Who? What? When? Where? How?

I met with my brothers last night and we had a very good conversation concerning our roles in our lives and our respective communities. Our lecturer for the evening spoke on tatics and strategies derived and conceivably implemented by Dr. Na’im Akbar, via his book, Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery.

I learned that there are stages we as the derivative of slaves have encountered throughout our process of ‘getting free’. We first broke the physical confinements of slavery by making our way off of the physical plantation. That was step one; to live life not defined by and confined to a Massa’s every wish and command. Once this was achieved we through the Civil War and throughout the Civil Rights Movement fought for the legitimate right to live as individuals. Legally that is. We deserved and believed in the legitimate legal right to not be enslaved. Next was the ability to access the same things our oppressors had access to. Albeit schools, churches, stores or restrooms. We wanted the ability, the physical opportunity to go and be wherever anyone else could go or be.
So far we’ve traveled through 3 stages and maybe 300 years.

1. Breaking the physical bonds of enslavement.
2. Legal Civility and Legitimate rights to freedom.
3. Access to……..

Our next stage of ‘get free’ evolution was to live a life of value equal to or surpassing that of our ‘former’ oppressors. We decided our quality of life should be as good if not better than that of the majority of this land. We should not have to attend lesser quality schools and grocery stores. Our schools and stores and overall community should be just as good if not better than any other.

So now we are 4 stages deep into the psychology of what it takes to get free from captivity. The last one is arguably the first and last, and most important of all: differentiation and definition. To differentiate ( to set apart from; to become distinct or different in character) and to define ( the act of determining, a statement expressing the essential nature of something; the action or the power of describing, explaining, or making definite or clear.) This is such and important step because if you look back every step since 1. 'Breaking the physical chains of enslavement’ have depended on the premise of having a separate identity. How do we say our schools should be better when there is now definitive ‘us’? How do we practice collectivity when we don’t know or understand what brings us together? Who are ‘we’? Blacks? It was said last night that blacks can be compared to mutts in the animal kingdom. What do any two mutts share?
That statement is not to infer that they do not share anything, but it begs the resolution of a definitive ‘what?’

An Encouraging Word

Breathing in pure possibility
Thanking God for another day
Also for strength and humility
And giving me the wisdom to pray
With the world around me in decay
I recycle knowledge creating anew
History is the blueprint
Of what I should and should not do
Still sometimes I don’t listen
Just wishing upon a star
Getting stuck in no win positions
When I could have avoided the scar
Life laughs at me
And my catastrophes
Wondering when will I learn
I’ve been spared
My share of tragedies
So I guess it was just my turn
There are those out there
Worst off than me
So every day I breathe
Is a blessing
I try to rejoice in the good times
And treat bad times as a lesson
That way I always win
A little wiser with my approach
I can appreciate good advice
But life is the best coach

-Timothy E. Dotson T-Remedi

VIBE and Black American Media

‘VIBE chronicles the celebrities, sounds, fashions, lifestyle, new media and business born of urban music. With an authoritative voice, VIBE creates trends as much as it records them.’ - VIBE Mission Statement

The question now becomes, ‘Is this the trend VIBE intends to create and/or promote to its young African American audience?’ It doesn’t take very long at all for any responsible adult to open the April 2006 issue of VIBE magazine and recognize one of two things: Either Mimi Valdez (Chief Editor of VIBE) has committed an act of gross irresponsibility or those who choose and maintain the moralistic direction of the magazine have decided upon what is tantamount to journalistic genocide on the mind of young African American teenagers in every neighborhood in this nation.

‘VIBE reaches more people of color age 18-24 than any other magazine.’
-VIBE Website

Or maybe, this is a very misguided attempt for the magazine to attain the golden calf in Negro music today, ‘Street Cred’. Most outsiders of the culture seem to literally kill themselves and others (in one way or another) while vying so desperately to achieve this goal.
After glancing at the photo of Lil' Wayne (Dewayne Carter), who is clearly in the act of lighting a blunt, on the Table of Contents, an optimistic man would hope Mimi simply dropped the proverbial ball. Isn’t it bad enough there are no more displays of substance on BET and that 90% of today’s radio stations, which claim to be ‘the home of Hip-Hop and R&B, do nothing more than emit nonsense to our auditory senses like D4L’s ‘Girl Shake that Laffy Taffy’? Now, even those of us who chose the more literal route and read our Hip-Hop news are assaulted intellectually with the same message of ignorance….Smoke that shit! After all this is what the stars do. Wayne is the self proclaimed Greatest Rapped Alive!!!

‘Almost 2/3 (61%) of African America [youth] read VIBE- that’s more African American teens than any other publication.’ -Vibe Website

What makes matters worse is that the 61% of black teenagers VIBE boast to reach are then treated to seeing Lil’ Wayne smoke his weed while protected from the cameraman with .45 caliber shells lined up for whoever may not agree with his proclamation. I’m guessing the empty whiskey glass was simply for good measure….that or orange juice...or possibly cyanide.
As adults we are all responsible for the direction and guidance of the young. A magazine which makes a majority of its revenue from black youth has a responsibility to that same black youth and their parents/guardians. As readers of the magazine we have a responsibility to it. With that being said, not only do I find it a duty to privilege but also my duty to VIBE, its readers, and its sponsors alike to say:

PICK UP THE TORCH. PUT A CEASE TO THE IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM AND HOLD ACCOUNTABLE ANY AND ALL PARTIES INVOLVED IN SUCH AN ‘OVERSIGHT’. WHILE I KNOW AND UNDERSTAND NO ONE WILL BE FIRED OR EVEN SERIOUSLY REPRIMANDED BEHIND THIS, I STILL IMPLORE THAT SUCH NEGLIENCE AT THE BEHEST AND DETRIMENT OF OUR CHILDREN NOT BE REPEATED.

Mustafa Ahmad Shakur
Chief Information Officer
Rainbows and Lilacs
Mashakur@rainbowsandlilacs.com