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The toxic behaviors of (some) Parents

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Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay

A Letter to Black Parents by Princess Byers

Dear Black Parents,
I am not writing this letter to judge or look down upon anyone. I have simply had one too many discussions with other Black children where we have laughed off or talked out the toxic behaviors of our parents. Furthermore, I know one too many people who have gotten to adulthood and completely cut all ties with their parents because of these toxic behaviors.
As a community, we have normalized these behaviors and physical violence as “good parenting.” But decades of empirical international research that crosses economic and racial lines, all have the same conclusion. That conclusion, according to an article published on the website of the American Psychological Association titled, “The Case Against Spanking”: hitting children as a form of discipline is an ineffective parenting method that creates more long term behavioral/ mental health issues than it solves in the short term. In addition- use of physical violence as a primary means of discipline is most common in socioeconomically impoverished and under/uneducated communities.”
The point of this letter is to inform Black parents of some of their toxic behaviors in hopes of preventing the creation of more broken Black families because of those behaviors. Let’s start, shall we?…
Parents, if what you are doing is not appropriate for your child to say or do to you, it’s probably not appropriate for you to say or do it to them. I know you’re grown and you pay the bills, but that’s not an excuse to do unto someone what you don’t want done to you. You are a parent, not a dictator.
While we are on the topic of parental dictatorships, parents: please stop hanging your responsibilities as a parent over your child’s head. Your child knows you feed them! It became your job to feed them when you became a parent! They know you provide shelter! It became your job to provide shelter when you became a parent! They know you go to work every day to provide for them! It became your job when you became a parent! Your parental responsibilities are not you doing your child a favor. It’s you doing what you are supposed to be doing since you decided to procreate. Moving on…
Please parents. I beg you. Stop undermining your child’s traumas and negative experiences because they’re not—you believe—as bad as the traumas you experienced growing up. Traumas are different for everyone. Just because you don’t think something your child has or is currently going through isn’t all that traumatic, doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic for your child.
According to an online article from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network titled: “Complex Trauma In Urban African-American Youth and Families”: “African American children and youth, who are among the most likely members of our society to be exposed to trauma, are also among the least likely to receive the services that could prevent the development of trauma-related emotional and behavioral difficulties.”  Listen to your children.
Be mindful that you don’t put off onto your children the frustrations you experience daily. Bad days happen. They get that. However, a bad day at work, bills, relationship issues are not your child’s fault. According to Tru Parenting.com, a website where parents network and talk about parenting issues, this is not an uncommon issue. Often your children are the closest and easiest “target” to take out your frustrations on. Don’t do it!
Please remember you chose to have children, your children didn’t. It’s understood that you get tired and busy and you need help sometimes. But your older children have no obligation to your younger children. It is your job to help with homework, go to parent/teacher conferences, and discipline your own child.
Your children can have questions. They are humans just like you. Sometimes they need or want clarification. There is nothing wrong with that. Your children are not dogs; they aren’t programed to sit-down, shut-up, and take directions, sorry! According to pro-Black, pro-woman, and pro-child blogger Cleopatra Jones in her article: “The Accidental Toxicity of Black Mothers:” “being aggressive, abrupt, and dismissive of this natural childhood curiosity and natural childhood desires is denying Black children of their innocence and right to childhood.”
Last, and most importantly: “check on yourself.” Your children can see when you are not okay, and it wears on them. Take the time out to make sure you are mentally and physically okay.
Your children know and understand you were raised in an era where it was okay (when it really wasn’t) to be treated and looked upon as lesser because you were a child.
However, we also know and understand it is not okay; and should not be considered okay. Your children are human beings, just like you are! They have feelings, questions, and the ability to understand and comprehend things just like you. You do not need to scream at, nor beat your children for them to understand you. Again, they are humans capable of “communicating,” just like you.

Signed,
A concerned “former” child.

Princess Byers is a student at Marquette University majoring in journalism, with a minor in African Studies. She is interning at the MCJ and has already produced several videos for the newspaper that can be seen on the MCJ website, milwaukeecommunityjournal.com

Telephobia: Are you afraid of using the phone?

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An attractive young businesswoman having coffee while working at her office desk

Article courtesy of B2B News Network via “The Rundown”

There’s a funny disconnect I experience every semester:  One hundred percent of my Marketing students want to be employed when they graduate (duh).  But when I ask them what type of job they hope to land, almost none of them say sales.  Why is this a disconnect?  Because the very large majority of them will in fact wind up taking a sales position when they graduate.

But they’re not happy about it.  When some of them tell me about the job offer they just accepted, they look like they’ve received a prison sentence instead of gainful employment.  Apparently my students are typical; young graduates do whatever they can to avoid the dreaded sales position.

A Canadian firm reported in one study that employers were taking an average of 41 days to fill sales positions compared to 33 days for all other jobs.

Why the long faces?  Most of these young people equate salespeople with stereotypes like the famous character Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman. Loman (as in “low man” on the totem pole) is a pathetic peddler who leaves home for the road on Monday morning and returns late Friday evening selling “on a smile and a shoeshine.” Or, they think about the sullen retail salespeople they encounter at the mall, and wonder why they need a college degree or an MBA to sell blue jeans to tweens.

Most B2B salespeople will immediately (and correctly) object that this dismal picture applies only to transactional selling, and not to relationship selling that is at the heart of many professional sales jobs. Ironically, Millennials are all about relationships, so they should eagerly rise to the bountiful opportunities that await them: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates job growth of about 3 percent for sales representatives across fields between 2016 and 2026.

Perhaps part of the problem is that the relationships they are about don’t really exist so much in face-to-face encounters as they do onscreen.

How to Reinvent Yourself When Life Demands Change

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Change can be difficult, uncomfortable, and frightening. But sooner or later, most of us will have to reinvent ourselves (or risk getting left behind in today’s fast-paced world). Successful businessman and author Paul G. Krasnow shares tips to help you embrace change and start moving in a better direction.

EDWARDS, CO (June 2018)–In these fast-paced times, it seems like change is the only constant we have. Some people accept change gracefully, while others hold on kicking and screaming. But today it’s more important than ever to embrace change and be able to reinvent yourself. Why? Because innovation is changing markets daily, because our global economy has leveled the playing field and introduced more competition than ever before, and because life occasionally compels us to move in a new direction–like it or not.

Whether you’re switching jobs in a competitive market, starting a new career, or experiencing a transition in your personal life, upheaval can be really frightening. But according to author and successful businessman Paul G. Krasnow, it’s also a priceless opportunity to reinvent yourself.

“When you face a setback in your life, you have two choices,” says Krasnow, author of The Success Code: A Guide for Achieving Your Personal Best in Business and Life (J & K Publishing, 2018, ISBN: 978-0-692-99241-8, $24.95). “Remain stuck or move forward; it’s that simple. Life is too short to spend it stuck and miserable. Take action now to change your life or get ready to watch life pass you by.”

Krasnow speaks from experience. Thanks to bad timing and hard luck, Krasnow, a former clothier, went bankrupt early in his professional life. This failure could have derailed his future, but, instead, Krasnow decided to fight for his life with everything he had. The Success Code tells the remarkable story of Krasnow’s journey–from his modest beginnings in 1940s Los Angeles, to starting over again after business failure, to his epic career rise as a financial representative at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

“Reinventing yourself demands change,” says Krasnow. “No matter how dire your circumstances, you can make changes today that will prepare you for a better tomorrow. You may have to find a new way to make a living, or start over in a new city, or take a big risk that terrifies you. Still, you have to be willing to change. It may not always be easy, but it sure beats staying stuck for the rest of your life.”

Keep reading for Krasnow’s tips on how to embrace change and reinvent yourself today.

REALIZE IT’S NEVER TOO LATE. During the course of your lifetime, you will be called upon to reinvent yourself, time and time again. Don’t let yourself stay stuck in what you know. Make the most of the resilience you now have under your belt with overcoming previous challenges and strive for new horizons. As you envision this new version of yourself, what are some steps you can take today to put that new self into action?

TAKE AN HONEST LOOK AT YOUR LIFE. Muster the courage to look at your life and figure out where you’ve gone wrong, and the changes you need to make to get back on track. Own up to the mistakes you have made and take responsibility for the part you played in getting yourself stuck. Krasnow points out that this kind of brutal honesty is not for the faint of heart. It requires courage to take full responsibility for your life and most importantly for the failures in your wake. But if you can sit down and face your own mistakes, you will free yourself up to learn from the painful consequences you are facing today.

MOVE FORWARD; JUST DO IT. “Change is not rocket science,” says Krasnow. “We all have a tendency to make life so complicated when it doesn’t have to be. Simply make a decision to move forward. Don’t try; just do it. People say they’re going to _try _to change. Try? There is no such thing. There’s doing it or not doing it. ‘Try’ is a word that you should eliminate from your vocabulary right now.”

DREAM BIG. The only real challenge in creating the life you’ve always wanted is your inability or unwillingness to free up your imagination to envision your dream in all of its glory. In other words, you are only as successful as your perceived limitations. How often do you limit yourself when envisioning the success you are capable of achieving? Don’t settle for the limited vista of your present-day life. Instead, allow yourself to be willing to travel well beyond the bounds of the landscapes you may not be able to imagine today.

STAY FOCUSED. “Once you decide to make a change in your life, it’s time to get serious and focus on your goals,” says Krasnow. “Think of life as a journey in a train that travels on a track. Each track leads to a specific destination. Make a point of staying on the track of your choice, without getting distracted and switching tracks. If you stay focused, you will certainly reach your desired destination.”

PACE YOURSELF. Making a major life change requires a steady pace. You work at it each day and keep at it (and then keep at it some more). Remember that extraordinary creations are not built in a day through occasional bursts of effort, but rather are crafted over long periods of time with daily, steady tasks. It’s a marathon; stop exhausting yourself by sprinting from place to place. Instead, stay on course with your goals and remain consistent.

KNOW THAT FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. “When you realize that failure is not an option, it becomes clear that there is no stopping at the first obstacle you encounter along the way,” says Krasnow. “There is an opening, even in the most stubborn of barricades. Where is the opening in your current wall of obstacles? Is there a secret passage you had overlooked but is now emerging in front of you? Take that hidden path and forge ahead. Just keep your eye on where you want to go and you might find that a setback along the way was actually a shortcut to your desired
destination!”

“We all know that change is not the most comfortable part of our lives,” concludes Krasnow. “But know that the process of transformation is a gratifying experience, providing you find the courage to do it. You can adapt. You can take a new path in your life. And you will undoubtedly be better for it in the long run.”

# # #

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Paul G. Krasnow is the author of The Success Code: A Guide for Achieving Your Personal Best in Business and Life. He is a financial representative at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, where he has been a top producer for 40 years. Early in his career, Paul suf¬fered a financially devastating bankruptcy with a line of clothing stores he owned, but went on to join Northwest¬ern Mutual, where he has cre¬ated an impressive financial portfolio and a strong network of clients, many of whom have become lifelong friends. Paul regularly speaks for multiple life associations in the U.S. and has given seminars for law firms and CPA firms in the Southern California area.

3 Tips For Keeping Your Moral Compass On Course

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Are there useful moral lessons in the latest Barr vs. ABC or Trump vs. the world Tweets?

The news cycle is often rife with controversy involving public figures. And sometimes a fall from grace – from Hollywood to politics, the corporate boardroom, etc. – brings closer  examination of the root causes. Dr. Christopher Gilbert, an international ethics expert, thinks such events and social media skirmishes reflect a lack of ethics that plague many levels of American society – but that they also provide an opportunity to strengthen our own moral pathway.

“The important issue isn’t in arguing over which schoolyard bully is the most unethical,” says Gilbert, author of There’s No Right Way To Do the Wrong Thing and senior consultant/speaker at NobleEdge Consulting (www.nobleedgeconsulting.com). “The roots of the problem are not only in misplaced, society-influenced priorities but in a widespread belief that ‘good’ people make the good decisions and ‘bad’ people make the unethical ones.

“We need to start a national conversation about what it means to do right in business and in life, despite the constant personal, social, economic, and other cultural and societal pressures to ignore what is right in favor of success. A growing awareness and practice of ethics is in essence also a profound transformation of our character, and it often comes as we navigate the most dramatic or challenging events of our lives.”

How do we overcome the pressures and temptations to flout ethical practices? Gilbert provides three tips to making good ethical decisions while holding ourselves and others accountable.

  • Trust “lighthouse moments.” Gilbert believes these can be subtle or indelible experiences that make us decide a course of action and shape our future choices. “Ethics serve as our lighthouses,” Gilbert says, “providing us with a reference point – enlightened guidance along the pathway of our best decisions. They warn of danger as well. Some believe that ethical choices are relative to whom and what you know and when you know it. But this is akin to the idea that ‘ignorance of the law is an excuse.’ Ethics are far more about what we do, sometimes despite what we know.”
  • Stay away from the edge. While a few risk the drop over, most drivers are cautious when navigating a mountain curve or a bridge without guardrails. “Our best choices for ourselves and others happen when we navigate dos and don’ts within a predictable pathway bounded by right and wrong,” Gilbert says. “Ethics form our guardrails. Imagine a world of intermittent guardrails that move? Ethics aren’t iffy or gray or relative; they exist under all driving conditions for all drivers. Right choice-making happens best on a pathway guided and protected by ethics that are constant.”
  • Keep moral standards universal. So many of the highly-publicized scandals, shootings, and tragedies that could have been avoided, Gilbert says, can be traced to people disregarding our common moral standards. “An impersonal world full of disunity, divisions, and exclusive, tribal-like ‘us versus them’ mentalities breeds an atmosphere that becomes self-perpetuating,” Gilbert says. “If our ethical choices are defined not by a set of universal moral codes owned by everyone, but by standards individuals or groups apply to themselves, there are no wrong choices, because all choices become right.”

“Universal moral principles,” Gilbert says, “provide solid reference points for establishing values, behaviors and ethics that create trust. And, despite popular belief, they are attainable – we already have quite a few.”

 

About Christopher Gilbert, Ph.D.

Dr. Christopher Gilbert, the author of There’s No Right Way To Do the Wrong Thing, is an international ethics consultant and senior consultant/speaker at NobleEdge Consulting (www.nobleedgeconsulting.com). Having spent much of his career focused on the study of human moral development, Dr. Gilbert has over 30 years of experience in organizational development as a strategic facilitator and leadership and operations consultant. He has served an international clientele, including Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies in the U.S., Canada, Asia and Africa. Dr. Gilbert completed work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on a sustainable food-security program across four nations of sub-Saharan Africa, and he has been a professor of business ethics who taught at universities on four continents. He earned his doctorate in Organization, Management and Leadership Ethics at Capella Universit

What to know when graffiti artists paint your building

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MichaelGaida / Pixabay

4 Tips For Property Owners When Graffiti Artists Paint Their Building

Although graffiti often has a negative connotation – associated with gang-related origins and vandalism – in some cases it’s viewed as legitimate art created by street artists with local or even national reputations.

Graffiti vandalism is a criminal act done without the building owner’s permission. But urban forms of graffiti art, also known as street art or as seen in murals on the sides of city buildings, are legal. The property owner has granted those artists permission. And while graffiti costs cities millions of dollars to clean up, another type of financial battle can occur regarding the rights of street artists vs. property owners. A landmark example came in a February court decision in New York City, resulting in the awarding of $6.7 million to graffiti artists who sued building owner Gerald Wolkoff.

“The message to property owners everywhere was, don’t paint with a broad brush when it comes to dealing with street artists,” says Timothy Kephart, founder of Graffiti Tracker (www.graffititracker.com), a web-based system designed to help identify and prosecute graffiti vandals.

“Know the details if you have a property already affixed with street art and assume you have control of the situation. There are many implications, and a little-known law could cost you millions.”

Kephart refers to the Visual Artist Rights Act (VARA), which graffiti artists used to their advantage against Wolkoff. Wolkoff had allowed graffiti on his unused buildings in the 1990s but said he would one day tear them down and have the graffiti removed. After he did so in 2013, some people who had drawn graffiti on his property sued, citing VARA, arguing the murals had risen to recognized stature and that the artists hadn’t been given proper notification of removal.

“It opens up a whole litany of questions,” Kephart says. “Most importantly, is your property no longer your property to do with what you wish because people put graffiti on it?

Kephart has four points for property owners to keep in mind regarding ownership and removal of graffiti art on their buildings:

* KNOW IF IT’S LEGAL OR ILLEGAL STREET ART. When acquiring, renovating or destroying property containing street art, Kephart says you should assess whether it’s “recognized stature,” thus making it protected by copyright law. “Though graffiti is often illegal, murals or other forms of street art may have been affixed with a previous owner’s permission,” Kephart says. “Also, it could have been placed illegally, but since has risen to recognized stature.”

* BE AWARE OF VARA-RELATED ISSUES. “If granting an artist permission to attach art to your property, you need a written agreement stipulating the artist waives their VARA rights,” Kephart says. “If acquiring a property with visual art that could be protected, you need to be well-versed in VARA.”

* COURT MAY BE THE ONLY RESORT. If a street artist paints a building wall without permission, they still have VARA rights and the copyright. “However, the physical part of the building where the art was displayed remains the property of the building owner,” Kephart says. “Whether the owner has the right to remove and sell the work can require litigation.”

* SEPARATE NEW WORK FROM COLLECTIVE WORK. “It’s important to get a written agreement from an artist if the owner has commissioned the artist for a new work that’s part of a collective work,” Kephart says. “That separate work should be designated “work for hire,” which can eliminate a future VARA claim.”

“I’ve long held the belief that the difference between graffiti vandalism and graffiti art simply comes down to permission,” Kephart says. “But sometimes in terms of ownership and rights, it’s not that simple.”

ABOUT TIMOTHY KEPHART

Timothy Kephart is the founder of Graffiti Tracker (www.graffititracker.com), a web-based system designed to help people identify, track and prosecute graffiti vandals. He holds a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Cal State Long Beach. A court-certified graffiti expert, Kephart has testified in homicide trials as it related to using graffiti as a way to prove motive for murder. He worked for the City of Carson as their in-house graffiti expert and was assigned to Carson Station for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

NFL National Anthem Decree Reverberates a 400-Year-Old Message to African-Americans

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By H. Lewis Smith, founder of the United Voices for a Common Cause, Inc.

Nationwide (BlackNews.com) — To mute the oppressed has always been in the best interest of the oppressor. When a black voice is raised to oppression, those who are comfortable with our oppression are the first to criticize us for daring to speak out against it. In other words, “stay in your place” applies as much today as it did during the days of physical slavery.

What’s been lost in this brouhaha is the NFL players purpose for taking a knee. Trump has changed the narrative… to disrespecting the flag. Trump’s reference to the NFL players as “sons of b” and “that maybe they shouldn’t even be in this country”, serves as a reflection of what the flag and the national anthem truly represents as it pertains to African-Americans. Black Americans are expected to stay in a so-called appointed place and any attempts at emancipation… an extreme reaction will ensue.

To understand present day issues that percolates in America and Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) require one to retrieve the past so that the present may be better understood. Overcoming prevailing social injustices and inequality issues is the intent and a closer examination of what the national anthem and flag truly represents will reveal why it is that taking a knee isn’t disrespecting the flag but is a pursuit for equal respect… not just for SOME Americans… but for ALL Americans.

The flag and national anthem represents racism, before exposing this racism, and why African Americans are expected to amiably go along, it should be acknowledged that not all white people are racist; There are many moral, noble, honorable, soulful white people who aren’t. If not for the contributions of many white abolitionists, especially the magnanimous and valiant efforts of Senator Charles Sumner, Abolitionist Wendell Phillips, life in America for African-Americans would perhaps be non-existent today.

President Grant, strong supporter and advocate for annexation of Haiti was eager to see the mass deportation of the newly freed to the Caribbean, where they would once again be subjected to chattel slavery. Senator Charles Sumner, Abolitionist Wendell Phillips fought against this horrible scheme—because of their efforts – the U.S. Senate in 1870… by one vote… failed to ratify the pact, contemporaneously saving Black/African-Americans from being shipped en masse to the Dominican Republic. Grant was outraged at the outcome and for years stopped speaking to Wendell Phillips. In a fit of anger, a fellow senator attacked Senator Sumner with his cane and literally beat him.

Trump is America’s modern-day Grant the following will reveal as to why this is. First let’s look at what the flag and national anthem represents to Black America, from the past leading up to present day.

Racial slurs such as coon, jungle bunny, sambo, Uncle Tom, jigaboo, or porch monkey didn’t trigger mayhem, terror and death into the lives of Black African-American ancestors; instead, it was one word and one word only that did… n**ger. The N-word is the most infamous and profane word in the English language, punctuating an ignominious, malevolent and diabolical history. A sunken place… an image…created for African-Americans to accept disrespect, contempt and revel in it.

For over three centuries, the enslaved were chastised, beaten, and tortured to accept a self-hating, self-destructing, self-abasing and self-abnegating image of self. Today, many African-Americans voluntarily accept this ungodly… sunken place… that’s been bestowed on them. Few understand that slavery didn’t finally come to an end until the early 1960s. Chattel slavery ended in 1865, but conventional slavery, under the guise of different names continued for another 100 years.

The oppressors convinced themselves that in the eyesight of God, enslaved black people were sub-humans (3/5 a person); that they were nothing more than valueless n**gers, and, therefore, any inhumane acts perpetrated upon them were acceptable. This same sentiment holds true today; contemporary police actions stem from 400 years of mental conditioning, with the blessings of an institutionalized systemic.

It was typical to have a picnic on a Friday evening. The word was short for “pick a n**ger” to lynch. They would lynch a black male and cut off body parts as souvenirs. It was important to recreate black slaves into a non-human image (a n**ger) to justify any atrocities perpetrated upon them. This went on every weekend which is where the term picnic came from.

These people became merchants of the macabre as they cut up the victims’ bodies into parts for resale as, souvenirs, mementos, and mantle pieces; hearts, lips, ears, fingers, spleen, liver, lungs, intestines, penis, hands, heads, scrotum and all other body parts and even the Black fetus wasn’t spared.

A Black pregnant woman, Mary Turner in Georgia, had her unborn child cut from her womb as she burned at the stake. While she was inflamed a white man stepped from the crowd, slit her stomach with his pocket knife, and when the fetus fell to the ground, he stomped it and said, “One less n**ger”. Thousands of curbside spectators slapped their knees as they laughed in amusement. The N-word isn’t being used as a racial slur, it is something far more sinister.

The term was used as an identifier and a method of separating Black people from the remainder of the populous; it was used as a psychological conduit to breed thoughts of inferiority eradicating self-dignity, pride, and self–respect. It was White America’s way of rejecting Black people as their [equal] and accepting them as a so-called white man’s burden. Because slaves were considered non-human, and lower than a dog, whites believed that in the eyesight of God, classifying the black enslaved as n**gers made it okay to dehumanize, brutalize and subject them to anything and everything ungodly. They further somehow conveniently justified that these acts of inhumanity were forgivable by God because they believed… in a sick twisted way… they were carrying out God’s work. Same as Trump’s autocratic twisted rationalization that African-Americans should ignore but, nonetheless, respect how the American flag symbolizes contempt and disrespect for Black America.

Yet in knowing this hard and ugly history, as seen in present day, the N-word is strung into every line of TV/movie scripts and hip-hop lyrics to make the entertainment more appealing and relatable to African-Americans. Thanks to the marketing, globalization, and commercialization of the N-word, youths of all races now refer to one another as the N-word.

In affect Black America has given the entire world the green light to… trivialize… the dehumanization, butchering and slaughtering of their enslaved ancestors. Thinking like helpless and hopeless victims, black users of the word see eradicating use of the term as impossible, yet it is they who are keeping the word alive.

Such an attitude is the opposite of the prevailing boldness during the 1960’s when the indomitable spirit of Black America rejected labeling references such as Negro and Colored, choosing, instead, to refer to ourselves as Black and African-American. People were different it was a time when pride, dignity and self-respect meant something.

For more than five centuries, racism has legitimized assassinations, massacres and genocides. The doctrine of white supremacy has demonized, brutalized and dehumanized non-whites of the earth for centuries. Racism has been the global driving force behind the dispossession of continents, destruction of civilizations, and extermination of an entire people. The American flag and national anthem is symbolic of this and more.

Racism is about structuring social, political, and economic circumstances. Psychological and cultural circumstances such that one race can take advantage of another. One race can enhance itself at the expense of another. It has little to do with overt race hatred, or negative attitudes or the projection of racial stereotypes. Racism involves the power of one race to impose its will upon another. This is what Trump, the evangelicals, the American Institutionalized Systemic, Neo-Nazi, KKK, and other White Supremacist groups are all fighting to preserve (MAGA).

The flag reflects a reality the Black community has been locked into a NO WIN situation. All the wealth and power in this country has been dispensed over 400 years systemically into the hands of the majority white society. Black people don’t own a significant amount of anything to be able to control their lives to the extent that would promote and allow collective progress. Whites in America today control almost 100% of the income, wealth, power, resources, privileges and all levels of government, making it impossible to compete. America is unapologetic about this and its reneging of the promised 40 acres and a mule.

It’s a gross error in judgment when black athletes address one another as the N-word. It’s illogical, irrational to try and demand respect from others while simultaneously disrespecting one another. Colin Kaepernick is on record as using the N-word, unfortunately, he is the one who took the knee.

Proverbs 29:18 says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Black America’s salvation can only be won for its self, by its self. Looking to others to complete this feat for us is NOT going to work. Depending on political parties and the government to win this battle for us is not the answer. Instead, enlightenment, commitment to the collective community’s progress, and establishing economic independence must be at the forefront of each member’s mind and present in every single action taken and association made. Ultimately, this mindset will lead to self-reliance and self-respect, which are the proper ingredients of advancement.

Anything less, we can expect to always be treated in an exploitative, subordinated and exclusive manner; to assume otherwise will prove to be an exercise in futility, as our demand for respect will continue to fall on deaf ears.

Whether it’s taking a knee or staying in the locker room, one thing is abundantly clear… the oppressor has NO interest in acknowledging the concerns of African-Americans. Black folks had better wake up to the true significance of an ongoing 400-year-old message of being labeled the N-word, voluntarily going along with the program is foolhardy and delusional.

When African-American soldiers returned home from WWII they were meet with unpatriotic jeers admonishing them not to forget their place as that of a n**ger.

The following video exposes how black soldiers were disrespected and how patriotism didn’t extent to them:
https://youtu.be/zSZTHGOGA0Y

H. Lewis Smith is the founder and president of UVCC, the United Voices for a Common Cause, Inc., (www.theunitedvoices.com) and author of “Bury that Sucka: A Scandalous Love Affair with the N-Word”, and “Undressing the N-word: Revealing the Naked Truth, Lies, Deceit and Mind Games”. Follow him on Twitter @thescoop1

Waffle House incidents remind us (again) what to do (or not do) when “living while Black”

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johnhain / Pixabay

Editorial—

 

There are two lessons to be learned from the latest Waffle House incident in which a “police” officer was videotaped using Gestapo-type tactics against an unarmed Black teenager:

First, racist police officers continue to advertise their presence in cities big and small, north and south, across the country. They are apparently emboldened by a judicial system that exonerates them in all but a few high profile cases, and the general public’s perception that the boys in blue are always justified in their overly aggressive treatment of Black men.

Even in an era when almost every citizen is armed with the technology to record wrong doing, rogue cops seem oblivious to public scrutiny, contributing to African Americans’ resentment, distrust and fear of those sworn to protect and serve us.

The latest Waffle House incident was a prime example. Occurring just a few weeks after an avowed racist killed four Black diners (before being stopped by a brave Black customer) and two weeks after police used excessive force to restrain a Black woman—exposing her breasts in the process—last week’s incident was preceded by an argument between a tuxedo clad teenager and a store employee.

Apparently embellished by a growing tsunami of racism across the country, the employee quickly called police.

A burly “officer of the law” responded and within moments relied on despicable and ruthless tactics to subdue the non-threatening Black teen who had just escorted his young sister to a high school prom. Recorded by a passerby whose cries for restraint went unanswered, the officer choked the teenager before throwing him to the ground.

The second lesson is to parents: If you haven’t already, tell you sons not to engage police under any circumstance. Instruct them to be polite, not to argue, roll their eyes, or reach for anything real or imagined. Do not give the police any reason to become aggressive.

If you have a complaint, keep it to yourself until you are safe.

If stopped in a vehicle, put your hands on the steering wheel, turn on your interior lights and clearly announce any movement. Also, turn your cell phone on record or video and place it on the dashboard—before the officers approaches your car.

Your son or daughter may very well have right on their side.  But if nothing else, American history has taught us that being legally or morally right does not always translate to immediate victory.  Sometimes you have to put your emotions (and your pride) on the back burner until you’re safely away from the fire.

Checking the Narrative on Black Women’s Leadership It’s Not Only Time to Court Black Women’s Votes, But Also Support Them As Candidates

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By Glynda C. Carr and Kimberly Peeler-Allen
Glynda C. Carr 

                            Kimberly Peeler-Allen

In a recently published Rolling Stone article, recording artist Janelle Monae exposes a disconcerting, yet largely universal awareness shared by Black women seeking to exercise power: when we reveal ourselves to be human and inevitably imperfect, we are too often labeled unworthy and incapable of leading. It’s why, Monáe says, she spent the better part of a decade masking herself behind the persona of an android named Cindi Mayweather.

Monáe’s unusual response to coping with this awareness may be unique to entertainment, but her acknowledgment speaks broadly to the very harsh, extraneous judgments that women-particularly Black women-face when they attempt to lead. These judgments were on full display in a recent New York Magazine article that ostensibly explored the campaigns of the two women-Stacey Abrams, who is Black, and Stacey Evans, who is White-running to become Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate. What the article manages to offer, however, is litany of demeaning characterization of Abrams, including suggesting that she is “uppity,” financially ill-equipped, hard to relate to and unmarriageable. In short, the article is a regurgitation of some of the most demeaning and hostile labels that Black women come up against whenever they attempt to claim seats of power.

Progressives need to pay attention, because these imbalanced judgments are not only unfair, but also defeating in a age when Black women are an indispensible, and perhaps the most critical factor in Democrats prevailing come November. If we don’t check and challenge false narratives about the character and viability of Black women candidates seeking to serve at all levels of government in all types of communities, we will no doubt spend the next two years once again analyzing what went wrong.

Politics is inherently a word war between competitors, but the tenor of the criticisms hurled at Abrams reads especially personal and especially coded. Left unchecked, there is a real risk that these immaterial characterizations will overshadow the strength of her qualifications. Abrams, who served eight years in the state legislature before stepping down to run for governor, is by far the most accomplished of the candidates vying for the top of Georgia’s Democratic ticket. As house minority leader, the Ivy League-educated attorney blocked efforts to raise taxes on the poor and working families; protected access to reproductive healthcare; and passed legislation in support of grandparents and other kin raising children. She also started the New Georgia Project, which registered more than 200,000 voters over two years. Her vision for Georgia includes universal pre-K, living-wage jobs and criminal-justice reforms that level the field for all the state’s residents.

In short, Abrams has the kind of leadership experience, legislative track record, relatable story and vision for the state that voters across the board should be eager to support. But with the May 22primary just weeks away, She has had to spend a good deal of time talking about her debt-a situation wrought largely by her need to support family members in need-instead of her vision for a new Georgia. The distraction is vexing for many reasons, including that debt is not a disqualifier for holding office. If it were, a majority of our elected officials-most especially our current president-would never have been elected.

The irrelevant scrutiny experienced by Abrams is hardly isolated. Black women candidates and elected officials face a litany of race- and gender-coded criticism about perceived shortcomings that are never mentioned in examining the qualifications of other candidates.

Too often, Black women seeking leadership are labeled with false narratives that paint them as angry instead of impassioned, financially irresponsible instead of willing to stretch their resources to help others, or young and inexperienced instead of ambitious and trailblazing. Recent examples of this are plentiful.

When St. Louis, Missouri, Treasurer Tishuara Jones lost her 2017 bid for mayor by just 888 votes against an establishment candidate with much deeper pockets, the city paper’s editorial board wrote that “a dose of humility” might have made voters more supportive of Jones’ candidacy. And when Lauren Underwood announced her candidacy for the Illinois 14th District U.S. House seat, many in the Democratic power structure were quick to write her off as non viable even though she grew up in the district and previously served as a senior advisor to Department of Health and Human under President Barack Obama. Despite this criticism and a corresponding lack of Democratic establishment support, in March, Underwood took 57 percent of the Democratic Primary vote to beat out her six opponents-all men.

In November, Underwood, Abrams and hundreds of other Black women running for office across the country will face off against their opponents for local, state and national offices. Many of these women exemplify the kind of promising, proven leadership that progressives say they want. But if we refuse to challenge and correct damaging, false narratives about Black women’s leadership abilities-and records-we will ultimately deprive our towns, cities, states and country of the elected officials who are most connected, committed and able to address the inequities and divisions chipping away at our democracy.

There’s a lot on the line in 2018. If creating a fair, equitable and tolerant country is truly our goal, then we must make an urgent stand and put our resources behind candidates who embody these principals. That means not only courting Black women’s votes, but also supporting them as candidates who eager and ready to provide the kind of strong, effective leadership that can help turn our country around.

Glynda Carr and Kimberly Peeler-Allen are co-founders of Higher Heights for America is a national organization building the collective political power and leadership of Black women from the voting booth to elected office. For additional information visit: http://www.higherheightsforamerica.org. 

Missing Eric Vickers – Part II

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geralt / Pixabay

Beyond the Rhetoric 762

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Harry C. Alford

Eric joined up with the Hoosier Minority Chamber of Commerce at the right time.  United Airlines was putting up a billion-dollar project and resolved to break us by excluding any members of our organization.  This was “do or die” for us and it was a blessing to have Eric “Rambo” Vickers on our side.  United’s strategy was to cut us off.  Isolate and then ignore rendering us useless.  Eric came up with the strategy of uniting as many minority contracting organizations as possible.

 

When we gathered for a showdown meeting with United in Chicago (their home base) we had assembled a coalition made up of contracting organizations representing Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Louisville, all of Indiana and MBELDEF (headquartered in Washington, DC).  We had demanded to speak to United President Wolf during a lunch at the Hilton Towers Hotel in downtown Chicago.  United thought it was just going to be with me and the local group Black Contractors United which they funded and felt confident that they would support them and oppose me.  They walked into the room with their principals, PR agent and some press.  The press was to our surprise and the absence of President Wolf was an extreme disappointment.

 

Eric told us during our strategy morning session that if Wolf doesn’t show we will shutdown the meeting and kick them out of the room.  It took five minutes of introduction when Eric stood up and demanded they leave the room. Eric in his rhetorical elegance began, “Don’t touch that food!  We demanded to speak to President Wolf and he has refused to meet with us.  Therefore, leave this room and prepare for the most organized, multi-state demonstration against your racist company.  It will start in Indianapolis and spread to every city that is represented here by us. Eventually it will spread throughout our nation and the entire world will know how evil your business practices are.  We won’t stop until you change your ways.”

 

When I got back home the result of the meeting was all over the press including local television.  I began to organize a formal demonstration at the Indianapolis Airport.  We recruited the Concerned Clergy (organization of 50 Black churches in Indianapolis) to participate in the demonstration.  Also, and to our pleasant surprise, we got a call from the construction unions.  They were mad at United Air Lines also since they refused to have a Project Labor Agreement for the construction after promising that they would.  They pledged 600 demonstrators for our upcoming protest. I received a permit for the formal demonstration which allowed us to have 1000 protesters in front of the airport. At the same time of the demonstration airports representing the above cities would also have picket signs at the local United Airlines ticketing booths. The press was going crazy!

 

Two weeks before the big demonstration I got a call from Indianapolis Mayor Goldsmith’s office.  They said the Mayor wants to meet with me immediately and be in his office by 9:00AM.  A week prior to this I spoke with the mayor and he said, “Harry, United may move the project to some other city.”  I replied, “Fine, we don’t want them here if our Black contractors can’t participate.” I guess he realized our commitment. When I got to his office representatives from the Governor’s office, United Airlines and a couple of lobbyists were there.  The mayor stated, “Harry just what is it you want?”  I retorted, “Our demands have not changed.  We demand 15% of all work including architecture, engineering, construction, real estate relocations, concessions, legal work, etc. Plus, we should have a disparity study done.  Mayor Goldsmith smiled and said, “OK, its done so let’s all shake hands and tell the press.”

 

After six months of struggle, it was over. That afternoon I received calls from some of my members.  United Airlines construction manager called and said they should come in and decide which projects they wanted to perform.  One of our Black law firms called and thanked me for getting him a lucrative retainer. Two Black real estate agents called and thanked me for getting them some relocations.  Victory was ours.  It was real, living, and immediate.

 

This was one of the greatest affirmative action victories in the nation.  Pretty soon the whole nation knew about it.  Calls from other Black chambers and minority organizations were being made. Some would come to town to see it for themselves.

 

One evening my wife Kay would say, “The entire nation knows about us.  Maybe we should represent the whole nation.”

 

I called Eric and MBELDEF’s Anthony Robinson and retired Congressman Parren Mitchell about it.  They all said, “Do it!”

 

The rest is history.  It was the beginning of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.

 

Mr. Alford is the Co-Founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®.  Website: www.nationalbcc.org Email: [email protected]

 

DATED:  May 1, 2018

Congress owes victims of mass shootings laws that keep guns out of the hands of American terrorists

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If you listened to Armstrong William’s syndicated radio talk show Monday, you probably were as shocked as we were to hear him provide a ‘partial’ list of mass shootings in America over the last 20 years.
The list went on for several minutes, which gives you an idea of how many “native” terrorists and psychopaths were included in his deadly diatribe. Most of the mass shooting victims numbered a half dozen people per rampage.
Interestingly, none of the three dozen terrorists were Black, although many of their targets were racially motivated, including the Waffle House murders of last Sunday morning.
Two thoughts come to mind when you provide listeners (or readers) with the cold hard and deadly reality of homegrown terrorism in America:  first, despite the pronouncements and political rhetoric that usually follow this tsunami of terrorism, their concern ends there, with words and little or no action.
In fact, Congress has even turned a blind eye to the cries of America’s youth, who assembled by the thousands around the country on two occasions this month, demanding gun control and safe schools (the focal point of a half dozen terrorist attacks).
Secondly, in all but a couple of cases, the guns (sometimes semi-automatic weapons) were legally purchased.
That disheartening reality is true because there are few “national” safeguards to protect us, from “them,” (the terrorists).
For example, while some states have strict requirements for obtaining a concealed-carry permit, or to purchase a gun, in many others a mentally disturbed, domestic abuser with a felony conviction can walk into a store, plunk down his money and walk out with a bazooka.
We’re exaggerating…BUT, not by much.
And there are also “strawman sales,” in which guns are purchased by a person on behalf of someone else who doesn’t qualify for a gun because of a prior felony conviction.
Our leaders on the national and local level better wake up, swear-off NRA money, and realize America is a—in military jargon—“target-rich environment.”
They must create and pass legislation that, while not denying law-abiding, felony-free citizens the right to “bear arms,” keeps these “weapons of mass destruction” out of the hands of not only felons, but those who have had multiple run-ins with the law and/or suffer from some form of mental disease.
Congress owes the victims and their families…the nation…nothing less!