President turned out to be another scam. And so they hustle, like we hustle but without the fear of being themselves. Cos our tradtions are their restrictions. Our expectations are their tribulations. Our religions, mental slavery. And our preoccupation with sexuality is their comic book passtime. Are they angry? Sure you right. And they wear their rage like they flash their pant buckles and exaggerated eyelashes. So now we want their votes again cos without them there is no progress. But progress always has a price. Make some noise or get out their way!

For my young ones...

2011-07-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Black culture is not street culture, and street culture is what your music videos and the suit n ties who push them want you to believe Black culture is.

-- Excerpt from my next book of poems, Throw

Male Youth Book Update...

2011-07-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Dr. Raymond A. Winbush (The Warrior Method) has joined grassroots literary guru Louis Reyes Rivera and ex-gang member Aqueela Sherrills who helped broker a truce betwen the Crips and Bloods to review my book...When you're on your divine path, the blessings come to you directly and effortlessly. Thank you!

Don't Just Buy Him Sneakers...

2011-07-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

Don't just buy him sneakers. Help him start his own book collection, so later on he doesn't think it's a White or punk thing.

Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz Educational Center

2011-07-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, July 24th I'll be speaking at the Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz Educational Center in NYC on the mis-education of our youth. It's gonna feel a lil weird joining other educators and youth psychologists this sunday at the same sight Bro. Malcolm was assassinated...
Gonna feel even more weird knowing that this same spot that wasn't ours before is still not ours today. Nonetheless, it's an opportunity to meet other professionals committed to the overall development of our youth. It's also a chance to read excerpts from my upcoming book on young urban Black males. Here's one section of the book where I speak directloy to our sons--

A friend of mine told me to come at you with love and not disgust, so I’m hoping my words and tone have been proper to you. I’m hoping you take it the right way when I tell you to clean up after yourself and respect others’ belongings; to remember to wash, especially your underarms, your privates (the inside of your foreskin, if you weren’t circumcised), to always flush after relieving yourself and wash your hands; to keep your nails short and cleaned, your clothes off the floor; to watch what you eat, how you treat your neighborhood, how you come off to people. And yes, pull your pants up some. Because I want more from us, and I want you to want more from you. I may not always get you, but I love you just the same. I love you enough to tell you what you need to hear; and to tell young fathers to try not to be so hard with their sons, to hold their hand when walking with them and not ahead of them because that’s how we create emotionally healthy males.

The center is located at 3940 Broadway and 165 th Street. Conference starts at 4pm.

NYC Writers Group Assignment

2011-07-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

So I gotta do this fatherhood assignment for our writers group and not sure which direction to take. The part about stop being in love with your child and raise them or missing my own dad but noticing him everywhere...

50 Means Reset

2011-06-25T11:07:00.001-07:00

50 means reset; means reflecting on your past lessons, making way for even more blessings and affirming your personal mission. I write books for and about marginalized youth. I also say what needs to be said, even when it causes some to question my seat at the Family table. Because it's our tendency to avoid the obvious that I want to examine. Our collective experience as people of african descent who still suffer from the on-going holocaust of americanization has undoubtedly caused us to be victimized. Yet many of us find ourselves stuck in victim mode, unable to move beyond our rage. Those of you who know me personally have watched me deal with the rage. You've celebrated my growth when my wings allowed me to think beyond my resentments and been patient with me when the bars of anger imprison me each time one of our haters cuts my flight.

50 also means noticing your physical transformations...

I used to be very angry at European Americans for their privileges due to insitutional racism. but anger is like cancer. It eats at your spirit and stifles your creativity. It's a delicate, often times difficult process to avoid terminal dis-ease while still being conscious of what's going on around you politically. But I know 'whites' who treat me like fam and Blacks who could care less about pan african solidarity or my personal welfare. That fact alone forces me to close my eyes when I really want to see someone and focus instead on intentions and energy. At this point I'm less interested in reacting to our haters and more invested in our work as a pschologically damaged people still recovering from post-slavery syndrome.

Part of my agitation was the fact that 'white' people get to simply be. This is their collective luxury; never having to think about their skin color. They simply get up in the morning and start their day. We, on the other hand, have the burden of constantly being reminded that we're guests in our own home from subtle to blatant messages. But this is the challenge that I'm offering myself and you. To learn how to simply be; to be judged by our intentions and not by other's insecurities or superiority complex, which brings me back to my initial call. And that's for us to do more self-reflecting and face accountability when we play a role in our own demise.

We want our President to come up with an agenda that will address our issues (unemployment, miseducation, crime in our neighborhoods, generational poverty, affordable healthcare, political representation and urban development, as opposed to gentrification). but are we addressing our contradictions? (job unpreparedness, expecting teachers to raise our children for us,

Our 'no snitching' policy when it comes to calling out those who we know are terrorizing our hood,

The disrespecting of our girls and women, predatory mindset,
hair and skin shade politics,

Aspiring to parenthood but not marriage, making bad choices in mates, allowing fear to rule us,

Mental illness,
avoiding constructive criticism, preferring down low behavior over reality). I'm just sayin...

I believe in a higher power. I've seen too many unexplained events happen in my first 50 years to think it's just me doing the driving. Much less, the writing. I believe I did the right thing when I quit my doctoral program to instead keep my voice and write books that motivate, educate and hopefully inspire, rather than fulfilling somebody else's definition of success. And I believe I came through my mother to meet my father.

I also believe there's a silent war going on between Black people and niggaz (sorry, uncle). Same war going on between shirt ties and ankhs, wigs and nat'rals, gays and men who have sex with men; between those of us who are religious and those who are more spiritual, those of us who style social consciousness and those of us who live it. but no matter our differences, it's still us. It's still all good, as we try to redefine what it means and looks like to be an American or find our way back to African.I love our youth, especially when they find it safe to smile. There's a part in the book I'm working on where I tell our sons that I want more from them; that I want them to want more from themselves. And I want their parents to do the same. So if you're still with me then come go with me. Education. Revolution. Change starts with us.

Thank you for reading.

Images 14 - Montreal

2011-06-25T11:06:00.001-07:00

Male Youth Book Update...

2011-06-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

It's a powerful place to stand in when you make the decision to by-pass the frustrating process of seeking a publisher who respects your voice and publish the damn thing on your own. But it also means having to deal with the technical disruptions involved when you and your printer bump heads on style...Note to self-- Patience. It will all be done when it's supposed to be done!

Dear Dads...

2011-06-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

We already know about the deadbeat dads who do nothing but piss on people's lives and force mothers to fend for themselves. I'm talking about the good dads out there who don't always get the recognition and the props they deserve. If you're fulfilling your role as both provider and advisor, that in itself is a blessing because it promotes harmony in the family, whatever family means to you, and adds to the solutions of our collective struggle. If for whatever reason you're not allowed to fulfill your role and you decide to give up on the stress of constantly having to fight for your right to parent, know that your child will eventually become a young adult; and as such, she or he will look you up (they always do, no matter what they hear until you confirm the hype). So on the day your daughter or son decides to hear your version of the story, be prepared to respond to the following:

1. Do you have any proof that you appealed to a Judge to be allowed to see me?

2. Did you keep any receipts showing you paid child support, but was still not allowed to help raise me?

3. Are there any letters you wrote to me or my mom that were either never sent or returned to sender?

4. Do you have any photos of me or of us together?

5. Can you name any relatives or close friends who can back up your efforts to father me?

If you can't answer one 'yes' to these here questions, then you're merely setting yourself up for a harsh reality check later on when your seed tells you that their mother was more man than you!

Excerpt from my upcoming book (still working on the title).

Photo of print by Jahheal Massac

Pro Doesn't Have to Mean Anti

2011-06-13T19:42:00.001-07:00

Pro doesn't have to mean anti. Love your culture. Love your race. But be careful not to make hate your flag!

I Chose

2011-06-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Our newest and youngest NYC Writers Group member, Chris Mohammed was telling us about his struggle having to raise himself. When we asked him what makes him stand out from the kid standing on the street corner he said, "I chose."

Tribute to Us, and Us

2011-06-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

Every year round this time the Black Family comes to Coney Island to give tribute to the ancestors. We form a circle around the drummers and rejoice in the beats and rhythms of the old ways. Some of us stand around the circle. Some form their own smaller circles. And some like myself prefer to meditate by the rocks where the waters splash the soft green moss that glisten after each tide. But we all make it a point of dipping our bare feet into the sea or go knee to waist deep as part of the tradition of giving thanks and cleasing away any dis-eases. There're usually flowers and fruit, something you wrote, something you made, as offerings to the ones who crossed the seas to give us our voices, to the ones who either chose to cut their lives at the middle passage or were thrown overboard, to the ones who recently transitioned. So I was there doing my part. And since I'm leaving my 40s, this was an especially heartfelt reunion what with all the heavy 'classroom' discussions we've been having about Black and black, is and not. Us, and us.

Getting older tends to cause you to become less tolerant and less flexible. You get set in your ways and see life through eyes that have become too wise for excuses and arms exhausted from carrying the flag of consciousness. But my personal friends were there. they reminded me of the importance of not giving up on the ones who may not ask for help yet need it. I also remembered Bro. Rico's words-- "let's try to come from a place of love, not disgust". It kept playing back to me and at me, and I knew it was meant as a gift to apply to my book and life, in general. Rico wasn't merely coming from a younger person's perspective, but a more optimistic approach to raising an unruly child. I don't know if I'm making any sense here. All I can tell you is that I love us so much that when we fail to behave as the proud people we were meant to be, I take it very personally. And though there are forces that are aimed at prolonging our holocaust, I expect us to not only have children but raise their image as well. But here I go again, so I'll just leave it here where annette smith writes from her book 'Etched', "...and just when i'd gotten used to the rhythm of the rain beating on everything outside and touching every sad place inside of me, it was time to go."

Sneak Peak: Male Youth Book Chapters

2011-06-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

'Chapters' may be the wrong term to use here, since my upcoming book for urban males contains more messages than actual passages. And much like my previous two books--Before You Fly Off - Volumes One and Two--it's a conversation between me and the youth. This time around, marginalized males of African descent and providing the kind of wisdom any conscientious father would offer his sons, while still celebrating their sense of originality and ability to overcome obstacles.

I made a point of keeping the book at a total of 153 pages, so as not to overwhelm the young, no nonsense reader, including illustrations and testimonies of young males I interviewed, along with a note to the parent who's feeling stressed from trying to reach her or his son and looking for solutions to complex problems.

Besides a few pics of the making of the book cover design photoshoot (thanks to photographer, Ocean Morisset and model, Leo Defoe), here's a sneak peak at some of the message titles:

Intro: Is It Working for You?
Why You Don’t Like to Read
31 Dumb Things You Do
How to Communicate Your Feelings (and actually get heard)?
Kiss the Girls and Make Them Think
Depression
Choices, Energy and Balance
Why She Hates?
Alternative Education
Some of Us Have Dads
Angry Black Male
What Makes You a Man?
The Secret

Book release date is scheduled for September, just in time for the Fall school semester. Stay tuned. Stay blessed. Stay strong!...

Morisset below taking a photo of the guy taking the photos...Thanks again for coming thru, Naj!

For you...

2011-06-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

I'm Muslim. I'm Christian. I'm Yoruba. I'm Hip Hop. I'm Folk music. I'm silence. I'm whatever you need me to be to allow the message in...

For me...

2011-06-03T00:32:00.000-07:00

"No one really will ever truly understand you. They think they know you, but they don't know what you're thinking about. They don't know the feelings that you have, how sometimes even in a busy, crowded place you need to make certain contact, and to do so, you need to be somewhat withdrawn. That's why, in a social situation, it's very uncomfortable for you to just talk to pass the time: 'Oh, yes, this and all that. Oh, isn't it wonderful? And my, I saw a beautiful chair in the store window the other day. And, gosh, the way they were dressed...' These aren't things you can relate to when you carry medicine. So it's sort of a lonely road, but in the end, it's worthwhile. It's all worthwhile."-- from Muskogee Creek shaman,
Bear Hear

The Color Complex

2011-05-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

A good writer not only reads, but also gets other writers' perspectives in order to expand her or his skills and mind. This time around I'm reading the color complex. A look at how african americans still play skin shade politics with one another. I'd add that Hispanics play it too, big time. But this book focuses on Black Americans and where the glorification of light-skinned Blacks and the pulling away from anything African comes from. The obvious reason, of course, is the Willie Lynch doctrine that stipulated exactly how wealthy White men should go about pitting shades and age against one another in order to control the slaves. But what makes this book stand out for me is how the writers leave out the usual culprit and focus instead on our own isms, how we perpetuate them through our words (she's darkskin but so pretty), our music videos (always a lightskin with long hair and if darkskin, must have a long weave or wig), our parenting (giving a 6yrld a perm), our grooming (perm for females/texturizer for males), our miseducation (he ugly like an african) and our dating (I only date this shade/that shade or I mess with this shade but marry that shade). I think y'all know by now that I'm all about accountability when it comes to us as a people, and I welcome books and discussions on how we as a people tend to avoid serious self-reflection. We're damaged, no doubt. There's no way around that fact. You can see it in the way our sons walk like toddlers all over again in search of a definition for true maleness, since we men apparently dropped the ball by chasing the bling instead of the wisdom. You can see how sick we are by the lucrative bizness in hair weave and wigs, often times over-exaggerated with accessories covering the real person; and the males tolerating it (they won't tell you but they tell me). and if you're a college educator or counselor, you see how our sons and daughters pay more attention on appearance rather than on their grade point average, while students from other cultures wear jeans yet have higher gpa's. are our youth's self-esteem so shot that they need to emulate what's on their tube in order to feel empowered? Or are we producing shallow children cos we ourselves are shallow? I'm just asking, cos if you're paying any attention African females aren't braiding anymore. Now they're syntheticasizing and for whom? Other females or Black men? Cos I think brothas play a key role in the dis-ease. We might not be conscious of it, but we do have our preferences and they usually come down to skin shade and hair. Some of us may be too busy texturizing, so not sure if there's even time and space to notice anything when the smell of flavoured lye is hijacking your brain cells!

Look, I don't have the answers. I have mine to apply to my own life. But I don't have The Answer to our collective pains. My job is to put the conversation out there like a brave fishing rod and hope I get back some wisdom; maybe even cause a few to put down the hype and save soem money. But here's why I'm pushing this book. First, none on my students have heard of it whcih should tell you that education is not about empowerment but falling in line. It also talks about some of the sick sht our grandparents either used to push or had to endure. Like 'the paper bag test' where your skin shade had to be close enough to the color of a paper bag if you were to be allowed into a social club. or 'the beige door test' whereas darkskin Blacks had to have their own churches if they're complexion didn't have the right connection. Our own education system decided who got taught to become professionals and who was pushed towards agriculture, all depending on skin shade, with fraternities and sororities not only pitting letters against letters, but supporting the color codes.

The book even quotes ol' timers, respected educators who pushed the division in order to preserve lightskin 'culture'. Even W.E.B. DuBois' Talented Ten were all mullatos, with the exception of the dark-complexioned writer, Phyllis Wheatley Peters. And we already know about neighborhoods that became famous for their 'pretty Blacks', including parts of Harlem, NY and Atlanta, GA. It's all in the book naming the schools and universities you now hold high as establishments that used to bar darkskin blacks from attending. Famous learning grounds like Spellman, Howard, Fisk, Hampton, Morgan State, Wilberforce were all part of the sickness. So no wonder little Black boys and girls would sing that song we now sing in differernt ways--

white is bright
yellow is the color
brown stick around
black get back!

We didn't realize what we were saying. I know i didn't. It was just playtime and I don't remember anyone telling us to stop that nonsense and why. All we knew was that Black was bad and White was good. And so the point was to be as close to 'white' as possible. We were just kids. We didn't realize what we were doing to our psyche. And my parents, at least, were too busy assimilating.

I wonder if 'white' people also have a color complex; if there're tensions between brunettes and blondes, red hair and brown hair. And if blondes have more fun, then why are they often portrayed as dumb? Is it cos they don't have to do much to get jobs and mates or just plain hatin'? If there are tensions, do they say to themselves 'well at least I'm still 'white'? I would. Just like the question, who the hell would 'choose' to be gay-bashed? If there was a choice, who would pick not being able to get a cab or have a cashier give you back your money by placing it on the counter instead of touching your open hand? Who would want some sht like that?

I obviously was affected by this book, personally. See, my father, who would be considered a mulatto, was disowned by his family for marrying a darkskin Black beauty who had Dionne Warwick's high cheekbones and Dianne Carrol's sophistication. To my dad, my mom was da sht! And to me too. The way she'd command a room with her class and poise. She emulated the same elegance our first lady gives off, and yet my father's people saw it as a step down for him. So much that my coming out darker than my aunts and uncles were hoping caused a riff in the fam. I'm sharing this with you only to show you just how damaging Black folk can be to other Black folk. I'm sahring this with my sons and daughters, especially, to help them see what they're teachers and profs aren't encouraging them to explore, and that's how we ourselves keep the madness going. Remember when Obama came on the scene? At first, we didn't think he was Black enough until he started winning votes. Now, we don't think he's Black enough cos he don't act like Al Sharpton. Uh, hello!!! He ain't and never will be Al Sharpton! A call that I had to wake up to recently. Nice guy, but he's not Rakim, so let's just get over that. And we really need to stop calling him 'Black' and dismissing his mother's kisses. If bi-racial sounds too sterile, then let's at least allow the man to simply be himself.

I think that's the gist of it. 'Whites' having the luxury of just being while we're still battling out our labels. The ones placed on us by our haters and the ones we adopted for ourselves (dog, playa, bitch, nigga). Don't act like you don't know. And that's not the 'white' man nor Spellman's old guard calling it. That's you, me, us and our questionable pride.

Since my father didn't have a color complex, he taught me to date value and substance, not skin sahde. So I can also share with you that I've dated all the berries from moon to sun and back to moon. I've even dated 'white', though I admit always feeling like I was being objectified within the perimeters of John Shaft and Mandingo. They meant well, I guess. But it always seemed like I was expected to act out a role-- the angry Black man, the thug, the street messenger, the complex god, the Black panther type. But not me, the person behind all the mystic.

In the end, love is love when you can find it or it finds you. But this on-going bizness of hating the molester who provides us with financial aid is nothing compared to the way we lynch one another in subtle to obvious ways. That may be part of the collective fallout, but it doesn't excuse the unwillingness to check ourselves by watching our language, noticing how we judge one another, paying attention to what our preferences are and making the proper adjustments. Basically, making melanin less of an issue and who the person is/how they treat us the focus. I'm just sayin...

Happy Birthday, Malcolm!

2011-05-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

For me, this book here both defined and saved my life. It was the early 80s and Sean Combs had just made a name for himself when a jam he threw on my college campus ended with people getting trampled on and killed. Crack had also made its mark big time and I remember how zombies from 'Dawn of the dead' were practically being re-enacted. Gentrification had't yet dropped in my Harlem (it's not mine anymore) so africentricity was still the trend. Matterfact, if you weren't conscious you were the minority. Of course, now it's flipped the other way around. But at the time it was still cool to carry a book with you. And 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' was my bible. It was the first time anyone spoke to me in such a direct and meaningful manner; meaningful to me and my plight as a young urban African American male. He said things middle class Blacks were either too afraid or too pompous to say. And the manner in which he carried himself in documentaries gave me a clearer, more appealing idea of what a proud Black man is supposed to look and act like. In essence, I became a man because of Bro. Malcolm. This whole sexuality debate over Marable's book is pointless to me. Malcolm was so much bigger than that. And if he were still alive today He'd probably smile that grin of his and say, Well I done told y'all I seen some sht. WTF?!?!...Happy Birthday, Malcolm. And thank you for teaching us to stand up for ourselves, have decency in how we present ourselves to one another and the world!

The Problem With Most Books...

2011-05-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

As time-consuming as self-editing is, I can't trust a 'professional' to do it for me cos my voice will get lost in the pursuit of pleasing the wrong readers. That's the problem with most books about our sons. The tendency to use a formula where scholars are merely talking to one another without the book ever actually reaching the youth. Don't get me wrong. It's nice to have your name and book blasted on a billboard. But if the young ones ain't feelin' you and your words, mission was not accomplished. Best to let the likes of Tupac and Biggie do the checking!

.

Mixing It Up a Bit

2011-05-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Mixing it up a bit...I showed y'all some samples of illustrations I decided to add to my upcoming book on young males by a good brotha named Ije Akpoke. Found another good bro who wanted to chip in. 17yrld Chris Evans who did this here sketch. I'll be telling you more about Chris later cos he's another young man we need to keep up with and support!...stay tuned

NYC Writers Group

2011-05-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

The NYC Writers Group focuses on the process of writing a book and provides support in editing, proof-reading, critiquing, vending and publishing. Our goal is to present pan-African work both individually and as a collective. We meet once a month on a Sunday.

Our current members are Kahlil Koromantee, Annette Smith, Koffi Godson Olympio, Robert James, LaToya August, Phillip Bond, Vida Nu-Being and E As Poetlovewater.

Next meet: May 22nd. Anyone interested in joining can drop a note requesting additional details at Lifejak@aol.com

Male Youth Book Update

2011-04-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

Male youth book update: Finally completed my last interview. Adding in the illustrations and reviewing the final draft before sending off for printing. I'm drained but I've gained so much from this project and the young bruhs themselves. Thank you, sons for sharing your stories. Next stop: The book cover design!

Images 13: El Yunque Rainforest

2011-04-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

I'm turning 50 this summer. I see these images and they reflect the current tides of my life. The way the old and the new are actually one...
copyright 2011 Kahlil Koromantee

Youth Male Book Update

2011-03-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Just one sample of the illustrations I'll be adding in my upcoming male youth book...Thanks again, Ije.

I Died

2011-03-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

Shadows
over-reaching
with exagerated hands
faceless intentions
borrowed time
address obscure
but members
in the know
make the gang sign
this way
we don't burn alone
collector of souls
has fangs for pockets
dig a code name into them
and hear your private moans

Shadows
over-reaching
etched on walls
that mimic the prisons
we create
in and around us
demons
act as faithful addictions
a shutting down of sorts
is necessary
if you want the walls to be still

Shadows
over-reaching
but not getting
to the core of the matter
the original dis-ease
before we learned
what a dark,
high-rise alleyway
looked like
what an underbelly
feels like
when you cut into it
see your twisted intestines
how they dangle
promises of spiritual ecstacy
and then implode

Shadows, he said
loud yet voiceless
grabbing, maybe
but never sticking
tho secret handshakes
kept him on the list to nowhere
yet somewhere
between the tangible
and the forgotten
before the early morning rise
and the burdening void
he remembered his name
until he let the fangs
turn it into some unrecognizable
face

Shadows
over-reaching
night comes around
and again the hands
and faceless intentions
until the surrender
when his god took his twisted
back inside in
from the one
who didn't expect
he'd find his way

I asked him how
he got to be
how he went from over there
to there
to here
and here
he turned away from his thoughts
to look directly in his mirror
and said,
I died.

From my next book of poems, Throw.

Male youth book status: Interviews!

2011-03-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

I finally finished editing the main text, and I can tell you I'm exhausted from it! Altogether there're 44 chapters to the book. Though 44 short chapters, it's still a relief to have finally put the last dot to the last sentence! Some of my writer-friends actually enjoy editing, but I see it as the more mundane part of the writing process. The mechanics of finding the natural flow. It's an essential part of self-publishing, especially since you're on your own in the many roles you have to play. From writer to proofreader, editor to printer, book designer to marketing wizard. The other roles actually aren't as intimidating, to me. It's having to delete this and add that, change this around, move it over there, don't say this way, say it that way that test me. It just takes away from forward movement, though it's all forward movement. I guess part of the frustration is my impatience. I'm so ready to share my message, when Spirit says not so fast. One more thing... 'Matterfact, the last chapter is called 'One more thing'.

Nevertheless, it feels good to finally get to the life stories of these young males. The real meat of the book, to me. Their voices not only enhance the text, but remind me of why I decided to write the book, in the first place. I've basically chosen seven youths ranging from ex-gangbanger to intellectual, with each young man sharing their personal struggles, how they went about overcoming them, who and what inspired them to stay focused on their goals, what lessons they learned, what the words 'black', 'nigga', 'African', 'father', 'emotional wellness' and 'education' mean to them, and what we the parents, educators, counselors and law enforcement officials can learn from their interpretations, if not definitions?

I also plan on asking each of them what they want their legacy to be? Because as young as they may be, it's important to encourage our young men to begin thinking about what that means so their actions can match their intentions.

Already, some of them are letting me know they're ready to talk; and you can feel their sincerity. That's it's not their ego trying to jump the line, but a need to release their burdens and perhaps find some kind of understanding to their struggles, along with the fact that many of them don't have a platform to lend their voices. Their names will be changed, for obvious reasons, except mine. Can't write a book on marginalized Black males and not see myself in it!

Stay tuned...

One of ours

2011-03-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

One of ours had her book launch Friday for her first book, "Etched". Though it was a closed reception, it was a great turnout. It's always nice to see a fellow writer get their well-deserved nods after such hard work. One reader put it best, for me-- "I knew annette since childhood and it's wonderful to see that she fulfilled her dream!" This is why we're all here, my friends. To inform, enlighten, inspire, tell our personal life stories. Or in annette's case, the stories of our ancestors. We applaud Annete for her first of what I expect to be many more literary projects. Congrats again!For those of you who may be interested in joining our writers group, we meet once a month and our focus is self-publishing and promoting our work. Peace n gratitude.

One Drop of Blood

2011-03-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

What if we considered our prez 'White' instead of the first 'Black' U.S. President? What if we considered one drop of 'white' blood as the reason to call Obama their own instead of ours? Cos every time I hear us claiming him as one of us, I can't help thinking how we're dismissing his mother and her heritage as part of the whole story, his and ours. Every time you, I and news reporters call him 'the first', aren't we actually saying the first dark-complexioned American President? Those of us who considered Bill Clinton as the first, weren't we thinking more in terms of attitude than skin complexion? The way he seemed to relate to regular 'Black' folk, unlike obama? I'm just sayin. Are we playing ourselves by waiting for something that's not gonna happen? This notion of a 'Black' President pushing for 'Black' causes. Three years in Office (so far) and he's yet to respond to the Congressional Black Caucus call to address issues that directly affect 'Black' people, about setting up that African American agenda. My guess is he doesn't want to appear as tho he favors those who share his skin tone. Plus, he wants to win another term. Can't act like you're going for reparations, even on the low, if you wanna do a second term. Now, maybe the plan is for him to win the 2012 and then get real 'Black' on folk. You know, the way New York's Gov. Patterson did when he accepted the reality of not being re-elected. He said, 'iight then. Fuk it! And his tie turned from red, white and blue to red, black and green starting with the dismantling of laws that specifically targeted NYC young poor Black males as the necessary oil to keep the penal system engine running. No doubt, pissing off NYPD heads but man, what a way to exit! Clearing your office with a legacy of nothing but love for yours. Can you see Obama doing something about gentrification, miseducation and employment incentives for young brothas, specifically, since our unemployment rate is high as a standard? But that one drop of blood keeps us in hope mode, tho this hope and change thing might just be politics as usual. Young people--young 'White' people--who helped hope come to the White House are just as disappointed. Don't get it twisted. They're just as frustrated with the System (and their parents). My fear is they won't go to the voting booths, having lost the feeling. And we won't go either, since we need them to tell us what's more important than cool.When I see obama, I don't see 'Black'. I see Hawaii, an international upbringing every child should have and a kid who must've caused fire alarms every time he and his maternal family went shopping together. I see Harvard, a professorial approach to addressing conflict which is to avoid until you're forced to. I see our preoccupation with skin color and how one drop of African continues to be perceived as a negative-- He's muslim. He's from Kenya. He's behind the Arab Revolution! So it's the realities of skin shade politics that I find irritating and how Republicans are exploiting fear and ignorance. But that's America for you. Wanna be perceived as great when we're actually very small in mindset.

I'm not gonna make this the message of the day cos it's an on-going message. Nothing new about using one drop of blood to label a man while ignoring his self altogether. Or maybe it's the fact that he married a dark-skinned sista (emphasis on sista), unlike Tiger woo who opted for the traditional safe route-- get you a blond and avoid any connection to brothalove. More doors open for you that way. Makes you less threatening, until you stop making holes.

Painted On the Inside of My Eyelids

2011-03-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

"Painted on the inside of my eyelids is a moving picture of the big sky - blue then grey, clouds to clear, sun in/sun out, changing changing always changing, hills & mountains rising/defining the periphery - as viewed floating in circles on my back in the middle of THE LAKE - what I see if I need to when I close my eyes."-- Eliza Beghe

...The best poems come from people who don't know they're poets.

Aqeela Sherrills

2011-02-15T20:50:00.001-08:00

As a child, Aqeela Sherrills was a member of the notorious L.A. street gang, the Crips, long time rivals to the equally notorious Bloods. He grew up in Watts, a district in South Central Los Angeles infamous for its violent gang culture. He was the youngest of ten children, and from his earliest days all he knew was violence, both at home and on the streets. Abused as a child, Aqeela saw the gang as a surrogate family and before long was carrying a gun to school, getting into fights and robbing people. He could have become just another statistic, but after seeing his best friend shot and killed at school and so many others killed or jailed, he decided it was time for change. He swtiched gang life for student life, and was the only one of his friends to go to college instead of prison; started to read books, and soon the writings of Malcolm X and James Baldwin changed his view of the violence he had grown up with. He returned from college determined to stop the cycle of retribution that had led to many deaths.

In 1992, on the eve of the Los Angeles riots, Aqeela helped broker a truce between his old gang, the Crips and their rivals, the Bloods. But there were still sporadic acts of violence, and so Aqeela's beliefs and rejection of retribution were tested to the limit when his own young son Terrell was murdered in an apparent gang shooting in 2004. He came under pressure from his own community to seek revenge against the murderer, but Aqeela stood firm and continues to believe in the power of reconciliation. He has now spent the last 20 years campaigning across the U.S. and the world for peaceful resolution, and has even advised foreign governments from Northern Ireland to Serbia on the benefits of non-violence.*

This is all to say that this formidable good brother has agreed to review my upcoming book on marginalized young males of which I'm very thankful. I could get fancy titles to give my fourth book some popularity at the cocktail level, but if the youth don't respect those titles then what's what the point? Unlike most books on the youth, I'm speaking directly to them and not my colleagues, so to get a 'yes, I'll take a look at it' from a grassroots PhD is my version of having arrived!

*From BBC International Radio Station

Writers Group: First Meet

2011-02-15T20:48:00.001-08:00

Putting it together, making it happen!

First reading

Group work

Fun work

Home work

Note: We meet once a month on a Sunday. If you're in the New York City area and would like to join a writers group, you are welcomed to join. No membership fee. No attitudes. We're a progressive, afri-centered group of writers who focus on the writing process, self-publishing know-how, marketing skills, literary workshops and support. We also have out of area and international members. To contact us, send your request or comment to Lifejak@aol.com

Meanwhile...still

2011-02-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, back in the Egypt that's still sleeping, the run-off presidential election date has been set for March 20th. Current puppet prez, Preval says he needs to stick around or the country will be in chaos (uh, it was in chaos before you came along and most likely will continue to be as long as we keep letting ego and puppet shows get in the way of progress). In any event, it's down to two candidates. A conservative prior first lady, Mirlande Manigat and Sweet Mickey who may have to go by his govament name, Michel Martelly if he actually wins. Aristide, or ti-tid if you still got love for him, is looking to return to Haiti to support Mickey. By the way, Mickey said if he wins he'll welcome the presence of the U.S.. That's code to Hillary Clinton for, You ain't really gonna let me run these crazy mothaothers on my own, right? Cos singin n grindin I can do. But that other thing called leading, not too sure bout that. Manigat didn't comment, tho she's currently tyring on different puppet outfits, and Wyclef is still kicking himself for not reading the fine print!Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing a woman lead Haiti for a change. Conservative or not, having a woman in charge would/should give voice to Haitian women, since they're not about ego but makin sht happen; would/should put a break on female and male prostitution; would/should make poverty, education and infrastructure priority; and most certainly would/should finally allow monies to reach the people. I personally don't know what it means for any candidate in Ayiti to be conservative. French over Kreyol? Diplomatic fake smiles vs demanding France and Baby Doc for reparations? Send your kids to Paris and Montreal vs Miami and Brooklyn? Private school for the few who can afford it vs finally establishing a public school system? Still sleeping with the D.R. and still waking up dirty and empty-handed vs addressing modern slavery? or learning new and fancier ways of being docile vs getting out of fear-mindset?

When this egypt is merely a piece of clay waiting to be molded in whichever way the wind blows, there's really no conservative vs liberal. So the key wind, to me, is vision. if either one of these characters has vision for the country's forward and upward movement, then and only then will I feel some of the pride my mother has for her battered, broken down nation. Otherwise, let the sht burn!!!

NYC Writers Group

2011-02-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

I tried starting a Haitian American writers group but the definition of what Haitian writing is and sounds like got in the way. So I decided to stick to Black instead, and for whatever reason I got results!

Introducing the NYC Writers' Group. We might change the name. But for now, feels good to be studying and perfecting the craft again!

While the rest of us...

2011-02-03T21:50:00.001-08:00

We make history every single day. Some of us prefer not to, while the rest of us rejoice in it and die by it! (photo by Jimbe)

Connecting the Dots

2011-01-30T20:27:00.001-08:00

Mars is important to know because he was part of the 1920s pan-African Movment and the broader, more international scope of the Harlem Renaissance. In his book, Africans and their History J. Harris mentions Mars alongside Claude McKay, Langhston Hughes, Nicolas Guillen, and DuBois; to then Garveyism, Nkrumah, Makonnen, and the idea of Black people coming together. And then back around to Vodun and skin shade politics. In connecting the dots, you make education more meaningful and miseducation a thing of the past.

My MLK Moment or, Two Old Kats...

2011-01-16T23:36:00.000-08:00

My MLK moment was at a Brooklyn deli. My best friend, Jason and I stopped in for sandwiches and beer. It was Jason's hood, so he was friendly with the store clerk. She didn't see us walk in together. When she noticed me at the other end of the glass looking at the different meats and cheese, she made a comment that went over my head. It's them times when I get so relaxed with just being that I forget to pay attention. By the time I looked up at her, Jason was already passed calling her out on her racist remark. "I'm surprised at you!" He told the woman who by now seemed paralyzed by her own embarassment. We were already good buddies and lit comrades, but from that point on Jason was fam! In some ways, he's more family than those I assumed were if only for their words. Solidarity with your kind is necessary for community progress. but sometimes water is thicker than blood.

Jason's also the only euro-american kat I know who can talk openly and honeslty about race-ism, besides Michael Moore.

Has America fulfilled Dr. King's dream? Depends on what you call progress and what I call decorations. Politics and friendships both get blurry at times. That's why I keep having to remind you-- if you really wanna see someone, close your eyes!

Male Youth Book Update: Illustrations

2011-01-15T07:03:00.001-08:00

I'm adding illustrations this time around. We already know how more visual we males are, especially younger males. That was part of my concern when I began this new project. How to keep the attention of young male readers? I believe the combination of 'realness', a non-judgemental nor intimidating language and added visuals will be a decent enough effort to get their respect, along with their parents' and teachers' support. We'll soon find out, at least. In the meantime, here's a self-portrait of student/artist Ije Akpoke who came up with the sketches to match some of the chapters. Wait 'til y'all see this guy's work! His ability to capture their emotional realities is amazing! Thanks, Ije.

And again, Stay tuned...

How the Haitian Government System Works

2011-01-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

Regarding the Haiti recovery stalling, and who's behind this and what da fk?! Here's how the Haitian government system works-- All that money you sent in, including wyclef's yele text 4 cash? First you gotta pay for the minister of trade's house and car, and maybe even his kids' education (90% of schools in Haiti are private). Then you gotta pay his deputy for making the call to open the floodgates to progress. You'll also have to bribe the guards who protect the office of the transportation, since it's a long walk from his cell phone to the police commissioner who's in the middle of a nap. Then there's a tax for waking up the commissioner. It helps if you're grimel (light-skinned) and know your je-je/vous-vous or else you'll be charged the higher dark-skinned tax. If you can make your nappy look less African, you might be able to get credit but know that they do check for processed hair. After that, paperwork must be drawn to make officers feel important. There's a 30-day wait for brain cells to work, so pretend you're amused cos if you show any sign of rationality, there'll be an extension added and you'll have to pay for fanfan's new teeth. Once the wait is done, you'll need to bribe the officer who will give you the phone # of the other commissioner of access to the list of funding with their proper destinations. That phone # will be disconencted, so you'll be reverted back to that same commissioner whoYll tell you there's a waiting list for anyone needing to speak to him, unless you can come up with some gasoline for his car. You have the right to contact the U.S. embassy to complain, but that will put your name on the watch list. Plus, people like Wyclef Jean, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Bill 'Jesus is Coming' Clinton can't legally interfere with Haitian customs and trade laws cos they're on independent soil. And even if the Red Cross played along before, the international community decided they've had enough, tho it's the Americans and their allies who initially created the problem. We don't like to admit it, much less talk about it, but the people of Haitian remember each invasion that ended with more exploitation. So it's a kind of a double-edged sword-- I'm showing you who's in charge, while spiting myself. So in the meantime, the compromise is to help out the sick and elderly. If you want the ganglords to stop terrorizing the camps and raping the innocent, that's gonna cost you too!

ps--Now, if you realy wanna make things even more confusing? As in the art of total incompetence, you allow Duvalier (baby doc) back on the island and stage a fake welcome back with the help of a handful of deseperate people who'll welcome back Hitler if it means a meal and a job!

Typical Times...

2011-01-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Your name is Big Brother
You say that you're watching me on the tele,
Seeing me go nowhere
Your name is Big Brother
You say that you're tired of me protesting,
Children dying every day
My name is nobody
But I can't wait to see your face inside my door

Your name is Big Brother
You say that you got me all in your notebook,
Writing it down every day
Your name is I'll see ya
I'll change if you vote me in as the president of your soul
I live in the ghetto
You just come to visit me round' election time

I live in the ghetto
Someday I wll move on my feet to the other side

My name is secluded
We live in a house the size of a matchbox
Roaches live with us wall to wall
You've killed all our leaders
I don't even have to do nothin' to you
You'll cause your own country to fall.

--Stevie Wonder (1972, and still applies).

Tania!

2011-01-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

This is the lovely Tania who modeled for my last book cover. Photoman Ocean Morisset had us sitting by the water 'acting' like I was giving her advice. He had to take several shots cos i was so nervous (I'm real bad in front of the cam). But Tania was on point! Thanks again, love. Everyone still talks about that cover. Some skip the point and say, Who'that?!

And thanks, too O for doing such a great job. I finally found the right young bruh for my next book cover, so get your cam n skillz ready again.

Stay tuned readers!

Male Youth Book Status...

2011-01-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you all know I only have five chapters left before completion of my book for young males. The current chapter I'm working on is on fathers and fatherhood. We already know about deadbeat dads and how they do nothing but piss on trees and on people's lives, causing mothers to fend for themselves and creating communities of boys who don't know what it means to have a stable and loving man in their home, if not their lives. But what I want to focus on are the choices men and women make when deciding to become parents and how our decisions can either create future leaders or future lost souls.

Stay tuned...

Dear Oprah,

2011-01-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

Now that you have your own cable TV network and an all-star posse of lucky individuals who you've helped start their own show, how'bout giving a brotha' his own show? And not a Tyler Perry/victim-based/relates more to females type of bruh, but more of a Michael Baisden/Michael Eric Dyson/Stephen A. Smith type where once a week issues concerning us and only us are seriously addressed? Whether it's issues relating to fatherhood, self-employment and police harassment as a rite of passage or miseducation, health and money concerns, and what defines a man?--a well-centered Black man--we could bring up stuff we talk about at the barbershop that doesn't get heard on the national scene. Like a follow-up to the Million Man March, why African American boys drop out of school emotionally and mentally after 4th grade, the wars between Black people and niggaz, and why so many of us find it easier to open up to strangers than to our own sistas?

Think about it. A one-hour talk show where we're actually allowed to express our selves without being demonized, marginalized or plain ridiculed for it. Our host could do the shows you used to do before your name became a machine, like the one about the 'blue-eyes test' forcing White America to admit they benefit from race-ism. It may have been one of those turning points in your career as a TV talk show host where you realized safe n comfy bring more ratings/money than in your face/no apology, or when you detoured from your film 'Beloved' after realizing White people don't necessarily love you, they just want you to entertain them. And Black women don't want to look at their stupid choices in stupid men. They just want to be applauded for pointing the finger at them. Now, before you get all bothered. No woman deserves to get shot in the face for wanting out of an abusive relationship. But at the same time, no man deserves to be accused of deceiving if deception is more tolerated than truth. You feel me?
Look, you own the damn thing now! Plus, you can still make mad money making your base feel safe and comfy by showing safe and comftble talks. But for us guys who already cry in the dark, you can give the green light to bring up issues we'd like to see on TV with guests we'd consider our own Dr. Oz, our own Suze Orman, our own Dr. Phil, and even our own how to put together your furniture without your home looking like a museum guy. Our host could be free to invite Black activists, including Farrakhan, and so many phenominal pan-African educators and male-based pychologists (pan-african means putting the focus on Black people all over) who'd have a platform to explore our concerns. And no, John Travolta wouldn't be a guest. Nice guy but we want his private jet, not his dance moves!

A brothaman show could also start a major book reading incentive in america, especially with the focus being on encouraging boys and men to read more, along with upcoming, no fluff Black male writers who never get love from you. This would no doubt boost the African American publishing industry, and our youth would feel encouraged to write after seeing their voice celebrated. Such a show could be a combo punch of current events, global sports, education, sexuality, health, spirituality, budgeting and cooking tips. I mean, we can do this! We can make this an interesting, maybe even a provacative one hour on Black male empowerment, even if some believe female empowerment means disempowering males. We could talk about that too. Not to exploit the situation, but to help bring folk back together. If not, or if you think this might cause you to get some nasty mail that you're just not ready to deal with right now or ever again, then give it to Bev Smith. She loved showing us love. She knew what that meant to Black boys, in the end.

Thank you!

2010-12-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

I want to take this time to not only wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, but also to thank you for your continued support and admiration. My next book will be on male youth scheduled for release in Spring 2011. Because males tend to be more visual, I'm including illustrations this time around, along with exercises and interviews with young Black males who come from dire situations and yet have found productive ways in coping and ultimately finding their personal success. We've already come up with a book cover design that I think parents and educators, and the young men themselves will find quite appealing, if not bangin'! Palm cards and copies for select reviews will begin going out in March. Until then, enjoy your holidays and let's make this new year and even better one!

Peace and gratitude

In My Hood...

2010-12-13T21:36:00.001-08:00

More photos to come. But in the meantime...

A middle school assistant principal wanted to purchase my books for her hotheads. As much as I like to make sales, I told her my books and subject matters may be too mature for middle school age. Even some grown folks aren't ready for prime time! But she said there're kids 11-12 having sex in the restrooms and sneaking guns into class. I consider myself a streetwise educator, but that there's not gangsta. That's just plain sad. So yea, here're your copies and let's do some parent/pre-teen workshops!!!

Louis Reyes Rivera

2010-12-13T21:34:00.000-08:00

Pan African studies professor/poet/literary guru, Louis Reyes Rivera will be reviewing my upcoming book on young Black males; and I didn't have to come at him with letters behind my name or a suit n tie, for that matter, to get love. Just the same passion he has for waking up the dead and saving the marginalized.

For Colored Girls...

2010-12-13T21:33:00.001-08:00

Is this you?

I don’t take constructive criticism well

I like to control people and situations

I’m a great talker, but not a good listener

I like to have the last word

I get defensive
when someone tries to call me on my mess

I spend more attention on my looks
and things I own than on what kind of person I am

I make friends with only those who tolerate my negative ways,
and avoid those who challenge me

I think the empowerment of females means disempowering males

Before You Fly Off--
Fatherly advice for young, urban
African American females

Take your power back!

When I Don't Write, I Teach; When I Don't Teach,...

2010-12-05T02:17:00.000-08:00

My father was a photographer, but I never took it seriously; still don't. But sometimes I surprise myself and others with a few extra-ordinary shots!!!....

For World AIDS Day/For Marcus...

2010-12-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

It's only now that I notice
how long and filthy his fingernails are
His brown skin is unusually gray
with sores covering past sores
The weight that once supported a handsome frame
is now rapidly deteriorating
He's losing his hair in the most gruesome fashion
and his face has been taken hostage by lizard wrinkles
The bottom of his T-shirt
full of dried-up food, blood and mucous stains
His eyes, dead and glassy
the feel of his hand, clammy
If not for his grubby tube socks,
they'd be fins for feet
Like a fading spirit,
remmebering nothing but a vacuum,
His mouth is a tunnel for spite
and vomit.

Mothers, Fathers, Children, Teachers, Lovers too; and Whose Counseling the Counselor?

2010-11-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

Mothers,
When you tell your son to stop crying, boys don't cry, i'll give you something to cry about, get outta my face, get off me, punk, punk-ass, you're just like your damn father, shut da fk up before i knock da Black offa' you!!!...when you lay your rage on him rather than checking yourself and finding out what's up with you, you plant the seed for a very sad wake up call later on when he gives you back everything you taught him!

Fathers,
Call/text your sons and daughters. tell'em you love them. don't buy them anything. there's time for that. plus, you don't want them thinking you're nothing but an atm. and if you're not being allowed to be in their lives, then go to family court and get your visitation rights. with no documentation to show you at least tried, you're setting yourself up for a 'don't need you no more' hand sign later on when they're grown and gone!

Children,
Education is a business. this is why the focus is on indoctrination and not inspiration; fitting in and not standing out. if your instructor isn't helping you become more self-empowered yet expects you to glorify everyone but you and those who look like you, switch to auto pilot (so you can get that grade), but be sure to get your needs met once you're out of the crashroom!!!

Teachers,
You're either teaching empowerment or teaching lies.

Lovers,
Love is not control, but it helps to show respect
Love is not forever, so best to focus on friendship and connection
Love is not dominance, but it helps to watch your ways and your tone
Love is not a sex act, so best to reach deeper
Love is not by chance, but it does take being open and available
Love is not a game, so tell those distractors to stay away
Love is not for everyone, but everyone needs it.

And Counselors,
If you're not working on your own issues,
why should we trust you with ours?

Message to a Youngblood

2010-11-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

You can't be Muslim on Monday
and maybe on Tuesday
Can't change hand signs
depending on who's winning

You can't wear Nubian
and not know Sudan
Can't be a godbody
if you don't wash your ass!

You can't call yourself nigga
to justify nigger
Can't be a brotha
if you disrespect sista

A woman in her place
is not a cook and a maid
And walking a fine line
doesn't always mean wavering

You can't be free
if your freedom is money
Can't look fly
if your insides got maggots

You can't look at music
without looking at yourself
You can't act a fool
if your life means anything to you

A business transaction
doesn't have to turn fatal
And not all men
like to be called dog

You're not immortal
if you didn't reach your potential
You're not smoking a cigar
if you're inhaling paper bag

You can't say you're grown
when you still walk like a toddler
You can't be a father
if you have no wisdom to pass on

A typical video
is a man without depth
And depth is not
something you buy at the bodega

You don't get a prize
for not going to jail

Can't have a revolution
if you can't spell revolution!

From my upcoming book....stay tuned

Not Using Colors 'No More

2010-11-07T21:23:00.000-08:00

I'm learning to stop saying black or white, and brown, red or yellow, for that matter, when describing myself and others. Those words are merely colors. They don't define ethnicities and friendships. So as of today Autumn, Martha, Terry, Eliza and Jason are no longer 'my white friends', and hopefully I'll no longer be their 'black' friend. My father used to say how obsessed Americans are about skin color, so he escaped to Canada. Cos while he could only be black in the U.S., he could be himself just seven hours away. Color-coding makes it easier for people to categorize one another, rather than going deeper. Like I know a white-skinned woman who was born in Nigeria and a dark-complexioned bruh who's staight-up Japanese! I'm also gonna stop calling Obama our very first 'black' president, since that's leaving his mother out of the conversation. He can't be himself, so I'll at least consider him our first dark-complexioned prez. It's much more accurate this way and invites you to find out more about him, as opposed to letting a color alone tell the story. We each and all have stories to tell and they're far more interesting than just colors and other labels. Plus, when white or red acts more brotherly than black, it does help put things in their proper perspective. One more reason to close your eyes when you really wanna see a person!

Jerzee Chic

2010-11-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Jerzeechic now harlemchic soon2bcrooklynchic thinkn maybe movindownsouthchic if not outwestchic or maybejuststayputchic nomatterwhatchic shebefinechic...

Typical Times

2010-11-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

When you know better and have had better, you have an obligation to ask, 'What else you got?' When you've had mess and are used to mess, you have an obligation to look at your own mess!

Images XII - November Flowers

2010-10-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

"This is a time of great transition when the old is falling away, the new emerging, so attachments to the old creates only painful experiences and consequences. How anguishing it must be to grieve the rising of the sun each morning."-- Gary Zukav

Note to Self...

2010-10-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

Community activist and photgrapher, Rico Washington (We the People: The Citizens of NYCHA in Pictures) wrote a note to himself-- "Don't blindly follow pop culture and adorn yourself with extra-cultural signifiers that have meaning beyond your immediate scope of comprehension."

Note to self--I gotta remember to thank Rico to show my profound appreciation for the bookstore hook-up. The Black proprietor of the posh spot had invited a few guest writers to showcase their work and left me out cos she didn't think my book would bring in any money. So Rico did his magic and suddenly I was in, tho I still got the nsvip treatment (not so very important person). That night I ended up selling 20 copies while the favorites sold none. This is to say that although the politics of marketing and selling your book (who you know) is just part of a writer's reality, it's nice when Black people actually act like brothers and sisters....thanks again, superbizzee!!!

About Rico's current project: Informed by the spirit of Jacob Riis, Gordon Parks, and former NYCHA (New York City Housing Authority) resident Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, journalist Rico Washington and photographer Shino Yanagawa aim to challenge popular stigmas and stereotypes applied to housing projects and the residents who live there. We The People culls from the very essence of sustainability, ingenuity, hope, perseverence, and transcendence through candid interviews and photo shoots with former and current residents of NYCHA's various housing projects. The culmination of the aforementioned photos and interviews is a prospective gallery exhibition in NYC featuring 50 photos, printed interview excerpts, and insightful essays. A prospective book project is also in the making. We The People features interviews from such noteable former NYCHA residents as author/ filmmaker/ cultural critic Nelson George, lauded photographer Jamel Shabazz, Young Lords co-founder/ original Last Poets member/ Emmy award-winning news reporter Felipe Luciano, venerable jazz musician/ recording artist Olu Dara, author/ Emmy award-winning filmmaker Dennis Watlington, Hip-Hop artist/ music industry CEO Buckshot, and more.

We The People is slated to be exhibited in amended form as part of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Full Spectrum's collaborative city-wide exhibition Curate NYC this October. In addition, We The People has been accepted for exhibition at the Fesman 2010 world festival of Black arts being held in Dakar, Senegal this December.

7 Rules for Writers

2010-10-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Rule #1:
Don't chase publishers who don't chase you

Rule #2:
You don't need a publisher or agent to give you your voice

Rule #3:
Sure it's nice to receive that advanced check and have your name up in lights, but the real money is your market knowin' and feelin' you!

Rule #4:
Good writing is not following standard procedure, but being able to relay your message clearly and profoundly

Rule #5:
Decide whether you want to be a star or a classic, for a star has to keep things Hollywood while classic means transforming people

Rule #6:
A writers' group is not about cocktails and flossin, but workshops and supporting one another

Rule #7:
WRITE!!!

Books For and About Black Men That Don't Just Sit on Book Shelves Waiting to Be Forgotten:

2010-10-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Souls of My Brothers
Becoming Dad
Black Genius
Living to Tell About It
Standing in the Shadows
Black Men Can't Shoot
Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?
Letters to a Young Brother
Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison?
We Are Cool: Black Men and Masculinity
Beyond the Down Low
Manchild in the Promised Land
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Read Like Yor Life Depends On It
Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys
The Miseducation of the Negro
Sacred Bond: Black Men and Their Mothers
Brotherman
Men in Black
Black Men Have Feelings Too
Successfully Raising Young Black Men
I Killed a Black Man
Stupid Black Men
Soulfires: Young Black Men on Love and Violence

The Minds of Marginalized Black Men
Color Him Father
Brother to Brother: Black Men Speak to Young Black Men
Visions For Black Men
What Black Men Should Do Now
The Black Male Handbook
Black Men Left Behind
Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and Life
The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual
Letters to Young Black Men
Freedom in This Village
From Superman to Man
Stolen Legacy
Know What I Mean?
Testimony
Black Skin, White Masks
The Community of Self
Walking Proud: Black Men Living Beyond Stereotypes
The Spirit of a Man: A Vision of Transformation for Black Men and the Women Who Love Them

Note: Authors' names have been purposely left out, so that you not only research them on your own and make the connections, but also to show how a title alone can conjur up all types of emotions, and assumptions. The title to my own book on Black males has also been left out, since I'm still too many chapters from sharing and too green to stand next to gold!

Taina

2010-10-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

Blue mountains
are waiting for you
To come back home
to solitude
Back to paradise
back to loving you

I've been thinking of all those years
I spent searching for you
my soul crying for rescue

O, Taina
my heart is full
Have endless love in store for you
take me back with you
Back to dreams come true

Slaveships and traitors
couldn't keep me from you
My love is free and strong for you
strong like pyramids
Strong like eyes that tell the truth

I've been thinking of all my brothas in jail
their souls cry out to me--

Take us back with you
Take us back to when life was good

O, Taina
we're hungry for you
To bring us home to untainted shores
where mountains wait for you
This one wants you too.

This is not a love note...

You Need Hair!

2010-10-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

If you're studying social science, you need Good Hair. If you're raising a Black daughter, you need Good Hair. If you owe rent on account of your weave, YOU NEED GOOD HAIR!....oh, mercy mercy me. Things went right back to how they used to be...

If I Interviewed Obama...

2010-10-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

After reading Rolling Stone's recent interview with Obama I fell back some from being so critical of him, considering how difficult it is to run a fragmented country, along with constant sabotaging from Republicans. There're many parts in the script that were worth underlining, but my favorite line was, "It is inexcusable for any Democrat to stand on the sideline in this [November] election. Change is hard. If you're serious, now is exactly the time you have to step up!". Still, I put the mag down feeling half-empty because my voice wasn't in it, or our collective issues weren't represented. So here's the rest of the interview,
had it gone my way--

So, Mr. President, the current national unemployment rate is 9.5% while the rate for Blacks is 15.8% and increasing. The Black Congressional Caucus has been asking you to develop a Black Agenda from day 1 but you're still avoiding it. And when a BET reporter brought it up at one of your press conferences you said change would trickle down to us. What's up with that?

I do remember the young man who asked me that question. But afterwards I took him aside to remind him that we have to have two faces in this country, so as not to scare White folks. Had I told him and the Caucus that yes, there's a Black agenda and I want to meet with all our leaders, including Farrakhan, Whites would be up in arms about the fear of a Black planet! Right now my hands are tied, but once I'm out of Office I'll be able to help Black people more directly.

The way Clinton and Carter' been making moves?

Clinton's just trying to get rid of his guilt issues over not doing anything about the Rwanda genocide and then that whole fiasco over getting his dik sucked by a White House aide! And I didn't forget that sht he pulled in South Carolina during the presidential elections. But we showed him what happens when dead people wake up. And now he's trying to come off like he's Haiti's savior, but look how he let them down. Them poor fools always fall for it because of that White Jesus gonna come save you crap. But Carter, now he deserves more credit. I may not like how he called out Ted Kennedy in his new book, but he's all gangsta now ever since he left Office. That's what I'm trying to break down to you. When you're President, there're all kinds of handcuffs placed on you that you got to pick just three or four things you want to accomplish. If I get to do a second term then I'll be able to get more Black on folks like Gov. Patterson did. Because at that point you're like, Fuck it!

I'm not gonna harass you about your being a Christian or not, but the obvious question, to me at least, is what would be so wrong if we did have a Muslim President if we're all Americans?

Maybe you were too young to remember, but JFK almost didn't win because he was Catholic. You've got a lot of religious fanatics who want the country to stay in the Dark Ages where women had no rights and anyone seen as different was seen as evil. They say they're God-fearing people and all that, but if you close your eyes and listen to their message you'll notice they're a lot like Muslim fanatics. Same mindset. Same willingness to bomb innocent people over a cause.

I felt bad for you when you were forced to separate from your surrogate father, Rev. Wright.

Yes, that was tough emotionally, especially since he knew I was campaigning. I mean, even Farrakhan and his camp stayed cool because they knew what was at stake. He let his ego come before the prize, like so many Black nations tend to do.

Where is he now?

Trying to sell his book, I guess.

Since we're on the subject of religion, what's your take on this whole Rev. Long thing?

Man, that's some juicy sht right there! Every week I wait for the latest scandal. But seriously speaking, I think it's actually a good thing because it gives the Black community an opportunity to look at the hypocrisies of our ways and our institutions, particularly the Church. We were suspiciously quiet when the scandal was happening to the Pope and White people, but now that it's in our own backyard we're not to sure where to put our faces. I love Black; wouldn't have married Black if I didn't. But we love blaming others for our ills. When it comes to cleaning up our own yard, we panick.

Do you think he did it?

I can't call it, of course. But you and I both know that Black men, young or older, don't typically put their bizness out there like that unless some serious damage has been done. But what I want to know is why is the pastor still preaching? Usually, the person in question is put on desk duty until court proceedings are completed. By him still preaching to the choir, as it were, his congregation is sending a message to these young males and their parents that their feelings don't matter. So we'll have to see how it all pans out.

You said Gen. McCrystal is a fine man. How is a back stabber a fine man?

I keep telling you, brotha--uh, can I say 'brotha'?

We can call ourselves and each other nigga and not brotha, but there're no niggaz here, sir.

Ok, then. Brotha, I keep having to explain to you that I have to wear two faces, three if you count my mother.

I'm sorry about you losing your mom, by the way. Most of us know how much she sacrificed for you. Does it bother you to be called our first Black President when in fact you're bi-racial?

We live in a color-conscious society and maybe global, so I'm fully aware of how people see color first and nationality second. I could've run as a bi-racial, but most Whites would see Black. We, on the other hand, would see dark-skinned and that would've still been a triumph for us.

Word!

Word!

Reggie, your personal aide, keeps you up on Rappers like Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Nas but they're no longer living in the projects. Is he keeping you informed on what's going down in da hood? Because there's a perception that you're not connected with our reality, especially when we don't see you making any moves on Black unemployment.

Be specific, I'm a law professor.

We think you're a punk, sir; that you spend way too much time appeasing your haters, and that if it were a basketball game you'd be the one standing there with the ball in your hand right under the hoop while your opponents are still way on the other side of the court and instead of shooting you ask, may I?

That's fucked up!

Sorry, sir. But that's the feeling out there. Maybe not with the Blacks who play it safe and just follow along, but those of us who have been marginalized taught change also meant no more soft steppin'. Plus, someone should've told you to put jobs before healthcare. Nervous White people will let public healthcare go thru if they have jobs.

Reggie didn't tell me that.

Reggie lives close by you, sir.

Look, I realize people are impatient but like I said, change is hard. It took a while to end slavery and...

Sir, we already heard that speech and we're not expecting you to part the seas. But how'bout some job incentives like giving a break to that bruh buying a van so he can use to pick up people to and from the subway? How'bout helping the kat who sells incense by re-opening the 125th Mart, for example, and giving him a break on the rental space so he can live?

The Mart is still standing?

Yes, sir. And we don't undertsand why it's just sitting there just waiting to rot when it can be put to good use again. You could also make the Victoria Theatre a viable place for youth to vent through poetry jams, workshops, space for under-represented artists to showcase their work. Vision, sir. That's all young people need while they're waiting for change. You can set up temporary programs like Roosevelt did where a bruh gets paid for helping to make his own hood look better, so he won't have to sell drugs to take his girl out to the movies. And other incentives, like helping us open up our own internet cafes. Letting Starbuck's set up in Harlem and Bed-Stuy is not empowerment but more feel-good decorations while beggars stand outside. You don't even have to announce you have a Black agenda. Just keep it on da low by calling on Black folks with money to come together to make sht happen while the recession takes its toll. Oprah alone can help create jobs, instead of--excuse me--playing the modern mammy. We know you got her personal cell number. Tell the bitch to set up some schools right here, not all the way in Africa! Young people don't comprehend words like 'retroactive' and 'will kick in'. They want sht done now. Because, to them, if you don't see it, it ain't happening.

Okay. I'll look into all that but remember, I can't do it out in the open. And after what happened with Beloved, Oprah learned to keep sht safe.

We know that, sir. That's why we're Black.

Good point.

So let me ask you just a few more questions. Like, why is Nancy Pelosi so despised? We don't get that.

It's more of a White male thing. See, there's a segment of our population that doesn't like women in high positions. That's how I got to win over Hillary. Those are the ones who'd rather see a cleancut nigger in The White House before an intelligent, opinionated White female. This is why they love what's her face? The one who reminds me of Britney Spears teaching sociology. Bitch is as dumb as my toe nail! But they love her because she doesn't read and doesn't bring up sht they don't wanna deal with. Corporations love her because they can make a doll after her and create more winkadinks. The other thing is that she's a far left progressive. That scares a lot of people and so that's one of the reasons why I'm center left instead.

For my students who might not fully understand this bizness of far and center left, can you break it down some?

Center left means you'll get whatever healthcare reform you can get, soft environmental regulations, that you'll consider gay civil union but not the word 'marriage' or doing away with Don't Ask/Don't tell but waiting for the military heads to get it together, or coming up with an energy plan, compromising on gun crontrol and allowing scientists to clone mice for the purpose of finding cures for cancer and AIDS. Far left means healthcare for everyone, straight-up gangsta environmental laws, gun control, no more racial profiling, calling two people of the same sex who want marry 'marriage', letting gays serve in the military openly...

Reparations for African and Caribbean Americans?

Oh, hell no! Jews and Japanese received them because they're not as threatening. But giving reparations to a goup of people who know how to turn Kool-Aid into Thanksgiving? Ain't gonna happen. At least not for a very, very, very long time. Didn't we get an apology only two President's ago?

So you can understand why Blacks have mixed feelings about the flag, right?

Of course, I do. But then there are Whites who have mixed feelings about our flag also. It's important to keep that in mind or else you get stuck on victim mode.

I might as well ask the question-- will you make Hillary Clinton your running mate for 2012?

Now, you know I can't say right now. But if people want a winkadink, I might have to get my own!

And what's this I hear about Democrats considering placing weed on the ballot?

Fuckin' Biden, man! Yea, just to lure the youth back into the voting booths. But I can see now all the Republican fallout from that and using Cheech n Chong ads to scare the old folks.

I know you want to keep your fam out of the limelight and we respect that, but I gotta ask this last question-- Does it bother your wife at all to have to water down her power? After all, she did mentor you.

If I had married a blonde she would've been able to lead a march on Washington and not cause too much of a fuss. But because she's a tall, intelligent and no nonsense Black woman everyone's waiting for her to pull out her Angela Davis afro! But she's good. Her work with military wives and pushing healthier eating keeps her fulfilled. And look, they're calling her names because she wants to fight obesity. You can't win with these people. But wasn't it something to see Black presidential love that January? C'mon, you know you were feelin' it!

We all were, especially since it was practically illegal not too long ago to see Black loving Black. That's one of the many reasons why we're not giving up on you. Between giving each other them pounds, those kisses, those hugs, and that visit to Ghana to visit the old slave quarters; and the message you sent to African powerfreaks by not visiting their nations cos you want them to stop killing their own, we love you for that! But prez, why'you let Sen. Reid call you a safe negro? And don't tell me he's a fine man too cos he's another who stabbed you in the back.

If I used my fist or my mouth for every jive thrown at me, I probably wouldn't even have been senator. Yes, young people want sht done now. They want to hit back now. They want the future right now, and I get that. But I know a little about you too. When a hater blocked you from teaching a Black Studies course because he felt you had way too much influence over your stduents, what'you do?

I wrote.

And then what happened?

The book sold out.

Never underestimate the power of patience!

Urban Juke Joint

2010-10-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'll be reading (or spitting, like my sons say) at Urban Juke Joint in the Baha'i Unity Center on Friday, October 29th; 53 East 11th Street, nyc; doors open @ 8p, show starts @ 9p and it's free. The piece below called For Us will most definitely be on the menu! And depending on the crowd, vibe and even requests, I might also serve some of my more popular pieces like Had To Do It, Poetry, A Stench in Jamaica, Tuesday and Waterchild. Hope to see y'all there!

In this place
This sacred place
We held so dear in our hearts
And in our collective consciousnes
This bothered ground we called our home;
Our reason to fight and fight again
All in the name of pan-African salvation
We stand in truth
Having resolved our struggle with the pale one
And with one another
To now simply be
Each of us
Doing what we were called upon to do
As dedication to the promise
Those before us had made
Before relinquishing their very last breaths
To aborted uprisings and public castrations

In this place
With our hands clutched together
Bowing our heads
As we call upon those who await us
For the renewal of our plight
We so lovingly give homage to
This borrowed soil
On which we've chosen
As our point of reference
Without division of any kind
But with the conviction of one force
One people
One objective
Together
In the name of spiritual egression

It is at this moment
That we make the decision
To return to our most basic of rituals
Uninterrupted
As in before captivity and social buffoonery
To look on and ahead
Without the meaning of 'I'
That this day
We begin at the end
At the beginning again
Our heels fixed firmly
In our agreement to transition
Having learned from our past
Leaving behind the chains that once defined us
And lift our heads towards the All Knowing
To finally
Once and for all
After being forced to despise our own
As we sing the praise of justice and forever
Give the sign
Then disappear.*

*From my book of poems, The Dredlocks Tree

If Life is a Dance, Where's the Music?

2010-10-04T07:39:00.001-07:00

Last year I introduced y'all to a student of mine who I hadn't seen since my years teaching life skills to Rikers Island young male inmates. As the universe would have it, he was looking for a colleague of mine when he passed by my office door and noticed my name and office hours. It was an unexpected but welcomed surprise. And in interviewing him, I discovered that during the ten years of each of us moving on with our lives that he had survived the war in Iraq, drug addiction, unemployment, depression, and yet somehow managed to come out of it all as a survivor. There may be hundreds of similar stories; thousands, maybe. But what made this one story stand out for me was how he reinvented himself. Paulo's journey is what initially inspired me to push other student success stories with my on-line readers. This time I'm introducing Shanelle, a military veteran herself whose own journey is one worth sharing--

Shanelle, one of the things I appreciate about you, and that I know my readers will find appealing as well, is that you're forthright in expressing who you are and what you stand for. So I'm gonna let you tell your story without interrupting too much, asking you questions between the various visuals you provide...

I was born and raised in Harlem. My mother had me when she was 19. Maybe not a big deal these days, but it still was back in the 80s. I love my mother and know that she did her best to raise me, but the fact that she had me at such a young age is a scary thought for me. Because my mother's circumstances at the time determined the opportunities I would and would not have. But I did luck out when Harlem Hospital launched a dance program that allowed young girls to see the world beyond da hood. Pictures of me dancing are all throughout Harlem. I performed for many dance schools. This program is still available to our kids, but because of lack of funds it never grew and they hardly travel overseas anymore. As a matter of fact, all they basically do now is teach little Black girls how to shake their bootie like Byonce!

I learned discipline through dance, though. Every weekend I had a place to be and sometimes after school too. This means I was active, so I was not a fat kid and I was learning what it meant to be a part of something and having a responsibility to an obligation. But today these types of programs are disappearing while our kids are home stuck to a tube, becoming lazy and obese. They have no obligations or feel responsible to have any; and their parents or grandparents don't seem to think it's a problem.

What made you choose a business major, as opposed to history or Black Studies?

I wanted to do something about the way things are going in our community, and a Black Studies or history major would only allow me to talk about what has already been done. I feel that Black people need to stop playing around and be about their business first. We have families to feed and we can’t eat civil rights documents! Very few of us own farms or factories because we weren't considered human when the government was handing out land and grants, so we're unable to produce and feed ourselves. Last time I checked, transfer of land and money was considered a business transaction. You have to be about your business, in order to eat and survive.

Is this why you currently work as as property appraiser?

Yes! Every day I appraise homes, apartments and condos. I'm exposed to the segregation displayed throughout our city. It allows me to see where everyone is positioned. Not many Blacks get to see what I see. I appraise the high rise condos being built in Harlem, so I know what they look like and who they're for. But I'm Harlem. You're Harlem; and this is where it begins to hit home for me.

How does one continue being africentered in an environment that seems to be bent against it? Do you feel isolated at all?

A lot of times I do feel isolated and it hurts, but every day I wake up I'm still Black. The way to get through it is by trying different methods. The key word is 'different' because we have been trying the same old methods for centuries. Power is in the population, and I belong to a people that have become the walking dead. Their soul and human instincts have been stolen. We should recognize that Church and the law will not help us escape. Those are the same institutions that were used to harm us.

Now, you know we just lost the religious folks! But how'bout elaborating some? I get your point, but explain to those who might not fully understand what you mean by the Church harming Black people? Especially since it was the old spirituals that catapulted us to emancipation and beyond.

That worked then. But times have changed while the Church hasn't. They're pushing Jesus and not political empowerment. So we think all is well just because we can shop at Macy's or order a meal at a popular diner. But we're still investing in everyone else but ourselves.

Where did you get your passion for Black consciousness? Who educated or inspired you?

I developed this passion over time. I am very curious about everything. I have always questioned everything; and experiences have had a tremendous affect on me. There are two White women who've had a profound effect on the way I view things. I took an African American women studies course taught by a young White woman which initially shocked me, even made me angry yet curious. I wanted to know why a White woman was so passionate about me!

I like that.

I found it very disturbing, however, to watch her struggle to get people who look like me to read the material. She turned out to be quite a knowledgeable instructor, though I still resented that the college couldn't find an African American to teach the couse. But what made me even more upset was the fact that a huge number of Black women didn’t know half the information she did. I found out later that her passion for Black Studies came from a basic human place, a curiosity like my own. The second woman taught American History. She was tough and also had a lot of passion for how everyone came to be. She didn't sugarcoat or leave out information, which I liked. For the first time I was learning and understanding what and who this nation was built on straight from the mouth of an anglo-saxon. Although she was White, she made no attempt to cover the brutality that her ancestors engaged in. She also did not discredited them for their achievements. When I sit in some of my classes today I feel like screaming. Because it's one thing for someone to kill your family, but it's another for them to tell you they'll continue to attack you and there's nothing you can do about it. This is part of the isolation I feel. But I'm learning to accept or at least tolerate.

You have a daughter. How does all this affect the way you raise her?

Having a child can be the most enlightening experience a woman can go through, placing drive behind the passion that was already there and allowing the person to continue receiving and delivering information that is pertaining to their well-being.

Some Blacks equate Black consciousness with the Nation of Islam; and I admit when I first met you I wondered if you were a member of N.O.I.. Are you? And if not, are you a member of any religious demonination? Do you even believe there's a God?

I'm far from being an atheist. I just don’t believe that He engages in the buying and selling of His Word. If we're all His children and He created all of us, then wouldn’t He want us to get the Word even if you couldn't afford it?

Poor people in Haiti and the Deep South get the Word.

Yes, but why would He want it packaged and marketed to make a few rich and the rest of us stay in poverty? In my opinion, religion is one of the biggest invisible chains worn by Black people; and they can’t remove it because they can’t see it.

They might see it now, what with the embarassment over the Rev. Long case.

I doubt it. They're so in denial that they'll somehow find a way to excuse it or say it's a conspiracy to attack their leader.

Do you think it's the same with Islam and other organized religions?

Black Muslim, Black Jews, Black Christians... They're discriminated against because of their skin complexion, not because of their religion. Otherwise, we'd own some of the corner stores that sell our kids vanilla dutches, loosy's, guns and drug paraphernalia. And if White Christians, especially, are so Christ-like then how is it that they tolerated, even supported the brutal enslavement of Black people? I'd like to see Black Muslims question there so-called Arab brothers and sisters about Darfur. I'd like Black Jews to explain Israel's ill-teatment of Ethiopian immigrants.

Wow!

There's so much wealth displayed in the Vatican. But as a Black Christian, how is it that your fellow Christians have prospered in a Christian nation but you can't even afford to bury yourself? Black people are putting their religions before who they are and that's so disturbing to me. My mother may not have had any idea what religion I would grow up to believe in when I was in her stomach, nor what sex I would be. But the one thing she did know was that she was having a Black baby. We are Black first, then everything else secondary.

What's your take on our public school system and the fact that New York City's Dept. of Education just recently rejected Obama's $700 million for reform?

My family is under attack. The Black family is under attack; and although I'm educated, there's still nothing I can do about it because of how corrupt the system and the players are. When a White child learns, it's an enlightened experience. But when a Black child learns they're introduced to an unavoidable pain that is handled differently, depending on the teacher. The additional disparities come from our communities and the individualistic attitudes that flood our nerighborhoods are killing us as a whole.

Tell me more about that unavoidable pain.

No one wants to just be Black. I know you’ve heard people use terms such as Blackasian and biracial. I got Indian in me. But I consider myself Black. We try so hard to stray from what we obviously have in common in order to escape the judging that comes with being Black. Some feel more comfortable not being classified as Black, period. I guess because they feel they will only have to deal with half the problems an all Black person deals with. That's very disturbing, to me.

I hear you. When I was growing up it wasn't cool to be Haitian or African. My lighter-complexioned friends tagged themselves Dominican or Puerto Rican, while others put baby oil in their hair to make them appear less Black. This was before the du-rag. But I remember the Black girls with naturally long hair having the hardest time. Were you picked on because of your hair length?

Oh, yes! But it's that self-hatred and miseducation again. If them girls and their mothers knew that our hair can be long without putting chemicals in them, they wouldn't be so mean-spirited.

I think it's also men's fault. Because there was a time when I only dated females with long hair. I grew up around a lot of males who thought that way and would notice how it added to females competing with one another for our attention. It wasn't until my adulthood that I began seeing the illness behind that. Not to mention, a few of my own Black Studies courses which helped put things in their proper perspectives.

But let's switch guears a bit. You were in the armed forces. What was that like, especially being a woman? Did you join for the benefits you'd receive later on or for patriotic reasons? And as a Black woman, did you experience any slack from the brothas?

I didn't run into any sexism. Or at least it didn't come to me. I came in commanding respect from the go, so maybe that was part of it. But I do remember being protected by the Black male soldiers because I was small and appeared somewhat innocent until I opened my mouth!

Traveling is one of the benefits of serving. The more you travel, the more your mind expands. And it wasn't so much going to places like Japan or Germany, but meeting other people from other parts of the U.S.. That was really the best part, for me. Plus, I was good with machines and got respect from the males for it. I do recall this one time when I had to wash my hair and a female officer commenting on it, almost in a jealous way.

That hair thing is so deeply ingrained in us.

Yes, it is. Slavery did a number on us and continues to do so.

What's your take on the 'Don't ask, Don't tell'?

Well, I hope I don't sound harsh, but I see homosexuality as yet another attack on us. I mean, I'm for everyone having their civil rights and all. But personally, I can't comprehend the whole gay thing.

I think it's fair to not get it. But to prevent others to have the same legal rights you have is crossing the line.

Now, that's a whole other discussion.

Yes, you're right. And I imagine the Rev. Long thing will put more light on the Black community's hyporcrisy when it comes to sexuality, in general, no matter what our personal beliefs.

Whenever I see you you've got some wisdom to drop on me. For example, Obama boycotting the National Conference on Racism. Educate us on that one, because I don't think too many people heard of this. I certainly haven't.

Blacks see Obama as this saviour. Truth is he's just another politician and has made statements regarding Black people that would anger us if a klansman said it. But somehow we look away. Like the time a Black reporter at one of his press conferences asked him if he had an agenda for Blacks, considering the alarming rate of unemployment, poverty and gang violence. He told the brother--or he looked like a brother-- that he didn't have one, that all his social programs will trickled down to Black folks and then asked for the next question. The next day nobody said a word.

I'm not making excuses for him, but it's clear to me that he's trying not to make Whites too upset. Just like the other day when he was asked to explain why he's a Christian. I don't mind him being a politician so much. Comes with the job. But it's the kind of scrutiny he has to endure that bothers me. It's as if they're trying to make him into this safe Tiger Woods type of negro!

You funny!

I keep asking myself, 'And what would be so bad about having a muslim U.S. President?'

Huh, that's not gonna happen. At least not for a very, very long time. If at all!

This anti-other/us versus them stuff is so blatant, you know; so typical of this country. Anyway, you live in D.R. territory (Washington Heights, NYC) and said they've had to adjust to you and your look. Explain that.

I'm a Black woman with long, natural hair. I don't wear a wig or weave, nor do I need someone's approval to feel beautiful. And I know my history, and theirs. I know they're Black. I know they despise that fact. So they're not sure what to make of me, since Black, to many of them, is a negative. And yet I walk with my head high and don't try to speak Spanish to fit in. I make them speak English because this is America, not Santo Domingo. And my people built this land while Haiti was ruling them, so give me my respect!

You also consider yourself an american and not African American. I know some Blacks who prefer 'American African' because it's the type of African they are; keeps the focus on African. But why simply 'American'?

Because if you and I were to visit Africa right now, we would be considered American and not African anything.

Good point. And how do you think Obama is doing?

I don't see what all the fuss is about. He's just another politician, to me.

But he's our first Black President.

In appearance, maybe. But I don't see how he's so radical. Unemployment for us is still the highest, even more so now. And the on-going problems we face every day in our communities-- crime, gun control, miseducation, police brutality--all these issues are still not being treated as priority. He's just playing it safe at our expense.

Well, I do admit I was very disappointed when Senator Reid called him a safe negro and he didn't check him.

I've read older articles from when he was at Harvard that show he actually doesn't relate to Black folks. But most of us don't follow the more critical readings. We wait for others to tell us what to think. It's all symbolism and decorations. By the end of his term, things will still be status quo and we'll go, Damn. We'been bamboozled!

I'm still hopeful.

Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you.

So what's after graduation?

Not sure right now. First I want to transfer because I'm not satisfied with the professors here. They always get shocked when they find out I know a little more than them. The last one was actually intimidated by me; wouldn't let me talk because the other students began paying more attention to me than him.

I can see you teaching.

Maybe, but I found a business professor at the college I'm transferring to who warned me that I may feel angry at the information she'll share. She gave me a sample article, and she was right. But I like her. She's not afraid of tackling gentrification and how Blacks still haven't received land owed to them; how vital information about home ownership is kept from us. Not the usual mush these egotripping professors hand you. It's hard not to get angry. Like finding out what Christopher Columbus really did to the natives but calling it a discovery and then later on a holiday. But we need to know the truth instead of avoiding it. We want to dress nice and drive flashy cars, but won't pick up a book about why we are suffering inside. I see these Black parents buying designer clothes for their children, but won't invest in their minds. It's just sad and frustrating.

Yes, I agree.

I have a question for you. How do you deal with the isolation, if you feel isolated at all?

Of course, I do. And it's not only because I wear a cufi, but the fact that I don't like pop culture. When you come off serious like that people label you crazy, strange, not with the times. I'm working with a student now who feels like an outcast in his own family and hood. But he hasn't yet learned to stop seeking approval from his haters. I've learned to be proud of the fact that I make a difference, so standing alone, for me, is not a matter of feeling ostracized but an opportunity to represent. In these times where bling is in and everyone seems to be dumbing down, it's very important to stand out of the herd, even if it means not being popular. Because popular just means you're part of the symptoms, not the cure.

Thanks for asking that. And thanks for the interview. I'm curious to see where your degree and life, in general, takes you next. Please keep me posted. I got a feeling you're going to make an impact on the Community, whether appraising homes, teaching or politics.

Politics?

Yes, why not? Shanelle for President!

I wouldn't be able to make any changes, as a politician. Too many handcuffs.

But you are a Black woman.

That I am!

Thanks again, Shanelle.

Your're welcome.

Men Fall Down, Women Get Up

2010-10-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Whatever anyone thinks of Wyclef Jean's bid for the presidency of Haiti, we can all agree on one thing: his potential running brought attention to the important elections in November for the devastated nation. Now, it seems the world is once again looking away. There is no news of the elections or information on the candidates running. So why should we still be interested? Because 53 women are running for Congress and Senate, and if elected, they could change the dynamic of the rebuilding of Haiti, end decades of corruption and turn the old Haitian system of politics upside down. It is not with the president but within the Parliament where the real power in Haiti lies.

The national elections are at the end of November and the truth is this: If more women win seats in Congress and Senate, it will change the political game in Haiti and be a model for other developing nations. A recent World Bank study found that an increase of women in government has been shown to decrease corruption. Other studies are showing that countries that have high percentages of women in leadership positions are more apt to focus on children's health and education, social justice and economic stability. A case in point is Rwanda post-genocide, which now has the highest percentage of women in the electorate and one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.

The earthquake of January 12, 2010 severely affected Haiti's women's movement. Three women leaders, who played a key role in organizing around women's rights and making discrimination and gender-based violence visible, lost their lives during the earthquake. Their deaths, coupled with the destruction of the headquarters of the
and of women's organizations, impaired the ability of women to regroup and make their voices heard in the discussion for the reconstruction of Haiti. While women's voices have not so far been heard, these voices have not been silent.

There are many other capable women working in the shadows to address women's issues, advocating for gender equality, and social and economic justice. It is important that these women, as well as emerging and young leaders, be identified and supported so that they can blossom, gain confidence and be provided with the opportunities to play a role in the reconstruction of Haiti.

There are currently 45 women running for Congress out of a total of 816 candidates (5 percent). There are 99 seats in Congress. Eight women are running for Senate out of a total of 95 candidates (8 percent). There are 30 seats in the senate. As of now, there are more than 70 different parties sitting in parliament, and they have traditionally voted on laws that were in line with the central government. If more women are elected, it is most likely that they will vote in a block, increasing legislation that will take into account women and children's issues, that includes the Haitian diaspora in the political and reconstruction process and anti-corruption laws. These female candidates represent a new generation of women leaders with the skills to advocate for social change, decentralization and local development, women's and children rights, their equal participation in economic and social development and active participation in the reconstruction of the country.

Women in Parliament will question the rules of the political game, set new rules and more transparent procedures, and influence legislative agendas in favor of social and economic transformation responsive to women's, children's and community needs. They will also influence the budget in favor of social investments and collectively take leadership in programming and implementing grassroots operations throughout the rebuilding process.

The exquisite handbag and accessory designer, Judith Leiber, saw the urgency when hearing of the millions of displaced, the increase in sexual violence in the camps, and the devastation of the women's movement. She stepped up immediately and came up with the idea to design and sell the "Don't Forget" pendant to support initiatives such as the women candidates' campaigns. The proceeds are going to support Femmes en Démocratie (FED), the Haitian arm of Vital Voices  Global Partnership, based in Washington, D.C. FED, a non-partisan organization that dates back to 1999, works to empower Haitian women leaders. It has a vibrant network of more than 300 women including politicians, businesswomen, artisans and civil society leaders.

I have worked with the amazing founder of FED, Danielle St. Lot, over the last year and have met many of the women candidates -- I can assure you of their integrity and commitment to strengthening the role of women in Haiti's reconstruction, development and justice. I believe in their unflinching courage to bring everyone in their country a higher quality of life in the face of the "old boys' club" that has traditionally run Haiti. I am advocating for partners to help them on their journey because without immediate technical and financial resources, these fierce and dedicated women will have no chance to make that change.

On September 13, 2010, I attended the Women Donors Network (WDN) conference on Haiti where I showed a preview of the campaign video filmed and produced by Haitian-American photographer Marc Baptiste. WDN is a community where women multiply their energy, their strategic savvy and their philanthropic dollars to build a just and fair world. Immediately after the conference, after seeing the campaign video, WDN members stood up to give their financial and technical support to the women, who, by the way, represent 14 different political parties. The WDN thankfully does not have the bureaucracy of other large groups and NGOs, so it can help raise funds when they are needed most -- and for those of you interested in helping all women candidates in Haiti, that time is now.

by Maria Bello

And be sure to checkout this here video clip on why it's time for a woman to lead Haiti!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQAERRhUdj4

Turn Down the Fire

2010-09-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

A smile
a touch can make things better
unlike the fickleness of weather
true love is tender
too soon to tell
if this is forever
if there is a forever
a place that's quiet
and so familiar
but turn down the fire
love takes time.

K Essays

2010-09-22T21:16:00.001-07:00

If I Interviewed Obama...
Remembering Fanon
When Doves Cry - The 2010 Haiti Earthquake
Dancehall Music is Not Reggae
Best Pickings
Who' You Callin' a Negro?
My Two Ladies
When Dumb Wasn't Cool
Bang, Bang. I'm Dead!
Racismo-- Let's Talk About It
Letter to President Obama
Slave Auction/White Boy
Put a Dent in It - A Response to Racial Profiling
Why All Community Colleges Need a Male Center?
Black Masculinities
Youth Participation in Neighborhood and Community Settings
Monkey Doo
Letter to My Prez - Wyclef Jean for President
28 Days and A Mule - The Trouble With Black History Month
How'You Like Her Now?-- The Makings of An Irish Rasta
The Writing Process: On Writing For and About Young Black Males

*Photo by Lisa Dubois

Dust and Sky

2010-09-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

Love was sensed and love was seen
Manifested there within
Wrinkles of the young and the old
At the side of eyes they fold.

In a seam they were formed
By the laughter they had stormed,
That had reached the bellies and
Smiles that stretched from end to end
Chased away inhibition
Things learned in this unison;
Hiding flaws that laid behind
Sealed lips is a waste of mind.
Strum, strum joined by a soft hum,
Dum-da-dum, beats of a drum,
A call for you, for everyone,
Join that tangible action.
Happiness is contagious,
Works its way beyond ages
Proven by those secret smiles
On your lips, they’ve traveled miles.
You don’t need a mother tongue
When body language has sung
‘Another songs of freedom’.
Love finds its way to become
Blinded by liberty and
Walk with life and hope in hand.
On the streets, yes on all streets
Call the universe to beats
All young ones come join the row;
The leaders of tomorrow.
As we meet along the way
We remind ourselves each day
‘No man is my enemy,
My own hands imprison me.’
Two doors open, dust and sky
And you’re told that you can fly
Heart of life hails unity
Hand in glove we soar gently.

by Najma Pirani
Collage, acrylic on canvas by Susan Cornelis

Sweet, Sweet Tammi

2010-09-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

In the middle of writing my chapter on abusive men for my upcoming book on young Black males, I got distracted by TV One's unsung songster, Tammi Terrell whose painful life seemed to mirror the abusers
I was tackling on paper. She was gang raped when she was a teenager, spent her life desperately seeking love and approval from men, got repeated beat downs by the likes of James Brown and David Ruffin of the Temptations and later developed a brain tumor. Yet, after eight brain surgeries and a string of duets with marvin gaye, she managed to leave her mark. She did finally get to experience true love before transitioning, after finding it in a doctor. How interesting that is, since her initial plan, before entering the music biz, was to become a medical doctor herself; even took classes while getting signed to motown...

Did she go the right way or did the right way have the wrong teachers? I can't call it. But stay in peace, our sweet, sweet tammi.

Best Pickings

2010-09-17T07:10:00.001-07:00

This
Sista, this
This is not the time or place
To be throwing a tantrum
What was was, yes
And if anything's going to be
It will be the fact that
You learn to make wine
Out of store brand grape juice
You're resourceful that way
Or did you forget?....

A White woman was speaking to a group of angry Black women on the subject of Black men choosing her over them. Most anglo-saxons, particularly females, tend to avoid this type of confrontation. But this one wasn't stepping down or moving to the side. She held her own by reminding the sistas that it's the brothas who pursue her; that if anything, their anger should be directed at them. "But ask yourself this question", she said. "What is it about me that he finds more appealing? And don't give me that crap about long hair and alabaster skin! Not when you can buy the illusion and put on the bleach. It's even deeper than that. More to do with Black men needing to feel like kings; the kind of nurturing many of them didn't get from their mothers. When he speaks, I listen. When he tries to speak to you, you cut him off and say what? 'Nigga, please!' But you resent me for being the one who allows him to be himself. I'm not your bitch. Don't put your sht on me!

Even now, I have to speak thru a Black man just so you can focus on the message and not the color. But I watch how you cut him down, behind your doors and in the boardroom. You despise him. You resent him. But you don't know him. If you did, you'd know that toning it down doesn't mean losing your queen status. You'd know that the empowerment of females doesn't mean disempowering males. Those of you who have that softer touch aren't threatened by me. In fact, you're open to crossing over because you've come to a place where you no longer place limitations on yourselves and your options. But it's she. The sista with the fist up who won't even learn how to cook him a good meal, so busy wanting to be wined n dined. But what have you done for him lately? And don't say you give up the nani because nani's overrated. Fifteen standard minutes of getting your eyes to roll back can't compare to holding the little boy in him and whispering in his ear,

"This is to mother you
To comfort you and get you through
Through when your nights are lonely
Through when your dreams are only blue
This is to mother you

This is to be with you
To hold you and kiss you too
For when you need me I will do
What your own mother didn't do
This is to mother you

All the pain that you have known
All the violence in your soul
All the wrongs you have done
I will take from you when I'm done
All mistakes made in distress
All your unhappiness
I will take away with my kiss
I will give you tenderness

For I am so glad I've found you
Although my arms have always been around you
Sweet baby, although you did not see me
I see you

And I'm here to mother you
To comfort you and get you through
Through when your nights are lonely
Through when your dreams are only blue
This is to mother you."*

There're times when I feel guilty for being the object of his affection and the focus of your outrage. But not anymore. Not even when you cut your eyes at him whenever you see us arm in arm and in love which is the point you often miss. It's not always about the objectification of the Black man, but you do it. In your Tyler Perry minstrel shows. It's not always about the Black dik, but you do it. Every time you tell him to shut up and just perform. And it's not always about White females getting the best pickings, if you tell him at the age of five to man-up and stop his crying. I'm not your bitch. Don't put your sht on me!

Author's note: I'm an educator and I write books for and about marginalized Black youth. My first project, a help guide for Black teenage girls. I know a lot of nurturing, wonderful and attractive Black women who deserve "the best pickings". But I do meet and advise sistas who fit the image this White woman is referring to. And, my dear sistas, when we brothas get together without y'all around; when we feel free and safe enough to express our innermost feelings (we generally believe we cannot in your presence), we do tell each other how everyone else is more nurturing and supportive to us than you. If any of you are put off by this, then you're only confirming what we believe in private. That you don't take constructive criticism well, that you can't handle the truth and that's why we lie. Sometimes to ourselves, just to keep the peace. But those of you who are willing to listen to a different perspective can stop the generalizing by making a difference. If you have a husband, boyfriend or potential partner, I challenge you to set some time out with him tonight in a quiet, private, loving space. If you have chidlren, find a sitter. We need your total attention for this.

Now, brothaman is most likely going to be caught off guard and be a bit cautious, especially if you've never done this before. If you're the type that tends to cut him off when he speaks, don't be surprised if he thinks it's a set up. So be easy as you begin to explain why the two of you are here. Try to be casual about it. Something like, Babe, (or whatever endearing term you use for him) listen to this... The point of this exercise is not to share YOUR feelings because it won't be about you. Control your desire to control the conversation. This is all about him feeling like he can express his emotions. His way.

Timing is everything, so if there're other matters that may interfere with the flow then it may be best to save it for later. But when the mood is right; when the both of you are in that zone where intimacy (not sex) and harmony are at their best, hold him close to you and the intention which, again, is to allow him to reveal his child to you. Not his macho or provider/protector role, but his self. While you're reading, let him interject, if he wants to or just let him process. Have fun with it. But don't give him any indication that you're completely at odds with the message. You may very well be, and that's you're right. But it's not about you right now, remember?

In the end, you want to be sure to ask the following key questions-- Do you think I'm controlling?...Am I a nurturing person?...Do I come off bossy?...Do I cut you off when you speak? I love you and love us, and I want to make sure you're happy." Like I said, if he's not used to you being this interested in him, he'll need a moment to regroup; maybe ask you what is this really about? Depending on how connected y'all are, to begin with, will determine what happens from there. If your love is beyond sex and superficials, then the convo should go smoothly. The two of you may very well engage in some good lovin' afterwards with a loud appreciation for your being sensitive to his own feelings. If your union is based on what he does for you and how you look, then this can be an opportunity for the both of you to reconsider your priorities, especially if there're children involved. Because the war between genders begins in kindergarten; subtle inuendos kids throw at each other that were once merely sitcom laugh lines and bedroom jabs-- lazy good-for-nothing, golddigger, he should know, she's always complaining, simple, silly, faggot, ho, nigga, bitch... They play this type of dress up all the way through high school when they no longer trust each other, but feel forced to deal with one another for society or fam-sake until one of them either screams or flees.

When all is said and done, remind each other that Black people still suffer from post-slavery syndrome, that politics do enter the bedroom and that there's a reason why so many brothas prefer long hair and light-skinned sistas. Not only out of historical scars, but from more current media and fashion trends that dictate how we look at one another and ourselves. Some of us are beginning to recognize the self-loathing in our language and ways, but our music videos say we still got a ways to go.

There's also this rumor about Black men prefering White women cos they don't mind domination. But that's not a lovestyle. That's control, self-esteem issues, and a chic who doesn't yet know her name.

Look, a blonde is still like carrying the American Express card! We think she'll help open doors that you can't. Other brothas turn to White for solace, not realizing they're only setting themselves up for a parent/child relationship. She'll have her turn at fidgeting in her seat as she reads these here words, while you and I nod that universal pan-african nod that keeps us from killing each other altogether. So let's consider this too-- Why is it that when brothas crossover they lose their Black? Their African? They're not even men anymore, but safe, little boys who need White mama to tell them what to do? When you can't feel like a king with your sista but accept being treated like a child by a White woman, the issue is no longer whether or not Black women are nurturing enough towards Black men but what's going on with him? The individual without the Black collective? Might sound a bit raw, but how many times have we seen this script played out? Or does it come down to power and control? Who gets to keep the Black man in check and who gets to reconstruct him?

When all is said and done, it's not about White women stealing good Black men from Black women or, for that matter, Black women who date outside of their race, but Black men being allowed to live their lives fully and authentically, and to be celebrated for daring to do so.

*Sinead O'Connor

You Already Know

2010-09-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

I like it when the writing just flows, like a pathway meant just for me. at best, it's only my spiritual guides dictating from my fingers to the keys while whispering in my ear the well-anticipated words of a father turned shaman....you already know!

From my next book of poems, Throw.

Before They Learn

2010-09-08T10:06:00.001-07:00

Before they learn to call each other nigga, pimp and dog; before they learn what marginalizing means and what it sounds like to hate their skin color, and before they learn to stop smiling altogether.

Images XI - Roof Garden

2010-09-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

Max keeps getting in the way...