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!

Hate will not win

Hate will not win. This may seem like a difficult truth to proclaim in the midst of evil times. As examples of hate are exemplified daily. It is easy to lose hope. To believe that love is a silly answer to the complex realities that hatred creates. However, LOVE is my defiant response to those that try to interject hate into the bloodstream of democracy. Love humanizes while hate dehumanizes. Love unites while hate divides. And we must resist the division. We must resist the desire to retreat into the safe corners of constructed normalcy. Our resistance must be rooted in love. Love is the only thing that can transcend ignorance and fear. And yes, daily I am fearful that the world is simply to divided. That the beloved community will remain a distant dream in the midst of a perpetual nightmare. However, I see freedom in love, and liberation in the march towards the beloved community. So, let us release ourselves from the chains of hate and embrace the ethic love. Let's Get Free!

Facebook and the Spread of Hate

Sometimes I wonder why certain post need to be shared. Truthfully, I do not want to see the ignorant responses to Hunger Games. Unfortunately, I and countless others are painfully aware of the reality that racism still exist. However, I think we should not make ignorance famous, and when I see post shared that are fueled by hate it diminishes my hope in the possibility of us transcending the ugliness of our current reality. This is not to knock those who post. It is simply to raise the question, why do we need to reward ignorance with recognition? Why do we not simply allow for the ignorant and those inflicted with the disease of hatred to be isolated from the beloved community that so many of us seem to desire? It is their lost if they are blind to the diversity of humanity. And when we give publicity to their positions it magnifies their voice in a way that is undeserved. So, I do not want to see any racist responses to Trayvon or pictures of Do not Renig bumper stickers. These images destroy my capacity to hope and it makes the hopelessly ignorant famous if just for a moment. Let us not allow for the spread of ignorance and hate to be aided by Facebook. Let's Get Free!

Where do we go from here?

The question is where do we go from here? Will we allow for the tragedy of Trayvon to transform us? Or will we be content to attend a couple of rallies and assume that our job is done? This is not to say that attending rallies serves not point. No, it connects us to others who have been stirred to action by the presence of injustice. However, we must be willing to do more. We must be willing to challenge an American culture that normalizes the spilling of precious black blood into the drains of callous city streets as inconsequential. We must be aware that our society needs a dramatic transformation when hoodies can be criminalized and victims can be blamed for their tragic demise. The question of where do we go from here is critical at this moment. We must be changed for the long run, eradicating the systemic evils that create tragedies of Trayvon to become commonplace in certain communities. We must capitalize off of this current moment of consciousness and allow for our communities to forever be changed. So, that the tragedies of Trayvon are not repeated. Let's Get Free!

Dear Privileged

Dear Privileged,
I have a simple message! You do not get to decide who is innocent and who is guilty. It is not your responsibility to chase down the innocent simply because your lens has been tainted. You do not get to decide whose guilty simply because you cannot see the humanity in those with a Darker hue. And while we are on the subject of privileged definitions,it is not up to you to decide for others who God is.More importantly,you do not have a monopoly on truth and your arrogance is destructive. Privilege voices that seek to define what constitutes normalcy usually are oblivious to the voices of the disenfranchised. This creates a reality for the disenfranchised where they must seek acceptance in the midst of societal constructs that are not created for their benefit.So,for all those that think they can define who is guilty and who is innocent, or what women should do with their bodies, or who should be allowed to be married I have a message. Your privileged does not denote the righteousness of your position. And until you recognize the humanity in others and their choices you will continue to be the biggest impediment to a just world. And not simply a just world for those that are fortunate enough to be considered privileged. Let's Get Free!