In the subject line, I am going to list the names of Black men and women from the past and present who have / had varying degrees of publicity. I want to get your opinions on them. How have they affected you personally? Have they motivated you to think critically about yourself or our people? Have they motivated you to any kind of action? What type of legacy will they leave / have they left behind? Do you think they have had a positive or negative impact on us or society as a whole? Hopefully we can spark some stimulating conversation.

PEACE

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

The greatest shot at an authentic/honest reconciliation we ever had in this country....


Everybody's got a lil light unda the sun....

There were many leaders that emerged during the Civil Rights movement but MLK was the most eloquent and heroic...and he paid for it. Coming up my church pastor kept photos of him and King on his walls and I was commissioned to do a mural for MLK Day that hung behind the pulpit. It was my first mural and an early moment of pride for me and my family. In my early teens I memorized his Dream speech and sung it in the school choir. Then, my 9th grade English teacher gave me the Autobiography of Malcolm X and my ideas about CR began to shift to a more Black nationalistic p.o.v.

Also, I think that King's death (and El Hajj Malik's) created a HUGH vacuum of Black ideological commitment that prevents new, authentic Black leaders from carrying the torch. People are too shook (scared). The only exception is Barack Obama IMHO.

<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.

black people, and the entire nation are in great debt to him

---------------------------------------
Riley: "Gangstalicious got shot, we got to do something!"

Huey: "I got an idea, lets go to college, so we don't end up like Gangstalicious."

and granted that is you opinion...which you are entitled to. but that is a very bold statement, because i personally feel malcolm did more for me and black people than king ever did.

"MY FOOD FOR THOUGHT SO HOT IT GIVE YOU DUDES ULCERS."
JAY Z

are mixed. Martin did great things but I also felt that he was kinda a pansy in the sense where the lets go out and get hosed down and bit by dogs and remain peaceful that never sat right with me although in his religious beliefs that was the right thing to do....

I have alot of respect for him and think that he could have made bigger moves for the cause with the power and influence he had

" so beautiful.....so lovely"- Completion

http://www.myspace.com/nebt_het
http://www.doodie.com/boss_flash_animation.php

"them exalting dem stinking dutty self/go and bathe ya dutty mucky self/erase ya fucking ugly self/ go fuck a girl and stop from fu

lemme ask you a question: who brought about more political change for civil rights, Martin or Malcolm?

<--------- Harvey BETTER

I must admit, there was a time when I really didn't dig Martin a whole lot. I'm not going to discredit Dr. King's work, but I am not convinced that his goal was Black autonomy. In my opinion, Martin was a dyed-in-the-wool integrationist...and he was willing to sacrifice the goal of Black autonomy for integration. Did he love Black people? Yes. Did he want real "power" for Black people? I'm not so sure. MANY times he said that for Black people to achieve "equality", we were "dependent" on the efforts of liberal Whites. That was not a good message to send then, and it certainly isn't a good message now. And it also irritates me that he was as sharp as he was, but he said stuff like "The American Negro is not an African"...it is this type of statement that lends to the lack of unity between Africans in the diaspora and Africans on the continent.

I also have a problem with the fact that Martin was a married man, but was a womanizer...but every time I bring THAT subject up here, I get called out for being on a moral "high horse", so I'll leave it at that. The older I get, the more respect and appreciation I have for Martin...he was a very brave, dedicated man who cared about the plight of Black people in this country. If everyone was as dedicated as Martin, we would be a whole lot better off as a collective. He also is in my opinion one of the top 5 public speakers I've ever heard in my life.

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

He was the most successful in what he wanted to accomplish more than any other leader in terms of tangible goals. However, the irony is, when the laws got changed on paper he may have realized that his efforts may have been too guided by accomodationist. I don't think he had as much freedom of voice as Malcolm, but I believe that was apart of his compromise.

I don't know how much of an integrationist he was, I'd like to think of him as a desegregationist.

*****
Gina is out of control
I'm out of control
the whole--damn--party
--is--out--of control!
(c) White Bob
*****

kwame ture, in his autobio, says that, when he visited mlk's church, he once remarked to him that his base, his organization, was black power in action -- black leaders, black members, everything done by blacks -- so he didn't understand why he himself was always attacked for talking about black power, whereas mlk was not even associated with that idea in popular opinion. and mlk is supposed to have remarked to him that perhaps it was better to be about it than to talk about it.

now, that's an apocryphal story, having only been relayed by ture. but either way, i think it says alot about where he fit in the spectrum of black leaders during the Sixties.

<--All-American couple


"people on here just be like " go for it man! its sex! god forbid you turn down SEX! *dances around the baal statue*" -- Stephbit

  

There will be none after

Each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand mediocre minds appointed to guard the past. ~
Maurice Maeterlinck

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

acknowledging ANY peoples role in the historical record is, I think, a huge part of what I have termed "cultural wholeness"....we largely owe ours to Woodson.



Everybody's got a lil light unda the sun....

...by accident! I was so impressed by what Woodson wrote and it helped me to become the educator I am today. Miseducation of the Negro also encouraged me to study Black art and history on my own in high school.

<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.

I read miseducation when i was young, I need to go back and read it again

---------------------------------------
Riley: "Gangstalicious got shot, we got to do something!"

Huey: "I got an idea, lets go to college, so we don't end up like Gangstalicious."

mis-education is the next book my son will be reading.....


" so beautiful.....so lovely"- Completion

http://www.myspace.com/nebt_het
http://www.doodie.com/boss_flash_animation.php

"them exalting dem stinking dutty self/go and bathe ya dutty mucky self/erase ya fucking ugly self/ go fuck a girl and stop from fu

If you read "The Mis-Education of the Negro", it will REALLY make you realize that the educational system (both public and "higher education") can and will (if you allow it to) turn you into just another pawn in the game of Eurocentric society. That book is as applicable today as it was decades ago.

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

I don't believe he did anything that 100's of others wasnt prepared to do. He went to University of Chicago and those honkies told him that the Negro had no history. As a Black historian he had the job to say otherwise. Prior to this you had many non-institutionalized historians saying everything that is being said today. It just took someone with letters to say and prove. Black people know that education is a sham for the most part i.e. "educated dummy" but he articulated in a scholarly and erudite manner because of his position.

That takes nothing away from him, he simply did what he had to do. Something I think many other people would have, could have done in his position.

*****
Gina is out of control
I'm out of control
the whole--damn--party
--is--out--of control!
(c) White Bob
*****

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

Its difficult for me not to think Washington independant of all the beef...but what I do know from speeches at different covention/conference presenatations....is that is an inarguably viable strategy for economic/political mobility.




Everybody's got a lil light unda the sun....

booker t. is often hated on by many (myself included).. but while he was kissin the white man's ass, he was onto something.. instead of taking this philosophical/"talented tenth"/duboisian route, he said "fuck all the talk, let's build something tangible".. good point.. build a school, build a home, build a library.. that is a very practical way to build a community.. these skills are VERY underrated...

1

------------------------------------------
REP MUZIK, TIL DEATH DO US:
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We needed Washington and Dubois. Their often opposing points of view showed society the double consciousness of the Black American post-slavery. I was more into Dubois but read up on Washington and felt he had integrity, if not a bit misguided.

<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.

some parts of his ideology were clearly problimatic, but he had a lot of useful things to offer and we have to consider his ideas in the context of a man that was born into slavery.

---------------------------------------
Riley: "Gangstalicious got shot, we got to do something!"

Huey: "I got an idea, lets go to college, so we don't end up like Gangstalicious."

Sometimes I think Booker T. Washington gets a bad rap sometimes as well. His push for Black people to be trained in "the trades" was practical from what he could see. I think sometimes people feel like Booker T. was thinking that Blacks were not intellectual enough to be trained in the arts, psychology, or social sciences. That wasn't it at all, I actually think he was pretty much ahead of his time. Nowadays, how often do you hear Black economists and sociolgists talking about Black people as a whole don't "produce" or "manufacture" anything? Booker T. Washington was trying to emphasize industrial education so that we could become proficient at various trades. We would BE manufacturers and producers. He didn't see manual labor as demeaning work, but as a springboard towards being a force to contend with in the world of business. Where he messed up was when he told Black folks to stop standing up for their rights, and just concentrate on working hard and being "useful". That was music to White folks ears, and it made Booker T. Washington appear to be "lap dog" for Whites...especially when White folks granted him so much power. I've always wondered if Booker was opposed to the ideas of W.E.B. DuBois because:
1. He felt like DuBois' ideas would have bred elitism among "educated" Blacks.
2. He viewed him as a rival, and was perhaps jealous of him.
3. White folks told him to.
4. All of the above.

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

to have such narrow views. But he was picked, he played his position, and he wasn't a bad guy. He was an accomodationist that had to be. Those honkies in the south would have killed him had he was saying what Dubois was sayin in the North.

*****
Gina is out of control
I'm out of control
the whole--damn--party
--is--out--of control!
(c) White Bob
*****

People call him a Tom but I think that's misplaced because he did those things to build a school not simply for personal benefit.


"limited edition, composition spark friction...
non-fiction, the calm bomb, keep ya arm distance..." © Rebel I

You ready? - http://www.packing.org

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

His politics (for better or worse) so clearly impacted who I am....That sad although it may not be so clearly acknowledged....his legacy is wide spread...in the organizational abilities of church groups...community organizations etc...Here in Chicago? There isnt any street with more black owned businesses than 79th street....and one time they were all NOI owned and operated....Today many (not nearly enough!) are still black owned.




Everybody's got a lil light unda the sun....

"The Greatest Black Psychologist!" (c) Dr. Amos N. Wilson

Clearly the most dynamically organized & fearless
BlackMan who implememted the most relevant
political, cultural & economical landscape for the
autonomy of our people.

He facilitated the emasculating of the whiteman as a
superior being to us. He gave us pride & a tangible/empirical
plan for economic, spiritual & sociological development!

I Love The Messenger...

ALL PRAISES DUE TO ALLAH FOR THE MOST HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD!!!

"Fitness Facilitates The Platform That Provides Peak Performance in Life." © Brendan Brazier

...there would have been no Malcolm X or Muhammad Ali (and NOI) and for that I am thankful. My closest mentor, Shahid, joined the Nation as a teenager and he (and his wife) were critical in my development as an artist and educator. Elijah Muhammad really had no effect on me directly. I found his views on women a big disappointment/turn off. Also, his NOI was a beacon for lost, or incarcerated brothers and it gave Black communities a different way to build. However, I was suspect of Muhammad in his later years and felt the NOI became a platform for corruption and graft (COINTELPRO). I feel like Muhammad/NOI put Malcolm X up as a leader and then tore him down. Even my mentor and hometown hero (Muhammad Ali) abandoned NOI and embraced Islam as a result of what happened with Malcolm.

<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.

Elijah and the NOI would have never reached the popularity that the did without Malcolm

---------------------------------------
Riley: "Gangstalicious got shot, we got to do something!"

Huey: "I got an idea, lets go to college, so we don't end up like Gangstalicious."

>Elijah and the NOI would have never reached the popularity
>that the did without Malcolm

<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.

"Fitness Facilitates The Platform That Provides Peak Performance in Life." © Brendan Brazier

seems so
the student cant be the teachers teacher makes no sense ha

zing!



" so beautiful.....so lovely"- Completion

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http://www.doodie.com/boss_flash_animation.php

"them exalting dem stinking dutty self/go and bathe ya dutty mucky self/erase ya fucking ugly self/ go fuck a girl and stop from fu

It was Elijah's message that Malcolm was spreading, but to spread that message you need charisma and great speaking ability. Malcolm clearly had both of those thing in abudence, and it's doubtful that anyone else could have spread the message as effectively as Malcolm did. Elijah certaintly couldn't have done it himself.

---------------------------------------
Riley: "Gangstalicious got shot, we got to do something!"

Huey: "I got an idea, lets go to college, so we don't end up like Gangstalicious."

and to thousands all over American cities before Malcolm. Yes the NOI benefitted greatly because of Malcolm, but the teachings would have been the same and he would have built the same organization, maybe just not to the level it reached with Malcolm.

*****
Gina is out of control
I'm out of control
the whole--damn--party
--is--out--of control!
(c) White Bob
*****

The NOI would be an obscure organization that no one knows about..

You know... kinda like now..


"limited edition, composition spark friction...
non-fiction, the calm bomb, keep ya arm distance..." © Rebel I

You ready? - http://www.packing.org

"limited edition, composition spark friction...
non-fiction, the calm bomb, keep ya arm distance..." © Rebel I

You ready? - http://www.packing.org

single handedly raised the black man out of the depth of whiteman ass kissing mentality and told them that they were inferior to none in a time when it was so needed ans still is.
The Honorable has impacted black men and women far beyond most becasue he actully had the balls to make the distinct seperation of race and dealing with "race first ideology" the fact that we were lost to this knowledge made im a remarkable individual and from that spawned other great black leaders......the knowledge i gained from the honorable cannot be taken away and has helped sahpe the person i am today.



" so beautiful.....so lovely"- Completion

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http://www.doodie.com/boss_flash_animation.php

"them exalting dem stinking dutty self/go and bathe ya dutty mucky self/erase ya fucking ugly self/ go fuck a girl and stop from fu

At some point in the 60's he was the biggest threat america was facing domestically. He provided models for the Black community that worked and can still work. Of course he wasnt gonna be perfect nor was the NOI gonna be protected from corruption, it was dangerous.

*****
Gina is out of control
I'm out of control
the whole--damn--party
--is--out--of control!
(c) White Bob
*****

the man had some major transgressions that we can't easily forgive.

"limited edition, composition spark friction...
non-fiction, the calm bomb, keep ya arm distance..." © Rebel I

You ready? - http://www.packing.org

There are a couple of things in particular that I appreciate about Elijah Muhammad:

1. The socio-economic development. The NOI didn't just have temples, but they had a school, a newspaper, grocery stores, restaurants, real estate owned by the Nation and by people in the Nation, and farms where the they grew their own food. Also, as the NOI grew, and more and more "professional" people joined the nation, they did a good job of "recycling" their dollars, doing business with their fellow Muslims as much as possible.

2. Discipline. Proper eating habits. Neat and modest dress and grooming were absolute requirements. No drinking of alcohol, no smoking, no use of any types of drugs, no gambling. If Black people lived by these standards today, how many of our problems would be alleviated?

3. While I don't agree with the NOI's "theology", I have to give Elijah some props. Elijah taught what he taught at a time when Black people in this country felt like they were dependent on White people for many things...including their approval for faith and worship. Fake Christianity had brainwashed the vast majority of Black people in this country into thinking we were inferior, and White people had done us a favor by enslaving us...as a whole we felt like we were "outside the grace of God". (if I may borrow from Dr. John Henrik Clarke) Elijah had the guts to say to White folks and black folks, "LOOK, what you are being taught in these churches is a LIE, Jesus isn't / wasn't white, he looked more like US than he does of the yellow-haired blue-eyed pictures that you see everywhere, and according to the very Bible that the White man claims to live by, his actions are nothing short of devilish...and while I'm at it, let me tell you what OUR God told me PERSONALLY..."

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

in the conversation of Elijah and the NOI. Brother malachi you know how i feel about Malcolm and you know the discussion we had the other day, so i will leave that there, because i do not want to be disrespectful to anyone who you all view as a great man (and he is in a lot of ways). But I feel that he had a significant part in the murder/assassination of the greatest black man in history, and for that he CAN NOT be forgiven.

"MY FOOD FOR THOUGHT SO HOT IT GIVE YOU DUDES ULCERS."
JAY Z

PEACE

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

...

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

AMAZING!
Up you mighty race you will accomplish what you will!!

This was magical to my 5th grade ears!

I dont think I can say enough about how this mans global appreciation for identity is like the gift that just keeps on giving to me! I ran for class president in 5th grade....lol and reading about Garvey really shaped my lil speech...I wish I could find it. LOL...(sigh)...


Everybody's got a lil light unda the sun....

IMO Garvey is the father of Black nationalism and without him there would be no Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, King, etc.

"Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) form a critical link in black America's centuries-long struggle for freedom, justice, and equality. As the leader of the largest organized mass movement in black history and progenitor of the modern "black is beautiful" ideal, Garvey is now best remembered as a champion of the back-to-Africa movement. In his own time he was hailed as a redeemer, a "Black Moses." Though he failed to realize all his objectives, his movement still represents a liberation from the psychological bondage of racial inferiority." - http://www.isop.ucla.edu/africa/mgpp/intro.asp

<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.

yet he had many great ideas, and gave a lot of black people hope

---------------------------------------
Riley: "Gangstalicious got shot, we got to do something!"

Huey: "I got an idea, lets go to college, so we don't end up like Gangstalicious."

I will tell you this mans plan is what needs to be implemented today.
Many have been black nationalist but Garvery was a Black Internationalist!! Marcus Garvey was about upliftin ALL black people world wide no matter from what country or religious way of life they practiced.
Marcus Garvey in the time when the shit was unheard of had the power and influence to have people support financially the ventures to uplift us all.....he had a fleet of damn ships!!! come on now, who doing that shit now? The black Star line was the illest organized power move ever and i would love to see that shit in 2006!!

I love Marcus Garvey!
One Aim! One God! One Destiny!



" so beautiful.....so lovely"- Completion

http://www.myspace.com/nebt_het
http://www.doodie.com/boss_flash_animation.php

"them exalting dem stinking dutty self/go and bathe ya dutty mucky self/erase ya fucking ugly self/ go fuck a girl and stop from fu

>I will tell you this mans plan is what needs to be

>Many have been black nationalist but Garvery was a Black
>Internationalist!! Marcus Garvey was about upliftin ALL black
>people world wide no matter from what country or religious
>way of life they practiced.

>I love Marcus Garvey!
>One Aim! One God! One Destiny!

____
I live among the creatures of the night,
Vampires, hypocrites and Parasites...
Haile Selassie give I strength to fight

(c) Bushman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk1B8t92DEk

2012-13 OKVARSITY WIRE TO WIRE BBALL CHAMPION

unfortunately he had alot of hateful bastards working against him. So much that alot of what he was trying to was reduced to silly disputes, sabotage etc.

No other leader before nor after mobilized as many Africans to a cause. He provided:

Hope
Pride
Determination
Vision


*****
Gina is out of control
I'm out of control
the whole--damn--party
--is--out--of control!
(c) White Bob
*****

Maybe, just maybe, the greatest Pan-Africanist to ever walk the planet. His biggest dream was the unification of all African people, regardless of where they were: In Europe, in the Caribbean, North America, South America, and of course in Africa. Perhaps the best orator Black people have ever produced, and when you consider the great public speakers of our people, that is saying a lot. His work "AFRICAN FUNDAMENTALISM" should be required reading. People don't realize that he was an accomplished poet as well. I hate the fact that Du Bois had beef with him.

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

"look to the East for the coming of a Black king..."

____
I live among the creatures of the night,
Vampires, hypocrites and Parasites...
Haile Selassie give I strength to fight

(c) Bushman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk1B8t92DEk

2012-13 OKVARSITY WIRE TO WIRE BBALL CHAMPION

"Is it not one father that all of us have? Is it not one God that has created us? Why is it that we deal treacherously with one another?" --Malachi 2:10

Let me first say....that I may have been an odd kid...I started reading how to eat to live and message to the black man in 4th grade...so when I learned about walker I took issue with the whole celebration of the invention of the hot comb thing.....today I dont think most anyone would argue about the impact her business model has had on women in business...I can clap to that.





Everybody's got a lil light unda the sun....

Mary Ellen Pleasant and Marie Laveaux are my business and social activist heroines. Before Oprah there was Walker:

"I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations....I have built my own factory on my own ground"
Madam Walker, National Negro Business League Convention, July 1912

<--- Blame this lady for Nutty.