Human Misery Profitable!

It's crazy how human misery can be profitable. How bad choices can be continual currency for capitalist. And how human suffering and unjust conditions do not shake those who have been conditioned to accept atrocities. We have accepted so much oppression that I question our capacity to resist. Even though resistance is the only weapon in the war to salvage our humanity in the midst of de-humanizing times. So, as time runs out I still allow for my pen to passionately paint pictures of possibilities of brighter tomorrows. Truthfully, if tomorrow never comes I live with the peace that comes from resisting today. So, today it is our choice. To resist and rescue humanity from the brink of destruction. Or to allow for fear to freeze our voice and to hardened our hearts. The Choice is ours. Let's Get Free!

No Sports?

What if there were no sports? If Black Males had to find new avenues to assert their dominance? If the dominant dreams of fade away jump shots and touchdown passes passed away? How would we past the time? The time is now to examine the peculiar position that sports holds in our communities. We have allowed it to symbolize the only way out of poverty. It is the bedrock of hope for so many. As many believe that they will be the one who makes it out on the strength of their jump shot or right arm. The question is why are we not up in arms? Why have we not told countless young men that they can be more? As we seem content to simply recreate similar messages of years past. Messages that said that physically we could be strong but that mentally we would remain continually weak. Truth to be told we need more Malcolm's than Lebron's,more MLK's than RG3'S. Unfortunately, until we instill in our young boys the message that we are proud of their minds as much as their athletic achievements they will continue to aspire to the glory of jam packed arenas instead of the chance to dominate boardrooms. Let's Get Free!

What do your actions say?

The suffering of the masses deserves a response. What will we do? What will be our reasons for not speaking out about oppression? How will we sooth our conscience when we are reminded that we did nothing? That it was ambition over everything. This is not to say that ambition is bad, simply raising the question where will our ambition lead us? To the accumulation of materials that depreciate once purchased? Or, will our ambition connect us with a revolutionary consciousness that will inspire us to fight for change? These are the questions we must wrestle with. The question of who, will we be? How, will we be remembered? What, will our legacy be? Will most continue to live there lives for the building of monuments to self? So that we can brag about the things we have purchased and beauty of our materials? Hopefully, we will wake up and recognize that there is only one question worth answering. Whose side were you on? Was it the oppressed or the oppressor? Was it the powerful or the powerless? Our actions decide where we stand not our words? What do your action say? Let's Get Free!

Not For Sale!

Are we willing to reject the notion that we are for sale? Is integrity outdated? Have we lost sight of that which truly matters? What does material success mean in the midst of societal suffering? We must reject capitalistic values that praise selfishness as a virtue. It is virtually impossible to stomach the corrupt culture that capitalism has created. So, with my words I still intend to paint a picture of the world free from the chains that chain most to a difficult living. Living for me will forever be defined in the context of revolutionary struggle. I admit, I still struggle to light the fuse that will lead to the Fire Next time that James Baldwin talked about. To me it is about how to set the captives free and make humane living the norm. Maybe, these ideas are not normal. However, I will continue to embrace abnormality when the confines of normalcy force me to pledge allegiance to the idea that oppression is a staple of human nature. Truthfully, the nature of my success will never be defined in capitalistic terms. Terms I've accepted long ago. Success will forever be defined in relation to how much I have done in regards to alleviating the injustices that cause human suffering. And if my bank account suffers because my career will never eclipse the importance of my calling so be it! Let's Get Free!

Do love stories still exist?

Do love stories still exist? Or have we collectively moved to a different section in the book store. Maybe, love stories have been replaced with our consumption of self-help manuals that allow for us to mediate on a new motto. You see love stories require sacrifice, and sacrifice of power is something that most are to scared of. Vulnerability is losing, so to play it cool is the desired position for those who have lost in the past. The past keeps us chained to memories of never again blocking the possibilities of what could be. And what could be never occurs, but it never occurs to us to give any real chances. The chances for many are slim because most have consumed to many calories of bad choices. So now these choices hang around the spare tire of our memories and are difficult to shed no matter how many miles we run from our past. You see, in the past we were willing to invest in the purchase of a love story. Now, we seem to fearful of the consequences. Let's Get Free!

Will you accept the mission?

Will you accept the mission? These are the words that lay at the collective doorstep of this generation. The mission is to choose love when the allure of hate grows with every passing day. Hate is so seductive. The notion of an eye for an eye is an addictive drink for those that thirst for justice. We see weakness in patience and have lost faith in the system to provide justice. This lack of faith has been affirmed by the presence of continual letdowns. This is by no means an endorsement of the system, but more importantly a call for us to transcend the notion that animosity and anger is the solution. This generation must choose love and its revolutionary power to transform strangers into brothers and enemies into humans. Hate dehumanizes and at this moment the desire to embrace hate and the self-righteousness that it accompanies seems reasonable. Why not simply retreat towards simple answers and easy classifications of good and evil? However, this generation must resist the appeal of hate and cling to the notion of love. Love must be the weapon of choice for this generation. We must be courageous in our attempts to break the simplistic chains of division. Let’s Get Free!

There is hope!

There is hope in the conversation. There is hope in the frustration or the stubbornness of those that still hold onto the idea of justice. I find hope in the midst of the struggle even though the struggle seeks to injure freedom and relegate it to the sidelines in the game of life. I still am enamored with the idea that people will eventually awaken from the confines of cultivated ignorance to the precious daybreak of consciousness. I am conscious that the notion of hope has been hijacked by the terrorist of conformity. However, I will not conform to the notion that change is related to the maintenance of the status quo. I see hope as a necessary ingredient in the revolution. So, I will speak revolution into the air until it becomes a part of the weather. Let's Get Free!

Was Garvey Right?

Recently, I have been struggling with the question was Marcus Garvey right? Is the American project a failed experiment? An Experiment that will never provide African Americans any semblance of collective freedom? Where the calls for an equal playing field will continually be seen as simply the complaining of the ungrateful? Will there ever be recognition of the historical factors that set the context for present day atrocities? Or will the struggles of African Americans remain misunderstood or simply tragically ignored by a society seemingly to invested in the perpetuation of white privilege to deal honestly with the issues that cause black suffering? These are the questions I find myself wrestling with. Can my people ever get a fair shake? Or will the hope of a more just future be trampled by the continual reminder of the entrenched nature of hate that seeks to justify undeserved privilege. So, was Garvey right? Do distant shores offer the best chance for African Americans to not have to wrestle to have their humanity affirmed? I hold no answers but I am filled with questions. Let's Get Free!

Greatest Story ever Sold

The greatest story ever sold is that success coincides with consumption. No, not consumption of consciousness but consumption of capitalistic values that confine whats valuable to the limited realm of commodities. So we chase lifestyles sold to us through cultural vehicles with a GPS set to destination destruction. Sadly, the masses seem oblivious or unwilling to engage with the consequences of our apathy and indifference. We are indifferent as different voices sing the same message " I am just trying to get mine". That is the slogan that will be placed on the collective head stones of those that thought theirs would be saved in the midst of collective lost. At times I find myself at a lost for words. Maybe, I am at lost for words because difficult words are often rejected for simple symbols. So, the symbols of oppression remain intact while those with words to challenge are classified as haters. I am embrace the label of Hater, if hater is one who simply detest the grotesque conditions that cripple my people. Call me a Hater of ignorance and simplistic stories that continue to produce chapters of misery for the masses. Let's Get Free!