When?

Is it wrong to blame the disenfranchised for their alienation in regards to this American system? Their unwillingness to conform to the contradictory themes that hold this broken republic together. Their resistance to ideas and lifestyles pre-determined by social institutions. There fight simply illuminates the ways in which we have been silent? When have we had enough? These are the questions we must ask ourselves at what point do the contradictions become to much? When do we challenge the system and seek to struggle to create a new path? One that allows for humanity to be restored and justice to be claimed by all?

Successful

"I just wanna be successful" Drake

These are simple words buts they articulate the vision that drives me. The desire to create a legacy for my children to stand on. Ultimately success represents a better chance for my family to avoid some of the obstacles that I had to face. Success is the ability to define one's future and to not be crippled by past mistakes or societies limits. My hard work is a down payment on a better life for my family that is yet to come. It is this reality that should inform the decisions we make. We should move beyond instant gratification and societies rewards. These rewards are nothing more than traps to keep us off the righteous path. So let us reexamine ourselves and society with a new vision. Then and only then will we be on the path to true success. When we have allowed the individualistic motives of success to be abandoned for a sense of success that others can prosper from.

Struggles with poverty

Being black in America has always presented an added barrier to the realization of the American dream. However, as I look back at my childhood and realize that the issue of poverty was a larger detriment to my stability as a youth. It was the inability to secure the goods that provide for a way of life that allows for potential to flourish. It is the burden of poverty that I seek to break from, it is the presence of poverty that pushes me to better myself at all cost. So although my blackness is a source of pride and produces a set of obstacles that are difficult to deal with I must be honest when I say that the issue of class has defined my existence with a greater emphasis up to this point.

Freedom

Freedom begins when we recognize that we have the right to an existence based on are own ideas. This is freedom when we begin to elevate ourselves above the ideas and beliefs of others. If we are unable to do this we will continue to wear social mask that are neccesary for acceptance. Freedom can only be achieved when we are honest and no longer seek conformity over indviduality or deception over truth.

Legacy

As an African American male I wonder if at times we have lost touch to the historic legacy our ancestors have bequeathed to us. Do we throw away our heritage because we are unwilling to remove the shackles of victimization and hopelessness that controls are conciousness. It is time to embrace the struggle and recognize that the opportunity to be great is just that an opportunity. It is nothing more and this is something that our ancestors understood. They were willing to demand excellence in the midst of oppression and this is what we must do. No more can we be tied down by a sense of entitlement that makes us see obstacles as signs of racism and bigotry. It is time for us to fight to be great. The journey starts now. When we recognize our history then we will better prepare for the future.

Thirst for Revolution

Many of us romanticize revolution. We desire to become part of something we have never tried to understand. Revolution requires more than most are willing to give. We embrace revolution as a theory only applicable in certain environments. This thinking dilutes the revolution. The revolution is a daily struggle; it consumes the individual. It is a process that links to death. You must be willing to struggle until the existing conditions are eradicated. This is what most don't understand. Revolution is never complete until the desired conditions are accomplished. This is why the process of revolution is one that can only be embraced by the children whom embrace sacrifice. To become revolutionary in essence is to become a being that has grappled with and surrendered to the thought of one's own demise. The death of the individual is vital to all revolutions because the desires of the individual succumb to the needs of the masses.

Hip Hop an "Easy Target"

So many times the critique of hip-hop is limited in scope because it does not take into account the fact that hip-hop is a sub-culture heavily influenced by larger American ideas. The pervasiveness of misogyny and violence are emphasized because these are staples of American culture. American society is firmly planted on the ideals of patriarchy and violence these values can be traced back to the formation of this broken democracy. So it is hypocritical to continually attack the contradictions that characterize so much of hip-hop. If we are honest we could see that America If nothing else is a contradiction. A country that espouses freedom and yet has a bloodied past that is connected to the enslavement and persecution of those that were categorized as different. These points are not highlighted to let hip-hop off the hook. It is simply to force us to look at the larger social forces that contribute and influence the themes that pervade the music. It is easy to criminalize blackness and label hip-hop as this evil entity that is destroying our youth. However, it is much harder to critique and challenge the larger social vices that contribute to the destruction of our youth through distorted messages and corrupting ideas. We must be vigilant and challenge evil on all levels and refrain from directing all our ire at the easiest of targets.

Let's Get Free

Freedom is something that is difficult to define, but its absence is easy to detect. It seems that we have been bound to an existence of material greed and destructive individualism. Is this freedom? Are we convinced that freedom is connected to some perverse notion that my life should be based on my own desires regardless of how others are affected by my choices? The thing about freedom is that it comes with responsibility. The ability to abstain and critically analyze one's choice is the true indication of freedom. When one is not able to exercise reason with their choices then they have simply become a slave to that which they are pursuing. So in order to get free, one must recognize what freedom represents in a society that preaches a concept that places self at the center and allows for all other things to be used and exploited for the benefit of self. We must change this perspective into a perspective that values and uplifts all things we have been given dominion over. The process of getting free is a choice and the first step is realizing one is enslaved. Are you free or are you a slave?

Time for Change Part 2

It is difficult for men to at times realize that women are not simply the sole extension of a man. That they have their own aspirations and dreams that are unique to their experience that she desires to be great in her own right and does not seek to be overshadowed or relegated to the sidelines as your personal cheerleader. There is more to women and when we confine them to historically sexist roles we eliminate the possibility of seeing them in their light. We distinguish there beauty and we ignore their passion and ultimately we suffer. Why do I speak of such things because I believe as a man my liberation and understanding of oppression can only be fully realized when I recognize my privilege? When the shackles of patriarchy our challenged and resisted in my life then I have eliminated the destructive barriers that keep me from being a true brother to our sisters who seek to engage daily with a hostile world. I hope that brothers will challenge their thinking and confront the overt and subtly ways that society tries to destroy the independent women. The battle continues and we all have a part to play. Liberation will always be the goal. To my brothers and sisters in the midst of the storm I say Let’s Get Free.

Time for Change

When does the continual denigration of women become actively challenged and resisted? It seems that we have forged a convenient relationship with sexism and we have allowed for women to be socially confined to the male constructed identities of housewife or whore. We as a society have been conditioned to reject strength and Independence in a woman. This is in large part due to the belief of most men that women are an extension of their property. The question is how do create new agencies and structural forces that allow for women to be liberated from the man made chains of patriarchy.

Prisoner to Blackness

Is our blackness to be worn as a badge of honor or is it a chain-linked fence that curtails aspirations and makes failure acceptable? This is the question that I believe must be individually and collectively examined in the black community. For many of us, we have adopted a communal approach that forces black to toe an invisible line of black authenticity where style of talk, aspirations and whom one chooses to date must be measured against the choices of a silent majority that seems to dictate one's level of blackness. The question is whether or not this mentality is liberated or simply of a transformed mentality that originated in the confines of slavery where whites set the limits on black action and created the norms of the black community. Were the struggles of the past fought for blacks to be seen as individuals and to break from the shackles of monolithic identification? Or was it simply to break from white control to a more "acceptable" black elite that shapes the opinion of our people.
In reality our blackness should be worn as a badge of pride, but we must allow for individuals to be shaped by blackness in whatever way the choose. We cannot allow for conformity to alienate those whose idea of blackness does not coincide with our system of beliefs. We must all0w for blacks to be free to allow for their identity and understanding of blackness to be shaped by their experiences. If we cannot do this, then the desire for liberation will continue to be an illusion that lies outside the realm of the masses of our people.

Pretty Wings

As men I wonder if we are able to see the pretty wings that women possess. Do we take them for granted seek to dampen their light because we feel their greatness will surpass our contribution? We must change our focus and seek to be comforted and motivated by the beauty of the women in our lives. We must not be threatened by their growth and their willingness to conquer. They deserve to fly and reach for the stars and fulfill their purpose and they deserve to have us cheering for them like they do for us. We must break the shackles of patriarchy that allows for us to clip the wings of our women because we fear there glow will attract others and ultimately take them from us. It is time that we become truly supportive men and cherish the beauty that accompanies the dreams of our women.

Dead and Gone

What will are legacy be when our lives come to an end?How have we sought to live our lives and whom have we influenced for better or worse. Will we be celebrated or remembered as one who was oblivious to the plight of others and consumed with our own needs at the expense of those around us? How do we choose to live and what inspires us? These are the questions that must be answered because they help shape how we live and subsequently how we will be remembered when we are dead gone.

Doubt

Is it alright that I have doubt? As I began pursuit of my PhD in African American Studies from Temple University. I must be truthful about the doubt that circles this choice to pursue more education when American society seems to be filled with over-educated individuals with questions but no answers. As society continues to spiral towards an uncertain future and the problems seem larger by the day I am left to wonder really is more school the answer. It seems that higher education is where revolutionaries go to die. To become a part of the very system that we seek to change. This is contradictory but in reality American society creates limited free space for those that recognize that the cries and the silent suffering of the masses is to much to take and desire to do something. They are left to attain more degrees so that the legitimate concerns that arise very early can become legitimized and we can receive compensation. However, what compensation is worth witnessing the daily suffering of those that are left isolated and locked out and cannot gain access to the American dream?