FLIPSIDE

In my community it seems to be something missing. When I go to the hair supply stores I am greeted by Asian workers. When I go to buy gas I am greeted by Arabic owners. When I drop my sister off to get her hair braided, she is greeted at the door by African braiders. How is it that so many other nationalities are able to come to America and find there niche in an economic system that has held us down for so long?

While visiting my brother last week, we began to elaborate on this topic. He brought up an interesting point. That point was that somewhere along the lines of finding our place in American society we left behind the importance of family and togetherness. Other nationalities tend to be more successful because they share amongst themselves and are helpful to each other. That is truly a concept lost in our culture that needs to be found in order to have any kind of success in the future.

When you look at the businesses that are ran by other nationalities, you will notice that most if not all, are family ran businesses. People in the black community have lost the importance of family, but we need to address this issue soon and bring back the strength to our communities. Of course, this is easier said than done, but recognition of the issue is at least a start.

While growing up in a society where legal systems and educational systems fail at such a rate that the black community is almost guaranteed to fail – it is these family values that can help us through the barriers and beyond the expectations of society. At some point we have to stray away from the crabs in a bucket mentality. Don’t you know how many slaves would not have escaped if Sojourner Truth decided that she wasn’t going to help anybody else? It’s time to get back to basics. Catch ya’ on the FLIPSIDE

Nigger. That was supposed to be the title of Nas’ last album. Maybe a little too much for America, especially since the word was apparently buried some months back. How odd? Why wasn’t it buried when we picked cotton from the acres of plantations that built the basis of America’s economical structure? Why wasn’t it banned when we wanted to de-segregate schools? Why wasn’t it being erased from existence when it was being hurled at us like spit from some old white man’s mouth?


Nigger. Now that we have taken a word that once demeaned a whole race of people and flipped it to our own dialect and meaning – now it needs to be buried? At a time when we have decided that the power and offensiveness has been taken away from the word and now use it as our own. Don’t bury it now. Its mine, I won’t give it up.


Nigger. Some people think it’s ridiculous. Some people think that the use of this word should bring shame and insult to its users. I disagree. We diffused the energy of the word, so why not use it in our own way. So often we were beaten over our heads with it, our women raped with it, our families torn apart with it – so now its ours and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want anything else taken from us. Hasn’t enough been taken away from us already?


Nigger. Then you have some of us jumping on the bandwagon, screaming at my hip-hop generation and begging us to stop using a word that once empowered an elite group. Now that elite group has lost the power of that word and they urge us to put it to rest.
Nigger. After listening to Nas’ new album, I was amazed. This was the most articulate, motivational, conscious album I’d heard in a long time. Ultimately, it makes me think. It makes me think of the state of our society today. Racism all around, black people living with a vale over their eyes claiming that racism is dead, America buying all the hip-hop music and supporting the culture while laws are in place to make sure all those habits land you in jail or in an early grave.

FLIPSIDE 1.8

Just browsing through the newspaper this evening - online of course(does anybody still read the physical paper?)- Anyway, I was reading a story about Obama and Hilary making public appearances and seemingly putting their differences behind them. I figure they may as well, so that the democratic voters won't be so split. I have been a democratic voter since I cast a vote to send Bill into the White house the first time and will continue to be until I have been convinced that the republican party has any interest in today's middle class African American. Much to my dismay, there are voters who seem to base the election more on race and religion than on politics and economy.



After I read the story, I read the comments from the readers below it. I was somewhat astounded. I saw comments that said it is only because of white guilt that Obama is getting the votes he has thus far. Other comments were attacking his religion-questioning whether he really is a christian or not. Didn't the church and government break ties long time ago? Hasn't society been begging us as black people to stop crying about race issues in America, yet white people have began to use it more than we do now that a black man could potentially be the next leader of our country? As I write this blog, I figure it may sound something like a rant, but to see so many comments like those on one page makes me realize how far we as blacks in America have come and how far we still need to go to get to an even playing field.



Not so many years ago, I suppose it would have been unheard of to even have a black man in this close of a position, or even being a serious contender for the Oval Office. Even with this great opportunity though, comes the proof that we are not yet equal. Most voters who are against Obama are against him because they don't want to see a black man as president--that is my assumption. This is my assumption because who would in their right minds vote for a third Bush administration, which would pretty much be the case if McCain gets in office. Catch ya' on the FLIPSIDE.

FLIPSIDE 1.7

About ten years ago there was a young man from Pontiac, MI that gained national attention after shooting and killing a Pontiac man at the age of 11. After conviction, then 11 year old Nathaniel Abraham, was sentenced to a facility until the age of 21 at which time he would then be under house arrest for some period of time afterward.

Those 10 years have come and gone and Abraham was set free earlier this year. Most people in his community rallied around him for support and guidance in hopes that this troubled young man would get his life on track, perhaps proving that one can be rehabilitated in such a facility as he had been apart of for the last 10 years. Now, in regret to all his supporters, Abraham has been arrested in connection to some alleged drug charges and probation issues.

Now, I am not in anyway, taking up for or excusing Abraham for his actions because he is an adult and in full control of good and bad decision making. I will, however, say that spending most of your developmental years behind the walls of a facility, then being injected back into a community that struggles to fight crime, poverty, and education issues does somewhat put you into cycle that is hard to be broken.

What Abraham needs is for his supporters to remain supportive and not turn their backs to him and rely on a judicial system that has pretty much slapped us as black people in the face since slave auctions were legal and our ancestors were sold off like tools. With all of that said, I don't want it to seem as though I condone his actions, but I do however empathize with his situation.

I suppose a comment made by a reader in respect to the article on Abraham in a recent Detroit Free Press almost made me shiver. Perhaps I had taken it the wrong way, but I became offended immediately and it urged me to write this piece. This is the comment in question-eewally wrote on freep.com-

It's high time to start putting bullets in these people's heads. We
can't afford rehab anymore. Its not working. Too many thugs that
just love the free food, shelter and camaraderie. It's time to
start culling the gene pool.

Start culling the gene pool? I wonder if Nathaniel Abraham had been white and premeditated an assault on a school with shotguns that left many wounded and some dead - would we still be talking about culling the gene pool? Catch ya' on the FLIPSIDE.

FLIPSIDE 1.6

My collection of short stories and poems is going to be titled "Off the Block". The title has a few meanings for me. The first is to pay homage to Langston Hughes, who is one of my favorite writers. He had a collection of poems called "The Block". So, in turn, this title is in homage to his work. Another meaning for the title is just a reference to my neighborhood. My Block. Writing is my avenue away from the block, while that same block inspires most of my writing. The book will be available for all to enjoy by mid July, but until then I will leak one final poem from my collection.....Hope you enjoy..catch ya' on the FLIPSIDE.

EYES OF MIDNIGHT

Broken, crushed, slaughtered,
Somehow saved by prayers,
The promise of golden gates
Giving way to serenity, identity.

Sunshine plays hide and seek with the moon
Every now and then going unnoticed for hours
Never revealing its hiding place.

Freedom prevails and sunshine reveals itself
One minute too late, but not soon enough
The moon readies for another game tonight.

Eager feet trust the sunshine won’t peek
Just count to ten, how many will it discover
Shadows scurry under the moon’s watch
Chasing the North Star, chasing
Life, freedom, identity, equality.

Still chasing

FLIPSIDE 1.5

As I near the completion of my book of poems and short stories, I will leak one of the poems that I have included in the book. Take a look at the poem, let me know what you think afterwards. Please your valued opinions are needed. The poetic device in most of my work is a combination of Harlem Renaissance and early 20th century British Literature. Pretty much what that means is you'll hear some Wordsworth, Blake and Hardy, but sprinkled with Hughes, Morrison, and Baldwin....enjoy.

Uptown on the #2




The dreary day has diminished. My eyes have been set free to roam another day, another scenery, and another lifetime. Shutting the steel door behind me, I know that my love will be at the train station to welcome me home. The tracks spark and scream bloody murder as the wheels burn them trying to stop and throw momma from the train.

Good evening miss. Oh, maybe you didn’t hear me, I hear the baby screaming, the snoring intern tired from making coffee and donut runs all morning. I should probably speak loud so that you can hear me. Good evening miss! Never mind. My woman’s gonna be waiting for me anyway, at my stop. I’m going back to Harlem, 135th and Lennox. That’s my stop. You know where that is? Hello. Okay, I’m tired of being nice. I’m done speaking with you lady. You can forget about those tickets to the Apollo. That’s right up the street on 125th and we ain’t gotta go in through the back door like we used to either. We comin’ up baby!

Nothin’ like the ol’ #2 train runnin’ uptown, huh? Oh yeah, I forgot you wasn’t talkin’ to me. I bet if my man Langston was here, you’d talk to him. You sisters are soft on those light skinned cats. Me and my man James can’t get no love. You know James right? The cat who graduated from that school of arts and wrote that book. Something about tellin’ on the mountain or some jazz like that.

The doors flung themselves open and tossed people out all the while sucking others in. The commotion awoke the gray-haired short woman with the young child attached to her arm.

This our stop granny. Were you dreaming about granddad again? I know you miss him. I miss him too.

FLIPSIDE 1.4

In the shadow of a national report that put Detroit on the very bottom of the list that calculated the percentage of our inner-city youths who finish high school with a diploma, there is yet another matter at hand that must be corrected. While I believe parental involvement will increase the student’s chances of getting through high school and earning a diploma, the involvement should not end there.

As I said once before, a diploma gets you a little advantage in the workforce, but what else does a high school graduate have to do in order to find a slot in an economy that is always looking for ways to cut back?

One thing I notice about young men in our city who have earned degrees from high school is that after completing that goal, they seem to be unprepared for the next level. That next level may be college or that next level may be entering the workforce. Whichever the case, young inner-city men seem to lack the direction or preparation necessary for making that transition.

A friend and I were standing outside my house a few days ago when we were approached by a young man who was dressed in slacks, a dress shirt and tie. On his way to some local businesses in the area, he stopped to ask us if we knew of anyone who was hiring. In response I told him there are a few places that are hiring, but they were either accepting applications online or only accepting resumes in person. He said he did not have access to a computer, nor did he have a resume. Surprised by his lack of preparation, I offered him the phone number of a friend who is a teacher who could help him build a resume as well as assist him with filling out online applications. He thanked me and went on about his way.

It is then when I thought that perhaps someone did teach him the value of an education and how important it is to at least finish high school, but nobody bothered to tell him what to do after that. That is an issue with our inner-city youth, especially the males. The lack of preparation is not the only thing that has to be addressed though. The lack of self-confidence is an issue as well.

The two major indicators of this lack of self-confidence are poor eye contact and soft handshakes. When interviewing or just conversing with potential employers, these two things are vital. They are also things that need to be discussed by parents. Maintain good eye contact throughout the conversation and learn to give firm handshakes.

I know it was hard enough getting Junior through high school, but you want to make sure he knows what to do once he leaves the classroom and enters the boardroom. For more information and resources take a look at this website: www.detroitparentnetwork.org or contact Shane Bernardo at sbernardo@detroitparentnetwork.org. Let’s get our youth out of high school with the knowledge and confidence to make it into the future. Catch ya’ on the FLIPSIDE.