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What it means to be a NIGGER

A few weeks back as I sat and watched the red carpet section of the Grammy’s I saw my fellow Virgo grace the camera with his wife donning a t-shirt that said “NIGGER”. Wait a minute rewind that back, I saw Nasir Jones better known as “Nas” and a group of supporters of different ethnicities in “NIGGER” Fashion. This is clearly a sign that the times have changed, television has become so liberal, when I was a child they would have blurred out the image at minimum to say the least. Nas was interviewed about his “message”, there were no censors over the word and things went relatively normal. I mentioned earlier that Nas is a Virgo because they are the thinkers of the zodiac and very strategic in their movements, so maybe Nas is titling his album NIGGER and grappling after the publicity that it is causing so that we can have intelligent discourses like the one we are about to have.

Wait one second, before you lose interest in fear that I am about take you on a historical voyage enduring the plight of black people and the socialization of the term Nigger and how we need to accept it to empower ourselves, I promise you I will not. This is not the typical discussion of whether this is a term of endearment or mental slavery. But to understand what the concept of the term nigger we must first look to one of the great writers of the Harlem Renaissance, James Baldwin.

Baldwin says, “What white people have to do is try to find out in their own hearts why it was necessary to have a nigger in the first place. Because I’m not a nigger, I’m a man! But if you think I’m a nigger it means you need it. If I’m not the nigger here and you, the white people invented him then you’ve got to find out why?”

Baldwin paints us such a vivid picture when he speaks about the system needing a nigger. You see the term nigger is about an institutionalized inferiority complex. The system, those proponents of white supremacy need a nigger to belittle, they need a nigger to make themselves feel better than another group of people because they lack self-esteem. The nigger is needed in order to perpetuate systems of control, a hierarchy within this great land from sea to shining sea. Unfortunately today the term nigger has become synonymous with black people. However this is not the case, this is not the fate of black people; this has been the position of various ethnic groups in America. I will chronicle the stories of three niggers who have been bastardized by a system of oppression and blatant racism in this country without ever painting the picture of a black face!

If you are of Middle Eastern decent, or even look like you could possibly be of the Islamic faith after 9/11, I regret to inform you but the United States has declared you a NIGGER! Your rights were stripped from you; you became the victims of police brutality, random search and seizures, and you are always pulled aside at the airport for more questioning. Why is this; because you fit the “description”, you look suspicious? But none of this is true; it is merely the pigment of your skin and the religious affiliation that you are suspected of practicing which garners you such attention. You watch your faith and belief system ridiculed daily on television, you have become the butt of all jokes. You’re fearful when your children go to school because other children will torment them; forgive them for they know not what they do. You came to this country with hopes of reaching the American dream however you are now living the American Nightmare! The ultimate insult is no longer to be black but it is to be Muslim. Your beautiful, peaceful culture has been tainted by slander; you are now judged by the few who make it tough for the many. Welcome!

Tune in tomorrow to see who else is a NIGGER!

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. James 1: 22-25

When I woke up this morning the sun was busting through my blinds, shining down on me. I thought to myself  “we should not be afraid to let our sun shine”, in fact we must power up our sun to shine. There will always be obstacles that will attempt to stand in the way of our sun’s beauty but we must not allow these clouds to block our sunlight. Clouds such as loneliness, job related issues, a hard time at school, or any other matters that may affect your view of yourself and also how you allow that view to be promoted.

So the scripture goes hand in hand with the thoughts I had when I first woke up. Don’t just listen to the word, don’t just say you believe in God show the world you believe in God. We show the world this through our actions, by our smile, we show how we believe in God when we persevere through the toughest of times. Only a person of God can be so resilient. We can no longer look in the mirror and see our faults and not look to correct them. Those same flaws will eat us alive, those same flaws do not allow our sun to shine as bright as the Lord has given us the power to let it shine. The last line speaks to all of us, if we can look into Gods law and trust in his word which sets us free from these worldly pains we will be blessed because of our faithful duty to adhere to the Lord’s request. Real rap I don’t necessarily know how to let my sun shine, how to look into that mirror and keep trying to perfect an imperfect being. Yet I believe together we can, as a community loving one another the way the Lord asks us to do I can achieve through you and you can achieve through me because we all give the power to HE, OUR CREATOR. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

Letter to a young black female

What’s up young lady. You may not know who I am but I know who you
are. You see, I see your potential, I envision you accomplishing all
of your dreams and goals. Anything that you set your mind to can and
will be yours if you just Believe!

Believe in what you may ask? Yourself! Believe that you are the
intellect which has governed civilizations for century upon century.
Believe that you are the standard of beauty and not whatever images
the media shells out at you. Believe that there is no task too big
or too small that you can not reach for and achieve.

Realize young lady that women have always been at the helm of
everything great. James Brown said it best, “this is a man’s world but
it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl”. You have so many big
sisters to look up to, so many sources of inspiration that have
provided the framework of the strong work ethic known as womanhood.

Notice I call you young lady for these terms that I hear you referred
to are not your names. You are a Queen who must demand respect, your
mere presence should command respect. You must first respect yourself
however, and respect your fellow sisters as well. Together you young
ladies make up the future table of leadership.

God made you to be special, he made you to stand apart from the crowd.
So fear not if you feel isolated or alone, look back to your big
sisters who have changed the landscape of history, they once felt
alone too. I write you this letter to show my admiration for you, to
pay homage to the beautiful gift that the creator is bestowing upon
us. Follow your dreams and believe in your path young lady, for the
very thought of you reaching a tenth of your potential is an
inspiration to us all!

Truly yours,
Cedric D. Shine (your #1 fan)

Here’s a quote by the man who inspired the name of this blog with his collection of essays Notes of a n Native Son!

Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks. - James Baldwin

February 28, 2008

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40: 28-31

Everything is subject to its own interpretation! I read the first line this morning in the new international version, and then I grabbed my bible which is the King James version and the difference in word usage gave me a different perspective. Neither is right or wrong but I found it interesting how the Word is so often subject to the interpretation of the interpreter. So from today’s word I felt like the page was talking to me, like someone was hipping me to some new information. Hast thou not known — Have we not heard that our God and creator is amazing, that he doesn’t dwell in worldly problems for he fainteth not. He created this world, I felt like it was someone whispering in my ear and enlightening me to the best kept secret. Then it spoke directly to me and how i feel when I’m DOWN AND OUT. He gives us power, the strength to battle whatever obstacles present themselves. Even when we are at our weakest point, it is then that we are truly being strong. Think about a weight set, you see how strong you are when you pile more weight on. When we pile more stress on, it is then when we push ourselves to the max to achieve, that strength that we let out, that power, it is innate within us because at those moments we are channeling the God within us.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary! That is us, that is the young generation. The young shall utterly fall, is that not what is going on in our communities right now? People have fallen, we are filled with despair because we give to much power to objects and things that cause unhappiness rather than the Lord and finding peace and happiness within ourselves. But those who wait upon the Lord, those who channel the God within, he will renew our strength and we will be as fly as fly can be. No pun intended, but we shall mount up with wings as eagles and soar, be at peace, be plentiful because we walk with the Lord. All this walking with the Lord talk, what does it mean. I don’t know, I am not the Judge, thats your mission, thats our mission. My mother always says there is more than one way to the KINGDOM of HEAVEN. Maybe some of the routes we are thinking are correct are in fact not, that’s why its important that we go now and try to build this relationship with the Lord and move forward and prosper. I hope I am articulating my thoughts because I am not speaking of conventional ways, the Lord has blessed in us creativity and innovativeness. If he has given us such talents and gifts, why not use those same talents to understand him and the relationship that we can have with him. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Anticipate the good so that you may enjoy it!