Post Racial America and Indirect Racism

  Since the end of the Civil Rights and Black Power movement, many white people have tried to distance themselves from being labeled a "racist". Although there are many other methods, the internet has long served as a safe medium for many people to voice their true feelings of other races in this current era called "Post-Racial America". With the beginning of George Zimmerman's murder trial, the judicial diarrhea of the US Supreme Court on the Voting Rights Act of 1964, and Paula Deen's (past) diarrhea of the mouth, the events of this week have removed multiple layers from the "Race Relations" onion of American society.

  There are 2 types of racism, both of which are common in the US, as defined by Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) in his book Black Power : The Politics of Liberation(1967): Individual Racism and Institutional Racism.

  Individual racism is a small scale event between individuals or a small group of people in which one group acts against another based on an ideal that is intentionally or neglectfully racist. Paula Deen's "n-word" jokes are little more than examples of individual racism. Which, for those who didn't know, the law suit against Paula Deen was filed by a white employee, and it is about more than simple "n-word" jokes as described in this article from Black Legal Issues. Another example would be a group of Black guys beating up a white guy, just because he's white. As offensive as it may be, incidents involving individual racism do not have a lasting impact on the target group as a whole. But since it is on a person to person basis, the impact may last for the individuals involved. This factor is what allows racist ideals to be passed from generation to generation.

  Institutional racism is far reaching in the number of people it affects and is usually carried out by a group of people, although individuals can carry out this form of racism as well. This usually occurs when groups of people with racist ideals and states of mind get together - a majority of the time having positions of power. Where, as the picture above states, company policies, law enforcement practices, and legislative practices are created with the intention of harming, or infringing on the rights or progression of a designated group of people. These policies are designed and promoted as resolving a problem, but either intentionally or inherently create disparities through disenfranchisement, harassment, and other abuses of the negatively affected race. Some other race or group of races naturally benefits from it. The support for these forms of institutional racism comes from individual racists who would not want to openly express those views, or would otherwise be powerless to act on those views. Therefore they invest in or vote for, companies and politicians who will be able to deliver policies and business practices that have a similar ring to their racist ideals(although not explicitly stating so). The students of Prairie View A & M University's struggle for voting rights is a prime example of institutional racism, inspired by individual racists. Sporadic incidents of individual racism then begin to occur as a result of the policies and attitudes behind institutional racism.

  The Civil Rights and Black Power movements marked the end of the then commonplace overt racism. The passing of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, overt racism was outlawed. At that point, racial slurs took a back seat in the public eye, and made way for neutral terms like "criminals" and "illegals"(immigrants) to refer to a broad spectrum of people who will be affected by these policies. So we can ultimately define "Post-Racial America" as the period where it's OK to be racist(individually or institutionally) as long as you don't actually say that that is what you are doing. A period of time where race shouldn't matter, but it does, and unless there is a large enough group of people affected by it, there is no sure fire way to identify it.

  With a better understanding of what racism is and the different forms it can take, we can better prepare ourselves to develop and act on solutions to these problems. The problems of racism cannot be eliminated, but, similar to computer security, the threats or affect of those threats of institutional and individual racism can be transferred, delayed, or prevented from reaching fruition. By having a healthy and practical understanding of how racism works and the forms that it can take will help us to educate ourselves and others outside of the race in our continuing struggle is to secure economic, political, and social freedom and self-determination.

Peace

The Black Silicon Valley

Ironically, I was listening to this song earlier in the day. Then heard Black In America was on.

I thought it was pretty good. As a people, we consume more technology than we produce. And with those working to create their own start-ups being in the NewMe Accelerator program, they already know what trying to break into the industry will be like. The telltale part of the show was when the Indian guy was telling them he had to use a white guy just to get his idea accepted into Silicon Valley. It shows us what the obstacles are and what level we'll have to be on to get known, for those of us in looking to get into the tech industry. But of course, the only way to recieve the best treatment and do business on our own terms is if we have our own cultur/economic centers, a Black Silicon Valley, similar to the Black Wallstreet we've had in the past.

I was in school for computer science... haven't finished the degree yet as I started working full time in anticipation of becoming a father. But I also saw that most of the people they featured on the show never graduated, and actually stopped at the same level that I did. Shows me, and hopefully others in my position that there's still more to struggle for than just getting a job. Takes self-education and motivation though. I've actually got quite a few ideas for software, games, and possible phone apps. Haven't been in school since the Spring semester of 2011, but I've still been trying to pick up where I left off and teach myself what I need to know about these programming languages to make them a reality.

A lot of times people in the conscious community get carried away with the "Matrix" talk and forget, or purposefully ignore, the fact that there are a lot of people who claim to be conscious but are out of touch with the average person that has to work a 9-5 or has dire financial problems that need to be solved.

 I'm not saying that independence shouldn't be or is not the main goal. But it takes money to start and run a nation, and money and skills to start a business. And you have to start small before you can move up to a city-wide, nation-wide or global clientele - all depends on what you're trying to do but the possibilities are endless. Build up clientele through your reputation and so on. I understand all that full well.

On an economically competitive level, we have to have some kind of training or skill development self-taught or otherwise. Nobody's going to do business with a doctor (holistic or not), a computer technician, carpenter, a teacher, etc.. with no training or certification. And if he/she fucks up while performing their job, they can't say "well there's nothing you can do cuz im not a citizen of the country(or a Sovereign Citizen) so the law doesn't apply to me" and not expect an ass whoopin(LOL).

I don't just sit on my ass waiting on someone to give me a hand out. I (1) use long ass facebook comments/conversations like these to write blog posts(http://blackmindsdev.blogspot.com/

), I recently started doing gigs on Fiverr.com, and since i'm not in school right now I've been teaching myself C++ and Python so I can actually create some of the software ideas I've come up with over the years.  There's money on the internet, and technology is and will be one of the many ways that black people will become competitive in the global economy, but unless you have a large following then you're just paying dues and scratching up money where you can. And I'm (2) looking for decent paying jobs that will a) help me develop my skills so i can run my own business, b) have a financial cushion for when I'm not getting much clientele, and c) have some start-up money (primitive capital) to be able to afford more books to further develop my skills and buy better equipment. Until then I've learned how to make do with freeware. Before I buy something I see if there is an equivalent free version. If there isn't then I try to get it cheap, or just do without. It's called survival and anybody with common sense would say that I'm not going to sit on the computer all day and not figure out how to use it to make money - applying for jobs or otherwise. There's more than one way to get up, get out, and get something.

(Updated 6/22/13) I have also attained the COMPtia A+ Certification, and I am currently studying to get the Network+ and Security+ certifications. The ultimate goal is to turn my knowledge and skills in computer repair and maintenance from a side hustle to an independent business. So once things pick up and when I get out my situation I can go back to the youth on the street in the same situation I came out of and say "I was in the same situation and this is one way to get out of it." But to do that you have to be in tune with the masses of the people, specifically the youth, because they're the main ones who need to be reached. They're the ones who make up the statistics that conscious people rant and rave over but preach to the choir (other conscious people) about, or teach the congregation (the masses) shit that goes over their heads or does nothing to solve their immediate, every-day, real life problems. If you're out of touch with those people, then no matter how you dress up your presentation they're either not going to listen, or they're going to give you more credit and power than you deserve which is no good for them. And that's the shit that I'm saying needs to stop.

Starting a nation and all that is good, like I've said before doing business and living under traditional African principles is a great goal. BUT focusing on starting a nation and developing our own laws and currency and all that is jumping the gun when the people you're supposed to be reaching can't or don't know how to pay their bills and fight dictators and corrupt politicians in the country they're living in now. And unless there are safeguards in place that the masses of the people know how to utilize, then those same masses that exist today on the bottom rung of society will exist in that future nation. They will be the worker ants of that new nation without a pot to piss in while they put money in the pockets of a new dictator with a black face. Denouncing your citizenship to where you don't have to pay taxes to America or any other European nation is all good and well but you have to have another nation to go to and a means of getting there or creating it (and PROTECTING it).

Hip Hop and Tupac Pt 1

Today marks the 15^th anniversary of the death of Tupac Shakur. From the time I heard my first Tupac song, to the day I got my first album, to today – Tupac has played a “big brother” role throughout my life and I’m sure the lives of many others in my generation. When Pac died I was 7 years old. I didn’t have much exposure to rap at the time, but I had heard a few songs (California Love, 2 of Amerikas Most Wanted, and How Do You Want It) at different times that burned his name and sound into my mind.

I was in the 7^th or 8^th grade when I got “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” (everybody called it “Mackavelli”). I had already built an interest in reading up on Black history, and eventually researching the artists that I listened to became a part of my self-education. I had heard the names of the Black Panther Party, Huey P. Newton, Malcolm X, and Black Power, but I didn’t know much about any of them in detail. Listening to Tupac’s more socially conscious music led me to study those names and more as a teen. Those studies and the messages in Tupac’s, as well as the lessons that can be learned from examining his life are what led me to my current understanding of Black Power. And without that world view this blog probably would never have been created.

Despite the events that took place in Tupac’s life that would raise eyebrows for many about Tupac as a man, and Hip Hop itself, few can argue against his artisic genius. From the feelings of sympathy, sadness, and desperation in songs like “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and “Lord Knows”, to the hyped, partying mood in “How Do U Want It”, to a pissed off but empowered feeling from “Letter 2 the President”, “White Man’s World”, “Panther Power”, and “Soulja’s Story”, to moments of introspection and hope with “Who Do U Believe In”, “Better Dayz”, and “Thug’s Mansion” – Tupac’s music is mood altering.

The brother’s lyricism and symbology have led to thousands of web sites, books, and YouTube videos analyzing his words. Fans looking to understand references he made to past and (at his time) present personalities, events, and concepts to drawing connections between opinions Pac stated when he was alive to things going on today. One thing I always try to remind people of when they get too caught up in the “illuminati killed Tupac” and “Pac being alive” hype is that it doesn’t really matter if Tupac is dad or alive. He put the messages in his music and tailored his persona and sound the way he did for a reason. From experience, I’ve seen that when you go too deep for too long on sociality or politically conscious issues, you can quickly lose the interest of groups ranging from preps to jocks, to thugs and wanabe’s. Tupac tailored his music so that the conscious message was still present in most of his songs, but it didn’t turn off the average listener who wasn’t interested in such subjects.

Whether you understood or agreed with his message or no, you still heard the message; the seed was still planted. Whether those seeds take root through conversation, experience, or your own study is up to you and chance. Regardless, Pac put the messages in his music not for us t argue whether he was dead or not. He wanted us to feel the way he felt about the issues he spoke about and act on those feelings. Tupac said “I may not change the world, but I guarantee you I will spark the mind that is going to change the world.” I would like to think that I am one of those minds. R.I.P. and Thank You, Tupac.

A Discourse on Black Power

Fred Hampton, Jr., Immortal Technique, and the Watsonville Brown Berets

The other day I had a conversation with a friend of mine from high school (who happens to be Hispanic). I had told him about the blog and we had a discussion about the purpose and content. He wished me luck, but was concerned about the blog being specifically made for Black people, saying that it seemed exclusionary or separatist.  I compiled my responses to his questions and comments into one post.


Being Black, and seeing the condition we're in, I feel an obligation to work on improving our condition. I was nurtured into thinking this way, and naturally drawn into it. My mother taught me about the danger I was in as a Black man in this country, as well as how to read and learn about my history. I took that and ran with it (since the age of 7). I study and appreciate all cultures worldwide, but I make it a point to study my own. No one says anything when Asians release a video game or movie strictly about Asian history and culture, or when whites release a TV show with only white actors, or if they release a video game with all white characters. They are dealing with subjects related to their culture.


BMD is the same thing.


Although the bigger issue is class, each minority group has its own problems that are unique to that group with respect to its history in this country, or wherever they may be. No one is more qualified to talk about your problems and how they affect you than you are. Stokely Charmichael speaks on this in his book Black Power : The Politics of Liberation. You can't have a partnership with anyone else until you are secure and independent yourself. On an individual level, a person who can't help themselves can't help anyone else either. They have to have some level of independence. Otherwise, that partnership would become either parasitic on the individual's part, or predatory on their partner's part. If both parties are independent, prey/predator and parasitic relationships are less likely. And the same applies to any type of relationship. It is the same on a group level. Black people can't work with other races until they are able to function on their own. So yes, working with other races is, or will become, necessary because the real problems are social and economic class conflict (which goes above race and gender). But we can't have successful partnerships or ally relations until we get own out sh*t together.


Another example (in wake of the immigration issue): I work with Asian and Hispanic immigrants. Many of them speak their own language when talking to each other. The Hispanic guys also play the Latin station on the radio from time to time. They are doing what they're supposed to do, holding on to their original culture. Would it be right for me to tell them (when it is not work related) "Hey, you guys need to speak in English because I can't understand what you're saying" or "You guys need to change the station because I can't understand what the people on the radio are saying." Or "I just don't like Latin music." I can either A) Be parasitic and constantly ask them what is being said, B) Listen to the station without knowing what's being said, and appreciate the music for how I am able to see it. C) Listen to the music, not understanding it, and wishing someone would change the station, D) Be predatory and force them to change the station, or E) Learn Spanish so that I could understand what's being said both in their conversation, and on the radio.


Black Power, in it's original sense, doesn't mean having power OVER anyone else. It's about being in control of yourself and your environment. If you look at the content of the blogs, the things that I'm talking about are something everybody should know; the stuff that isn't culture specific. I'm discussing different avenues that we can us to get economic, political, and social power. Even then the content that is culture specific isn't or shouldn't be offensive.  If it is, you can't please everybody. You can either learn about it so you can understand in the future, or leave it alone.

Avoiding the Cult of Personality

Many have done it with MLK, Malcolm X, Tupac, Biggie, Jesus/Yeshua, and many others. They have fallen for a cult of personality, the overzealous praise, even to the point of worship in some cases, of an individual. This can give an individual an alarming amount of power over a large group of people, and if used the wrong way can cause a world of trouble. We did it, to a degree, during the Civil Rights/Black Power movements, and still do it today.

Tupac for example. Tupac was a conscious rapper (before going to prison or getting shot, and to a degree afterwards), but conscious or not he is seen as the "Greatest Rapper" in the history of rap (as far back as people of my generation, and a couple before that know or are concerned with when it comes to the history of rap). But for the most part his music was about addressing problems within the Black community and exposing the corruption of the government. Also, if you look for his work outside of what the mainstream media hows you he had many other books about/by him that have many of his poems and other things. 

Pac mentioned himself how he saw how much influence he had over a lot of people, and sadly he wasnt ready to take on that big of a responsibility. And it still holds true today, but not necessarily in a positive way. Instead of dissecting his songs and poems to get a better understanding of his message and what he was trying to say, people would rather dissect his songs to prove or disprove whether he is dead or alive. His being dead or alive doesn't change his message, so why bother trying to prove somethign that has no affect on what he said while he was here? Tupac served his purpose, which is why he is no longer with us. Neither Tupac or any other revolutionary could free us. We have to free ourselves. The purpose of the revolutionary or leader is to teach the people that we can free ourselves. Which is why they end up dying; so we can DO what they said we should do and could do, OURSELVES. The revolutionary is something like a mentor. He shows the people by example how to get the resources they need and the knowledge they need to have to take control of their lives. Likewise, a mentor is someone who shows a person how to identify their talents and capitalize on them, as well as the knowledge they need to do it. Without a mentor, people have to learn how to produce results the hard way. They may make costly mistakes, or pick up habits, methods, and ideas that are counter productive or destructive.

We all to often get caught up in the PERSON rather than the MESSAGE that the person was trying to spread. It's ok to love a person and remember people who have passed on, but don't forget what their purpose/message was while they were here. The memory of our mentors in the struggle live on through the actions that we take according to what they said, more so than any memorial, posthumous birthday celebration, or holiday can express.

Reflections on the "Conscious" Community

After spending years reading, watching videos, dictating quotes, journal entries, and anything else you can think of to learn about our past and present struggles as Black people, our freedom fighters, historical figures, etc. I really thought I knew something. Knowing that I educated myself about people important to the black community, I developed somewhat of a superiority complex. 

Developing a superiority complex is the first step (or symptom maybe?) to becoming out of touch with your people and community. Despite all of this knowledge I had and my pipe dreams of starting a Spook Who Sat By the Door -like revolution in Yourtown, USA, none of that was my reality. There were no mass protests, press conferences, riots, no (productive) debates with other "intellectuals" on the Black struggle, no turning your average street thugs/gangs into revolutionary freedom fighters or organizations. It was just me going to school and working, searching books and the internet for answers to questions, finding other pieces to the puzzle and putting them together. Looking back now I see that my pipe dreams were reflections of the times and lives of the men and women I had studied and looked up to: Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, Fred Hampton, Mumia abu-Jamal, the Black Panther Party(as a whole), Frederick Douglass, Tupac Shakur, and countless others. This is how my worldview was shaped.

Over the next couple of years I would learn a lot of lessons. (Since I'm still in college, and I'm still learning, I'll just put a couple of them up). When I finished my freshman year in college, I was still an intellectual, but at the same time a loner, broke, and dependent on family. Now remember, I had a superiority complex because I knew XYZ black revolutionary figure, or concept, or had XYZ revolutionary pipe dream. There would be times when I would stop and think about how different family members or other people in general didn't know what I knew, but still had cars, their own homes, etc. When I eventually came to the point  that I had spend enough time under a rock learning and studying the struggle, it was time to come out of my shell and socialize, reach out and teach the other students and members of the community, family, etc. everything I had learned. (As one of my professors put it "Man, the path you're taking is a tough road to hoe. Black folks are going to break your heart.") I socialized more and built up my network of associates (online and locally), most of us only having a love of weed in common (that's a whole different blog). Eventually I developed the motivation to seek out ways of becoming active in the Prairie View (I'm a student at Prairie View A & M University) community. 

Through socializing, and (attempts at) organizing I learned that 1) Having a revoluionary mindset won't automatically make other black people like you, 2) Even the people who cheer you on when discussing revolutionary ideas won't always help you when you are ready to act, 3) Not all black people are trying to hear "that black power stuff", and 4) Not everybody doing good in school and working (whether working hard or smart) is selling out. So what did I learn and where does that leave us?

People in the "conscious" community really lose touch with the people they're supposed to be "saving, educating, liberating, etc." when they get superiority complexes. Nobody can help anyone that they see as "below" them, or don't understand (which comes from being out of touch). The thing that people in the "conscious" community need to realize is that nobody is going to ask for help from someone who A) isn't going to (or can't) put money in their pockets, and/or B) Talks down on them. Especially not from someone who fits category A and B at the same time. Really, these are lessons that I had to learn myself. For those just becoming "conscious" and learning about the people, places, and ideas, if you want to actually make progress, you will need to learn these lessons, too.

Even the Black liberation movement involves economics, and if they (xyz revolutionary black organization) aren't talking about getting money (in whatever form of currency they want) in people's pockets or resources (so that we can survive without having to live on the streets waiting for xyz government/society to say "o we give up, black people are free") in some shape or form, then they might as well be compared to a church, selling hope. How revolutionary can someone be if they can yell "black power, fuck white people" all day long at the rallies and protests, but have to ask for gas money to get home?(speaking from experience) Or (even worse) the people/organizations who go to white people, or the police, to support those same organizations that are saying "fuck white people, black power"?

The "average" black population is living in a way that we understand and perceive individual phenomenon more than group phenomenon (going back to what Stokely Carmichael was talking about in BlackPower). It's not that the "average" black people "love" white people that much. They don't love white people any more than they "hate" their own. They're just going where the money is - legally or illegally, inside or outside their own communities - because in order to survive (which is the purpose of any revolutionary struggle, according to Che) until you are able to put yourself in a position to thrive (independently), you have to be able to realistically function in the current society. If not, you will get locked up or killed (by "them" or your own), because if you can't function properly, then you have to live off the people who can. Stopping that pattern is what the revolution is supposed to be about.

 And "conscious" people can say "getting money" is a part of that "imperialist pie" all you want, but even after the revolution there's going to have to be some type of currency, with some type of practical economic structure, with some type of system to govern/maintain it, outside of what someone dreamed up in a utopian dream world after the revolution. And that economic structure has to be set up to where everybody has a part of it's fruits, or has the potential to have a part of it, and the necessary tools to put themselves in the position to get a part of it. If not, that "dream world after the revolution" won't last long. Period.