Beyonce "Givin' head" in a Limo! - the new Feminism ?

Dear friends,

I guess when the First Lady of the United States happily admits that if she could be anybody else it would be you, then why not do a hit record that graphically describes you giving a man a blow job, because you want him to like you?

As a matter of fact, perhaps Michelle and her two girls are rockin' with grandma to Beyoncé's new hit called "Partition" right at this moment. And not to leave out the White House, the long blonde "Weave Queen" even mentions in the lyrics that her sperm donor "Monica Lewinsky-ed" her gown. Yum Yum - or Yuck?

Surprisingly, she's getting great support from many African American women. I can only imagine that these are the same women who bought Steve Harvey's book, "Act like a lady- Think like a man".

Nevertheless, it just goes to show that there is no correlation between having any amount of money and having self-esteem, much less self-respect.

This whole affair reminds me of an incident in my own life, back in 1978. I was a big-time amateur boxer in New England who had recently been introduced to and soon would sign with none other than Smokin' Joe Frazier as a pro.

Because I was an amateur boxer, that means that I wasn't paid for fighting. In fact, for that reason, during the daytime I worked in Boston's now former Newmarket Square meat district. I was what was called a "beef lugger" (super-strong guys who unloaded sides of beef from trucks) - an occupation that no longer exists, because now beef is chopped up and boxed right there in the slaughterhouse, then driven around the country to supermarket chains via tractor-trailer trucks.  In any case, everybody who worked in the meat market, from meat cutters/butchers to truck drivers and luggers made pretty good money. On Fridays, therefore, it wasn't uncommon to see prostitutes walking around the dock.

Now, it was a hot early summer day and a young African American woman in high heels and a mini-skirt, about my age at the time (24), for a couple of weeks, had been coming around on Fridays at lunchtime - that is check-cashing time, and prostituting herself by giving blow jobs to all comers (pun intended) for $10 - gas was only about $.40 a gallon then.

Usually there would be about a dozen or more guys, almost always "white", lined up outside the little closet- size door that secured the tiny room where she did her work. This particular Friday, when her business was apparently slow, she came walking along the ramp offering blow jobs for $10 to any takers. When she reached me, I looked her in the eyes with a disgusted expresion on my face and said, "What are you doing out here shaming yourself and all other black women sucking off these white boys?" She simply sucked her teeth, shrugged her shoulders, turned around, and started walking in the other direction, still hollering out her offer.

About two weeks later, either right before or after July 4, with only a week to go before I would be going to Joe Frazier's Gym in North Philly, I was taking my son, who was three years-old at the time, to his daycare's annual picnic. It was a very expensive and exclusive daycare, but it was hooked up with a big shoe company, and I didn't even have to pay anything because a close friend's mother told her company that my son was her grandchild and employees didn't have to pay for daycare. She also did that for me, because I was a single parent and that was unheard of for a guy to be in those days.

At any rate, when I walked into the picnic area at the playground behind the daycare, sitting there at a picnic table with her toddler, in a nice classy summer dress was guess who? That same young prostitute from the meat market who I had scolded only two weeks earlier. The look on her face, as the commercial says, was "priceless."

My son had been going to that daycare for a year and a half, but I'd never seen this woman, other than at the meat market, before. I was just as shocked as she was. Both feelings and conflicting feelings stirred in me. I mean, on the one hand, I wanted to blast her and embarrass her. This was all happening within a split second. Then the son of a West Indian woman came out in me.  "Be respectful." So, as she stared into my eyes, perhaps expecting the worse, I simply nodded my head at her and kept walking into the picnic area towards the other guests.

I never saw her again after that day. I've always hoped that that incident may have been one for her to change her life.

Still, the issue of women and young girls bowing to Male Supremacy, as opposed to resisting it, if not trying to totally destroy it, has everything to do with the female half of our species being locked out of the experience that everyone should have: of trying to be fully human by mastering both one's inner and outer powers/capabilities, in conjunction with the way that s/he lives life.

Finally, Beyoncé claims that the pathetic lyrics of the non-melodic trashy so-called song on the link below is somehow contributing to the advancement of feminism. That is not only a lie, but a stupid one! Will she teach her little baby, Blue Ivy, to look at life within the context of how she can make a man "like" her? Or, will she encourage her daughter to develop a "sense of self" that is based upon the latter's powers/capabilities to accomplish goals by herself and on her own, without relinquishing her dignity to any man - or woman - regardless of any promises of trinkets, baubles, or dollars?

G. Djata Bumpus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXJ-QVpWbGg Read full post

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr On The Importance Of Jazz

Check this out!
http://wclk.com/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-importance-jazz Read full post

Quincy Jones, Lil Wayne, and African American Culture

Dear friends,

With all due respect to Quincy Jones and the overwhelming majority of African American artists, including musicians: the sounds, words, and images that have been revealed by the people mentioned, since the end of the Civil War, are completely different than what our ancestors did prior to that period.

That is, songs and pictures, as well as acts of liberation, in both open and subtle forms, were in honor of the collective unconscious of African American people. What Dr. W.E.B. DuBois referred to as the "sorrow songs" came from Blues and later Gospel music.

Nonetheless, it was always about liberation, whether personally or as a group. And so the songs, for example, not only showed despair, but relief from that wrenching emotion.

Finally, considering the fact that Lil Wayne and these other lowlife morons don't even have the dignity to honor and carry themselves in a respectful way, while thinking about those who will follow them, icons like Quincy Jones, who has spent most of his career trying to legitimize the music of European rulers and their offshoots in the Americas, should accept, at least, some of the culpability for not having enriched himself with both a deeper intellect and integrity that would've helped young African American people of today express and share the messages of our ancestors. After all, Dr. DuBois and many other African American scholars and intellectuals were around when Jones was coming. This is also especially true, since the conditions of the overwhelming majority of African American people have not changed qualitatively, much less substantially… 

Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.28204/title.quincy-jones-says-it-s-hard-to-get-used-to-lil-wayne-/ Read full post

AL SHARPTON - THE F.B.I.. SNITCH IS OFFICIALLY EXPOSED!!!

Dear fiends,

On the link below, Al Charlatan/Sharpton has finally been officially exposed as the lying fraud that he is. Having the Freedom of Information Act on their side, the Smoking Gum website has made known what we already knew, in spite of Sharpton's lying denial.

"Educate to Liberate!" - Sam Napier, Minister of Communications, Black Panther Party

G. Djata Bumpus

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/investigation/al-sharpton-764312 Read full post

My First Born - Kwame Sekou Lumumba Bumpus

"And still, to this day, even some of the people who have known me for ages ask only about my son, with absolutely no mention of my daughters."








Above, Djata Bumpus, an
undefeated amateur
boxer at the time, holding
3 months-old son
Kwame,
in July of 1975.







Kwame with Dad,
moments after
his first of
two television fights
in 2001.

Dear friends,

Not long ago, on the Website of middleweight boxer Tony Jeter (who fought my son on ESPN Friday Night Fights, back in November of 2001), talking about his career, Jeter wrote,

"I have two losses; Kwame Bumpus was a blue chipper who could beat anyone from 154 to 165 in this area hands down. He was nothing but the truth and I don’t even know what happened to that guy. He just disappeared. I heard stories that he was locked up or that he had been shot, who knows? But, the guy was a good, good fighter. (Bumpus fought in 2001 and 2002. His last fight came on April 18th, 2002. His professional record stands at 6-0-1, 1 KO.)"








Kwame after a workout at
Joe Frazier's Gym
in North Philly (2001).

I named him after Dr. Kwame Nrumah of Ghana, Sekou Toure of Guinea, and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo - the three chief pioneers of the African Revolution that is still going on and is worldwide in its nature and scope. Moreover, Kwame Bumpus, today his 39th birthday, my eldest child and only son, to be sure, is far from deceased and is never in jail, as is suggested on Tony Jeter's Website. He is the oldest of my three progeny. Additionally, six years older than Namandje and ten years older than Tia, he was always their idol growing up, as both of his sisters learned to excel at everything that he did, including intellectually and academically, as well as sports-wise through boxing, track & field, and basketball. (except Tia in soccer, instead of basketball.)

Kwame's career as a champion, with his voluminous collection of newspaper and television clippings, began when he was 13 years-old. A year after moving my family to Amherst, Massachusetts from South Philly, because of Philly's lousy schools in 1987 (at the time, Kwame was going into the seventh grade and Namandje was starting the first grade), at the end of the summer of 1988, Kwame, playing against all grown men, won the New England Chess Open (Class D). Incidentally, beginning at seven years-old, he learned to not only play chess, but more or less mastered it, under the tutelage of my brother, his Uncle Eshu. Of course, I was his regular opponent with whom he practiced, until I could no longer beat him by age 13.

Only a couple of weeks later, as an eighth-grader, he was allowed to run varsity track (a sprinter) for the local high school. In his senior year (1993) he won the Western Mass. 100 meter Championship and the Western Mass. High School Chess Championship. By the way, his high school, allowed me to be his personal track coach, since as a family tradition, myself and almost all of my five brothers ran track in high school.

During the summer of 1993, before he went to college, he attended the world-renowned Red Auerbach Basketball Camp at Brandeis University, just outside of Boston. It was only a week or so long, but when I went to pick him up, along with his sports bag, he was holding two big trophies and a photo. One trophy was for "Best Guard" at the camp. The second was the team trophy, because his team won the camp's championship for the 150 guys from around the world who were split up into teams.

As well, he had a picture of himself and the now late, great Red Auerbach (who called Kwame "Little Jordan"). The photo was actually a prize that was offered to all of the 150 guys just mentioned who had attended the camp. However, Kwame was the only one of the entire bunch who stayed on the Honor Roll for the entire previous year. By the way, at @5' 10", weighing @157lbs., Kwame has been bench-pressing well over 300lbs. , ever since he was 16 years-old. He has run the 200 meter sprint as fast as 20.1 seconds - fully automatic. Over 20 years later, he still holds 13 records in track and field at his high school. And he can dunk a basketball.

Meanwhile, earlier, as a senior in high school, Kwame was sought after by about 400 colleges and universities (@300 for academics and @100 for track). After an NCAA-regulated visit, he chose the Florida Gators and accepted an athletic scholarship. There, he ran the lead leg of the bronze medal winning Gators in the 400x400 meters relay at the SEC Championships, during his sophomore year (1994-5).

Nevertheless, although he was doing fine academically-wise at the University of Florida, he really wanted to box. So, he called me and asked me if he could come back home and start a boxing career. I have always supported my children, even if I wasn't crazy about what they wanted to do, as long as it was legal.

Now, while each of my three children, on the second birthday, has received his or her first boxing lesson, I never allowed them to compete, even sparring in the gym, until they were 16 years-old (although I allowed Tia, at 15, to spar with Jackie Frazier - and she gave Jackie a fit - prior to the latter's first match with Laila Ali).

Kwame was now 20. He literally swept through amateur boxing with a 43-7 record (where he was robbed horribly 7 times). Meanwhile, for a couple of years, my old friend and former boxing manager, the now late great Smokin' Joe Frazier, had wanted to manage Kwame as a pro. Kwame, having known Joe all of his life, wanted the same. However, in time, Kwame was feeling neglected, as Jackie Frazier-Lyde, Joe's daughter (an attorney who is now a Philly judge), was getting all of the attention for her short but lucrative career. In May of 2001, Kwame called me about it. I asked him what kind of contract he had signed with Joe. He told me that because Joe and I were such longtime good friends, they just did it on a handshake. I told him to leave Joe then. He did.

After all, I was disappointed with how Joe had handled, Kwame's career, especially since a year and a half earlier Joe had called me on his speakerphone with both Kwame and his son Marvis sitting there, while Joe asked me to give him my blessings in managing Kwame, for almost 2 hours, before I conceded and said "Yes".

Kwame would travel to New Jersey where his close friend Olympic bronze medalist Terrance Cauthen, who had left Joe's "stable" earlier, lived. He stayed with Terrance and his small family for a while, training and fighting for another year.

During that time, he became interested in Islam. Having been raised in a non-theist (as opposed to atheist) home that still had strong Christian values, he felt a connection. Over the next four years, living in Boston, his birthplace, he worked and saved up a bunch of money, and in the Fall of 2006, moved to Egypt, before sneaking into Yemen (which is considered the center of Muslim scholarship worldwide). He stayed in Yemen, for a couple of years, then returned to the US, after renouncing Islam and all religions, as he and his two younger sisters had been raised by me to do. He was recruited by the US Army, as he is fluent in Arabic. He has since served a tour of duty in Afghanistan, just arriving back in the States in January of 2013, and has resumed regular contact with his two siblings, Namandje and Tia.

At any rate, I decided to tell his story, besides making Tony Jeter and other boxing people aware, because I concentrate a lot on mentioning my daughters on my blog and on Facebook, due to the fact that male offspring always seem to get notice over their female siblings. And still, to this day, even people who have known me for ages ask only about my son, with absolutely no mention of my daughters. Moreover, I love all three of them equally, inasmuch as I love each of them specially. Ya dig? Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Who Really Benefits from Testing in Schools? (originally posted 10/13)

"Alternatively, the states themselves could become major actors in the test-making industry. Though some states now use commercial "off-the-shelf" tests, states are increasingly developing their own tests or are customizing the commercial tests to better "align" them with their curricula standards. Georgia, for instance, uses Harcourt's Stanford Achievement Test for grades 3, 5, and 8, yet it uses its own state-developed tests in grades 4, 6, 8, 11, and 12. Many states now use such hybrid assessment systems" 

Dear friends, 

We saw it in Chicago recently, now Philadelphia is getting ready to start the new school year, but having a huge problem in figuring out how to fund the schools. 

At the heart of the problem, strangely enough, is the fact that, because of the No Child Left Behind Act that was originally instituted by Pres. George Bush and continued under Pres. Barack Obama, entire school systems are under the thumb of the Testing Industry. 

But who really benefits from all of this testing? Is it our students, or is it, perhaps, corporations, politicians, and lobbyists that are inflating their bank accounts with the many billions of dollars that this test-giving and evaluating enterprise (No Child Left Behind) brings? 

To be sure, in and of themselves, academic achievement tests provide no measure of one’s ability to perform well outside of the classroom. That fact is particularly true, since while we are able to measure that which is made up of matter, as far as I know, not even the most ingenious physicist or the most advanced technological instrument would be able to measure that which is immaterial - such as the human mind (or spirit). 

Surely, while we can’t measure it, we are able to make that which is immaterial tangible, especially in the form of art. However, the Testing Industry sees no use for that; therefore, our schools don’t either. Hence, the reduction, if not eradication, of all arts programs in our schools nationwide. 

Nevertheless, on the link below, is an article that shows the Testing Industry's booty. Please check it out. Cheers! 

G. Djata Bumpus http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/testing/companies.html

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Excerpts of Thomas Paine on Rwligion

from The Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine

"I have always strenuously supported the Right of every Man to his own 
opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it. The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is Reason."

I have never used any other, and I trust I never shall. I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy... But, lest it should be supposed that I believe in many other things in addition to these, I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, and my reasons for not believing them.

I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind my own church...All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian ..or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe 
otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. 
But it is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally 
faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in 
disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. 
It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to 
subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime. He takes up the trade of a priest for the sake of gain, and in order to 
qualify himself for that trade, he begins with a perjury. Can we conceive any thing more destructive to morality than this?

Soon after I had published the pamphlet Common Sense, in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion. The adulterous connection of church and state, wherever it had taken place, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, had so effectually prohibited by pains and penalties, every discussion upon established creeds, and upon first principles of religion, that until the system of government should be changed, those subjects could not be brought fairly and openly before the world; but that whenever this should be done, a revolution in the system of religion would follow. Human inventions and priestcraft would be detected; and man would return to the pure, unmixed and unadulterated belief of one God, and no more.

Every national church or religion has established itself by pretending some special mission from God, communicated to certain individuals. The Jews have their Moses; the Christians their Jesus 
Christ, their apostles and saints; and the Turks their Mahomet, as 
if the way to God was not open to every man alike...Each of those churches show certain books, which they call revelation, or the word of God. The Jews say, that their word of God was given by God to Moses, face to face; the Christians say, that their word of God came by divine inspiration: and the Turks say, that their word of God (the Koran) was brought by an angel from Heaven. Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all.

As it is necessary to affix right ideas to words, I will, before I proceed further into the subject, offer some other observations on the word revelation. Revelation, when applied to religion, means something communicated immediately from God to man.

No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication, if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only. When he tells it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and hearsay to every other, and consequently they are not obliged to believe it.
communication- after this, it is only an account of something which that person says was a revelation made to him; and though he may find himself obliged to believe it, it cannot be incumbent on me to 
believe it in the same manner; for it was not a revelation made to me, 
and I have only his word for it that it was made to him...When Moses told the children of Israel that he received the two tables of the commandments from the hands of God, they were not obliged to believe him, because they had no other authority for it than his telling them so; and I have no other authority for it than some historian telling me so.

The commandments carry no internal evidence of divinity with them; they contain some good moral precepts, such as any man qualified to be a lawgiver, or a legislator, could produce himself, without having recourse to supernatural intervention. It is, however, necessary to except the declaration which says that God visits the sins of the fathers upon the children; it is contrary to every principle of moral justice. When I am told that the Koran was written in Heaven and brought to Mahomet by an angel, the account comes too near the same kind of hearsay evidence and second-hand authority as the former. I did not see the angel myself, and, therefore, I have a right not to believe it. When also I am told that a woman called the Virgin Mary, said, or gave out, that she was with child without any cohabitation with a man, and that her betrothed husband, Joseph, said that an angel told him so, I have a right to believe them or not; such a circumstance required a much stronger evidence than their bare word for it; but we have not even this- for neither Joseph nor Mary wrote any such matter themselves; it is only reported by others that they said so- it is hearsay upon hearsay, and I do not choose to rest my belief upon such evidence."

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