The Resistance

What am I afraid of? This is supposed to be what dreams are made of. -- Drake

It's 8:00 AM. I am up, getting ready to hit the weight room with my LB, then going to class. At noon I am sitting on a panel with the chancellor and the provost. After that I'm going to pick up a new, tailored suit and then heading to my staff meeting. Greek social, movie night w/ friends, greek social part 2, bed (the rest of the night). Last night I hit the club, no wait, VIP, "Deryle + 7" on the list. Day before that I was chilling with some of my chapter and BE. getting love at the Mr. 1913 pageant. I am turning down good girls because I have a great one. I meet all the right people at the right times. My spirituality is on the come up. I'm one of the strongest candidates for homecoming king. I'm the president of the fraternity. I am really living the dream life.

But with all that, I have lost the simplicity. All the excitement has grown old. With all of that, I often find myself wanting to vacation for a week in my own home. "Nothing really comes as a surprise right now. We're just having the time of our lives right now." Problem is, I miss the surprises. I miss saying "wow, that was fun." Now I say "That was a good party," because of it's level of success and not because it was anything new to me. The novelty of having bad chicks at my beck and call has worn off. All I really want these days is to have a regular relationship without the UNCG tabloids (living breathing publications who can't help but gossip) scrutinizing my every move.

Then there are those who hit me with the "you promised me you'd never change up." And then I look in the mirror and I ask myself if I have changed. I see it sometimes. Other times I just see stronger in the mirror. Can't go back. This is me. Onward and upward.

Keeping it 100, there are even times I need a break from the bruhs. It's just like a real family - if you spend too much time w/ anyone, you'll go crazy. I eat, drink, sleep, workout, and party Alpha, always with a sprinkle of Delta and/or AKA on the side. It's crazy that I got what I wanted, only to find out that everything that glitters really isn't gold. Oh well.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Karaoke

Do you even feel it anymore? -- Drake

This song really resonates with me, especially where he raps. "I hope you don't get known for nothin' crazy 'cause no man ever wants to hear those stories 'bout his lady. I know they say the first love is the sweetest but that first cut is the deepest. I tried to keep us together but you were busy keeping secrets." There was a point in my life (noticeably right after I crossed the burning sands) that I was so focused on my success and moving forward for myself that I wasn't able to give those I cared about the attention needed to sustain relationships, therefore those relationships (both romantic and platonic) fell off. I was replaced in some instances and all bridges had been burned. In others, I had to go back and rebuild. Either way, life keeps moving. As Drake said, "I was was only trying to get ahead." I got there and, thankfully, I able to regain my happiness at the same time. Lesson learned.

Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

The Propaganda of History

Today's piece of reading in AFS 410. Just food for thought:

The Propaganda of History
By W. E. B. Du Bois

How the facts of American history have in the last half century been falsified because the nation was ashamed. The South was ashamed because it fought to perpetuate human slavery. The North was ashamed because it had to call in the black men to save the Union, abolish slavery and established democracy
What are American children taught today about Reconstruction? Helen Boardman has made a study of current textbooks and notes these three dominant theses:

1. All Negroes were ignorant.
“All were ignorant of public business.” (Woodburn and Moran, “Elementary American History and Government,” p. 397.)
“Although the Negroes were now free, they were also ignorant and unfit to govern themselves.” (Everett Barnes, “American History of Grammar Grade,” p. 334.)
“The Negroes got control of these states. They had been slaves all their lives, and were so ignorant they did not even know the letters of the alphabet. Yet they now sat in the state legislatures and made the laws.” (D. H. Montgomery, “The Leading Facts of American History,” p. 332.)
“In the South, the Negroes who had so suddenly gained their freedom did not know what to do with it.” (Hubert Cornish and Thomas Hughes, “History of the United States for Schools,” p. 345.)
“In the legislatures, the Negroes were so ignorant that they could only watch their white leaders—carpetbaggers, and vote aye or no as they were told.” (S. E. Forman, “Advanced American History,” Revised Edition, p. 452.)
“Some legislatures were made up of a few dishonest white men and several Negroes, many too ignorant to know anything about law-making.” (Hubert Cornish and Thomas Hughes, “History of the United States for Schools,” p. 349.)



2. All Negroes were lazy, dishonest and extravagant.
“These men knew not only nothing about the government, but also cared for nothing except what they could gain for themselves.” (Helen F. Giles, “How the United States Became a World Power,” p. 7.)
“Legislatures were often at the mercy of Negroes, childishly ignorant, who sold their votes openly, and whose ‘loyalty’ was gained by allowing them to eat, drink and clothe themselves at the state’s expense.” (William J. Long, “America—A History of Our Country,” p. 392.)
“Some Negroes spent their money foolishly, and were worse off than they had been before.” (Carl Russell Fish, “History of America,” p. 385.)
“This assistance led many freed men to believe that they need no longer work. They also ignorantly believed that the lands of their former masters were to be turned over by Congress to them, and that every Negro was to have as his allotment “forty acres and a mule.” (W. F. Gordy, “History of the United States,” Part II, p. 336.)
“Thinking that slavery meant toil and that freedom meant only idleness, the slave after he was set free was disposed to try out his freedom by refusing to work.” (S. E. Forman, “Advanced American History,” Revised Edition.)
“They began to wander about, stealing and plundering. In one week, in a Georgia town, 150 Negroes were arrested for thieving,” (Helen F. Giles, “How the United States Became a World Power,” p. 6.)

for the rest of it go to http://www.nathanielturner.com/propagandaofhistorydubois.htm

Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Fireworks ft. Alicia Keys

(Alpha) just changed everything -- Drake

Drake said "money," but Alpha is what did it for me. I can't lie, I got off line and it was like night and day. I went from known to unmistakably recognizable. And not just to the general student population but to campus officials, student leaders, and local movers and shakers. I no longer paid to get into parties. VIP was no longer a booth that had to be purchased but one that I was invited into. Girls who never gave me the time of day were all of a sudden sending me texts from numbers I didn't recognize. "Everything's the same but it feels different." I am still the same height. I am still black. I still have the same personality, just turned up 3 notches. Realizing all of that, I still feel like my life has been altered forever. I feel like I will never look at things the way I did before I pledged. I know life is the same but my outlook on it has changed so greatly that I can't go back to thinking the way I did before. I feel like Neo. I choose to take the old gold and black pill and my level of consciousness was all of a sudden heightened.
With all of that came the negative. "When I hear them talking, I just don't know what to make of it. Hate is so familiar to me, I'm slowly embracing it." It was crazy how many people who I was cool with gave me the lukewarm shoulder after I crossed because they weren't selected. And for every girl who would give me the time of day, that many more wouldn't just because I had letters. It was crazy. In my eyes I am just another guy but, looking from the outside in, I really used to look up to the bruhs before I was one. I used to always hear girls talking about how they wanted to chill w/the bruhs. Now I am the embodiment of what I used to see.
The loss of love came as a result of Alpha. "I hope that my success never alters our relationship." Not even the fact that I was messing with a lot of girls at first, but the perception of such caused a tremendous fault to form in my former relationship of going on 4 and a half years. Though that loss opened up doors for a major gain in the form of Ms. Desireé Bell, it doesn't change the fact that a loss was still taken. "You never see it coming, you just get to see it go."
"My dreams are who I'm racing with but you can see I'm pacing it so that I'm always chasing it." I feel like I am more ambitious than 99.9% of the people alive today. I see no ceiling, only sky. Problem is, I know that I'm going to do it all and after I do, then what? I really have to look for things I haven't done in college yet. I have to do stuff like run for homecoming king and consider running for SGA senator because I feel like I have very little left to experience at UNCG. From the parties to the religious organizations to Greek life to the campus political arena to being a servant, I really feel that I have done it all. I have loved my college experience, I just don't want it to bore me this PHInal year.

Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Thank Me Later Series

I believe that Drake's CD, Thank Me Later, speaks volumes to the life of an involved young black college male. Many of my friends and I have sat and discussed the relevance that his songs have and the ways we can relate them to our lives. So, over the next couple of weeks, I will be posting blogs related to every or nearly every song on the album. Just something that I thought would be interesting.

Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Intergenerational Problem

The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line -- W.E.B. DuBois -- The Souls of Black Folk

The same can be said about the 21st. In reviewing and assessing Bro. William Edward Burghardt DuBois' work, "The Talented Tenth," I must say that I do not agree with portions of it. I do subscribe to the school of thought that there is a portion of persons in the world (not just the black race, but mankind as a whole) in each generation who are equipped with the tools to lead us toward change. These tools are not necessarily wealth, education or social standing. Were those the requirements to truly be a member of the Talented Tenth, how would change ever come about? Having those tools implies that one would be comfortable in their position in life and thus would not be inclined to prioritize the view that a change that needs to come.

I offer an alternative to this school of thought. I believe that those who will be on the front lines leading change are those who are less fortunate. This does not restrict that population to only the uneducated but instead is inclusive of them, during this generation. During DuBois’ time, I must say that the majority of those African-Americans who were educated were elitists and were not concerned with rectifying the ills of Black America. In contemporary society, because the majority of us are socially conscious, being educated enhances our ability to cure the social ills of today. During the time of DuBois, it was in the best interest of the black elite to remain in “power” with their mouths closed in order to protect their families. Thus, I return to the point that, those who are less fortunate will be the true leaders.

Coming from a working class/sometimes-working class family and having the opportunity to go to school, I can say that, I am more motivated to succeed and bring up those who come from my beginnings than someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. It is not that they don’t care. I just believe it is hard to address the source of social ills without having ever experienced them. Too often, upper class persons of every race look down upon the lower class and criticize but never step into the situation. Without knowing the numerous intricate factors affecting ones social situation, it is hard to suggest solutions that will lead to positive change. What talent is it to do well when it is handed to you? The true talent comes from those who have fought to get everything they have and then excel and do well.

In conclusion, today’s Talented Tenth are those who came from low and lower-middle class households. Those who have the intellect to fight through the fact that they didn’t have the resources. Those with the Booker T. Washington backgrounds and the Marcus Garvey backgrounds and the Clarence Thomas backgrounds. Those who took a handout and made it a handful. Without these people, true change would never come because the necessity for such change would rarely be seen.


Litera scripta manet. - Unknown

Clash of the Titans

Why are American children only exposed to Greek mythology and European fairy tales? Why, in the words of Desireé, don't we learn stories from Zimbabwe (which is a word that isn't even in my Blackberry's dictionary. But I bet Germany is... And I'm right). I am sick of my people's history being overlooked time and time again. Why am I sitting here watching Clash of the Titans and not something with an African or Middle Eastern or Asian feel. Why, as a child, did I have to search for Anansi the Spider books but my teachers quickly told stories of the Eurocentric school of thought? We have to force our children not to just read Hansel & Gretel but also Maria and Juan. "We" is not just minorities but whites too. If we don't, how can we progress socially. Let's move away from Eurocentrism and Afrocentrism and just learn about being culturally well rounded.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown