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!

The following piece was given to us by Ma’at. When I first read this piece I was so in tune with it that all of the other noises in the background of my mind needed to be silenced. I truly hope that this piece engages us in a discourse about not only our current reality but the change which we wish to see within our reality. Peace and Grace be unto you!

THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE

Rags to riches
Foreigner
Outsider to Inside
American Society
American Money
American Riches
The American Dream
Business Man
Drug Dealer
Hustler
Lawyer
Me…
See I
I too started off
Young
Hungry
Driven
Hustling
Toward the dream
My American Dream…… Esq.
So I did what anyone…everyone chasing the American Dream does
I hustled
Made those connects
Studied the greats…
The great hustlers….

Walked softly…. watched, listened, emulated
Worked my way through the system
The American system
Day in and Day out
Climbing the ladder
Shaking hands
Negotiating
Until
Until the party life…..got me
Addicted
Addicted to status
This little brown girl from Church Ave.. now regarded by society as a
member of an elite….
Better than you
Better than most
Damn that shit feels good
The high
The power..
It’s addictive
I’m penetrating you
Deeply, hard, long….
Now all you can do is say my name and hope you feel me tomorrow
How could I not fall in lust?
How could I not keep coming back?
Knowing it was starting to kill me…..

Yeah…the American Dream
My American Nightmare
Time moves….
PAUSE
I look around….I
Is this what success is all about
A bunch of bitches acting like bitches with big mouths
I’M LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM
AND YOU KNOW WHAT,……. ITS FUCKED UP
I live a life where I am a part of a machine that rapes my people
Rapes my mind
Bleaches my spirit
Makes “America” Rich
How fitting?
How fitting that the dream in this country
A COUNTRY BUILT ON THE PRINCIPLES OF DESTROYING WHAT MUST BE DESTROYED
FOR PERSONAL GAIN
Would idealize a life that destroys those who live it for the gain of
those in power
The essence of a Hustler’s Spirit….

WAKE UP!!!!

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 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 I am interested in 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 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 searches and seizure, 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!

Rewind the clocks back before the Civil Rights Era, after the Red Scare, where if you were communist you were a nigger. No I am speaking of World War II, a defining moment in this country’s history where we joined forces with our allies overseas and toppled the Axis Powers who viciously slaughtered those of the Jewish faith and anyone else in their quest for world domination. Let us look into our backyard at today’s most successful minority, looked upon as intelligent, reserved, model citizens of this great nation; the Asian. Yes in 1942 here in America the Japanese were considered NIGGERS! Stripped of their land, businesses, and personal possessions, some 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into relocation centers in the interiors of the country. Placed in prison camps with little to no food to eat, cramped living quarters for large families were just some of the conditions the Japanese had to experience. Propaganda spread through the media about the Japs as they were called, “good riddance to the spy’s and traitors”, these were some of the messages about the people who had only a few years prior been trying to assimilate into American culture. They too were in search of the roads paved of gold. White farmers benefited with the Japanese farmers gone, they were then able to take over their profit share and make more revenue for themselves. Even the Supreme Court of the United States permitted this racist behavior citing this exclusion did not violate the constitution arguing “it is permissible to curtail the civil rights of a racial group when there is a “pressing public necessity.” So much for Justice!

Who discovered America? Oh yes I remember we have a beautiful holiday in this country named after none other than Americas most beautiful thief, rapist, and oppressor among other names. Yes I am speaking of Columbus, when we discuss the concept of the nigger we have to speak about our beloved Columbus. You see the Indian; wait a minute what am I saying, Native Americans is the correct term because this is their native land. When we think of all the horrific things done to black people during chattel slavery our bodies quiver with fear. However, we forget that the Native American watched his woman be raped, and his family die from sickness brought by the Europeans. He watched his people become addicted to substances, his name was changed, and not just his name but also his ethnicity. To this day we call Native Americans Indians because of a mistake that an idiot made. We keep this mistake going forth, Native Americans call themselves Indians even; similar to how African Americans call themselves nigger, they have embraced the term. Last but certainly not least the Native American was robbed of his land and certainly his culture. The history that they created prior to imperialism has long been erased and they are forced to live on reservations of land and lay dependent on the powers that be. Americas first experimentation with this Nigger concept was and is still in fact the Native American!

So many Niggers over the years, and I use this term loosely for this piece in hopes to articulate the construction of an underclass. That is what it is to be a nigger. Similar to the Untouchables in India, the term nigger is rooted in not only a need for superiority but a mindset entrenched in socio-economic slavery. The ability to legally strip people of the inalienable rights that our Constitution provides for them speaks not only to a power struggle but a constant reminder of who the boss is and what can happen if the system was ever to be questioned. The term Nigger, the concentration camps, the nooses, all of these symbols are objectifiable and measurable elements of what it means to be inferior but deeper than inferiority one must know their place. You see in 2050 the white majority will actually be the minority yet they need not worry because the hegemony and institutionalized racism have made all of the niggers fearful and afraid to jolt the status quo. Nigger is a term of fear; it’s a bastardizing moment in an ethnicities history that emotionally, physically, and mentally scars the people. This fear that is instilled takes over the mind yet keeps the body, the nigger is still used for their talents but their mind will never forget that moment and how much they never want to experience such a moment again.

Malcolm X once said “If you are a citizen, why do you have to fight for your civil rights, if you’re fighting for your civil rights that means you’re not a citizen”. Niggers are not citizens, at least for the time in which they are apart of the social construct of the term. That is why the Supreme Court allowed the Japanese to be placed in internment camps, that is why we allow our media and public officials of the law to bastardize the Islamic faith. That is why Native Americans are still relegated to plots of land on reservations in a country that they once owned and were illegally dispossessed of this land. So next tie you hear the term NIGGER, or you go out and purchase the upcoming album NIGGER by Nas, be aware that this term has nothing to do with a specific group of people and more to do with a concept of how to control different groups of people. How to make one fearful, and how to make another group feel superior thus always limiting the power of one and expanding upon the power of the other.

I’m wondering if there is any real crime in Flint. Ofcourse I know the answer is to this question is yes so then the next question becomes  “do the cops in Flint not have more to worry about than the harm of saggy jeans”. Who hires these idiots, everyday people are being murdered, raped and a host of other violent crimes and you want to harrass people who wear their pants sagging.

It’s indecent and immoral, ok I hear you but what about the drugs being sold on the streets of Flint, the armed robberies, crimes that actually affect the well being of our communities. Make those crimes your priority not saggy jeans which is no more than a tacky fashion statement that I myself used to partake in.

Unless the real reason behind this saggy jeans thing is more remniscent of the broad view of racial profiling. The broad definition allows that you utilize race and other factors; ie. geography, dress, location, age and other factors to profile certain individuals. People who don the style of baggy, saggy jeans are more likely than not, young black males so this would give the police ammunition to approach young black males. Why? Because they fit the description and by wearing these saggy jeans, they are breaking the law.

So maybe the police chief has bigger hopes in mind. Maybe while taking these young black men off the streets for such a petty crime they will find drugs or some type of other criminal activity afoot during their harassment of these males. Just something to ponder!

Michigan police chief: Wear saggy pants, get arrested Flint’s top cop calls it ‘immoral self-expression,’ but others fear racial implications By BRYN MICKLE Newhouse News Service Published on: 06/27/08

This city’s new police chief is saying no to crack.

Interim Flint Police Chief David R. Dicks announced this week that officers will begin arresting people wearing pants or shorts that sag too low, exposing rear ends. “This immoral self-expression goes beyond free speech,” Dicks said in a statement released Thursday.”It rises to the crime of indecent exposure/disorderly persons.

” It’s a style that irks many — a few cities nationwide have outlawed the rear-revealing pants (the Atlanta City Council proposed a ban amid much debate, but the plan was ultimately tabled). However, the order also raises serious questions about how it would be enforced, whether it disproportionately targets young black men and whether ultra-low riders should be considered constitutionally protected.

Is Dicks going too far?

Greg Gibbs, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney in Flint, said how people wear their clothing is a form of expression but cautions that not all of those forms are protected by the Constitution.

“The issue is: Does it violate the First Amendment?” Gibbs asked.

Some Flint residents are all for busting those who go bottoms out. “It’s overdue,” said Sam Berry, 73, of Flint.

Gwendolyn R. Allen, 72, of Flint agreed: “It’s so disgusting … It’s disgraceful.” Claude Carter, 49, of Flint sees the issue differently, though. He said wearing pants in that manner is a fad — not a crime. “I see young and old wearing their pants that way,” said Carter. The crackdown on buttocks is an apparent response to “significant” complaints from citizens, according to Dicks. Under the chief’s orders, any sworn officer who sees “sagging/exposing buttocks” will have probable cause to make an arrest under the city’s disorderly person ordinance — a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and three months in jail.

Flint NAACP President Frances Gilcreast is no fan of the style but worries about police focusing on young black men.

“My concern is how (the policy) will be applied equitably,” Gilcreast said. Some Flint police officers, however, aren’t too sure how they will enforce it. “What about ‘plumber’s crack’?” said Keith Speer, president of the Flint Police Officers Association. In the past, Speer said, officers would issue warnings if too much skin was showing but reserved the handcuffs for full moons. “Most of the time, if they’re wearing sagging pants, they’re also wearing boxers,” he said. Memo notwithstanding, Speer doesn’t expect any big changes in how officers handle the issue. “It’s like issuing a memo telling officers to enforce the law,” Speer said. “Are we going to get a memo every time somebody complains?”

Well, well, well this little young lady has 7 kids at the tender age of 16. Her mother attempted to get her fallopian tubes tied to prevent further pregnancies. However, Argentine law would not allow it because the law states that you have to be 18 to have such a procedure done.

I’m at a loss for words! Umm where is the father?

So the Supreme Court, the Court of all Courts, the Law of the Land has ruled that the death penalty is not permissable in a child rape case.

Well Why Not Your Honor? Do you only think it is necessary and proper for someone to be killed by our JUSTICE System when they too have murdered someone. How do we tell people not to murder by murdering them. Is that a misunderstanding because I don’t understand it.

A child who is raped is murdered in different ways. Their spirit is murdered in many instances, their bodies and mind never forget the horrific pain of being forced to have sex and brutally raped by adults. Often their belief systems are killed because they ask themselves what kind of God would allow such a heinous crime?

So if your reasoning is based on an eye for an eye, well that system is long gone. In fact the reasoning behind why we keep the Death Penalty in this country is flawed. Gregg v. Georgia outlines it, if I am correct. Here are the following reasons why the United States feels it is legally just to kill people to show them that they should not kill people!

In reaching this conclusion, the Court emphasized three factors: (i) that the “imposition of the death penalty for the crime of murder has a long history of acceptance both in the United States AND England”; (ii) that it was “now evident that a large proportion of American society continues to regard it as an appropriate and necessary criminal sanction”; and (iii) that the death penalty serves “two principal social purposes: retribution and deterrence of capital crimes by prospective offenders.”

So let me understand this:

because the death penalty has long been accepted in both the United States and England it is alright to kill people. Couldn’t the same have been said to uphold slavery and other inhumane acts. It is reasonings like this, that seem logical to a selected few that killed off millions of Jewish people in the Holocaust.

2. Americans regard it as an appropriate and necessary criminal sanction. Hmm 100 years ago many Americans believed it was ok to lynch negroes for looking at white women. This was no small group of individuals, this was common practice here in America. Does that make it right? Many blue eyed, blond haired Germans felt it was an appropriate sanction to exterminate Jewish people, does that make it right, and or just. A young Indian girl was almost killed a few months ago because she is from a lower caste system. A young man in his twenties threw her onto a burning fire, does that make it right. His peers and old traditions in his country thought these types of actions were ok, does that make it right and legally sound?

3. The death penalty serves as retribution and deterrence. Well the easier one is deterence. It must not serve such a great job when people in this country are being killed every day. How are we deterring them, they are not deterred, they are not phased. In fact you encourage them to kill by being a leading example that says it is ok to kill someone.

Retribution, do we really want to go back to the old theory an eye for an eye. In that case we will all be blind which is what this system offers. Blind Justice, 10% or more of the people on Death Row currently are innocent yet they have been found guilty. Will we continue to kill innocent people in the name of our Constitution?

America, Land of the free, home of the brave do you really have the authority to play God. Are we that holy as a country that we dare look down upon others and “attempt” to bring democracy to them when are lacking fundamental freedoms at home. When you challenge America you are quickly reminded that you could live somewhere else where things are worst off. When did we begin comparing ourselves to countries and situations that are less favorable than our own. How does that allow us to prosper and grow when we make backwards comparisons rather than marching forward as I would believe the Forefathers of this country wanted us to.

The Supreme Court Says No to the Death Penalty for child rapists, I pray I see the day when WHEN WE SAY NO TO THE DEATH PENALTY COMPLETELY. Otherwise we are just as barbaric as the countries we claim to civilize!

here is the link to the story that prompted this discussion.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/25/scotus.child.rape/index.html

Do you remember Elian Gonzalez? He was the young boy who came here from Cuba with his mother and his mother’s boyfriend. However most of the people on the small aluminum boat they were traveling on died on their way to the United States. Two young boys then ended up on the shores of Florida via an inner tube and were turned over to the U.S Coast Guard. A nasty fight ensued between both sides of the family which resulted in the little boy going back to Cuba to be with his biological father.

You’re thinking like me, what in the world does this have to do with Obama. Well apparently his Uncle is holding some of Barack’s associates responsible. One of which is Eric Holder who is now helping Obama pick a running mate, he was under Janet Reno when she ordered Elian’s return to his father in Cuba. Gregory Craig was Elian’s father’s lawyer who helped him get his son back.

While I was watching CNN, the family’s spokesperson was speaking to a group of Cuban supporters misinterpreting Obama’s stance on Cuba. Apparently Elian has become a member of the Young Communist Union, and many Cubans blame a host of individuals for his return to Cuba and two of them are Obama’s advisers.

I just ask, when does it all end. People are so focused on media attention and because Barack is what’s hot in the news right now all types of nonsense gets attached to him. My question is why don’t these supporters go make statements about the U.S. Supreme Court who refused to hear their case. Or the countless other courts who denied them. Instead they come after Obama, for future reference please attack the NEXT President with substantiative issues and not mere propaganda which seeks to alienate more voters. Thanks. YES WE CAN SI SE PUEDE!

You’re a f*cking liar. So, you know what it’s like, f*ck you. Okay, I hope you rot in f*cking hell. You’re a piece of sh*t f*cking liar and I hope you f*cking rot in hell. So f*ck you. I hope I never f*cking talk to you again you f*cking c*nt. F*ck you. You’re a coward and a liar and a f*cking nigger alright, so f*ck you. - Charlie Shee

Now His apology:

“I deeply apologize by my choice of words to all I have obviously offended; especially to Tony Todd, an African-American, who was my best man at my first two weddings. And for the record, my children did not show up today for a custodial visit without explanation. So three and one-half years later, the reasons that caused the anger and frustration displayed on that voice mail continue to be manifested on a daily basis.”  - Charlie Sheen

This is Good Ole Charlie talking to his very white ex girlfriend. With the internet you have absolutely no privacy. The bigger issue here is his rage towards this woman he was supposed to love. Sounds like poor Charlie needs some counseling, and he needs to learn how to respect women, no matter what their color.

As far as all the people who will come after Charlie Sheen SAVE IT! You really do not know what people say behind closed doors and we need to stop allowing terms to rile us up. The word nigger is by no means indicative of being black people, it is by no means representative of blacks and the great culture that we represent.

When I was growing up the term nigger was in the dictionary and the definition was lazy and ignorant. Now I look at the definition and it has morphed into a contemptuous terms for black people. Why is this, to me the word still means lazy and ignorant and I will not take ownership of a term that is moreso used to create a sense of inferiority amongst people in this country who are disenfranchised.

For a deeper look into the word nigger read below.

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!

Rewind the clocks back before the Civil Rights Era, after the Red Scare, where if you were communist you were a nigger. No, I am speaking of World War II, a defining moment in this country’s history where we joined forces with our allies overseas and toppled the Axis Powers who viciously slaughtered those of the Jewish faith and anyone else in their quest for world domination. Let us look into our backyard at today’s most successful minority, looked upon as intelligent, reserved, model citizens of this great nation; the Asian. Yes in 1942 here in America the Japanese were considered NIGGERS! Stripped of their land, businesses, and personal possessions, some 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into relocation centers into the interior lands of this country. Placed in prison camps with little to no food to eat and cramped living quarters for large families were just some of the conditions the Japanese had to experience. Propaganda spread through the media about the “Japs” as they were called, “good riddance to the spy’s and traitors”. These were some of the messages about the people who had only a few years prior been trying to assimilate into American culture. They too were in search of the roads paved of gold people from other countries associate with our great America. White farmers benefited with the Japanese farmers gone, they were then able to take over their profit share and make more revenue for themselves. Even the Supreme Court of the United States permitted this racist behavior holding that this exclusion did not violate the constitution arguing “it is permissible to curtail the civil rights of a racial group when there is a “pressing public necessity.” So much for Justice!

Who discovered America? Oh yes I remember we have a beautiful holiday in this country named after none other than America’s most beautiful thief, rapist, and oppressor among other names. Yes I am speaking of Columbus, when we discuss the concept of the nigger we have to speak about our beloved Columbus. You see the Indian; wait a minute what am I saying, Native American is the correct term because this is their native land. When we think of all the horrific things done to black people during chattel slavery our bodies quiver with fear. However, we forget that the Native American watched his woman be raped, and his family die from sickness brought by the Europeans. He watched his people become addicted to substances, his name was changed, and not just his name but also his ethnicity. To this day we call Native Americans Indians because of a mistake that an idiot made. We keep this mistake going forth, Native Americans call themselves Indians even; similar to how African Americans call themselves Nigger, they have embraced the term. Last but certainly not least the Native American was robbed of his land and certainly his culture. The history that they created prior to imperialism has long been erased and they are forced to live on reservations of land and lay dependent on the powers that be. America’s first experimentation with this Nigger concept was and is still in fact the Native American!

So many Niggers over the years, and I use this term loosely for this piece in hopes to articulate the construction of an underclass. That is what it is to be a nigger. Similar to the Untouchables in India, the term nigger is rooted in not only a need for superiority but a mindset entrenched in socio-economic slavery. The ability to legally strip people of the inalienable rights that our Constitution provides for them speaks not only to a power struggle but a constant reminder of who the boss is and what can happen if the system was ever to be questioned. The term Nigger, the concentration camps, the nooses, all of these symbols are objectifiable and measurable elements of what it means to be inferior but deeper than inferiority one must know their place. You see in 2050 the white majority will actually be the minority yet they need not worry because the hegemony and institutionalized racism have made all of the niggers fearful and afraid to jolt the status quo. Nigger is a term of fear; it’s a bastardizing moment in an ethnicities history that emotionally, physically, and mentally scars the people. This fear that is instilled takes over the mind yet keeps the body, the nigger is still used for their talents but their mind will never forget that moment and how much they never want to experience such a moment again.

Malcolm X once said “If you are a citizen, why do you have to fight for your civil rights, if you’re fighting for your civil rights that means you’re not a citizen”. Niggers are not citizens, at least for the time in which they are apart of the social construct of the term. That is why the Supreme Court allowed the Japanese to be placed in internment camps, that is why we allow our media and public officials of the law to bastardize the Islamic faith. That is why Native Americans are still relegated to plots of land on reservations in a country that they once owned and were illegally dispossessed of this land. So next time you hear the term NIGGER, or you go out and purchase the upcoming album NIGGER by Nas, be aware that this term has nothing to do with a specific group of people and more to do with a concept of how to control different groups of people. How to make one fearful, and how to make another group feel superior thus always limiting the power of one and expanding upon the power of the other.

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.

Interesting analysis on Police Use of Force by the NYPD. I will be teaching a lesson to 8th graders about the use of force; when it is necessary and when it is excessive this upcoming Monday. For that reason I find it interesting that I found this article, maybe I will print it out for my students.

This article reminds me why we must never forget our fallen soldiers like Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo. It is because of the excessive practices of the NYPD that these two men are not here today. Just some quick facts cops are allowed to use physical force when they are making an arrest, when they fear that a suspect is trying to escape from custody and when they feeel physically threatened.

In the article below you will see scenarios that are the exact opposite of what I have described.

Cops use force - from restraint to drawn guns - in 20% of stops, data show

blesser@nydailynews.com