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There is a lot of talk around the black blogosphere this week about the problems in the black community, mostly in the context of Obama's speech at the NAACP convention and the upcoming Black in America series. I would like to hear more people discuss viable solutions to those problems that can actually be implemented by regular everyday people. Yes we need to hold our local, state and federal government accountable for ending institutional racism and discrimination but I truly believe that work on the grassroots level is the way to effect real change.
The activists of the civil rights and black power movements did not wait for the government to change its policies; they coordinated community efforts to end discrimination. The government did not willingly end legal segregation and discrimination; it wasn't until the images of black people, United States citizens, getting hosed and beaten by police officers, was broadcast worldwide, did the government start to reconsider segregation because of embarrassment and exposed hypocrisy.
There needs to be grassroots efforts nationwide to combat the problems faced in inner city communities and I bet the government will start to pay attention. I feel that the internet needs to be utilized as a way to connect with others who also want to change things for the better. There needs to be some type of online community where people can exchange ideas and collaborate online and in real life to create lasting change (hmm, maybe I should try to start one).
So what are some things that AverageBro readers are doing to affect change in their communities? Or do you know of others starting organizations and need help (volunteers, donations,etc)? Exchange ideas you have for community programs and maybe others who are in your area will have similar ideas and want to collaborate. I will be back later with my plan to help my community.
It's really easy to complain about what the government isn't doing, or what the church isn't doing, but a lot harder to do the work it takes to actually change things on your own.
Is it me or is every other post I read lately about legalizing weed to help raise tax revenues in ailing states, i.e. CA ?
I've read some amazing things about Cali...like "marijuana friendly neighborhoods"...where it's ok to plant your weed in the greenhouse or back field. While it's legal in certain parts of the state it's still illegal on the Federal level...so the pot shops that operate legally under CA law can be busted by the DEA.
There is no medical evidence whatsoever that shows marijuana is addictive. The stats for DWI deaths is staggering while I don't recall ever reading anything about smoking and driving fatalities.
The "War on Drugs"--mainly weed--is truly a joke. It's an embarrassment to this country--just look at our borders and witness the drug related atrocities spilling over from Mexico. Weed is one of Mexico's main imports. Legalize it and enjoy the "Made in the USA" brand.
Let the feds focus on the hard core, addictive drugs like cocaine, heroine, meth, etc.
Let's talk about freeing up space in prison for all the weed related crimes. Hello...it'll save tax payers some serious ass cash!
You don't clog up the court system, you don't pay for prison, etc,
Legalize weed today...start saving tomorrow.
Oh yeah, should be legalized on a federal level but monitored on a state level. DEA needs to focus on other issues.
Btw...I don't indulge myself. It just makes sense to me.
That is all.
Does anyone else think that Black people go way overboard when it comes to criticizing Black people?
I mean why is it that we always have something negative to say about each other? We go on and on about how bad we are in every arena.
I swear if what is written on Black blogs by the Black blog owners and Black people in the comments was said by White people we'd all be in an uproar.
So why do we think so badly of ourselves and those like us? I know the root cause is that America teaches everyone to hate Black people. Heck immigrants get off the boat already hating us.
So my question is; don't we need to do something about all of this self-hatred before we can solve all of these problems we are supposed to have?
Monie, I agree with you. It seems so many so-called educated black people really buy into the horrible stereotypes about other black people. Especially the whole black man/black woman bashing that goes on at some blogs is crazy. I'm not sure how much we can do to change older people's mindset besides just calling them out when they say stupid stuff, but we can definitely change the mindset of our youth. Teaching them to have greater pride in their heritage and history, and to not believe what our biased media shows them, are great starts.
Cosigning Monie/Music Lover.
I did a whole post on how bougie black folks have to defend our blackness to both races. It set off heated discussions on about four other blogs and some of the mail I received... whew! Black people, we have got to love ourselves first.
Monie, love the topic. We need to get rid of the "keeping up with the jones' mentality that our community seems to have (I mean for real and we all have done it or known someone one who has, newborn babies. Do they really need 4 pairs of Jordan's when they can't walk in them and feet actually can't tolerate them??) and bring back the service and caring. To a point it seems that when we got some rights, some of us went and lost our minds. And I do feel that when many educated people succeed, they forget where they came from or their roots. We need to go back to teaching the value of education, hard work, volunteerism and community.
I live in Chicago.
And, the news story that I just can't get over is...The Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal!
I just can't believe that someone's mind could fathom such a crime.
Digging up graves, and discarding the remains in mass graves--to resell the plots?!?!
These lowdown dirty scoundrels even dug up the baby cemetery.
It saddens me to think that this may "possibly" be going on somewhere else!
And every time I think about a family of possums living in Emmett Till's casket...I just sigh and shake my head.
How should they punish these heartless punks?
I say, off with their heads!!!!
Here's a link to the Chicago Tribune if your're not familiar with the story.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-090529-burr-oak-cemetery-pictures,0,2332072.photogallery
And I do feel that when many educated people succeed, they forget where they came from or their roots.
^^^^
I agree with this statement but I also feel that people on both sides of the socio-economical spectrum need to get their hands in there and work. You can help somebody regardless of where you are.
@Monie,
I am not sure about the self hatred but I think more people are in disbelief about what is really going on. I know I am/was. I did the whole give back thing but the truth of the matter is if I gave back to my community I would just be giving back to more two parent middle income families. It's debatable as to if those types actually need help.
What I am trying to say is that most people are simply unaware(me being included in that group) so they read the numbers and formulate, (for lack of a better word) ignorant hypotheses on the information.
You're question is "don't we need to do something about all of this self-hatred...?" I don't know. Give some examples that we can discuss?
@vlatte
We can't legalize weed man.
@ Vanilla Latte;
Was at a friend's surprise birthday party last evening, and one of his friends showed us his medical marijuana card; I kid you not it looks like a Cali DMV license, yet with a huge marijuana leaf in the background.
Only in California.
This same weekend I attended an outstanding concert by a local Orchestra that's made up of local (i.e. Black) musicians, two of which were 16 year old HS students who until that day had never performed with an Orchestra, must less in the revered Disney Concert Hall in LA. By the way, they played the snare drums in Ravel's Bolero, which required such steady hands and nerves of steal as they were the first people to begin that beautiful rolling melody, and they were out in front of the Orchestra! Us folk could find a similar organization in our hometown and drop a few dimes of sponsorship in their piggy bank each year so more young people could pursue their dreams that way.
My fraternity's (and AB's) alumni chapter volunteered at a local Boys & Girl's Club's annual pancake breakfast. Seeing that this club is in the heart of 'South LA' (formerly known as 'South-Central': changed for pr/pc purposes), what would be better is a few of us showing up 1-2 days a week after school and do the real day-to-day work with our young people. Sounds like the AB Challenge to me.
Finally, all of us need to embrace prosperity/wealth creation so as to improve our communities themselves. Depending upon the gubbment to either 'stimulate' or 'bail us out' has never worked, never will, and just makes us more dependent upon the gubbment, which makes us more like sheep vs. hawks. The aformentioned Orchestra survives from the largess of rich folks/coporations; ain't nothing wrong with more of us being 'rich' so we can do the same thing OUR WAY, where it's needed most.
@vlatte
Surprised the issue of Marijuana hasn't come up here much. Seems to me that among AB readers- who are maybe more middle-class(?)- the issue isn't as prevalent or pressing, whereas in the Hip Hop community, marijuana is ever-present. But the Hip Hop community doesn't exactly have the clout to legalize it. Where AB readers stand on the issue?
Don't drug laws make criminals out of minorities sell drugs because they don't otherwise have access to jobs? Isn't legalization a way to transform some of the crime-ridden urban communities who only have an illegal drug economy?
@adinasi
Medical Marijuana is legal not "Only in California" but also:
Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
I'm going to put this legalized drugs thing to bed once and for all. If you legalize drugs the drugdealer title may go away but the criminal will still be there.
Let's just say Congress passes a bill today to legalize drugs. You can buy it, posses it, use it. So tomorrow I can walk in to CVS/Rite-Aid/Walgreens/Walmart and buy an ounce of cocaine. Just like anything else, you more than likely have to have some sort of license to sell it. Do you think that the street level drug dealer is going to go get a license. NO!. All they will be doing is selling drugs illegally. Then extortion will become the next big crime. If you want to sell on this street, you have to go through....XYZ.
Drug dealer don't sell drugs because the like it, it's just a means to an end. They need ENDS. If you take away a particular means, they will find another means. So if you have a bunch or out of work drug dealers what do you think they will do next.
And the addicts will still be around. The drugs themselves have never been a problem. It's when people start robbing other people, prostituting, stealing, killing for the drugs is when we have a problem. If people just got high in their house and didn't bother anyone else, then we wouldn't have a problem.
@CJames
No disrespect here...
I don't think you fully understood my comment. I specifically noted that we should legalize weed because it's non-addictive and then let the DEA deal with the addictive drugs--cocaine, heroine, meth, etc.
I don't believe in legalizing the addictive drugs at all. Weed is in a totally different category as it's non addictive and used for medical purposes in many states.
It helps with many issues, i.e. glycoma, ADHD, pain relief due to terminal illnesses, etc.
@Ezra
I've been threatening AB that I was going to write a post about this but there's SO much information I'm not sure how I'd fit it all in for a regular blog post.
I don't use weed but i ABSOLUTELY support legalizing it. Take the sellers and users out of prison. It's clogging up our criminal system and the taxes we pay to prosecute and house offenders for weed is ridiculous.
Where are the stats that say weed is more dangerous than a few cocktails or cigarettes? Cigarettes are addictive and they're legal. Weed is neither.
So, my friends, there is tax revenue to be made. There's a way to get petty offenders out of the prison. There's a way to help those who need it for medical purposes. And if someone wants to light up a fattie in the privacy of their living room--without the worry of the police raiding their home--I say, AMEN. Or a hip hop artist/rocker at a concert who enjoys a blunt at the end of the show...AMEN. Deadheads or Parrotheads enjoying a concert at Nissan Pavilion...pass the fattie.
The war on drugs can focus on the hard stuff...not weed.
that is all.
@vlatte
Non taken. I think you'd do better legalizing prostitution, that has more of a chance of passing.
@cjames
Can you point to some research or articles that back up your point? I have often wondered what legalizing drugs would do for the petty drug dealers- other than keep them out of jail. Hard to know whether it would hurt or help them.
I wouldn't say you've exactly "put the issue to bed once and for all" though.
Here's a recent Times article on the subject:
http://tinyurl.com/m8lgj3
Has anyone seen season 3 of The Wire? A police commander decides he's going to legalize drugs in his precinct.
I've always thought that all drugs should be legalized. The violence that goes along with drug dealing is not worth it. If people want to take drugs then that's on them.It's the violence of those who sell it that drags whole communities down.
So just legalize all of it; coke, heroin, whatever. That way the drug trade can be controlled and innocent people won't be caught in the crossfire.
@cjames
The self-hatred I'm speaking of is the constant negative talk about each other. It seems that many Black people are willing, at the drop of a hat, to list everything wrong with Black people, Black men, Black parents, Black women, etc.
Anyone want to see white people act ignant?
Obama birth certificate nonsense:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V1nmn2zRMc
The funniest part is the impromptu call to say the pledge of allegiance.
I think you should discuss: Crabs-In-A-Bucket Syndrome and how it affects the black community.
check me out on my internet radio show:
http://www.wqhs.org/djinfo.php?id=277
Follow on twitter: mappingthecity
@Derek
With all the things going on in this country it's amazing how the "birthers" waste their time/resources on a non-issue.
Between the "birthers" and "tea baggers" the GOP continues its downward spiral into wingnuttia.
btw...I see white folks act ignant all the time...I have in-laws who believe Barry is a muslim just bidding his time to turn this country in a "muslim nation". And they have their guns ready to boot.
It does make for entertaining holiday dinners.
Erza,
At ease man, it's just a philosophical debate. Of course I don't have any articles...it's just my opinion and tt's very hypothetical.
My point is that people will just substitute drug crimes for other crimes. Legal or not, people want to get high. And they will do whatever they have to do to get high and I do mean robbin, stealin, or muggin in fact to take it seriously they will be buggin(I know it's corny, but I couldn't help it!).
And the Drug dealers aren't just going to all of a sudden parlay their 4th grade reading level into some Crackhouse enterprises.
I'm following how Fox News is all over a rather testy exchange between Sen. Barbara Boxer and Harry Alford of the Black Chamber of Commerce.
During a climate bill hearing, Alford accused Boxer of playing "race politics".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE_jGD5nZ6U
Glen Beck covered it the other night -- Uhm, cuz I was channel surfing; I don't get down with Beck at ALL!. Tonight, Alford appears on Bill O'Reilly.
I see what you're saying CJames, it isn't the drugs causes the problem, its the supplying of an illegal demand. This extends to prostitution, kidnapping and many other "vices" that cannot be attained legally. If you guys can't understand it then just look at the now legal vice of alcohol that made gangsters into millionaires during and after the Great Depression. Legalizing things won't stop the violence and crime, quite the contrary, you stop these guys from eating and I am sure they won't do so quietly.
@ Monie
I've heard so much about "The Wire" I"m going to have to rent it and watch the series from beginning to end. I'm curious to see the episode you mentioned.
Interesting point about legalizing all drugs. I wonder what that would do to the drug trade--world wide.
@ Monie & CJames:
I'm with Monie---legalize everything. Just legalize the whole works. Heroin, crack, everything. Yeah, it'll be ugly, but what's been going on for years is way worse. CJames might have a point about dealers getting around licensing procedures, but I tend to doubt it because look what happened when Prohibition was lifted. You seen any speakeasies around since 1933? And the whole world of crime created by illegal booze evaporated, according to what I've read. You need a license to sell alkeehall, but how many people are selling it on the street and shooting each other up?
If the hard stuff can be gotten legally, I don't think your average junkie is going to want the added stress of sneaking around and risking arrest if it isn't necessary.
All I know is, this out of control sociopathy has to stop, and drugs are a major enabler of it. Not just American cities---look at freaking Mexico. The drug cartels practically have the country on its knees. The media might be sensationalizing a bit, but Homeland Security is making noise about this for a reason. The savages who run these cartels fear no one, terrorize many Mexican towns and cities, and have even begun to carry out gruesome murders on this side of the border.
But snap your fingers and their products are suddenly legal. What then? What's left to turn to? Booze is legal. Cigarettes are legal. What's left for them to deal in? Can't think of anything.
Plus, of course it would dramatically free up prison space in the US.
I'm sitting here trying to figure out why a criminal dealer who risks a felony rap for selling weed is, if it's legalized, going to turn into an upstanding citizen who starts filing a Schedule C for his income, and remitting sales tax to the state treasury.
You've got to be kidding me...
@marbles: surely you can't actually be suggesting that the way to get rid of crime is to make all the criminal enterprises legal...
What's left for them to deal in? How about sex slavery. Child prostitution. Identity theft. Extortion. Protection rackets. Price fixing. Forcible control of the drug distribution. Smuggling. Human trafficking. Murder-for-hire. Conflict diamonds. Shall I go on?
Exactly where do we stop the legalization process?
@Marbles: You missed my point completely.
@Spool32: You got what I was saying, legalization of everything does not stop illicit enterprizes for money. Nuff said.
It's the free market. Mr Drug Dealer doesn't need to become a stand up citizen. But with no customer base, obviously he can't be a drug dealer anymore. People are less willing to resort to a black market when there is a legal route readily available.
I mean, do you people still go to jukejoints and speakeasy's?
AveBro,
Have you heard about Skip Gates being arrested at his home?
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html
@ Spool & Greg Dragon:
Of course they won't become fine upstanding citizens (incidentally, my mom's personal term of choice for losers, bums and sleazebags), but they won't have the venue available to them that encourages and necesitates their homicidal mania.
Sex slavery & child prostitution?
Totally different issue. Those emphatically are NOT victimless crimes, and the physical/emotional damage lies in the criminal deed itself, not its enterprise.
Identity theft/extortion/ protection rackets/price fixing?
Also apples and oranges. Those crimes do not result in mothers wailing over their lost sons, children crying for their lost parents, and entire neighborhoods condemned by the rest of town.
Forcible control of the drug distribution?
Again, debatable. Maybe and maybe not. Does that go on with alcohol and cigarettes? No.
Smuggling?
Also usually bloodless, at least in and of itself. The people doing the smuggling will likely be a bunch of coldblooded cutthroats who kill without remorse, but at least it goes on below the surface and not in a way that affects everyone in the whole area.
Human trafficking/murder-for-hire?
Probably, if the criminals in question are beyond human redemption. So they'll go into those things and cause grief and misery in some other context. But it will be a context affecting fewer people than before. Not downplaying the hypothetical crimes, just saying that those crimes would concentrated in a way that the widespread corrosion caused by the out-in-the-open, Wild West-type violence
that drugs bring is not.
Conflict diamonds?
I confess my ignorance as to what those are.
@ Ciara... Completely agree but from my own experience and what I've seen in the MSM in general. Those of us that are educated at times seem to be the "harsher critique." Like our junk can never go back to being stank. And I know some of that is wanting our people to come up as we have, but I think we need to find different ways to motivate and educate.
On another note... Can Mike Vick come to Buffalo??? I'm just sayin'. T.O. and Vick...nice combo.
Legalize the 'illegal' drugs; and prostitution- stop trying to make adult choices moral ones.
Crime has always existed, and it always will. My take on legalization is the trickle down economic effect on a society that is supported my the existence of these illegal drugs- police, prisons. Coast Guard, DEA, FBI, detox centers, hospital/ couseling staff etc. Criminals won't be the only ones 'looking' for work.
My food for thought is athletes. The outrageous salaries they make. I don't want to hear about CEO's making too dollars as well. I mean come on, even with skills do you deserve to make so much money for throwing a football, hitting home runs or being a great 3pt shooter? It just seems backwards. I know u may be in the minority but I don't care they make too much damn money.
I have a few more 'issues' but no time to open up those cans of worms...
This extended rambling on legalizing weed sounds sadly similar to the same madness my HS students were up in arms about.
"Nothing's wrong with weed."
" I heard I could use it for medicine."
" I know lots of folk (read: lots of folk in my own family and sometimes in front of me) who use weed and it's not a problem."
The issue I have with legalizing it is what will happen next. When private employers develop more stringent tests/conditions of employment for their jobs, folks will sue under the ruse of weed's legality.
As I originally told my students, if you need to inhale a foreign substance so as to 'feel good' or 'have a good time', that's a bigger issue you need to solve.
What happens next is sleep and hunger.
We can't make laws around babying people forever. Either people will be responsible or they won't. As long as their stupidity only hurts themselves then I'd prefer not spending money on criminal enforcement of pointless laws.
@ adinasi:
"As I originally told my students, if you need to inhale a foreign substance so as to 'feel good' or 'have a good time', that's a bigger issue you need to solve."
Good one. That cuts bone deep.
But I maintain that the "bigger issue" at hand is not the petty, frustrating foolishness that would likely result from the frivolous lawsuits you predict (infuriating through they may be), but the lives and communities (at least partially) pulled from the sandpits they're trapped in.
I'm willing to bet many of these so-called illegal drugs have more benefits than the legal ones peddled on TV 24/7. Many of these drugs like cocaine and heroin were used as medicines before the lockdown. The drug war is a farce and costs way too much money to continue. I see little to no problem legalizing drugs, especially marijuana.
To me, the rich got greedy and the rest got desparate. It seems this place is run in an abnormal state. Priorities are toasted! Like a previous poster mentioned, you got cats who could barely read Dr. Suess making multi-millions of $$$ while dude over by the pile of research papers got 5-figure loan debts. This mindset also figures into this current faux-arguement over health-care. Silly...
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