White Flight From Birth

First, I'm on a bit of a high. Apparently my blog is getting some attention. I just got a tweet back from a producer at Nightline regarding my comments made on a recent piece they did about sistas complaining because they can't seem to find good brothers. If they do a follow up piece, maybe they'll consider me for an interview!!! Wishful thinking... Anyhow I've had this episode going on in my mind for the past few days so apparently, I need to write about it. Allow me first to put in some context. I like Sandra Bullock. I remember when she actually did a pilot movie for NBC back in 89 where she was to be the next Bionic Woman. Thank god it failed because she would not have won the Oscar. I didn't see the Blind Side but I loved her performance in Crash where I think she and Terrance Howard should have been nominated for Oscars. As for her choice in men, Jesse James...WOW I had no idea he was like a nazi. That kinda has me broke up, because I kinda liked his show--Jesse James is a Dead Man. Well I liked the title at least. But that kinda threw me. Which leads me to I guess to my question for the day. Is racism and white privilege something that is genetic or learned at birth? Here is the anecdote. Lill' Chief and I were at his spot, the Barnes and Nobel one afternoon for his after school cookie and the usual father son chat. I chatted while he just chewed while he chewed on his chocolate chip cookie. (alright so I have a flare for alliteration, sue me) I was so proud of him because he had a great day in school. Never let the wife know, but apparently watching television with your kids pays dividends. Now I am not too cool with him being a TV hollic. So I monitor the TV time and make sure for every hour of TV, he has at least two hours of reading or running outside time. -- Note to my single black dads out there!!!! Sit down at night and read to your children. Anyway his show (at least for the moment is wonder pets) where they stress teamwork. Picking him up from his school/daycare-- it really should be a mini university cause the tuition is just as much as the local universities- his teaches share with me that he stopped a disagreement with two girls who were arguing over a hula hoop. He instructs them that its better to use teamwork and sharing. Hearing that I was just like that is the best present any parent could have. Hearing that you child can demonstrate diplomatic thinking at the age of three is like whoa! He got this from wonder pets. A TV show, educational TV at that! Chalk one up for my side. My rule with him is when he does good, he gets perks. When he doesn't make good decisions, I bore him with long lectures about accountability, responsibility etc. In essence, I do the Ward Cleaver on him to the point where I am thinking he is saying to him-- daddy, just punish me, don't talk me to death!!!! LOL Ok anyway, the perk was a whole chocolate chip cookie, with water (no chocolate milk) and some extra time at the thomas the train set. While he is there, of course I am reading books on parenting and also engaging him. Soon a little African American girl joins him with her mom in tow. Seeing them play and going back and forth with the trains was good for me because again, at his school he really doesn't have that many African American peers. Here is the fun part, a lone white child comes to the trains. He's about six or seven and he approaches the train set but won't play with them. Instead he takes a chair and watches them play, waiting I guess for them to leave. Looking at him and looking at this young girl's mother apparently we were both on the same page. Why is he just doing that-just sitting and waiting. So I take the initiative really trying to mind my words because I don't want offend him. "You know you can play too right," I say. He's respectful but cautious at the same time, saying he knows. Then I look back at the other parent and we both just give each other the look which is pretty much telekinetic. I'm saying to this little Caucasian boy, in my mind of course, get up there and play with them, they're not going to bite you. But again, not to come out of my social space -- I instead just chill and engage the two kids who are playing with the trains. Now eventually he does engage them, but it was almost like he had to make a decision. Do I play with the trains with these black children or do I wait patiently for them to leave? Again this kid is only 6 years old, but apparently he knows or has identified a set of sub codes which apparently are race based. That might make an interesting research question. What are the signifiers of race, when are they learned and when does one learn the social cues regarding the racial hierarchy?

The Mappings of Superiority

Apparently it starts at birth. It's something I can't prove scientifically however I strongly believe that the concept of White supremacy starts at birth and manifests itself through various structures including the family and media structures. Case and point. My youngling and I were doing our weekly father/son Thursday cookie at our nearby Barnes and Nobel. Of course our youngling is now at the age where everything in his world is literal and tactile. At least that is what his mom and the non verbal communication texts tell me. After our cookie, we head to his usual haunt, the Thomas the Train Station. As we are there at first we are the only ones there so he pretty much has the trains to himself. So while he is playing with his toys, I am taking some time to do some leisure reading (Mac OS leopard, WordPress, and other computer app stuff). Then burst in a little boy about 4 years old. A white child and of course, I think everything is benign on the surface. Inside of 5 mins this boy bumrushes my son and tries to take well not even tries, he takes his train. Needless to say, I have my eyes on this child because I really don't want anything to happen to my son. Also in my mind, I am playing the role of the dad thinking in the back of my mind, "clock him!" As any father, he doesn't want his son to grow up soft. I know--its a hegemonic construct, but everyone should know the rudiments of self defense. The boy's father shows up, about 6'0 even weighing in at 210 and he collects his rambunctious son. I'm trying hard to play this off because this episode could go wrong on so many levels. Sure I could play the role of the militant dad and say, control your kid, using the base and race of my voice. I could also play the role of the overprotective parent by cuddling him. This too would cause my son to be soft. That's just not going to happen. So instead, I played the role of the neo liberal chilled black parent and just sat back in the cut. There are times and places I need not let my son see his dad flash because one I have to set the example. In this case, I think the message I am trying to send to him is choose your battles wisely. Now on to this racial component. For some reason, this little white boy thought it was appropriate to take what he wants from smaller kids. In fact, I don't think the boy saw color, but it was just weird to see the race and class dynamics play out. He goes and takes something from my son in a rather aggressive manner. This is a trait I see in white folk in general. There exists a hyper aggressive nature we find which the media in my opinion allows to play in many of the story-lines (both real and dramatic) which endorses this pummeling of the weak, marginalized and oppressed. I am sure if we were to take a look at the ethnography's and biographies of white folk who have money, status and power, I would venture to say that this behavior, you take, you be assertive, you are different and above the rules for everyone else, these positions of superiority are interwoven within the developmental years of kids. Now if we couple this with a media system again which was orchestrated by and for those in the positions of racial and socio economic class hierarchy, the ideological base works only to their advantage. Albert Memi stated it best, those who own the means of oppression have no interest in dismantling a system which works exclusively to their advantage. It would be foolish.

The Ontology of White Folk and the Media Connection

Funny, how problems are emergent when white folk are impacted. Take for example the current epidemic of homelessness and joblessness sweeping the nation. From previous reports, in news and popular culture, the macro levels of mainstream news production would have us think that the nation is at a crisis that just happened two years ago with the economic crash of 2007. The general populous is loosing their jobs and homes at alarming rates. Well, I offer a different spin on this problematic.
To be white and privileged in America a specialized must be met. There is undoubtedly a class dynamic which must be considered tangentially with the color caste system we employe. One must be considered in a higher tax bracket as well as be of a certain educational level to enable the benefits of being white folk. In America as we have illustrated previously white folk bask in the world of normality, being recognized as human by the ideological factories we have come to depend upon the social construction of our various realities. Chomsky refers to this as a propaganda analysis where eventually the information that is spread from the dominant forms of media relate to nothing more than a list of directives handed down from the top. The connectivity factor here is relatively simple.
People who historically have represented the underclass and lower class castes of society have been through crisis such as these considerably longer than the new tenants of poverty. Because the face of broke now looks like Mike and Carol Brady as opposed to James and Florida Evans, suddenly, to be underclass has the appearance of being human and now there appears to be a problem. It's almost like that quote in the book The Godfather which cites the legitimization of selling drugs in the community of the "colored." Paraphrasing, they are lost anyway, so it doesn't matter if drugs are sold in the ghettos. Its like when Hurricane Katrina hit, the Blacks who were seen on CNN and MSNBC were deviant criminals, looters and refugees. The hundreds of thousands of white folks are homeless and not vagrants or hobos. The politics of language and race in American society, particularly the news media in my honest opinion represents a powerful locus of social control. The dominant news media in our country functions as an agent for those who are in the power elite reinforcing the politics of humanity, race, and gender. In essence it concurrently remanufactures and redistributes the ontology of White Folk.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Last year I had a serious question and now this year, especially in the year of our first African American president elect, I now feel the need to put it to the test. Can we please see a black santa clause? For real, its that time of year when we all go out and throw our good hard earned money away in the name of St. Nick -- well not completely but you can easily get the point, we go out spend money we really can't afford and still take our children to see Santa Clause who happens to be white. Previously I really would not have an objection but now that I am a parent, a socially conscious parent at that, I have to raise questions to the various social constructions. For years, the white house has been a place where the head white man in charge crashed for four years rent free. Now that is about to change. For years, folks who were true born again christians prayed to a "white" jesus. For eons powerful white men told incredibly small white lies which caused catastrophe. There has been a serious brain washing game with the color of white. Things that are white in this country, possibly others, are seen as being clean and innocent and pure. The institutions we have set up in this country, the ones we have blindly bought into, have set up a fractured fairy tale which plays out into the social reality we call life. The color system in this country represents a caste system on a plethora of levels and because of that, the effects can be horrific. For example, I can now understand why some parents don't want their children to see a white santa clause because of the reasons I have stated above. That said, because of how we have been conditioned as a society, if a Black, Brown, or even a Red Santa came down the chimney, before he got to the tree, he would be shot dead or seriously wounded. Marge, come quick, some [you fill in the blank] dressed in a red suit just broke in the house, I've got the gun on him. Imagine if you will the song I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause. Archie Bunker might be pretty mad. The news media might take it to the extreme. "If you see a[non model minority] man fitting this description, 6'1, 300 pounds wearing a red suit, call police immediacy." I can see the headline, Colored Clause Catches A Cap in that A$$! Lets not forget the economic hardship that might be imposed on KRS Cringel. Imagine trying to get a loan at the bank of the North Pole and his credit is jacked. Mr. Drysdale tells him he's over extended and they are giving thought to repossessing his sleigh. I love Christmas Specials, I grew up watching them, but never, not even in the Fat Albert Christmas Special-well let me check on that first, but the point I am attempting to make is that our media has put forth this image of santa being ever good and white. Now before my readers dismiss my rant as being unsupported rhetoric, allow me pause to draw attention to the serious matter of the character of Black Peter. This is curtsey of Mac Carey:
Black Peter, or Zwarte Piet in Dutch, began in Holland in the 15th century. His dark appearance is supposed to suggest a Spaniard, a reflection of Spain's occupation of the Netherlands at the time. Black Peter was also associated with pirates, a common threat to naughty Dutch children was that he would take them to a pirate's hide out and beat them. He was often represented holding a large stick for this purpose. The large bag that he held was rumored to be used for stuffing children in for the trip back to Spain. At the time "Black Peter" was a euphemism for the devil, and it was thought that St. Nicholas, being a representative of God, had beaten the devil and made him his servant. Thus it fell to Black Peter to hand out the punishments, while St. Nicholas dealt with the more pleasant sides of Christmas.
For more information you can visit this link: http://mymerrychristmas.com/2006/blackpeter.shtml
Ain't sad? All I want for Christmas, of course with the usual, God in my heart, my family in my life, and of course the cool million in the bank tax free, is some equity in myth making process. White doesn't always signify purity: see our outgoing president George Bush. That said if Christmas is for the kids, young and old, then why not make it for all the kids so Santa Clause is accessible by all kids

Whitewashed: Dead at 21

I had my second "quasi professional" speaking gig last week. I call it quasi professional because I am still somewhat new to this public intellectual thing. I was given the honor of presiding on a panel discussion regarding the new president elect Barack Obama. If I am lucky I will see if I can put a video post of it here on MLTW2F. It felt good to be able to actually speak with some authority on the topic considering that I was slated to give a talk about the possibility of an Obama win last year. Unfortunately, my back went out at the last minuet and I was forced to withdraw at the last minuet. In the discussion which had roughly 200 people in attendance, my game was on, I had my facts straight and then we got a person with a crazy question which really boiled down to a sneak attack on the President of the University where I teach. OK-- the pretext is simple. When Obama won the election some two weeks ago, the students caught the Obama fever. Hell I admit I caught a bit of it myself almost waking our baby. Well leave it to 19 year olds who felt they shook up the world the take on the University administration. Change, we want change had to have been going through their minds. Not really a bad thing provided it's done constructively. The key word here is constructively. The students had a list of concerns ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. For real now.. Yes, to have the residence halls flood and not have students promptly and adequately relocated is worth a little fall out. But to complain about the cafeteria food, come on now. Institutional food is institutional food. Prior to the pannel discussion, the students (rougly 100 freshmen) decided to have an uprising. Now i thought I did the right thing by attempting to put down this particular mutiny, they put their swords away to fight another day. It just so happens the day they chose happened to be mine. Great.. In listening to the laundry list of complaints, my ears became a bit dulled and my patience ran thin. It was as if my grandfather was on the stage with me when I heard one of his famous quotes, I think I will now call them "whit-isims." A classic whit-isim from 1991 revolved around my constant laments to ask for a new car considering the one he bought for me was falling apart. --"You are always asking for a new car but you have never asked me for a wrench to fix the one I bought you." Just like in 91, good sense went over like a lead balloon. When you are 20, you want things instantly. Its like we (black folk) think like 20 something white folk. Instant deposit equals instant return. Some 18 years later, I now know that is not the case. But we have been white washed to think like that. Our students don't realize that the HBCU was born out of struggle. (Now I know it's hard for me to say that considering I have called it the plantation with a black master) But it is true. Unfortunately, when one is 20something they just (myself included) just don't know ant piss. In particular, the next generation of Black Folk, the ones right under me, as they attempt to discuss the politics of oppression and blackness, they really believe that progress comes without struggle. One can rest on their potential. Noting could be further than the truth. The one thing I can remember saying from the first day of the Obama win to the next was that the excesses for underachievement have officially been put on notice. It's now time for a re-definition of afrocentricity. A new definition of self affirmation is upon the horizon and if we are not ready, we (as a people) will be swept in the undertow.

The N Word Revisited

I know there is a reason why I think talk show shrinks should be taken off of the air. Dr. Phil proved some two weeks ago. I didn't have time to launch my grief about this when the show first aired but now that I have a little breathing room, I can at least begin to start. As we all know, the good rev, Jessie Jackson back in the summer decided to just jump completly off the chain using the N-word saying he wanted to castrate presidential candidate Obama. OK so being good producers at the the Dr. Phil show, someone decides, hey, lets devote an hour to the topic. Not a bad thought, but my goodness, the show, if you have time to watch it on youtube, is just completely denigrating to watch as nothing constructive came from this dialogue. In fact, this dialouge could seriously be considered "negrophobic" as I saw black folk and white folk just really at their absolute lowest. -- Note, you can add Dr. Phil to my list of white folk.
To begin, the show is made up of two comedians, Paul Mooney and Cheryle Underwood, one conservative white radio host, and Hill Harper, who in my opinion is being set up to be the next great black acomodationist (if he is not careful). Via satelite is Al Sharpton. Ok, lets get down to business. My chief gripe is that there was nothing intellectual about this conversation. The show boiled down to the double standard to black folk using the N-word why white folk cannot. Silly question. White people who have some sense know that the N-word is assaultiative speech which in turn has the potential to cause them great harm. What to me was missing from this diatribe was some historization of the word and its power of objectification. See, no one bothered to mention the fact that this word was used liberally like the lynch of the antebellum day. I think another part of this program that must be condsidered is the hegemonic control applied to the show

Can you See Me?

From what I understand, Whiteness studies is a strand of critical race theory. Critical race theory was born from critical theory which basically means the study of domination and the praxis of liberation according to Douglas Kelner. In critical race theory, the objective is simple. It centers on the historically marginalized in the United States and how the various structures keep power out from the marganlized. The structures at play pretty much are economic, social, legal, educational, political, and even medical. CRT is based primarily in the lived experience. Typically one must have "gone through" a baptism by fire or what some people call a consciousness raising. In my case, the experience which really changed my life was strangely my experiences with NCSSM. (for more in infomation please see previous posts) It was there where I experienced or better yet where I began to encounter the surreptitious dynamics of power and how powerless I was at the time. What was visible to me then and as well as now, is how whiteness and accessibility go hand in hand. When I first arrived at NCSSM, I was there with a Masters Degree in instructional technology. With a Master's I felt as though that I had some type of equality with whom I though were my colleuges. Ready to discuss theory, infuse technology current curriculum across the disciplines, I quickly humbled by the expectations of the dominant population. Go fetch is pretty much what my tenure resulted in. Go fetch this data projector, go fetch this slide projector, go fetch this, go fetch that. Never while I was there was consulted my ability to be analytical, but more so my physical abilities to support the dominant populous. In the words of my grandfather, for a while I thought I was walking in high cotton. As I grew more and more disenchanted, I realized that the high cotton was nothing more post modern plantation and I was one of the chattel. Despite the fact that I had an advanced degree, in the eyes of many of my White Folk counterparts I was their "boy." The porter. In some way I must have represented an anomaly because I quickly protested my treatment. Here is one example. One day in my office/equipment room I am working on my computer, playing around with Windows 95 and in comes gaulky looking white man who to this day still reminds me of bleaky buzzard. He came in and just took a projector like I wasn't there. I was floored. -- My reaction was direct,
"Excuse me but is there a reason you just walked into my space and stole a piece of equipment and not even say hello." His response was, "I'm in a hurry, I have a class to go to." It's here where I am thinking I'm in a professional setting but I'm not being treated professionally. -- Here was the problem, how do I let him know politely that there are boundaries and that I am not step and fetchit.
I paused and asserted myself minus a Richard Roundtree homage.
"I'm an easy person to get along with but you just can't come into my spot, not even acknowledge my presence and take my stuff."
"It's not your equipment it's the school's equipment."
"But I'm not a piece of equipment. If you want to borrow something or check anything out, you're going to have to go through protocol."
"I don't have time for this, I'm late for my class." in the back of my mind I am thinking, you're about to be late for your next birthday, but again, I chill.
"I don't want to delay you. That said, the equipment stays here."
"I beg your pardon."
"You're just not going to do this. I'm sorry but you are not going to do this, this way." Talk about dynamics of power and privilege. I mean this guy's actions were just straight up rude. Now where I came from, and HBCU, actions like this would get you quickly cussed out. In the backwoods of Palmer Springs, VA it might get you knocked out. But again I maintain, power and lack of power and elitism, Was it because I was black, was it because I was young, or was it because he was white, older, and an established member of the community. Don't know, don't really care. What I do know though is that I was slowly begining to understand what it meant to be invisible. I'm the blackest person in the room, yet I have no image, no shape or form in the eyes of this white man.

Microagression and WF2S

Before I begin, let me first of all take a moment to quickly say something that is totally a political. Recently there was an unexpected death in my family which as some folks know are the basis for the second type of Black Family Reunion. I mention this because one of my cousin's whom I had not seen in 20 years said that he actually reads my blog. _ I was floored to say the least.. So to that end I want to dedicate this entry not only to him but my cousin who passed away at the age of 40. -- Now on to business.

Flying back from the funeral, my flight was delayed. (Why should I be surprised in this day of the dysfunctional airline system) That said, I took an opportunity to continue studying for my comprehensives scheduled late this month. I was reading works by critical race scholars Richad Delgado and Jean Stefancic and I came across an interesting term; Microagression. According to their rendering, it represents a term from sociologist reflecting the sudden moments of dispiriting reactions to white (folk) oppression. In my speak, it's like the ice cold water hitting you in the face totally out of nowhere making you say DAYMUN. Many of us have experienced this but we just didn't have a name for it yet. What is important is that microagressions are not exclusively limited to people of color but more-so anyone who represents the traditionally marginalized. If you've read this far you might be asking, why is this important? I think for me, it is important because the microgression has the potential to become a macroagression if not contained at the start. My grandfather always said, Foolishness gets foolishness. Again in Russspeak, BS always becomes MS if not checked PDQ. To me, what is what whiteness represents: Unchecked BS which has been enabled to innocuously proliferate into the structures we live and are governed by with deliberate impunity. See it's easy for a white person who was born into wealth and social status to say and do virtually anything in America and instantly side step it. However, when potential first lady Michele Obama makes a statement, for the first time in my life I truly feel American, the statement is forensically analyzed. Why, could be because she is black and her husband is running for the title of “The Head White Man in Charge” also know as the President. I really wouldn’t have made too much of a big deal about this were it not for the fact that I have experienced a few of these episodes myself, so much to the point where I actually thought I was going through another acute case of WPFS (white people fatigue syndrome). Take for example one day when my son and I were leaving the parking lot. As I am trying patiently put him in his car seat, up comes roaring convertible BMW which barely misses us. I calmly keep my mind quiet and my words to myself because I know that coming from my lips will be a stream of absurdities. For some reason I recognize the social dynamics at play. This woman (white folk woman) and her teen age son simply did not see us. Again, I go back to the elisonian form of invisibility. Black people are just not visible to white folks. Because of that, the life of my son as well as mine are thrust into peril. In their minds, we just don’t matter. Needless to say I was fuming. To really go off and express myself the way I need to, not only just to get the frustrations and tensions off of my chest, but to constructively and directly assert our presence presents a serious challenge. At that moment, to go off and ackafool, (ackafool means to be exponentially belligerent abusive and threatening) places me at risk for being categorized as a stereotypical uneducated negro they see on TV. My family and I have worked too hard for me to wind up in jail for aggressively checking the glands of some Lilliputian Caucasian female I may never see in this lifetime again. So now that I have identified how microagression works when confronted by the asinine the question now turns to how to counter the microagression so that episode becomes a teaching episode. NOTE: word of caution—teaching is meant for ourselves, those who are opponents of white supremacy. Replaying the episode in my mind this is the approach I think I should have taken:

Approach the car and driver in a non threatening manner. (Hands may need to be above head)

Project in your voice a calm yet controlling tone. It is important that you control the situation on your terms.

Awareness. You should do your best to make the person aware of your presence. Something like this would be appropriate: “Excuse me, I am sorry to bother you but are you aware that you almost hit my son and me?”

Control the situation. The natural reaction could take a plethora of avenues so it is important that you maintain control of the situation. As they say something like I didn’t see you, your response should be in this manner. “I completely understand, I really do, these things happen. Were I in your position, I probably wouldn’t have seen me either. African Americans pose a serious problem for the inattentive driver especially at night.”

Transgress. In the traditional sense, one would think of transgression as being uppity. There is no need to be uppity as long as we can transgress with compassion through an educatory means. By this time the individual has been taken so far aback, your next words should drop them like a feather. Your follow up would be something like this. “I know it’s a bit of a bother, possibly a bit of an anomaly, but we are human, at least in the legal sense, very much like yourself. It would mean a lot to me and those who are like me if you would use your vehicle for it’s intended purpose as opposed to a vehicular weapon of mass destruction. Thank you for your time and have a good day.”

I sincely think that taking these five steps will certainly aid in the microagression cycle and really has the potential to defuse the acute cases of White People (now known as Folk) Fatigue Syndrome—WF2-S (White Folk Fatigue Syndrome)

White for just one day

Were I White For Just One Day

--Thinking about that, particularly from the perspective of a "post modern neo white abolitionist" (don't ask me, I literally just thought that one up) what would I do with it. Going back to my thesis on whiteness, what does it mean, for me thinking about that, I would have to go back to notion of invisibility. Being white, in America, means one has a cloak of invisibility and a stamp of normalcy. Being white means that I have complete access to resources and can go places as calm as I please. Being white means I am able to drive my car with the vehicle registration plate expired and not have to have heart palpitations when a police officer drives behind me. Being white means I'm not suspect. It's an invisible power that political, social, economical, legal and even sexual ramifications. Lets dissect this thing for a second or so. DuBois stated at the turn of the 20th century that the biggest issue facing America was the issue of color. Color, in the context of the United States, operates on a caste system of sorts. The color white has been placed at the top of the color hierarchy. If an inanimate object is white, it's virgin, pristine, positive. The antithesis of course is not white or more common black. To be black is to be vile, dark, sullen, negative. Exploring the politics of color and caste, the black white binary has power through its long history in American popular culture. Because of the gross miss association of white and positivity, this misnomer becomes historicized and ultimately normalized through various structures which in turn feed into a cultural capital. This cultural capital I would like to refer to as simply propaganda, which Chompsky discusses. Examining how media inundates an uncritical audience to the nuances and power of the politics of the color discourse, we find that those who are in power have absolutely nothing to gain by challenging the current operation of business. To challenge a structure that that is self promoting would be sociological suicide. Just as in critical race theory, there no meritocracy in white supremacy. Oppressors simply do not stop oppressing just for the sake of goodness and humanity. It would erode the power base and simply put, using Mylesspeak, "it would be too much like right." No to be white for one day is what is sold to African Americans, Latino Americans, and others who are not in model minority status.

To be Continued..

Here's An Oldie but a Goodie

In preparing to watch the CNN documentary/Town Hall Meeting-- Black In America , I actually found some of my earlier writings regarding white supremacy and the KKK. This was published in June of 2005 i think. Consider this a warm up because I am about to really bring the heat after this CNN piece. Sorry for the re-run but consider it one of those "lost episodes."
Enjoy-- Peace

New white supremacy

Using "Bushspeak," this is an act of terror and the enemy will be met by shock and awe. Cross burnings represent old school racism. This does not bother me. What does bother me is the new racism. In my world, legalized white supremacy surrounds my everyday life. Like Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, and apple pie, racism stands broadly side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with truth, justice, and the American way.

There are many cases, but I will use two to prove my point. In February of this year there was brouhaha over a busing issue in Wake Forest. White parents in the Wakefield community exhausted countless hours of the Wake County School Board to criminalize the DuBois modular school decision. The DuBois center was located in a predominantly African-American community. Far worse, the local news media, WTVD, WNCN, WRAL, fanned the fire by couching the story in racialized terms such as color lines and bad rap. In one particular story, no African-Americans were on camera, rendering members of DuBois center invisible.

Moving to state government, there are far more African-Americans at the low end of the pay scale, professional development tracks and managerial positions, yet African-Americans (men and women) represent the high-end disciplinary problems. In our culture, our state, our city, whiteness represents normalcy and undeniably, membership has its privileges.

Admirable as it may be, who can't protest a cross burning? When does the real protest start; when we fight the goliaths of legalized white supremacy and new racism?

W . RUSSELL ROBINSON

Heaven or Helms

I have to admit, some days I am astonished and amazed by the goodness that white people are capable of while dually I am astonished and amazed by foolishness white folk can be capable of. July 4, 2008 was the last independence day for North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. The Head Female In Charge aka DA WIFE stated that she would wear all white on the day he died. Luckily I was able to talk her down from that but at the same time I can understand her frustration and bitterness towards this man. It was almost like what my dad said on the day Elvis Presley died some 31 years ago. I like Elvis, since he's dead. To me that represents some sort of a moral discursive conflict. That said, I try not to consider myself an extremist in my political beliefs. That said, I also have to admit that I am human and I have made my share of enemies. Take my former boss for example. During my bit of employment mortal combat, I have to admit there were a few times where I had some pretty destructive thoughts about the woman and I am sure I was not on her birthday card list either. So I have a strong feeling if the situation were somewhat related, she conked out prematurely or even just simply conked out from natural causes, I would more than likely do something celebratory. If I am not mistaken, that usually was done when the oppressor came to their demise. From a slave master to Sadam Husain, ding dong the witch is dead.

Strangely this brings me to my meditation for the day. As Helms was being prepared to be lowered into the "deep six," the governor ordered that all flags be lowered to half staff in remembrance of Helms. When I read that a state employee decided not to do so in protest, I was pleasantly. When I learned that the man was white, I nearly had a heart attack. The 51 year old man had a crisis of conscious and just simply could not do something to honor Helms. Lets face it, was not exactly North Carolina's version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I mean this man opposed civil rights legislation, demonized homosexuality, fought the arts and pretty much damned anyone who had AIDS. By previous definition, Jesse Helms represents the emblematic visage of Southern White Folks. He knew how demonstrate true Southern Hospitality (provided you were white) while being one of the true strongholds of hegemonic male constriction-- simply put, White Male Patriarchy. He was a devout segregationist how wheedled the whip of power. That said, from my family's interactions with his office, he was dedicated to public service. I mean lets face the facts, his morals were skewed (and that is being nice). The converse however is that he was a model politician who just had questionable morals. He believed in service. Now-- that said, I do have a beef with the governor as well as the state personnel system who punishes a man who chooses to exercise political dissent. This individual, L.F. Eason a 51 year old white man, put it pretty bluntly:

"I don't see how anybody could celebrate his career. Everything he did was such a disservice to this state."

I really have been debating on writing a letter or even a column about this because I don't know if it will be printed. At the same time, I do believe it is important that this man be treated properly within the state personnel system.. As far as I am concerned, his politics definitely place him in a different category of whites-- Hell, he doesn't appear to be white folk. I have to give credit in this case where credit is due. Hats off to L.F. Eason!!!!!

The Rhyme of Calypso's Son

I really have to stop and think. What happened to me makes me sad, which is followed by crying, followed by anger and then followed by the need to get even. I don't like that. I don't like how I feel. How do I feel after this episode or revisiting this episode in my life. To know that I am now permantly scarred with that event… Working with her and under those conditions-- abusive, painful, and just so self demeaning. It has been two years now since I have left NCSSM. I should be happy working on my Ph.D. with my son on the way in less than a few months and a wife who loves me 75% of the time-- well she loves me but can't stand my finicial philisophy. But I am not happy when I think about my NCSSM case. I am not happy about the fact that I went through hell, I mean psychological trauma that the state of North Carolina doesn't recognize. I still have nightmares sometimes about this and it just sickens me. The fact that someone invaded my mind, my peace of mind and no one even recognized my torture. It was like I was raped, but it wasn't a rape that was sexual but psychological.. Now how does one rape an individual psychologically? That's a pretty damn good question. My experinece I think supplys the pretty damn good answer. I like to think of it as my baptisim by fire. I think I would have prefered to have gotten shot in the face some days because there would at least be some type of physical reminder of what happened to me. In the world in which we live in, the physical scars will at least heal with time, physical intervnetion, and with the aid of a few dollars, a new face, a new extermity, a new body part can be created. But the psyche is vastly different. You just can't go out and buy a new set of expeiences, a new psychological profile a new idendity -- at least on the white market anyway. But being Calypso's son somedays, I have to seek new, inovative and cereative ways to survive in the face of adversity. Inspite of my best attemtps, those scars will never go away. No amount of psycotherapy will ever make me for get what happened ot me and in hindsight, maybe I am not meant to forget them. Maybe what happened to me was supposed to happen to me. Menatally tourture and all. Maybe I was suppose to be the one who brings this matter to the forefront for discussion.. Maybe I was meant to tell this tale of woe very much like the tale of albatross in Rhyme of the Anchient Mariner so in hopes those who do face instances of what happen to me, they will be better perpared not have it happem to them. Evidently, this appears to be the case. And since that is that, I had better get use to the fact that I have to spin this yarn in its interity. With that said……. This is my curse, this is my fate, this is my destiny, this is my story…..

Epiphanies on Whiteness

A local newspapr columnist raised this question about his point of view regarding the duke incident-- he wrote the following:
Am I a racist Uncle Tom?
Jun 4, 2006
The national media descended on Durham when the Duke lacrosse rape case broke and described a town that was racially divided.
It made me and other locals want to holler and throw up our hands, because there we were again, on that downward image spiral that makes Reyn Bowman's job at the Convention and Visitors Bureau so hard.
Granted, there are railroad tracks in Durham, but they don't separate the rich from the poor.
So we rejected what Geraldo Rivera and them were reporting. Durham, we retorted, is not stuck in the Jim Crow era, no outward racism around here.
Inward racism? Well ...
There was a time when some deemed brilliant my little comments about the Duke lacrosse case. That's when I was laying it on the accuser real thick, when I was saying the stripper hired by members of the lacrosse team had it coming, that rape -- while never deserved -- comes with the territory in a profession like hers.
Man, some black folks tore me up! They were appalled that I, as a black person, would speak out against the sister.
Well, that's how it was until I wrote the other day that the lacrosse players, too, bore some responsibility. I said we wouldn't even be having this discussion had they not decided to hire some strippers in the first place. So, I continued, even if the accuser is lying, the situation they find themselves in is self-inflicted.
My approval rating with white readers slipped faster than President Bush's with registered voters. And just like that, I became a racist, after that one column.
Hey, I'm a big boy. I can take the heat. No doubt, as I suggested pertaining to the Duke lacrosse case, I brought this on myself. You're as entitled to your opinion as I am to mine.
But let's at least agree on one thing -- that maybe the national media wasn't that far off base when describing Durham's racial divide. Not that we're at each other's throats, not outwardly.
Inwardly, though?
See, this isn't about me being able to take it as well as I can dish it. The hateful comments from white people came from somewhere deep within that caught my naïve self off guard.
Black people who've accused me of being an Uncle Tom sometimes ask if a white person has ever called me a nigger. I was proud to always tell them no.
But I can't say that anymore, not after that column. I was called a nigger and then some.
And it bolstered what I'd been told about how one day it'd happen to me, that sooner or later white folks would show their true colors and I'd then see the need to pick up not one but two chips -- one for each shoulder.
Listen, I love white people, black people, Chinese, folks from Iraq -- I just love people. Period.
So this episode won't make me lose hope.
But this much is true -- those nasty e-mails in my inbox came from as far away as El Segundo, Calif., and from Flushing, N.Y.
So if Durham, in fact, is racially divided, then apparently the rest of America hasn't embraced that divorce from Jim Crow, either.
John McCann's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Contact him at jmccann@heraldsun.com or 419-6601.

I had to reply internally with this

You know I didn't write this, but damn if it does not prove something. This guy is African American and a bit conservative for my tastes but I’ll damn if it doesn't prove something about being in the good graces of white folks. Now, I can't say all white folks but I can say that some of his white audience and possibly some of the black audience as well, they can easily turn on you like a dime. As he pointed out, while he was chastising the stripper saying, these are the risks go with the job, he was like Armstrong Williams. But then when he called the white boys on the carpet, well he fell out of their good graces suddenly becoming Malcolm X. It's like what Malcolm X said, "too black, too strong." Apparently, brother McCann became a brother on the run as he was a little too black when he stepped out of "his place" questioning and challenging white people—lets qualify this—white people with social status and money. What's sad is that people--a majority of white people, fail to recognize that. This ambivalence and most cases overt denial stuns me. [About to have a Dr. Phil moment here] In my opinion, individuals first need to recognize who they are within their immediate context. Who are you, what are you, what do you stand for, when you are stripped down raw, what is your foundation? Once done, this acceptance allows for some degree of cognizance and thus opens the door to, POSSIBLE change. Racism, like poverty, disease, and even wealth is acquired not exclusively by initial exposure but by more so inherited. If the conditions are manifested, conditioned, and socialized then there is a greater likelihood that these systems will rupture into a full blown malady. Not only is this country endemic of racism but, we really should consider it an epidemic. That said, on the other hand, if there is recognition at an early stage, then interventions can be installed to quell the full blown manifestation of the disease, possibly to its full remission. Racism, in my honest, best, and unqualified opinion must not only be classified as a medical psychological disorder, but furthermore must be seen as social stigma that must be rooted out. Racism to me represents a psychological illness feeding off of delusions of grandeur--almost like schizophrenia. It’s like a detachment from reality that through one's quest—now obsession to be human, they negate all things that are not human by their self definition. This negation extends itself into typologies or even racial taxonomies whereby one places themselves at the focal point of that particular hierarchy. For example, I know a dog is a dog by definition. With that same definition or classification, we are both mammals, but are we of the same species? No. Humans have their way of doing things, Canines have theirs. But then when we humans, these ethnocentric values that has been inscribed at every level, socially constructed and scientifically validated, we humans have been taught to believe that some of us aren't quite human enough; and therefore qualifying them for the level of the animal in some cases below the animal. This is delusional-a gross detachment from reality. It’s very much like that character in the film "A Beautiful Mind." "You're not real," was the recurring theme. Because you are not real, for sanity sake, I have to ignore you, I have to distance myself from you because if I have relationships with you, then I am among the not normals. If we take that same theory and apply it to race, at least in this country, then you have a whole lot of white folks chanting, "you're not real" to a lot of people. You're not real because, you're skin tone isn't like mine, you're not real because you are not of my sexual preference, you're not real because of your religious affiliation, you're not real because-- and you fill in the blank. What is bad (and that probably is a poor choice of words for this discussion) is that this is reinforced through our domestic and international policies, what we call cultural norms, how lies have been grossly enabled to infiltrate our individual belief systems, our psyches; all because there is this quest to be real. This personification of "being real," represents a power. Power of definition, power of acceptance, power of social self construction. This power must be defused from the small minority of those who enslave the majority.

The American Express Race Card

The son of Oden knows how to make me laugh--- those were the days...Let me say this for the record. The social limitations we place on race literally are just that, what we allow the limitations to be. Now that said-- I'm going back to my bread and butter-- the power dynamic that exists between the social constructions of the races (at least within an Americanized context). Too many theorists and social anthropologists have concluded that race is a social construct. Taking that a step further, we have to realize that within that system, there is a stigmatism that is placed on anything that does not conform to the "norm." In America, that norm is defined as the heterosexual, able bodied, WASP male. That same male sets the standard of living and in general what we consider normal which includes a subordinated status to women. The dichotomy that emerges from this gender and race performance is that it trickles down to the marginalized within America.
Localizing that-- specifically to us Black/African-American men. There is a power that one is able to take from demeaning another person-- a domination so to speak. Lets face the facts, we (brothers) try exceptionally hard to emulate what the ideal white man is supposed to be-- in fact in the hip-hop culture, I'd say we hyper-emulate it. First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the respect. I think Adeola is accurate in her assessment of white men for the simple fact that they white male privilege that enables them to do anything within our Americanized culture. I mean let's look at OJ. OJ had money power and respect. In fact he had a white
wife-- which to many was nothing more than a trophy. Now let's fast forward ten years after the trial. Today, OJ couldn't an election to be a dog catcher. Why? People think he got away with a fast one, the ultimate fast
one-- a black man offing a white woman. See in the Americanized sense, OJ was given a temporary race card of whiteness. He did his absolute best to distance himself from any signs of his blackness. Now again as we know in this culture race runs hand in hand with class and one of the chief measures of class in this culture is education (post secondary and intuitiveness) and money. OJ was making a pretty good bank during and after his peak. Got him a white wife which was available to him (strictly his choice) because of accessibility and acceptance. Of course his white card was declined at the trial when the court showed him how black he really was. Looking at this Duke case-- these charged folks, they have access and true white privilege to escape the stigma being placed on them.
Lastly I will share what I know about white women-- nothing.. My experience with one white woman was my last experience with any white women. The girl was docile let alone flaky. (JR knows this episode very well). She was crazy and at the very most I was less than satisfied. What stands out in my mind the image I had of us blah blah blah. (you fill in the blah blah blahs) It was so unnatural and so artificial. Walking just in the street I felt this was just not cool, not because of who she was, but because of what it represented. To me it represented an oddity, and in the back of my mind, I really felt I had to look over my shoulder 24/7 for a bottle to hit me in the head. I just didn't need the aggravation and unequivocally this woman was not worth the risk. I will say in my marriage, I strongly consider it intra cultural in the sense that my wife has had more international experience (having lived overseas for a few years) and attended nothing but TWIs. As a professor at an HBCU- it's difficult for her to adapt to the CPT way of life. For me, a strong product of the HBCUs I grew up in the CPT life and that starts a thread of our adventures... But all in all-- white
folks are different-- expect it and accept

Objects of Lust and Desire

The objectification of the black woman in America as we all know started circa 16th century with the trans Atlantic slave trade. However, the clearest objectification that may easily forget is of course the episode of Sara Bhartman aka the Black Hottentots. This African woman upon her death was pretty much the victim of taxidermy. She was an exhibit of the 19th century worlds fair I believe for her large sexual genitals all for the lusty white men to see. Historically, there has been this fixation that African Americans have an uncontrollable sexual prowess and appetite and needless to say this runs both ways. White men wanted black women in a depersonalized manner strictly for sexual domination. This easily plays into the notions of what Cannall sites as Hegemonic masculinity where anything less than being White, Male and Heterosexual is deemed inferior and deviant. This leads to the notion that anything deviant must be controlled and if not controlled, eliminated. This could then explain why Black men during the days of American slavery were castrated en mass. We should also remember that the black man too was held in a lustful gaze by the white woman. This was more so a tactic of spite fu#$%ing. White women held the notion that if my husband can do this (creeping) then I can do the same but better. And surely they did. I mean it must have been hell to go to your wife’s birth and see a dark skinned child pop out of the womb. (Surprise Surprise!) But back to this issue of objectification, African Americans have frequently been the targets of objectification by the powers of white masculinity, and the larger structures of hegemony or cultural domination. It plays very well into the Black Sexual politics that Patricia Hill-Collins speaks of. Monkey see monkey do. It is a cycle that continues on and that is partially because of the Marxist component that envelopes everything, that being capitalism. If there is money to be made at exploitation then by all means lets start the presses. Now going back to this ideology of objectification and exploitation, lets remember that this cycle requires two to make it work. The exploiter and the exploited. Many times we wish to throw up the flag of oppression (namely white oppression) without examining our role within the larger structures. For example, this thread discussed the idea of the media making influences within behavior. Gerberner talked about that with his theory on cultivation, meaning if one has enough exposure to certain media elements then there would be some type of effect- the basic cause effect relationship with media as the variable. The problem with that though comes in from internalization, self actualization, and a host of other social economic factors which relate to where one is particularly in one’s hierarchy of needs? Does one look to television of for self definitions? Does one seek media messages for social instruction.? Does media facilitate a social construction of reality? I think in a Bizaro world it would without question. However, I think in our world the societal structures manifest out of basic need. For example, if I show you a Tylenol commercial when you have a tooth ache, you might go buy Tylenol as opposed Bayer. If you are hungry, and I show you a Big Mac, and you have a choice between the whopper and the big mac, chances are you will choose the big mac. So going back to this situation, looking exclusively at the societal presets, is the alleged victim of this crime is already in a state where she is in greater need of money and she has something can easily use for quick turn around, its no wonder then that she may have felt that stripping may have been the lesser of the evils to subsidize her education. The problem in this episode again comes back to the depersonalization, dehumanization and hegemonic masculinity allowed to run unchecked. Because of this, the alleged perpetrators were able to view this woman as a Stripper, commodity, a product. In their eyes, what they paid for, they didn’t get. So in turn, they lodged a complaint with the person whom the business transaction was initiated. She is not human to them for a variety of reasons. One she is a black woman. Again, through the definition of hegemonic masculinity, she is subordinated, inferior and displaying some degree of agency, therefore adjacent to deviant. She was supposed to strip, don’t say anything just strip. In their eyes again it was breech of contract for this object [stripper] animal [stripper] concubine [stripper] not to do what they said. The biggest issue on the plate for me is how many white student strippers there are in comparison. For some reason, I just don’t UNC, Duke, NC State, Meredith or Appalachian Students stripping to help pay for school. This is were T and I had the disagreement. He thinks they do. I personally think the UNC Systems needs to address the economic disparities between the schools HBCUs and TWIs to see the results. Could this be a pattern worthy of inquiry? I think so because the schools are very different. UNC has an endowment in the billions therefore allowing a higher number of scholarships and grants for their student population. Just looking at NCCU’s website today, they are asking students to pay a 300 dollar increase in tuition. The student demographic has changed to really to exclude those demographic changes. You can’t really have a child and go to school without a time job and the part time jobs are barely paying above the minimum wage. As an alum of NCCU I have to be critical in the sense that just as duke let the activity of the lacrosse players go unchecked, NCCU’s department of finical aid has gone unchecked, the development department has gone unchecked, the liaisons to the UNC system have gone unchecked. I venture to say that there are more cases like this that have gone one longer than anyone things—meaning students using the underground economy to subsidize their education.
Thank you for your indulgence.