"Of all our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research."
-Malcolm X
I was cruising the Black Interwebs last week when suddenly, I happened across the following piece by one Mr. Lincoln Blades, one of the newest class of Black Relationship Experts out there on the scene today. Now, to be fair and to fully disclose: me and Linc know each other, and to be honest, I like the guy. I wouldn't say we're best buds - we just know each other on Twitter - but we've chatted a bit back and forth, and we've retweeted each other a number of times. I'm all for another Brotha doing his thing, even when I find myself at odds with it; you see, it's my view that there are far too many Black Men out there who pander to what Black Women Want To Hear, and far too few Black Men who are willing to assist Black Men where it matters most. Linc knows this, just like all the other Black Relationship Experts do, but...well, you see, there's no money in assisting Black Men - and there's tons of money to be made in telling Black Women What They Want to Hear. There, I've said it - and if Linc values the late great Brother Minister Malcolm as much as he claimed in his article that he wrote for Uptown Magazine last week, about how Black Men Don't Know How to Protect Black Women, then he shouldn't have a mumbling word to say about the truth I just spoke above.
So, it should then come as no surprise, that such an article would appear by him; indeed, it's all par for the course among the "Good Black Men(TM) crowd. As I've made clear previously, the Black community, such as it is (more on this in a moment), is no stranger to the Hugos of the world. You see, while there's no money to be made in actually helping and focusing on Black Men, there IS money to be made in "shaming" them, because, again, it serves the Black Relationship Expert agenda, of telling Black Women What They Want to Hear; upbraiding Black Men puts money into the coffers of these people (the majority of whom, as the popular website Single Black Male rightly identifies, are Black Men themselves).
Imagine, if you will, Mr. Blades writing this article: "Why SHOULD Black Men "Protect" Black Women?" - and then proceeded to layout the following facts:
1. That violent crime of ALL kinds, including rape and sexual assault, has dropped like a stone across America,to all time historic lows in locales such as NYC, and that Black people, and in this case Black Women in particular, have greatly benefited from this
2. That domestic violence is something that is hardly the preserve of Men, Black or otherwise, and that among other easily accessible examples of this, is the public violence "Queen of Hip Hop" Mary J. Bligevisited on her hubbie at the same time Chris Brown was (rightly) being vilified for assaulting Rihanna (Blige was never held to account for her actions)
3. That Black Women do indeed enjoy lifestyles today never imagined by even White Women a half century ago, in large part due to the aforementioned dramatic reductions in violent crime, increased employment and educational opportunities and so forth - often with the tacit, if not overt approval, and assistance of Truly Privileged Black Males (while Black Men overall continue to languish on the margins of American life)
4. That Black Women are among, if not the, most prolific consumers and purchasers of "degrading" forms of Hip Hop - as Chris Rock rightly observed a few years back
5. That Black Women have a tremendous say on how they are viewed and perceived by the larger media world - from YouTube videos like "Twerkin' At The Wal-Mart" and "wilding out" at a MetroPCS store in Motown, all the way to primetime teledramas that feature a Black Woman mate poaching a (White) President and everything in between
6. That society not only doesn't reward those Black Men who DO step up and do the White Knight in Blackface Thing, but actively disincentivizes it
How do you think Uptown Magazine would respond to such a piece, hmm? How do you think Mr. Blades' core audience, nearly 70% of whom are indeed Black female, per his Twtrland stats, would react to such a frank accounting of the facts - hmm?
And as for the notion of "uplifting the Black community" - an idea put forth by W.E.B. DuBois, nearly a century ago (and someone Malcolm himself would have, at best, mixed views about, if not outright condemnation for), the idea is at best, and at this juncture, a quaint one. As Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and television talking head Eugene Robinson made so poignantly clear in his book, "Disintergration: The Splintering of Black America", there IS no "Black community" anymore, hasn't been in quite some time (as the HBO landmark series "The Wire" regularly depicted with jarring clarity and, again to cite that erudite social critic, Chris Rock rightly observed some 15 years ago) and is likely to continue to "disintergrate" on into the foreseeable future. DuBois' notion of "uplifting" Black America was as romantic as his notions of a "Talented Tenth" - and neither proved tenable. Which explains why even he gave up on his visions and got outta Dodge in the final years of his life.
Everyone reading this knows that if and when a Black Man offends, be that spitting on the sidewalk or going upside anyone's head (other than another Black Man, that is), the chances are wildly high that he WILL be apprehended, he WILL be judged guilty, and he WILL go to jail, most likely to serve a lengthy sentence. That what some have referred to as the Prison Industrial Complex continues to grow apace amidst prolonged economic distress nationwide - some three decades running at this point and counting - puts to bed any notions that Black Women are somehow under siege by marauding Black Men On The Loose, as if we now live in a funny house version of Birth of A Nation, or something.
No.
The brutal truth of the matter is, that the single biggest impediment facing Black Women in our time today, are Black Women themselves, which, in a sane world, would come as good news, because it would be the fulfillment of both the Civil and Womens' movements of the 60s and 70s - the ability to chart one's own destiny, free and unfettered. And if Malcolm were around today, he would be among the first to make that point clear - and then would have some choice words for the Brothas who continue to pour saccharin into the ears of those same Sistas, for their own gain - monetary and otherwise, ahem.
Now adjourn your arses...
The Obsidian
-Malcolm X
I was cruising the Black Interwebs last week when suddenly, I happened across the following piece by one Mr. Lincoln Blades, one of the newest class of Black Relationship Experts out there on the scene today. Now, to be fair and to fully disclose: me and Linc know each other, and to be honest, I like the guy. I wouldn't say we're best buds - we just know each other on Twitter - but we've chatted a bit back and forth, and we've retweeted each other a number of times. I'm all for another Brotha doing his thing, even when I find myself at odds with it; you see, it's my view that there are far too many Black Men out there who pander to what Black Women Want To Hear, and far too few Black Men who are willing to assist Black Men where it matters most. Linc knows this, just like all the other Black Relationship Experts do, but...well, you see, there's no money in assisting Black Men - and there's tons of money to be made in telling Black Women What They Want to Hear. There, I've said it - and if Linc values the late great Brother Minister Malcolm as much as he claimed in his article that he wrote for Uptown Magazine last week, about how Black Men Don't Know How to Protect Black Women, then he shouldn't have a mumbling word to say about the truth I just spoke above.
So, it should then come as no surprise, that such an article would appear by him; indeed, it's all par for the course among the "Good Black Men(TM) crowd. As I've made clear previously, the Black community, such as it is (more on this in a moment), is no stranger to the Hugos of the world. You see, while there's no money to be made in actually helping and focusing on Black Men, there IS money to be made in "shaming" them, because, again, it serves the Black Relationship Expert agenda, of telling Black Women What They Want to Hear; upbraiding Black Men puts money into the coffers of these people (the majority of whom, as the popular website Single Black Male rightly identifies, are Black Men themselves).
Imagine, if you will, Mr. Blades writing this article: "Why SHOULD Black Men "Protect" Black Women?" - and then proceeded to layout the following facts:
1. That violent crime of ALL kinds, including rape and sexual assault, has dropped like a stone across America,to all time historic lows in locales such as NYC, and that Black people, and in this case Black Women in particular, have greatly benefited from this
2. That domestic violence is something that is hardly the preserve of Men, Black or otherwise, and that among other easily accessible examples of this, is the public violence "Queen of Hip Hop" Mary J. Bligevisited on her hubbie at the same time Chris Brown was (rightly) being vilified for assaulting Rihanna (Blige was never held to account for her actions)
3. That Black Women do indeed enjoy lifestyles today never imagined by even White Women a half century ago, in large part due to the aforementioned dramatic reductions in violent crime, increased employment and educational opportunities and so forth - often with the tacit, if not overt approval, and assistance of Truly Privileged Black Males (while Black Men overall continue to languish on the margins of American life)
4. That Black Women are among, if not the, most prolific consumers and purchasers of "degrading" forms of Hip Hop - as Chris Rock rightly observed a few years back
5. That Black Women have a tremendous say on how they are viewed and perceived by the larger media world - from YouTube videos like "Twerkin' At The Wal-Mart" and "wilding out" at a MetroPCS store in Motown, all the way to primetime teledramas that feature a Black Woman mate poaching a (White) President and everything in between
6. That society not only doesn't reward those Black Men who DO step up and do the White Knight in Blackface Thing, but actively disincentivizes it
How do you think Uptown Magazine would respond to such a piece, hmm? How do you think Mr. Blades' core audience, nearly 70% of whom are indeed Black female, per his Twtrland stats, would react to such a frank accounting of the facts - hmm?
And as for the notion of "uplifting the Black community" - an idea put forth by W.E.B. DuBois, nearly a century ago (and someone Malcolm himself would have, at best, mixed views about, if not outright condemnation for), the idea is at best, and at this juncture, a quaint one. As Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and television talking head Eugene Robinson made so poignantly clear in his book, "Disintergration: The Splintering of Black America", there IS no "Black community" anymore, hasn't been in quite some time (as the HBO landmark series "The Wire" regularly depicted with jarring clarity and, again to cite that erudite social critic, Chris Rock rightly observed some 15 years ago) and is likely to continue to "disintergrate" on into the foreseeable future. DuBois' notion of "uplifting" Black America was as romantic as his notions of a "Talented Tenth" - and neither proved tenable. Which explains why even he gave up on his visions and got outta Dodge in the final years of his life.
Everyone reading this knows that if and when a Black Man offends, be that spitting on the sidewalk or going upside anyone's head (other than another Black Man, that is), the chances are wildly high that he WILL be apprehended, he WILL be judged guilty, and he WILL go to jail, most likely to serve a lengthy sentence. That what some have referred to as the Prison Industrial Complex continues to grow apace amidst prolonged economic distress nationwide - some three decades running at this point and counting - puts to bed any notions that Black Women are somehow under siege by marauding Black Men On The Loose, as if we now live in a funny house version of Birth of A Nation, or something.
No.
The brutal truth of the matter is, that the single biggest impediment facing Black Women in our time today, are Black Women themselves, which, in a sane world, would come as good news, because it would be the fulfillment of both the Civil and Womens' movements of the 60s and 70s - the ability to chart one's own destiny, free and unfettered. And if Malcolm were around today, he would be among the first to make that point clear - and then would have some choice words for the Brothas who continue to pour saccharin into the ears of those same Sistas, for their own gain - monetary and otherwise, ahem.
Now adjourn your arses...
The Obsidian