ALTHOUGH I STILL LOVE BLACK MEN???

I decided to re-post the original post that sparked the commentary from Ms. Melee below (The I’ll never date another Black Man Again woman).

As a black woman, this blog is downright painful to read. The fact is this: black women are getting AIDS from SOMEONE. It isn’t airborne, you can’t catch it from toilet seats or shaking hands. I think it’s safe to say that black women are contracting AIDS from BLACK MEN. I watched with fascination the AIDS in Black America special that aired on ABC in the early part of the summer. A sista who was heading a round table discussion said, “Black women…when we love, we love HARD…and often to our own detriment and destruction…we have to love OURSELVES, first and foremost, before we love a man. And part of that self love is to NEVER sleep with a black man, or any man of any ethnicity, without ensuring that he is wearing a condom…and understand that, if he refuses, he does not care about himself and his own health/life…let alone your health/life

Although I still love Black men, I must confess…I am terrified of you all. The HIV/AIDS issue has me terrified. In addition, it seems everytime I meet a black man and try to have a healthy, loving friendship/relationship with one, he usually ends up with a bunch of issues I am not equipped to deal with, or it turns out that he has grossly misrepresented himself, or is just looking to use me financially. Seems every Black man is looking for an “independent woman” or a woman to “help them out” financially…even in the union of marriage. My father told me when I was a girl to RUN from any man who proposes marriage to me, with the idea that my salary will “supplement” our income. He told me if a man cannot a woman, and eventually a family, on his salary, then he is not a good husband material. I am at a point where, although I still admire black men from afar (as far as physical looks are concerned, black men are at the top of the list) I avoid black men. I don’t talk to them anymore, don’t make eye contact anymore, even when they approach me, because I know they don’t have good intentions towards me; I rebuff their advances, but nicely…not trying to get cursed out or beat up. They’re looking for a stupid, desperate sista who who wants a black man SO BADLY, that she will supply them with sex on demand, and are trying to nest in HER home, and drive HER car, in lieu of finding his own home, and buying his own car. Black men, although beautiful to look at, are beyond emotionally scarred…they are so full of self hate and loathing, and so full of hate and loathing for the black woman, and so lacking in personal intregity, that they will forever be incapable of being the strong, loving, caring, respectful, trustworthy men black women so desperately need to love and care for them. But I love and care for ME. And the only way I can ensure my physical and emotional well being remain intact, is to not deal with black men, on any level. I’m so sorry it has come to this, but honestly…when I think of the future of black men, if it is anything like the present…they are truly doomed.

Is it just me or is this just about the saddest contradictory espousal of self ostracizing fear you have ever heard? Although I still love black men, then the whole tirade that we are self-hating, untrustworthy, and irresponsible is based on what selection criteria for black men? My old adage, “If you keep picking fruit from the same tree, don’t expect apples when it’s an orange tree. It might be ripe, it might be bitter, it might be sweet, it might be spoiled, but in the end, they’re all oranges” I think my first book will be entitled, “Change your tree!”And to the premise all black women are getting AIDS from black men, again from the data (CDC) 37% of the women contracted this disease from IV drug use (ALONE). Let me guess, these women were all tied up by black men and injected with the virus? (she paints such an eloquent picture of these no good low down (or should I use down low) cheating, no bill pay, car having, self esteem having ass black men!) Another booming stat from the CDC this week, AIDS diagnosises among African American women is actually down 6% over the past 4 years. How come you haven’t heard about this in the press? Dr. David J. Malebranche releases a meta-analysis refuting the “DL” theory entirely, and you think the local news would run at least an op-ed piece? Why don’t you hear about this? Because there are people and principalities, who have a vested interest and are compensated to misinform you so that they may mismanage you. Sounds to me like they just got another customer, subscription for life.The choices we make pave the road to the destination of our future...

AT THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS

CLICK HERE

Hopefully this works! Push button 18 for MY SPECIFIC COMMENTARY. 

 SIDEBAR: While I have a degree of revereance and respect for Mrs. Eldelman, you have to observe how quickly they take the positive affirmation of the acheivements of black men, and again drive it back to elevating the more negative. Two points I wanted to make, but in that forum I defer to my elders.

The comparison she uses is a flawed and is representative of about 3 different types of groups. The age ranges are divergent (18-80 JAIL vs. 18-24 college), the comparison of 40,000 matriculating vs. 580,000 incarcerated is time insensitive (plainly 580,000 were not incarcerated LAST YEAR), but more over completely undermines the accomplishments of black men ENROLLED in post-secondary education. If you’ve heard me rant before, you know I beleive that prison and PSE are both life sentences, and with all the challenges black men face, so,so many are are educationallly acheiving what our forbeareres can only dream of. But listening to the old gaurd and self annointed leaders, well in the words of brother Taalam, “there’s a market for N*99a$”, and we have got to take back what is rightfully ours from those who would continue to exploit the worst in us, at the expense of all of us.

HEADLINES CAN PAINT A PICTURE

So after receiving about a 100 copies of this most recent press release (thank you very much Associated Press for attempting to show black men (and Hispanics) in a negative light…again! And thank you very much for jumping on the band wagon Urban League. We as a people have got to READ beyond the headlines, and find out what the motivation is behind the claims of any study. We have got to stop falling for the trappings of a very biased and very agenda driven media and the machinery that continues to dumb down black culture as a whole. We have also got to do a better job of researching for ourselves what is and is not true, what is a baited and a partial representation of blacks and what is an out right lie about us. Side Bar: the first thing I did when I saw the headline was go to the original press release by the census to look for the difference between what was reported and what was lambasted by the AP. If you read the 2 side by side, you will see how the government segments the data based on race, and then how the media dramatizes it and exploits the crises of black men in America, for sensationalism and profits…

 THE AP ARTICLE:

Census study eyes blacks in prison

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 27, 1:06 AM ET

WASHINGTON - More than three times as many black people live in prison cells as in college dorms, the government said in a report to be released Thursday.

The ratio is only slightly better for Hispanics, at 2.7 inmates for every Latino in college housing. Among non-Hispanic whites, more than twice as many live in college housing as in prison or jail.

The numbers, driven by men, do not include college students who live off campus. Previously released census data show that black and Hispanic college students — commuters and those in dorms — far outnumber black and Hispanic prison inmates.

Nevertheless, civil rights advocates said it is startling that blacks and Hispanics are more likely to live in prison cells than in college dorms.

“It’s one of the great social and economic tragedies of our time,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the Urban League. “It points to the signature failure in our education system and how we’ve been raising our children.”

The Census Bureau released 2006 data Thursday on the social, racial and economic characteristics of people living in adult correctional facilities, college housing and nursing homes. It is the first in-depth look at people living in “group quarters” since the 1980 census. It shows, for example, that nursing homes had much older residents in 2006 than in 1980.

The new data has limitations. In addition to not including commuter students, it does not provide racial breakdowns by gender or age, though it does show that males make up 90 percent of prison inmates.

Also, most prison inmates are 25 or older while 96 percent of people in college housing are age 18 to 24.

The data show that big increases in black and Hispanic inmates occurred since 1980. In 1980, the number of blacks living in college dorms was roughly equal to the number in prison. Among Hispanics, those in college dorms outnumbered those in prison in 1980.

There are a lot of reasons why black students do not reach college at the same rate as whites, said Amy Stuart Wells, a professor of sociology and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Black students are more likely to attend segregated schools with high concentrations of poverty, less qualified teachers, lower expectations and a less demanding curriculum, she said.

“And they are perceived by society as terrible schools, so it is hard to get accepted into college,” Wells said. “Even if you are a high-achieving kid who beats the odds, you are less likely to have access to the kinds of courses that colleges are looking for.”

Students who don’t graduate high school are much more likely to go to prison, said Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA. Nearly 40 percent of inmates lack a high school diploma or the equivalent, according to the census data.

“The criminal economy is one of the only alternatives in some of these places,” Orfield said. “You basically have the criminalization of a whole community, particularly in some inner cities.”

Blacks made up 41 percent of the nation’s 2 million prison and jail inmates in 2006. Non-Hispanic whites made up 37 percent and Hispanics made up 19 percent.

Morial, who is a former mayor of New Orleans, said the political debate over high incarceration rates for minorities hasn’t yielded results. He said conservatives blame a lack of family values while liberals blame a lack of government programs, with neither side seeing the whole picture.

“We do, in the African-American community, need to instill a stronger value on education,” Morial said.

But, he added, minority students also need more early childhood education, longer school days, longer school years and more meaningful summer job opportunities.

“We need to get serious about true investment on the front end,” Morial said.

Among the other findings in the census data:

_Men made up about 90 percent of prison and jail inmates in 2006, down from 94 percent in 1980.

_About 9 percent of prison inmates were immigrants last year, up from about 4 percent in 1980. Immigrants made up about 13 percent of the total population in 2006.

_Non-Hispanic whites made up about 73 percent of the 2.3 million people living in college housing in 2006. Blacks made up about 12 percent, Asians about 7 percent and Hispanics about 6 percent.

THE CENSUS DATA

Census Bureau Releases New Data on Residents of Adult Correctional
Facilities, Nursing Homes and Other Group Quarters
Annual Data Also Paint Diverse Portrait of Nation’s Race, Ethnic and Ancestry Groups

     New data released today from the U.S. Census Bureau provide the first social and economic characteristic profiles of the people living in group quarters - such as adult correctional facilities, college dorms and nursing homes - in nearly three decades.

     ”This release marks the first in-depth look at the characteristics of the nonhousehold population since the 1980 Census,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. “These are important data to understand as decision makers grapple with policies that impact the people who live in these facilities.”

     The latest data from the American Community Survey also include profiles of more than 100 race and ethnic group iterations such as blacks, Chinese and Mexicans. In addition, profiles for 72 ancestry groups, from Afghani to Welsh, are also available.

     Selected national highlights for today’s data release include the following:

The Group Quarters Population as a Whole

The group quarters data are collected for two categories of facilities: institutional, including residences such as correctional facilities, nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals; and noninstitutional, which include residences such as college dormitories, military barracks and adult group homes. Profiles are available for specific group quarters type for the nation, regions, Puerto Rico and the 35 states that have a group quarters population of at least 45,000. Table shells can be found on the ACS 2006 Data Products Page and data can be accessed via American FactFinder. The applicable subject tables are S2601A, B, C and C-PR (Puerto Rico).

• Nationally, 8.1 million people were living in group quarters, or about 2.7 percent of the total population, according to the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program.
• The group quarters population is more likely to be never married or widowed than the total population - 62 percent of those 15 and older living in group quarters have never been married and 15 percent were widowed, compared with 31 percent and 6 percent for the total population.
• The group quarters population had lower levels of educational attainment than the total population - 61 percent of those 25 and older living in group quarters were high school graduates or higher and 9 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 84 percent and 27 percent for the total population.
• Individuals living in group quarters have much lower per capita income than the total population - the per capita income of those living in group quarters was $8,095 in 2006 compared to $25,267 for the total population. Those living in noninstitutional group quarters had lower per capita income than those living in institutional group quarters, $7,423 compared with $8,737.
• Of the group quarters population, 58 percent were male and 42 percent were female.

Residents of Adult Correctional Facilities

• The population living in adult correctional facilities was 2.1 million in 2006, nearly double the 1990 population of 1.1 million. In 2000, the adult correctional population was nearly 2 million.
• Males comprised more than 90 percent of the adult correctional population in 2006. Females represented 10 percent of this population in 2006, up from 8 percent in 1990.
• More than 60 percent of the population of adult correctional facilities was between the ages of 25 and 44. The median age of the adult correctional population is 34.3.
• About 46 percent of the adult correctional population was white alone. Also, approximately 41 percent of the adult correctional population was black alone and 19 percent were Hispanic.
• Of those 25 and older, 61 percent in adult correctional facilities had graduated high school and 3 percent had at least a bachelor’s degree. The comparable rates for the total population were 84 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

Residents of Nursing Facilities

• Unlike the adult correctional population, the population of nursing facilities was disproportionately female. Females comprised approximately half of the total population, but were nearly 70 percent of the nursing facility population.
• Nearly three-in-four residents of nursing facilities were 75 or older. The median age of nursing facility residents was 83.2.
• The population living in nursing facilities was more likely to be white alone than the total population, 84 percent compared with 75 percent. The black alone population represented 13 percent of both the nursing home population and the total population. They were less likely to be of Hispanic or Latino origin than the total population, 4 percent compared with 15 percent.

Selected Race, Ethnic Group Highlights

• Among the Asian alone population 25 and older, bachelor’s degrees or higher were held by 68.6 percent of Asian Indians, 46.3 of Japanese and 51.7 percent of Chinese.
• Among the Hispanic population 5 and older, 84.4 percent of Cubans, 79.1 percent of Mexicans, and 69 percent of Puerto Ricans spoke a language other than English at home.
• Among the black population alone households, 29 percent were in married couple families compared with 49.7 percent for the nation. Of the black alone population 25 and older, 16.9 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher.
• Among the American Indian alone population 30 years and older, 6.9 percent live with their grandchildren, compared with 3.5 percent of the total population.
• Among Alaska Natives alone, 34.5 percent are married, compared with 50.4 percent of the total population.

WHO DO YOU CALL?

I seldom engage these discussions and usually allow them to folow their course, however, the constant reference by blacks to the JPI as the “authority” on the issue of jail vs. college, somewhat disturbs me, on multiple levels, of which the willingness to accept without question any organizations advancement of negative statistics  about black men. I digreess, my point, has anyone in the community ever wrote a letter to, sent an email, or made a phone call to the National Center for Education Statistics (Telephone: 202-502-7300) (outside of yours truly) and as I constantly say asked the right questions? Try this out for starters….. ask them what was the total number of black men enrolled in post-secondary education or colleges and universities in 2000. The answer will amaze you (the quite too often touted claim and source data for the JPI cellblocks vs. classrooms comparison ~ oh BTW, funny thing happened at the JPI website last week, the link to the study was removed, guess they’re lucky I have a downloaded pdf Cellblocks vs. Classrooms on my desktop!)

http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/02-09_REP_CellblocksClassrooms_BB.pdf

 …Thank you very much JPI!

FROM CNN (WHY I DIDN’T INCLUDE WHITE RESPONSES)

“The Reverend” Jackson evidently doesn’t like Senator Obama ’stealing’ the limelight from him.

Although I’m a card carrying Republican, I can honestly say that Senator Obama has more class than Jackson can ever hope to have.

Furthermore, if Jesse Jackson truly did care about the plight of African-Americans, he would address the dilemmas facing them in today’s society, such as:

(1) 70% out of wedlock birthrate;

(2) More black men are in prison than in college;

(3)African-American students score lower on tests than their white, Hispanic, and Asian counterparts.

Posted By Thomas, St. Petersburg, FL : September 19, 2007 12:51 pm

THE BATTLE TO CHANGE THE BLACK MIND IS ONE THING, AND i FIRMLY BELEIVE THAT ONCE WE READJUST OUR THINKING, OUR RESPECT FOR OURSELVES AND AND EACH OTHER WILL CHANGE, THEN WE CAN WORRY ABOUT FIXING THE SKEWED AND SYSTEMIC PERCEPTIONS ABOUT ALL OF US IN THE REST OF AMERICA..

THE GAME

So the ruckus of mis-information continues….The JPI has finally caught wind of the film and decided rhetort by going back to the same (flawed) study that has a particular sore spot with me. This is the JPI’s response to an article by the Baltimore Sun…please watch the language and the assembly of the argument to understand how data and statistics can be manuevered to serve anyone’s cause.

Letters to the Editor

September 8, 2007

Overuse of prisons harms black men

In his column about the documentary What Black Men Think, Gregory Kane suggests that the Justice Policy Institute’s work publicizing the sobering statistics about African-American men and their representation in U.S. prisons vs. U.S. universities is misleading (”New film gets men thinking, talking,” Aug. 29). He even implies that my group’s work is the reason for a scene in the movie in which black people told the documentarian, Janks Morton, that there were more African-American men in jail than in universities.

But according to the U.S. Justice Department, there were 791,000 African-American men in prison and jail in 2002. At that same time, the National Center on Education Statistics reported that there were 603,000 African-American men in universities. The comparison serves as a reminder of the impact of the massive social investment the government is making in prisons instead of universities and of the community most negatively impacted by these policies.

Professor Bruce Western of Princeton University also showed in a 2003 study that, given current incarceration rates, African-American men born in the late 1960s were more likely to have a prison record than a college degree.

Also in 2003, a Justice Department study found that if incarceration rates continued at current levels, almost one-third of African American men (32 percent) born in this decade would serve time in prison at some point in their life, compared with 6 percent of whites.

In Baltimore, half of all young African-American men are under some form of control by the criminal justice system.

I believe such sobering realities are the real reason African-Americans would tell a documentarian that there are more black men in prison than in college.

The real issue here, however, is the nation’s overuse of incarceration, its unequal impact on communities of color and the role the nation’s policies and spending priorities play in creating the reality that there are nearly 800,000 African-American men behind bars.

Jason Ziedenberg - The Justice Policy Institute
Washington

the travesty of this study is the one group sourced for the education statistic (National Center for Education Satistics vs. (the most referenced and reliable source) Census which 2000 year end data showed 816,000 Black Men enrolled in college) is again another organization invested in exploiting the crisis of black men in america in order to perpetuate and exploit misinformation for profit.

EMAIL OF THE (C-SPAN) DAY

I was almost asleep when I heard the introduction to the film, ”What Black Men Think”.  I got up, wrote down Janks Morton, Jr.’s name and the title of the DVD, so I would have it so that I could order it today.  I watched the rest of the show. I went to sleep feeling good, knowing this eloquent speaking, fine, confident black man, in the most humblest of means, called to order,

1^st the attention of Black Society to look at our self esteem as a whole, and

2^nd  for other races to stop believing the hype about media fed, negative images of the Black race. 

I grew up in Memphis and knew of only 3 men in my family who have went back and forth to jail, and finally decided to stay. Only 3 males, out of over more than one hundred men in my family.  We include them in our prayers and each family member has their own relationship with them.  With that atmosphere, and our family pride, we promoted education, betterment, and family.  Jail was something that never enter our equation until the repercussions of 1980’s CRACK epidemic.  Each incarcerated family member smoked, dealt or manufactured the drug, got caught up, and were prosecuted to the full power of the law. 

Our children of the 1990’s have gone into the military, trade school, college or work force.  Gangs are not an option.  Not finishing school is not an option.  Two parents in the household are expected.  A 12^th grade education is not the end of our educational ladder; this is embedded in our children from birth.  Family, structure, and strength of the family is and will continue to be fundamental aspects of what we continue to build in our lives.  We expect excellence and we receive it.  Hard work and family was what we were taught to teach our children.  The Lord led us everyday and will lead our children.  We are a proud people and I wish that America knew more Black families like ours.

Pamela M. Brown

WHY WE THINK THE WAY WE DO?

As I explore the symbiotic relationship between the media, the government and the modern era black leadership, I hap hazzardly stumbled across this qutoe from presidential hopeful Mike Gravel. While I agree that the war on drugs is a farce, with its efforts primarlily focused on blacks & hispanics to sustain the prison industrial complex, there is dangerous component of this candidates rhetoric that further perpetuates the misinformation about blacks as well as subtlying implying another governmental solution to further handicap black america. What is that christmas song? “Do you see what I see?”

 A New War on the War on Drugs?

Because they were more interested in the “celebrity” of the events, than “critical issues” facing black communities, few took notice of former Senator Mike Gravel saying: “An area that enrages me the most is the war on drugs this country has been putting forth (during) the last generation. We have 2.3 million human beings in jail and seventy percent are African Americans. I hope my colleagues will join me in standing up and saying ‘We’ll do away with that’. If I’m president, I’ll do away with a war on drugs that does nothing but savage our inner cities and put children at risk. When will we learn that the issue of drugs is a public health issue? Addiction is a public health issue and not a criminal issue where we throw people in jail and criminalize them. If there’s one group of people in this country that needs to face up to that problem and we have had to face up to it, that is the African American community.”

Gravel pressed the point that the war on drugs is a persisting source of devastation among blacks and should end immediately. Instead of the Forum’s attendees grinning about pictures they took with the “celebrity” candidates, more should have been discussing what Gravel said about the problems for African American communities that stem from the ongoing criminalization of drugs

full article

YOU LOVE BLACK MEN?

So I was reading the blog updates at blackprof.com and came across this response to the PSA.

As a black woman, this blog is downright painful to read. The fact is this: black women are getting AIDS from SOMEONE. It isn’t airborne, you can’t catch it from toilet seats or shaking hands. I think it’s safe to say that black women are contracting AIDS from BLACK MEN. I watched with fascination the AIDS in Black America special that aired on ABC in the early part of the summer. A sista who was heading a round table discussion said, “Black women…when we love, we love HARD…and often to our own detriment and destruction…we have to love OURSELVES, first and foremost, before we love a man. And part of that self love is to NEVER sleep with a black man, or any man of any ethnicity, without ensuring that he is wearing a condom…and understand that, if he refuses, he does not care about himself and his own health/life…let alone your health/life

Although I still love Black men, I must confess…I am terrified of you all. The HIV/AIDS issue has me terrified. In addition, it seems everytime I meet a black man and try to have a healthy, loving friendship/relationship with one, he usually ends up with a bunch of issues I am not equipped to deal with, or it turns out that he has grossly misrepresented himself, or is just looking to use me financially. Seems every Black man is looking for an “independent woman” or a woman to “help them out” financially…even in the union of marriage. My father told me when I was a girl to RUN from any man who proposes marriage to me, with the idea that my salary will “supplement” our income. He told me if a man cannot a woman, and eventually a family, on his salary, then he is not a good husband material. I am at a point where, although I still admire black men from afar (as far as physical looks are concerned, black men are at the top of the list) I avoid black men. I don’t talk to them anymore, don’t make eye contact anymore, even when they approach me, because I know they don’t have good intentions towards me; I rebuff their advances, but nicely…not trying to get cursed out or beat up. They’re looking for a stupid, desperate sista who who wants a black man SO BADLY, that she will supply them with sex on demand, and are trying to nest in HER home, and drive HER car, in lieu of finding his own home, and buying his own car. Black men, although beautiful to look at, are beyond emotionally scarred…they are so full of self hate and loathing, and so full of hate and loathing for the black woman, and so lacking in personal intregity, that they will forever be incapable of being the strong, loving, caring, respectful, trustworthy men black women so desperately need to love and care for them. But I love and care for ME. And the only way I can ensure my physical and emotional well being remain intact, is to not deal with black men, on any level. I’m so sorry it has come to this, but honestly…when I think of the future of black men, if it is anything like the present…they are truly doomed.

Is it just me or is this just about the saddest contradictory espousal of self ostracizing fear you have ever heard? Although I still love black men, then the whole tirade that we are self-hating, untrustworthy, and irresponsible is based on what selection criteria for black men? My old adage, “If you keep picking fruit from the same tree, don’t expect apples when it’s an orange tree. It might be ripe, it might be bitter, it might be sweet, it might be spoiled, but in the end, they’re all oranges” I think my first book will be entitled, “Change your tree!”

And to the premise all black women are getting AIDS from black men, again from the data (CDC) 37% of the women contracted this disease from IV drug use (ALONE). Let me guess, these women were all tied up by black men and injected with the virus? (she paints such an eloquent picture of these no good low down (or should I use down low) cheating, no bill pay, car having, self esteem having ass black men!) Another booming stat from the CDC this week, AIDS diagnosises among African American women is actually down 6% over the past 4 years. How come you haven’t heard about this in the press? Dr. David J. Malebranche releases a meta-analysis refuting the “DL” theory entirely, and you think the local news would run at least an op-ed piece? Why don’t you hear about this? Because there are people and principalities, who have a vested interest and are compensated to misinform you so that they may mismanage you. Sounds to me like they just got another customer, subscription for life.

The choices we make pave the road to the destination of our future...

FWD: FWD: FWD: or WHY DO WE LIKE CIRCULATING DRAMA?

Letter to my Sister

Sent in response to this upcoming movie.(can’t tell you what happened to this, but it was suppose to have a theatrical release in oct 2006)

http://www.billduke.com/Invisible/invisible.html

anyway, I was a little agitated when i gat a message from her “OMG, Have you seen this?” my response…

Dear Sista;
 
Yes I am very familiar with this clip and the Actor/Director Bill Dukes (Predator/A Rage in Harlem), and have commented on this in Radio and TV interviews. Just looking at the trail of forwarding in this message alone, reminds me of my reference “there are people and persons who are compensated and have a vested interest in misinforming YOU, so that they can mismanage YOU!”
 
My question to the black community is usually two fold,

• why do we continually fall into the trap of the obtuse? (specifically and in the case of the DL phenomenon/AIDS transmission to black women, refuted clinically ~ google David J. Malebranche/Gregorio Millet and meta-analysis study) and emotionally commit to the sensationalisms perpetuated by the media, the government, and the black church. Especially when these messages do nothing more than attempt to drive further the wedge between us. (The part that “all sistas much watch this” is a troubled message and very disturbing)
• Does the black community not have the spiritual maturity to discern, and desire to seek truth when these types of messages about black men start to navigate their way through our collective sub-conscious? Or are we lemmings willing to accept any message, telling us anything, and trying to make us all jump off a cliff?

What I am discovering is that there are many of us who have a drama-seeking-look-for-the-worst-in-us-self-hating-propensity, that has perpetuated the demise of our community, our families, and black men over the past 40 years. Constantly marginalizing and identifying our blackness as a whole, by our lowest common denominator. This insignificant portion of our experience can no longer be allowed to define the majority behaviors of the group. The originator of this message closes with we need this? It’s a fallacy, it’s misdirected energy, and it is worthless. “WE, do not need this” at our juncture in our history…
 
The beautiful thing is, there is a new consciousness coming, specifically with the younger generation. They have watched the mistakes of the post civil rights generation, and are making up their own minds as to the future possibilities of blacks in america. They have decided our time of wandering aimlessly through the desert (the past 40 years ~ see Moses for parallels) is coming to a close, and many blacks are preparing to move into the promised land. The travesty is, the purveyors of the divide, the Bill Dukes, the Michael Dysons, the Harpo’s, and those of us who can’t see our greatness, will be left behind. Let Hollywood, the Government, or the Black church have the spoils.
 
Final question: Are you going to let the true indwelling of the holy spirit allow you to embrace our greatness and take on the responsibility of our future? Can you learn to live in freedom, or continue to perpetuate the mental oppression that seeks to destroy us all?
 
Here’s a test: FWD this message to those who sent you the original message, and I guarantee that this message will never make it to the originator of this poison. There is always someone along the way, waiting to hamper your journey, and distract your efforts to spread our truths….