Tonight I watched a documentary about who really killed Malcolm X ("Brother Minister") and it reminded me how great it was to study African-American issues in the early 1990s. Malcolm was a hero turned pop icon, which, commercialism aside, brought him to the attention of many folks who otherwise would not have known who he was or who would have believed the popular misconception of him being a "hate monger." Could we have had Tupac without first having Malcolm to set the stage?
In addition to Malcolm, Afrocentricity was a hot topic of discussion in NY. This allowed for numerous books, incredible scholarship, and outstanding opportunities to attend relevant lectures at universities and community centers. I miss listening to learned people speak on topics that matter. I got to hear my hero, Dr Molefi Asante speak numerous times, and I got to sit at the feet of Dr John Henrik Clark and learn before his passing.
I lived in a neighborhood where William Kuntsler would pass by frequently, and he'd often stop on the street to share his views and opinions publicly. I recall attending a seminar regarding the African Diaspora at The New School in NYC (where I first met Kevin Powell, years before his M-TV Real World fiasco). They held many seminars that mattered because it was the socially responsible thing to do (and interesting!).
The media cared about issues and instead of focusing on politics and fear of pissing off a president or a certain group of people, they did their job by asking the hard questions and uncovering lies. Our pop music icons made songs about relevant issues, not about how much weight they were moving or which brand of champagne or car they could afford (that we can not).
Only ten or fifteen years have passed yet I feel so much is lost... The world has changed. People interact mostly through the internet; our stars are from reality TV shows or daughters of billionaire hotel magnets, and we can't seem to get enough of them; and entertainment has become dull. Our politicians lie to us and are being indicted in record numbers (or escaping indictment with a great publicist and a crackerjack legal team). And if they continue to get indicted, will there be room for them in the country club prisons that are growing full from CEOs who cooked their books (compared to the 80s and 90s where prisons filled quickly and unjustly from those who cooked cocaine)?
In the 90s a Black man was beat down by the police and rebellions ignited across the US--today we'd curse because we weren't the ones to film it and get to start a bidding war between cable stations and internet sites (one of the on-line poker sites or an on-line porn site would win that bid today). In 2005 an entire Black city was destroyed by Mother Nature and we did nothing when the goverment didn't react properly. Six months later, we watch footage of the President being briefed days before Katrina side-by-side with footage of him saying he was never told of the severity of the situation before hand. No one reacts.
And my biggest fear has come true--I have turned into one of those boring old fucks who sits around reminiscing and playing the "remember when" game...
What I am currently reading: The 33 Strategies Of War, By Robert Greene (he wrote my favorite book, The 48 Laws Of Power)
In addition to Malcolm, Afrocentricity was a hot topic of discussion in NY. This allowed for numerous books, incredible scholarship, and outstanding opportunities to attend relevant lectures at universities and community centers. I miss listening to learned people speak on topics that matter. I got to hear my hero, Dr Molefi Asante speak numerous times, and I got to sit at the feet of Dr John Henrik Clark and learn before his passing.
I lived in a neighborhood where William Kuntsler would pass by frequently, and he'd often stop on the street to share his views and opinions publicly. I recall attending a seminar regarding the African Diaspora at The New School in NYC (where I first met Kevin Powell, years before his M-TV Real World fiasco). They held many seminars that mattered because it was the socially responsible thing to do (and interesting!).
The media cared about issues and instead of focusing on politics and fear of pissing off a president or a certain group of people, they did their job by asking the hard questions and uncovering lies. Our pop music icons made songs about relevant issues, not about how much weight they were moving or which brand of champagne or car they could afford (that we can not).
Only ten or fifteen years have passed yet I feel so much is lost... The world has changed. People interact mostly through the internet; our stars are from reality TV shows or daughters of billionaire hotel magnets, and we can't seem to get enough of them; and entertainment has become dull. Our politicians lie to us and are being indicted in record numbers (or escaping indictment with a great publicist and a crackerjack legal team). And if they continue to get indicted, will there be room for them in the country club prisons that are growing full from CEOs who cooked their books (compared to the 80s and 90s where prisons filled quickly and unjustly from those who cooked cocaine)?
In the 90s a Black man was beat down by the police and rebellions ignited across the US--today we'd curse because we weren't the ones to film it and get to start a bidding war between cable stations and internet sites (one of the on-line poker sites or an on-line porn site would win that bid today). In 2005 an entire Black city was destroyed by Mother Nature and we did nothing when the goverment didn't react properly. Six months later, we watch footage of the President being briefed days before Katrina side-by-side with footage of him saying he was never told of the severity of the situation before hand. No one reacts.
And my biggest fear has come true--I have turned into one of those boring old fucks who sits around reminiscing and playing the "remember when" game...
What I am currently reading: The 33 Strategies Of War, By Robert Greene (he wrote my favorite book, The 48 Laws Of Power)
posted by Ricky Ross at 2:33 AM
3 Comments:
I just got both books.
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Both books are great, Hammer, but VERY Machiavellian. Especially hard to read for someone who believes that people are genuinely good. I found that both took a long time for me to read, and often I was disgusted by the mentality of what I was reading. But I also found much of it to be very true. Enjoy...
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