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I see my man is getting his 15 minutes of fame! They say some Vegas promoters have offered Suge 1 million dollars to have a rematch. The Knockout Kid might make a little bit of money off of this. Lol

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For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26

For some odd reason this scripture has been on my mind this morning. A few days ago my mother and I were talking about this Marvin Gaye special she was watching on tv (she’s a huge marvin Gaye fan). The special talked about how torn Marvin was and how he dealt with so many internal demons. His father was a pastor and they had a very strange relationship but she told me of this one story where Marvin threw a load of money on his parent’s bed to symbolize that he had finally made it. His father then quoted this exact scripture to him. It got me to thinking, thinking about how we live in a culture where we obsess over so many superficial things.

Are we chasing money and beauty rather than our own true passions. If we are, beauty fades and money is not promised to anyone (Just ask OJ). I know I do it, I have superficial desires and wants. I often wonder will we become all that we dream to be in exchange for our souls, in exchange for the goodness of our spirits. It’s easy to speak of balance and quickly read this and say that it does not apply to you. We can all have a perception of ourselves that is naturally flawed, more focused on what we expect life to be. Or how we believe that we view things, when in practice it may be very different. Just some food for thought for today, it’s raining outside and I am going to ponder on some of these questions and ask myself am I following my passions. Are you? Peace and Grace be unto you.

He who does not seize opportunity today, will be unable to seize tomorrow’s opportunity.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matthew 24: 6-11

I remember being a little boy and it was snowing in April and my mother quoted that the bible said when the end was near we would not know the difference between the seasons. Now I am far from suggesting that the world is about to end tomorrow but I was drawn to this verse last night via a Common song called Heaven Somewhere. Maybe I have to much free time on my hands but I surf the internet an awful lot and the news gets more disturbing by the day. Wars and rumors of war; are we not in Iraq and some folks are trying to push us into Iran while we watch beautiful young men and women die for unjust causes. Are people in Haiti not creating a revolution because they have no access to food and bare necessities for survival. Today I read that 50 students have been found in the wreckage of a high school in China after a powerful earthquake, and over 7600 are feared dead throughout the country. The economy is spiraling downwards, people are losing their jobs with no new work in sight or means to provide food for their families.

All of this despair would make me think we would get closer to God and pray for a true blessing. Yet the word says you will be hated, and that many will turn astray. While watching Forrest Gump, the handicapped sergeant summed it up. Where is Jesus now, why would he let me live this way. This is the way people look at you who choose to believe in such tough times. And then others in such despair turn to those who claim to profess the word of God. Millions of viewers turn into youtube fanatic preachers, who spew venom and ask for money preying on people’s fears and using the word to sound as an authority. Don’t ask me why I brought this message to you today, I just wanted to share my thoughts and think objectively about the times we are living in. Be careful during these times of trials and tribulation to not fall victim to false hope. Keep your faith in God for he predicted that rough times would come. Remember that if you ask you shall be given (sometimes you gotta keep asking, I know I do lol). Peace and Grace be unto you.

Being my bloodline is one with the divine, in time brother you will discover the light.

This is sick! I am reminded of Amadou Diallo right now and Brother Abner Louima who were both brutalized by the NYPD. Brother Diallo did not get to keep his life, Mr. Louima received significant amounts of money in a civil case to settle his grief however money does not take away the pain of being a second class citizen.

My prayers go out to the Bell family and I pray all of our lofty businessmen and entertainers will set aside monies to make sure Sean Bell’s children can afford a college education. It is this type of injustice that polarizes people of color and makes us not feel “AMERICAN”. When a man is killed in cold blood because “he fit the description” how can we not get angry? My stomach turns at the thought of those PIGS as Fred Hampton would have called them. Black cops at that, many of us young black men know that we would rather deal with white cops than black ones. There seems to be an excessive need to control when the officer is black and the harassment turns so ugly when it comes from someone who used to fit the description just like you. I will be fair in this assessment and not call all cops or all black cops for that matter horrible. However, here is my message to the police, NYPD and the other police forces of this nation, you are judged by your weakest link and the brutal murders and corrupt policing efforts that the NYPD and some of you use needs to come to an end!

How many mothers have to bury their sons, how many men have to be harassed and brutally beaten before you change your racist measures. We will not riot and destroy our neighborhoods; no we are smarter than that! We will find justice though, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

R.I.P. Sean Bell

Misunderstood: A Hustler’s Tale

Driven by dreams of material things
Cant blame em; on TV that’s all he seen
Takes more than a reckless spirit
To build a crack empire
Learn the ways of the street fast
Or your life will soon expire
Fiends is clickin’ to what they got on 43rd
So you set up shop next to the woods on 45th
House in the cut you don’t want no shit

Takes more than a reckless spirit
To do what your doing
More like economics and trade agreements
In that language you’re fluent
If only Columbia or Harvard came to the hood
Maybe this young man wouldn’t be misunderstood
With these practices
You’d be a top CEO
But instead we’re relegated to the streets
It ain’t fun out here
Everybody’s packing heat

So you wholesale your product
So all the abusers come to you
Now their consumers
Are your customers
And everybody knows you
Business is good, assets and such
Be careful brother, don’t press ya luck
You got big dreams
To get ya family out the hood
Never was too flashy
But now your rims are what make you look good
Just some more attention
Before they wave ya ass goodbye
Coppers watching, enemies plottin’, snitches will end ya life

He coulda been bigger than John Rockefeller
Coulda taken his charisma
And used it for something better
The world judges you
For serving with hope with despair
The streets is watching
You cant sleep
This lovely crack house
Is surrounded by fiends
Your enemies creep with guns
With ambitions to blow holes in your dreams
Yet the cops pick you up
Putting football numbers behind this big dream
Too many keys to count
You’re on your way to the bing

Don’t get me wrong, they crooked too
You ain’t got no boats
To get all these drugs through
All them drugs they caught you with
Didn’t even make it to the precinct
They supply your competition
And our communities are still bleeding
Only if Penn State and Temple
Came to the hood
Maybe this young mans life
Wouldn’t be so misunderstood

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Luke 12: 22-26

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 1 Peter 3: 15-17

The high road; often the road less travelled but yet still a road for us to take. We are challenged everyday and judged by the decisions that we make to those challenges. Sometimes those judgments are hard and very hard to deal with, but there they are staring you in the face. How do you react? Do you fight fire with fire, do you judge right back? We might, but for what, don’t you remember when you were little and your parents told you to ignore somebody. If you ignore them that they will go away, or they will become so angry that you aren’t fueling their fire that they would cool off. So how come now that everybody’s grown we have to have something to say. “No, I’m grown”, I hear it all the time, well then act like it and turn the cheek and do not concern yourself with such foolishness.

People are going to judge you, their going to judge your belief in God, your clothes, your choice of profession. People are so nosey they judge how you spend your money. Listen to the word, don’t get mad; simply respond in a respectful manner because you are a respectable person. Let them know why you do the things that you do and how great you feel for doing it. As the word says they will be ashamed of their slanderous words because you didn’t respond and help fuel their anger. I’m talking to myself so don’t think I’m talking to anyone else. People get on my nerves all the time, so much I have to call my mom! Lol! But seriously if you are doing the right thing, and being judged for it the word tells us it is better to suffer for doing good rather than doing evil. Don’t be impressed by those who are getting by, I can’t even front; when someone is causing me drama and I take the high road, I become obsessed with how they’re the ones doing wrong but I’m catching the jack. I have to lose that mentality, and realize that whatever lesson I am supposed to learn from that suffering is God’s will, not my own. Let’s learn to take the high road more often having faith that the reward at the end of that road is greater than any other reward we could ever receive. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Suffering is prior to attaining success or perfection

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10

I have a version of the Bible titled “The Book”, a brother gave this bible to me this past summer. In “The Book” this same scripture reads as, Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! Yet many of us are chasing the dollar, I myself am extremely broke, and I won’t lie and say that I am happy in my broken despair (lol) but I do find joy. There are tons of things we can find joy in in the world but what brings me the most joy and I think is often taken for granted are our family and friends. Family and friends are those who support us when we are down, they are the ones who are most proud of our achievements and they give us the strength to keep pushing when we feel that we have nothing left to give.

The scripture is right, only a fool thinks that wealth will bring happiness. Well wealth in a monetary sense, because to have a wealth of good family and friends, let me repeat that, good family and friends are one of the greatest gifts we can receive from the Creator. As I travel to Philadelphia today I am thankful because I will be spending time with my family and friends as one of my close friends is getting married. A joyous occasion it will be, a joyous occasion I really do need. With all the stresses of life and school I look forward to spending time with people I care about and people who care about me. I know it is God who sees that I need this break, and he has afforded me enough money (NOT ALOT OF MONEY) but enough to give thanks to him and watch two people say their vows before him and in his name. Take time to remember the people we sometimes forget, I am sure they will make your day a little bit warmer. Peace and Grace be unto you!

The soul that is within me no man can degrade.

My “Fascination” with Greeks (Response)

Earlier today I was introduced to an article written in Blacklisted Magazine (http://www.blacklistedmagazine.org) discussing one woman’s opinions on Black Greek Lettered Organizations at the University of Florida. She later responded to my posting of her article with this comment, “Please keep in mind that the critique in this article, is specific to my University– and I did that mindful of the fact that I couldn’t speak for every cluster of BGLO’s. (I’d be willing to wager that some of the same critiques ring true, however).”

Unlike the typical reply to such an article that looks to minimize the efforts and necessity for members of Black Greek Lettered Organizations and defame this young lady as a possible “reject”, or “hater”, I wish to engage her in an intellectual discourse surrounding her topic of choice. Initially her article looks to speak to the efforts or lack thereof of the National Pan Hellenic Council members at the University of Florida, and having attended Temple University in Philadelphia; I have a very limited view of the dealings at the University of Florida. However her response on my blog attempted to over-generalize these views and place them upon the many members of these organizations throughout the world.

I have several issues with this article that I will address throughout this response; first and foremost I have an issue anytime someone presents us with a problem, however is not kind enough to afford their readers or the audience that they wish to engage with any type of solutions. We all know the saying, “if you are not a part of the solution than you are a part of the problem”. Secondly, I find the tone of this article to be divisive and condescending to not only members of these organizations, but also the black students of the University of Florida as a whole. Lastly, I wish to present a record of current achievements and community service that members of these organizations have engaged themselves in and highlight their social activism, which was grossly neglected in the previous article.

I do not wish to rebut every element of this crafty article, for that would be asinine for her article represents her experiences. I do however find her male on male sexual harassment, and hazing assaults to reek of ignorance to a system she clearly has no direct dealings with. I would only ask that as a journalist, writers take a more objective role in the information that they put forth, both informing their public and stating the issue they wish to address and not presenting a highly biased work of literature.

I.
Throughout the article “My “fascination” with Greeks”, the young lady presents many issues that she finds with the caliber of undergraduate members of bglo’s at the University of Florida. She finds that these young individuals lack a consciousness or awareness surrounding different issues that affect people of color. Ms. Albert contends that these circumstances should have warranted support from the Greeks to collectively enjoin the student body in fighting these issues as well as bring attention to the school’s administration about such situations. Having not been a member of the student body at this institution, I will take her account of such a lack of response from the Black Greeks as fact.

However, nowhere in her response do I see that she attempted to address this issue with the Greeks and possibly gain their support in these battles of social activism at the University. Nor do I see this article creating a healthy dialogue between herself and these organizations on this campus to promote future support of such issues. So here we have a well-defined problem with no solutions, this is problematic for many reasons. It is clear that people are disappointed by the lack of support from the Black Greeks on this campus. However, by looking to “blast” them and their feeble efforts rather than engage them this article stands to do less good for the overall community who could benefit from a healthier discussion that creates an alliance rather than dissention.

II.

“Did they starve the consciousness out of you during hazing?” I have never seen a conversation be productive when you start the dialogue attacking the person you are hopefully seeking to come to some sort of common ground with. Bro. Dr. Cornell West said it best when he said that we as black people “must engage in a love language”. Meaning, we can no longer condemn each other and speak harshly towards one another and expect to affect real change within the communities in which we live.

Not only did the writer call the Black Greek members “shallow and self- serving”, she extended this assault to the entire community of black students as a whole, calling them “shallow and disengaged”. Such rhetoric only furthers the divide between our people and does little to combat the ills that plague communities of color.

I am confused by such verbal assaults, because as she invokes the need for activism and awareness amongst people of color at the University, I see this writer more so utilizing the ways of the oppressive media to effectively get her points across. To simply gloss over those who are making a difference, those who are engaged, and hone in on those who are not is no better than when people make pre-determined judgments about our people as a whole based on the actions of the “few”. Is there anything different when someone assumes that a young black woman is a promiscuous, gold-digging, uneducated woman simply because these are the common stereotypes and sometimes actions of young women of color? While I am sure that this intelligent young lady is none of the above, she has to understand that her assertions and generalizations on members of these organizations and black people as a whole is a microcosm for how blacks are treated and misrepresented in this very country that we live in.

“BGLO’s, like other university organizations, will be judged as a whole, not just the sum of its more progressive parts.” Do we like when we as young black students are striving for more progressive ways to better our communities but we are wrongly compared to those who sell drugs, prostitute and wish to further degrade our communities? This is not only unfair, it is unimaginable coming from a woman of color who daily has to face these types of discrimination not based on her own actions but the actions of others. Let us be more objective in our opinions and remember in order to engage those members of her campus it would beseech her to engage in healthy discourse with solutions rather than adding insult to injury.

III.

Lastly, as a member of a BGLO in the Philadelphia area, I will gladly enlighten you as to whether or not these assertions that you have made about Black Greek Life ring true in my experiences. While I would be lying to say that none of these organizations have members who are more concerned with the social and less of the community service and scholarship that they were founded upon. This is not the rule; it is more the exceptions that we unfortunately allow to slip through. We like to call them “shirt wearer’s”. No, actually my experience has been one of watching the women of Delta Sigma Theta garner upwards of $7,500 in monies raised for Sickle Cell Anemia alone, which we all know is a disease that affects the black community at a rapid pace. I have watched the men of Phi Beta Sigma host an annual Ms. Ebony Temple Pageant, where the contestants win scholarship money to help finance their education and many of the proceeds go to local churches and charities that the young ladies find to be beneficial for the betterment of the black community. A member of Zeta Phi Beta from Temple recently started her own magazine, Avenue Report, in which she caters to young professional men of color, educating us about financial literacy and health issues amongst a host of other topics.

We can’t escape the good old stepping stigma, so the Greeks of Temple mentor and help the students of the Young Scholar’s Charter School learn the art of stepping while stressing the importance of higher education, we simply call it Project G.R.E.E.K. The men of Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi also engage the young students of North Philadelphia, a highly impoverished area, with scholastic support and mentorship. The ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho are staunch fundraisers for breast cancer and although this is not their national program, they revolve many of their events, banquets and fundraising around building awareness to this topic. Social activism, the young women of Alpha Kappa Alpha are looking to follow their illustrious leader Barbara McKinzie in attacking issues of social injustice including but not limited to the Jena 6 incident, the Don Imus incident, and issues surrounding misogyny in hip hop. Not only has their national President condemned defamatory statements and social injustices in the media, they recently gave Howard University $1 million dollars toward restoring some of the University’s facilities. While also encouraging their members to utilize their spending habits to fight racial discrimination and the disrespect of black women. These young ladies continue to represent the standard of what it is to be a lady, while selflessly raising funds and awareness for issues endemic to women of color.

Lastly but certainly not least, the men of Alpha Phi Alpha are continuously engaged in providing service to the local community members of North Philadelphia. Along with the members of Omega Psi Phi, these young gentlemen brought awareness to the Millions More Movement and mobilized students to this historic event. Weekly, the men of Alpha Phi Alpha can be seen mentoring the inner city youth at the Y Achievers program. Darryl Matthews, General President of Alpha Phi Alpha, was one of the many black leaders on hand the day of the Jena 6 protest and rallied the people to fight such acts of discrimination. At Temple we do not currently have any men of Iota Phi Theta, however I have worked with members of their alumni chapter and I felt their strong commitment to the upward mobility of people of color as well.

Members of BGLO’s are often very involved in service, however our commitment to our communities is something that is within our hearts. Such service is not always blasted around campus to receive accolades but more so heavily concentrated in neighborhoods where our existence is vital to the successes of our youth. While the article I am responding to may be completely factual, I pray that you will take a different approach so that we may move forward together rather than apart. Please continue to allow your voice to be heard for there are many issues in our communities that I believe we can address as whole rather than separate entities. Peace and Love!