Stop Playing with my emotions. Amil has come out of hiding and hopped on the a milli beat. Lil Wayne and Bangladeshi got the whole game on fire trying to spit on this beat! This is insane, when is the last time you even heard Amil drop a 16. I can’t recall, last time I saw her she was doing some interview about how the Roc broke up but before that, I think I was in high school. Dog I’m in law school now that was years ago WTF. Anyway shout out to Ms. Virgo for the link. here you go:

Link

Here is Amil, if you forgot who she is!

I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.– Abraham Lincoln 1858

I remember sitting at my cramped desk at Deauville Gardens Elementary School more than 15 years ago. I was no more than 10 years old but I remember learning of “THE GREAT EMANCIPATOR” Abraham Lincoln. It was taught that Lincoln freed the slaves and being a young black child I should be forever grateful because if it were not for his actions many of my people would still be in chains. Those formidable years of education were filled with large fabrications. A growing amount of Americans never make it to college and thus are forced to mull around the lies and propaganda that our history books sell us, between them and these false history channels we are inundated with the winners version of history which can often be extremely flawed.

For years if you asked me who was my favorite President I would proudly state that Abraham Lincoln was the greatest President that ever lived. I was taught that he liberated blacks out of the chains and physical captivity of chattel slavery in these United States of America, that this man saw blacks as his equals and valiantly battled racist southerners and their disturbing opinions of people of color in this country and drove us to freedom. However as I read his quote above, it seems that Abraham Lincoln was quite the opposite, quite the racist, and very much an oppressor of people of color. He believed that people of color were inferior to whites, why was this quote omitted from my education, why is history painted in such a viciously false manner?

In law school the question to every answer is “maybe”. The teachers say maybe because there are always multiple different ways of looking at things thus giving us various outcomes, nothing is absolute. Did Abraham Lincoln free the slaves? Maybe!

As I look at several photos taken by up and coming Photographer Young District, who has a great eye for capturing the feeling of a moment. While shooting in the Abraham Lincoln Projects on 132nd and Madison in Harlem he manages to capture this historical relationship between people of color and Lincoln. A picture is worth a thousand words and when I look at this series so much comes to mind.

Look at how the sculptor chose to dress the young black man. Lincoln is fully dressed, bow tie included while the young man wears torn clothes with no shoes. He is visibly supposed to be portraying an enslaved young man, dressed in rags praising Lincoln and his fully suited self. The young boy is looking up to Lincoln, admiring him for his courage, his oh so noble character. The young man is forever in debt to Abraham Lincoln for without Lincoln this boy would still be a slave. Now he’s become a new slave, a slave to a warped view of history.

Look at Lincoln, his face is emotionless, in fact he stares past the young man, not even making eye contact with him. Lincoln is comparable to the Santa Clause who sits in our shopping malls during the holidays, it’s just a job and he really could care less about the wishes that the young man whispers to him because he has no intention of making those dreams come true. But that’s just it! Young District has captured the real intention of Lincoln. He’s looking past blacks but using them as a tool to preserve the Union, to preserve the United States of America. And where does this statute sit, it sits right in the heart of a housing development which is the home to many people of color.

Everyday there’s a kid just like me who walks by this statute and is proud. Proud that in a country who bears the dirty stain of slavery, that there was one man who defied the odds. One man who fought to make sure that blacks and whites were equal. The above quote is not found in history books, it’s not found near this statute. However it is found in the emotionless expression on Lincoln’s face. It’s found in the archives of his speeches that let us know that he had no intention on freeing the slaves. In fact Lincoln is quoted as saying “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.”

Another deleted quote from the legacy of Lincoln, another example of how we were used as pawns and firepower to defeat the Confederate States of America. Nowhere in this quote is this Great Emancipator championing our rights, speaking out against the destructive and oppressive system of racial inequality, yet he gets this great title in our history. He is known as one of the leaders of the Abolitionist movement, yet he did not believe in our abilities, intellect or right to be treated as his equals. So did Lincoln free the slaves, why of course he did, the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment tells us so. However, it was a mere accident. Thanks to Young District for allowing his lens to capture one of Lincoln’s greatest misnomers, that he actually cared.

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise. Psalm 33: 1-3

These messages get later and later this week huh. Excuse me, I have been trying to beast on these finals, I should be back to getting out the message before 10am starting next week. I am really excited because I am only one exam away from finishing my first year of law school. I really owe so much to God that today I just had to read a scripture that talks about giving praise. Today when I was done with my Constitutional Law exam I just wanted to say thank you, and I did. This was one of those valley classes. Often the material just did not make sense to me. I would read the questions in the book or hear the questions asked in class and be so confused that giving up was definitely a strong option.

However I pulled through and while I do not know the grade on my exam, I am just excited to be done with the class. My worst fear is that I would walk into the classroom on test day and not understand the questions on the final exam. I mean imagine that, you sit in class for four months and you have nothing to write about on the final exam. I kneeled down to the Lord this morning and was like please give me the strength and confidence in my abilities to take this exam and do well. Well I got in there and I wrote for the 2 and a half hours that the exam alotted, were they the right answers, I dunno. But either way I felt grateful that I was able to articulate myself and the material I sorta learned and I knew that was all because the lord was guiding me. I’m smiling for the rest of the day, I hope you are too. Peace and Grace be unto you.

We must do a good job, irrespective of race, and do it so well that nobody can do it better.

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

Today’s piece is not written by myself. I came across this piece via a very inspiring young woman who is committed to bridging truth and words to make profound statements that speak to communities of color. I hope you enjoy, I know I did!

Where black people meet the law?
by Ma’at

Where black people meet the law?
Where a single mother gets evicted from her apartment…
Because Bill, Bob and Dick moved in upstairs
Mary, Jane, and Sue moved in downstairs
And now her property value rises too high for her meager earning

Where the long are of the law shoves a hollow gun against the temple of a black man while shouting
“YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT”
Right?

Where basketball player signs a contract that gives his lawyer 40% when Mr. Esq. knows he should only get 10%
Where a 6 year old boy watches his mother sue his father for child support
He stares into a strangers brown eyes and wonders how that face could look just like his
Where a PO meets the guilty till proven innocent…..
Until innocent become guilty
Filthy
Right-less
Less than
Three fifths of a person
3/5ths of the men in prison
Yall though when slavery ended we became more than 3/5ths?

I’ll tell you where we don’t meet
We don’t meet in Law School
In a world where knowledge of the law provide the tools through the confines of this so called “JUSTICE SYSTEM”
SYSTEM yes
JUSTICE…it depends
Depends on who defends the rights you though you had
You don’t have shit…
Pause
You have what your lawyer knows (minus) your ignorance (minus) his ignorance (times) each previous charge
(Equals)… it depends

I walk into class my first day of class
The room filled with pink faces
Folks who see the world in black and white without the black
Issues in black and white, without the black
My blood pressure rises as a privileged woman raises her hand and implies that all black men who are not in suits are thugs
My brother is a thug…
My nephew is a thug……..
Where black people meet the law………

Where do black people meet the law?
In Us.. Law Students
Us… the privileged few with the knowledge to change
Educate
Inform
Inspire to rebuild that which has been done

Law School Blues
I hate to scare you
But to tell you the truth
Come September
You’ll have the law school blues

Oh, trust me its true
A 1L in law school
Equals the law school blues

Reading for civ pro
Language you don’t know
Think like a lawyer they’ll tell you
Law school blues is definitely going to get you

Torts is bizarre
Cases galore
The things people do
Then have the nerve to sue for
You think you can write
I assure you that you cannot
Your legal writing professor
Will fill your paper with red marks

Crim law is cool
Just like the real world
Sex drugs and murder is all that occurs
But don’t lose faith
You’ll make it through
How do I know?
Cus I’ve got the law school blues too!

Cedric D. Shine
1L Penn State Dickinson School of Law
http://nativenotes.wordpress.com

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ABhatAfsA&hl=en]