Smith on Race & Politics (originally posted 9/24/08)

Dear friends,

In light of the current Trayvon Martin tragedy, and the fact that African Americans are standing together for the first time in 150 years, when we fought, along with our European American counterparts, and ended chattel slavery, during the North American Civil War, with his piece on the link below, posted on 9/23/08, my long time and very dear friend, Elmer Smith, now "formerly" of the Philadelphia Daily News, made the crucial point of reminding us that we should not let either polls or "pundits" convince us that then Senator Obama would not win the election.

As Elm reveals, quite adequately, in the piece, what will really matter, ultimately, is whether or not people act in their own best interests.

Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080923_Elmer_Smith__Race_alone_won_t_derail_Obama.html
Read full post

Cultural Development for African American Youth in Philly, and elsewhere

"In fact, even our five "senses" are culturally-defined. That is, Our perceptions, regarding what we feel, taste, hear, smell, and see, are determined by our cultural experiences."

Dear friends,

The history of humankind is the revelation of lots of stories about generational activities, among particular groups. It is not a chronology of the tales of either “great” individuals or “great” events. Additionally, because we are social beings, our existence is based upon two conditions. They are: 1) A cooperative effort to co-exist. 2) Shared responsibility to engage in activities that are regulated by specific rules which allow the continuation of the particular group for hundreds or even thousands of years. The aforementioned generational activities are more commonly referred to as “culture".

In Our society, culture is a word that is often used to refer to the higher achievements of a particular group - like painting and music. However, it (culture) involves everything that We do. Therefore, it even has a physiological significance. This is easily identifiable by recognizing the actual mental and motor reflexes that are initiated when a European American (so-called white person) who is sitting in a car pushes down the lock button as an African American approaches the vicinity of the former’s vehicle.

The notion of the initiating of both mental and motor reflexes also explains the cultural differences in the way that people draw, dance, sing, and so forth. In fact, even Our five "senses" are culturally-defined. That is, our perceptions, regarding what We feel, taste, hear, smell, and see, are determined by Our cultural experiences. We live in a racist culture (where racism, is defined as it was first used to mean White Supremacy)

Additionally, our culture determines the manner in which we transmit and share both behavior and ideas to present and future generations. However, the first thing that we must understand about culture is that it is largely tied to a people's resources. That is, social status and income as well as materials to produce what people need or desire determine how, why and through what medium folks can express themselves as a distinct group.

African American culture has contributed quite positively, and in a large way, to the development of the United States of America. However, the legacy of chattel slavery that was bestowed upon us by both European American enslavers and their, albeit fewer, African American counterparts has left our culture in shambles. Worse yet, much of the problem of the lack of community amongst us is based upon cultural habits that are made all too obvious by the sense of disenfranchisement that many of our youth both feel and display.

Now, there’s an African proverb that goes, " To live together is to have a common fate." In other words, as a community, in the grand scheme of things, as it were, we need each other, regardless of whatever extent that we are physically-able or whatever social differences that we have - like gender and age. But if people, in any specific community, share a common fate, then it only seems fair that all parties involved should have a voice in their destinies. Unfortunately, for all of America’s "brave words" of "freedom and democracy", when do our children ever experience either of these lofty ideals, particularly, democracy?

Worse yet, while the quintessence of "democracy" is non-violent conflict resolution, in terms of the self-destructive deeds of our youth that were just mentioned, our responses to anti-social behavior by said young people are often expressed with violence, destructiveness, counter-productiveness, and mean-spiritedness, and, therefore, quite undemocratic, aside from being totally useless. For example, more police to monitor and/or dominate them, " zero tolerance" in schools, and harsher sentences for youthful offenders may feel good to some, but not even those punishments or "more jobs" will change the present circumstances. As a matter of fact, if either punishment or reward changed behavior, then there would not be such high recidivism rates in the prisons or so many lottery winners who end up broke in short time.

We must convince our young (and allow them) to not only share in controlling their own destinies, but, as well, to prepare for the generations that will follow them. That is all about what culture is.

One Love,
G. Djata Bumpus
Read full post

In light of Trayvon Martin's murder, the white" press continues to re-define racism

"Moreover, as long as the people who started using racism against us are able to define it, then they can, very conveniently, sweep their atrocities against us under the rug. Plain and Simple."


Dear friends,

I was watching Meet the Press this morning, about Trayvon's murder. As usual, the man that was supposed to be the "Black" voice, Ben Jealous of the NAACP, made no comment about White Supremacy. Moreover, as long as the people who the racist rulers put in front of cameras (Al Sharpton and his ilk) are too cowardly to state that this is a White Supremacist nation, then our enemies will get to define what racism is (a disease and other such nonsense). Hence, our violators are able to keep their culpability to a minimum.

Yet, the reality is: "white" is a phony, mean-spirited claim that people make in order to pit themselves against us, and form an artificial "majority" group. Worse yet, a woman can come from Norway yesterday (and I've seen it right on Facebook), call herself "white" (which won't mean anything in Norway), and inherit a history that is not hers, as well as privilege over me and those who look like me - along with the common racist arrogance that allows European Americans to murder us without concern for justice being brought against them. That's why the U.S. is a white Supremacist nation.

Moreover, as long as the people who started using racism against us are also able to define it, then they can, very conveniently, sweep their atrocities against us under the rug. Plain and Simple.

Please remember, it was not until the mid-Seventies that the term racism gained any real use in this society, even among Blacks. That is, back in the mid-Sixties and after, and it was only so-called Black militants like myself and some of my elders who used the term. Before that, even Dr. King and others used the term "racial prejudice" - NOT "racism"..and King and those other cats deliberately stayed away from using that word (racism), as not to "offend" European Americans or so-called "whites"...In fact, it was only during the Reagan era of the 80s that Uncle Toms started to cozy up to his administration, and the mainstream media started to use it as well, did it even get used (the term racism).

and then, again, racism, conveniently, became this nonsense about being a xenophobia and disease. and if my timetable of the evolution of that term being used in society isn't a fact about the use of the word racism, then one must ask, "Why did King and others shy away from using that term as early as brothers (and sisters) like Malcolm, and others did?", therefore, rejecting its original definition and use. Let's not get it twisted up in here.

G. Djata Bumpus
Read full post