Poetry in the Yellow

"Poem for Some Black Women" by Carolyn M. Rodgers in How I Got Ovah: New and Selected Poems (1976)

i am lonely.

all the people i know

i know too well

there was comfort in that

at first but now

we know each others miseries

too well.

we are

lonely women, who spend time waiting for

occasional flings

we live with fear.

we are lonely.

we are talented, dedicated, well read

BLACK, COMMITTED,

we are lonely.

we understand the world problems

Black women's problems with Black men

but all

we really understand is

lonely.

when we laugh,

we are so happy to laugh

we cry when we laugh

we are lonely.

we are busy people

always doing things

fearing getting trapped in rooms

loud with empty...

yet

knowing the music of silence/hating it/hoarding it

loving it/treasuring it,

it often birthing our creativity

we are lonely.

being soft and being hard

supporting our selves, earning our own bread

soft/hard/hard/soft

knowing that need must not show

will frighten away

knowing that we must

walk back-wards nonchalantly on our tip-toesssss

into

happiness,

if only for stingy moments

we know too much

we learn to understand everything,

to make too much sense out

of the world,

of pain

of lonely...

we buy clothes, we take trips

we wish, we pray, we meditate, we curse, we crave, we coo, we caw,

we need ourselves sick, we need, we need

we lonely we grow tired of tears we grow tired of fear

we grow tired but must al-ways be soft and not too serious...

not too smart not too bitchy not too sapphire

not too dumb not too not too not too

a little less a little more

add here detract there

.lonely.

Post Racial Hair and Hope in the Yellow

Wigging, Weaving and Burning Away Blackness: Post-Racial Hair and Hope

Dr. Maulana Karenga

Let’s not pretend Chris Rock’s recent film, “Good Hair”, revealed any well-concealed secrets about how Black people, especially Black women, conceive and do their hair. The name of the chemicals have changed from “conk” to “creamy crack” and the irons have been transformed into new technological toys. But the urge and aspiration to alter one’s ethnic image and to parallel, if not embody, the Eurocentric paradigm, is as old as enslavement and racism and as deeply rooted and enduring as their evil effect. Indeed, Chris Rock’s daughter’s distress about her misdefined hair tells us not only about many among us with a racially problematized conception of themselves, but also about a pathological and pathogenic societal context that cultivates and sustains this conception.

The movie tends to focus on how we do our hair, but how we do our hair is, in itself, one of the least of our problems. However, the reasons we do our hair the way we do can be and often is a problem of serious significance. Thus, to discuss simply what we do to our hair without a credible engagement with the reasons we do it turns out as another diversion in the sense of both distraction and entertainment, done at considerable cost to a dignity-affirming conception of ourselves.

The “good” and “bad” hair issue is a question of how we see ourselves as a whole and how society reinforces or undermines our sense of self and worthiness in the world. Without this educational and corrective thrust, such a film easily moves from documentary to “mockumentary”, again presenting racial pathology, real or imagined, as a perpetual source of society’s entertainment. Indeed, it becomes just another way to reveal and bemoan another source and sign of pathology among us without any intent or expectation of correction. Under the oppressive gaze, judgment and treatment of a racist society, Frantz Fanon tells us a person and people can go thru at least four stages of psychological disintegration of self: self-doubt, self-denial, self-condemnation and self-mutilation. It begins, then, with self-doubt—doubting the worth of ourselves, hacking ourselves into unworthy pieces and constantly condemning ourselves.

We begin early to suspect a racial deficiency and set about questioning the worth and appropriateness of our physical presence, let alone our mental capacities. We question our skin color, nose, lips, hair and the life-affirming loudness of our laughter. We are, something evil tells us, too Black, our hair too tightly curled or our nose too bold, or our lips too large with loveliness and our laughter too loud and celebratory of life. We must restrain and restrict our Black selves, not speak ebonics, do the second “d” in “didn’t” and not concede the deep-structure tendency to change “th” to “f”, saying “Roof” instead of “Ruth”. And we are to take a knife to our nose, chop off our cheeks and wig, weave and burn away the Blackness of our hair and overall self-presentation. In this context of post-racial fantasies of White hair and the hope for ethnic invisibility, irrationality and self-injury run rampant.

Clearly, there is something seriously sick about a society that would cultivate even in successful, wealthy and otherwise highly-educated people the desire to dismember, disfigure or in any way “racially” correct themselves. This is a spiritual and ethical problem, especially for those among us who believe that humans are made in the image of the Divine and who at the same time believe we were made inherently unequal in Divine physical and mental endowment.

The contradiction is easily understandable, if we realize we are dealing with one of the greatest problems of our times—the progressive Europeanization of human consciousness and culture. This means the systematic invasion and effective transformation of the cultural consciousness and practice of the various peoples of the world by Europeans. This pernicious process is essentially achieved thru educational transformation, media messages and models, and technological dominance and deformation.

This produces three interrelated results. First, there is the progressive loss and replacement of the historical memories of the altered peoples. Secondly, there is the progressive disappreciation of themselves and their culture as a result of a conscious and unconscious assessment of themselves using European standards. And finally, it results in the progressive adoption of a Eurocentric view not only of themselves, but also of each other and the world.

This, in turn, leads to damage, distortion and diminishing of their sense of their own humanity and the increasing degeneration of the cultural diversity and exchange which gives humanity its rich variousness and internal creative challenge. Examples of this are also reflected in Asians and Latinos altering their eyes and noses; yellowing their hair; lengthening their legs and other self-redesigning in the image of Europe. It also means preferring European culture to their own and diminishing interest in their own classics. And it means European things become normal and normative, something toward which compliance rather than questioning is the proper and rewarded response.

There is no people without problems or practices which could not be called pathological, arguably insane or irrational and unquestionably self-destructive, even among the self-designated elite, elect, chosen and exalted. Therefore, when I lecture on various issues which self-designated superiors tend to see themselves as exempt from and above, I point out practices particular to them which bear considerable resemblance to ones they ridicule in others. After all, there are some self-designated superiors who strive to tame stringy hair, enlarge and pad insufficient lips, breasts, and butt, and seek color correction for an otherwise vaunted whiteness. Although this is not done because of a sense of racial inferiority emerging from oppression or a collective sense of deficient being, it nevertheless comes from personal perceptions of inadequacy.

This, of course, is said not to humiliate, but to impose a needed racial and religious modesty, shatter illusions of exemption and superiority, and conduct our conversations on the common ground of shared human weaknesses as well as strengths. Likewise, having made this point, I ask members of the so-called problematic and self-doubting groups to retrieve and embrace a more expansive conception of themselves and approach even serious problems in the most dignity-affirming and life-enhancing ways.

In this way, attempts at wigging, weaving and burning away Blackness become archaic and ethically unacceptable. And there is no need for fantasies of post-racial hair and hope of ethnic erasure. Instead, we confidently believe in the beauty of our own bodies; act in ways that define and deepen our sense of dignity; and clear space so that we can speak our own special cultural truth and walk in the world in the wonder and security of our own selves.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor of Africana Studies, California State University-Long Beach, Chair of The Organization Us, Creator of Kwanzaa, and author of Kawaida and Questions of Life and Struggle: African American, Pan-African and Global Issues, [www.MaulanaKarenga.org; www.Us-Organization.org and www.OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org].

Perspectives in the Yellow

Five Things President Obama Can Do For Black Men

(this article from The Milwaukee Community Journal)

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

I was asked this week to appear on a CNN special about Barack Obama and his impact on African American men. When I was asked about my thoughts on Obama, I wasn’t sure what to say. I respect Barack Obama as a Black man, and it is my greatest hope that he is successful.

But at the end of the day, my feelings are mixed, because only time will tell if the true state of the African American male is going to improve as a result of our having a Black man in the White House.

On one hand, the symbolic impact of Barack Obama’s presence is clear: Black men and women around the world are inspired by his rise to power. He deserves tremendous respect for doing the impossible and giving us a Black president 100 years ahead of schedule.

There is another side to the debate, however, one that focuses on the two vitriolic demons that continue to plague the Black man in America:

The educational system and the prison system. If the president truly cares about Black men, he will do whatever is necessary to improve the systems, which impact men who look like him.

According to the National Society of Black School Educators, Black boys are five times more likely to be placed in special education than White kids.

What is inherently obvious is that our inner city schools have become feeder systems for prisons, the same way that the NCAA feeds athletes to the NFL. Our capitalist addiction to free prison labor has led to a reinstallation of slavery into the heart of America.

There are more Black men in prison in America than Joseph Stalin ever had during the height of the gulag era, and for a Black man to be in charge of such a holocaust of incarceration is disturbing. Obama did not cause the problem, but for this Harvard educated attorney and former community organizer to sit by in the midst of such a tragedy is morally wrong and should not be justified.

Here are some things that President Obama can do to favorably impact Black males during his time in the White House:

1) Find a way to fund inner city schools or at least supplement the programs so that children can be educated. Uneducated men don’t get jobs.

Men who don’t have jobs are likely to end up in prison. There should be no drug dealers who could have been pharmacists, and no bank robbers who could have been bankers. If we are not educating our children, we are failing them miserably.

2) Give United States Attorney General Eric Holder the resources to ensure that sentencing disparities are studied and that the public defender system is improved.

There are thousands of men who go to prison every year for crimes they did not commit, only because the over-worked public defender is all too quick to push for a plea bargain. This is worsened by the fact that harsh sentences are imposed on those who choose to fight their charges by utilizing their constitutionally-guaranteed day in court.

3) Stop prison rape at any cost. The spread of HIV can be directly linked to jails and prisons, and this is destroying Black families and killing Black women.

4) Make prisons a place of rehabilitation, not just punishment. Why we’ve decided that it makes sense to keep able-bodied individuals rotting away without giving them the incentive to educate themselves is beyond me.

That time in prison should be used in ways that will help these individuals emerge as productive members of society.

5) Create an avenue for reintegration into society. The idea that a person should be ostracized for life and unable to obtain job opportunities because of mistakes they’ve made in the past only gives them the incentive to make more mistakes.

A person who has been marginalized by our society becomes a threat to all of us and a missed opportunity to obtain productive outcomes.

On the recorded CNN segment, I gave the president a relatively weak “thumbs up” for the job he has done thus far.

His appointments of racially problematic economic advisors Ben Bernanke and Lawrence Summers implies that he may be out of touch with the economic realities of African American males, who experience unemployment rates as high as 50% in some urban areas.

But the truth is that I am hopeful that President Obama will earn his Nobel Prize by being a true leader and not just a president. The jury is still out on Barack Obama, and it is my greatest prayer that the verdict that returns is favorable.

Black Politics in the Yellow--Black Political Power is Exagerrated

Black Political Power is Exaggerated
by George E. Curry
NNPA Columnist

The annual Self-Congratulation Political Weekend in Washington, D.C., formally known as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference and informaly known as CBC Weekend, is over. But after a series of feel-good panel discussions, members of Congress darting in and our of rooms, and even a speech by President Barack Obama --with requisite non-stop partying thrown in for good measure – the true needs of most African Americans are no closer to becoming a reality than before Black political junkies descended on the nation’s capital for the gathering.

To be fair, there is much to celebrate. The CBC has grown from 13 members when it was established in 1971 to 42 numbers, not counting “Dollar Bill” Jefferson, who is on his way to a federal prison.

House Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) is the third-ranking Democrat, four African Americans chair important House committees and 17 head subcommittees, and a former CBC member is now president of the United States.

However, before you start signing “Happy Days Are Here Again,” let’s put things in perspective. When you add one African-American senator to the 42 House members, including two who can’t vote except in committee, that’s only 43 out of 535 members of the House and Senate, which is 8 percent.

It sounds good to say that the president is a former member of the CBC, though he wasn’t all that active and never took on a leadership role in the caucus. But the sad truth is that for many reasons, including his need to be president of “all people,” Barack Obama is much more moderate than most members of the liberal Congressional Black Caucus.

Consequently, he is more willing to make compromises that may, in the end, not serve the best interest of most African Americans. That does not mean he isn’t concerned about issues that are paramount to Blacks. Instead, that simply means that he is a politician doing what politicians do best – compromise.

The combination of a president determined to govern from the center of the political spectrum and limited African-American representation in Congress can sometimes spell bad news for Blacks. The debate over whether the public option will be part of health care legislation making its way through Congress is a case in point.

Of nearly 50 million Americans without health insurance, most are people of color. Therefore, in some instances, this is a matter of life and death.

Candidate Barack Obama was clear in his belief that in order to drive down medical costs, the federal government needed to provide a public option, similar to Medicare, that would provide competition that would force the insurance companies to offer more reasonably priced premiums, discontinue turning away those with pre-existing conditions and removing caps on how much coverage they will provide those in need.

But President Obama is now singing a different tune. While reiterating his preference for a public option, he has scolded fellow Democrats, urging them to be open to other alternatives. In his recent speech before a joint session of Congress, President Obama said that under his plan, it is acceptable that the public option be extended to small businesses and people without any coverage, a figure he estimated to be less than 5 percent.

To bring back an old TV commercial and refrain from an earlier presidential campaign: Where’s the beef?

Extending the public option to less than 5 percent of the population while leaving more than 95 percent of the public to rely on the whim of private insurers is not my idea of change we can believe in.

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous pointed out the hypocrisy of conservatives who normally tout the advantages of a free market yet favor non-competition when it comes to health care. They object to a public option in which the federal government would infuse more competition into the $2.5 trillion a year health care industry.

According to statistics compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, insurance premiums have risen each year between 5 percent and 14 percent. Over that same period, wages have increase only 2 percent to 4 percent, meaning Americans must use more of their income for insurance.

“What a public option is all about is trying to give Americans the very essence of free market capitalism, choice and competition,” Jealous told reporters.

Both the CBC and President Obama are very good with words. The CBC has issued statements arguing that the public option should be incorporated into any health care reform proposal that becomes law.

In his speech to the CBC Saturday night, President Obama was eloquent as usual. He said, “This economic crisis has made the problem in the communities of color much worse.” He said the crisis has hit those groups “with particular ferocity.”

But being sensitive using the right language is no substitute for direct action. Having an African-American president and Blacks holding a record number of leadership position in Congress is meaningless if in the end, they can’t bring about real change for those who need it the most.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. He can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com.

Motivation VS. Inspiration in the Yellow

Motivation is driven by earthly desire and a need to gain self-satisfaction;

Inspiration is driven by heavenly success and a desire to please God.

Motivation is like showering or brushing your teeth--you need to do it every day:

Inspiration happens once and is there forever.

Motivation can be broken;

Inspiration can be blocked bit never truly goes away.

Motivation ends during tough or inconvenient times;

Inspiration endures hardship and failure.

Motivation yields to excuses;

Inspiration will not stop until it see results.

Motivation is like tiptoeing into a cold pool;

Inspiration gives you the courage to dive right in, take the leap, and go for it.

Motivation changes with changing emotions;

Inspiration is stronger than a particular feeling at a particular moment.

Motivation takes no effort of focus;

Inspiration takes the effort of focusing on God and the responsibilities we all have.

Motivation creates the discipline and interest to change temporarily;

Inspiration creates the obedience to change permanently.

Motivation is driven by a love of self;

Inspiration is driven by a love of God.

By Ben Lerner

No Parking in the Yellow--Move On!

On my way to the Archives today, I passed this sign and had to snap a photo of it! "No Parking In The Yellow: This is a loading dock."

Outside of the Humanities Building, there is a small parking lot with a few meters and a large open space that trucks often use to load things onto the service elevator. In the past, I have seen cars parked in this loading zone; I, myself, have often been guilty of doing so, justifying my action with a quick, "I'm just running into my office for a quick second." Seconds would turn into minutes and before long, I'd realized I left my car in the loading zone and like any good Christian, I'd pray, "Lord, please don't let me have a ticket." or "Lord, please don't let my car get towed." Taking this crazy risk seemed worth it, especially when the nearest parking was a block away and wasn't guaranteed.

Anyway, it seems that Facilities and Management had had enough and decided to paint the Loading Dock space in bright yellow as well as post this sign. You'd have to be really brave to park in the Loading Zone.

As I walked pass this sign, I couldn't help but chuckle at the sign and think about the times in my life when I have tried to park myself in spots that are meant for loading only; when I misuse the purpose of the loading zone. Usually, you park in loading zones when you are actively transporting something from one place to another. Loading zones are not rest spots; you either drop something off or pick up something and then MOVE ON! It can be dangerous to park in a spot meant for active loading. And, it can be unfortunate to find yourself in a Loading Zone and miss your opportunity to either drop off or pick up something you need for your journey.

As mentioned early, yes, I am guilty. I parked in the Loading Zone in front of the Humanities Building many times and DID NOT get a ticket. I have also been guilty of misusing other Loading Zone opportunities in my life. Whether it has been refusing to "drop off" past hurts or lingering doubts about who I am and where I am supposed to be, yes I am guilty. I have also been guilty of not "picking up" some tools I needed for my journey, only to realize, in hind sight, that these tools were necessary.

As I walked past the Loading Zone, I chuckled not only because I found the sign amusing, but also because of the realization that came with it: Today, I can walk past the Loading Zone and know that I am not stuck in a place I am not supposed to be. I can walk past the Loading Zone and know that I am not illegally parked. I am moving on. There are still areas in my life and thoughts I need to drop off and places where I need to pick up tools--but that's called living. The most important thing is that I am not stationary, I am not parked. I am moving on...I am moving on in my health and wellness (trying to put some better eating habits in place)...I am moving on in my professional and academic life (not procrastinating!)...I am moving on in my relationships (trying to be honest with those I love and love better)...I am moving on...and it feels good.

"It requires greater courage to preserve inner freedom, to move on in one's inward journey into new realms, than to stand defiantly for outer freedom. It is often easier to play the martyr, as it is to be rash in battle." ~Rollo May

I love the quote above by Rollo May. While some may desire to be a martyr, I don't. I want to live and work hard and long! I want to spend my life working on worthwhile pursuits. But to do this, I must keep moving, and work to be freed from things that bind me internally (like parking in loading zones!)

It requires greater courage to move on...

Labor in the Pulpits Litany--Honoring Workers on Labor Day

In church on Sunday (Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, IL), we read the following litany. As we reflected on the labor of workers in our society, it caused me to think more deeply about the meaning of Labor Day and to truly thank God for those who work to make my life more comfortable. The Interfaith Worker Justice organization publishes materials for churches who would like to celebrate all workers on Labor Day.

Labor in the Pulpits Litany

Leader: Today we celebrate workers and their contributions. Just as people in our sacred texts had varying jobs, we recognize the various gifts of workers today. We celebrate those in agricultural and food service.

All: We give thanks for the work of your hands. May God bless the crops and animals that they might be plentiful. May the fields, factories, grocery stores, and restaurants be safe and healthy places of work. And may we strive to reform those workplaces that are unsafe and unfair in their treatment of the workers.

Leader: We celebrate those in helping professions: medical professionals, teachers, social workers, and legal assistants.

All: We give thanks for the work of your hands. May God bless you so that through you others may thrive. Forgive the places that have been neglected due to injustice. Give us strength and courage to work toward fair access to services for all God’s children and just treatment of those who give so freely of themselves.

Leader: We celebrate those who work in factories and building professions.

All: We give thanks for the work of your hands. May God bless you and your work that allows us to have safe shelter and vehicles, even as some of your working conditions are unsafe. We support your struggle for just wages and working conditions so that you too may be safe.

Leader: We celebrate those who work from the home: caring for children, elderly, and infirmed.

All: We give thanks for the work of your hands. May God bless your work and give you strength to carry on when the work is challenging. Our culture may not recognize fully your jobs as work, but we know that your work is often challenging. We will work with you for the respect you deserve.

Leader: We celebrate those who work in cleaning professions.

All: We give thanks for the work of your hands. May God bless you and the work you do. Through your work our hotels, offices, and streets are cleaned and prepared for our use, and yet

we often do not see you and the strenuous effort required of you. Forgive us for not recognizing your contributions. We support you and your struggle for fair and just wages and benefits.

Leader: We celebrate those who wish to work but are unable to due to injury, illness, disability, or lack of access to jobs or transportation.

All: May God bless you and give you perseverance in this struggle. We repent for the ways in which we may have contributed to your situation. We support you and will journey with you in the process of searching for opportunities for work.

Leader: Let us pray:

All: Creator God, who created all things from the work of your hands, we commend to you all workers, those named here and those who remain unnamed. Forgive us for the ways we contribute to injustice perpetrated on workers and on your creation. Carpenter Jesus, who draws us into your work with the marginalized, call us into your work of justice that we might change our own unjust ways and work toward fair and just treatment of workers. Powerful Holy Spirit, who empowers us for the journey, move in our lives and in our work that we might persevere in the face of injustice and claim the power you have bestowed upon us to work for justice.

Amen.