Hood Emergency Broadcast System Alert!
The following is an excerpt from a Public Enemy Album entitled:
Yo ! Bum Rush the Show [1987]
Song #6: Rightstarter (Message to the Black Man)
(Hook)
Mind over matter, mouth in motion,
Can't deny cause I'll never be quiet
Let's start this right...
(Second Verse)
Some people fear me when I walk this way
Some come near me, some run away
Some people take heed to every word I say
Some wanna build a posse, some stay away
Some people think that we plan to fail
Wonder why we go under or go to jail
Some ask us why we act the way we act
Without lookin' how long they kept us back
I decided to post this information after reading
the following e-article and listening to the
aforementioned song:
Surviving ‘stressful process’ of being black male:
African-American men quietly combat negative
stereotypes about them.
It can be found at... ...please click on the link to read.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13560066/
Enjoy, please let me know what you think...
Yo ! Bum Rush the Show [1987]
Song #6: Rightstarter (Message to the Black Man)
(Hook)
Mind over matter, mouth in motion,
Can't deny cause I'll never be quiet
Let's start this right...
(Second Verse)
Some people fear me when I walk this way
Some come near me, some run away
Some people take heed to every word I say
Some wanna build a posse, some stay away
Some people think that we plan to fail
Wonder why we go under or go to jail
Some ask us why we act the way we act
Without lookin' how long they kept us back
I decided to post this information after reading
the following e-article and listening to the
aforementioned song:
Surviving ‘stressful process’ of being black male:
African-American men quietly combat negative
stereotypes about them.
It can be found at... ...please click on the link to read.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13560066/
Enjoy, please let me know what you think...
posted by SLUMP FACADE at 9:47:00 AM
I read the article with interest. I've played the game for so long, and I play it so well, that I don't think about it. I had great coaches, my parents. Maybe it's why I embrace language; because of it's power to get me through the thickest walls. So today, my language and how I express myself are who I am rather than the skin I was born in and I truly feel no guilt about that. I get up on stage and as I speak I sense that the audience (all of them, black white and other,) forget that I am black. Please note: That's not the desired effect!!! That's just a consequence of having mastered a language that I did not invent and using it better than many of those should be it's rightful master. If they can't master their own language (and yet I have,) it leaves them with no doubt that they can not master me. Some days it makes me smile, other days it makes me wonder. And so I go home and write... For the pen truly is mightier than the sword.
having seven brothers definitely makes me consider the "everyday-ness" of the black male more closely. all i ever want is for them to just go about life (as they see fit) as peacefully and with as little incident as possible. especially without fearing for their lives every time they pull out a damn wallet or cell phone. i have plenty more to say about this subject...maybe i'll just write a piece about it...?
I read this article too!
I have a brother who is 6'5 310lbs...
but a GENTLE giant.
I know it is hard for him. i have seen people flinch, clutch their pearls and purses just because he walked by.
It's sad but ad we ALWAYS do- we rise,
survive and THRIVE.
Great Post!
@Angel PLEASE write a piece about it!!
you could write a piece about rocks and I'd love it!
I feel for our black men and reading those lyrics by Public Enemy written over 19 years ago simply justifies what still goes on today in our world. Great post!
Great post SLUMP, now I need you to find one speaking on being a black woman at a pre-dominantly white law firm. I can feel the white men admiring my thickness as I walk throughout... Just horny!
Thanks for this post...
I've work in Corporate America my entire life and I don't want to go back...
I, a woman, with natural hair, exuding self confidence and pride in my race is deemed a threat...
My managers admitted that my team members were afraid of me. I don't smile either...but then it sickened me to see my fellow male co-workers adorning cornrows smiling and frolicking with white co-workers laughing at their corny ass jokes..
I just find it weak and emasculating...but I guess thats what they have to do to survive...
I never saw my dad kissing ass to make it and I don't think anyone should, for a paycheck as long as the job gets done. Had I kissed a little more ass, I may still be employed...
Very infomative article!
The only experience I have with having to tone myself down some is because I am an outspoken woman in a man's world but of course I have been bucking that my whole life...lol.
I can definitely see the stress factor involved in having to constantly monitor one's behavior and how this could affect one's pride immensely.
I think the most successful people are the ones who take the cards dealt and develop a formula to live where they can thrive and be happy.