Do Our Children have an "Achievement Gap"?

Dear friends,

The "Achievement Gap" rap, to me, is simply another excuse for justifying racism as an institution in the American body politic.. For example, as you may know, my oldest daughter is a leading scientist and professor at the world’s foremost medical school, Johns Hopkins. She teaches medical students in the classroom, and PhD candidates in her lab.

These students come from the top schools in the country, with 4.0 grade point averages. Yet, for the most part, they are very lazy thinkers, and even lazier doers. This is what the United States educational system is like, under the thumb of the Testing Industry, that has everything to do with corporate profit, and nothing to do with creating thoughtful, competent, self-sufficient, and caring citizens.

Let's stop talking about this "Achievement Gap" nonsense. Do away with the "No Child Left Behind" Ponzi scheme, started by Bush and our Congress, then continued by Obama and the rest of the Congressional crooks just mentioned!

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

2001 David Frost Interview of Ashwari and Netanyahu (originally posted on 12/27/08)

"...at least to me, African Americans have far more in common with the Palestinians than the Israelis.


Dear friends,

When will the world stand up against the imperialisistic and murderous actions of the Israeli government? During his presidential campaigns, President Barack Obama (both 2008 & 2012), consistently, promised to support the continued exploitation and oppression of Palestinian people, as his predecessors have done ever since World War 2. In fact, considering the role of the United States in escalating Israeli hegemony in the Middle East and elsewhere during the Clinton Adminidstration, Obama's choice of Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State, at least to me, was nothing less than shameful. Moreover, African Americans have far more in common with the Palestinians than the Israelis. Nevertheless, on the link below, during a short but substantive video interview, Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi, provides critical answers to questions about Israel's actions.

NOTE: Unfortunately, in the past hour or so since I posted Ashrawi's interview, CNN has taken down the interview just mentioned. Instead, the media outlets are portraying Israel to be victims of "terrorism". Therefore, I have replaced the earlier posting with a print interview called"BBC BREAKFAST WITH FROST INTERVIEW: BENJAMIN NETANYAHU (then former, since re-elected) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, and HANAN ASHWARI PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2001."

G. Djata Bumpus
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/breakfast_with_frost/1547267.stm

Read full post

When the Titanic sank, Black people, nationwide, danced in the streets!!!

"Jack Johnson heard about the mighty shock...Mighta seen the black rascal doin' the eagle rock..." - Leadbelly


“The14th of April was a hellava day, it was the last time the 'Old Titanic' sailed away. They said that on the Titanic a 'N***** would never ride so when that motha fucka sank not a N***** cried.” – from The Great Black Jokes by Bruce Stafford

Dear friends,

About a dozen or more years ago, I sent a "Letter to the Editor" to the Boston Herald, because I was sick of the 1997 flick called Titanic being given so much publicity and praise. In the short piece, I mentioned the fact that when the news broke about that ship sinking, African American people danced in the streets by the thousands, and in the millions inside of their homes, just as they had when Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in 1938, and when O.J. Simpson was acquitted in 1995.

Now, I must note here that the Herald had been printing my letters, many of them controversial, for about a dozen or more years, at the time. However, this time, they did something that had never happened before, and hasn't happened since: They sent me an e-mail asking for proof.

I obliged them with a brief bibliography, which included the Library of Congress reference number to the song on the link below by Huddie Leadbetter aka Leadbelly. They published the letter, the next day.

Moreover, what really troubled me was the fact that not a single one of the so-called "Black leaders"- that is, Farrakhan, Jackson, or the exposed FBI informant Al Sharpton, had anything to say about that movie. Please remember that the Titanic voyage was a super-racist enterprise! I mean, NO Black folks were even allowed to buy a ticket for it! This included the great Jack Johnson who was the Heavyweight Champion of the World (from 1908 - 1916). Neither the people who owned the Titanic or those on board wanted a Black person there. Not even a Black janitor on board. That's a fact!

And so, when Leadbelly sang his big hit song of that period, "Jack Johnson heard about the mighty shock...Mighta seen the black rascal doin' the eagle rock...", he obviously was referring to a dance called the "eagle rock". Yet, in our times, unfortunately, plenty of Black money helped make that movie do real well. SMH!

Finally, this just goes to show why African American History Month is so important. Because, it includes more people in the real story of our country, and, also, tells the story more truthfully. Besides, with all of the racists who supported the lying, opportunist Mitt Romney against Barack Obama, why would anyone be surprised about how African Americans reacted to the sinking of the Titanic? Ain't nothin' changed! Additionally, are we wrong to express the well-deserved resentment and hostility that we've acquired, over centuries, towards White Supremacy?

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5tcr0yHN4 Read full post

John Lennon was a Revolutionary!!!

Dear friends, When the photo here appeared 43 years ago, I was a Black Panther, as such, unlike the other two Black organizations that were the most popular African American groups nationwide during that period (the now media-overplayed "Civil Rights Movement died with Martin King, in '68), the Nation of Islam and the Republic of New Africa (RNA), the Black Panther Party joined internationally with all people who believed in not simply group liberation, but both women's liberation and sexual liberation as well. John Lennon, author of the legendary song "Imagine" was such a person. Regarding the aforementioned photo here where the married Lennon (w/Cynthia Lennon) appeared nude with his future wife Yoko Ono, John wrote this:

"When we got back from India, we were talking to each other on the phone. I called her over, it was the middle of the night and Cyn was away, and I thought, 'Well, now's the time if I'm going to get to know her any more.' She came to the house and I didn't know what to do; so we went upstairs to my studio and I played her all the tapes that I'd made, all this far-out stuff, some comedy stuff, and some electronic music. There were very few people I could play those tapes to. She was suitably impressed, and then she said, 'Well, let's make one ourselves,' so we made Two Virgins. It was midnight when we finished, and then we made love at dawn. It was very beautiful." John Lennon, 1970

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwUGSYDKUxU >/span> Read full post

Long Love Mandela!!!...Long Love African People Everwhere!!!

Dear friends,

In 1983, I was the first person to ever bring the ANC (African National Congress) to Philly. The man I brought to lecture at Temple University was named David Ndaba, then. Several years later and to this day, Ndaba, now named Dr. Samuel Gulabe, is/was the personal physician of both Nelson Mandela and his successor as the president of South Africa Thabo Mbeki.

LONG LIVE AFRICAN PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!!!

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Why all African Americans, regardless of religious or political beliefs, should honor Christmas Day

"Generally-speaking, for most African Americans, the only day that our captive ancestors (so-called “slaves”) had off was Christmas Day..."
Dear friends,

While I started celebrating Kwanzaa the first year that my oldest child, Kwame, was born (1975), I've continued to honor Christmas Day, for the simple reason that my forebears on my Father's side were held captive in North Carolina (Tar Heel and Black Cherokee), propr to the North American Civil War or as Profesor Lloyd Hogan calls it: The First War of Black Liberation. 

Generally-speaking, for most African Americans, the only day that our captive ancestors (so-called “slaves”) had off was Christmas Day. Later, July 4th was added, after the so-called War of Independence. Moreover, imagine the thrill of those two days for them. How can we dare be so cute and snooty - or "nationalistic" - not to celebrate that special day for them in memory? After all, the histort of humankind is the story of generations NOT the deeds done by male monarchs, military people, or ministers.

Consequently, while I still hold Kwanzaa in the highest favor, at least to me, we should celebrate Christmas Day itself in the same context that many of us celebrate Juneteenth. Dig? Additionally, we can then leave all of the gift-giving stuff for Christmas Day and allow our energy for Kwanzaa to be used for its most significant purpose, that is, family and community discussion.

Merry Christmas!!!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://docsouth.unc.edu/highlights/holidays.html Read full post

The Black Church and Christmas

"Please remember: Our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug."

Dear friends,

Churches need to play a strong role in Our community building. The Black church is the oldest institution that We have. Beginning in the holds of enslavers' ships through chattel slavery, manumission, and the series of freedom movements that have led up to this point for African Americans, the Black church has been there.

Unfortunately, too often, today, Black churches seem to betray the mission of Our predecessors. There are far too few activities that deal with Our liberation, such as church folks freeing captive workers (so-called slaves) as they did during chattel slavery to helping out with marches and breakfast programs and such as they did in the Sixties and Seventies, while later helping to lead the fight against apartheid in the Eighties. Too much concentration is on “being saved” and using the word “God” in every other sentence as some type of password. Many folks are even using religion as a narcotic - like heroin or cocaine; a common refrain from them is: "I'm high on Jesus!". Please remember: Our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug.

Also, having “fellowship” is another term that is being bandied about these days. I went to a church, quite recently, whose Sunday program sheet read at the bottom, after the hymns and prayers listed: Worship ends, Service begins. Unfortunately, and shamefully, this was NOT in a Black church. 

Black preachers must imitate the life of the historical Jesus who fed the hungry and healed the sick - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The latter did not just sit around and pray. He "worked" for change. During 1963, in his now famous Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King wrote, in part:

"There was a time when the church was very powerful in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being 'disturbers of the peace' and 'outside agitators' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were 'a colony of heaven', called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be 'astronomically intimidated'. By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide. and gladiatorial contests.

Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom, They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets..."

While, at that time, Dr. King's "letter" was largely directed towards European American or "white" clergy, today, those words, very much, apply to most African American clerics across the nation, as well, regrettably. That is a fact that should bring a feeling of shame to many who call themselves ecclesiastics. The Black Church has the power to change things! It is not up to "God" to make this world better. After all, if it is, then why does "He" - or We - need clerics?

At any rate, Our church facilities should be open to Our youth, so that they can study Our history (with no membership or attendance at the particular church required). In other words, We need to actually set up libraries in Our communities within Our churches. Historians, librarians, community activists, and college professors can contribute tremendously to making this happen.

A major problem with fighting against Our oppression and becoming a community lies with the fact that We are often Our own worst enemies, because of Our self-hatred. That is, from African American bank tellers who treat Us differently than other customers to drive-by shootings, both feelings and acts of self-hatred make it difficult for African American men and women to even form genuinely loving relationships of any kind, much less encourage Our youth to get along with each other. We must learn to love Ourselves and Our fellows.

Note: "Love", as it were, is only of any use as an "act of being" as opposed to a "state of being". That means that love is only effective as a verb - not a noun. In other words, in this society, love, as a "state of being", is a passive experience that we hear about through so many cheap songs on the radio and see on tv soap operas. However, as an "act of being", love means that people are "actively" loving towards one another. Consequently, love should be an active, not passive, practice of caring about, being concerned for, concentrating on, trying to understand, and feeling responsible towards not just Our mates and other people, but Our work, and Our communities, as well. Besides, when love is passive, it doesn't last long, because it is then just like a "mood". To be sure, moods change, all of the time. Hence, the serial polygamy practiced by so many of those involved with the institution of marriage and other such "love" relationships, in this country.

Finally, education is something that you get for yourself. It is NOT something that someone gives to you. Notwithstanding, the Black church should be the place where young people in Our communities can get helpful knowledge and ideas, along with developing useful skills. The public schools will, ultimately, follow, if Our churches show them the way. Our young should know that the adults of the community will provide the type of environment where their minds can develop in a manner that will make them be able to control their own destinies. Consequently, for Our youth, We must all embrace the old Nigerian proverb that goes, “If you pick a good tree to climb, I will help lift you up.” Moreover, where is a better place for Our children to learn to appreciate scholarship than the Black Church?

One Love, One Heart, One Spirit,
G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Duke Ellington on "Seeing God"

"There was a man who was blessed with the vision to see God. But even this man did not and does not have the power or whatever it takes to show God to a believer, much less an unbeliever." - Edward Kennedy Ellington

“Seeing God”, by Duke Ellington
(a one-page chapter from his book, Music is my Mistress)

If you can see by seven caroms to the seventh power, then you can see God. If you could see total carom, to total power, you would be thought to be God. And since you can’t do either, you are not God, and cannot stand to see God, but if you happen to be the greatest mathematician, you will discover after completing carom that God is here with you.

So be wise and satisfied with the joy that comes to you through the reflection and miracle of God, such as all the wonders and beauty we live with and are exposed to on Earth.

There have been times when I thought I had a glimpse of God. Sometimes, even when my eyes were closed, I saw. Then when I tried to set my eyes – closed or open - back to the same focus, I had no success, of course. The unprovable fact is that I believe I have had a glimpse of God many times. I believe because believing is believable, and no one can prove it unbelievable.

Some people who have had the same experience I have had are afraid or ashamed to admit it. They are afraid of being called naïve or square. They are afraid of being called unbrainwashed by the people who brainwashed them, or by those they would like to be like, or friendly with.  Maybe they just want to be in. Maybe it’s a matter of the style, the trend, or whatever one thinks one does to be acceptable in certain circles.

There was a man who was blessed with the vision to see God. But even this man did not and does not have the power or whatever it takes to show God to a believer, much less an unbeliever.
Read full post

The Origin of ALL Existemce

"People have been speaking about "eternal life" for several millenniums. But how can we imagine what eternity is, if we can't imagine that in the beginning there was nothing? Yet, nothing is something...Isn't it? Hence, the origin of all existence."

Dear friends,

During the 18th century, Edward Burke proposed, "The ideas of eternity, and infinity, are among the most affecting we have, and yet perhaps there is nothing of which we really understand so little, as of infinity and eternity." (see A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful)

 People have been speaking about "eternal life" for several millenniums. But how can we imagine what eternity is, if we can't imagine that in the beginning there was nothing? Yet, nothing is something. Isn't it? Hence, the origin of all existence.

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Confronting Fear - Personally or Socially

“Fear lets us know that we are in danger. However, after that initial warning, we must push fear to the side – and act or perform accordingly…”

Dear friends, 

 Now, from the start, I must say that I am not talking about unexplainable, self-absorbed, psychological fears. One may be able to fight fears like acrophobia (heights), for example, to some extent. However, such concerns, while not necessarily limiting a person from all height-linked activities may still remain somewhat intact for many other situations. To be sure, avoiding confrontations with psychological fears, in some cases, may very well be the best choice, until one gets some psychiatric help. Therefore, I am speaking of genuine more unavoidable dangers that are/were initiated by another person. 

 In his classic work, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Edmund Burke wrote,"No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear. For fear being an apprehension of pain or death, it operates in a manner that resembles actual pain. Whatever therefore is terrible, with regard to sight, is sublime too, whether this cause of terror be endued with greatness of dimensions or not; for it is impossible to look on any thing as trifling, or contemptible, that may be dangerous.."

When I teach people how to fight, whether they are ordinary people or karate black belts (of whom I've taught many, including the guy who has since helped popularize the new martial art form called MMA, Kirik Jenness), I have found that the most effective way of getting people to address their fears (that is, inadequacies and insecurities about the "terror" of which Burke spoke above) is to help them understand that, while fear is usually looked upon as a negative emotion or impulse, it can actually be a great thing, inasmuch as fear lets us know that we are in danger. However, after that initial warning, we must push fear to the side - and act or perform accordingly, in a manner that allows us to maintain our integrity, dignity and self-respect. Otherwise, by keeping the fear, you are undermining your own ability to either act or perform well, that is, be yourself. Again, fear has absolutely NO use, after it gives you the initial warning!

Now, to be sure, that can be and usually is a tall order to confront fear. And it’s especially true, when fear comes into various social relationships, whether husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, parent/child, siblings, classmate/bully, employer/employee, fellow workers, or landlord/tenant, for example.
Of course, people have to eat and live somewhere, and so forth, so they have to be tactful. Consequently, sometimes a person is forced to avoid an employer’s insults, rather than confront such a person/boss, just as a someone who suffers from acrophobia avoids mountain climbing. As well, many landlords act as if they are their tenants’ employers. And people do have to have roofs over their heads.

 Hence, confronting the fear of being unemployed or homeless, especially if one has others to whom s/he is responsible, can often, at best, call for one to simply have the courage to  approach an attorney, for consultation.

Still, our reactions to any particular incidents are culturally-defined, just as our appreciation or lack thereof are, regarding anything with which our minds, as well as our five senses, come into contact, depending upon that which we have experienced as individuals through our familial and social interactions. This is most evident, when a European American who is sitting in a car, whether the vehicle is moving or parked, pushes his or her car door's lock button down, as an African American approaches.

Confronting fear is tough, but please don’t forget: The other person is experiencing some kind of fear too. After all, there are no tough guys out here really. That’s why there are so many prisons and cemeteries. Those are the places where all of the folks who thought they were “tough” land. I mean, have you ever seen a perp, murder suspect or pick pocketer, give a tough look at the person in the black robe (judge), when, s/he is asked to enter a plea? Very humble. Eh? “Not guilty your honor.”, is mumbled. And whether they are professional boxers or simply people on the street, both contestants put their hands up, because they each have a reason for concern - fear. Therefore, please pay no attention to tough looks. Such impressions mean nothing, and can hurt no one. As well, as it is when one has a toothache, s/he can put off going to the dentist for a day or two, until s/he cannot stand the pain any longer. Yet, when finally leaving the dentist’s office, the relieved person always soliloquizes, “I should have done this two days ago.”

 In any case, the inner powers of mental stamina (as opposed to the outer power of physical stamina) and patience will surely bring results that one can appreciate, if not enjoy. In other words, regardless of how favorable or unfavorable the outcome is, when confronting fear, you will maintain the three hallmarks of self-esteem that were mentioned at the outset: Integrity, dignity and self-respect. Moreover, take a chance, be patient, think the situation through, and then act accordingly.

 Cheers!

 G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

An Open Letter about the upcoming Nina Simone "blackface" biopic

http://www.ninasimone.com/2012/10/an-open-letter-to-anyone-who-cares-about-nina-simone/

Read full post

I'M BOYCOTTING JILL SCOTT, ON EVERY LEVEL!!!

My dear friends,

What will it take for the majority of African Americans to develop a sense of DIGNITY????

On the link below is a story that shows why so many people confuse being an artist with being an entertainer. Jill Scott is NOT an artist, in defending the latest Hollywood filth.

Liberation" - Dr. Barbara Love

G. Djata Bumpus
http://thegrio.com/2012/10/03/jill-scott-says-zoe-saldana-can-play-nina-simone-with-prosthetic-nose-and-some-darker-makeup/#s:nina-simone-zoe-saldana-16x9 Read full post

New Health Care Initiative? How about Racism and Medicine?

(originally published 2/24/09) "By 1938, the situation had grown so dire that Dr. Louis T. Wright of Harlem Hospital declared, “The A.M.A. has demonstrated as much interest in the health of the Negro as Hitler has in the health of the Jew.”




Dear friends,

The piece on the link below came out last year (2008). However, I deliberately waited to post the link to it on this blog until President Obama was in office. Our health care system suffers from far more than simply how the businesses that run the aforementioned system get paid. Moreover, aside from the fact that mental health is not covered in the same context as its physical counterpart, when, at least, as much of both our personal and social maladies emanate from our mentally unhealthy society, the persistence of racism in the way that many are cared for - and by whom, should be addressed. Is that a problem for an African American president? If so, why?

One Love,
G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/health/views/29essa.html?ex=1218254400&en=86180c2260b5574c&ei=5070&emc=eta1 Read full post

A Father's message to young parents and others [Raising your daughter(s), Pt. 3] - first posted 11/25/08

In light of the recent Sarah Palin spectacle, how can you teach your daughter that she is equal to everyone else in capabilities, based upon the reality that everyone has both strengths and weaknesses?



Dr. Namandje Ne'fertiti Bumpus
*****************************************
Dear friends,

In light of the recent Sarah Palin spectacle, how can you teach your daughter that she is equal to everyone else in capabilities, based upon the reality that everyone has both strengths and weaknesses?

The first thing that you have to do is start teaching her to be comfortable with making judgments and decisions. As human beings, we are always making judgments, just to walk up a flight of stairs, or put the "right" amount of food on a fork, for that matter.

Nevertheless, ours is a sexist society that deliberately has its institutions set up to make girls and women feel inferior, so that men can have a false sense of superiority and, thus, hide their insecurities and inadequacies. Yet, those inner fears of males have a great deal to do with murder, lecherous greed, and other insults that people impose on one another that are so rampant in human civilization.

Therefore, as her father, you must give your daughter(s) the space to take chances and make judgments on her own, instead of doing everything for her or babying her. These days, there are many activities, including various games and sports that she can play and, simultaneously, gain confidence in her ability to make good choices.

What happens far too often, unfortunately, is: Many men tend to pamper their daughters to the point where the latter feel insecure about decision-making, because their “Daddy” always takes care of everything. By her teenage years, she meets some knucklehead who is trying to impress her by “taking charge – and care - of her”. The girl becomes comfortable with that, because she learned that a little whining or whatever she did to manipulate her father gets her whatever it is that she wants. Then, for whatever reason, the boy does not deliver. Or, even worse, gets her involved in something that alters the direction of her life. Before long, she begins to feel that every time she makes a decision, it is the “wrong” one. Next, comes the depression, distrust for others, alcohol, pills and other drugs, as she tries to run from herself. Meanwhile, she continues to find herself in relationships where someone else makes the decisions (e.g., spending money) for her.

The other day, during a phone conversation with my middle child (now adult) and oldest daughter who is a professor and medical scientist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she mentioned that even while doing sports, many young girls are afraid to take chances. She gave an example about having to deal with that when she coached a young girl's basketball team a few years back, and how the boys would dive after the loose ball, but the girls (often having been told to not "scrape up" their knees by their mothers) would just let the ball roll right by them. I asked her to write it down, and this is what she had to say, below:

The point I was making was not about them not wanting to scrape their knees. I don't think they even thought that far ahead because it was such a programmed response, and it has nothing to do with that. It is so much bigger than that, and to say that they didn't dive for simple fear of scraping their knees is much like saying (as you always taught me) that celebrating Black History Month is only about noting the accomplishments and inventions of individuals.

It is a minor thread of an intricately woven fabric. It has to do with creating this distinct line between how girls (women) and how boys (men) are supposed to act with respect to their roles in society. It is complete nonsense. To say that a man should be paying for something because he is male and it is his job is to accept that women should also play into the role of being less capable.

Gender is much different than sex and we have to eliminate it. Sex is, of course, biologically relevant but gender roles are social constructions that are completely out-dated. We cannot be okay with getting rid of some and not getting rid of others. Instead of this idea of what a "man" is or a "woman" is, which means nothing, we all need to be viewed simply as human beings with the ability and responsibility to contribute equally to society.

Particular interactions and relationships, therefore, must be governed by principles. They should not be connected by gender-related expectations. For instance , equal pay for equal work and the acknowledgment that decisions regarding monetary contributions to the household should be based on financial health and strength and not gender. There are obvious biological differences between males and females. Certainly, males and females are not the same. However, those differences have no bearing on my ability or responsibility with regard to paying a mortgage, dinner bill or engaging in service to my community and society.

Those are my thoughts, basically; you have heard it before.

Namandje
Thanks, Dr. Bumpus. Enough said.

Peace & Love,

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Looking back: Sandy Banks on Michael Vick's Humane Move (oruginally posted 7/26/12)

"The story of Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick has been covered by the mainstream media pretty well. He was convicted of cruelty to animals (dog-fighting), served time, and returned to te NFL as a star.
Dear friends, "

The story of Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick has been covered by the mainstream media pretty well. He was convicted of cruelty to non-human animals (dog-fighting), served time, and returned to the NFL as a star. However, what hasn't been given so much notice is his well-earned redemption for the bad deeds of which he was guilty, until now. On the link below, the legendary Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks delivers her usual informative, thought-provoking, and inspirational account of Vick's salvation . Enjoy!

G. Djata Bumpus

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0724-banks-vick-dogs-20120724,0,4170119.column Read full post

Honoring Our Fighting Men and Women on Veteran's Day

"...there has hardly been a single skirmish in North American history, over the past three centuries or twelve grandmothers' lifetimes, in which African American soldiers have not either killed or been killed or wounded.''
Dear friends,

The outstanding African American scholar and historian Vincent Harding has written, "...it was on the edges of our continent that the long struggle for Black freedom began." - There is a River

Each Memorial Day we mark the beginning of summertime and cookouts. There is, to some extent, as well, the remembrance of US soldiers who have died in battles for both freedom and profit.

However, throughout the festivities, most people in the United States take for granted the security that we enjoy. Yet, it is in no small part due to the historic courage of African American soldiers fighting alongside their non-African American counterparts (who before the war of Independence, were mostly British, with some German and Dutch - no Irish, Italinn, Polish, or Jewish ones), whether in segregated or non-segregated units, that has brought us to this present point of relative peace and prosperity.

To be sure, the roles of people of African descent began with our predecessors fighting on both sides of the various conflicts. Still, even though our forebears fought on both sides, they have helped to liberate all North Americans.

For example, in The Negro in Colonial New England, author Lorenzo Johnston Greene cites that one year prior to the Declaration of Independence, ‘’when Paul Revere and William Dawes aroused the Massachusetts countryside on that memorable night of April 18 - they called Negro as well as white Minutemen to the defense of American liberties.’’ Peter Salem of Framingham, Job Potomea and Isaiah Barjonah of Stoneham, Cuff Whitemore of Cambridge were a few of the many African American warriors who rode with Revere and others in the now famous call to arms against British imperialism.

Of course, although African American soldiers have become part of a military force that, throughout time, has served as more of an enemy to them than a friend, the reasons for these Black soldiers fighting has rarely been mercenary. Instead, as many of their European American counterparts have done, Black soldiers fight, not only for the pay, but out of a genuine feeling of "fighting for freedom" in the abstract, along with the opportunity to feel powerful as individuals, in a seemingly powerless existence.

In any case, hardly ever mentioned, if not avoided altogether, in discussions concerning the African American experience are the historic roles of African American women in preserving the heritage of our people in the midst of a "double jeopardy", that is, being African American and a woman. (see essay by Francis Beale called "Double Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female"," from The Black Woman, edited by Toni Cade Bambara)

Although they have been victimized, historically, from almost everyone in society, African American women have continued to have an unchallenged influence on North America by virtue of the fact that they have preserved the African American culture, at times almost single-handedly.

Moreover, African American women are tough workers and great fighters. Lately, there has been a cry by Western feminists regarding all women being allowed to join active fighting units in the military. Of course, African American women have a long history of taking part in North American warfare, long before names like Harriet Tubman became widely known, and ever since, with warriors like the Black Panther Party’s and Black Liberation Army’s Assata Shakur (who now lives in Cuba).

Nevertheless, while the name of Sojourner Truth who on more than one occasion had to ask her European American counterparts, "Ain't I a woman?", is fairly recognizable, few are familiar with the story of Ida B. Wells. She was a genuine gun-toting liberator (in fact, she carried two guns).

After the lynching of three African American businessmen in her native Memphis, Tennessee, about 120 years or five generations ago, Wells began a personal crusade of justice for her people that included lectures, rallies and other forms of protest.

Additionally, readers should be reminded that Ida received a great deal of support from her African American sisters. She was no lone nut. Her fight lasted for decades (see When And Where I Enter, by Paula Giddings.)

At any rate, there has been hardly a single skirmish in North American history, over the past three centuries or twelve grandmothers' lifetimes, in which African American soldiers have not either killed or been killed or wounded. Yet, Black soldiers have not only been infantry fighters. For there have always been military leaders of African descent who have helped shape military campaigns or administrate both war and peacetime units. More importantly, African American soldiers, as a whole, have helped secure liberties, without which, few people who make up our current U.S. A. citizenry, would even have the opportunity to call themselves "American", much less "white."

Cheers!

Happy Veteran's Day!!!

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Malcolm X on the March on Washington

Dear friends,

Growing up in activist family, I remember this period quite well. Also, the tape on the link below by Malcolm being circulated throughout Black communities in America, during that time. This claim by Malcolm wasn't refuted then, and to this very day hasn't been! That super Uncle Tom congressman John Lewis is still around basking about the "Civil Rights Movement".

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sj3szUt8Ak Read full post

Racism is in the NFL and everywhere else in America!

Dear friends,

Currently, there is a controversy going on in the NFL, regarding the suspension of Richie incognito, a guard for the Miami Dolphins, as he has been harassing a player named Jonathan Martin, in a number of ways, including making racial epithets towards the latter. Of course, this happens to African Americans every day, whether in school or at work...

Still, it reminds me of how insensitive so many European Americans are, regarding their racist behavior. Moreover, at least to me, it shows why the late, great Miles Davis made the comment here, some years back... “If somebody told me I had only one hour to live, I’d spend it choking a white man. I’d do it nice and slow.” [Miles Davis, Can’t Shake Boyhood Racial Abuse, Jet magazine March 25, 1985.] G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Kanye West sports the Confederate flag

Dear friends,

I just saw the link below on the page of a popular person on Facebook...even though I’ve been well aware of it for almost my entire life, it still amazes me that so many African American people have so little dignity...one woman even wrote the comment: let Kanye West go and get the money, “Cha Ching!”. The worst part is the woman who wrote that is very likely someone’s mother.

Unfortunately, in his absolute stupidity, Kanye West didn’t even know what the Confederate flag represents. There were actually four Confederate flags; the one that most of us know about was called the Battle flag. Of course, as well, there were a few thousand black slave masters in the antebellum South. Consequently, there were some 10,000 black Confederate soldiers who fought to uphold slavery. Today, their spiritual descendants are known as hip-hop moguls and the like.

So, at least to me, the deeper issue is: why do so many black people like Kanye West and the woman mentioned above, along with the earlier mentioned black slave masters and black Confederate troops, satisfied with having so little respect for themselves, as long as they’re making money?

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.today.com/entertainment/kanye-west-confederate-flag-my-flag-now-8C11493378 Read full post

Happy 80th, Ben Swan!!!

Dear friends,

Last night (10/31/13), I went to an incredible 80th birthday celebration that was held in honor of my long time dear friend and mentor State Rep. Ben Swan (D- MA) of Springfield, MA.

Ben is a lifelong freedom fighter in the grandest sense! It was great to see him in that venue, being acknowledged by so many distinguished people who themselves have spent their lives making both our communities and this country a better place. Cheers, Ben!

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Re: Turning our weaknesses into strengths (originally posted 10/16/08)

"What would you do, if you lost one of your five senses?"

Dear friends,

You may have seen this short video on the link below, previously. The young fellow who is the subject of the piece, Ben Underwood, also helps us to understand why all of us are equals. That is, every human being has strengths and weaknesses. Besides, each of us as individuals, must, by himself or herself and for himself or herself do four things. They are: 1) Eat...2) Drink...3)...Expel the waste of the two aforementioned activities...and 4) Sleep. If not, no one will continue to live. Period. At least to me, that is what makes every human being equal - regardless of skin color, how much power or wealth that one has, how talented or challenged s/he is either athletically or intellectually, or whatever "orientation" by which our society or the market defines him or her. Ya dig? Peace.

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c49dS76KhGc Read full post

US Congress members prove how Stupid they are - once again

“As members of this committee, we are supposed to have a deep understanding of the technology involved in the health-care Web site,” said Chairman Fred Upton (R-Michigan). “So it was absolutely imperative for us to fake that we do.”"

Dear friends,

I just figured it out. Essentially, the U.S. Congress is made up of the people who got through college cheating on their exams. This also helps to explain the constant corruption.

On the link below, is a very short article about a hearing that was held before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. When will people realize that, beginning with our youth, we can stop two centuries of stupidity, in one generation?

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/10/congress-spends-several-hours-pretending-to-understand-internet.html?utm_source=tny&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=borowitz&mbid=nl_Borowitz+%28188%29&mobify=0 Read full post

Russell Brand makes brilliant Manifesto

Dear friends,

I saw the 10 minutes-long video interview on the link below, on Facebook. It was posted by the great social activist Cynthia McKinney.  In any case, rarely do we see anyone from Hollywood involved in anything that is really relevant, at least to me. Yet, Russell Brand delivers a statement here that makes it apparent that there is reason to keep fighting against human exploitation and oppression. Liberation!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.themindunleashed.org/2013/10/russell-brand-may-have-started.html Read full post

Equality of Intellugence - Intellectual Emancipation

"Everybody wants to know something."

Dear friends,

I believe that there is an Equality of Intelligence (Intellectual Emancipation) among all humans, as, first of all, everybody wants to know something. If that were not the case, then gossip newspapers and TV shows like the National Inquirer and Entertainment Tonight would have been out of business long ago. With that in mind, the issue of what one learns or the speed at which s/he consumes any particular amount of information is solely based upon that person's interests, in terms of what s/he wants to know.

That's another reason that I protest grading in education (e.g., A through F). Because it shows nothing about what someone actually knows or how competent s/he is, it merely makes the excuse for how people are sorted out and classified for later use by those who sponsor our government and its agents/politicians, all of whom are legitimized, not by the vote, but trough the threat capacity of both the police and military.

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

"Conspiracy Theory" concept was originally started by Republicans and their ilk

"Yet, all conspiracies aren't even bad."

Dear friends,

In light of the recent revelation regarding Osama bin Laden's demise, even everyday African Americans are now using the term "conspiracy theorists" that was initially popularized by Republicans and their ilk, back in the Seventies, after the Watergate debacle. It was during that time that books began to surface about the atrocities by the C.I.A. and other governmental agencies, including how the Federal Reserve Banking system was formed. Additionally, classic books from the late-Fifties/early-Sixties like Cyrus Vance's Hidden Persuaders and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World Revisited, both excellent exposes on the advertising industry, were now conveniently lumped in with books by psychos who had found publishers who were willing to distribute drivel about space aliens living in cereal boxes and the like.

Still, what sane person is suggesting that bin Laden is alive?That's crazy! The only issue initially was whether or not he's been dead for a long time or not. As far as "conspiracy theorists" go, again, that term originated from Republicans and their ilk who tried to downplay everything from Watergate to WikiLeaks as some kind of silly theories about "conspiracy" Yet, all conspiracies aren't even bad. For example, if people "conspire" to throw a surprise birthday party, is that bad? If the Federal Reserve Bank seeks to manipulate the workings of the economy, is that not a conspiracy? How about Ken Lay and Enron? How about Bernie Madoff and the huge banks and brokerage firms that were involved in his massive Ponzi scheme? People conspire at work everyday, in all types of occupations. Some workers conspire with their bosses against their fellow employees, much less clients. Black people need be careful when using the language of those who have been our enemies.

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

The Honoravle Elijah Muhammad

Dear friends,

The thoughtless, yet deceitful, practice by the government- and corporate-controlled media of calling any movement, no matter how progressive or slightly social, a “Civil Rights movement” totally ignores the centuries-long struggle of African American people that preceded the Montgomery Bus Boycott...in fact, our liberation movement continues to this very day, in spite of all of the obstacles that... are thrown at us like having a so-called black president...In any case, like Marcus Garvey and many Blacks before him (and still many today) - the Honorable Elijah Muhammad believed that the only way for African Americans to achieve true freedom was first for Us to "get some land" (possibly through reparations for Our enslavement.) 

Moreover, he taught that We needed to separate from the USA because the so-called "white" man was actually "The Devil." Additionally, Mr. Muhammad rejected Christianity, as evidenced in his archetypal work, The Fall Of America: “First, Christianity has failed you because it was the religion which first placed you in slavery. Secondly, Christianity has failed you because through its doctrine of turning the other cheek it has rendered you incapable of defending yourself in the hour of peril. Thirdly, Christianity has failed you because it has caused you to forsake the pursuit of an illusory and nonexistent justice beyond the grave.”

As for his deity, Allah, Mr. Muhammad, said, " His teachings bring Us into Reality, and not into some kind of spooky, or spirit, or ghost-like teaching. We could never ask a formless spirit ourselves. Man can only listen to man. Man cannot listen to other than man." Of course, unfortunately, the behavior of Muslims id the Middle East do nit reflect that assertion.

In spite of his shortcomings in terms of some of the solutions to his outlook, which - although meant to be considerate of African Americans - were somewhat Eurocentric, excluded some people, and capitalistic (exploitative) - he was truly a great man. The legacy of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad cannot be summed up better than my longtime mentor and friend Dr. Molefi Asante, a great scholar and educator, did in his own classic book, Afrocentricity - The Theory Of Social Change, “ No man was so quietly effective in organizing as Elijah Muhammad...In sum, Elijah gave us Malcolm, Muhammad Ali, and Louis Farrakhan. These messengers are creative, exceptional and powerful as symbols of a legacy the likes of which come rarely and never enough. Elijah Muhammad inspired a whole generation of scholarship, literature, art eloquence, and science; he was truly a son of our ancestors.” 

 Liberation! 

 G. Djata Bumpus; Read full post

Boobs, Thongs, Footballers,and a Latina reporter

"After all, men at nude beaches are incredibly discreet about expressing their feelings towards any women who they see in such an environment, if they don’t want to get booted from the place."
Dear friends,

It's football season. If you remember, back in the fall of 2010, there were a number of articles, regarding the treatment of a Mexican female reporter and an incident that happened between her and some NFL football players in a locker room. At least for me, every single piece that I’d read had been totally distant from the real issue. That is: the main theses of these articles (how females dress around male athletes) are red herrings, and have absolutely nothing to do with the way that females either are or should be treated in male athletes’ locker rooms.

Now, I’m speaking from experience. You see, back in the late-Seventies, when female reporters were first allowed into men’s locker rooms, I was Joe Frazier's protégé, fighting out of Philadelphia. After fights, while I was cool and respectful with them, always putting on a robe whenever it was announced that a female reporter wanted to interview me, some of my boys would do stuff like, literally, stand naked and stroke themselves right in front of any female reporter, as she turned her head away, while, simultaneously, trying to write on a pad or hold up the microphone from a tape recorder to any of the aforementioned masturbators’ mouthes.

That was especially the case, if one of those vulgar fighters had other guys standing around to watch, including male reporters (all from different news agencies) who would stand there amused as much as the idiot athletes. In that situation, female reporters were, obviously, humiliated and embarrassed beyond belief.

Consequently, the real problem lies with the fact that Male Supremacy (euphemistically called “sexism”) frowns upon the whole idea of females in men’s locker rooms, except when they are serving the exact same purpose of being sex objects as, unfortunately, most women outside of locker rooms seem obliged to be.

Additionally, the cats who fought not to have women in the locker rooms, during those days, were the same guys who were vocally-outraged about affirmative action and abortion rights, as were my vulgar boxing buddies mentioned above who conspired, not so unwittingly, with the other sexists just mentioned to keep females “in their places”.

Worse yet, I find it interesting, and I’m absolutely certain, that none of my boxing buddies here-to-mentioned would have wanted either their wives or girlfriends to know about, much less see, their behavior with the disrespected female reporters/victims. Dig? Additionally, it’s pretty pathetic that even African American and Latino male athletes join(ed) with other cowards in this scumbag behavior, in order to find self-worth.

Moreover, I think that, perhaps, it’s instructive for us to keep the dialogue in the proper context of what is really at the bottom of this whole mess, and not trivialize it by pointing out nonsense about how someone either dresses or carries herself. After all, men at nude beaches are incredibly discreet about expressing their feelings towards any women who they see in such an environment, if they don’t want to get booted from the place.

Besides, in some Latin American countries, like Brazil, women can be seen, for example, in television laundry commercials, in full frontal nudity. I’ve seen it. Therefore, Puritanical views about a female’s attire - or lack of it, can be out of place, if not altogether uncalled for. Feel me?

At any rate, on the link below, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Solomon Jones, although he offers a slightly different “take”, shares, along with many of his colleagues, some thoughts in the practice of what I see as missing the whole point here about Ines Sainz’s situation. What do you think?

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20100918_Solomon_Jones__Half-dressed_women_and_naked_men.html Read full post

Steoin Fetchit lives in most of today's Black Comics

Dear Friends,

It is interesting that Stepin Fetchit is now receiving accolades from the new generation of buffoons like Steve Harvey and Martin Lawrence. Worse yet, with all of the phony sentimentalism that is directed towards the late Trayvon Martin, very little analysis of the young man's murder, as it relates to how the negative images of African American people that the three aforementioned so-called "comics" and their ilk keep etched in both the collective conscience and unconsciousness of those who call themselves "white" helps create the George Zimmermans.

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLfxxgqg5ow Read full post

"Seasoning" Our abilities for Profit

Dear friends,

Just as Columbus had initially introduced it with Early American Native peoples, African captives' first introduction to "seasoning" was, more often than not, through violence - then Christianity. In The Black Jacobins, the great C.L.R. James wrote, "All America and West Indies took slaves. When the ship reached the harbour, the cargo came up on deck to be bought. The purchasers examined them for defects, looked at the teeth, pinched the skin, sometimes tasted the perspiration to see if the slave's blood was pure and his health as good as his appearance. Some of the women affected a curiosity, the indulgence of which, with a horse, would have caused them (the purchasers) to be kicked back 20 yards across the deck. But the slave had to stand it. Then in order to restore the dignity which might have been lost by too intimate an examination, the purchaser spat in the face of the slave. Having become the property of his owner, he was branded on both sides of the breast with a hot iron. His duties were explained to him by an interpreter, and a priest instructed him in the first principles of Christianity."

This method of forced acculturation (seasoning) is still very much a part of the North American culture, although manifested in a different way. Now, instead of physical torture being used to make Black people - whether adults or children - assimilate, Eurocentricity and Negrophobia are perpetuated through cultural institutions like the legal, corporate media and educational systems.

The word cultural is used here to describe certain institutions because it is through culture that We transmit behavior and ideas to both present and future generations. However, the first thing that We must understand about culture is: 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.

The crucial point to be made here is, African peoples who were forced to migrate to the Americas did not lose their cultures. Instead, each cultural group merely took on a different developmental direction. In other words, although they were enslaved, African American captive workers were still people. As a result, Black folks adapted to the new circumstances with which they were presented.

Oddly enough, most North American social theorists have paid little or no attention to the realities mentioned, thus far. Instead, their intellectual energies have been geared towards apologizing for upper class fantasies as they pertain to human progress. However, the real challenge for scholars will be to responsibly analyze societies according to what people actually do to sustain themselves, as opposed to what certain groups think of themselves.

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Should rich people pay more taxes?

"They have poor people complaining about the fact that the rich are gonna be taxed more."

Dear friends,

Recently, while rappin' with one of my siblings about the whole issue of income tax rates in our country, he quipped, "They have poor people complaining about the fact that the rich are gonna be taxed more." Go figure.

Yet, the rich have far more to defend in this possession-oriented, market-driven economy. Therefore, they should hardly be complaining. After all, as I have pointed out in a previous post, Adam Smith, the "Father of Economics", in his classic volumes called "The Wealth of Nations" summed up the entire notion of how our system works, when he wrote: For every rich man there are 500 poor ones, and he would not get a night's sleep if it weren't for the local magistrate.

Consequently, the dishonest claim by Republicans and their ilk about wanting “smaller government” and “less taxes” contradicts their genuine wants and needs to get multi-billion dollar government contracts for their sponsors like Halliburton and various other giant corporations of defense and technology who also given protection by the taxpayer-funded US police and military for their financial interests, both here and around the world. In other words, the very wealthy have far more to lose, so why shouldn't they contribute more? Moreover, why should those who make far less subsidize the wealthy?

Meanwhile, via the mainstream media that serve as the official communication organs for both the huge corporations mentioned above, as well as their sycophants called “politicians” who aid such companies in acquiring greater wealth, everyday people, that is, both military and non-military workers whose aggregate sweat and blood make all of this possible, live with one foot in the poor house, while the other foot is on a banana peel. Let’s keep it real.

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Federal politicians Lie about Tax Cuts

Dear friends, 

 As usual, the government- and corporate-controlled mainstrean media has hoodwinked the public. That is, while the income tax rates have not increased, the payroll tax has gone up That means that "middle class people", on average, will get a $1, 000 to $2, 000 increase in wages taken from their checks this year. 

 Let's remember the difference between income taz and payroll tax: Income taxes are withheld from an employee's wages and go into a general fund . Payroll taxes are comprised of Medicare and Social Security taxes--also withheld from an employee's paycheck. However, the employer also pays payroll taxes to the federal government for these programs (in addition to the amount an employee pays)....Federal income tax and the Medicare tax have no limit, but the Social Security payroll tax always carries a cap. In 2008, Social Security tax topped out at 6.2 percent on an earnings maximum of $102,000. 

 As the New Yorker magazine reports today, January 2nd, 2013, and I agree, an article called THE PAYROLL TAX AND OBAMA’S NEXT FIGHT, by Amy Davidson: More outrageously, cuts to the already highly regressive payroll tax are being allowed to expire, meaning that they will rise from 4.2 per cent to 6.2 per cent. Obama didn’t even fight for them. In his statement Tuesday night, Obama described the bill as “preventing a middle-class tax hike” that could have hurt families and sent the country back into a recession; that is true, but it allowed another middle-class tax hike that could have the same effect. 

 Please don't sleep on this! 

 G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Phily's Stop & Frisk and Demmented Cops

Dear friends,

About Stop & Frisk policies: If in fact the issue/excuse is citizens' safety as the reason for local police departments doing it, then how does violating both the human and civil rights of, especially, African American and Latino men and boys make the aforementioned males feel more safe?

I mean, are they deserving of such a violation of their dignity, along with being humiliated, by being condemned to the abuse of insecure, and often demented, police officers/other citizens (e.g., George Zimmerman)?

This all reminds me of the idea by our government that it is okay to murder people in the Middle East and Africa, because they may bring some harm to Americans somewhere. Yet, Is there a single human being on this planet who has an inkling about what anyone else’s intentions are?

Finally, to violate that person totally based upon the color of his or her skin is criminal!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4exZ-jXgWE Read full post

Bradley Manning and his ilk are Psychotic Sexists!!!

Dear friends,

Psychotics like Bradley Manning who claim to be a woman in a man’s body have no idea of what it is to be a woman!. For example, beginning at a very early age in life, she is often forced to adhere to expectations with which her male counterparts, little boys, never have to contend.

And the older she gets, from how she is dealt with by school teachers, sports coaches, and, later, employers, gas station attendants and auto repair shops the feelings, and other emotions remain stored in her mind. This also means that her conscious actions are directly tied to her female unconsciousness in a way that no male could possibly fathom. Worse yet, it is even more sexist than ever for a male to claim that he is a woman in a man’s body, so all that he needs to do is put on a long wig, get some big boobs, put on a dress, or even have cosmetic surgery that makes it look like he has a vagina, to then declare that he is woman...what a piece of sick scum!

Finally, in a socially-stratified society su ch as ours, women are not treated as equals. Yet, when Bradley Manning and others ignore the reality that they live in an equal society, by saying that all you need to do is claim a certain identity, since we are all the same otherwise, totally denies both sexism and racism. Liberation!

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Is the concept of "God" an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance?

Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson




Dear friends,

On the link below, Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson delivers very brief (3 minutes-long) but eloquent and forceful commentary that addresses the argument by so many that attributes every unexplainable event to "God". Moreover, Dr. Tyson insists that explaining away the unknown as "the work of God", as it were, in light of the understanding of the whole universe that we continue to gain by using the scientific method, results in thoughtlessness.

Finally, the great Dr. Molefi Asante has taught us that the purpose of education is "inquiry". Yet, if we are unwilling to think deeply about the various relationships between phenomena in this world, much less the universe, and are content with slamming on the brakes of our thought processes and surrendering any further investigation to the notion that "God" is the answer, then we are no less "uneducated" and "primitive" than our prehistoric ancestors. Please reflect.

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUAkEkdxdjc Read full post

How and Why the Testing Industry itself Cheats - NOT Our Students!

"Once I attended a range-finding meeting with other test-scoring experts and English professors from around the country, the bunch of us trying to figure out how to score writing samples for a national test. After that group of experienced test scorers and esteemed writing teachers had hammered out some consensus regarding the writing rubric and writing samples we'd been reviewing, we were told we were scoring "wrong." We test-scoring experts and writing teachers were told our scoring wasn't matching the predictions of the omniscient psychometricians (statisticians/testing gurus), and we were told we had to match those predictions even though the pyschometricians had never actually seen the student responses." -

Dear friends,

We often hear “news” stories about both school principals and/or teachers either submitting phony test results or actually helping students “cheat”, in order to prevent their schools from being penalized for having poor test scores. Well, it seems that the actual cheating starts long before the tests are even distributed to the schools.

Still, at what point will our unscrupulous federal politicians and the corporations who sponsor them decide to stop the charade that is the Testing Industry and allow the aforementioned school principals and teachers to exercise their passions and educate our children?

On the link below, please see the article by Todd Farley. He is the author of "Making the Grades: My Misadventures in the Standardized Testing Industry.". Farley's opinions have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post and Education Week. Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/for-profit-standardized-testing-industry-cant-be-trusted/1230845 Read full post

The Philadelphia Plan (complete version)

 PHILADELPHIA PLAN  (copyright@2007)

[SOME WAYS TO MOVE TOWARDS DEVELOPING A THRIVING AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN PHILADELPHIA OR ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE UNITED STATES]

by G. Djata Bumpus

Attention: The Philadelphia Plan is merely meant to be an intellectual model that provides guidance and direction to institutions and programs that already exist. It is NOT meant to be something to start as an institution in and of itself.

          During the mid-Sixties, Harold Cruse's great tome, called Crisis of the Negro Intellectual.,  asserted that Harlem, New York was the origin of modern African American cultural development. While I agree with many of his findings in the book, I disagree with his basic premise. That is, I feel that it is Philadelphia that is the pivotal place for African American cultural progress, in this country, and has been ever since Richard Allen and his folks formed the Free African Society here, over two centuries ago. Moreover, the crises in the African American community in Philadelphia has spread throughout the nation.

          We must end the murders and other overwhelmingly inhuman actions that leave Us always on the receiving end of suffering. In order to do so, We must convince Our youth to cease their current behavior, whether it is legal (like gangsta rap) or illegal (like robbing and/or stealing from, and killing one another). Politicians who now call for more police and additional funds for crime and social programs have no plan or clue. In fact, these same people have witnessed the decline of Our community, on their watches. Period! Therefore, it is up to the community itself to solve this problem. We must convince Our youth that they have a stake in the continuation of Our historical experience.

********************************************************************************************

          Many academic disciplines analyze people as if We are talking insects. Yet, whether you place a creature like an ant or a bee either in the Sahel of Africa or on the North Pole, it will be the same creature and exhibit the exact same behavior. Again, people are not talking insects. We are political animals. That is, We all want what We want. However, We must behave according to the circumstances in which We find Ourselves, due to the social interactions that will necessarily need to happen in order for Us to survive. That is where the politics begin. In other words, since few of Us grow Our own food or make Our own clothes, and so forth, at the bare minimum, We must have contact with others, and behave in a way that is favorable to the party who has what We want, in order to acquire whatever it is that We need. Ants and bees, for instance, do not have that need for social adaptation.

          Moreover, 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.

This 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.

          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 and African American enslavers 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.

          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?

          What young people actually feel is that they are controlled, having little or no input, regarding decisions that directly affect their existences. They feel powerless. As a consequence, they become angry and frustrated. Moreover, in their feeling of powerlessness, quite intelligently, they rebel. Yet, the problem with much of the rebellion of Our youth, particularly, in the inner city, is that young people often protest in ways that are self-destructive, largely due to the types of options available to them.

          We should no longer ignore the anger and frustration that Our youth must necessarily express in a negative way, if We do not provide them with opportunities to make good choices. Consequently, it seems that Our efforts need to be concentrated on building Our community from its most basic unit - the non-adult human being. After all, Our youth have a great deal to learn in order to competently replace Us and, in turn, pass on adequate knowledge and ability to those who will follow them.

          Participation in both the decision-making and application processes of building Our community will help young people to look inside of themselves and resolve the anger, fear, sadness, and frustration which results from their feeling of powerlessness, through the personal strength of positive energy and group support. Mastering skills in most activities, whether for business or pleasure, requires using energy in a positive way, relying upon focus and concentration - each being human powers just as energy itself is. We must help Our youth develop these skills.

          By the way, while many adults are quick to write off Our youth, as if they are lazy and selfish beings who came from another planet, it is important for Us to remember that Our youth are not alien creatures. That is, they came from Us. Their language, and, therefore, their thoughts, along with their actions are all based upon behaviors, both good and bad, inherited from Us. Notwithstanding, to paraphrase the great philosopher Kahlil Gibran: Before one is willing to get rid of an oppressor, he or she must first get rid of the oppressor from within.

          We do not like the behavior of many of today's youth. Yet, when people are breaking social customs, as many of these young folks do, just as many of Us did during past eras, in order for such behavior to proliferate, the practitioners must necessarily develop obsessive and perverted habits, in order to motivate themselves and justify their very being. Otherwise, the aforementioned practitioners will cease the behavior, having no incentive to continue it. Our children witness this same kind of anti-social behavior with adults through the latter's actions, not Our pretentious claims - from everything like alcoholism and drug addiction to sexual behavior. Certainly, youths' ideas and subsequent activities are not the result of something falling from the sky.

          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. 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. Of course, again, as mentioned earlier, Our young behave according to the options available to them. Still, behavior is a "choice" that people make. For instance, the greatest natural urges are those that remind Us that We are hungry and/or thirsty. In our society, unless one lives in abject poverty in a desert or the hills, he or she, usually, has access to, at least, water - whether clean or dirty. To be sure, the "choice" to eat and/or drink, is a wise one, since without consuming nutrients of some sort in periodic intervals a person would succumb.

          Another strong "natural" urge is the sexual one. Yet, no one needs another person or outside element like food or drink to satisfy that frustration. Everyone has the ability to solve that problem by himself or herself. Therefore, said one makes a "choice" to go to someone else in hopes of having that person or persons join in the sexual activity. Unfortunately, this urge, because it is so strong and can be satisfied, often, at so little cost - if any, has had a great deal to do with both power and sexual greed becoming the basis for sexual/social relationships in this society. For lower-middle class African Americans, it has resulted in childhood pregnancies and futures of hopelessness for the offspring of such young parents. It also, ultimately, leads to the aforementioned progeny growing up to be angry youth who have no love for anything, life included. Much of that anger comes from said progeny witnessing the disdain for life displayed by their economically- and socially-disadvantaged parent(s).

          More importantly, anti-polar to, or, on the other side of, the earlier-mentioned show of passion (that is, sexual release) is violent behavior. Once more, We return to the legacy of chattel slavery. However, Our youth also witness rampant violence practiced by adults, in many forms. That means that We as adults must change Our behavior, if We expect young people to change theirs. Period.

          So, it seems that the problems that We now face as a people or cultural group result from Our unwillingness to look within Ourselves, then combine Our resources so that We can transcend the conditions of economic and social slavery to which We and Our ancestors have been subjected for centuries. This can be successfully overcome, if We enhance Our present cultural institutions, by engaging in activities that are specifically designed for community building.

          For example, there already exists an assortment of both cultural and social institutions here that can adequately begin a drive towards developing a genuine African American “community” in Philadelphia. We have to develop a “spirit” within the present African American population in Philly that reflects a great deal of caring and concern for each other. We already have the resources; We just do not use them either efficiently or effectively.

          In order to get things done, We do not need to rely upon grants and other largesse (although some entities, at some point, may want to contribute to Our community-building efforts through matching grants programs and so forth). If We get Our youth involved and make them part of the growth process of the community, then they will have a vested interest in building - not destroying - it.

No doubt that one of the biggest obstacles in persuading youngsters to change their behavior is that the word discipline is often used in place of the term "punishment" (which is what is really meant in the first place). Discipline is an inner power that allows a person to perform tasks whether he or she wants to or not. The accomplishment of useful results due to the aforementioned self-motivated activity bring joy (as opposed to pleasure (which requires no inner effort and can, in fact, be bought).

          On the other hand, punishment comes from the outside and is never either wanted by or favorable to the recipient. Moreover, because young people attach the word "discipline" to punishment, they are repelled by the notion altogether. This means that they are then unable to recognize an important power in themselves that would benefit all concerned. We must convince Our youth to develop and continue to strengthen their inner powers, especially discipline.

          Of course, in their community-building activities there will need to be a lot of peer monitoring amongst themselves, so that youngsters do not get off track, regarding the goals that We are all trying to reach. While We are speaking of goals, I must mention that in setting goals to develop Our community, We must be sure to distinguish goals from ambitions. A quarter of a century ago, while studying at Temple University, I developed a kind of intellectual model that I call the "Urban Fire Department Paradigm", in order to help people distinguish goals from ambitions. There is, unfortunately, a bad habit of folks, throughout Our society, not being able to do so (that is distinguish goals from ambitions), because they listen to politicians. The latter often claim to be stating goals, when their alleged plans are merely ambitions.

          At any rate, the aforementioned intellectual model goes like this: A person is named as the new chief of a fire department. A reporter asks, “Chief, what are your new goals for the fire department?” The chief confidently responds, “I’m going to have a truck at every fire in city limits, before the fire becomes dangerous.” That is not a goal. Rather, it is an ambition. Consequently, an answer by the chief that would represent a goal should have been, “I’m going to have a truck at every fire in city limits, in twenty minutes”. In other words, the chief does not know how bad the fire will get or how quickly it will spread; yet, he or she is determined that there will be a truck full of fire-eaters there fairly soon.

          Below, you will find a set of programs that could be used to jumpstart Our effort for community building. The suggestions have been categorized in relation to the "main" issues that politicians and the government- and corporate-controlled media have designated as the most important problems to confront. As well as those ideas expressed here, other ideas, from many sources, will certainly develop and will be equally as efficacious and effective as those found here. As a matter of fact, We already have church youth groups and other community organizations (e.g., NAACP youth groups), college student groups, and individuals from all walks of life, who would want to share in the effort.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

FIGHTING THE CRIME INDUSTRY

          FIGHTING THE CRIME INDUSTRY

          Many of the young people in Our community, especially the teenage boys, are not either in jail or in contact with the criminal justice system, because they have been lucky thus far. However, it is only a matter of time before they may get swallowed into what is essentially an industry in this country. It is, the Crime Industry.

          In fact, I do not care how well you raise your kids, for some reason, particularly, African American youth can fall prey to foolishness. Many great parents and those who work with youth through supportive community programs will attest to that. In other words, even those youngsters who have had all of the right parenting, environment and so forth can become food for the vultures of the Crime Industry. It's tough. The Crime Industry does not care about guilt or innocence. They make stuff up. Our children suffer. Also, peer pressure to be like the frauds on the hip-hop records is a major problem.

          Again, it must be said: Crime in the USA is an industry just as enterprises that manufacture, for example, food, clothing, real estate, automobiles are. Crime as an industry makes sense, of course. After all, less crime would mean less police, judges, prosecutors, corrections officers, court officers, prison architects to design prisons and construction companies to build them, food- and other types of vendors, you name it. Moreover, without the salaries and pensions of those groups just mentioned a large part of the overall economy of this country would be destroyed.

Actually, one would think that our energies should be used towards more useful purposes like finding cures to human maladies and the like. However, manufacturing crime is, also, a major component of programming for both print and electronic media - another source of great income for many.

          Still, in especially urban settings, we hear talk about need to have more police and less guns in our communities as a means to solving our crime problems. Domestic guns are being made mostly for police purposes and sport hunting. Consequently, without the Crime Industry, the gun industry itself may have succumb by now. Let’s face it. In Philadelphia alone, during 2006, for instance, it has been reported that, at least, 20 people were killed by the police (17 of them unarmed). Consequently, the aforementioned data reveals that more police simply means more guns - and more deaths.

          In all fairness, that just mentioned reflects only one side of the Crime Industry. On the other side, we have an inordinate amount of African American and Latino young people who display absolutely no dignity for themselves or respect for others, including a lack of consideration for authority. In other words, we have a population filled with young people who, emotionally and intellectually, seem to want to remain in the infant stage of the human experience.

          Many of these youngsters were brought into this world by those who were children themselves. Now, the former are repeating what their parent(s) did. Moreover, these African American and Latino youth are the chief commodities of the Crime Industry, whether as petty thieves, drug-dealers, stooges for either drug distributors or the district attorney and the like, or those who are caught up in the court and prison systems with its probation and parole agents. The worst part of all of this lies with the fact that, in the general population of US society, European American (so-called white) youth, clearly, must commit more crimes, because of their numerically greater levels of poverty; however, they are not victims of a marked group that is "profiled".

          At any rate, our children’s current behavior reflects our own. Let’s face it, again, history is the story of generations of families of varying sizes. Historically, these families have been headed by a single mother, because men have died young, gone off to war and been killed, or just left to indulge in selfish behavior. The fantasy of the Ozzie and Harriet two-parent household is a fabrication of Hollywood. Moreover, wisdom suggests that a young person, male or female, having a male figure around to help direct him or her through life's uncertain journey, is essential. Yet, single mothers do quite fine, and have done so for millennia. Hence, what is even more important than having male “mentors” is having a community that supports the development of its youth.

          Of course, a civil society certainly needs some of those people mentioned at the beginning of this piece (e.g., police, judges, lawyers, and so forth). However, many jobs are created, specifically for and because of the Crime Industry, and maintained by those whose best interests are served by continued criminal behavior in our society. A good example lies with the fact that, all across the country, in many municipalities, district attorneys, are allowed to use confiscated drug money, for instance, for future hires, raising wages in their offices, and improved pensions for the same workers just mentioned. It is not, therefore, in the best interests of prosecutors and their agents to be too “tough on crime”. Dig? As a matter of fact, it makes more sense for such people (DAs, and so forth) to actually regulate crime.

******************************

          Here are a few ways that we can fight against the proliferation of the Crime Industry which robs African American people of so much of our potentially productive energy and resources. Can you think oof some ways to do the same?

1.) Free Buses To Prisons Program

          Transport children to prisons for the explicit purpose of having reading lessons with their incarcerated parents. Dr. Seuss books and other “phonics” type of reading materials are a great way to start. Many of these folks who are incarcerated have only first- and second grade reading levels. By learning their phonics better and due to the fact that they are older than their children, thus more experienced in life, invariably, these "parents" will begin to read at a higher grade level, acquiring deeper comprehension as well as greater mental stamina. This means that they will gain new ideas, by reading more informative literature, instead of only consuming thoughts from people who, like them, are locked up as well and just as clueless about how to be productive citizens.

          As stated above, many of the brothers in prison either cannot read or read only at first- or second grade levels. More help in the classrooms at the first- or second grade levels (and a relationship with a loving elder) may have kept them trying in school longer. Their children deserve a better chance than they had. Also, regarding females, sisters in prisons are often there because of some knucklehead males. Therefore, young girls will also benefit from having a wider range of caring adults in their lives, whether those elders are incarcerated or not. Note: A dear friend of mine who lives in Florida has assured me that her state gives youngsters at the lower elementary level (2nd- and 3rd grades) statewide exams that help that state government decide how much additional prison space will be needed in future years, based upon how many youngsters fail the aforementioned exams. Imagine that! Did someone say, "Crime Industry"?

2.) Letters to Prisoners Program

          Get people to be pen pals with inmates in area prisons. The main problem here will be that we need to make sure that inmates are not being selfish and engaging in deceitful behavior, in order to borrow money or get “favors” done on the outside. Telephone calls should be prohibited from being a way for inmates to connect with their pen pals. Incarcerated people should learn to write, so that they can think about why they are in that situation in the first place. A phone call does not require such reflection; people can just talk and feel good - then hang up.

3.) Convict Redemption Program

Get those convicted of either human or property damages - of any kind, to construct ways themselves to make up for their transgressions against their fellow community members. For example, as part of the “Buses” program, inmates who are not parents can still donate time to read and learn with young people.

          Inmates must redeem themselves! Merely proclaiming belief in God or asking to be forgiven does nothing to repair the damage done. Besides, neither apology or claims of religious loyalty has meaning, if the person has not repaired the damage that he or she caused. For example, people go to AA and NA meetings and hold what amounts to religious revival forums. Yet, as far as I know, not a single member of those groups has ever gone back to a victim and said, "Here's the $100 that I stole from you." Instead, that AA or NA person says, "Will you forgive me for what I did?...I believe in God now." Well, guess what? Everyone on death row, conveniently - now - believes in God, after the fact. Moreover, no one can forgive anyone else. Rather, people must forgive themselves, then redeem themselves by trying to undo the wrong committed against the victim. Otherwise, there is no justice. You just have a crook who has gotten away once more.

          The three programs mentioned above are only some of the ways that the community can reach out to our fallen brothers and sisters, in hopes that they will be appreciative for the love that the community has shown them, and, thus, return to the community as productive members.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

EDUCATION FOR LIBERATION

          Perhaps, the biggest problem with the US educational system is that the goal of this system pertaining to what it is trying to do for its charges has never been clearly defined. In fact, at least, for me, the answer that I have received to that question has often been, at best, dishonest.

          My own understanding of the purpose of education in this country is to make either military or non-military workers. It certainly is not intended to make thoughtful, competent, cooperative, independent-minded citizens, as a real education should do for people. Instead, the educational system in this country superimposes ideas and feelings onto and into the students' minds, in order to make the latter acceptable for later service to those who run the society.

          Also, it (said system) demands that students NOT cooperate with each other by having them compete against each other, through both exams and grading schedules that serve to sort out and classify them for their later use within the economic system as workers - not entrepreneurs. That is why, if you have noticed, the rulers of this country do not send their children to public schools. In other words, the roles of their progeny are already in place.

          Moreover, unless the community itself develops a collective conscience, how do we expect Our children to? That is why African American history should be part of the curriculum as well as the history of Irish. Italian, Polish, German and other peoples (instead of the lie that clumps all folks of European descent together as "white").

          Finally, some talk about violence in the schools being a deterrent to "good" kids getting an education. They even make statistical estimates like "95% good and 5% disruptive". Yet, that calculation is a false abstraction, because on any given day, any of the kids can be rebellious. Remember, they ALL feel powerless. Therefore, We as adults need to start looking at Ourselves, instead of blaming kids for Our failure to have provided them with a useful educational system prior to them coming to school in the first place.

          Below, are some ideas for programs that can enhance Our youths' life opportunities - through education.

************************************************************

1.) Bank for Knowledge  

          Our youth need to think about the future. African Americans, as a people, are legendary for collecting baubles, but We never save. We have never been taught to, as the children of the more wealthy have. A good goal for young people to save towards is their education. Business groups, like the African American Chamber of Commerce can play a giant role in monitoring such a program. Surely, an organization like NEEED (Networking for Equal Education and Economic Development) can help a great deal in the effort.

          Of course, in order to save money, you have to make it first. As far as a program for youth to earn then save a few bucks is concerned, one of the major problems for African Americans is: Our, historically, poor sense of how to spend our money. Only the wealthy in this country are taught about wealth. The rest of the citizens (many European Americans included) have little or no idea of even what wealth is let alone how to either acquire or keep it. Unfortunately, with this, African Americans have been the worst. And even worse than that is the fact that just as we are beginning to gain some sense of the possibilities of saving, investing, acquiring property, and so forth, the train has just about left the station.

          It used to be that if a person invested in an IRA from the time they were 19 until they were 25, they could see that grow into enough to retire on even if they never invested another cent. Now, with interest rates so low in banks and investments so "iffy", you have to keep investing, certainly, much longer, to make it worthwhile.

          Additionally, the question then arises, how do African Americans tend to spend money anyway, when they are 19-25 years old much less younger than that? It is then, perhaps, more meaningful to develop as a standard that all youth are expected to have a college fund started by the time they enter Middle School. It may start out small, but it is the continual growth that makes a difference.

          Imagine for example in 6 years, from 7th-12th grade, a students saves $5 per week-the first year, $10 /wk-the second year, $15/wk-the third year, and so forth. Even without interest, that student will have a substantial chunk of money with which to enter college.

          The real benefit is developing a mentality that puts planning for the future and the assumption that We are all college bound, in the forefront. People who realize that they have a future may be less likely to squander it with petty and larcenous thinking like drug-dealing.

          While we are on the subject, the worst thing about the drug-dealing mentality is that drug-dealing has no future and people who are involved in it have no vision of the future. No one can say with any degree of either logic or sanity, "I am going to deal drugs for a few years to earn money for college and then, after college, get a good job and raise a family." Even the strippers - who, often, claim to be putting themselves through college, by dancing up and down a pole - make more sense than that. (That is, at least, their profession is legal and has a fair amount of history to it.)

          Now, what happens to the money, if the student does not go to college? Let it be available to the student when he or she is ready. It may go towards tuition in a trade school. It may be usable as downpayment on property. It should not be available as cash or to buy a car or pay rent. The point is that it is about moving the person forward.

2.) Sweep my steps, please?-

          Ten dollars ($10) per week, for a specified pre-teen or teenager (must be enrolled in school) to come by so many times per week and sweep your steps. No teenager should be allowed to sweep more than ten sets of steps per week. (Let us try to be democratic.) Businesses - including realtors, as well as both homeowners and renters, could be sponsors. Also, concerned adults who simply want to contribute, by sending $10 per week to the specific bank designated to monitor the funds.

          This can become a great community cultural institution, lasting for generations. Some kids may feel, initially, that drug-dealing brings in more cash. However, it (drug-dealing) really does not bring in even $10 per week that they can save, for most kids. In other words, after they end up paying the bigger dealers and spending (on baubles) the peanuts that are left extremely quickly (if not before they have even paid the former his money back), they have no money.

Additionally, logic and a simple slogan like, "If you make money fast, then you’ll spend it fast...If you make money slow, then you’ll spend it slow", may eventually convince youngsters to realize that there is no future in drug-dealing. After all, young folks should understand that, if they get caught selling drugs (and they will, because addicts snitch to the cops just for reasons like the dealer will not give the latter drugs on credit), while in jail, they (young drug dealers) will not make any money. Therefore, the potential $500 for their college funds that they could make, with only one sponsor, from one year of the “Sweep” program, is far more than what they could make during that same amount of time while in jail or a youth detention center (which is, basically, nothing).

          Imagine if a hard-working youngster got a (Sweep My Steps) sponsor from the community who would put that money in an interest-bearing account as part of a stipend for the chores represented by "Step-Sweeping." The student will get $10 for his or her College fund. Of course, the student is aware that it is his or her responsibility to maintain a connection with the sponsor who keeps that account growing. What is more, this is the type of activity, if gotten off the ground, that could get matching funds rather than grants. Both businesses and individuals, knowing that the money is going to an account that cannot be touched except by an accepting college or an entity of that sort, would feel much better about their donations and more willing to make what is clearly an investment in the larger community.

Finally, in order to make any kind of work- or study-related initiative happen, we must, as it has been said, convince young people that "Work is a reward!". In other words, it is the work itself that is the reward, not any prizes received for one's efforts. Unfortunately, so much currency is given to the idea of "reward" as receiving either Nobel, a Pulitzer, a Grammy,  an Oscar, or Lottery prize that youth do not understand that the greatest rewards they will receive in life are far more mundane, coming from the joy that they create through their experiences with other people, non-human animals, and even - things, with no one standing nearby giving applause. Moreover, work is a "power" that one should hold with great esteem. Whether it is working at MacDonald's or as a messenger for an attorney, Our youth should consider appreciating the fact that their ability to get up in the morning, go to school and/or a job moves them forward - in the direction of controlling their own lives (destinies). What could be more empowering, than the ability to work, through study (mind) or labor (body)? And, who does not love the feeling of being powerful?

Note: To be sure, the idea of appreciating Our own ability to work has been one that has often escaped youth throughout human  history. After all, it is hard as a young person to hear that the satisfaction of a job well done is its own reward, when he or she sees the inequities of the distribution of the harvesting of the "fruits" of labor all around Us. It is one of those notions that would be fine if everyone believed it, but hard to swallow when you know others are getting away with doing so little. Hence, it is the unfairness that eats away at Our resolve to do Our best in a society that, on top of the aforementioned, finds humor in its own inadequacy (as revealed in so many Hollywood productions like the Bad News Bears).  Still, We must push forward in getting Our youth to appreciate work.

3.) Black churches/Black History libraries  

          Churches need to play a strong role in Our community building. The Black church is the oldest institution that We have. Beginning in the holds of enslavers' ships through chattel slavery, manumission, and the series of freedom movements that have led up to this point for African Americans, the Black church has been there.

          Unfortunately, too often today, Black churches seem to betray the mission of Our predecessors. There are far too few activities that deal with Our liberation, such as church folks freeing captive workers (so-called slaves) during chattel slavery to helping out with marches and breakfast programs and such as they did in the Sixties and Seventies, and helping to lead the fight against apartheid in the Eighties. Too much concentration is on “being saved” and using the word “God” in every other sentence as some type of password. Many folks are even using religion as a narcotic - like heroin or cocaine; a common refrain from them is: "I'm high on Jesus!". (Please remember, Our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug.)

          Also, having “fellowship” is another term that is being bandied about these days. I went to a church, quite recently, whose Sunday program sheet read at the bottom, after the hymns and prayers listed: Worship ends, Service begins. Unfortunately, and shamefully, this was not in a Black church.

          Black preachers must imitate the life of the historical Jesus who fed the hungry and healed the sick - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The latter did not just sit around and pray. He "worked" for change. During 1963, in his now famous Letter From Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote, in part:

          "There was a time when the church was very powerful in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators"' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide. and gladiatorial contests.

          Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.

          But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

          Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom, They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets..."

          While Dr. King's "letter" was largely directed towards "white" clergy, today, these words, very much, apply to most African American clerics across the nation, as well. That is a fact that should bring a feeling of shame to many who call themselves ecclesiastics. The Black Church has the power to change things! It is not up to "God" to make this world better. After all, if it is, then why does "He" need clerics?

          At any rate, Our church facilities should be open to Our youth, so that they can study Our history (with no membership or attendance at the particular church required). Resources like the great Charles Blockson collection, community activists, and college professors can contribute tremendously to making this happen.

          A major problem with fighting against Our oppression and becoming a community lies with the fact that We are often Our own worst enemies, because of Our self-hatred. That is, from African American bank tellers who treat Us differently than other customers to drive-by shootings, both feelings and acts of self-hatred make it difficult for either African American men or women to form genuinely loving relationships of any kind, much less encourage Our youth to get along with each other. We must learn to love Ourselves and Our fellows.

Note: "Love", as it were, is only of any use as an "act of being" as opposed to a "state of being". That means that love is only effective as a verb - not a noun. In other words, in this society, love, as a "state of being", is a passive experience that we hear about through so many cheap songs on the radio and see on tv soap operas. However, as an "act of being", love means that people are "actively" loving towards one another. Consequently, love should be an active, not passive, practice of caring about, being concerned for, concentrating on, and feeling responsible towards not just Our mates, but Our work, and Our communities, as well. Besides, when love is passive, it doesn't last long, because it is just a "mood". To be sure, moods change, all of the time. Hence, the serial polygamy practiced by so many of those involved with the institution of marriage and other "love" relationships, in this country.

          Still, the cultural institutions in Our society lend to the aforementioned self-hatred that is practiced amongst Us. Literature and images in schools, the arts, and, especially, the government- and corporate-controlled media deliberately perpetuate this indignity too. Groups like Men United For A Better Philadelphia are, apparently, made up of wonderful people. However, the idea that the violence among African American youth is largely the result of a lack of jobs and gun possession may be missing the point, which is: Lack of both social and historical conscience is at the bottom of Our dilemma.

          That lack of conscience is no accident. The great Marcus Garvey pointed out: "This propaganda of dis-associating Western Negroes from Africa is not a new one. For many years white propagandists have been printing tons of literature to impress scattered Ethiopia, especially that portion within their civilization, with the idea that Africa is a despised place, inhabited by savages, and cannibals, where no civilized human being should go, especially black civilized human beings." - Marcus Garvey (Philosophy & Opinions of Marcus Garvey, edited by Amy Jacques-Garvey)

          Additionally, in that context, long before Garvey, W.E.B. DuBois wrote: "The discovery of personal whiteness among the world's peoples is a very modern thing...The ancient world would have laughed at such a distinction...by emphasis and omission to make children believe that every great thought the world ever knew was a white man's thought, every great deed the world ever did was a white man’s deed..."darkies" are born beasts of burden...Such degrading of men by men is as old as man and the invention of no one race or people...It has been left, however, to Europe and to modern days to discover the eternal worldwide mark of meanness -color!" - "The Souls of White Folks",

          Education, of course, is something that you get for yourself. It is NOT something that someone gives to you. Notwithstanding, the Black church should be the place where young people in Our community can get helpful knowledge and ideas, along with developing useful skills. The schools will, ultimately, follow, if Our churches show them the way. Our young should know that the adults of the community will provide the type of environment where their minds can develop in a manner that will make them be able to control their destinies. Therefore, for Our youth, We must all embrace the old Nigerian proverb that goes, “If you pick a good tree to climb, I will help lift you up.” Moreover, where is a better place for Our children to learn to appreciate scholarship than the Black Church?    

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

INTERGENERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Monitoring the Elderly 

          One of the most important aspects of youth-oriented programs are their intergenerational activities. This would more likely be successful by forming youth clubs, for the elderly. That way, you could have peer monitoring, to make sure that elders were being watched and cared for and more importantly to make sure that they were not being mistreated or taken advantage of. You do not want young people stealing from their houses, bullying them. borrowing money from them, and so forth. There has to be a strict system of etiquette monitored by peers. Youth in churches would be good for this and the churches could identify elders who would take advantage of the service while keeping track of those elders to make sure the service was as intended.

1.) "I'm Okay" Program 

          Teenagers could get small stipends to volunteer services for their elderly neighbors - like running errands, or keeping an elder company, by reading to him or her. The money earned from the stipends could go towards their college funds. Regarding intergenerational programs, a dear friend of mine who lives in Florida (she was mentioned earlier) who saw a rough draft of this proposal wrote back, “When I worked in a low income housing development here in Florida, we used to have a program where the elderly would put a sign in their window every morning saying "I'm Okay". As the kids would go to school they would look for the signs. If there was no sign in the window, they reported it. Every other month their would be a "social" for both groups to dance or sit and talk. The kids loved it and the senior citizens felt like someone cared.”

          We need an “I'm Okay” sign program in Philadelphia. In other words, if elderly folks have signs in their windows that say “I'm Okay”, then they are left alone. However, if the sign is taken down, then that address would be reported to a designated person who after contacting that particular elderly person who is not “Okay” (for reasons other than medical ones), said designator would then assign a teenager to take care of the problem, whether it be grocery shopping, being read to, just wanting some company, or whatever.

          Now, I will admit that the idea of a sign in the window would have worked well for Our generation (Baby-boomers and those before Us), because We were taught to stop and help an elder carrying heavy bags, and so forth. This generation is getting very little of the "manners" education. Neighbors are much more alienated from each other than Our generation. (In the wealthy neighborhoods, they do not even bother to make sidewalks anymore.)

2.) Grandparents Read Too

          It will be valuable to include some Elementary school program with elderly as well. There are some schools around the country that have a grandparents' breakfast each week. Elders are invited to come and have breakfast with the kids, even if they do not have grandchildren there. However, mostly kids invite their own grandparents. Additionally, elders can help with reading, afterschool homework, and classroom projects.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

CLOSING REMARKS

          It cannot be emphasized enough that We don't need grants for anything that We do, and reliance upon grants only serves to hamper Our resolve to grow independently. We have the resources, We simply do not control them, because We do not think in terms of "We".

The unfortunate truism just mentioned reminds me of an old religious tale that I learned as a child who grew up in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. I forgot all about it (said tale), but was reminded of it once more in an e-mail sent to me recently by another dear friend who lives in New York City.

The story goes:

A cruise ship was sailing on an ocean. It was packed with people and their cargo.

At some point, the ship's bottom hit a large object. The ship began sinking.

The water filled the ship so quickly that almost everyone aboard either drowned while still on board or as they tried to flee by swimming away from the vessel.

Two men, one bald-headed, the other - hairy and bearded, did survive, however. In fact, they were able to swim to a small island that was nearby.

The island was completely barren. There were no trees, plants, or animals - only sand and a few boulders here and there. Fortunately, the weather was nice, not too cold or hot.

The two men, now seemingly bound together, decided that the only thing that they could do is hope for some divine intervention.

They agreed that prayer was the answer. However, the bald man said, "I don't know whether or not we'll be saying the same type of prayers or asking for the same things...Why don't we just split the island in half and each of us can pray for himself?"

The bearded man went along with him.

A line was drawn in the sand. Each man stood on either side of it. Right away, each man dropped to his knees and began to pray.

The bald fellow prayed aloud for food. Lo and Behold! Out of nowhere, a banquet-size amount of food appeared in front of him.

The bald man looked over at the bearded man who was still praying and seemed to have added nothing to his situation.

The bald man then said to himself, "I don't know who he's praying to or what he's asking for, but he better learn how to pray like me, if he doesn't want to starve to death."

It was now getting late and the sky was darkening. The bald man decided that he'd try his luck again by praying for some shelter. So, once again, he got down on his knees and prayed. Well, what do ya know? A small shack appeared out of nowhere. The bald fellow jumped up and down, and ran towards the shack for a good night's sleep.

Just as he entered the doorway of his new abode, he looked over and saw that the bearded guy was still praying, but had nothing to show for it.

When he got up the next morning, the bald man went outside and saw the bearded man still kneeling down and praying. He yelled over to the bearded man, "Hey, what's the matter?...You don't know how to pray?"

The bearded man said nothing. He just kept praying.

The bald-headed guy was really beside himself with pride and confidence, by now. He decided that he would pray for a woman, because he was lonesome in his little shack.

Meanwhile, as fate would have it, as he prayed, another cruise ship had a wreck nearby. The only surviving passenger was a woman. She ended up on the island.

The excited bald man invited her in for food and gave her shelter. She gladly accepted.

However, after a few hours, they both began discussing the need to get off of the island and return to their previous lives.

The bald man now got down on his knees, for a fourth time, and prayed. However, nothing happened right away, like it had previously, so he and the woman went to sleep inside of the shack.

The next morning when they got up, looking outside, they saw that a boat was sitting right there on the shore, in front of them.

The bald-headed guy started dancing and jumping around, once again, to see that his prayers had been answered. "I'm going home!", he exclaimed.

The woman, although excited too, asked him whether or not they were going to take the bearded man with them. The bald guy responded, "Nope...Let him pray his way out of this by himself - like I did."

So, over to the boat the pair went. The bearded man was still on his knees praying.

Just as they reached the boat, the clouds darkened. There was thunder and lightening.

A deep voice from the sky roared, "Where are you going?..Are you going to leave the bearded man?"

The bald-headed guy looked up and replied. "He's been on his knees praying for almost three days and nothing has happened...Why should I help him?"

The deep voice responded, "Do you know what he's been praying for?"

Still looking towards the sky, the bald man said "No, I don't...What was he asking for?"

The voice told him: "He's been asking that all of your prayers be answered."

************************************************************

          To be sure, there is a generation raising children that is so steeped in this possession-oriented culture that ideas of community, and so forth, represent the folklore of generations past. Additionally, it is hard to steer the imagination towards humanity, community, and the common good in a society that holds individualism as paramount. Individualism has its place, but given too much emphasis, it can encourage greed, selfishness and petty materialism, creating serious identity problems along the way. For instance, there already exists a vulgar mimicry of genuine individualism that has young African American males wearing pigtails, earrings in each ear, along with placing jewelry and tattoos at bizarre points on their bodies.

Most of this can be attributed to the so-called "hip-hop" genre of music, adequately labeled as being nothing more than  "buffoon minstrelsy", by a  genuinely accomplished musician, Wynton Marsalis, and a noted journalist and music critic, Stanley Crouch. Initially, rap music had a revolutionary potential, with lyrics, by groups like Public Enemy, which sought to articulate the social conditions of urban youth. Unfortunately, before long, greedy record companies convinced equally greedy young folks to produce recordings without using either musical instruments or dignified lyrics (with the latter still calling what they produce "music", mind you).

          Unfortunately, the music and beats are often attractive many African Americans, because the record industry and so-called “artists” mentioned earlier, initially using “samples” from, mostly, the rhythm and blues genre of African American music, have simply, and to a great extent, hijacked the aforementioned R & B genre and claimed itself (that is, hip-hop) as being original.

          Some of these new "recordings" have focused on the childish narcissism and selfishness in which people with low self-esteem engage, as they try to convince themselves that they have worth. Others, mostly young African American males, have attempted to gain their self-worth at the expense of others, using sexual infidelity and violence as proof of their manhood, in their "lyrics". None of these behaviors has been abandoned by either the so-called artists or record distributors of the "hip-hop" industry, as of this writing. Thus, for the most part, the revolutionary potential mentioned above has all but dissolved, except for, perhaps, a very tiny group of independents (mostly called "underground").

          Several years ago, on C-Span, I saw Lerone Bennett Jr., the great historian, speaking at an academic conference of some sort about his dismay with Our young Black "rappers" and their "fans" who are calling their mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters, and cousins "bitches and hoes". No other cultural group does that in the whole world, be it the entire music industry or the general public - only African Americans. This brings Us back to the issue of self-hatred. Worse yet, the so-called hip-hop moguls who receive so much publicity these days are no different than the Black slavemasters of the antebellum South. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to suggest that the former are the "spiritual" descendants of the latter.

          Nevertheless, connecting to institutions where youth already participate, rather than trying to form new ones, is essential, for any hope of success. Church youth groups, school clubs, athletic teams, specialty learning centers (like boxing, karate, art, trade schools, and so forth), as well as college groups will all have interest in community service on some level, whether for positive publicity or to give concrete application of their principles. Eventually, even gangs could be convinced to act more as social clubs, giving their members a more positive sense of purpose.

          By the way, instead of being “anti-gang”, perhaps, We should consider getting gangs to identify with positive behavior, at least, under some circumstances. After all, who would have ever thought that the famous biker gang known as the “Hell’s Angels”, originally out of California, would be connected to philanthropic activities, although their name continues to, sometimes, be connected with criminal activity? Even the infamous Blackstone Rangers of Chicago, at one point, became known for actions other than their violent ones. This can happen with the Crips and Bloods, as well.

          Still, for all that has been discussed thus far, the proverbial bottom line is: Capitalism has been so attractive, because it is, thus far, the only type of economy that has afforded total political freedom to its participants, as workers. That means that a person can "flip the boss a bird", as it were, and walk away, being "free" to find another opportunity for employment. This was certainly not the case in either slave or feudalistic societies. Socialist countries do not allow that kind of freedom either, since everyone works for the "State" and, therefore, must work where he or she is assigned, more or less.

          The downside of total political freedom for workers within the capitalist political economy is: The "market” then controls all economic and, social relationships, based upon the notion of "supply and demand", whether for the human commodity - labor, or non-human ones (commodities). Unfortunately, since, the end of World War 1 or so, the "market" has taken control of what we see as culture. As a result, the definition of culture, which historically, has referred to all of the actions by a specific population group,  has become anything that the market determines it to be. Consequently, the notions of “youth" culture (clothing, hairstyles, piercing and tattoos, books,  magazines with ads sold in them, and so forth), "Hip-hop" culture (drugs, guns, gangs, and so forth), and  “gay" culture (weddings, nightclubs, exclusive recreational venues, magazines and newspapers with ads sold in them, and so forth), are, totally, market constructs. Additionally, while there are social constructs like age and gender, for example, those social structures were not created for the appetite of the market. Rather, they serve the purpose of establishing social relationships within that society itself  that will allow it (said society) to last for hundreds or even thousands of years.

            The idea that a culture can develop without any connection to the past (except its increased availability of consumables) is a contradiction in terms. Hence, the notion of "youth culture", for example, is designed to exploit the vast and seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm of young people. Yet, it seems, at least, to me, that the energy and courage of Our youth should, actually, serve the purpose  of moving society forward - but only under the guidance of that part of society (parents and other elders) that has both the experience and understanding to recognize the values that maintain both Our humanity and spirituality.

          Moreover, once the market is allowed to define culture, Our only values become those which drive it (the market). For that reason, the mentality needed to function within the market system itself, has a great deal to do with causing the people in this society, for the most part, to not have the ability to act in a loving way towards each other, since it defines people by price or money-name. Hence, terms like low-income and wealthy become the false abstractions, like so many other monikers, that tend to sort out and classify people, then assign said folks to their stations in society and life, with most people never having any real control of their destinies

          Therefore, and ultimately, if Our youth are to be Our future, then it will only happen if We as adults, particularly parents, take the reins of this present culture and provide Our children with both an historical and social conscience, and set the example for them, by informing identity through recognition of the connection between generations and defining human life in a meaningful way (as opposed to basing who they are upon unstantiated claims regarding with whom they are having sex, or what "gang colors" they're wearing). That way, Our society will benefit from the "leadership" of Our youth. As well, the "market" will then be a function of the values of the society and not vice versa.

          Finally, culture has no meaning once taken out of the context of a reproductive process. A people who cannot reproduce themselves as a people will cease to exist as a people and become part of something else. This is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. For example, the culture that held Africans in slavery, in this society, could no longer reproduce itself in that form and had to change, because of the well-deserved hostility and resistance it engendered.

          In any case, let Us stop asking children what they want to be, in the context of what they will possess, when they grow up. Instead, let Us ask, what they want to be, regarding their relatedness to others.  Let Us ask, "How will you help the community when you grow up?" Let Us ask, "What kind of work will you do to help people when you grow up?"

          If We are to become a real community, We need the will and actions of a community. Obviously, We do not have either right now. Still, it seems that it is equally apparent, from the current standpoint, that We definitely have the resources to develop a loving and prosperous African American community here in Philadelphia, and in any other locales across the country. Let's do it! Peace.

G. Djata Bumpus

Read full post