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  • TN lawmakers embrace racism, gay hate while banning song: Eve was Black

    Racism used to be a covert operation. Racist folks wanted to conceal their identity so as to not receive backlash from their choices. Now, it seems that it is fashionable to embrace racism just as the Tennessee lawmakers have done recently.

    It appears that Tennessee is the testing ground before policies go national. Recent focus has turned to the banning on a Grammy award winning song by Allison Russell titled Eve was Black. The song links all races together and challenges the hate that is demonstrated by some seemingly because of race. It is bold, honest, and challenging.

    The song holds the claim of the leading hypothesis among scholars in this area that the whole human race entered the world through the legs of a dark-skinned woman. Not Black, not Egyptian, not Hebrew, as there wasn’t a race back then, but the first humans were Black.

    This truth bothers some people enough to ban the song in the state. Until we deal with the sin of racism, we are doomed to keep recycling it in our society. The following is  the lyrics to Eve was Black.

    Allison Russell

    “Eve was Black, haven’t you heard?
    The Mother of All was Dark and Good
    Eve was Black, didn’t you know?
    Is that why you hate my Black Skin so?
    Is that why you hate my Black Skin so?

    Does it remind you of what you lost?
    Do you hate or do you lust?
    Do you despise or do you yearn?
    To return, to return, to return

    Back to the Motherland
    Back to the Garden
    Back to your Black Skin
    Back to the Innocence
    Back to the shine you lost
    When you enslaved your Kin

    Why do you try to touch my hair?
    Do you hope to find a blessing there?
    Why do you try to keep me down?
    Do you hope to sow this barren ground
    With my black blood, black magic blood
    With my black blood, black magic blood

    Do I remind you of what you lost?
    Do you hate or do you lust?
    Do you despise or do you yearn?
    To return, to return, to return

    Back to the Motherland
    Back to the Garden
    Back to your Black Skin
    Back to the Innocence
    Back to the shine you lost
    When you enslaved your Kin

    What do you hope for as you tie the rope?
    What do you hope for as you hoist me up?
    What do you hope for as you watch me swing?
    Will the Witness Tree Salvation bring?

    Do I remind you of what you lost?
    Do you hate or do you lust?
    Do you despise or do you yearn?
    To return, to return, to return

    Back to the Motherland
    Back to the Garden
    Back to your Black Skin
    Back to the Innocence
    Back to the shine you lost
    When you enslaved your Kin

    Oh, my Sister, oh, my Brother
    Oh, my Mother, oh, my Father
    Oh, my Cousin, all my pale Kin
    Can’t wash this sin
    Can’t wash this sin
    Can’t wash this sin
    With my Black Blood
    With my Black Blood”

  • Let freedom ring, for real

    Our beloved country brags about its freedoms. We often speak arrogantly about our freedom to do this or that. Many have died for the right to have such freedoms, but what we haven’t learned is that great responsibility comes with our freedoms. A responsibility that we have already decided is too much for us.

    We argue that our government is too involved in our affairs. We fight against government regulations, and we want to be left alone. Freedom dictates that we allow those free to March by the beat of their own drum. We don’t have the right to say you can have your beat as long as I like it, too.

    Why regulate abortion? Guns? Transgender surgeries or any surgeries for that matter? We do these things in spite of our freedoms because we believe the said person making the decision is not fit to make a wise choice. We are a free country, but our government wants to regulate a woman’s body and her decisions surrounding her body. Why? Because abortion is a sin. But what if we don’t share the same religion? Don’t we have freedom of religion here, too??

    A student should not be able to obtain an automatic weapon and take it to school and kill dozens of people because he’s angry or bullied. But, if we’ve decided in our free country that people have the right to bear arms, doesn’t that decision already come with the understanding that someone is going to make a decision within this freedom that most will disagree with? If that is the case, then we either grant the freedom and shut up or take it off the table altogether, and no one but active military personnel can have guns.

    We are so hypocritical regarding our freedoms because what we really mean is you have the freedom unless it bothers me or it’s something I like too, or I can benefit from it some way. You can’t have freedom if it affects me in a negative way. Now, all we need to figure out is who gets to be the decision maker of these things? The government? The wealthy? Republicans? Democrats? Should it just be a part of white privilege or incorporate affirmative action into it!

    Anyway, other countries are watching us get it wrong and, at this point, probably wondering how could democracy possibly be a benefit.

  • Aren’t we tired of Black history month?

    As a Black man in America, it is difficult to continue to deal with Black History Month. It’s not because Blacks haven’t done many noteworthy things, nor is it that our contributions weren’t significant. But it has to do with purpose. Maybe I’m missing it, but I don’t see the benefits.

    For years, we have had telethons, walk-a-thons, and other various fundraisers for all types of ailments. Diabetes, heart disease, muscular dystrophy, breast cancer, MS, lupus, dementia and many others. We have been finding a cure for so long that most of the money raised is to really help us cope with the reality of the disease.

    We know already that many of the degenerative diseases are caused by the Western diet, but if you listen to the diet advice from the American Diabetes Association or the American Heart Association, they will tell you to eat everything in moderation basically. The point is: Why raise money to fix something that you really don’t want fixed?

    Our country is good for giving the natives “busy work” to take their attention away from the real issue. No gatekeeper in American wants to get rid of any degenerative disease.

    This is significant because I think Black History Month is more busy work, just like MLK day and the Juneteenth celebration. Busy work design to get Black activists to feel as sense of accomplishment and get them off the real issue.

    Instead of Black History, we need to tell the true American history story. Celebrate the good, bad, and ugly because it is truth. By doing this, it becomes easy to challenge the status que in talks of reparations. Many people still believe that reparations is about slavery. We don’t need reparations for slavery. Far worse scenarios have happened after that. Every decade since slavery could qualify for reparations. Instead of celebrating Black History Month, let’s talk about that for a month!

  • Something needs to be done about education in America

    Ever since the agricultural age moved on to the industrial age, America has been dumbed down. The benefits of a democracy are that one person represents one vote, and if your voters are informed, democracy can be a beautiful thing.

    In our country, many votes are wasted because the people vote with feelings and not facts. We allow talking points to tell us how we really feel.

    I literally hate when rich talking heads try to tell us what the rest of America wants or is interested it. We can are about abortion, gun violence, police shootings, and gas prices, and nothing ever gets done. But with education, it seems as though there is a deliberate effort to keep our education weak.

    The Pew Research Center recently published our educational status to the rest of the world. The U.S. ranks an unimpressive 38th out of 71 countries in math and 24th in science.

    Seriously???? Are we really saying that the best we can do is double-digit numbers? We can’t make the top 10? Top 5? Based on the resources we have, we are not even close to representing our potential. And I believe that is deliberate!

    We compare ourselves to ourselves. Our kids are ranked in the middle to lower range internationally, and this is just not acceptable. In America, 54 percent of adults have a reading level below 6th grade. On average, about 21 percent of Americans are illiterate.

    I get it. If we were to fix the education system, then those who stay in power and are greedy would not be allowed to maintain their status. We need a healthy prison system so that the small percentage of people who hold stocks make money. The rich also need the poor as you can’t maintain one without the other. So, the education system has become a pipeline for poor and disenfranchised folks.

    The revolution can’t come fast enough!

  • Gambling is the latest self-inflicted wound

    New research from Ohio State University says America has a gambling problem. This is an old problem with a new twist. Just before the pandemic, many states added gambling online and really made it very easy to place a bet.

    Obviously, gambling is a money maker, but what is the cost of making that money? Our young adults used to ruin their credit by signing up for multiple credit cards as companies in the 80s gave away cards to any full-time college students.

    Students who were not mature enough to handle the credit killed their credit scores and graduated with a credit score in the 400 to 500 range. Now gambling has become the new vice. One in 10 college students admit to having a gambling problem. Seventy-five percent of college students have placed a bet in the last 6 months, and 90 percent of the betting was done online.

    What’s worse is that there are many actors, comedians and athletes are being used to market gambling sites to our young people. Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, and others have been seen representing various sites.

    There used to be a time when it mattered to the spokesperson what they represented. Stars were picky about what they wanted to lend their name to, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue today.

    As a country with many other issues to deal with, we have now added gambling, and it’s self-inflicted. Things did not have to go this way.

    As if student loans were not enough, students will now have to deal with less than perfect credit in a society that is ruled by credit. Is this another trick to ruin young people before they start? Someone has to consider future generations and spare them this burden. Capitalism is killing us!

  • Appropriate: Building character even when only God is watching

    There was a recent journalist who shared her sexual harassment story in a new podcast. This was the first time she had spoken openly about it, and even after a few years, she was still shaken by the events that happened.

    She did not say exactly what hurt worse, but the person who did this to her was a trusted colleague, and she never saw it coming. He made references to her private parts, and, to me, it appeared he was “shooting his shot” with her.

    She is a beautiful woman who has always displayed a professional demeanor and definitely not the type to invite such behavior. She ultimately left her job over this and never reported his inappropriate behavior.

    We live in a country of blurred lines. Private things should remain private and likewise for things public. When you blur the lines, it supports inappropriateness.

    For men specifically, we need to develop an inner governor that safeguards us from inappropriate behavior. We need to be able to halt this behavior during the thought process. This way, the actual corresponding behavior never comes to pass.

    This is a moral issue. Whatsoever a man thinks in his heart, so is he. If we surround ourselves with the wrong things and we allow for negative energy to remain in our inner spaces, we are doomed to fail.

    Some of Donald Trumps comments regarding women come from a sense of entitlement and having the power and wealth to, for the most part, do what you want to do.

    It is for men to protect our women by maintaining appropriate behavior at all times. It is difficult to write this without sounding too preachy, but we need a stronger all-out effort to make our society as safe a possible k e for our women and children.

  • Detroit Lions restore their roar this year

    I have been following the Detroit Lions since 1980. I loved to watch football, and until the 80s, I had forgotten Detroit had a team.

    You see, I only really watched the playoffs, and I knew the top 4 teams in the league and the Lions were never that good. I finally saw the highlights of Billy Sims, and then I was hooked!

    Fast forward a decade, and we got Barry Sanders, and we started consistently making the playoffs. I never thought we were a Super Bowl contender, and no one ever said we were. They just had tons of respect for Sanders.

    A decade later, we went back into the dark ages and finally got a glimmer of hope with the addition of a young Matthew Stafford. Full potential was never reached. Detroit even had a winless season to its credit.

    Two years, we got Coach Dan Campbell, and they made promises and built a team. He saw things no one else saw, and it seems that overnight, we had a contender. For the first time during my lifetime, the media has commented that the Lions could actually win the Super Bowl. I have, of course, see every game this year, and right before my eyes, I saw them get better in every category, every game.

    The success is not a surprise, and the possibility of Detroit being the top team is real. I had not purchased a Lions jersey since Barry Sanders. We spent $300 on Lions gear last week. No matter what happens this weekend, the Lions have given this city hope. There is a new energy, a superior spirit, and a sense of pride. This is a blue-collar town, and our Lions have been putting in work all season. Now, the team is 4 quarters from the Super Bowl, and I am glad to be a Detroiter!

    No matter what happens in San Francisco this weekend, the Lions got their roar back!!!! Rrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

  • Who’s rooting for you?

    The lyrics to the song “Don’t you worry bout a thing” by Stevie Wonder gives as the reason not to worry is that he would be standing on the side when you check it out!

    It’s a very comforting, feel-good song that he wrote in the 70s, but the message is still good, and it influences the question of this blog. Do you know your support network? Are you aware of the people who are for you?

    The New Year is here, and no one needs to take on the challenge of a new year without a support network. Football great, Tom Brady, in a recent interview, said that his success on every level was all about the people who came into his life at the right time. He said that he was able to take full advantage of his opportunities because of the support of others who wanted to see him succeed.

    We live in a dog eat dog environment. There are many folks who would claim to support you only later to prove they were not. People are jealous, envious, full of hate, and vindictive. Many folks are hurt, and as a cost of that hurt, they hurt others. Support is the difference in behavior.

    This year, give those watching something to see. Go hard at whatever task you want to accomplish and draw strength from your team who is on the sidelines routing for you. The new year represents more.

    More in 2024! More muscle, more hustle, more appreciation, more love, more success, and more celebration. You are in control of your own destiny, and as you succeed, don’t forget to look over at the sidelines and acknowledge your support!

  • King’s dream would be different today

    In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did his famous “I have a dream” speech, and it had everything g to do with equality, diversity, and inclusion.

    He dreamed of an America that would serve everyone and allow for freedom for everyone. His speech pointed out our areas that needed work and delivered a hope that things would change.

    Now, more than 60 years later, that dream never came close to happening, but what’s worse is that the country is on the brink of anarchy.

    Politicians are complete sellouts, and the greedy has completely taken over. We live in a time where something caught on camera can’t be trusted. We live in a time of alternative facts and fake news. The Republicans could care less about anyone in America, but themselves and the Democrats are rationing our resources to foreign lands despite all the things we need here.

    King’s speech was about taking care of the republic and making sure that the least of us could make it. Our government has lost sight of that dream.

    At the time of King’s speech, neither candidate for president would be considered a good choice. Joe Biden tried to run for president in 1988 and 2008 before winning in 2020. He copied a British politicians speech and tried to make it his own in 1988, and when he was found out, he dropped out of the race. His work on the 1994 crimes bill and what has happened to more than a million African American men as a result should have kept him out of the oval office forever.

    There is no other era in history where Donald J. Trump would be considered a serious candidate for president. On the issue of integrity alone, he would not pass. This is how far we have fallen.

    King’s speech today would emphasize taking care of America first on every level; canceling student loans; no more wars; universal healthcare; and reforming criminal justice system, prisons, police force, corporate greed and increasing social security benefits.

    If we don’t start taking care of America, there soon won’t be an America!

  • Leave your bitterness behind

    Some things need to be left in last year. The “newness” of the New Year is preserved in our excitement to go forward with great anticipation.

    Bitterness tends to start slow and stay very long. It slips up on you and haunts you. From moment to moment, bitterness can creep in and change your mood, make you irritable, and steal your joy.

    Bitterness is when you suffer a disappointing experience or you have been treated unfairly. Bitterness is the feeling you get as you continue to be angry about it.

    Many people are living with their bitterness. America gives you a lot to be better about. There are some who believe that certain politicians are making laws against them. Some believe the government is giving away the good jobs to immigrants. Some believe in multiple conspiracies that will negatively affect their life. Some believe the criminal justice system is unfair. Others believe there is systemic racism that has greatly affected their growth. Still, others believe religion has harmed them, and you can’t trust the police.

    Whether these things are true for you or not doesn’t matter, the point here is that all of these things would cause bitterness. So the following are three steps to help with your bitterness.

    1) Put a price on your time and energy. It is extremely unproductive to continue repeating what has happened or sharing it with folks who haven’t heard. This doesn’t change the experience, it only keeps you married to it.

    2) Confront to source. If someone has wronged you, it may be time to tell them how you feel about what happened.

    3) Ask yourself why. You need to know why this is important to you. Why you can’t get past it. And why didn’t you see this coming.