Tom Burrell

To my wife, Madeline, gentle force

Introduction..................................................................................ix

Chapter 1: The Scorch at the Bottom of the MeltingPot .................. 1

Chapter 2: Relationship Wrecks...................................................... 13

Why Can't We Form Strong Families?

Chapter 3: Studs and Sluts.............................................................41

Why Do We Conform to Black Sexual Stereotypes?

Chapter 4: Uglified....................................................................... 65

Why Are Black and Beautiful Still Contradictions?

Chapter S: Homey-cide...................................................................87

Why Do We Keep Killing Each Other?

Chapter 6: Slow Suicide................................................................107

Why Do We Neglect Body, Mind, and Spirit?

Chapter 7: Buy Now, Pay Later..................................................... 135

Why Can't We Stop Shopping?

Chapter 8: D's Will Do.................................................................161

Why Do We Expect So Little of Each Other-andOurselves?

Chapter 9: Bred to Be Led............................................................185

Why Do We So Willingly Give Up Control of OurLives?

Chapter 10: Diss-Unity................................................................. 207

Why Can't We Stick Together?

Chapter 11: Neo-Coons................................................................ 233

Why Is the Joke Always on Us?

Chapter 12: Yes, We Must!...........................................................255

Healing from the Inside Out

Acknowledgments.....................................................................273

Endnotes....................................................................................275

About the Author......................................................................285

...You've been misled Youbeen had. You beentook.

- MALCOLM X

e are strong. Survivors of the MiddlePassage, the whip, and the chains. We havesurvived centuries of terror, humiliation, vilification,and deprivation.

We are smart. Even when our literacy was illegal,we learned quickly, invented, discovered, built,taught, and excelled against all odds.

We are creative. Making a way out of "No way!"and constantly birthing and rebirthing American artand culture.

So then why, after all this time, when calculatingthe achievement of the "American Dream," are westill ranked at the bottom of almost every "good" list,and at the top of the "bad" lists? Why, despite ourapparent strength, intelligence, and resourcefulness,do we continue to lag behind and languish in somany aspects of American life?

The answer is intricately linked to the hundreds ofyears blacks have lived with white guilt and blackshame. It lurks just beneath the surface of theAmerican consciousness, like a cancer that can't be

healed because it can't be discussed honestly andopenly.

Forty-five years in the advertising industry havegiven me personal and professional insight into thepower of propaganda-positive and negative-and theuse of words and images to influence, change, andeven transform people's lives. The knowledge andinsights I've gained have inspired me to provoke anhonest discussion in the hope that the healingprocess can finally begin.

I was born and raised on the South Side ofChicago. It was at the beginning of the New Deal,the "second coming" of black dependency.Throughout my community, we Negroes wereindoctrinated with the idea that we were unable totake care of ourselves, and that we needed help andhandouts from Mr. Charlie in the form of governmentprograms, including public assistance, food stamps,and any other "gifts" the government bestowed. Thisunquestioned dependencywhat psychologists call"learned helplessness"-was, I believe, one of themany reinforcements of a deep-seated, race-basedinferiority.

The message was clear, consistent, ubiquitous,and loud. It was subtly broadcast by the white massmedia, and bluntly and repeatedly echoed by itsblack recipients: "A nigger ain't shit!" It was, for themost part, an advertising pitch not much differentfrom the ones used to sell beer, laundry detergent, orlife insurance. The two main ingredients of thiscampaign created a toxic blend of white superiorityand black inferiority. Sold!

In 1971, I and my partner, Emmett McBain,launched what would become Burrell Advertising, a

full-service advertising agency specializing inpromoting products and services to the then largelyignored African American consumer. BurrellAdvertising became an industry leader because ofits positive, realistic, and compelling depictions ofblack life and culture, particularly in the medium oftelevision. We were keenly aware of the power ofculturally relevant language and images to influenceperceptions and attitudes toward my clients'products and services.

In other words, we created and disseminated"positive" propaganda.

Many years later, while minding my own business-literally-as chairman and chief executive officer ofBurrell Communications, I coined the phrase, "Blackpeople are not dark-skinned white people." It was aconcise summation of the basis of my business: thatb lack Americans, because of our heritage andhistory, have a unique culture that could best bereached through strategies, words, and imagessubtly or overtly related to those historical andcultural factors.

All ad agencies employ creativity-writing, art,photography, and music-to capture the public'smuch-divided attention. However, the most importantpart of what we do is study people: why they do whatthey do and why they buy what they buy.

Understanding what motivates people is a crucialpart of my profession. But, being a black man, I wascompelled to understand the way blacks are viewedin this country and the way many of us unconsciouslyview ourselves. Connecting the black dots on alarger level early on-from slavery and Jim Crowsegregation to commercial and social propaganda-became my passion.

Burrell Communications' research of the '70s and'80s showed that African Americans have distinctpsychosocial needs, desires, fears, hopes, andaspirations, all born of the circumstances arisingfrom our experience as chattel slaves in America.We discovered, for example, that:

• Black preference for high-end status brandswas driven by the need to compensate forfeelings of low self-esteem.

• Our penchant for a lopsided spending/savingsratio grew out of our need for immediategratification, based on a chilling pessimismabout an uncertain future.

• We "over-indexed," spending disproportionateamounts in every product category related tocleanliness (from feminine douches and scentedlaundry detergent to car deodorizers andhousehold disinfectants), primarily tocompensate for being historically stereotypedas dirty.

The genesis of all these attitudes can be traced toAmerican slavery. It was in America, in the "Land ofthe Free" that Africans were chained and branded,both physically and psychologically, as subhumanbeasts of burden. It was here that we were firstindoctrinated with the idea that we were, in fact, nothumans at all, but property.

I determined to gain a clearer picture of thevarious ways that our painful history in Americamanifests itself in present-day attitudes andbehaviors. Yes, there were intergenerational andhistoric factors determining African Americanpurchasing patterns. But might there be similarfactors influencing our daily lives, our relationships,our institutions?

In 2004, I sold the company and left the advertisingbusiness... but not completely. I found myselfconsumed by what I had learned and applied frommy years of real-life African American culturalanthropology. How could I utilize what we knew-thatwe'd been branded physically and mentally from thebeginning-to enable further exploration? How hadthat branding been perpetuated even after ourphysical chains were broken with the end of legals la ve ry? How were our intensely torturousenslavement and indoctrination transformed into thepowerful, pernicious, all-pervasive, mass-mediadriven brainwashing that still goes on today?

As a marketing professional who respects andadmires brilliantly conceived and deftly executedpropaganda, I eventually recognized that one of thegreatest propaganda campaigns of all time was themasterful marketing of the myth of black inferiority tojustify slavery within a democracy.

Ingenious.

I also became fascinated by the timeline of thisperverse but brilliant campaign. The brainiac of hisday, Thomas Jefferson-propagandist extraordinaire,chief strategist, and creative director, along withother powdered-wig power brokers-sold the idea ofwhite supremacy to the masses-all the masses. Theyconspired to make this out-and-out barbarityAmerica's first big brand. The early American rulingclass used every available tool-religion, law, politics,art, literature, even the nascent field of science-astools of their sales promotion and PR strategy.

The goal was to rationalize and reconcile thedevelopment of a single society with twooutrageously contradictory parts: one built on theconcept of human freedom, the other built on avicious, governmentally sanctioned destruction of

human freedom-all with the same history-makingquill pen.

Think about it: America had grappled with themoral dilemma of slavery ever since the first Africanslanded in Jamestown in 1619. The Founding Fathersfound themselves at a serious moral crossroads.They desperately needed a way to justify the gapingdivide between their God-fearing, freedom-lovingrhetoric and the nation's increasing addiction tocheap slave labor.

The solution: an effective marketing campaigncreated to not only force the institution of slavery to fitwithin the budding democracy, but one aimed atconvincing both master and slave that blacks hadalways been and would forever be mentally,physically, spiritually, and culturally inferior.

On a personal level, I'm revolted. Yet, as amarketing man, I find it to be an audacious andingenious strategy. It's as though the original colonialelites hired a PR agency to sell the concept thatAfricans were innately inferior and it was indeedcompletely justifiable to treat them as subhumanbeasts. The last several centuries still haunt us, andhinder our advancement and achievement. It hasseparated successful blacks from "disposable"blacks, those who simply refuse to "act right" andprosper.

In our effort to prove our equality, we unconsciouslychased the master's dream, adopted his values,moved into his neighborhoods, went to his schools,and danced to his tune. While in assimilation andsurvival mode, we had no time to consider the pricewe'd pay for leaving our communities and leavingbehind so many who look like us.

In the '60s and early '70s, we paid lip service to

being black and proud, but the sudden conversionwas not supported by the necessary psychologicalmachinery to make the change permanent. Eventoday, we have woefully inadequatecountermeasures, no permanent culturalmechanisms to undo what a 400-year marketingcampaign has achieved.

Our insistence that we have broken free from thenegative propaganda is wishful thinking. It takesmuch more than big afros, clenched fists, anddanceable slogans to fight the centuries ofunremitting exposure to twisted images anddehumanizing messages.

While I was writing this book, somethinghappened that few of us in our wildest dreams everimagined. A black man became president of theUnited States of America. Some may look at thatand say, "See. Black Americans have overcome! AsDr. King predicted, we 'as a people' have gotten tothe Promised Land."

In this day and age, imagery is power. Neverbefore has the country had the image of a black manoccupying the highest office in the land, deliveringthe State of the Union address, drafting andpromoting national policy, or disembarking from AirForce One with his black wife and daughters. Froma marketing perspective, this is powerful, life-alteringstuff.

Yet anyone who looks beyond the glow of themoment will understand that neither we, nor oursituation, will change overnight. A few of us havealways succeeded, somehow, in spite of the failureof our American Dream. Barack Obama, throughintelligence, will, self-determination, and yes, not asmall confluence of favorable circumstances, mayhave reached his Promised Land, but most black

Americans are still wandering in the wilderness.

The black inferiority/white superiority campaignhas morphed exponentially in the New Media age-avastly different, highly technological phase ofinstantly communicating messages and images haschanged the landscape forever. Now a click of amouse, a push of a button, or a finger slide acrossthe screen of a portable media device defineswhat's an opportunity and what's a lost cause, what'sstagnant and what's progress, what's valuable andwhat's worthless.

In the so-called "post-racial era," internalized blackinferiority combined with this new media realitymeans the rules of engagement have changeddramatically. America's racial fatigue, coupled withthe election of the nation's first African Americanpresident and the illusion of the acceptableexceptions, present new challenges for the best ofus and, most importantly, for the rest of us.

The illusion of racial progress paves the way for anationwide survival-of-the-fittest mentality. It will beokay to uproot urbanites so suburbanites canreclaim valuable metropolitan areas-gentrification isstill unrelenting. Efforts to diversify the workplace andneighborhoods will become needless distractions.Affirmative action or any other race- or class-basedefforts will become moot issues, of no value. Afterall, racism and prejudice died with the 2008 election.In a "postracial" society, with New Media as itsweapon, the brainwashing campaign now enters aphase that threatens to totally destroy our way ofbeing.

At a time when the global economy is a touchscreen away, when a fractured, dispirited nation isforced to once again dig deep and tap into itsinnovative roots to save itself, creative, time-tested

black people can ill afford to sit on the sidelinesbesieged by a dormant, invisible virus. Now, morethan ever, we have to come to terms with thisdevastating campaign. We've been programmed todeal with serious issues at a topical, epidermal levelinstead of going into deep tissue, to the root cause.

President Obama, utilizing a savvy New Mediacampaign to change hearts and win minds (andvotes), has opened the door for acounterpropaganda campaign-one that benefits notjust black people but whites as well. Now we are at apoint in history when the opportunity for movingahead has never been greater. We can seize thismoment if only we take charge of our own destiny,our own reprogramming. If we pool our resources,we have the critical mass-the numbers, the votingpower, and the persuasive skills-to enable us tocombat the ills that derive from lingering racism. Thesame skills that have allowed us to survive, if usedless passively and more pro-actively, can enable usto thrive.

I've experienced race-based lack of self-esteemfirst-hand. I know that it was not based solely on lowincome or poor education. As upwardly mobile as Iwas, that sense of lack was right there, climbingevery rung of the ladder of success right beside me.Over time, I've learned that the root of the problemwasn't what was being done to me-it was what I'dbeen brainwashed to feel about myself.

We cannot cure the symptoms withoutacknowledging the disease. These pages examinethe roots of why, more than 140 years after theEmancipation Proclamation, so many of us still thinklike slaves. I interviewed and incorporated thethoughts and experiences of many peoplethroughout this book. Although I've changed namesand ages of some of these interviewees to protect

their identities, their honest input was invaluable inillustrating the modern-day impact of black inferiorityconditioning. In Brainwashed, we will question whyw e still think so little of ourselves, why ourgrandmothers still put their savings in a specialoffering plate to help pay for the pastor's new luxuryautomobile, why our children answer when called"ho" and "nigga," why our one-time civil rights,business, and political heroes succumb to "crabbin'and backstabbin'," and why we, all too often, avoidcritical thinking about any of this. This bookexamines our subconscious perpetuation of the mythof black inferiority by asking these fundamentalquestions:

• Why can't we build strong families?

• Why do we perpetuate black sexualstereotypes?

• Why are "black" and "beauty" stillcontradictions?

• Why do we keep killing each other?

• Why are we killing ourselves?

• Why can't we stop shopping?

• Why do we expect so little of each other-andourselves?

• Why do we give up our power so willingly?

• Why can't we stick and stay together?

• Why is the joke always on us?

Even at this unprecedented and powerful point inAmerican history, friends, colleagues, and well-wishers still express their frustration with black

America's ever-worsening dependency on handouts,corporate sponsorships, and our kids' lack ofrespect for anything and anyone, especiallythemselves. They finally convinced me that myadvertisingbased discoveries about thebrainwashing of my people, and my ideas about howto finally reverse its effects, could fill a book.

Well, here it is.

But in the propaganda against the Negro sinceemancipation in this land, we face one of the moststupendous efforts the world ever saw to discredit

human beings, an effort involving universities,history, science, social life and religion.

- W. E. B. DU BOIS

he marketing of black inferiority and whitesuperiority as building blocks for the founding ofAmerica is a chicken that has finally come home toroost. Now we must ask ourselves: Did the world'sgreatest brainwashing campaign work?

Fast-forward 233 years. "Yes, it worked brilliantly."

That response, however, is incomplete. Todiscover the real answer, we must strip awaymultiple layers of complex conditioning. Part of theblack inferiority marketing campaign is to convinceus that we can't handle the truth... that we're better offnot knowing. It's an extremely patronizing message.We are capable enough and strong enough tohandle the truth. More importantly, if we are toreverse the mindless perpetuation of the "blackinferiority" or BI campaign we must go to that painful

place so that we may claim our peace.

Let's examine the effects of the brainwashingcampaign from a visual perspective. Imagine avideo collage of contemporary black images,delivered in a flashing, rapid, 60-second sequence.Try not to think in terms of good and bad or right andwrong but rather how familiar these scenes are.

• A syncopated, heart-thumping hip-hop beatpulsates while music video-style imagesexplode on the screen with increasing tempo.

• A ghetto corner cordoned off with yellow policetape.

• On the six o'clock news, a mother wails over thebody of a black boy felled by another black boywith a gun.

• Ivy League African Americans from Princeton,Harvard, and Yale running Fortune 500companies.

• Prisons engorged with mostly dark-skinnedinmates under twenty.

• Forlorn teenage girls with swollen, pregnantbellies and scowling, pubescent boys sportingsaggin' pants zooming in and out of thepicture.

• The 21st-century American Dream in black:Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Will Smith,Whoopi Goldberg, Condoleezza Rice, ColinPowell, and other role models.

• Tattooed rappers, half-naked, booty-shakingwomen; and hilariously funny but race-debasing comedians.

• Halle Berry seducing.

• Tiger Woods swinging.

• Michael Jordan flying.

• Beyonce singing.

• Flava Flav bling blinging.

• Stressed-out, hard-working, underpaid workerswalking through an economically depressedneighborhood.

• Empty faces of neglected and abandoned elders,emaciated adults, and obese children,malnourished in the land of plenty-alldisproportionately suffering from junk food diets,diabetes, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and otherlong-ignored, untreated yet preventable diseases.

• An urban school resembling an outdated factorywith armed guards.

• A teacher/warden in an overcrowded classroomattempts to instruct children, who run the gamutfrom hyperactive to comatose.

• Photo gallery: Thurgood Marshall, Martin LutherKing, Jr., and other Black History Monthpoliticians and dignitaries.

• The montage slows to its finale with "Hail to theChief" soaring in the background. Dominating thescreen is a glorious photo of Barack Obama withFirst Lady Michelle by his side. Images fade toblack with the voice of the nation's 44th presidentrepeating the now familiar phrase: "It's our time."

Exceptional Exceptions

Of all the faces in my video collage, which oneswere most likely influenced by the inferiorblack/superior white brainwashing campaign?

All of them.

I can just hear the critics: "Whoa, whoa! Hold up,Burrell. Sure, there's black negativity on a grandscale, but how can you say all blacks arebrainwashed to feel inferior when you just notedinspi ring examples of prideful, positive, andprogressive African Americans excelling andaccomplishing historic feats?"

As an African American who has made his livingunderstanding and utilizing the power ofpropaganda, I have unapologetically used theprinciples of psychology and emotional persuasionto promote products and agendas. I recognizemarketing brilliance and am cognizant of thecountry's addiction to feeding its illusion of being afree and equal society, where anyone and everyonecan succeed despite cultural and economicobstacles. Training the spotlight on well-deservingAfrican American achievers clouds the realities thatthey grapple with daily.

The illusion that anyone can succeed-what I callthe "paradox of progress"-solidifies the myth of a"post-racial society." It weakens the impulse tounderstand or help those still scorched at the bottomof America's melting pot. It fuels the perception thatall is well and "racism is dead," and suggests thatthose still wallowing in poverty made consciouschoices to live in that stratum. If not, many reason,they'd simply follow Halle, Tiger, Oprah, or even TomBurrell's lead. They'd quit bellyaching, grab those

bootstraps, and go to work!

Hold on. It's even more convoluted. Blacks, who'vebeen conditioned to expect less from people wholook like themselves, automatically insert these high-profile black achievers into the "exceptionalexceptions" file. Many are positioned on pedestals,with no demands of accountability toward those theyleft behind.

After all, these people have achieved so much.They're different! They're exceptional! Someprominent black achievers have actually openedtheir own Kool-Aid stands. They, too, considerthemselves the "exception" and, in many instances-consciously or unconsciouslyhave begun to regardblacks of lesser social status or achievement asinferior. Ironically, in many ways, the progressparadox is an impediment to substantive collectiveprogress.

Consider recent FBI crime statistics, censusfigures associated with poverty, or the conclusionsfound in the book put out annually by the NationalUrban League, The State of Black America. Theyreveal the same ongoing, depressing themes: socialchaos, irresponsible spending, economicstagnation, and disproportionate death andincarceration rates. No matter what the category,blacks statistically trail behind whites and otherethnicities, and in some areas, such as educationalachievement and overall life expectancy, ournumbers are actually getting worse.

Regardless of our individual social, economic, ormedia success, it has not affected the black bottomline. Therefore, though black progress is morevisible today than ever before, I maintain that theunwritten, audacious promotion of white superiorityand black inferiority was (and still is) the most

effective and successful marketing/ propagandacampaign in the history of the world. AfricanAmericans, no matter how savvy, educated, orfinancially privileged, could not completely avoid theconditioning that resulted from increasinglysophisticated bombardment of subtle and not-so-subtle messages created to reinforce how differentand inherently inferior blacks are when compared towhites.

In this perpetual state of "otherness" there's nodisputing our unequal status. Like Coca-Cola, theblack inferiority product has been modernized andupdated with time. But don't be mistaken, the intentis to keep the original message firmly embedded inour psyches: white superiority was, is, and (unlesswe block the negativity) will always be "The RealThing."

Early indoctrination into my own inferiority fueled adetermination to succeed. I remember coming to aconscious decision when I reached adulthood that,rather than continue internalizing the hurt andhumiliation, "I'd just show them."

I tried to deal with it in a variety of ways, startingwith the idea of fooling "the man," making all believethat I was something other than what "they" said.Some days I tried my best. Other days, I'd just wantto give in, accept the lesser status and engage incynical behavior. Ultimately, I chose the "fake it tillyou make it" approach, spoofing the public until Iwas financially secure enough to retire into acategory of my own design. This line of thinkingcontinued until I was more than 40 years old, wellafter I'd established my marketing firm.

Burrell Communications was touted for masteringthe skills of positive commercial propaganda.Perhaps it was because of our commitment to

understanding, mastering, and utilizing savvytechniques required to sell products and influencebehavior that certain realities finally clarified andeventually inspired this journey. All I know for sure is,at some point it dawned on me that I was not faking. Iwas, indeed, just as smart, just as brave, just asdisciplined, and just as beautiful as what I thought Iwas pretending to be. The more I learned about theorigin of my own issues, which had been festeringfrom the legacy of chattel slavery, the more I wasable to see the same wounds in others.

It was then I realized that I, like most Americans,had been brainwashed.

Propaganda Campaigns

Maybe I'm expressing a sense of atonement ormaybe it's just that I don't want to leave this planetwithout putting my life's skills to the ultimate test. I'vedecided to adopt a strategy similar to that of EdwardBernays, the nephew of the famous psychiatristSigmund Freud.

Bernays was considered by many experts to bethe first publicrelations professional. In fact, he takescredit for inventing the term. Bernays adapted someof Uncle Sigmund's revolutionary psychologicalstudies to aid the government's World War II mediaoffensive and helped manipulate the Americanmasses for fun and profit.

Bernays didn't call himself a propagandist. Backthen the Germans had already given the word thenegative taint it still carries today. Instead, Bernayscalled himself a public-relations expert. In a very realway, his first propaganda triumph was to change theimage of propaganda itself. In a way, this bookfollows Bernays's lead. The intent is to thoroughly

dissect this white superiority/black inferiorityphenomenon, demonstrate how it still retards oursocial, personal, and economic advancement, andthen help Americans flip the script-to neutralize thetechniques.

Unlike Bernays, I have no intention of shying awayfrom the term propaganda. I say we use it-take whatwas thrown at us, shuck it off, and replace it with"positive" propaganda. Propaganda is the outerlayer of this brainwashing onion. After all, in themarketing world, propaganda is the first tool utilizedto achieve a desired outcome. Brainwashing is theoutcome, but propaganda got us here, and itscontinued use keeps the inferior/superior mindgame in play. Instead of using torture and othercoercive techniques, the stealthy, media-savvypropagandist uses mass media and other forms ofcommunication to change minds and mold ways ofthinking.

In the United States, the first society in theorygoverned by popular opinion, propaganda becamea critical tool of the wealthy, governing elite. Forinstance, the powerful words freedom and justice forall overshadowed the reality that both were denied toblack slaves. Yet those words, as propaganda tools,helped solidify the image of a burgeoning nation.

There are many propaganda principles. But hereare a few that I believe were of prime importance inthe 18th-century black inferiority marketing strategy.These principles were employed throughout thecolonial period of the late 1700s, Reconstruction inthe late 1800s, the 20th-century civil rightsmovement, and still survive in modern times.

The Big Lie-the repeated and consistentarticulation of a partial, distorted, or manufactured"truth."

• Colonial era: Black slaves are subhuman beasts.

• Reconstruction era: Emancipated blacks arestill inferior to whites.

• Civil Rights era: Blacks are angry,dangerous, unemployable, and addictedto welfare.

• Modern era: Low-income blacks are innatefailures, responsible for their own moral andeconomic decline.

Appeal to Fear-the purposeful effort to instillapprehension and panic.

• Colonial era: Changing the status of blackslaves will threaten our livelihood and destroyour way of life.

• Reconstruction era: Emancipated blacks will seekrevenge and rape white women.

• Civil Rights era: Blacks are revolutionarycommunists. They're moving too fast and want toomuch at once. "Black power" really means "racewar."

• Modern era: Low-income blacks are violent andprone to crime. They threaten property values andmust be contained or incarcerated.

Appeal to Prejudice-attaching a value or moral labelto flawed but well-established perceptions.

• Colonial era: Whites are physically, mentally, andmorally superior to blacks.

• Reconstruction era: Blacks want and need tobe subjugated. They cannot function in freesociety.

• Civil Rights era: Whites have earned economicand social privilege through hard work,discipline, high morals, and family values.

• Modern era: Social and economic woes areattributed solely to irresponsible blackparenting, crime-coddling communities, anda sense of perceived "victimization."

Stereotyping-exaggerating establishedperceptions of physical or cultural traits, attachingnegative attributes to an entire group.

• Colonial era: Black slaves are uncivilized,childlike, and content with bondage.

• Reconstruction era: Emancipated blacks arebuffoons, lazy, illiterate, and rapists.

• Civil Rights era: Blacks are angry, impatient, andmurderers.

• Modern era: Low-income blacks are drug-addicted, criminal, oversexed, dependent ongovernment assistance, and irresponsible.

Anti-Jewish Propaganda

Perhaps the only other group subjected to such anextens i ve , calculated, and government-fundedpropaganda campaign were the Jews under thereign of Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler, in the 30sand '40s. The Fuhrer found propaganda a handy toolin spreading the dogma of Aryan superiority,achieving his military goals, and justifying the masseradication of Jews. The "Ministry of PublicEnlightenment and Propaganda," headed by Hitler'spropagandist, Joseph Goebbels, churned outposters, films, and books that spread Hitler's bile.

Although Jews, like blacks, suffered under adeadly campaign of propaganda and brainwashing,the effort doesn't seem to have hampered their long-term cultural evolution or caused stiflingpsychological impairment. Jews don't rank withblacks in social and economic dysfunction.

It's not that Jewish people are better or strongerthan black people. The Holocaust under Hitler-asdeadly and horrific as it was-lasted about 12 years.Even by conservative standards, the black holocausthad a solid 250-year run.

When examining Jewish culture, we understandthat their physical and mental survival was attributedto their foundations in culture, family, and rituals.Among Jews in Egypt, Persia, Germany, America,and elsewhere, there is common ritual, commonbelief, common values, and a common religiousthread.

As later chapters will illustrate, such cultural richeswere stolen from blacks. Slaves and theirdescendents had no assumed permanent structuresto maintain their cultural roots. They continuouslycobbled together culture based on white dictates.Slavery, Jim Crow, and segregated society were notsolid foundations. Blacks were programmaticallystripped of their cultural identity and brainwashedinto a mindset of black inferiority-a double whammythat's tough to overcome.

Propaganda in the Modern Era:

Branding and Marketing

The principles of propaganda withstood the test oftime. But propaganda by itself is just angry, vile,vicious sentiment. Just as a car's engine works bestwith additional, intricate parts, propaganda, coupled

with other promotional tools, such as marketing andbranding, made the black inferiority crusade a long-lasting success.

Take marketing, for example. Think of it as thecommercial, forprofit, businessend of brainwashingand propaganda. It's what all major companies useto sell products and services. Although marketingencompasses many endeavors, advertising is itsmost familiar form.

Branding is another word with diverse meaningsand nuances. Several of these apply to this book'spremise, including branding a product with atrademark or branding of skin as an identifying mark.Branding also helps the consumer associateproducts with a widely accepted name,distinguishing it from similar products.

In today's world, companies spend hundreds ofmillions, if not billions, to establish, promote, andprotect their brands-Nike shoes, McDonald'shamburgers, Apple computers, Starbucks coffee,United Airlines, Ivory soap. However, one of the firsthigh-value brands in America was not an inanimateproduct. It was humans. African Americans wereturned into animate products: slaves. And the brandthat the early ruling class literally and figurativelyburned onto black Americans, as they did withlivestock, was the permanent identifier of "subhumaninferiority."

While some might argue that racist mediapractices died with the Jim Crow era, a fewthousand folks stranded for days on swelteringrooftops or in neck-deep, toxic floodwater in theaftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 mightdisagree. We now know that many of the 24/7 newsaccounts of black-on-black sniper attacks, massmurders, and the rape of women and babies were

largely unfounded.

What influenced seasoned journalists, policemen,and emergency workers to initially sidestep humanityand propagate exaggerated accounts of blackcrime?

Again, media propaganda.

Norman Coombs, author of The Black Experiencein America: The Immigrant Heritage of America,wrote about the genesis and ultimate result of thisgrand scheme:

Not only did white America become convincedof white superiority and black inferiority, but itstrove to impose these racial beliefs on theAfricans themselves. Slavemasters gave a greatdeal of attention to the education and training ofthe ideal slave.. .At every point this educationwas built on the belief in white superiority andblack inferiority. Besides teaching the slave todespise his own history and culture, the masterstrove to inculcate his own value system into theAfrican's outlook. The white man's belief in theAfrican's inferiority paralleled African self-hate.

In short, we were brainwashed.

The shattering blows on the Negro family have madeit fragile, deprived, and often psychopathic.

- DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

n Father's Day, June 15, 2008, BarackObama, then only a candidate for the U.S.presidential nomination, stood before a blackcongregation at a Chicago South Side church anddelivered an important message to the blackcommunity:

Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, weare reminded today that family is the mostimportant... But if we are honest with ourselveswe'll also admit that too many fathers aremissing from too many lives and too manyhomes. They have abandoned theirresponsibilities, acting like boys instead of men.And the foundations of our families are weakerbecause of it.

While Obama was congratulated for boldly takingabsentee black fathers to task and condemned fortaking an opportunistic shot at black men for politicalgain, all sides missed the most important points.

Black men are not just absent from their children'slives; too many black men and women are absentfrom each other's lives.

In other words, it's not just a fathering problem; it'sa "family-ing" problem, another casualty of ouraddiction to the black Inferiority brand. The majorchallenge, therefore, is to discuss and seriouslydissect the black family-ing problem.

Songs to the Beat (down) Of

Black Life

Hit the road, Jack. The kid is not my son, who'smaking love to your old lady? Papa was a rollin'stone. We sing, dance, and make love to catchybeats that endorse, reinforce, and promulgate ourmost selfdestructive habits.

The messages are not only telegraphed throughour music. The muddy milieu of black relationshipsseemingly splash across the front pages of tabloids,on Internet pages, on the nightly news and TVdramas, and in everyday advertising. The mediagleefully amplified the exploits of a wildly successfulR&B singer beaten bloody by her equally popularboyfriend. Of course, the juicy story of the blacktelevangelist strangled and stomped by her preacherhusband on a hotel parking lot also received plentyof media play.

Flip the channel or turn the page and there are the"baby mamas" and "baby daddies" so ubiquitous incommon American culture that they become plotpoints or titles for mainstream comedies andmovies.

And there, on the news, backed by respectedresearch, are the products of all this ingrainedpromiscuity and violence-young children seemingly

promiscuity and violence-young children seeminglyrunning amok in urban cities that breed violence,some left to raise their own siblings in the absenceof negligent or missing parents.

The syndicated television program Maury, hostedby Maury Povich, is known for its "Who's YourDaddy?" segments. Much of the content is based onissuing paternity tests to teens and young adults inhopes of determining fatherhood. In just one weekduring the summer of 2009, 1 watched thesescenarios:

Three young African American women-girls really-accused a young man of fathering their threechildren-all born within a month of one another. Theyoung man had another 7-month-old child with hiscurrent girlfriend. In another segment, a young girlslept with two men at the same time, and was unsurewho fathered her child. Then, there was the storyabout a mother who paid her daughter's boyfriendfor sex.

Many of Maury's guests are black, and the sheernumber of these cases is damning. Shows likethese, along with court television shows that promotethe same dysfunction, are very popular. I couldn'the lp but imagine the vast numbers of peopleindoctrinated by these images of black family chaos.And it's not like we can put 100 percent of the blamefor this public buffoonery on the producers of theseshows. These situations aren't fabricated; they're justcarefully picked realities of black life. Sadly, it's art(and I use the word loosely) that imitates life. Wewatch these programs like a gory train wreckbecause they involve so many people who look likeus.

Blacks not only dance to the beat of familydestruction, we patronize films by black producersand directors that bombard our brains and reinforce

all the bad we've been fed about ourselves-first bythe white ruling class, and now abetted by ourbrainwashed brethren. Whether it's sagas likeRihanna and Chris Brown, or negative, self-demeaning movies, or characters like thosedepicted in HBO's gritty urban drama The Wire-black relationships and families are seen ashopelessly at odds, dysfunctional, violent, andunsubstantial.

Yet we accept and share these perceptionswithout question or qualm. Passionate conversationsabout "no good black men" among groups of blackwomen are not irregularities. What is a rareoccurrence, however, is our willingness to go to thehistoric root of negative black male behavior ordiscuss how fatherless homes help shape thesentiments shared by so many black women.

Likewise, black men are not aware of theunconscious motivators that cause them to demeanblack women. Nary is an objection raised whengaggles of these men depict evil, mean-spirited,materialistic, or impatient black women, and thenexpound on why they're better off with white women.Little attention is paid to the daughters these menbring into the world. Not only are they conditioned tolive the stereotype of their mothers, many do so inhomes with absentee fathers.

It's assumed that black women are supposed tohave a slew of children with multiple men who willeventually abandon them. These women are quicklyrelegated to "supermom" status, expected to serveas both the foundation and as the black family'sdoormat. This, too, is a topic that receives littlediscussion, as is the mystery of how and why blackwomen become enablers, molding black boys whowill someday emulate the actions of their waywardfathers.

At a very young age, black men and women areinundated with messages that they cannot trust ordepend upon one other. Children hear commentsand jokes about lazy, greedy, irresponsible, orotherwise flawed black adults. They are warned tobe tough, trust no one, and always, always beprepared for the doomed relationship. Is it really arevelation that incompatibility, lack of love, andoftentimes violence become the inevitableconclusions of these tainted individuals'relationships?

NO Family Dysfunction

We hear them. We see them. We feel them and,ultimately, we tune them out.

Distrust and contempt; physical, verbal, andpsychological abuse; infidelity; emotional distance;and mutually disabling partnershipsthese are the fivemost destructive dynamics that lead to fracturedblack relationships and broken families. To tackleour Black Inferiority Complex as a purposefullyembedded condition, it's important that we approachthe subject in the manner in which I've taken onprojects as a marketing and advertising executivefor 45 years.

In a sense, BI Complex is the competitor'sproduct. My goal is to break its dominance in theblack mindset and introduce a better, uplifting brand.This means that we first have to dissect the brand'sstaying power and understand how it continues towreak havoc on black families and relationships. Solet's start peeling the onion. First, let's define the fivedynamics that hamper the development of strong,healthy black families.

Relationship Wrecks Dynamics

1. Diss-respect

Words of mutual contempt, ridicule; wide mistrustof mates, mothers, and fathers.

We hear this in everyday conversations amongblack men and women, parents and grandparents,at parties, and in the privacy of our homes. Wordsof mutual contempt, the casual dissing of oneanother that seed the notion that black men andwomen are to be ridiculed, put down, and widelymistrusted as mates and as parents. The effect ofself-inflicted disrespect is indicative in the 43.3percent of black men and 41.9 percent of blackwomen in America who have never been married(according

to 2001 Census Bureau statistics), compared to27.4 percent of white men and 20.7 percent ofwhite women who have never married. Theoverall U.S. marriage rate, from 1970 to 2001,declined by 17 percent, but the rate amongblacks fell by a whopping 34 percent.

2. The Beat-Down

Disproportionate rates of physical, verbal,spiritual, and psychological abuse in blackrelationships.

Physical, verbal, spiritual, and psychologicalabuses are disproportionate factors in blackrelationships. Today, reported incidents of familyviolence are highest in African Americanhouseholds, according to data from the AmericanBar Association's Commission on DomesticViolence. The number one killer of AfricanAmerican women aged 15 to 34 is not cancer, not

car wrecks, but dying at the hands of "lovedones." Overall, from 1993 to 1998, black femalesexperienced intimate partner violence at a rate 35percent higher than that of white females, andabout 22 times the rate of women of other races.

On the other side of this spectrum we find thatblack males experienced intimate partnerviolence at a rate of about 62 percent higher thanthat of white males and about 22 times the rate ofmen of other races. Of course, verbal,psychological, and spiritual abuse has not beendocumented, but coupled with physical violence,we glimpse the full-body assault far too manyblack women, men, and children must endure.Recognizing the beat-down is one thing-understanding its destructive opposition toforming and maintaining healthy familyrelationships is the real task at hand.

3. "Can't Be True to My Boo"

The acceptance and expectation of infidelity.

Infidelity is another popular subject in relationshipconversations. Additionally, in song and throughmass media messaging, we advertise our inabilityto remain true to one another. And, like self-fulfilling prophecies, these repeated messagesare like bricks paving the walkway to wreckedrelationships.

4. Icing

Emotional shutdown and distance that fostersunhealthy relationships. Icing results inembracing anti-intimate behavior, even inintimate relationships.

We are a tough, strong, resilient race. Our eldersremind us that "life ain't no crystal stair." We're

expected to "suck it up" and deal with the cardswe're dealt in life. The "icing" process is encodedin our DNA. Therefore, we embrace anti-intimatebehavior even as we seek intimate relationships.We shut down and keep emotional distance,hoping to avoid hurt at all costs. In reality, we onlyavoid true romanticism, opting instead to surviverelationships instead of enjoying healthy ones.

5. Mutual Dis-enabling

Irresponsible black men and overprotectiveblack women perpetrate negative emotionaltrends with sons and daughters. Childrencontinue the cycle of unhealthy relationships.

Irresponsible and absent black fathers who won't(or can't) protect or provide for their families matewith the black superwomen-over-responsible,addicted to no-account black men, and woefullyempty partnerships, they assume roles of"Mama," "Daddy," and "family provider." Theirfragile children will someday procreate andcontinue the cycle of unhealthy relationships. Theresults were evident in the 2005 National Centerfor Health Statistics data showing that nearly 70percent of black children in the United Stateswere born to single mothers, compared to 25.3percent to non-Hispanic white women, and 48percent to Hispanic women.

We acknowledge these and other negativestatistics, but what has not been thoroughly exploredis how we collectively came to behave in destructiveways and why the cycle continues unabated.

Question, Analyze, Unplug,

Reprogram

Are these statistics indicative of our natural stateof affairs, or do they reflect a self-fulfilling prophesy?Are we stuck on a path of low expectations thatlegitimizes the disintegration of black families? Arewe so "iced" and emotionally toughened that weexpect abusive, violent relationships, highpercentages of unmarried couples, and out-of-wedlock children born to parents with nocommitment to one another or their children's well-being? Failing to explore the genesis and ongoingramifications of these issues is like a doctor treatingacute pneumonia with a cough suppressant.

The baby mamma/baby daddy drama islaughable, even to a generation of blacks whoexpect a single mother to raise kids who must fendfor themselves and have no extended familymembers to nurture, care for, or protect them. Whatkind of indictment is it of black men and women that,based on the number of their sexual relationships,they don't know who has fathered or mothered theirchildren? It's disheartening to watch young blackmen on shows like Maury celebrate when they learn:"You are not the father!" Reaction to such life-alteringnews may be understandable but, for most of theAmerican viewing audience, these young men arecelebrating their escape from responsibility.Fatherhood is one of the greatest privileges in anysociety. Yet, this very serious issue is trivializedthrough spectacles like Maury and other popular TVshows. Trivializing black life has become all toocommon a sport.

Why are stable, normal black families consideredthe exception, not the rule? Perhaps it's becauseconstantly marketed, predetermined negativeexpectations prepare black men and women toexpect the worst from one another. Perhaps it'sbecause history takes us directly to a place thatinspires white guilt and black gloom, a place many

want to ignore and few want to recognize as thesource of much of today's black angst. It's time tolook past the depressing headlines and gloomystatistics, and begin dealing with the acute factorsthat cripple black families and relationships. First,however, we must honestly look into what contributedto this state of affairs.

Where the Beat-Down Began

To be blunt: disproportionate black familydysfunction is directly linked to American chattelslavery, the Founding Fathers, and the barbaricentrepreneurship of a nation.

As black abolitionist David Walker argued in his1829 pamphlet, Appeal to the Coloured Citizens ofthe World, American slaveowners, unlike theircounterparts in some other slave-based economies,had no regard for familial attachments. In fact, theymade a conscious, willful decision to control slaves'minds through decimating the black family.Deconstructing the very concept of "black family"was central to the massive enterprise to build a neweconomy, and to lay the cornerstones of personalfortunes.

Assessing this from a marketing perspective, toachieve their strategy, enslavers could not leaveAfricans with any vestige of the "family" brand. Inlaymen's terms, the black family had to be destroyedand the first order of business was to annihilate theblack family's designated protector-the black man.

My granny taught me a lot about black men. Thatthey are good for nothing... they don't want towork, they want to sit up and take all your money.And they are ignorant. She told me if I was smartI should be good and go to school and find

myself a rich white man. - Lela

Dehumanizing the Family

By the mid-1600s, with the passage of the firstSlave Codes, slavemasters began legalizing thedehumanization of African slaves. Because men inAfrican cultures were an integral part of both theimmediate and extended family, branding andbreaking any remnant of a rebel spirit in black menbecame a critical step. If black men were notsufficiently animalized, dehumanized, and broken,they could potentially cause great damage to thelucrative slave-marketing system-as slave revolts inAmerica and Haiti proved.

Slaves had no legal safeguards. Black men werepowerless to protect their loved ones fromharassment, sexual exploitation, or rape frommasters and overseers.

Black women were forced by circumstance tostifle their matriarchal impulses, and to abide andnavigate a system that left their husbands andchildren exposed to unimaginable cruelty. ToniMorrison's book Beloved provides but a glimpse intothe insane world where a beaten and brutalizedrunaway slave mother kills her baby girl rather thanhave the child reared as a slave.

Fear was a constant among slave families. Inaddition to various other indignities and humiliations,slave families were forced to watch wives,husbands, sons, and daughters harassed, violated,or mutilated. Those who tried to protect their lovedones found themselves abused or murdered.

To my knowledge, the long-term trauma andmental damage to the black family forced to toleraterepeated family abuse under slavery has never been

fully studied or documented. One thing is clear,however: Stripping black men and women of theirnatural roles as parents and protectors, andconditioning them to accept physical andpsychological abuse were initial steps in thebrainwashing campaign.

If early American institutions of commerce,architecture, and religion morphed into moderntimes, is it any surprise that the system thatdevastated the slave family also snaked its way, insome form, into the 21st century? We have iced overcenturies of inherited trauma. Instead, most of uschoose the easy route of emotional detachment,refusing to acknowledge a damaging condition wedon't understand and cannot control.

The damage still seeps out. It's notable in theabandonment, debasement, and violence we inflictupon ourselves, our spouses, our lovers, and ourchildren.

Marcus came from a working class black family-one generation away from the projects. Wedidn't so much as fall in love, we fell in need.(His) parents fought and were abusive, so wewere really doomed from the start. He was usedto seeing abuse, and therefore he thought thatwas what a man was supposed to do. I wasused to taking abuse, so I thought that was whatI was supposed to do. We were a perfectcomplement for each other... for disaster. -Tanya, age 52

Family by Another Name

For the slaveowner, keeping black families unitedgarnered less of their attention than breeding andselling livestock. A key component to establishing

the "beast" brand was treating and breeding blackmen and women like farm animals.

The domestic sale and breeding of AfricanAmericans for slave markets remained legal untilearly 1808. However, after the importation of slaveswas no longer sanctioned by the government,slaveowners in tobacco-growing states like NorthCarolina, Maryland, and Virginia earned big profitsby breeding and selling excess slaves to farmers"down the river" in the Deep South. The largeplantation owners there needed massive numbers ofslaves to pick the South's next big thingcotton-acommodity more and more in demand in England.

Black families existed in a perpetual state ofinstability. Any number of circumstances easilyseparated them for a lifetime. Many slaves wound upon the auction block due to their owner's misfortuneor death. Slaves labeled "unruly" were often sold aspunishment for their behavior. Even if immediatefamilies managed to stay together, there was noguarantee that a niece or grandson would remain onthe same plantation as an aunt or grandfather. Thesystem retarded and fractured the basic sense ofsafety inherent within the family. Slaves foundthemselves dependent upon the benevolence of theiroppressor, the slavemaster, for any semblance ofsafety.

From Boys to Men

Slavery and its aftermath constituted anunrelenting assault on black male identity. Thetrauma was a serious blow to the sense of manhoodprevalent in male-dominated societies, and whichm a ny black men still wrestle with today. It isimpossible to understand our current family crisiswithout examining the historical ways in which black

fathers, mates, brothers, and sons wereemasculated.

Slavery disturbed the minds of black men whowatched their women carry out traditional maleduties of West African societies. Black male slavescould not take on any of the roles monopolized bywhi te men, who set guidelines in the home fortraining and raising children, especially their sons,into adulthood.

Renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead, asnoted in the 1965 U.S. Department of Labor report"The Negro Family," explained the consequences ofmanipulating the family hierarchy:

With the family, each new generation of youngmales learns the appropriate nurturing behaviorand superimposes upon their biologically givenmaleness, this learned parental role. When thefamily breaks down-as it does under slavery...these deliberate lines of transmission arebroken.

Who's the Man?

As empathetic as female slaves were to the plightof their husbands, who were deprived of the roles ofprotector and leader, the fact remained that theslavemaster was, by design, the real provider ofsafety and security.

Oftentimes she demeaned herself. She grinned,shuffled, and hustled to protect her family. And thepower dynamic didn't change after Emancipation.Jim Crow segregation and institutionalized racismcemented the rule of law in white male hands. Forcenturies, black women understood that the naturalorder of male/female relationships didn't apply. Nomatter how much she understood why her man

couldn't protect her, the unnatural code of survivalseeded subliminal contempt: You didn't protect me.You can't protect me. I have to protect myself!

Black Woman/White World

The Founding Fathers maintained dominance bywaging a mental war to convince themselves andtheir slaves that blacks were childlike, inferior, andbetter off under their care, discipline, and direction.In a twisted form of mental manipulation and maledominance, white men worked to persuade blackwomen that black men were unreliable, docile, andunsuited for leadership roles. Propagandareinforced the notion that black women and theirchildren were safer in a whitecontrolled environment.

Black women-deemed less threatening-weremore often assigned roles as house servants. Theywere allowed indoors to suckle white babies andtend to the white family's every need. This role wasseen as a step up from grueling field work. Into thelate 20th century, even during the harshest economictimes, maid service and house cleaning in white,well-to-do households were always options availablefor black women.

In caricature, even after slavery ended, black menwere depicted as vile, buffoonish loafers who thrivedin neighborhoods filled with corruption and vice.Juxtaposed against this were images of blackwomen happily separated from these men, enjoyingsafety and privilege in the sanctity of calm, well-ordered, clean, and wholesome white environments.

In early American literature and numerous films,black women were portrayed as part of the whitefamily-a la Aunt Jemima-wholly dependent on thebenevolence of white men and blissfully serving the

family. The Beulah Show, America's first televisionsitcom starring an African American woman (1950-1953), featured black actresses, first Ethel Watersand later Hattie McDaniel. Advertising for the showhyped Beulah as the beloved servant who served asthe "queen of the kitchen" and managed thehousehold.

The modern rendition of the black-woman-thriving-in-the-whiteworld theme is evidenced in theNickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP. In thisbubblegum series, a black teenage girl (KekePalmer) wins a prize job at a successful, white-owned high-fashion company. In the first season ofthe show there was no hint of True's family life or herblack parents. Her best friends are not black andshe falls for the white nephew of the company'seccentric white male boss.

And who could forget Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, the hardedged, independent, andfamously stubborn contestant on the TV show TheApprentice. Even though it's promoted as a realityshow, writers still script the roles for best effect.Omarosa fit the popular stereotypical role of the"corporate black bitch" who would backstab, brown-nose, mooch, and do whatever necessary to win thefavor of the white mega-boss, Donald Trump.

The overabundance of these on-screen heroinessubtly reinforces the early American mantra thatblack women are suited to white surroundings. Ifblack men are depicted at all, they are often flawed,powerless, and secondary characters.

Most often, however, black men are invisible, as inthe 2008 comedy film Role Models. In the film, ablack mother (Nicole Randall Johnson) depends ona white, hard-drinking, dope-smoking, womanizer(Sean William Scott) to reform her troubled, foul-

mouthed, ill-tempered "Booby Watcher" 10-year-oldson (Bobb'e J. Thompson), who was abandoned(without explanation) by his black father. RoleModels is but a modern-day echo of a slave-eratheme. Of course, a black woman would turn to aboozing, irresponsible white man to save her son.After all, she knows she can't depend on a blackman to protect her or raise his own children.

The seeds of mutual disrespect are rooted deepin the foundation of "blackness." Media messages,on a subconscious level, remind blacks of theirinferior status and their roles, designated duringslavery, of irresponsible, childlike wards of analmighty, all-powerful, superior white society.

(Mother) married a Caucasian man, because inher mind, that was going the complete oppositedirection... he would be all the things that Daddywasn't: stable, have a good job, wouldn't cheaton her, etc... She wanted that white picket fence,that stability, and he (Daddy) couldn't do that.She loved him. She loved him so much, but itwas not enough. - Tanya

Why We Can't All "Just

Get Along?"

Isn't it fairly predictable that men and womenwho've been bred, branded, and programmed forhundreds of years to avoid traditional roles ofcommitment, parenthood, and marriage would havea difficult time sustaining these roles today?

It is encouraging that, given this history, so manyblack men and women have remained "whole andfunctioning" men, women, and parents. Yet, thecurrent state of relations among African Americancouples indicates that our gender wars are more

intense than in other racial groups, our expectationgaps far wider, and the routes we travel in search ofconjugal bliss are planted with more landmines.

Authors Brenda Lane Richardson and Dr. BrendaWade get to the genesis of this pathology in thebook What Mama Couldn't Tell Us About Love:

In the meantime, both your son and daughterhave grown into adulthood on other plantations,believing they can't count on anyone forcloseness and warmth, that love is temporary.After all, they lost the first love of their lives, andheaped on this are the everyday cruelties andhumiliations of being a slave. Under theseconditions, they can't love themselves, and so itis impossible for them to teach their childrenhow to love themselves.

Instead of teaching love, most black men andwomen regurgitate negatives. In barbershops acrossthe nation, where black men can be black men, acommon topic centers on the crazy, violent,untrustworthy, overpowering black woman.

Once we look at the traumatic hand black womenhave been dealt and still shuffle, we can movebeyond the stereotypical "angry black woman" andaddress the issue from the foundations of herfrustration. If we dissect the brainwashing campaign,black men may recognize that, inherent in ournegative descriptors of black women, we are stillgrappling with an age-old fear that we are "lessthan," and cannot meet societal expectations. It'ssimply easier to write black women off as crazy thanconfront the white man's "truths."

The things men would say about black women:"Black women don't let you get away withanything. They'd always be all up in your shit,

attitudinal, all in your face." The stereotypicalblack experience was a hard-ass life. Black menwanted to escape from that, and unfortunatelyblack women represented that. You can't leavethis box you've been painted into unless youleave her behind. - James, 32

"When women get together and talk about men,the news is almost always bad news," writes bellhooks, the feminist social critic, in We Real Cool:Black Men and Masculinity. "If the topic gets specificand the focus is on black men, the news is evenworse." Is it any wonder that the pain resulting fromfractured relationships infuses art, literature, andsong? The black woman, who subconsciouslyconsiders herself unworthy, has steeled herself toexpect less love, less understanding, lesscompassion. Bruised and broken, she is fullyprepared not to invest too much in the inferior blackman. Filled with inexpressible disappointment anddisillusionment, she buries her feelings and will eventolerate contempt and abuse.

The black woman's recurring theme is "love andtrouble," as expressed by the legendary BillieHoliday in "My Man":

He isn't true

He beats me, too

Accepting the lowest common denominator ofourselves, rejecting or not having any reasonableexpectation of a loving relationship, or choosing togo it alone because black men and women areportrayed as spoiled goods, all perpetuate the "biglie" expertly drafted to emphasize the inferiority ofthe black race.

Mama's Baby, Daddy's

Maybe?

Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, sociologistE. Franklin Frazier, in his seminal study The NegroFamily in America (first published in 1939),described common family patterns in the Cotton Beltthat resulted in high rates of out-of-wedlock births,which were tolerated without "stigma in thecommunity."

We are but a few generations removed from thispart of our past. A famous Mississippi Delta blueslegend was reported to have had 15 children by 15different women. This is something that cannot beexplained solely by the enormous amount of timespent on the road. It is instead an integral part of ourcultural heritage.

Although the palimony suit brought against Atlanta-based rapper TI (Clifford Joseph Harris) dominatedthe media gossip circuit in 2008, few fansquestioned why the relationship ended between the27-yearold artist and the 29-year-old mother whohad known each other since their teen years. Fewbothered to ponder the fate of the couple's twochildren left in the wake of the legal dust-up.

Famous absentee black fathers sometimes boastof their "studliness." In the eyes of many of theiradoring, unquestioning fans, such recklessnessactually brightens, rather than dims, their star appeal.Romanticizing and emulating irresponsible celebritybehavior is just another indicator of a race sufferingfrom an acute addiction to the BI Complex.

Do You Really want to Hurt

Me?

Having lost any normal claim to masculinity and

any right to act out the role of man and father, manyblack men attempt to compensate for theirpowerlessness by exercising dominance over theonly people they can-their women and children, andwhen possible, other black men. Slavery's abolitiontranslated into freedom to claim the manhood theyhad long been denied. Many black men seized thisnew opportunity with a vengeance, using as theirmodel the manliest man they knew: the brutal white,Southern patriarch, supreme master over his wife,his home, and all his property-including his slaves. Itwas in a slavedominated society that black menlearned it was acceptable to use violence toestablish patriarchal power over black women,writes bell hooks in We Real Cool: Black Men andMasculinity:

The gender politics of slavery and white-supremacist domination of free black men wasthe school where black men from differentAfrican tribes, with different languages and valuesystems learned in the new world, patriarchalmasculinity.

Women, who had been raised to be strong, tough,and creative survivalists, were suddenly excluded byblack men from public life and leadership roles inchurch and civic organizations. Newly emancipatedblack male leadership instructed these women to letblack men finally be men and defer to them on allmatters.

In contemporary times, the BI brand convincesblack men that this dominant, macho posturing is stillessential to their male identity. In reality, it serves asjust another relationship killer, contributing to ourpresent-day crisis.

Secondly, this attitude is an assault on the spirit ofstrong, black women who expect and deserve full

parity. It is this culture of male dominance that leadsmany men to accuse black women of being "ballbusters" if they refuse to be subservient.

The image that black women are shackled withfeels like a ball and chain. She's a reminder ofhow the world sees you, and what you can andcannot change. It's scary, and it's a disservice tostrong black women, but it's part of what scaresmen away. - James

In Search of Manhood

To be black in America is to be tense, anxious,and often fearful if not outright angry. Intimaterelationships often become the central arena whereblack men today can vent racial frustrations. Whilehe struggles to grasp "manhood" in a society thatholds it from him at arm's length, the befuddled blackman lashes out violently at the woman he feels isundermining his fragile authority. This pattern oftenintensifies when a black middle-class orprofessional woman is on the fast track in the whitecorporate world while the man still struggles merelyto gain access.

The black-male-dominance ideology that fuelsmarital tension and leads to physical or emotionalabuse is no new phenomenon. In Trouble in Mind,Leon Litwack's history of blacks in the Jim CrowSouth, the author describes widespread incidents ofmen lashing out at women "for no other reason thanto exercise a male prerogative and to subdueindependent spirits."

In his essay "Open Letter to an AmericanWoman," Kevin Powell, a New York writer, offers acontemporary explanation of his attitude towardwomen:

And just like most males in America, I too wastaught, in school, at home, on the streets andplaygrounds, at the churches I attended as ayouth, and via popular culture, that to be a manis to forever be in a position of power andadvantage over women and girls. That flawedconcept of maleness meant not only dominatingwomen or girls, but having little to no regard fortheir health and wellness, for their safety, for theirbodies...

No Men Allowed for the

Family's Welfare

Blacks in modern-day urban areas have seen aworld of changes that were not necessarily of theirmaking. As industrial jobs began disappearing fromcities, many black men found themselves back inpositions of economic helplessness, without thekinds of jobs that allowed a man to support a family.

To survive, many families turned to thegovernment's welfare system for sustenance. In hercommentary, "Black Females Raising Black Males,"Dr. Arlett Malvo described the ramifications of thewelfare state on black families:

Now during welfare days, early sixties, whenblack families were able to get welfare, blackfemales with dependent children were allottedwelfare, but there were stipulations-no mencould be in the house. The welfare agencymonitors this situation and agencies randomlysearch the female's home, at any time of day ornight. Many black men left their homes so theirfamilies could survive. Many were put out of thehome and these families broke up because ofmoney. This was the first destruction of the blackfamily since slavery.

Other external forces contributed to the dissolutionof black families during the dawn of the welfare era.A few years later black men began disappearingfrom their homes and communities indisproportionate numbers, drafted to fight theVietnam War, and returning home broken men. Thiswas followed by a devastating crack epidemic, withlopsided, discriminatory sentencing for minor crimesthat led to further destruction and abandonment ofblack lives, families, and communities.

Creating the Bad-Ass Boy and

the Love-Starved Girl

Our family crisis is inseparable from our blackmale and female identity crisis, and brainwashinghas left a great many of us fearful, confused aboutour identities, and hopelessly caught in a cycle ofrelationship underachievement.

Too many black men are still stuck in rolesultimately dictated by slavery. Some, living up to theexpectation that they are irresponsible, take pride inmaking babies knowing they can leave withoutstressing about the outcome of their actions.

Black boys are not the only recipients of thepsychological and physical trauma inflicted on theiremasculated fathers. Vulnerable black daughtersseeking love and validation from the first man in theirlives are often left to fend for themselves, relying ontheir mothers or society to define black manhood forthem. Like their mothers, the girls are saddled withfeelings of disillusionment and disappointment inblack men that often becomes a permanent fixture oftheir psyches. On the other end of the parentalspectrum, many black women have beenbrainwashed to be active enablers of irresponsiblemen, supporting the unhealthy behavior of their

mates, leading to future relations fraught withunnecessary drama.

As the old saying goes, black men have beenbrought up by mothers conditioned to "raise theirdaughters and spoil their sons." For many blackmothers without committed male partners, the sonbecomes the "little man" whom the motheroverindulges and neglects until he gets to an agewhere she can no longer handle him. Rationalizingthat he is indeed a "man," she submissively allowsthe boy to come and go as he pleases.

Poor young black women with little education paythe greatest toll. Many are tragically retro, stuck in apast where women had little control over theirsexuality. Following in the footsteps of their femaleancestors, they are brainwashed into believing thatmotherhood is the means by which they can validatethemselves; having babies with no resources is seenas a way out.

These distressing patterns must be acknowledgedand addressed if we ever want an inkling of achance to foster strong black families.

When I was 12, I decided my goal in life was toget pregnant and move to the projects. I thoughta baby would be someone that I could care for,someone who would love me, and would neverleave me. - Lela

The Sixth Dynamic of Black

Family Destruction

Poverty remains one of the most treacherousbarriers to the development of strong black families.It could easily qualify as the sixth dynamic of blackfamily dysfunction. Critics will counter that otherethnic groups were subjected to forms of slavery and

ethnic groups were subjected to forms of slavery andtyranny, and yet still managed to excel socially andmaintain solid familial structures. But as HarvardUniversity professor Orlando Patterson noted inRituals of Blood: The Consequences of Slavery inTwo American Centuries, the "ghetto-ization" andpoverty of Irish-American immigrants of the pastcentury, Jews in European ghettos, Chineserefugees throughout Southeast Asia, and Latinos inthe U.S. today had "not resulted in men's massiveabandonment of their wives and children." Travel topoor countries that did not witness America's slaveryholocaust and, yes, you will find people living in thekind of squalor that no longer exists in this nation.However, you are also likely to find family units thatare more intact than those families that descendedfrom the slave era.

Without weighing African American generationalpoverty within the context of a society based ongenerational wealth and privilege, the observationsof other non-white family structures could, in fact,serve as proof that blacks are uniquely flawed. It'simportant to keep in mind, however, that Jews, Irish,Chinese, and Latinos who immigrated to this countrycame with their cultural and familial norms intact andwere not included in the devious 17th-century plan toembed inferiority into an entire people's psyche.

Secondly, we must take into account thegenerational black poverty rate. It swelled afterEmancipation and, to this day, hasn't significantlychanged since the year Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.was assassinated. It's extremely difficult not havingmoney in a society dictated by materialism.According to the University of Minnesota's Instituteo n Domestic Violence in the African AmericanCommunity, intimate partner violence occurs morefrequently among black couples with low incomes,those in which the male is underemployed orunemployed (especially if he's not seeking work),

and among couples residing in very poorneighborhoods.

When considering that blacks are subtly and notso subtly reminded of their inferior status, andlacking the resources to mount an effective counter-offensive, it's a sheer miracle that more of us haven'tbeen driven clinically insane.

A Plan of Action

Far too many of us-deeply confused about what ittakes to be whole men and women-remain trappedin behavior that's detrimental to our personalrelationships, our children, and society. The fivedynamics fueling fractured black personal and familyrelationships have roots deeply embedded inslavery's soil.

The mental shift needed to sever the historicalroots that feed our self-destructive contemporarymindsets and behaviors won't be easy. We are arace that has been conditioned to ice over itsemotions, to dance, sing, and laugh our way past the

blues. However, the first step in getting to thatholistic, healthier place mandates that we startscrutinizing all the influences. Consider the followingcomedy routines addressing personal and familyrelationships offered by the popular comediansMalik S. and Steve Harvey:

I hate my baby mama. I wanna choke her andslap the shit out of her ass, but I can't afford nodomestic violence case right now, you know?But I told her, "When I save $2,500, I'm slappingthe shit out of yo' ass, bitch!" Like most of youwomen don't know, you $200 from getting yo'ass choked right now.

- Malik S., Def Comedy Jam/February 24, 2008

I'm not condoning domestic violence in any way.I'm not sho' 'cause I'm not a lawyer...1 think whenthey turn 18 you can put yo' hands on 'em a littleharder than when they was a minor. I think if they18, [it] can just turn into full-blown ass-whoopin's... Check your local law... Find outwhat you can do. Can you choke her? Can youshake her? Find out how by law what it is youcan do...how for can you put your foot up herbehind before it becomes a felony?

- Steve Harvey, The Steve Harvey RadioShow/February 23, 2009

Funny stuff, right? Well before you laugh, let'sweigh the short-term benefits, long-term costs, andultimate impact on the black psyche.

Short-term Benefits

1. Free speech/expression: It's fun to be risky andedgy with material that makes somebody laugh.

2. Emotional commiseration: The material elicits a

"Yeah, I understand, I have a baby mama or abad-ass daughter at home, too", response.

3. Short-term relief: Helps us vent pent-up angerand/or other feelings.

4. Commerce: The comedian makes money. Mayelicit a "Yeah, it might be harmful, but it's providinga job" response.

Long-term Costs

1. Endorses violence: The materialcondones/legitimizes domestic violence andchild or spousal abuse.

2. Trivializes black life: Material makes light of life-threatening problems and gives a tacit green lightto abuse.

3. Prolongs the cycle of violence: Sendsmessage that violence is the way to makesomeone learn or behave.

4. Perpetuates stereotypes: Validates the myth ofblacks as lawless and willing to skirt or break thelaw. Perpetuates the myth of the violent male, themyth of male dominance, and the myth of femaleinferiority-we do the "white man's dirt," we do theoppressor's job.

The Antidote

We have analyzed the data, questioned anddeconstructed the five relationship wreck dynamics,and noted the clear line connecting slavery'sindoctrination with today's behavioral patterns. Nowthat we've separated fact from myth, it's possible forcritical self-analysis to lead us to action.

Remember, friends don't let friends staybrainwashed. Seek tactful ways to call out yourfriends and loved ones if they seem to be poisoningthe environment for healthy relationships. Vow to endthe legitimization of physical or verbal abuse in theblack family. Let everyone-be they family membersor comedians-know (verbally or with your wallet) thatyou no longer tolerate any form of abuse.

Relationship Wrecks Positive

Propaganda Cues

Here's a of list positive propaganda toolsdesigned to help us find antidotes to the BIcampaign's poisonous effects on our relationships:

Do your "home" work

Invest quality time and attention to yourrelationships at home. Home is your base ofstrength and personal growth, and the springboardfor the rest of your successes in life.

Best way to "do it" is to duet

Most people's lives are enhanced and enriched bya healthy partnership. Having a loving relationshipleads to a happier, healthier, more productive life.

Staying power

Anybody can get up and leave at the slightest signof problems within a relationship. The person thathas the maturity to stick around and work it outwinds up in a better place than the person whoquits.

Flip the Script

With the proper perspective and commitment wecan flip the script and utilize the positives that havehelped us survive the black inferiority trek. FromRoots to Sounder, from Julia to Roc, and from theHuxtables to the Obamas-images of strong, lovingblack families are not just in Hollywood. They areevident in the families that gave us Wynton andBranford Marsalis, Serena and Venus Williams,Craig and Michelle Robinson (now Mrs. Obama). Ifwe can see black greatness in the White House, whycan't we manage to see it in our own houses? Howcan we redefine our house without perpetuating thedemeaning, outlandish, and negative perceptionsattached to the black family? Once we really acceptthat we are not the way we've been projected formore than 400 years, everything changes, sensitivityrises, and clarity ensues. The possibility ofimplementing a new campaign becomes doable, atan accelerated rate, with positive propagandatechniques that undo the mass media's damage.

It might seem quaint, but the power of one voicecan grow into a movement. The fact that we are inthe New Media generation increases the possibilityof victory. With mass media power just a computerc l i c k away, the black church, civil rights andcommunity organizations, and empowered blackshave the ability to produce and support messagesand images that adhere to a new, uplifting standard.

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler didn't wait for anotherCosby Show to mount a multi-media offensiveagainst negative media portrayals of black families.In 2007, the couple, who live in Washington, DC withtheir four kids, launched Black And Married WithKids.com. The site offers positive, professional, andinformative articles, videos, stories, and links, alldesigned to strengthen black families and addbalance to negative imagery.

Since negative propaganda got us to this point, Imaintain that positive propaganda will be the key toour resolution. Fortunately for us, there are manypositives examples in the past and present that wecan resurrect, emulate and, if necessary, expand.

The reclamation call has already been repeatedlysounded. In 2008, hip-hop artist Talib Kweli,professors William Jelani Cobb and JamesPeterson, filmmakers Aaron Lloyd and Byron Hunt,playwright Shaun Neblett, and other notable blackmen contributed poetry, prose, and pictures to thebook Be a Father to Your Child: Real Talk fromBlack Men on Family, Love and Fatherhood. In thiseffort, black men attempt to break from a past ofpatriarchal masculinity to help future generations ofblack men be the dads they can be.

Aishah Shahidah Simmons, producer, writer, anddirector of NO! The Rape Documentary, boldlyconfronts the scourge of racial, gender, and sexualoppression, and its violent manifestations.Simmons, who understands the power of massmedia, almost singlehandedly put together a film thatutilizes individual testimonials, scholarship,spirituality, activism, and culture to bring the reality ofrape and other forms of sexual and physical abuseto the forefront of public conversation.

Ultimately, the change needed to halt the self-destructive behavior that results from ourvictimization must come from within. We cannotundo the past. What we can and must do is moveforward with the realization that it is up to us to breakthe negative cycles.

... love seems with them to be more an eager desire,than a tender delicate mixture of sentiment and

sensation

-THOMAS JEFFERSON

y plan or by circumstance, the April 2008edition of Vogue magazine garnered worldwideattention. It wasn't because it featured the first blackman ever on its cover. No, the controversy waslinked to Vogue's decision to personify a classicAmerican stereotype.

With his towering 6-foot-8 frame, anchored by size16 shoes, NBA star LeBron James, nicknamed"King James," struck a familiar pose on themagazine's cover-gorilla-like, baring his teeth,flexing his muscles, with one hand dribbling a ball,the other clutching the tiny, slinky waist of white,blonde supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Kong on the Court

The criticism was swift and furious. Sport

columnists and cultural commentators accusededitors of the influential fashion magazine ofmonkeying around with James's image, evoking thecenturiesold stereotype of "the black savage insearch of the prized white woman" to give theirannual issue devoted to size and shape a little extrathrill.

Others noted that the image by famedphotographer Annie Leibovitz was eerily similar to a1933 King Kong movie poster in which the giant,raging, dark ape carries off a fair-skinned damsel indistress.

"I was just having fun with it," LeBron toldreporters, dismissing the controversy. "We had afew looks and that was the best one we had.Everything my name is on is going to be criticized, ina good way or a bad way. Who cares, honestly, atthe end of the day?"

Who cares? We all should. Here's why: In framingKing James as King Kong, Vogue, which reaches1.2 million readers a month, perpetuated one of themost enduring stereotypes of black sexualitytheBrute. He is the oversexed, menacing black man,inherently violent, destructive, and shady. Heappears on MTV as the gun-wielding, muscle-boundrapper 50 Cent, in the film New Jack City as avicious crime lord played by Wesley Snipes, andthroughout pornography as the well-endowedMandingo stud ravaging the purity of white women.

LeBron may have been "having fun," but little didhe know he was playing with an ugly, debilitatingstereotype that dates back several centuries.

Super-Sexed

Two powerful slave-era images are still active, stilldistorted, still damaging and-thanks to our BlackInferiority Complex-still perpetrated by our ownpeople:

BRUTE (broot): noun: a nonhuman creature;beastial/animal qualities, desires, etc.; adj: animal;not human/not characterized by intelligence orreason; irrational/savage; cruel (source:Dictionary.com)

JEZEBEL (jez-uh-buhl): noun: a woman who isregarded as evil and scheming; a wicked,shameless woman (source: Dictionary.com)

Surely, we all know someone who fits the mold ofthe black brute or the gold-digging black Jezebel. Ifnot personally, we've seen their amplified personasvia televised media and marketing images, popliterature, or on saucy music videos. As with blackfamily dysfunction, we are familiar with thecontemporary manifestations of the Studs and Slutsphenomenon.

Studs and Sluts Dynamics

1. Studs on the hunt: Men who define themselvesby their sexuality and sexual exploits.

They are constantly on the sexual hunt with self-worth directly tied to their conquests and sexualperformance. Sex is a higher priority than jobadvancement, fatherhood, or real relationships.They will risk all in the pursuit of the quarry.They cannot (and will not) get too involved withtheir conquests. They have an internalizedbrutish nature: "I'm doing this to you, not withyou" is their mantra. They animalize,dehumanize, and objectify women to reinforcethe idea that they are unworthy of emotional

the idea that they are unworthy of emotionalcommitment and long-term involvement.

2. Gold-digging slut: Jezebel-like sex objectsbelieve that, to get anywhere in life, they have tobe really good at it. Sex is their ticket, theirmoney-maker.

Gold-diggers allow themselves to be conquestsin return for material gain (dinners, jewelry, rent,or a starring role in a video). They areconditioned to devalue sex. Their innateemotions and need for tenderness,compassion, and love are constantly repressed.They believe they are unworthy of love andrespect, and avoid disappointment at all cost.

3. Gotta do whatcha gotta do: Sex as a meansof sustenance and immediate gratification.Sex without emotion.

Defensive self-devaluation justifies theirsensation-driven life. Propaganda validatestheir actions. Sexual behavior is legitimateand necessary to "make it." They disassociatethemselves from their bodies and thepossibility of a legitimate means to holistic,authentic love.

Yes, we know studs and sluts exist. But here, weattempt to understand why and examine the impactthese stereotypes have on a race still in need oftherapy. Let's decode the enduring legacy of theBrute and the Jezebel.

Ape by Association

We believe that even among people who aren'tparticularly prejudiced, the association betweenblacks and apes is still strong, held in placethrough "implicit knowledge," the result of a

li fetime of conditioning, rooted in historicalrepresentations of blacks as less than human... Itwas a kind of racial programming, a legacy evensomething as progressive as Obama's electioncannot obliterate.

- Phillip Atiba Goff and Jennifer L. Eberhardt,social psychologists

The belief that blacks are sexual savagesdescended from fiction rooted in the firstimpressions of Africans. Englishmen wereintroduced to the chimpanzee and black Africans inwestern Africa at the same time and place. Thestartlingly human appearance and movements of thechimpanzee aroused their imagination.

According to A. Elaine Brown Crawford, as earlyas the mid-1500s, English explorers and traderswho traveled to Africa "mistook the seminudity ofAfricans as lewdness. They also misappropriatedthe cultural tradition of polygamy as uncontrollablelust."

In European eyes, the warfare, diet, and otheraspects of African life they encountered placedAfricans among the beasts. Africa, seen as the darkcontinent, possessed a natural landscape uponwhich lions, zebras, and other exotic wildlifeflourished. Therefore, the people in this strangegeography surely merited comparison with thebeasts with which they co-existed.

The grand pooh-bah of the Founding Fathers,Thomas Jefferson, helped legitimize the belief thatblacks are akin to apes. In his Notes on the State ofVirginia-the most widely read book of theperiodJefferson argued that blacks prefer the"superior beauty" of whites "as uniformly as is thepreference of the Oran-ootan for the black woman

over those of his own species."

Size Matters

On the South Side, all the white men and whitewomen would come to the clubs to try to getblack women and black men. It was a mixer. Inthose days, the penis thing was so damnedpowerful that white women were not frightened.They'd come and drive to your neighborhood,coming to look for it. They'd ask you, "Do youhave a big one?" - Ron

Ron, a 74-year-old artist, and I were born in thesame era-about 73 years after black slaves wereemancipated. It was a time when we still navigatedin the dark eddies of harsh racial undercurrents.Loving, interracial relationships were still deadlytaboo, especially between black males and whitefemales. White men, however, could use blackwomen for sexual gratification without socialcondemnation.

These men inherited a system designed to keepthem advantaged and empowered. Those cunning17th-century colonial leaders managed to establisha code of behavior that gave white men the best ofboth worlds-unfettered access to black women, whilebarricading black men from white women.

The colonial fathers understood that slaveownerswere, first and foremost, men. Rape, at its core, is apower trip, a means to exert control. The institution ofslavery provided ample opportunity for whiteslaveholders to unleash their puritanically repressedsexual urges on female slaves who were powerlessto reject their advances.

Thomas Jefferson provided a moral escapeclause that allowed lascivious "Christian" slavers to

sexually subjugate black women. Jefferson helpedextinguish religious guilt by animalizing slaves,defining them as unfeeling, unemotional beasts:

They are more ardent after their female; but loveseems with them to be more an eager desire,than a tender delicate mixture of sentiment andsensation... their existence appears toparticipate more of sensation than reflection...an animal whose body is at rest, and who doesnot reflect...

The slaveholder's carnal, beastly behavior wasalso legitimized with propaganda so effective thatblacks (slave and free) absorbed its messages and,throughout the centuries, acted out thepropagandized stereotypes.

Jefferson's obsession with black sexualityoverlapped with white scientists' fixation with Africanpenises, specimens of which were collected andstudied. In The N Word: Who Can Say It, WhoShouldn't, and Why, author Jabari Asim quotesBritish "niggerologist" Charles White who, in his1799 anatomy studies, gushed: "That the PENIS ofan African is larger than that of a European has...been shewn in every anatomical school in London.Preparations of them are preserved in mostanatomical museums; and I have one in mine."

LeBron as the modern-day rendition of the brutish,ape-like menace preying on a fair-skinned maidendoes indeed matter, especially in a society stillfixated on warped racial images. However, the Brutei s but one half of a destructive, diabolical duo. Hiscounterpart in the marketing of black inferiority is theJezebel.

Shank by Any Other Name

I ain't neber had to pay a fare to ride asteamboat needer. I was a good-lookin' yallergal in dem days and rid free wherever I wantedto go.

- "Aunt" Charity Anderson, former slave

Singers Justin Timberlake and Ciara are talentedyoung artists. Like LeBron, the entertainers wouldprobably consider their music video "Love SexMagic" just a bit of youthful, erotic fun...no big deal,right? Wrong again. In the video, Ciara plays asexual tease-gyrating, crawling on all fours, poledancing, rubbing her body against the white singerand licking his face, while he sits on a chair in aking-li ke position. In the opening sequence,Timberlake actually pulls a dog chain attached toCiara's neck. Throughout the video, he repeatedlyslaps the seductress's butt, while she works her sexand magic.

Timberlake seems to be the prototypical Neo-Massa. While performing a musical number duringSuper Bowl XXXVIII's halftime show in 2004, thesinger ripped off a part of Janet Jackson'swardrobe, exposing her bare breast to millionsaround the globe. The controversial stunt was timedto coincide with the last line of Timberlake's song"Rock Your Body": "I'm gonna have you naked by theend of this song."

The 21st-century Jezebel, as a butt-jiggling, thong-tossing, polesliding gold-digger, is nearly asubiquitous as the "UL" symbol on all things electric.She's the lustful black woman with an insatiablesexual appetite who uses her body for money,vengeance, or power. She was Lisa Raye, thecollege-student-turned-stripper "Diamond" inPlayer's Club, the gyrating rear in almost all hip-hopvideos, and the booty call centerfolds tucked within

the pages of King and other magazines targetingblack readers.

Indeed, no music video seems complete without aJezebel. She is the flesh-and-blood accessory akinto the flashy cars and iced-out jewelry worn by therappers for whom she bumps and grinds.

As Deborah Gray White comments in Ar'n't I aWoman: Female Slaves in the Plantation South:

One of the most prevalent images of blackwomen in antebellum America was of a persongoverned almost entirely by her libido, a Jezebelcharacter. In every way Jezebel was the counter-image of the mid-nineteenth-century ideal of theVictorian lady. She did not lead men andchildren to God; piety was foreign to her. Shes a w no advantage in prudery, indeeddomesticity paled in importance before mattersof the flesh.

Perpetuating the "Ho" Persona

I know this to be true: if you can do certainsexual things better than another person, youtend to get treated better. You get more out ofthat person: Money, their time, their attention. Ilearned how, through practice, and by watchinga whole lot of movies. - Lela

The Jezebel stereotype was used to excuse rapeand justify the slaveowner's carnal desires. After all,how could it be rape, if the victim is propertydesigned for seedy sexual indulgence? During thefirst half of the 20th century, the myth manifesteditself in the form of everyday objects-from postcardsto novelty items. Today, the depiction of blackwomen as Jezebel-like whores continues, thanks inlarge part to bestselling, black female rappers who

probably have no clue that they're playing myth-personified roles.

That particular idea isn't mine. It was written byauthor Lori A. Tribbett-Williams in her book TalkingLoud, Saying Nothing: Lil'Kim and Foxy Brown,Caricatures of African-American Womanhood.Trina, Lil' Kim, and Foxy Brown are just a few of theblack female rappers who have ridden to the top ofthe charts by flaunting their sexuality under the guiseof women's empowerment.

Much of their music did nothing more thanperpetuate the Jezebel mythology and reinforce theidea that black women are hypersexual, one-dimensional playthings for a whole new generation.

WikiMusicGuide.com describes Trina inadmirable, defiant tones: She "turned the tables on amale dominated genre.. .with hit singles 'No Panties'and '69 Ways'...Trina showed her real sexy andnaughty personality," the Web site boasts.

Allow me to decipher this colorful marketing lingo:Trina is just another rapping version of Jezebel. Incase there's any doubt, here's a sample from "69Ways":

Open up my legs, put your head in between 'em

Till I bust like lead from a heater

In a society that already considers black womenas "bitches and hos," such validation should beconsidered treasonous.

Together, the Jezebel and Brute stereotypesreinforce the ageless idea that blacks are morallyloose, culturally retarded, and sexually perverse. Thisis why we should not only care, but should careenough to change.

The Rap on Rap

I liked being looked at like a sexual object, I hadno problem with it. To me, that meant they werelooking at me as someone who could satisfy,who could deliver sexually. Sometimes that wasall they wanted from me, and I was cool with that.

- James, 33

Vogue was turned into a whipping post, and rightlyso, for its racially charged imagery, but the primeculprits for perpetuating these hypersexual imagesare heavily rotated music videos on networks likeMTV and BET.

The "harmless fun" crowd will also dismiss anydamage caused by images of oversexed blackvideo vixens by pointing to the sexually explicit actsof white female artists like Britney Spears or LadyGaga. What they fail to note is that these singers arenot linked to a past of sexual servitude. For everyLady Gaga there are dozens of white female artistslike Colby Caillat and Sheryl Crow who add balancethat's missing from the acts of black female artistswho conform to the "sex sells" maxim. Also, even ifrappers use the cop-out, "Well, whites do it, too,"there are no corollary, hard-core, Trina-typeexamples on the white roster. Regrettably, it's agenre black female rappers control.

Most importantly, lewd white images do not add tothe mental brainwashing inflicted on young AfricanAmericans.

Consider the data released in "The Rap on Rap"report issued in April 2008, the same month as theKing Kong Vogue cover. The Parents TelevisionCouncil, in partnership with the Enough is Enough

Campaign, analyzed a total of three weeks ofcontent found on BET's "Rap City" and "106 &Park," and MTV's "Sucker Free." When it came tosex, the report released shocking findings, including:

• 746 sexually explicit scenes or lyricalreferences for an average of 27 instancesper hour

• 45 percent of the adult content in the musicvideos was of a sexual nature, followed byexplicit language (29 percent), violence (13percent), drug use/sales (9 percent), and otherillegal activity (3 percent)

• 103 vulgar, slang references to sexual anatomy(e.g., the term "gushy" used to refer to awoman's lubricated vagina) in a one-weekperiod in March 2008

What the report didn't quantify was the vastmajority of images accompanying the music ofyoung, blinged-out Brutes and jiggling Jezebels.Among the most-played videos, for example, wasthe Trap Starz Clik's "Get It Big," from their debutalbum Hood Depot. Surrounded by midriff-baringseductresses, the flesh-obsessed rap triocommands:

Vibrate your body... Make a playa wanna cut[slang for "have sex"].

"Get it Big," however, pales in comparison to theborderline pornographic music videos, including"Pussy Poppin"' by Ludacris, "Wobble Wobble" bythe 504 Boyz, or the infamous "Tip Drill" video byNelly, in which the St. Louis rapper swipes a creditcard through the ample butt cheeks of bikini-clad"video vixen" Whyte Chocolate.

As for the butt-swiping incident, Nelly, like LeBron,

sidestepped the seriousness of his actions. In aninterview with FHM magazine, the rapper defendedhis brute-like behavior by equating it to a Hollywood,Jezebel-esque performance:

"Halle Berry can go on film and get the dog shitfreaked out of her, and she wins an Oscar," Nellysaid, referring to Berry's role in Monster's Ball."1 swipe a credit card down the crack of a girl'sbutt, and I'm demoralizing women?"

Nelly, who has a teenage daughter, doesn't seemto recognize his duplicitous role as a demoralizer ofblack women for the next generation. Consider theentrepreneur's clothing line "Apple Bottom," which,we all know, is a euphemism for a woman's "perfect,round ass." Nelly has found success marketing hisjeans and other products to black consumers. Fairenough-I'm assuming they are old enough to maketheir own clothing decisions. But for what reasondoes Nelly market twill "bubble shorts" for toddlers,this too with the Apple Bottom logo emblazonedacross the butt?

The straight answer? Brainwashing.

Perhaps we can take some comfort in the resultsfrom the Black Youth Project at the University ofChicago. In that study, 72 percent of black youth,ages 15 to 25, agreed with the statement: "Rapmusic videos contain too many references to sex."When broken down by groups, 66 percent of theyoung black women and 57 percent of young blackmen surveyed also agreed with the followingstatement: "Rap music videos portray black womenin bad and offensive ways."

However, the effects of brainwashing were evidentin the 44 percent of young black men surveyed whodisagreed with the statement: "Rap music videos

portray black men in bad and offensive ways." Oneinterviewee answered the question this way: "Whenyou're framed as being 'cool' for being a 'playa,'steady getting money, sex, and power, what's thereto disagree with?"

As evidenced in the responses of this young manand Nelly, it's obvious that the mental conditioning ofso many of our unfortunate brethren does indeed rundeep.

When I was coming up, the media messagingtold me that black men were overly sexual. I wasglad that I had sexual prowess and that I couldplease women, because otherwise I would havefelt like I didn't live up to what I was supposed tobe. - James

Bamboozled by Our Own

Though the hypersexual images of black men andwomen were created centuries ago, studies haveshown that, once images are established, theychange very slowly if at all. They become part of ourcollective culture, the DNA of newer, even vilerimages. "These stereotypes are internalized insociety, and therefore become ideals for certaingroups. Thus, even media designed specifically byblacks contain images that maintain some of thecharacteristics of these stereotypes," notes scholarChristina N. Baker in her writings about the portrayalof sexuality in advertisements. In our state of mentalconfusion, we tolerate and laugh as some blackartists paint whole generations of black women withbroad Jezebel-lian strokes.

Take for example, this banter from the 2008 TylerPerry movie Meet the Browns (now a TBS sitcom). Inthe following scene, a family finds out that their late

father, Pop Brown, a respected deacon, actuallylived an earlier life as a pimp. This news, whichsurfaced due to Pop's estranged adult daughter,raises questions about his female friends from thefamily's childhood. Only LB Brown, an older son, cananswer these questions:

Family member:... remember sweet Sadie?

LB: She was one of his ho's.

Family member: What about Agnes, with thefreckles?

LB: Freckle-faced ho.

Family member: What about Shirley, the one whoused to make cupcakes...

LB: City ho.

Family member: What about our Mother?

LB: Nasty ho.

Yes, we black people pull the trigger for our ownimage assassination-from movies and music videoscreated by black entertainers, producers, anddirectors to "street lit" by black authors that over-emphasize erotic and violent street life. The latter,interestingly enough, is a $300-million-a-yearbusiness built on titles like Nasty Girls by Erick S.Gray, Bitch by Deja King, and Thug-a-licious byNoire. They "are literally flying off the shelves andinto the hands of African American women and menranging in age from 15 to 90," according to BlackIssues Book Review.

Sadly, too many of us have become the newperpetrators of the brainwash myth.

Of Bruits and Brutality

After Emancipation, proslavery advocates arguedthat slavery was still needed to control blackcreatures, otherwise they would revert to theirsavage, brutish state. This belief was central to theideology of racism that flooded the South after 1890.Historian George M. Fredrickson wrote in The BlackImage in the White Mind: "[Whites]... had to contendthat many Negroes were literally wild beasts, withuncontrollable sexual passions and criminal naturesstamped by heredity." At the beginning of the 20thcentury, anti-black imagery in "scientific" journals,newspapers, and best-selling novels heavilypromoted the "black rapist" thesis. Fredericksonalso wrote about Dr. William Lee Howard's 1903medical journal piece in which the scholar explainedthat the increase in sexual crimes by blacks had aphysiological basis-the "large size of the negro'spenis [which lacked] the sensitiveness of theterminal fibers which exist in the Caucasian." Forthis, Howard reasoned, black men were prone tohabitual fits of "sexual madness and excess."

Film historian Donald Bogle confirms that bruteimagery persisted in pop culture most vividly in thelate 1960s and '70s with the rise of blaxploitationfilms-"movies that played on the needs of blackaudiences for heroic figures." The era gave usmovies like Shaft, SuperFly, Hammer, and TroubleMan-all with black studly heroes who triumphed withblazing guns and/or raging penises. The trendcontinues today with disproportionate media imagesof wild, undisciplined, irresponsible, and over-sexedblack thugs, pimps, seductresses, playas, andplayettes.

Like prized pit bulls on the plantation, young, virilemale slaves were trained to stud. While oftenforbidden to have normal relationships with the

woman or child, the slavemaster rewarded thevaluable buck for making babies-inhuman propertythat could be worked or sold for more profit.

Fast forward four centuries and we see the effectof this phenomenon in the disproportionate mediaimages of wild, undisciplined, irresponsible, andover-sexed black thugs, pimps, seductresses,playas, and playettes. Through Hollywood moviesand rap videos, we see black men with nomeaningful relationships, who still place unnaturalvalue on their sex organs and their ability to stud theblack Jezebel.

Stay on the Scene, Like a Sex Machine

During slavery, black men were encouraged tosee themselves as licentious heathens, subhuman,simian sex machines, and natural-born breederswith no emotional attachments. Today, our dilemmais an existential crisis that collectively we've beenunable to resolve: How can a black male be a man inAmerica? If we reflect honestly, we'll concede thatour perpetual quest for the next conquest, the needfor instant sexual gratification stems from a deeperpersonal crisis, the compulsive need to scratch anitch that will not go away.

When you are in a room with white men whothink they are better than you, assume they havemore money than you, certainly have moreadvantages than you, a black man can look athim and know: "Yeah, all that might be true, but Icould fuck your woman, and I could take her fromyou." It is a weapon in male racial warfare. Oursexuality trumps yours. - James

Even today, the media manipulators (black andwhite) keep us fully duped, focusing on the head

between our legs and discouraging us from usingour thinking head.

Shake Your Money Maker

Serious self-analysis is not a male-only exercise.Black women must also expose the demons thatallow them to tolerate and reinforce the Jezebelimage. Perhaps the Jezebel persona would berejected quicker if more women scrutinized thatdestructive and demeaning role and incarnationsfrom a historical perspective. She was the"Negress" that German botanist and physicianJohann David Schoepf described during his travelsto the colonies in the early 1780s, who was honored"to bring a mulatto into the world." The black womanin 1915 was Lydia Brown, the promiscuous mulattomistress in the racist film The Birth of a Nation, whoused her feminine wiles to seduce powerful, well-meaning white men.

Later, during the blaxploitation period, Jezebelwas reincarnated as the militant, more independentbut still "foxy" and hypersexualized woman whobared her butt and breasts while solving mysteriesand fighting for justice.

On television sitcoms like Friends, where blackmen were rarities, both Joey (Matt LeBlanc) andRoss (David Schwimmer) woo and win the affectionof Charlie (Aisha Tyler), a black paleontologist.Ironically, in one episode of Friends, Phoebe Buffay(Lisa Kudrow) confesses a sexual attraction to ablack man. In fact, when her pal Rachel Green(Jennifer Aniston) is in search of an unattachedsexual encounter, Phoebe arrives at her apartmentoffering to share her lover. The fact that the "lover"was really just a man-sized, cardboard cut-out wasfunny. The character, however, was revealing: The

life-size cutout was boxer Evander Holyfield-a Brute.

Bloodsucking Sluts & Studs

The Sluts and Studs theme was written into theplot of True Blood, the hit HBO series aboutvampires and humans co-existing in a smallLouisiana town. Pretty and witty Tara Thornton(Rutina Wesley) has trouble keeping a steady job.Stereotypically angry, sassy, and confrontational,she is known for her sharp tongue. She has anunrequited crush on Jason Stackhouse (RyanKwanten), the sculpted, white, not-too-bright towngigolo. After fast-talking her way into a bartendingjob at the bar Merlotte's, Tara propositions the whiteboss, Sam Merlotte. What starts out as a night of no-strings-attached, legsup-in-the-air hot sex turns intoan in-the-back-office-and-whereverelse series ofgraphic, "just-because" encounters.

Of course, in a town where vampires and humansmingle, one would expect some pathologicalbehavior. But Tara (who's ironically named after theslave plantation in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novelGone with the Wind) and the other major blackcharacters in True Blood are largely early-Americanblack stereotypes. For example, actor Nelsan Ellisplays Tara's cousin, LaFayette Reynolds. He is notonly Merlotte's short-order cook but also the town'sresident drug dealer, violent prostitute, and "3-snaps," oh-so-gay, white-man-chasing host of hisown homosexual pay-per-view Web site. Thenthere's Tara's mother, Lettie Mae Thornton (AdinaPorter), former child abuser, habitual mean drunk,and Jesus freak convinced she's possessed by ademon. In one episode, while attempting to arrangea bank loan, Lettie Mae sits on the lap of a whiteloan officer to demonstrate why her landlord doesn'tmind when she falls a little behind on her rent.

In a world of equals, there's nothing sinister aboutinterracial relationships. However, in a society whereblack women have been branded as devoid ofhealthy black relationships; as lewd, manipulatingvixens; and as the white man's sexual conquest-these repeated messages and images slip into theseedy category of subtle propaganda.

Sex? I started very early. I know most that I waslooking for the love I did not receive from myfather. The guys I chose ...I thought they weregood-hearted people, but you couldn't trustthem. They were like my father: male chauvinist,bad boys. They didn't stay around, either. Theywould get what they wanted and then disappearuntil they wanted it again. Yeah, I became abooty call. - Lela

Sick and Tired of Being

Sick and Tired

I'd wager that some producers of this materialactually believe it doesn't matter. Remember,complicit with the BI campaign is a dual componentthat reinforces white superiority. Without effort, manywhites subconsciously perpetuate roles assigned toblacks in Colonial times.

It's part of the human DNA to push the limits.Today's advertising industry says, "If you don't stopus, we'll place erectile dysfunction and maleenhancement ads on TV during family hour." Thepharmaceutical industry will put products on themarket that will kill people ("in case of death, consultyour doctor") if regulatory agencies don't say "Stop!"

If entertainers, especially those escaping poverty,get an opportunity to make it in an industry thatpromotes destruction, they will exploit the rules of the

game. For all we know, Trina might be a virgin. Butshe's going to sell the hell out of the slutty goldenshowers, "shit in yo' face" schtick until enough of ussay "Stop!"

At one point during the 2009 BET Awards show inLos Angeles, someone, anyone should have stoodup and shouted, "Hold up. These are our little girls!"During the show, rap artists Lil' Wayne and Draketook the stage to sing the sanitized version ofWayne's song, "Every Girl," a little ditty in whichWayne (in his words) wishes to "fuck every girl in theworld." Accompanying the rappers on stage wereyoung girls who appeared to be 15 years old orunder. Social entrepreneur, writer, and editor April R.Silver blogged about her reaction to the routine atclutchmagonline.com:

I was hoping that a hunched-over stagemanager would bust through from back stage toscoop up the children, rescuing them fromharm's way.. .from being associated with thissong. But instead, what those girls witnessedfrom the stage was hundreds and hundreds ofadults (mostly black people) staring back atthem, co-signing the performance.

Even if Lil' Wayne presented the clean edit of hissong, and even if, reportedly, one of the preteen girlson the stage was Wayne's own daughter, the rapperand BET "set the stage for child pornography," asSilver argued in her essay:

Last night we were reminded that there are fewsafe spaces for our little girls to be children; thatsome of us are willing to trade their innocencefor a good head nod.

I support the proactive approach Silver described,which includes boycotts, national letter-writing

campaigns, and other "activities designed to shameand/or pressure." Silver wrote to persuade BET toimprove its programming. Citing Proverbs, Silverconcedes that there will always be "fools amongstus." However, she adds, there are also "wise ones...a small group of people concerned about the long-term health and well-being of the community."

Ultimately, a successful anti-BI Complex strategywill serve those affected by both black inferiority andwhite superiority. However, we must create enoughwise ones armed to say, "We've had enough with theStuds and Sluts imagery."

Tracking the Shame

Unlike other ethnicities, blacks are told to get overthe past. The shame attached to our journey helpsmany of us attempt to comply with this directive. Tosucceed we must arm ourselves by understandingourselves and the poisonous roots of the Studs andSluts predicament.

Thn lDgnt of fluun Dnngfifn

How can we honestly face our own mentaldistortions? A cost-benefit exercise is a good start.For example, let's look at the misogynistic lyrics andmusic videos put out by hip-hop artists Trina andKiller Mike from their song "Look Back at Me":

I'ma make it rain for you, here's a goldenshower Come a little closer, I wanna fuckyour nose

Short-term Benefits

1. Get paid! On board the hip-hop prosperitytrain: The Brute and Jezebel images, lyrics, andproduct lines generate lots of money! Mediaproducers, directors, actors, rappers, writers,dancers, and others get paid handsomely.

2. Instant gratification: Living the life of the Brute orJezebel provides a basic sense of short-termpleasure and temporary relief, be it sexual orfinancial.

Long-term Costs

1. Fuels a legacy of sexual brainwashing today

and tomorrow.

2. Keeps blacks in a hedonistic mode, reinforcesinferior status.

3. Distracts us from other areas of personal,social, and economic development.

4. Reinforces the brainwash like nothing else.

Armed & Ready!

African Americans have been conditioned to seethemselves as powerless. Yet, if only a fraction of the39 million of us in the United States decide we wantto stop media portrayals of Studs and Sluts, believeme, this part of the BI campaign would end-quickly.

It's a tall order, I know, but we can get there,especially with the proper tools.

Studs & Sluts Positive

Propaganda Cues

I am more than my sex

We need to understand that there is more towho we are than our sexuality. We haveminds, we have spirit, and we have a need tobe holistic human beings.

Lust is not the whole you

My actions will be governed by what's behindmy eyes, not what's between my thighs.

From ho to w(ho)le!

Women have infinitely more to offer than justtheir bodies-more to offer to men, and more to

offer the world.

From 'man'-ho to manhood!

Men need to understand that manhood is notgained by sex alone.

Waking Up

Real benefits can be realized when we unplugfrom conditioned thinking and confront the burden ofbeing defined solely by our sexuality.

Although far too many of us have accepted the roleof mythmaker, luckily there are also those who aredetermined to reverse this form of brainwashing.Some artists, media outlets, and community groupshave started efforts to provoke widespread changeby asserting healthy images of black sexuality or bysimply demanding that programming executives doa better job of presenting well-rounded blackimages.

A movement known as black erotica argues that itis time for self-defining expression, one that portraysblack sexuality as more beautiful than beastly-fromBrown Sugar, the tastefully written stories collectedby Carol Taylor, to the groundbreaking anthologyErotique Noir/Black Erotica edited by MiriamDecosta-Willis, Reginald Martin, and Roseann P.Bell to the intimate color nudes of women byrenowned photographer Marc Baptiste.

"Black culture is realizing, perhaps hundreds ofyears or so too late, that we are human first, that wehave impulses and feelings and desires to examineand admire and touch and photograph and paint andwrite about the human body and human sexuality,"author Jill Nelson told the New York Times. "We arefinally dealing ourselves into that kind of dialogue."

In a 2001 interview with ABC News for his filmabout boxer Muhammad Ali, former rapper-turned-superstar Will Smith talked honestly about the blackmale image:

Tons of women would love to have sex with me. Ihate the image of black men as promiscuousand unable to control themselves sexually. I don'tlike that image.

The most consistent retort from television andmedia producers when responding to charges thatthere are few television programs or mainstreammovies that portray blacks as well-rounded coupleso r in loving relationships is, "Well, there's nosupport."

It's time for reprogrammed thinkers to deflate thisargument. We must compel ourselves to supportalternative, more holistic black images in Hollywood,in rap videos, and in consumer marketingmessages.

The brainwashing collaborators who serve as thenew mythmakers are among us. What's needed aremore myth-breakers. To enact real change, themodern-day engineers of the BI campaign, no matterwhat their color, must understand that myth-breakersare on duty and that we are waking up, we arewatching, and we will take action.

It is no secret to many of [us] that we haveinternalized racist/ sexist notions of beauty that leadmany of us to think that we're ugly. And the media

have bombarded us with stories... that white childrenare cleaner and nicer. The white-dominated mediapresents this knowledge to us as if it's some defect

of black life that creates such aberrant and self-negating behavior, not white supremacy.

- bell hooks, SISTERS OF THE YAM

n 2006, many of us watched HBO, mouthsagape in pained astonishment, as 17-year-old filmstudent Kiri Davis presented her documentary GirlsLike Me, a re-creation of the famous experiment byDrs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark that was instrumentalin the historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Educationvictory. Fifteen of the twenty-one children Davisfilmed at the Harlem Day Care Center preferredwhite dolls over black dolls. Davis's 2005 resultswere shockingly similar to those of the Clarks, who,during the 1940s, used black and white dolls to studyand demonstrate children's internalization of racism.The following description of one of the exercises inthe 2005 study was described by the NNPA NewsService and published in The Final Call newspaper:

The reassuring female voice asks the child aquestion:

"Can you show me the doll that looks bad?"

The child, a preschool-aged black girl, quicklypicks up and shows

the black doll over a white one that is identical inevery respect except complexion.

"And why does that look bad?"

"Because she's black," the little girl answersemphatically.

"And why is this the nice doll?" the voicecontinues.

"Because she's white."

"And can you give me the doll that looks likeyou?"

The little girl hesitates for a split second beforehanding over the black doll that she has justdesignated as the uglier one.

The dolls in both Clark's and Davis's studies wereidentical in every way, except for color. I can't helpbut wonder if all the kids would have chosen whitedolls if they were more African-looking-wide noses,broad lips, and with "natural" hair styles?

More than 60 years after the Clark study, 40 yearsafter "Black Is Beautiful" rang out across the nation,and more than 40 years after Naomi Sims, the firstAfrican American supermodel to grace the covers ofLadies Home Journal (1968) and Life magazine(1969), black girls still prefer white dolls and rejectblack ones. The one time we see a black doll

chosen in the 2005 documentary (and chosen withpainful hesitation) is not when a young black girl isasked, "Which doll is smarter? Which doll isprettier?" No, it's when she's asked, "Which dolllooks like you?"

Slowly, with embarrassment (or maybe it was hurtthat twisted her expression), the child selects theblack doll.

How is this possible? How could our children stillbe editing "black" out as it relates to beauty andbrilliance? Why do black adults, far too often, dolikewise?

Uglificd Dynamics

Many of us have been conditioned to believe thatwhites are the pretty people, that their traits andphysical attributes are more suitable than our ownugly features. The modern-day dynamics of thisnegative propaganda are manifested in these ways:

1. White is right

Black beauty as the antithesis of white norms.The further we are from the European standard,the lower we find ourselves on the beauty scale.We judge beauty by our most significantfeatures-our noses and lips. If a nose is too wideor too flat, it's the direct opposite of the whitestandard-narrow and prominently bridged. Thebigger the lips, the more our appearancebecomes the antithesis of the accepted thinnerEuropean mouth.

2. Get back black

We are better if we are lighter. We want ourchildren to be pretty because we know beauty

will grant them an easier life in a color-codedsociety. Most of us don't want to be reminded ofour past, our ancestors, and where we comefrom. Many of us boast of having a little Indian,Irish, Italian-any additional blood in our lineageboosts our value. We find ourselves using asliding racial scale, somewhere between blackand white, with lighter or whiter always, alwaysdefined as better.

3. Nappy? Not happy!

There is no aspect of black physicalappearance that has more psychodynamicvalue than our hair. Black hair carriesextraordinary advertising weight and is amongthe leading topics used for editorial content forblack news articles, books, and magazines.The amount of time and money spent in beautysalons speaks to our obsession with blackphysicality and beauty standards. Hair repair isthe easiest of the inferiority dynamics totransform (a box of relaxer costs under 15dollars, whereas plastic surgery can beprohibitively expensive). "Fixing that nappyhair" is to cover up, or "cure," the scourge ofblackness.

Our impossible obsession to meet white beautystandards is seeded in our trek from servitude tofreedom. Emancipation unlocked physical shacklesbut the mental bondage forged through centuries ofindoctrination keeps blacks strapped to the notionthat our looks are somehow connected to theinhumane treatment we endured.

I grew up thinking I was ugly, and my motherreinforced that. She'd say things like, "Stoppoking out those lips, they are already too big,they look like two sausages." My mother never

told me I was a beautiful woman.

- Tanya, 52

So What Do You Expect?

Told of Kiri Davis's findings, Julia Hare, a SanFrancisco psychologist said:

Our children are bombarded with images everyday that they see on television screens and oncoffee tables-either the light-skinned female thateverybody is pushing or they give preference tothe closest-to-white images.

Given the centuries of brainwashing that equatedblack with ugly, inferior, and undesirable, it really isn'tsurprising that many black children-like their parentsand generations of blacks before themreject theirown image.

Our analysis should start with these questions:

How do we see ourselves? Why do we seeourselves as physically inferior?

When the colonies became America, the primarycampaign to "uglify" African slaves became moreintense, pervasive, and codified. The message wasreinforced in a myriad of ways, including ThomasJefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, where hedemeaned blacks while defining the standard ofsuperior (white) beauty:

The first difference which strikes us is that ofcolour.. .Is it not the foundation of a greater orless share of beauty in the two races? Are notthe fine mixtures of red and white, theexpressions of every passion by greater or lesssuffusions of colour in the one, preferable to that

eternal monotony, which reigns in thecountenances, that immoveable veil of blackwhich covers all the emotions of the other race?Add to these, flowing hair, a more elegantsymmetry of form, their own judgment in favourof the whites, declared by their preference ofthem...The circumstance of superior beauty, isthought worthy of attention in the propagation ofour horses, dogs, and other domestic animals;why not in that of man?

Jefferson's message served as part of the greatAmerican brainwash campaign. It was coupled withother propaganda emphasizing that black was thestandard color of evil, a blight from God, and themark of Ham, Noah's cursed son.

African Americans, as the secondary audience ofthis campaign, were bombarded with images andwords that stigmatized our appearance as thebyproduct of a virulent disease. At the same time,the aesthetic superiority of white beauty-alabasterskin, sleek noses, sliver-thin lips, and straight,lustrous hair-was widely promoted as the absolutestandard of beauty.

In the six decades since the Clark experiment, wehave more images of African Americans than everon television, in blockbuster films, and on the coversof popular magazines. Yet, even with the growth ofthese diverse media images, one constant remains-b lack beauty is still considered inferior to the"established" standard of beauty.

The idea that cultural norms defined during slaverystill loom large in contemporary American societyseems preposterous. "That was 150 years ago!What does it have to do with what's up, what'shappening now?" some might say.

I would argue, almost everything.

Those Pretty, High-Yellow Girls

Being mixed, I knew that I was black but I don'tnecessarily look it. Men who only date whitewomen see me as a prize, women who hatetheir brown skin want daughters that look likeme. White men see me like an exotic car orsomething. - Lisa, 36

Toni Morrison's 1970 novel The Bluest Eye tellsthe story of a black girl who desperately yearns forblonde hair and blue eyes. It speaks to light-skinned/dark-skinned racism within the AfricanAmerican community and paints portraits of thosewhose personal value (lessness) has been dictatedto them from without.

For most of our history in the New World, weopenly coveted light skin and straight hair. Today,the pinnacles of black female beauty remain almostwhite-looking. It is disturbingly telling that the longweave seems to be a prerequisite for black singers,actors, and models. Hip-hop videos feature light-skinned black, Latino, or Asian women-to theexclusion of darker-skinned black dancers. In thesebefuddled musical sketches of black life, blinged-outheroes surround themselves with lighter-skinnedtrophies. The darker women in such videos arerarely positioned as the Pedestal Prize-that place isusually reserved for the surrogate white girl.

Color-Struck Class Wars

The color grading and class stratification structureintensified under the plantation system. Divisionamong slaves was aggravated by the privilegessome slavemasters awarded to their light-skinned

offspring. Even if the slaver didn't acknowledge hischildren, the known fact that they were spawns of theperceived superior race solidified, in someinstances, skin color as an indicator of status on theplantation.

African Americans throughout the generationssought ways to lessen the stigma of inferiority.Mothers wistfully pinched the wide, broad noses oftheir children in a vain attempt to Europeanize them.The attempt to cover up our blackness started withbleaching creams, heavily advertised in the blackpress. Other blacks tell stories of parents whorubbed their faces with grapefruit or added a bit ofClorox to their bath in crude attempts to lighten skincolor. Many a black child was warned not to drinkcoffee, or told to "get out of the sun, 'cause it willmake you black." Many of these children grew upand repeated their parents' practices with their ownchildren, albeit in perhaps lessabrasive forms.

Author and journalist asha bandele, who lives in alargely black, Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn,New York, recalled how her light-skinned, long-haired daughter was often the recipient of unbidden-and unwanted-gifts from strangers when she took thechild shopping at the local knick-knack store:

People would just buy something for my babyand hand it to me, saying, "She's just sobeautiful. Look at her hair." Sometimes theperson's own child would be standing there, gift-less-and brown.

The "color-struck" class war played out in blackfamilies, neighborhoods, social clubs, churches,colleges, fraternal organizations, and nearly everyconceivable part of our culture. As the stigmaprogressed, class stratification within the blackcommunity became based, to a large degree, on the

presence or absence of black features. It is aprofound irony that the attractiveness rating wasenhanced by the whiteness of hair, skin color, andfacial features.

Sadly, that rating system continues today.

Pink & Pretty

When the Clarks conducted their original dollexperiments, black women on the silver screen werestuck between two narrow standards of beauty-theservile, dark, kinky-haired prototype portrayed byactresses such as Hattie McDaniel, or long-haired,butterscotch beauties like Dorothy Dandridge orLena Horne.

In a society designed by white male dictates,women in general have long abided hypocriticalstandards of beauty. Black women, however, had thedouble burden of adhering to images of lovelinessthat betrayed their natural features.

Madame C.J. Walker's hot comb, introduced andpopularized in the early 1900s to straighten blackwomen's hair, helped alter a prime physical symbolof shame. Walker was a brilliant marketer but,according to her biographer and kin, A'lelia Bundles,she too wrestled with the notion that she encouragedblack women to emulate the standards of whitebeauty: "Right here let me correct the erroneousimpression held by some that I claim to straightenhair," Walker told a reporter in 1918 after she hadbeen called the "de-kink queen" by a whitenewspaper. "I deplore such an impression because Ihave always held myself out as a hair culturist. I growhair."

Walker's intentions may have been misunderstoodbut her products helped black women-influenced by

society's orders-to "straighten out" their naturalbeauty. In my neighborhood, little black girls attachedlong ribbons to their kinky braids and tossed theirheads about, with the ribbons flowing down theirbacks, whisking across their faces, wildly imaginingthat they were long, silky, straight tresses.

Whoopi Goldberg memorably dramatized our hairhang-up when she created the character of a youngblack girl wearing a shirt on her head, pretendingthat it was beautiful hair cascading down her backand around her shoulders. All this acting out was theresult of allencompassing images of white beautyforced on the psyche of African Americans.

Black men may not be as obsessed over beautystandards as black women but we, too, have beenpsychologically influenced by a system that hasdeemed our natural look as something repulsive.

God Don't Like Ugly

heart throb, never, black and ugly asever however, I stay Gucci down tothe socks

- Notorious B.I.G., "One MoreChance"

As his lyrics seem to indicate, Biggie Smalls, akaNotorious B.I.G., was probably influenced by folkswho looked like us. Like so many others, heprobably heard blacks call one another uglyspecifically because they were so black. After all,young, dark-skinned boys like Biggie had to noticeolder blacks fawning over lighter-skinned kids theyconsidered pretty. These kids watched their ownpeople compliment the fair-skinned kid's "nicecomplexion" (read: light-skinned), or enviously stroketheir "good grade of hair" (read: naturally straight).

their "good grade of hair" (read: naturally straight).

Positive white and negative black imageryaffected all our young lives. As a child, I remembercoming home after watching movies featuring starslike Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Roy Rogers, andJohnny "Tarzan" Weissmuller. I'd get in front of amirror and attempt various forms of "tucking" in mylips, hoping to simulate the look of my heroes.

While women were using Madame Walker'sproducts, black men suffered through caustic, lye-based "conks," popularized by athletes andentertainers like Sugar Ray Robinson, Nat "King"Cole, and numerous other black role models. Ourhair had to be fried into flat and lifeless versions ofits true form to be acceptable, even to ourselves.

In his autobiography, slain activist Malcolm Xspoke to his once brainwashed condition thatmotivated his desire to "conk" his naturally red hair:

How ridiculous I was! Stupid enough to standthere simply lost in admiration of my hair nowlooking "white," reflected in the mirror... I vowedthat I'd never again be without a conk, and Inever was for many years.

The uglified manifestations in men and boys arenowhere near as glaring as with women. Yet, thereare indicators that black men still struggle with theirshare of absorbed misperceptions about theirappearance. According to Extreme Makeover's Dr.Anthony Griffin, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, thefastest growing increase in plastic surgery is amongblack men concened about their image. While we nolonger have the spate of conks, we do still have thedesire to tame our natural hairstyles. This is whystores still carry "S-Curl" and other perm productsthat help men "loosen their curls." Why else doschool-age boys obsessively brush their short cuts in

an attempt to "train" their hair into ocean waves?

The remnants of brainwashing linger and one ofthe strongest signs of its persistence is in blackmales who prefer women who look nothing like them.

The Message in the Medium

In early American literature, posters, and later, film,black males were caricatured as slow, slope-shouldered, slouchy, and sleepy. It's interesting tonote that these images reveal an emphasis onlooseness: loose head hanging from a horizontalneck; loose lips hanging from a downcast face;loose empty hands hanging from long, limp,simianlike arms; loose, tattered clothing, and looseshoes (if any); and loose, lazy, slurry speech.

White male figures, on the other hand, weregenerally projected as tight-majestically erect, stoic,intelligently involved, and totally in control of theirworld. In short order, both whites and blacks,exposed to the same negative images in books,plays, posters, postcards, salt and pepper shakers,"jolly nigger" banks, and other media products,totally embraced the mass-marketed standards ofbeauty.

Blacks, convinced that we were indeed grotesque,soon took over our own denigration. Whenever wefought or argued (which was often), our arsenalincluded creatively invective put-downs (whichbecame known as "playing the dozens") and themost egregious slurs we could possibly hurl relatedto black physicality:

"Yo mama so black she's..."

"Yo mama so fat she's..."

"Yo mama so ugly she..."

There is no stronger social force, no greater mind-setter, no moreeffective influencer than conventionalmedia. Films, like all other forms of pop culture,reflect how the artist sees the world. Which imagesare in their work, however, demonstrates how artistssee themselves. When we examine music videosproduced by blacks that cast us as either pimps orwhores but hardly ever as fully human, or movies thatportray black women as fat, loud vulgarities, werecognize that we're still trapped in a perfect stormof self-hate. For centuries, the stigma associatedwith skin too dark, noses too broad, and hair toonappy hampered black self-esteem and the ability toraise black children who did not considerthemselves black and ugly.

Back Pride: "Say it Loud!"

There was a brief moment of hope and collectivetransformation in the late 1960s, when the younger,less-tolerant progeny of the civil rights era birthed theBlack Power movement. To be called black was nolonger an insult, it was liberating. Suddenly, many ofus sported dashikis, raised clenched fists, shouted"Black Power" and "Black Is Beautiful," and sangJames Brown's "Say it Loud-I'm Black and I'mProud."

This movement influenced every area of ourculture and gave rise to the black arts movement. Itwasn't just mainstream politics that changed, buteducation, music, fashion, and language shifted toreflect the demands of those who refused to gounheard.

We seemed to believe, at least for that moment,that black was the new beautiful. Afros emerged like

black crowns, worn as a sign of liberation fromshame and self-doubt. It was a demonstration of self-determination and self-love. It was a sign of hopeand renewal of the spirit. Brown and ebony-skinnedsisters were elevated to gorgeous sex symbols,visions of loveliness and grace. Black women whohad accepted the myth of inferiority and had all butgiven up on themselves, suddenly had role modelslike Pam Grier on movie screens kicking behindsand taking names. They could look at "bad" sisterslike Kathleen Cleaver and Angela Davis and seethemselves as not only beautiful but smart, strong,and politically conscious. Black women could seetheir whole selves reflected in the new Essencemagazine (founded by long-time publisher and CEOEd Lewis, with four partners in 1968).

Steeped in the symbolism of African artifacts,handshakes, slogans, songs, and self-affirmingpoetry, and the take-no-prisoners stance of blackactivism, we tried desperately to shake off centurieso f negative indoctrination. In short we began slowlyto love the whole of our black selves.

It is within this engaging environment that my firm,Burrell Communications Group, flourished-a timewhen our two largest clients, McDonald's and Coca-Cola, eagerly agreed with our strategy to inject morenatural-looking black people in our ads.

Actually, I traveled a path blazed by another blackadvertising pioneer, Vince Cullers. In 1956, hefounded Vince Cullers Advertising, Inc., the firstblack-owned advertising agency in the nation thatexpertly targeted the black consumer market. WhenJohnson Products hired him to advertise its blackhair care product, Afro-Sheen, Cullers met thechallenge with the proud tag line "Watu Wazuri,"Swahili for "beautiful people." In that era of new-found pride, my firm had to challenge some of our

clients and retrain employees who came to us fromother agencies that were still clinging to entrenchedstandards of beauty. Fortunately, once provided withconvincing information, most eagerly came on boardand benefited from this newly liberated consumerbase. It was indeed an electric time of unlimitedpossibility and an exciting time to own and operatean advertising agency specializing in the blackconsumer market.

The Empire Strikes Back

Unfortunately, the new movement lasted for lessthan a decade. Old folks, for the most part, neverbought into it. When others referred to themselves asblack or Afro-American, many elders insisted onkeeping the "colored" or "Negro" brand, spoutingdefensive retorts that reflected the depth of the blackinferiority complex conditioning: "I ain't black and Iain't never been to Africa."

By the late 1970s, many young people who wereearly enthusiasts of the "black is beautiful" conceptgave in to the pervasive social pressure of fitting inwith the mainstream. It was time, especially forcollege students who'd been in the forefront of themovement, to get jobs in government, in the nation'sschool systems, or in corporate America. Time tointegrate and assimilate, fulfilling the dreams ofgenerations past.

The 60s and 70s war on poverty got trumped bythe'80s war on crime. Various social forcesprevailed, led by popular culture and the media. Asmore formal and legal barriers to race fell, God-given hair styles were deemed not "professional"enough. Anything remotely approaching "natural"-'fros, cornrows, braids, dreadlocks-that offended orscared the heck out of white people in the

workplace, became taboo. Black women, picking upon cues from their men as well as to attain goodjobs, reverted to appearing less black, most byundergoing the process of Caucasianization of thehair. While still burdensome, it was much moredoable than in the days of Madame C.J. Walker's"press and curl." Meanwhile, the hair-care industryrelentlessly marketed new products, giving blackmen and women the soggy Jheri Curl look, followedby the '90s waterfall of weaves, extensions, and wigsof endless straight-hair variety for women.

As a response to the age of increasing Americanconservatism, a black college administrator dictatedthat no students in the business school would beallowed to wear African braids lest they disrupt theimage of the proper businessperson. By 2007, aslide show presented by an unidentified Glamourmagazine editor caused an uproar on the Internet.The presentation, "Dos and Don'ts of CorporateFashion," shown at a prestigious law firm, basicallyforbade just about any "natural" black hairstyle in acorporate environment. American Lawyer magazinedescribed parts of the slide show presentation:

[First slide up]:...an African American womansporting an Afro-A real no-no, announced theGlamour editor to the 40 or so lawyers in theroom. As for dreadlocks: How truly dreadful! Thestyle maven said it was shocking that somepeople still think it appropriate to wear thosehairstyles at the office. "No offense," she sniffed,but those "political" hairstyles really have to go.

According to Blackvoices.com the magazinequickly disavowed the editor's comments, sayingthat she in no way spoke for the publication. Whethershe spoke for the magazine or not, the editor'scomments were accurate. Tragically, imitatingwhiteness has once again became the new black

look.

Back Where We Started

Today the hymn of "Black Is Beautiful" issomething we occasionally utter and rarely believe.The signals, the cultural cues, the media messages,and charismatic public personalities all cometogether with a singular, consistent, resoundingcounter-theme: "Black Is Not Beautiful!" The hair andflair of lighter-skinned actresses and models in filmsand on magazine covers reinforce the notion thatdark and lovely is fine for hair coloring products butindeed out of fashion in real life.

The preponderance of these images andmessages sends clear signals to blacks, especiallyblack children, that we are not pretty enough, notgood enough. Consider the slogan "PerfectionM a d e Easy," that SoftSheen Carson uses topromote its Dark and Lovely Kids BeautifulBeginnings Hair Care Systems. What messages areblack children receiving when using these productsto "relax" their hair? Most likely, they learn that blackfeatures don't fit the definition of perfection. What'sdisturbing is that the lessons don't always come fromoutsiders.

Consider the daughters of comedian Chris Rock.While promoting his 2009 film Good Hair, about the$9 billion black hair-care industry, Rock toldinterviewers that he was inspired to make the film byhis two daughters, who didn't think they have "goodhair." Rock's wife, Malaak Compton-Rock, addedmore detail to the story during the April 11, 2008MSNBC "Conversation About Race" paneldiscussion. According to Compton-Rock, thecouple's three-year-old daughter Zahra came homefrom school depressed because her hair was not as

long as one of her non-black friends. Compton-Rock,told the MSNBC audience that she comforted Zahraby telling the child that she loved her hair's fluffinessand puffiness and that it did not detract from herunique beauty.

I wasn't the only one who caught the contradictionsin ComptonRock's heartfelt consolation. Thankfully,K. Danielle Edwards, a Nashville-based writer,addressed my concerns in "Mamas Wear Your HairNatural," her BlackCommentator.com observations:

Here was Compton-Rock, bemoaning herdaughter's ambivalence about her own hair,seemingly befuddled and blaming society andthe media, when she, herself, was donning atleast 18 inches of silky straight weave!

In late September 2009, Oprah Winfreyinterviewed a black mother whose three-year-olddaughter, like the Rocks' child, also came homefrom school upset because her hair "was not pretty"and "wouldn't go down." With her husband anddaughter by her side, the mother, Vanessa,described how she addressed her daughter'sconcern. She didn't just tell the child that her hair wasperfectly acceptable. She showed her. Vanessasheared her own locks that had been chemicallyrelaxed since she herself was a child.

"I wanted to be a role model for our daughter toshow her that straight is just one of the options wehave as African American women. Now I'm wearinga teeny-weeny afro and I'm looking forward to itgrowing out and seeing what it teaches me aboutmyself."

Again, I think Edwards, the Nashville writersummed up the situation better than I could when shestressed how daughters, in their formative years,

"copy and mimic" everything their mothers do.

If we, as black women, go around looking likemake-believe, pretend white women, playing abad form of dress-up so common that we nolonger see it for what it is, well, guess what? Ourdaughters will want to, too.

To deny that looking a certain way is not a hugefactor in this society is to deny reality. The BIreprogramming process begins when we questionwhy one image is consistently chosen over another;why one image is always counted "in," while theother, "dark and natural" image is too often countedout. We discover answers when we compare theuglified dynamics to the ugly lessons learned fromslavery and race-based oppression.

At Wh t Pnnt9

Along with intensive hair-care strategies, cosmeticsurgical interventions designed to diminish theAfricanized broad nose and other culturalinconveniences have become widely available.Though not as prevalent as hair procedures, it isincreasingly an option for those who can afford it.Cosmetic surgery, with nearly a billion-dollar annualexpenditure by African American men, women, andeven some children, plays a large part in eliminatingtelltale signs of blackness.

We are bombarded with images of black womenflinging, flipping, flicking copious mounds of weaves,extensions, wigs, falls, and relaxed hair. Dancers onmusic videos have "fine" (Caucasianized) featuresand "hair to spare." Advertisements for everythingfrom cosmetics to automobiles ensure that today weare still fed ample, steady diets of white beautystandards via light-skinned black African Americans.Even among publications that regularly feature blackcelebrities, rarely will you find characteristicallyAfrican features.

We can "go along to get along" with dominant

society's dictates or we can start the analyticalprocess by weighing the costs and benefits of ourthoughts and actions.

Short-term Benefits

1. Acceptance: Why risk isolation, or losingemployment or promotion, just to buck societalnorms? It's easier to accept what's deemednormal and not make a fuss about our looks or ourhair. If a nose job, weave, or perm will make memore attractive, so be it.

2. Relieving the pain: My child does not need to feellike an oddity. If their friends aren't wearing afrosor hair puffs, why should I force it on my child?Sends an unnecessary message of rebellion andblack identity to whites.

3. Don't want any trouble: Big afros, cornrows, andbraids threaten white people. They immediatelyperceive these hairstyles as radical and me asrebellious. White people make and enforce therules. Neither my child nor I need to beharassed, held back, or ostracized because ofour hairstyles.

Long-term Costs

1. Acceptance: Accepting the status quo'sdefinition of societal norms serves to sanction theconditioning of white superiority. As an evolvingsociety that is becoming more and more global, itis incumbent on us to challenge what has beenlabeled "normal" by a narrow minority.

2. Relieving the pain: Discouraging your children'snatural look simply because it defies popularimagery actually makes them an oddity. Futureleaders need to feel proud of their unaltered lookand must be discouraged from following the

dictate of media messaging. Celebrating ourunique look is not rebellious. Any effort to punishchildren comfortable in their natural look should bechallenged aggressively.

3. Don't want any trouble: Altering our looks orhairstyles because whites feel threatenedvalidates racist perceptions. Whites must learnthat blacks with afros, cornrows, and braids canbe just as professional, courteous, and creativeas those with short or straightened hair. Yes,whites have more power than blacks to makeand enforce rules. However, some rules-especially those influenced by a false sense ofsuperiority-are made to be challenged andbroken.

Centuries of propaganda created the perceptualaesthetic deficit. We will need powerful weapons todis-enslave and reprogram how we see ourselves.To wage a winnable war, both internally andexternally, we will need the proper ammunition.

Uglified Positive Propaganda Cues

Look Past the Lie

We have to overcome the barrage of propagandathat tells us that European standards of beauty arethe only valid ones.

Black Beauty-It's All Good

There is more than one way to be beautifully black.We come in all colors of the rainbow, and allshapes and sizes. Embrace who you are!

It's Yours to Define What It Means to be Fine

Whether you're perceived as beautiful or not

depends largely on how you see yourself. If youfeel beautiful, you will act beautiful, and you will beperceived as such.

Black Beauty Comes Naturally!

Let yourself be. Don't allow the propaganda toconvince you that you need to be altered to bebeautiful!

Black Beauty: No Alterations Necessary! (Seeabove.)

Black Is Beautiful. Really!

The silver streak at the tip of her afro speaks toher maturity. She has dark skin and proud Africanfeatures. She is beautiful. The photo accompanyingthe impressive bio of Xerox Corporation's ChiefExecutive Officer, Ursula M. Burns, exudes heroutward and inner splendor. Women who look likeBurns, who defy the popular Westernized definitionof beauty, should be celebrated, not as the exceptionbut as part of a diversified standard for AfricanAmerican beauty.

The so-called beauty norms must be altered andexpanded to include women who are proud of theirnatural looks, like Burns. For our own and ourchildren's sake, we must stop sending subliminalmessages that our hair needs something extra to beokay or that our looks aren't acceptable-as is.

The Magic of the Moment

On November 4, 2008, a brown-skinned miracle-President-elect Barack Obama, accompanied by hisbeautiful, chocolate-colored South Side Chicagowife and their lovely young daughters-strode onto the

Grant Park stage amid massive applause andthunderous chants of "Yes, we can!"

Although it will never be announced officially, theObama family in the White House has alreadylaunched the biggest anti-BI campaign in the historyof our nation. Obama may be of mixed heritage, buthe looks like any other brother. How refreshing tosee a black man with natural swagger defy negativestereotypes while professionally serving as thecountry's head of state.

How uplifting to also see a brilliant, strong-willed,dark-skinned First Lady serve with grandeur withouta molecule of the stereotypical surly Sapphire oracquiescent Aunt Jemima-like baggage. Andperhaps the greatest achievement is that MichelleObama has never made the slightest attempt to be"whiter" than other first ladies.

In "The Power of the Fro," long-time Washington,DC hairstyle expert and journalism major LaquitaThomas-Banks wrote about the re-emergence of theafro and other natural hairstyles among today'syoung black models, singers, and entertainers, suchas Angie Stone, Jill Scott, Tomiko Fraser, MarshaHunt, Wakeema Hollis, Erykah Badu, and others.Thomas-Banks gave a nod to historic figures AngelaDavis, Cicely Tyson, Pam Grier, and other womenwho classified the afro "as a symbol of black beauty,feminism, liberation, and cultural revolution that willbe looked upon as such for years to come."

Those of us who know that long hair or light skinare not requisites to beauty must correct the record,beginning with our children, whose images ofmanhood and womanhood are, by our own hands,narrow, self-hating, and warped versions of the truth.The challenge is relevant today and our resolve mustbe firm. We must refuse to be consumers of black

films and street lit that popularize negative blackcaricatures in ways worse than those of raciallyconditioned white filmmakers, cartoonists, andauthors. If we have the courage to look at our ownwords and adopt new ways of speaking, we begin tostand as bulwarks against manipulated ignorance. Ifwe never again say things like "He's so black..." in away that makes black sound like a curse, a hatedthing, we start reclaiming our minds and the minds ofour children.

Terms like ugly, and black bitch are tentacles thatstrangle valuable bonds and connections. Adoptinga new lexicon of supplemental terms such asbeautiful, beloved, brother, and sister, not only buildspositive consciousness, it may even reduce thereflexive need for negative racial epithets in times ofanger and frustration.

Surveying how we see ourselves, talk aboutourselves, and project ourselves, and then makingmeticulous, concerted efforts to redefine beauty byour own standards begins the ultimate journey indiscovering our true proud, resilient, beautiful, andnatural selves. Most important, perhaps, is the needto de-emphasize the reliance on "appearance" asthe primary means of valuing people. Fortunately, theanti-brainwash campaign offers mechanismscreated to help reprogram and empower blacks toreclaim their images and develop new, genuinestandards of beauty.

Look, you hear about people getting killed all thetime: little kids, teenagers, grown folks. Somewherealong the way, you stop feeling surprised. "That's justblack folks," you know? You can't afford to get upset,

'cause that's just the way it is... and 1 don't see itchanging anytime soon. Do you?

-'NETTE, 58, CHILD-CARE PROVIDER

ike spectators in a Roman coliseum, millionswatched the horrific images, broadcast on newsprograms or streamed on the Internet. They sawwhat police described as an escalated disputebetween two factions on the South Side of Chicago.There, in broad daylight, on a busy street, blackteens were engaged in battle-cracking heads withrailroad ties, smashing faces with balled fists, anddenting bodies with well-aimed kicks.

As the gang-related melee came to an end,Derrion Albert, a 16-year-old honor student, lay onthe sidewalk barely conscious. He had been struckrepeatedly on his head with a torn up old plank. AsDerrion crumpled to the ground and rolled in agony,several barbarous young men gleefully kicked andstomped him more.

Screaming teenage girls and grown womenrushed to help the downed boy, car horns blared asthe urban gladiators clashed, adrenaline-drunk boysducked in and out of fist-throwing clusters, somelaughing as if engaged in a high school footballgame. Derrion was taken to a local hospital, wherehe was pronounced dead.

As news spread about Derrion's death,sympathizers placed teddy bears and flowersoutside his family's home. Relatives and friends,some wearing T-shirts bearing the boy's photo, helda vigil to share their grief. The boy's grandfather,Joseph Walker, told a reporter he planned to pray forthe boys who killed his grandson. Media pundits,authors, and commentators assumed predictablepositions, blaming racism or race-baiters.

Days after the beating, police arrested andcharged four teens, ages 14, 16, 18, and 19, for themurder. This was a case of swift justice and nationaloutrage. Sadly, neither was due strictly to the factthat another black child died senselessly. Each year,thousands of black children die violent deaths in thiscountry. The reaction to Derrion's death was mostlybecause millions watched the murder on the Internet.Overwhelming silence is the standard reaction tos uc h senseless deaths. Why does it take livefootage of a murder to get the coliseum to care?

Weusi Would Have Cared

It was 1986, during Detroit's so-called "summer ofblood." Weusi Olusola, a 16-year-old high-schoolbasketball All-Star, had just finished a hard shift at aneighborhood Hardee's restaurant. Plans to visit hisgirlfriend were altered forever when Weusi foundhimself caught in the middle of a shootout. One offour bullets that crashed into his body lodged in his

spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed. Though confinedto a wheelchair, Weusi rolled himself throughDetroit's mean streets speaking to thousands ofurban youth about the dangers of gun violence. Tenyears after he was shot, he cofounded Pioneers forPeace, a volunteer antiviolence awareness groupcomposed of people disabled by gun injuries. Aspresident of the group, Weusi visited classrooms,auditoriums, and after-school programs, preachingthe gospel of nonviolence and sharing the story ofhow his college hoop dreams ended in a nightmarecreated by yet another angry, young brother with agun.

Serving as a visible reminder of senseless anddeadly violence, Weusi joined Bill Cosby during aDetroit antiviolence rally in 2005 and participated inseveral other massive events, such as the MillionMan and Million Mom Marches in Washington, D.C.

Yet in 2007, when the NAACP called for a massprotest, Weusi stayed home.

The rallying cry was in support of six black, Jena,Louisiana high school students charged with beatinga white student. The incident was the culmination ofseveral racially tense fracases that occurred afternooses were hung in the courtyard of Jena HighSchool. Tens of thousands descended upon Jena toprotest the perceived excessive and discriminatorypunishment leveled against the black youth. Weusicouldn't quite wrap his head around the NAACP'spriorities.

When comparing black folks' passionateresponse to white injustice and our collective silencewith black-on-black violence, the response to theJena Six case seemed like an overreaction. Weusisaid, "I was amazed so many folks from here wentdown there. It made my heart weep. We can't even

get parents to visit their kid's school. Can youimagine what it would be like if we could put that kindof energy into the gun-violence issue?"

That sort of energy would have been a refreshingchange from some of today's traditional civil rightsorganizations. How many cities where youngchildren were shot dead did the secular leaders flyover to get to Jena? More folks were moved toaction by a case of whiteon-black injustice than theywere over black-on-black murder.

Simply put, it was another instance of symbolismover substance.

Weusi Olusola passed away in early 2009, afterlosing a courageous battle against bladder cancer.The major issue he fought so valiantly to eradicatesince his own shooting still plagues America's urbancommunities. Almost worse than the senselessnessof black-on-black violence is the cancer of silencethat allows it to continue unabated.

Gates to Nowhere

Seven months after President Obama'sinauguration, a oncecooled, hot-button issue-racialprofiling-got pushed. It unleashed a relentless mediacircus. Passions and prognostications were at sucha fevered pitch for weeks that, during a pressconference, the first black president had to detourfrom questions about his healthcare reform initiativeto address the issue.

On July 16, 2009, renowned Harvard professorHenry Louis Gates was arrested at his own home bya Cambridge police officer who had responded to acall about a possible break-in at Gates's premises.The reaction to the arrest mostly fell along raciallines, with most blacks convinced the case was

another example of racial profiling and excessivepolicing of a black person. Many whites, on the otherhand, insisted Gates's insolent attitude and abrasiveaccusations of racism accelerated the tension thatled to his arrest.

While all this dead-end, back-and-forth debateconsumed America's attention, an eight-year-oldblack Indianapolis boy's life ended tragically. On July22, Jeremiah Williams was accidentally shot in thehead while playing outside his apartment complex.Media reports stated that the 27-year-old suspectcame to the area armed and ready to settledifferences with an 18-year-old who was also shotbut survived.

Three days after the boy's death, I typed "Gates,""police," and "Cambridge" into Google's newssearch engine and got almost 9,000 results.Moments later, I typed in "Jeremiah Williams,""Indianapolis," and "shot." How many results did Ireceive for the child? ONE!

Although the numbers would have surely increasedhad I used the regular search procedure thatincludes blogs and online commentaries, I'mreasonably certain the nine-thousand-to-one ratiowould have remained a constant even with anexpanded search.

Besides, I was interested in what was labeled"news," not online chatter. And it was clear that theincident involving Gates was newsworthy while littleJeremiah was not.

What happened to Professor Gates shouldn't havebeen labeled "news"-it's an everyday occurrence,part of being black in America. If all racial profiling bypolice ended tomorrow, it still wouldn't change the"homey-cide" rate.

As Weusi Olusola observed, our priorities aredrastically out of whack. How many young JeremiahWilliamses lost their lives while black folk wrestledwith their emotions, passionately debated, andquietly fretted about Skip Gates?

News and No-News

Unlike high-profile cases of murdered children,such as six-yearold beauty queen JonBenet Ramseyin 1996 or two-year-old Caylee Anthony in 2008, thedeaths of black children receive little to no mediamention and limited nationwide black outrage. Theskewed media attention doesn't just apply to blackchildren. The deaths of white women receive farmore media treatment than those of black females.Thousands of black lives, male and female, aresnuffed out annually through violence, yet there arefew call-outs for nationwide rallies to stem this formof American genocide.

Just weeks before the noose-hanging incident inJena, Louisiana, a heinous murder in Atlanta of aMorehouse College student received scant mentionon black radio and in the white media. CarlnellWalker, Jr., a 23-year-old junior, was beaten,tortured, stabbed, and then bound and stuffed in thetrunk of his car and left to die. Four men accused ofhis murder were or had been "Morehouse men," adistinction thousands have worn with honor.According to the Associated Press, the police saidthey believed the killers were after a $3,000insurance settlement check Carlnell was expecting.

Had young CarInell been tortured by whitesupremacists, as with James Byrd, who wasdragged to death behind a pickup truck in Jasper,Texas, in 1998, we can be assured there would benational indignation. Had CarInell been shot by cops-

as was Sean Bell, an unarmed 23-year-old NewYorker felled in a hail of 50 gunshots on the day hewas to be married-Atlanta college students, as wellas thousands of other African Americans would havetaken their outrage to the streets and to the Internet.

My brief online experiment with Jeremiah Williamsand Professor Gates illustrates the effectiveness ofthe BI brainwashing campaign. African Americansare stuck in deep denial about black-on-blackkillings. We buy into media diversions, like the Gatescase, that keep us incessantly talking about white-instigated racial incidents, while black kids-sitting onfront porches, lying in beds, or playing in front ofhomes-cease to exist due to random gun violenceinstigated by blacks.

It seems we are more consumed with how whitestreat us and less concerned, or even numbed out,about how we treat each other. Could it be becausemany blacks are so convinced that white people aresuperior and therefore their opinions of us, andactions toward us, are more important than ouractions and opinions of ourselves?

In the spirit of Weusi Olusola, we must consciouslyadjust our priorities and dedicate the necessaryenergy to the scourge of black homicide, violence,and disproportionate death. Here, we explorewhyAfrican Americans kill and die at suchunbalanced rates, and why most African Americansare still reluctant to speak up or take action in theface of a national epidemic.

Dynamics of Death

You have a subculture of young black menpretending to be men by killing each other...

-Jim Brown, founder of Amer-I-Can, from

t h e documentary Crips and Bloods:Made in America

Blacks are just 13 percent of the population. Yet,according to a 2005 Bureau of Justice Statisticsreport from the U.S. Department of Justice, weaccount for about half of all the country's homicides.Recent statistics do indeed show the magnitude ofthe deaths but they don't fully detail the underlyingforces that fuel these disproportionate rates.

Homey-cide Dynamics

Murdering minors: Young people, gang-affiliatedor not, who kill at astronomical rates.

A 2007 Justice Department study confirmed thatm o r e than half of black murder victims (51percent) were in their late teens and twenties.Comparatively, just over a third (37 percent) ofwhites murdered during the same period werebetween the ages of 17 and 29.

Death for respect: Unplanned aggression thatleads to death. Homicide for insignificant reasons,such as insults, arguments, or feelings ofdisrespect.

The traffic altercation, the shoulder bump, the "youinsulted me" therefore "you must die" madnessprevails. For homicides involving black victims forwhom the circumstances could be identified, 69percent were not related to felonies. Of these, 56percent involved arguments between the victimand the offender. In most cases, the instigatingfactors escalated from the emotional and artificialconcept of RESPECT.

All in the family: Spouses and intimate partners

who kill; black men take the lead in homey-cidestatistics as both victims and perpetrators.

Our rate of domestic violence, where spouses andintimate partners kill each other, is far greater thanthat of any other ethnic group. Black males are notonly the most likely victims of homicide; theydominate as killers, especially in taking the life ofanother black male.

See no evil: Blacks often ignore or fail toaddress black-onblack violence; there is anincreasing collective numbness to blackviolence and murder.

Black-on-black violence has become the newnorm in our communities. This apathy, ordeadness, devalues black life and contributesto the skyrocketing rate of violence, especiallyamong our young people.

These death dynamics, backed by national trends,present an ugly truth-African American lives aresnuffed out at levels no sane, civilized communityshould tolerate. However, buried within this truth liesan unexplored link to America's "original sin" that putthe madness in motion and keeps the BI addictsliving up to predetermined expectations.

Roots of Violence

Every day, that's my diet: a spoonful of hatred.It's just a question of when is this going to erupt,and upon who is it going to erupt? Am I going toattack myself? Am I going to attack mybrother?... Point is, I'm a walking time bomb: I'mgonna go off, someday, somewhere, onsomebody. The question is, Upon whom?

- Kumasi, activist, former gang member, from

t he documentary Crips and Bloods: Made inAmerica

The acclaimed All God's Children, by New YorkTimes correspondent Fox Butterfield, should bemandatory reading for anyone seeking tounderstand how America's violent past has taintedfuture generations. Assigned to profile Willie Bosket,once considered the most violent prisoner in theNew York prison system, Butterfield traced the man'sfamily history back to the slave era, where hediscovered a cycle of violence that was transmittedacross generations. Butterfield's book details ablack man's pathology not rooted in Africa butembedded in a legacy of Scotch-Irish violence thatthrived around Edgefield, South Carolina. Butterfielddetailed a violent Southern code of honor in theBosket family tree that included deadly duels overthe smallest insult.

Mental health experts are in general agreementthat persistent exposure to humiliation, brutality, andabuse, physical or emotional, can program people tohumiliate, brutalize, and abuse others. Apart from theindigenous people of this country, no other ethnicgroup has been subjected to the centuries of abusethat Africans and their descendants haveexperienced.

In spite of this, most African Americans have nevercommitted a violent crime. Since we were firstbrought to this country in chains, we have resisted,rebelled, and refused to be sucked in by thenegative messaging designed to debase us bothphysically and mentally. That in and of itself is thegreat miracle, a testimony to the resilience of thehuman spirit to triumph over the most degrading ofcircumstances.

Still, vestiges of degradation remain very much

alive, and our struggle to make amends with atwisted, physically and mentally debilitating past isfar from over. Murder and savagery is as much apart of America's fabric as are its romanticizedrenditions of westward expansion and innovativeeconomic and social revolutions. Blood has stainedthe lives of millions who migrated to the new country.I n other words, we didn't create the violence. Itcreated us.

The Badass Negro

If you ain't where I'm from, fuck you, that's justhow it is where we from. That's the whole motto:Kill or be killed.

- Big Girch, gang member, from thedocumentary Crips and Bloods: Made inAmerica

Historians tell us that not all slaves were compliantand docile. Some men and women refused to keeptheir anger and rage in check. The so-called "badnigger," an iconic figure in African American folklore,has deep roots in slave society. Living in a world thatdid its best to break spirits, those known to bedefiant, mean, and not to be messed with weretreated as heroes by other slaves.

The "bad" black man's refusal to follow the rules,and willingness to fight back if provoked, was hisbadge of courage, even if it ultimately resulted indeath. Eugene Genovese, in Roll Jordan Roll: TheWorld that the Slaves Made, writes that the best ofthese men were "... the ones most dramaticallysaying 'No!' and reminding others that there areworse things than death. No people wholly lackingsuch an attitude can expect to survive. But the aimremains to live, not to die heroically."

Owners sometimes encouraged their slaves to beferocious. The battle royal, a throwback to thegladiator fights of the Roman empire, was a popularform of white entertainment in which slaveownerswould herd their strongest male slaves-blindfolded-into a ring and force them to fight each other untilonly one man was left standing. Observers placedbets on the projected winner and the victor's ownerpocketed the winnings. The contest was a divisivesport designed to pit black men against one anotherand humiliate them further by forcing them to stumbleblindly in front of jeering crowds as they beatthemselves to bloody pulps.

The battle royal, graphically depicted in theopening chapter of Ralph Ellison's classic, InvisibleMan, continued long after the abolishment of slaveryand well into the 1930s. "Smokers" were commonpre-events during major boxing matches. Even then,the pugilists in these spectacles were always blackmen. Blacks have maintained attitudes that helpedus tolerate and endure slavery. Some of thoseadopted attitudes, however, such as black-on-blackviolence and stubborn, nihilistic posturing, serve nopurpose in the 21st century. These days we killbecause we've swallowed the BI campaign'smessages: "We are inferior. We are less than. Blacklife has no value."

Baddest Man in the Whole

Damn Town

Fear kept many blacks on the straight and narrow.Asa substitute for confronting white power, manyothers turned to drinking, gambling, and ultimatelyfussing, fighting, maiming, and murdering eachother. Indeed, the harshness, frequency, and highvisibility of punishment under slavery and afterwardcreated a climate in which being "bad" in white eyes,

even to the extent of criminal behavior, carried nostigma. Slave and free black communities not onlyprotected but also revered the rebel. It was anenvironment where the bad black manmean, evil,thoroughly incorrigible-was nurtured and couldflourish. It's impossible not to make the connectionbetween the brutality in the outer world and thebrutality that, for some, came to define their privatelives.

Dr. Benjamin Mays, mentor to Dr. Martin LutherKing, Jr., and the long-time president of MorehouseCollege, opens his autobiography, Born to Rebel,describing how the tyranny in the South Carolinatown Ninety Six influenced blacks of that era:

I believe to this day that Negroes in my countyfought among themselves because they weretaking out on other Negroes what they reallywanted but feared to take out on whites. It wasdi ffi cult, virtually impossible, to combinemanhood and blackness under one skin in thedays of my youth. To exercise manhood, aswhite men displayed it, was to invite disaster.

In All God's Children, Butterfield paints acompelling portrait of Willie Bosket's great-grandfather Pud, at the time the "baddest man" inSaluda Country, South Carolina, and just a few milesfrom where Benjamin Mays grew up. Pud neverinitiated a fight but, as a relative told Butterfield, "Ifyou pushed him he had to beat you. Step on his footat a dance or walking by, just brush him and there'dbe a fight."

The "badass black man," as a musical theme,lilted through time. It was celebrated in blues balladslike "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," and "Staggerlee," the19th-century black pimp who killed a man in a bar ashe begged for his life. The theme blasted loud in

black 1970s films, such as Superfly, Slaughter,Trouble Man, and Shaft, which produced a songabout one "bad mutha (shut yo' mouth)" black filmdetective.

Considering the adulation of the dangerous, ass-kicking Negro, is it any wonder why today's rappingprodigies, like 50 Cent, lyrically resurrect this deadlypersona?

I make a 187 look easy Fuck that, Ilay my murder game down

-50 Cent, "Curtis 187"

No Law, No order

I know where yo kids and yo wife be,wife be Bust a nigga head to the whitemeat, white meat

-Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz, "WhiteMeat"

Through slavery, Reconstruction, and northernmigration, the era of Jim Crow rule and legalsegregation (and, many will argue, in these moderntimes), representatives of the law have been willingaccomplices in containing, beating, oppressing,lynching, and murdering black people. Where lawwas adulterated, some blacks created their ownsystem of order.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, sociologistW.E.B. Du Bois also observed that crime amongblacks, once rare, had increased dramatically. Adistinct black criminal class was emerging in thecities. Du Bois noted that some blacks preferred tolive outside the law because they saw no point inliving within the law. Many blacks came to regard the

justice system as a structure of dualities. Influencedby white superiority, the system was crafted topunish blacks who committed crimes against whitesmore severely than those who committed crimesagainst fellow blacks.

Arguably, swift and often cruel punishment forblacks who murder whites serves as a deterrent.However, if one accepts that theory, then the flip sideof the hypothesis may also apply, as authors ShaunL . Gabbidon and Helen Taylor Greene explored intheir book, Race, Crime and Justice:

To the extent that homicide is a preventable ordeterrable crime, one must examine the role oflaw enforcement authorities in the genesis ofblack homicide... leniency in the treatment ofblack [intra-racial, or within the race] offendersmay tend to encourage black-on-blackaggression.

Dying for Respect

Don't step on my reputation. My name is all lgot, so I got to keep it. 1 am a man of respect.

The words of Willie Bosket's great-grandfather,Pud, reflect the attitude of many young black mentoday. Respect represents something worthprotecting or risking your life (or another life) over.For far too many young black men, to be dissed isconsidered a killor-be-killed affront.

Slavery and the country's addiction to race-basedviolence is no excuse for the murderous behavior ofblacks today. However, to fix a problem you have tounderstand its roots. Exploring antisocial mores andvalues, as well as societal and legal injustices, helpsus connect the dots between the deadly "code ofhonor" of yesteryear and the nihilistic "code of

respect" defiantly practiced today.

Through slick propaganda, the criminal code ofrespect is referred to as a "black thing." Themessage that black men are America's demons ispeddled relentlessly on the nightly news and crimeshows, and through entertainment media. Thesemessages hit black boys everywhere-on thebasketball court, in the schoolyard, and when theygather on the street. Negative media reinforcementsnot only influence how cops, judges, employers, andothers view black males, they affect how youngblacks view themselves.

The socialization process is the means by whichchildren learn societal and behavioral rules. It helpsthem determine and develop sets of beliefs, values,and attitudes about themselves, culture, family,society, and ethnic groups. Family and otherinstitutions are "major transmitters" in the sociallearning process. However, as Gordon L. Berrystressed in his article on the media's effect on blackyouth, in contemporary society, "the phenomenon ofmass communication competes with thesetraditional socializing institutions."

In other words, the media-television, films, videogames, music videos-are all major socializers.Television, in particular, has maximum impact onchild socialization, especially if the values or viewsrecur; if they're presented in dramatic form thatevoke emotional reactions; if they link with a child'sneeds and interests; and if no standard (friends,parents, environment) is supplied to counteractwhat's offered by television.

According to the National Institute on Media andthe Family, exposure to media violence is positivelyrelated to "aggressive behavior, aggressive ideas,arousal, and anger." In 2001, Iowa State University

researchers concluded that violent music lyricsincrease "aggressive thoughts and hostile feelings,"and that young people who play violent video games,even for short periods, are more likely to behaveaggressively.

It's a known fact that blacks consume much moretelevision than whites. Berry cited several studiesindicating how black children use television to learn"new facts and information about life" and to learnhow people "behave, talk, dress, and look." Thescary reality is that black children perceive media-fed behaviors as true reflections of life.

In a society created to reinforce white superiority,the intended benefactors receive balancedmessages of good and bad, destructive andconstructive, real and unreal. For blacks, there areno filters that say, "This is pretend." Many of ourchildren consider media messages and images asauthentic reflections of who we are.

Black men are the descendents of a race that, dueto skin color, has been systematically deniedopportunity to meld into mainstream society.Therefore, for those with little self-esteem, who feelthey have nothing else of worth, honor becomeseverything. Without it, they would be spirituallybankrupt. Young black people have no idea how thiswarped mindset is dictated by a script drafted fortheir demise centuries before they were even born.

Prison: A Peculiar Institution

Part of the mechanics of oppressing people isto pervert them to the extent that they becomethe instrument of their own oppression.

- Kumasi, activist, former gang member, fromthe documentary Crips and Bloods: Made in

America

No parent need be reminded that black boyssuffer greater consequences for their missteps. Theyare incarcerated at higher rates and more frequentlythan whites who commit similar offenses. Of the 2.3million people currently in the nation's prisons, 60percent are racial and ethnic minorities. For blackmales in their twenties, one in every eight is in jail onany given day, according to The Sentencing Project.

In early 2009, Virginia Senator Jim Webb, astaunch proponent of radical prison reform, citedsobering statistics about the incarceration of AfricanAmericans. For instance, even though there's "littlestatistical difference among racial groups regardingactual drug use," blackswho make up roughly 12percent of the nation's population-account for 37percent of those arrested on drug charges, 59percent of those convicted, and 74 percent of alldrug offenders sentenced to prison.

Thanks to a society structured to protect andexpand white superiority, white teenage boys whoget into trouble are far more likely to receive lightersentences, treatment, and rehabilitation for theircrimes. On the other hand, black boys more easilyend up in jail or juvenile detention. In fact, as MarianWright Edelman, founder of The Children's DefenseFund, noted, "more and more of those who enter thePrison Pipeline start with arrest records as youngchildren."

Edelman questioned the sanity of a nation willingto spend more on prisons than on Head Startprograms. She sounded an alarm about thedisproportionate number of black boys who areheartlessly trapped in a "youth detention culture"permeated with cruelty, "where the focus is often oncontrol and punishment instead of rehabilitation."

To illustrate her point, Edelman cited data from a2003 U.S. Department of justice investigation intoconditions at Oakley and Columbia Juvenile TrainingSchools in Mississippi, where juveniles were "hog-tied with chains, physically assaulted by guards,sprayed with chemicals... forced to eat their ownvomit and put in dark, solitary confinement cells afterbeing stripped naked."

The Mississippi juvenile centers may be extremecases. However, conditions at such sites reflect theresults of a rapidly expanded prison system (a 500per cent increase over the past thirty years,according to The Sentencing Project). It is a systemclogged with the targets of the nation's 25-plus-yearfailed "war on drugs" that in reality is more of anorchestrated war on poor, uneducated blacks andLatinos.

When examining the skyrocketing black homiciderate, we must consider how black boys learn tobecome hardened criminals through exposure toadult criminal mentors in prisons. We have toscrutinize a society that created a prison industrialsystem that spits out deadlier and morecontemptuous offenders than went in. The nation'sprison system is the modern-day equivalent of slaveplantations-a system where poor blacks have norights, no real justice, and are openly treated asanimalistic, inferior human beings.

Killing Us Quietly

If for nothing else but survival, generations ofblacks have been astute observers of the whitepower structure. This explains why many of us cringewhen we hear news accounts of horrendous black-onblack crimes or hesitate to publicly condemnblacks who kill blacks. Deep down, we fear that

whites, especially those seeking to validate theirsense of white superiority, will judge us all by thenegative actions of a few.

Black leaders and individuals are hesitant toendorse any stereotype that feeds into cementedracial perceptions. In our homes, churches, andamong ourselves, some of us do talk about thesenseless acts of violence. However, publicly we stillwear the mask of duality, clinging to the ludicrousnotion that we can keep our dirty laundry in thehamper.

We will, however, tsk-tsk, moan, and wail about alost life in front of news cameras and dutifully deliverteddy bears to the porches of murdered children. Weperpetuate the myth. If we expose the FoundingFathers' contribution to America's creation of theheartless monsters roaming 21st-century concretejungles, we're afraid we might be dismissed asradical, paranoid, or "stuck in the past." What wewon't do is recognize that, collectively, we have theinherent power and responsibility to address black-on-black violence.

We can't talk about change without first discussingAmerica's "original sin" and the system that set thiswhole destructive cycle in motion. It's imperative thatwe retrace the tracks before boarding the solutiontrain.

All Cost, No Benefit

Analyzing the temporary benefits versus the long-term costs of homicide is a wasted exercise in thischapter. Frankly, there are no benefits to be derivedfrom following the deadly code of respect, defyingthe law, or through the violent release of pent-upemotions. The costs, on the other hand, areoverwhelming. There's no upside to living incommunities where deadly violence rages out ofcontrol. We cannot keep burying our young. Our racewill never heal as long as we allow or ignoresenseless killing and violence.

Black-on-black violence must be denormalized-inreal life and pretend life.

Look at almost any dramatic film targeting blackaudiences. Whether it's a "gritty urban drama," ascript about a black couple or black family, or even afluffy, inner-city dance movie, you can almost betthat, by the film's end, you will see a violent beat-down or a murder. And the same intense motif flowswithout censorship through rap lyrics, TV shows, andvideo games. Family violence, the murder of ouryouth, hair-trigger sadism, and apathy toward thedisproportionate rates of violence-the major forcesof homicide-are not insurmountable challenges. Thecycle of self-destruction and violence can and mustbe broken.

What follows are tools that may help us meet thesechallenges.

Positive Propaganda Cues to

Hall Homey-tide

Life: Because we're all worth it

All too often, we think that life is worthless and that

we cannot recover from our pain. What we mustrealize is that it is worth sticking around because,with hope, we never know how far we can go. Thefirst step toward saving others' lives is toappreciate the value of our own.

Turn a life in tension into a life intention

Part of what creates our stress and disconnectionwith humanity is that we do not feel we have apurpose in life. If we can take that negative energy(tension) and turn it into positive energy (intention),then there is a great chance for our recovery.

Diss-stress

We must get over the stress and anger that keepus killing one another and keep us from reachingour full potential as human beings.

Life is a prerequisite to everything else: Value it!

The finality of death precludes any hope forpositive change. Stay alive so that you'll have achance to truly live. It's as simple as that.

Futures, Not Funerals

Our silence must be broken, inaction must bereversed, and the value of every black life must bereinforced. Weusi Olusola may be gone but hisorganization, Pioneers for Peace, lives on. Thereare dozens of others across the nation workingdesperately to offer alternatives to the drug tradeand gang violence. Seek them out, support theirefforts.

Let's make a commitment to be just as loud andjust as angry about death related to black-on-blackviolence as to white-on-black crime, even if it's not

captured on video, as was young Derrion Albert'smurder. We need to be just as vigilant and engagedabout the murder of a black child by another blackchild as we were about a Harvard professor whowas disrespected and inconvenienced by a whitepolice officer.

To accomplish this new orientation, we need ablack media machine (be it Internet- or cable-based)that overwhelms us with the faces, stories, andcircumstances of every murdered child. If twentyyoung black people die in a week, imagine seeingtwenty stories that week, stressing their value andthe community's loss. Imagine passionateconversations about the unnecessary deaths ofblack children.

After violence in Chicago claimed the lives of 22students (20 by gun violence) in the 2007-2008school years, parents volunteered to provide safepassage to and from school for their children. Highschool students and school administrators took tothe streets protesting the killings. Those of us freedfrom the shackles of helplessness and inferioritymust multiply such efforts. Our mantra should matchthe rallying cry of those Chicago parents, students,and educators: "We want futures, not funerals!"

I was so surprised when my mother called me fromthe hospital to say doctors had found a tumor. It was

inoperable cancer. My mother had not been to adoctor for a checkup in more than five years. If not for

the consistent pain, she wouldn't have gone whenshe did. If they had caught the cancer earlier, herdoctor told us, they could have treated it. Instead,she was told that she had three months to live. Six

weeks later, she was dead. I try not to be angry withher... but she didn't have to die.

- JANINE

ragically, stories like Janine's are heard toooften in black communities.

According to James Macinko, lead author of thestudy "Black-White Differences in AvoidableMortality in the United States, 1980-2005," two-thirds of the differences between black and whitemortality rates are due to causes that could be"prevented or cured." Many health disparities can bereduced with a renewed focus on preventionensuring good, quality health care for all Americans,Macinko said. The uneven blow from the three majorkillers of African Americans-heart disease, cancer,and stroke-plus other serious illnesses, may call forsomething more drastic than public policies.

Let's consider the sobering data:

• Cardiovascular diseases rank as the number-one killer of African Americans, claiming thelives of over 37 percent of the more than285,000 blacks who die each year.

• African American adults are 1.7 times morelikely to have strokes than their white adultcounterparts. Further, black men are 60percent more likely to die from a stroke thanwhite male adults.

• In 2009, among African Americans, it wasreported that an estimated 150,090 new casesof invasive cancers would be diagnosed andabout 63,360 blacks would die fromcancerrelated deaths.

• African Americans are 1.6 times more likely toh a v e diabetes than white, non-LatinoAmericans and more than twice as likely tosuffer its most debilitating consequences.About 2.7 million blacks (11.4 percent) over 20have the disease.

• Black women are 40 percent more likely todie of breast cancer than are white women.

• In 2007, blacks accounted for 51 percent of the42,655 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses (includingchildren) and 48 percent of the 551,932persons living with HIV/AIDS in 34 states.

• In 2005, blacks were 1.4 times as likely to beobese as non-Hispanic whites.

• Blacks suffer higher rates of depression (8percent) than whites (4.8 percent).

"Can I ask you this question, Mr. G? Have you everhad your colon checked, or anything like that?"

While his beefy, tattooed arm slid the clippersalong the elderly man's head, barber Mel Sampson,Jr., peppered his patron with questions andcomments about his health: "Now with your heartbeing weak like that, you don't think that smoking'sgonna hurt you at any point, Mr.G?"

Sampson, the owner of Mel's Barber Shop in NewOrleans, was one of 25 barber and salon shopowners who took part in a Tulane University healthstudy. In 2009, the Prevention Research Center atTulane trained hair stylists to remind customersabout the importance of healthful lifestyles, gettingregular checkups and health screenings. The Tulaneprogram is one of many innovative medicalapproaches designed to address a national crisis-the disproportionate rates of black illness and deathrelated to treatable diseases.

Between August 2008 and August 2009, the worldlost several black talents, including soul singers LeviStubbs of the Four Tops and Isaac Hayes, best-selling author E. Lynn Harris, and the world's firstblack supermodel, Naomi Sims. The leading causesof death among hundreds of thousands of blackseach year are heart disease, cancer, and stroke.Hayes died from a massive stroke, Harrissuccumbed to heart disease, complicated by highblood pressure, Sims passed away after a battlewith breast cancer, and Stubbs suffered from aseries of illnesses, including stroke and cancer. Thefour celebrities had something in common: they alldied from illnesses medical practitioners label as"treatable and preventable."

Deathly Denial

Yeah, it ran in my family, but you often think thatits going to happen to someone else, neveryou.

- Randy Jackson, American Idol co-host

Even at around 350 pounds, Randy Jackson, NewOrleans native and co-host of television's AmericanIdol, never imagined he'd be stricken with diabetes.Even though his father suffered from the illness,Jackson was stunned to learn that he, too, had Type2 diabetes. Jackson was lucky. After his diagnosisin 1999, he had gastric bypass surgery, drasticallyaltered his Southern diet, and started exercisingregularly. Today, he's kept the weight off and keptthe condition at controllable levels, and serves as anational spokesman for diabetes awareness. Manyof us have not been so lucky. Despite the deathsattributed to our diets and lifestyles in our immediatefamilies, we are still hesitant to address ourhealthcare dilemma.

Educator and author Dr. Jawanza Kunjufuprovides a compelling example of this state of denialin his book, Satan! I'm Taking Back My Health.Kunjufu describes a church service where the namesof all the sick and infirm parishioners are called outright before the announcement that pork chops, ham,and fried chicken will be served after the service.Kunjufu's humorous swipe speaks to two deadlyserious issues-our diet and our silence aboutpersonal and community health issues.

The painful question that remains, however, is whywe are so hesitant to face personal and communityhealth issues even as the black health crisis swells.

She Didn't Have to Die

Another mystifying disparity exists within thenumber of blacks who, for various reasons, neglecttheir health more than whites. Often we won't seekmedical treatment until a disease has progressed toan irreversible stage. Lack of health insurance leadsmany to forgo screenings for illnesses such ascancer until it's too late for effective treatment. Thenthere are those of us who don't trust the medicalsystem or have resigned themselves to the fatalisticbelief that good health and good care are simply notan option for black folk.

The African American health crisis has finallymotivated researchers to consider what my firmconcluded almost 40 years ago-"Black people arenot dark-skinned white people." Our habits, customs,and motivators are influenced by unique history andsocial stimuli. The mechanisms we use to cope withphysical pain and mental duress vary drastically.These factors, however, do not mitigate the crisis.Self-destructive behaviors, such as overeating,smoking, drug and alcohol addiction, irresponsiblesexual activity, and other high-risk behaviors, amountto what Dr. Alvin Poussaint once declared to be"slow suicide."

Programs like Tulane University's will certainlyhelp remind blacks that they need to address healthconcerns but, in many ways, it's like bringing a watergun to douse an inferno. Health reminders addressthe symptoms but they won't extinguish the embersthat spark selfdevaluation and encourage us to doharmful things to our bodies.

We Know Better

Just as drug use can be a response to low self-

esteem that leads to depression, which in turnfuels lower self-esteem, compulsive overeatingalmost always starts as a "solution" that quicklybecomes its own problem and makes otherproblems-like depression-even worse.

-Terrie M. Williams

In Black Pain: It Just Looks Like Were Not Hurting,former Essence editor Susan Taylor describedreaders' reactions in June 2006 after Essencefeatured an article by the book's author, Terrie M.Williams:

The moment that issue hit the stands, a tidalwave of responses began pouring into theEssence offices... thousands of men and womenwere moved to write to us not only to expresstheir admiration of Terrie's courage but to breaktheir silence...

Williams's book, which tackles the taboo subjectof black depression, speaks volumes about the kindof people we tend to be. We have been conditionedto maintain Teflon exteriors even when confrontingsoul-crushing adversity.

Repression Depression

Fuck these skinny bitches... look at hershaking... bitch, cuz you hongry...get amotherfucking two-piece and a biscuit!"

- Mo'Nique, 2009 comedy show

Blacks endure in silence or engage in denial whileour loved ones suffer or die every day from poordiets, smoking, depression, and sedentary lifestyles.In fact, we've developed defenses to validate obesityand a laundry list of fear-based reasons why we

should not see a doctor.

We know we have poor eating habits-some of ourmost cherished dishes are laden with fat and salt.But we deny the damage with excuses like "this isthe way black folk always ate." We aren't deaf orblind to media messages specifically created toprod us into consuming bad food and addictiveproducts, such as malt liquor and menthol cigarettes.We tolerate these insults because the products helpus cope with unknown feelings and undiagnosedanxieties.

These days, black grandmothers are becomingyounger and younger (mostly because theirdaughters are having babies at earlier ages). Yet,what we see on sitcoms and movies are mostly rolesof aged, ass-kicking, sassy, big-breasted, obesegrandmas-as in the Madea series, Big Mama'sHouse, Hannah Montana, House of Payne, Norbit,The Nutty Professor, etc., etc. It's like the proverbialchicken and egg question: does the stereotypeportray reality or does reality dictate the stereotype?An examination of our attitudes indicates a definitecorrelation.

Slow Suicide Dynamics

1. Deadly denial: We die at unprecedentedrates from cardiovascular disease, cancer,and stroke. Even though survival rates woulddrastically improve with better diets,preventive care, and early diagnosis, werefuse to take the necessary steps to saveourselves. Since we have been historicallydevalued, we devalue ourselves and ourhealth.

2. Repression of depression: The dilemma of

unaddressed mental health issues anddepression within the black community. Werefuse to acknowledge the problem, labelpeople "punks" and "crazy" if they choose toget help, and therefore cannot help ourselves.

3. Glorification of unhealthy weight stereotypesand health-destroying lifestyles: We havefetishized unhealthy behaviors, from "healthy-sized 'thick' women" to unhealthy foodpreparations and portions. Conversely, wecriticize healthy people:

"Don't nobody want a bone but a dog," or "Oh,yo u one of those rabbit-food-eating folks?"And the media glorification of alcohol and drugabuse: You are not having a good Friday nightunless there's Cristal or Grey Goose on thescene, or a "blunt" to share with the homier.

4. Chew-i-cide-killing ourselves with every bite:Overconsumption of disease-producing food isslow suicideespecially when it is over-processedand chemically enhanced "food" with nonutritional value. Slow suicide by unconscious orcompulsive eating is a reflection of our untreatedtrauma and depression.

5. Death wish: Profound ambivalence about theworth of our lives is masked as an unconsciousdeath wish. We engage in numerous riskybehaviors ranging from unsafe sex, and violence-provoking altercations, to addictions, to food,drugs, and alcohol. Due to various reasons (somereal, some imagined), we avoid going to doctors.It's only after symptoms become too severe thatwe seek treatment, and most times it isemergency room treatment.

Although our attitudes may fit Hollywood portrayals

and racist depictions of us as irresponsible andincapable, the problem is far more nuanced, as arethe solutions.

We cannot discount our history and the unresolvedtrauma that cue these destructive responses.Negative, distorted, self-critical, and self-hatingattitudes branded into us for centuries, as well as ouroften distinctive and distorted rationalizations aboutweight, food, and body image, fuel many of ourhealth disorders. Most important is the scantattention paid to the strategic and manipulativemedia messages that urge us to consume deadlyproducts or engage in risky, life-threateningbehavior.

WAS Every Time

The first time I got drunk it was an accident, and Iwas about seven. I got into some appleSchnapps, and gulped down like half of it. Theweird thing was, when my family found out, itw a s almost like I was a hero. They werelaughing and joking: it was like I had donesomething cool.

- Eric, 41, financial advisor

Advertising agencies make fortunes gathering,analyzing, and manipulating the societal, historical,and economic factors that motivate consumerpurchases. Since Burrell Communication claim tofame was our expertise with the black consumermarket, in the mid1970s we were hired by a majorcigarette company to help boost their brands'penetration among black consumers. This wasbefore we knew much about the product.

Through research, we found specific, concretedocumentation that this tobacco company and

others targeted black kids, to get them and keepthem hooked on their deadly products. Thesecampaigns were largely waged through the mentholbrand, which blacks dominated. Even today, morethan 80 percent of black smokers use mentholcigarettes.

Back in the 1970s they saturated the black marketwith free samples and hip and cool images thattapped into our sense of powerlessness, low self-esteem, and emasculated identities. Needless tosay, my firm backed out of the contract.

It's no accident that actor Billy Dee Williams hasresurfaced on billboards in predominantly urbanareas across the country. On the signs, the actorholds a tall can of Colt 45 malt liquor next to the bold,colorful words: "Works every time." Williams, whorepresented the epitome of black cool in the mid-1970s, was also a spokesman for the brand in the1980s.

Colt 45's logo features a bucking bronco, a nod toits extra kick derived from the sugar and otheradditives to boost the beverage's alcoholic strength.Like menthol cigarettes, blacks are the target formalt liquor in the United States. Although hip-hopartists have done their part to romanticize "da 40,"Billy Dee obviously still has swaying power. Perhapsit's because marketers understand that black menidentify with messages that emphasize cool, even ifit's from a black movie star past his box-office prime.

The Food Fixers

What have we done in the United States? We'vetaken fat, sugar, and salt; we've put it on everycorner. We made it available 24/7. We've madefood into entertainment. We advertise it as

something you'll want. I mean, walk into a foodcourt and watch people eat. We're living, literally,in a food carnival.

- Dr. David Kessler

In an August 2009 Democracy Now! interview, Dr.David Kessler, author, pediatrician, educator, andformer United States Food and Drug Administrationcommissioner, bluntly compared America's foodindustry with Big Tobacco. Kessler claimed that, asfar as addicting Americans to deadly products wasconcerned, the food industry was just as culpable.With the "emotional gloss of advertising," Kesslerexplained, the food industry's successful marketingof unhealthy food products has led to a "profoundpublic-health epidemic" in this country.

Indeed, similar marketing techniques are used tosell all products, be they cigarettes, malt liquor, orpotato chips. Food companies are intrinsicallyaware of the motivators that encourage blacks toeat, drink, and consume. They know our history, thefoods that have sustained us for centuries, and thedistorted, self-critical attitudes that have beenbranded into us. They market in ways that speak toour tainted self-image and tensions.

African American women have the highest rates ofbeing overweight or obese when compared to othergroups in this country. The industry is attentive to thedisproportionate numbers of black women who areunpartnered. To emphasize it promotes emotionalmood savers-sweet, fatty, self-indulgent, unhealthyproducts that contribute to obesity.

In 2005, the New York City Department of Healthreleased findings from a study, "Women at Risk: TheHealth of Women in New York City." The studydocumented the disturbing relationship between the

declining health of black and Hispanic women andt he disproportionate number of negative, health-related advertisements found in magazines thattarget these women. The investigative team citedresearch based on a study of advertisementspublished in two popular black magazines withmajority black female readerships. They discoveredthat nearly 50 percent of the ads in the publicationswere devoted to alcoholic beverages. Contrastthose figures with the meager two percent ofalcoholic ads found in white-oriented women'sjournals.

Women's magazines serve as key sources forinformation used for health-related decisions andpurchases. The "Women at Risk" study found thatreaders of black and Hispanic magazines were"exposed to proportionally fewer health-promotingadvertisements and more health-diminishingadvertisements."

Children (black, white, or "other") are also fairgame for the food industry's hired guns ofadvertising. An estimated 40,000 ads a year, ontelevision alone, help boost obesity and poornutrition among kids in the U.S., according to theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics. Over the courseof one year, the average 2-to-7-year-old child will bebombarded with nearly 30 hours and more than4,400 food ads. African American children, ages 6to 7, were 1.3 times as likely to be overweight asnon-Hispanic whites, based on 2003-2004 data.

According to a 2006 study published in Pediatrics& Adolescent Medicine, more ads for fast food andsugary snacks appear on blackoriented children'schannels than on channels with more generalprogramming for children. The one-week studyreviewed nearly 1,100 ads on the black-targetedcable channel, Black Entertainment Television

(BET), and those that ran on the WB Network andDisney Channel. Of the ads reviewed, more than 50percent were for fast food and sugary drinks. Ofthose, BET hosted about 66 percent of the fast-foodads, 82 percent of the sugary-drink ads, and 60percent of the spots for snacks.

A BET spokesman and others representing fastfood manufacturers disputed the findings, and theresearchers acknowledge that more study must beconducted before any definitive conclusions aredrawn. However, the studies clearly illustrate themedia's disproportionate negative effect on blackchildren's health.

The food industry is way ahead of the medicalexperts, fitness magazines, and health writers whohave not explored black attitudes and loyaltiesregarding food consumption. Many of us are stillreacting to hurt and humiliation from our past,clinging to old systems of survival that may havebeen useful back in the day, or essential to survivalin the history of our grandparents and great-grandparents, but are self-destructive in the present.

The Hand That Feeds You

We had very bad eatin'. Bread, meat, water.And they fed it to us in a trough, jes' like thehogs. And ah went in may [sic] shirt till I was 16,nevah had no clothes. And the Win ouch cabinwas dirt, and at night we'd jes'take a blanket andlay down on the flo'. The dog was supe'ior to us;they would take him in the house.

- Richard Toler, former Virginia slave

Deprivation began the moment Africans werecaptured and enslaved. Slaveowners found thatcontrolling the food supply was an effective way to

command obedience and subservience.

Children born into slavery quickly learned wherethey stood in the pecking order. The black mother'smilk was often diverted to the white child, leaving theblack baby to be weaned on deprivation. BennyDillard, a former Georgia slave, recalled howslavemasters "never let chillun have no meat till theywas big enough to work in the fields." Children,Dillard said, often ate bread with milk and cornponesoaked with peas and "pot liquor" (the broth left fromcooking greens) from wooden bowls, and usedoyster or mussel shells for spoons. Archeologicaldigs at slave quarters in recent years haveunearthed evidence of the toll this abuse took onblacks. "Skeletal analysis reveals malnutrition,especially in young children," wrote researcher AnneYentsch in her essay "Excavating African-AmericanFood History."

One former slave, interviewed for thegovernment's WPA slave narrative project,described how a black cook fed slave children by "...crumbling cornbread into a trough and pouringbuttermilk over it... Sometimes that trough would bea sight, because us never stopped to wash ourhands, and before us had been eating more than aminute or two what was in the trough would look likered mud what had come off our hands..." Feedingpeople in the manner one would feed a dog or horseis part of the dehumanizing process. If one is fed likean animal, it is easier to accept and adopt the statusof livestock.

Putting the Soul in It

We were given the rejects, the leftovers and thegarbage, but we made a cuisine of it that haswon many accolades.

- Harris, a Virginia slave

Despite scourges of malnutrition and hunger,slaves endured. The majority not only survived, theyimprovised. Relying on fading memories of theirhomeland, they creatively transformed rubbish intomeals that resembled something their palatesconsidered food. Harris, a former slave, praisedblack cooks who incorporated African culinarymethods in their "grilling, steaming, boiling, toasting,baking, and frying." The cooks, Harris said, usedspices generously "to disguise spoiled meats andenhance flavors." Thus, they "helped us to survivewith their ability to quite literally turn a sow's ear intosomething wonderful."

Variations on traditional African meals, such as"fufu," became the slave's standard vegetable-based soups and stews. Large amounts of readilyavailable fat, sugar, and salt were used asseasoning. Salt was also an American mainstay notonly as seasoning but as a preservative for meatbefore refrigeration. Blacks had also acquired ataste for fried foods, which was a southern tradition.Fried okra, sweet potato pie, and popular rice, bean,and okra-based dishes, such as gumbo andjambalaya, are intertwined with the history of theblack American experience.

The Concrete Struggle

After Emancipation, some blacks who remained inthe rural South who could plant or hunt their own foodwere, in some ways, better off than those whomigrated north. In the cold North, many blacks reliedon cheap dishes and recipes passed down fromtheir ancestors. They fell back on meal-stretchingingredients, such as rice, beans, and cornmeal, tosupersize meals for the entire family. Many found

they could stretch their dollars by purchasing cannedgoods, potted meat, fruits, vegetables, and otherprovisions offered by big city stores.

Not only has the brutal and inhumane experienceof slavery impacted black lives today, survival skillsstood the test of time as well. Family history and fondmemories of delectable dishes are also interwoveninto the history of those tough times. And when timesget tough, we turn to the food of those times, evenwhen we can afford otherwise.

Lifestyles of the Poor & Not-

So-Famous

There is no dividing line between the past andpresent for Yejide Kmt of Homewood, Pittsburgh.Yejide is car-less and walks two miles past landfills,crackheads, and prostitutes, she said, just to get tothe nearest food store. The impoverished 26-year-old mother of five has a daughter who has beenrepeatedly hospitalized for asthma and eczema.Yejide felt she doesn't have the luxury or the moneyto obtain healthy food on a regular basis. So shemade do, often grappling with what was most healthyover what was most affordable-a sevendollar salador a filling snack that cost under a buck: "I'd get mychild a 35-cent honeybun. I want my child to not behungry, and that (honeybun) had the most calories."

The Center for Minority Health at the University ofPittsburgh presented Yejide's story in its May 2009article, "Root of the Problem." Dr. Stephen Thomas,director of the center, said the lack of access togood food is only one of the major challenges low-income blacks and other minorities face. They mustalso overcome "ignorance and a constant barrage ofbillboards advertising unhealthy food in poorneighborhoods," Thomas said.

As If Poverty Weren't

Enough

Possible cancer symptoms, such as a persistentcough, are being missed because black patientstend to delay doctor visits. U.S. Census data showsthat more than 19 percent of blacks in this countryare uninsured as opposed to 10.8 percent of whites.Poor and uninsured people are more likely to betreated for various kinds of cancers at late stages.Blacks, even those with insurance, are more likely toreceive substandard clinical care and services.

Black Enterprise.com reported that 7 percent ofblack women with breast cancer get no treatmentand 35 percent do not receive radiation aftermastectomy compared with 26 percent of whitewomen who do not receive the treatment.

According to a study released in 2008 by theAmerican Cancer Society (ACS), the widestdisparities were noted in cancers, such as breastcancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, and melanoma,which could be detected early through standardscreening and/or medical assessments. To illustratethe importance of early detection, the ACS points tothe five-year survival rate of 93 percent of thepatients who receive a diagnosis of Stage 1 coloncancer. That number plummets to 44 percent fordiagnoses at Stage 3 and 8 percent for Stage 4diagnoses. As if poverty, diet, and our propensitytoward deadly illness weren't enough, researchershave also noted that racism and stress related toracism add to our healthcare woes.

Racism's Hidden Toll, by Arline T. Geronimus, aprofessor in the University of Michigan School ofPublic Health, revealed that the "stress of living in aracist society" causes African Americans to age

faster, experience greater health problems, and diesooner than whites. These disparities, Geronimusargues, are a direct result of institutionalized,structural, and economic conditions.

Racism has a direct as well as indirect impact onblacks. ACS researchers found that the healthdisparity might also be caused by a lack of healthliteracy and an inadequate supply of providers inminority communities. It's clear that black peoplesuffer from a litany of illnesses that kill us at drasticrates. This chapter underscores the fact that wearrived in the 21st century with 17th-century baggagethat keeps us unhealthy and ill suited for longevity.

Guinea Pin Woes

In my day, you were taught that you were broughthere as a slave. You heard about how pitiful youwere.. .you heard about the most heinous crimesin the world that were committed against you.

Yo u begin to believe it... you are convincingyourself that it's not true, you're not a "nigger,"you know?

- Eric

Much of our reluctance to face up to our healthissues is based on fear-historical race-basedmedical atrocities, fear of discovering a disease wecan't afford to treat, or fear of what others might thinkif we reveal that we suffer from certain diseases.These fears are legitimate. For example, time willnever erase the horror of the Tuskegee SyphilisExperiment, where the government's public-healthdepartment conducted a 40-year (1932 to 1972)experiment on 399 black men in the late stages ofsyphilis that deprived them of treatment and led topremature death.

What may not be as widely known as the syphilisexperiment are the cases of race-based atrocitiesdetailed in Harriet A. Washington's book, MedicalApartheid: The Dark History of MedicalExperimentation on Black Americans from ColonialTimes to the Present.

Washington gives a painful 400-year account ofthe medical crimes committed against blacks thatinclude colonial-era research to understand brainand body functions, the female reproductive system,and to test surgical procedures. She writes about them i n d control experiments conducted on blackinmates, mental patients, and misbehaving blackboys (as young as five) who were forced to undergo"blind-cut lobotomies" between 1936 and 1960.

She draws comparisons to contemporaryexamples, such as the court-ordered sterilization ofmostly black women and girls in Baltimore, and theNew York City fenfluramine experiment (1992 to

1997), where up to 113 black boys were cherry-picked and given the drug (later found to cause heartproblems) so researchers could gauge theirpredisposition toward violence.

Depressed? Not Me

Although the use of antidepressants has doubledin the United States from 13 million prescriptions in1996 to 27.1 million prescriptions in 2005, blackswere the only socio-demographic group that showedno increase in usage of the drugs. This wouldprobably seem like a positive indicator if not for thefact that blacks suffer higher rates of depressionthan whites and other ethnic groups. George Smith,a Chicago psychologist, listed lack of healthinsurance, misunderstanding of mental healthissues, fear of medication, and the rejection ofantidepressants "because of religious or personalbeliefs" as some reasons blacks are reluctant totake depression-related drugs.

Fear also motivates many blacks not to talk abouttheir problems, even when we're being examined bydoctors. A 2009 study by University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill researchers found that blackpatients with high blood pressure have poorercommunication with doctors than white patients withthe same condition. Poor communication hampersfollow-up treatment, which leads to worse diseaseoutcomes. There are various reasons that explainwhy we're hesitant to address illness, but they palewhen compared to the spiraling cost of our silence.

Many of the black-on-black homicides in ourcommunities should really be classified as "second-hand suicides," said Pittsburgh's Dr. StephenThomas. Considering the "root causes of self-destructive behavior-including such mental health

issues as anxiety and depression brought on by thestress of home life, lack of healthy selfesteem and aprevailing incidence of hopelessness among blackmales and youth," the homicide rate should come asno surprise.

For a people who have been labeled mentallyinferior for centuries, it's tough to confess feelings ofdepression, mental fatigue, or instability. For many,such feelings betray our positive image as strong,resilient people who withstood unimaginableadversity. The image is real, as are the benefitsderived from our ancestors who sacrificed so wewouldn't have to live as endangered second-classcitizens. In other words, our ticket has been paid. Wehave the right to be equal.. .and healthy.

Keeping It Together While

Falling Apart

For many of us, the idea of appearing crazy... isenough to drive us mad. Our deep and insistentneed to keep it together, even at the cost of ourmental health, is a price worth paying for toomany of us.

-Terrie M. Williams

Our other sets of fears are not easily dismissedeither. Knowing we have an illness means we haveto do something about it, which often opens aPandora's box of concerns for black people,especially those surviving on little to nothing: What ifthey have no health insurance? Will they lose theirjobs? Who will take care of their children if they arehospitalized? Denial about the realities of our healthhas been trivialized and institutionalized in ourliterature, sitcoms, movies, and in black musicvideos: Madea is obese but she doesn't have

cardiovascular disease. Billy Dee pushes Colt 45but never explains what "works every time" afterdrunken youth roam urban streets. Hip-hop artistsencourage unbridled sex yet they rarely advocatecondom usage or sing about the ravages of AIDSand other sexually transmitted diseases. While weplace our health in God's hands only, laugh atobesity, drink to be merry, and dance to the tunes ofsexual irresponsibility, the unnecessary casualties ofdeath by slow suicide continue to keep funeralhomes busy.

AIDS Is Killing Us

We know there are black gay rappers, black gayathletes, but they're all on the DL...If you're white,you can come out as an openly gay skier oractor or whatever. It might hurt you some, but it'snot like if you're black and gay, because then it'slike you've let down the whole black community,black women, black history, black pride.

- Rakeem, self-described "urban, black gay manon the DL"

Rakeem was one of several black gay men writerBenoit DenizetLewis interviewed for his stunningAugust 2003 New York Times article, "Double Liveson the Down Low."

While drawing readers into the mysterious world ofthe "DL" (slang used to describe the behavior ofmen who have sex with women but secretly have sexwith men as well) Denizet-Lewis also offered aglimpse into "black culture that deems masculinityand fatherhood as a black man's primaryresponsibility-and homosexuality as a white man'sperversion."

The article accentuates how, even in the face of

the black AIDS crisis, honestly talking about theissue in black communities has proved "remarkablydifficult, whether it be in black churches, in blackorganizations, or on inner-city playgrounds." Thelonger we remain silent, the larger the crisis growsand the more lives are impactedlives like that ofMarvelyn Brown, a black woman infected with HIV in2003 at the age of 19 by a man she said knew hewas HIV positive but did not tell her.

I kept thinking to myself that he doesn't have acondom... but I thought, "This is my PrinceCharming and I wouldn't mind being his baby'smother if this is the worst that could happen."

The rate for new HIV infections for black women isnearly 15 times that of white women. As with otherblack health crises, we simply cannot afford toignore the multiple ways HIV/AIDS (needle sharingamong drug addicts, unprotected risky sexualencounters, transmission from mother to baby atbirth, etc.) is spreading throughout blackcommunities.

Consider the growth of AIDS among black men inour nation's prisons. According to AVERT, aninternational HIV and AIDS charity group, blackmales stand about a one-in-three chance of servingtime in prison during their lifetimes. The statistic isimportant because of the growth of HIV in the prisonsystem. On its Web site, AVERT cites conclusionsfrom a 2003 University of California at Berkeleystudy indicating that the increasing rate of HIV inheterosexuals, particularly women, closely followsthe increased rates of incarcerations of black menduring the 1980s and early 1990s.

Although the research indicates that black menbecame infected in jail and then went on to infecttheir female partners upon release, the CDC refutes

the theory, claiming that the vast majority of blackmen are actually infected before incarceration. TheHIV/AIDS epidemic will continue to rise unless weopenly address the many ways in which blacks areinfected with the disease. The first step, I believe, isanalyzing our hesitancy to discuss the topic-period.

Benefit & Cost of Slow

Suicide

It's seriously way past time for us to rise above ourfears (as legitimate as some may be) and stopdodging the subject of our disproportionate deathand illness. A simple analysis of our delayed actionsshould compel the next needed steps.

Short-term Benefits

1. Deadly denial: What I don't know won't killme any quicker. I know cardiovasculardisease, cancer, and stroke kill many blackpeople but maybe I'll be one of the luckyones. When it's my time to go, it's my time.Diets are frustrating, preventative care iscostly, and early diagnosis won't preventthe inevitable.

2. Repression of depression: Denial keeps adepressing reality at bay. Misdiagnosing orignoring people with mental illnessreinforces the delusion that we are immuneto such maladies.

3. Glorification of unhealthy behavior: It'seasier to glamorize unhealthy behaviorthan do the hard work to stay healthy.Criticizing healthy people relieves us ofenvying them or analyzing ourselves.Besides, based on media accounts,unhealthy behavior is normal.

unhealthy behavior is normal.

4. Chew-i-cide: We eat what our parents andgrandparents ate. Certain so-called "badfoods" are part of the black experience. Todeny these dishes is to deny our culture.

5. Death wish: A little sin never hurt anyone. What'scalled a "death wish" is really just fun. Besides, ifthe lifestyle were so dangerous, the mediawouldn't promote it as much and the governmentwouldn't sanction companies that willfully hurtpeople.

Long-term Costs

1. Deadly denial: What you don't know will, in fact, killyou quicker. Luck doesn't factor in withcardiovascular disease, cancer, or stroke. Thediseases will kill you or someone you love. Youmay not be able to control when it's your time togo, but inaction certainly increases your odds ofdying unnecessarily. Diet, preventive care, andearly diagnosis may be frustrating, costly, andtimeconsuming, but the payoff is well worth theeffort.

2. Repression of depression: Denial exacerbatesthe problem. If we shame or label people whochoose to get help, we deny ourselves and ourfamilies the available knowledge and resourcesto address our conditions.

3. Glorification of the unhealthy behavior:Glamorizing negative behavior legitimizesunhealthy behavior. Our children will naturally shunhealthy activities that we criticize or devalue.Adhering to media messages that glorify alcoholor drug usage is irresponsible behavior. Constantgood times only serve to make us accomplices toour own destruction.

4. Chew-i-cide: Our slave ancestors had little choicein what they were given to eat. We do.Overconsumption of slave-era food amounts to thecontinuation of slave-era thinking. Eating what ourparents and grandparents ate is a rationale forselfdestruction.

5. Death wish: Fun in moderation is the goal.No behavior, short of saving lives, is worthtaking our own lives. No matter whatmessages are sent through the media,unsafe sex, addiction to alcohol and drugs,or other reckless behavior has profoundand deadly consequences on our personaland communal lives.

The cost we're paying in wasted lives shouldcompel us to move into action now! Despite ourhang-ups, there's no reasonable excuse for inaction.After all, our children and the next generation alsodeserve the right to live long, happy, and healthylives.

The Capitalist Game

It's not a part of my stubborn nature to wave thewhite flag in the face of opposition. I prefer toanalyze and discover innovative ways to win againstmy adversaries. I know the strategies of the food anddrug industries, marketers all too well. Let merephrase that: I know they know us all too well. Themarketers who push the poison that's killing us havemastered the art of exploiting our weaknesses. Themedia-through magazine articles and ads, anddumb, formulaic dramas and comedies-utilizecumulative, dulling techniques that distance us fromcritical thinking and make us detour to therefrigerator, to the liquor store, the club, or anywherethat allows us to fill the void with poison.

Still, there's a card we've yet to play-our cleansed,critical thinking minds. From a renewed perspectivewe can see the food industry for what it is-an enginethat's in business to sell goods and services, andmake profits for itself and its shareholders-period.It's a machine that operates so well, it even makesits transgressions seem benevolent.

Consider that America's corporate elite directsdonations to civil rights organizations, hospitals,youth clubs, and other health-related charities andendeavors, in exchange for positive PR. With theright marketing pitch, they gain consumer trust andput forth the illusion that they are giving back almostas much as they're bringing in. The operative wordhere is illusion. Most often, the small percentage ofdonations is only a tiny fraction of the profit thesecompanies derive from the problems they helpedcreate. As I said, the poison pushers have masteredthe art of exploiting our weaknesses. Now, it's timeto play our unexpected card.

Playing the Trump Card

It's unreasonable to expect food and beveragecompanies that exploit critical unconsciousness tobetray their economic interest. Such businessesmerely exemplify a corporate model that is theAmerican way of doing business.

If we grew our own food, lived healthy, lesschemically enhanced lives, the food manufacturing,marketing, packaging, trucking, and even themedical and drug industries, would all take huge hits.My goal isn't to crash America's economy but to finda balanced and holistic way to live and let live-longerand healthier. Therefore, the healthier strategy is toengage individual and collective critical thinking:"You have a good mind, use it!"

We don't have to start from scratch. Founder of theNation of Islam (NOI) and author of How to Eat toLive, Elijah Muhammad, taught his followers to avoidgreasy meats like pork, eat more plants, grow theirown vegetables, and process their own meats.Activist and health guru Dick Gregory introduced hisSlim-Safe Bahamian Diet Drink Mix and a whole lineof products, based on raw fruit and vegetablesdesigned to battle obesity and improve health.

Bryant Terry, an "eco-chef" food justice activist,and author of Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy,and Creative African-American Cuisine, works toilluminate the connections between poverty,malnutrition, institutional racism, and food insecurity.In 2002, Terry founded "b-healthy" (Build HealthyEating and Lifestyles to Help Youth), an initiativedesigned to encourage urban youth to think criticallyabout food and nutrition and to empower them tocreate their own healthy, sustainable food systems.

Positive Propaganda Cues for Healthy Living

Self-empowered, critical consciousness willcreate new standards and discover innovative waysto balance fun with responsibility and good health.For those who are up to the challenge, I offer thefollowing helpful tips:

Free of the big three

The words treatable and preventable shouldmotivate us to tackle disproportionate deathrelated to heart disease, cancer, and stroke.Learn more, get check-ups, speak up, speakout, and protect yourselves and your loved ones.

Don't live to eat, eat to live

What is food for? Think about it. Too often weuse food just to make us feel good. In reality,healthy eating can make us feel good and livewell for the long run.

Exercise-your rite to life

Commit to regular physical activity. Your bodywas made to move. It is your temple: Move itnow so you can still use it later.

Diss-stress

Name the enemy. Stress, anxiety, anddepression are catalysts for the major physicalillnesses that plague our community. Stand upand seek professional help. There's no shamein learning how to disc-stress to combat long-term illness and disease.

Self-love is a healing thing

Before you can take care of others, you musttake care of yourself. Respect yourself enoughto recognize your own needs and don'tpostpone taking action to fulfill them.

What do you really crave?

On a conscious level, we may think we want thatice cream, that donut, that cigarette, or "da 40,"but there's another hole we're really trying to fill.Have the courage to find out what it is, create ahealing strategy, and prosper-for yourself andyour family.

Health practitioners are beginning to understandthat programs aimed at helping black peopleaddress the health crisis must be drafted with ourhistory, paranoia, and unique culture in mind. Forthose who've recognized and are trying to move

beyond the powerful influences of the BI Complex,perspective becomes a key resource in our arsenalof consciousness-raising tools. With properperspective, we can reject any hidden shame relatedto our history and build on our tradition of survivaland resilience.

Free minds don't glorify a food heritage thatthreatens to kill us. Free minds will question moviesand media messages that perpetuate unhealthystereotypes that we unconsciously internalize. Wewill look at the motives of corporate givebacks andrecognize that nothing is ever "free." The costs aremerely hidden.

These advances are within our control. Once wecommit to seeing ourselves as the consciouscreators of our own destinies, once we lovinglyattend to our own minds, bodies, and souls, thedealers of death will quake and our slow suicides willbe a thing of the past.

For the young kids, it's about having brand-new,white gym shoes. They are impoverished, but they

are buying 200-dollar gym shoes, clothes that 1 can'tafford.. .and 1 HAVE a good job, you know? Why

aren't their families putting that money into savings,into a college fund? Why do they have a 300-dollar

phone, but no computer?

- WILL, 40, TEACHER

t was a time of great optimism for four-timeNBA All-Star Latrell Sprewell. The money wasflowing at such an awesome pace during the 2004-05 season that the superstar was able to reject athreeyear, $21-million extension to his already$14.6-million contract with the MinnesotaTimberwolves.

Less than three years later, numerous newsagencies reported the financial woes of Sprewell,who hadn't played pro ball since rejecting the offer.Apparently, the basketball player owed about$70,000 in unpaid taxes. His company, SprewellMotorsports, had not paid credit card bills in months,his home was up for foreclosure and his million-dollar yacht was auctioned off to help pay what he

owed on the boat.

Black kids who dream of living the glorious lives ofbasketball superstars should know, according tostatistics cited by the NBA Players' Association, thatabout 60 percent of retired basketball players gobroke within five years after leaving the NBA. Sinceblack players dominate professional basketball, it'ssafe to assume that a large proportion of that 60percent are black. Sprewell is an appropriateexample of the financial slam dunk NBA players faceafter the limelight dims. But basketball is not the onlydominion where "black wealth" is often an intangiblefacade.

Before he passed away in June 2009, the King ofPop, Michael Jackson, lived way above his alreadyover-extended means. According to Newsweek,Jackson's "history of bad management, excessivepersonal spending, and big legal bills left him, at hisdeath, facing bankruptcy." Jackson ran up hundredsof millions in personal debt borrowed against hisassets (Newsweek estimated his total borrowingmay have exceeded $400 million).

Yet, during the 2003 documentary Living withMichael Jackson, Jackson took British journalistMartin Bashir and his camera crew on a lavish,multimillion-dollar Las Vegas shopping spree,purchasing elaborate vases, marble chess sets, 10-foot urns, and other expensive objects as if theywere M& Ms. Even as Jackson's world wascollapsing under debt, the media captured otherspending exploits-in 2005, $150,000 blown in under30 minutes at Harrods, a luxury London departmentstore, and another impromptu midnight shoppingspree in 2006 at London's trendy Topshop, onOxford Street.

We can never know for sure, but it seems as if the

extravagant purchases were the late entertainer'sway of replacing the reality of insecurity and low self-esteem with the illusion of comfort and control. It's areality shared by millions of emotionally fractured, butless fortunate, blacks.

Bravo cable television network's Real Housewivesof Atlanta was promoted as a reality seriesshowcasing the professional, social, and family livesof five suburban Atlanta women. Four of the fivehousewives are African American.

During the first season, the women were livin'large, showing off custom-built mansions, luxurycars, and designer clothes. Viewers tagged alongas the women enjoyed private spa and BOTOXappointments, attended highbrow parties andfundraisers, and even an $18,000 birthday party onemom hosted for her 11-year-old daughter. Turns out,according to numerous media reports, three of thefour black housewives were actually broke orstruggling to hold on to what they had.

One of the women, who filed bankruptcy in 2007,was evicted from her multimillion-dollar Duluth,Georgia, mansion and faced a lawsuit from her ex-husband for defaulting on a $150,000 loan. Thespouse of another housewife owed more than$100,000 in taxes. The couple's five-bedroom home,seen on the show, was actually rental property fromwhich they were eventually evicted due to missedpayments. News reports also noted that another castmember bounced a $346.00 check, had to sell herlavish home and, in 2008, was forced to take herchildren out of private school and enroll them inpublic school.

The women seem to have followed paths blazedby black notables whose fortunes were squandereddue to personal flaws, lack of financial education, or

a need to boost their self-esteem through spending.

The Atlanta housewives aren't the only ones whotake cues from celebrities. Those of us who aregetting by and those who are but one paycheckaway from poverty like to live like the rich andfamous, too. We wear the clothes they wear,consume the products they endorse, and try ourdamnedest to live the celebrity high life.

There's a historical timeline of black moneymadness that spans the eras of vaudeville,segregated baseball, and the blackentertainers-onlychitlin circuit. Unfortunately, it's a negative timelinewe still share today.

Lifestyles of the Rich & Not

Famous

Our situation has the makings of a classic goodnews/bad news joke. First, the good news: We livein the richest consumer society on earth. Blackcollective buying power is almost $800 billionannually. The bad news? Because of ourundisciplined, indiscriminate buying habits, AfricanAmericans are still America's poorest group.

The bad news affects blacks on all income levels.Astudy by Demos and the Institute for Assets andSocial Policy, released in August of 2009, revealedthat millions of middle-income-earning blacks-"fromfactory workers to bank tellers to white collarmanagers-are slipping toward destitution."

Although the recession threatens the elimination ofthe total black middle class, the study pointed outthat 33 percent of this particular demographic wasalready in danger of falling out of middle class statusbefore the economic downturn.

Just as low-income blacks were devastated by thesubprime- mortgage catastrophe, so were middle-and upper-income African Americans. In fact, theCenter for Responsible Lending reported that high-income blacks were almost twice as likely as low-income whites to receive high-interest subprimeloans. Upper-income black and Hispanichomebuyers were more likely to face foreclosuresdue to high-cost subprime mortgage loans thanwhites, even though the groups had similar creditratings. In the greater Boston area alone, noted JimCampen, a University of Massachusetts economist,"70 percent of black and Hispanic borrowers withincomes between $92,000 and $152,000 receivedhigh-interest rate home loans, compared to 17percent for whites."

According to Demos, black groups-upper, middle,and lowerexperience disproportionate rates offinancial risk due to abundant credit-card debt andhigh-interest purchases of depreciating items, suchas cars, electronics, and fancy appliances. Low-income blacks, however, are the dominantsupporters of the multibillion-dollar payday loan andrent-to-own entities that can charge triple-digitinterest rates, and rent merchandise at sometimesmore than 200 percent above the manufacturer'ssuggested retail price.

Mad money

My nieces and nephews all live at home, and areeither unemployed or underemployed. Yet, theyare rocking Airforce Ones and Apple Bottomjeans, and they can keep a bottle of Grey Gooseunder the bed. They look like they havesomething going, but really they don't-acomplete consumer mentality with no income!

- Toni, 36, elder-care worker

We start addressing our failure to stay on par withother ethnic groups who increase their wealth byhonestly answering a few true or false questions:

True or False: Blacks often purchase because itmakes them feel better.

True or False: Blacks purchase high-pricedliquor, designer clothes, and fancy cars simplybecause these items represent "the best."

True or False: Blacks place more value onwhat's in the garage or closet than what's in theirbank accounts or stock portfolios.

True or False: Blacks distrust financialinstitutions. Many of those who do save, socktheir money away at home or other placesdeemed "safer."

Your answers reveal the deep dynamics of the buynow, pay later syndrome.

Buy Now, Pay Later Dynamics

1. Livin' large while feeling low: AfricanAmericans have a tendency toovercompensate through material brazenness.We seek the best to prove we are the best,using our dollars as defense mechanisms to"show them" that we are worthy. Blacks have astrange loyalty to the "best brand" becausesubpar products remind us of our perceivedsubpar status.

2. Gotta have it now: This is the intergenerational,instantgratification component to our spendingand saving habits. As uninformed consumers,

we are susceptible to marketing pleas to "haveit now," as opposed to saving, investing, orputting off unaffordable purchases.

3. Paying the black tax: We expect and willinglypay more for products at what are oftenastronomical interest rates. We endure a widerange of financial penalties due to ouruncontrolled desire to "live large" and "have itnow."

4. Eat, drink, and be merry: For many of us, life is,and has always been, considered fragile andunpredictable. Since tomorrow is neverpromised, we must have desired products now-at any and all cost. This attitude also explainswhy we hesitate to risk our hard-earned moneyin financial institutions or the stock market.

5. Dollars and sense: Blacks have beensystematically excluded (and we've excludedourselves) from learning the economic ABC's ofAmerican life. This has not only turned us intoeasily seduced buyers but also handicappedbuilders of personal and communal wealth.

These dynamics accentuate the mystery of why welag behind others who have amassed generationalwealth through financial acuity. To reverse thispattern, we must first understand how our consumerand saving patterns link to our psychological need tosalve 400-year-old wounds.

Take My Money, Please!

When I was a kid, we had a three-year cycle:We'd have the flashy cars, the big TVs, mymother would rock the furs and the diamondrings. Then, we would either go bankrupt, or myfather would get arrested. There was no

temperance, no middle road for us. We wereeither sky high, or had our faces in the dirt. Youget used to that kind of stuff.

-Alan, 49, internet salesman

The buy buy, now now sales pitches are all around.We are flooded with offers to purchase every dayand every minute. Messages are in magazines, andon billboards, radio, TV, the Internet, bus kiosks, T-shirts, taxi roofs, tote bags, blimps, and stuffed inenvelopes with the bills for the stuff we've alreadybought. It's difficult for any American to resist therelentless marketing barrage and gain a modicum ofa financial foothold. But I believe the cues toincessantly buy resonate differently with a race thathad to secure the right to be treated as humans andforce white businesses to treat them like any otherAmerican consumer.

Unlike whites, we were denied the basic right tobe free-willed consumers. Restrictive, but legal,covenants excluded African Americans frompurchasing homes in neighborhoods consideredwhite. We could not patronize white-only diners,theaters, clubs, and colleges or shop in many stores.For centuries, spending money "jes' like white folk"was not even a possibility. That all changed after wefought for the right to force our money upon whites.

I Am Somebody!

How did this financial and emotional rejection,supported by the incessant, centuries-long blackinferiority campaign, affect us? Consider the sit-insthat accelerated the civil rights movement. BlackAmericans (and their white supporters) risked lifeand limb to force Southern lunch counters,restaurants, and stores to accept our business. In

fact, much of the movement was about gaining theright to consume like whites-whether patronizingrestaurants and hotels, or buying clothes, cars,televisions, or homes.

We were in survival mode, flexing our equal rightsmuscles while forsaking our economic educationheads. Not to downplay the dismantling of legalizedsegregation, but the major thrust of the civil rightsmovement included the demand that whites allow usto consume their products and utilize their services.The profound irony of the movement was that itclogged arteries that recirculated hard earned cashback into black communities and businesses.Instead, the flow was rerouted to benefit white powerbrokers and businesses.

During slavery, blacks had little to no control overtheir lives and fates. This seeded a sense of "livingin the now" in our psyches. In a society where rank isdetermined by material wealth, we are still seekingto buy lost status, only this time through mindless,unbridled consumption.

Shopping for Status &

Respect

Get a good look at me, dummy Isaid I look, I feel, I smell likemoney...

-Three 6 Mafia, "Like Money"

Prevalent socio-economic conditions, combinedwith historic prejudices, have resulted in a case oflow self-esteem, or low "race esteem," that hasaffected our purchasing behavior. I myself haven'texactly been immune to these feelings ofinadequacy. I was raised during a time when blacksseemed grateful that car dealers wanted their

seemed grateful that car dealers wanted theirmoney. "I may be discriminated against, but GeneralMotors will sell me anything I want," we'd say.

Years ago, as a fledgling executive, I obtained acharge account at an exclusive store-initially, I think,just to demonstrate to my white co-workers that I,too, could have an account. It most certainly wasn'tbecause my salary justified my shopping there!

Thatfall day remains with me. The temperaturesuddenly dropped and I ducked into this particularlyelite store looking for gloves. I waited at the counterwhile two sales clerks carried on a clearly personalconversation. Finally, one of them acknowledged mewith a disdainful look and snipped, "Do you wantsomething?"

Instead of leaving, I found myself-despite theunprofessional treatment-buying a pair of gloves,priced far beyond what I could afford, just to showthem that they'd underestimated me.

There were also times when I've been in high-endstores and felt self-conscious about asking about theprice of an item. The mere question seemed like anindictment against my social status. This sentimentis probably shared by other upwardly mobile AfricanAmericans who believe that asking a store clerk,especially a white store clerk, about a product's costsomehow implies an inability to afford themerchandise.

Acquiring expensive commodities-thisconspicuous consumption-is our way of telling theworld, "We have arrived. We are good enough."Meanwhile, as we send these expensivecommuniques as signals of our worth, manufacturersof all the stuff are in on the joke, chuckling their wayto the bank.

Champagne Taste and a

Beer Budget

Our history of feeling inferior fuels the propensityfor African Americans to buy name brands weperceive to be the best. Knowing that we have beenconsidered "less than"-less smart, less capable,less clean, less law-abiding, less generous, lessworthy, less, less, less-spawned a reflexive need todemonstrate that we are equally (if not more) worthy.

The 2005 Yankelovich Monitor MulticulturalMarketing Study, in collaboration with BurrellCommunications, revealed that brand choice is farmore an emotional decision for blacks, in terms ofwhat it says about us, than it is for whites. AfricanAmericans in this study agreed with the followingstatements:

• The brand you buy tells a lot about the type ofperson you are (47 percent black vs. 35percent other)

• I like to buy brands that make me feel I'vemade it (46 percent black vs. 30 percentother)

• Brands give me a level of emotional satisfaction(67 percent black vs. 43 percent other)

Everyone but us seems to be aware of ourconsumer clout and buying habits. During a July2009 conversation on the Branding Strategy Insiderblog, frequent contributor Mark Ritson discussedgender, age, and ethnic loyalty to luxury brands:

I personally believe that the face of luxury...people who lead that market, are, for me, for themost part, African American. It would be amistake to see, for example, the hip-hop

community as being not consistent with theluxury brands. If anyone has grasped the truemeaning and heritage of luxury brands, it is thatAfrican American community.

This emotional void drives the hip-hopgeneration's insatiable hunger for blingier bling,shinier cars, pricier liquor, and premiumpricedproducts. According to the 2008 study, "YoungUrban Consumer Market in the U.S.," conducted byReport Buyer, an online source for business newsand trends, hip-hop artists set the trends for the$594 billion young urban consumer market. Thebrands that are "spontaneously embraced" andexperience "significant sales" in this youngdemographic are those that appear to be "genuinelyused" by hip-hop artists and featured in their lyrics orvideos.

Young black fans paying ludicrously high prices forbrand-name items may be influenced by hip-hopartists, but in reality they're continuing a trendestablished long before their births.

Evolution of Slave-based

Economics

It was in the slaveholder's best interest to keepslaves in such despair that they could concentrateonly on servitude and survival. Deprived and beatendown emotionally, slaves had little left that inspiredthem to even imagine a future. For hundreds ofyears, survival was our sole focus. Slavery,oppression, vicious Jim Crow laws, and thegovernment's failure to assure our rights and safety,solidified and legitimized levels of extremeinsecurity. Life's uncertainty and cruelty conditionedus to grab whatever pleasures we could, the bestand quickest way possible.

Harvesting Hopelessness

Under the post-Emancipation sharecroppingsystem, whites deliberately saw to it that blackfarmers never got ahead. No matter how diligentlythey farmed, they fell deeper in debt to the landowneror storekeeper who supplied land, fertilizer, seed,mules, equipment, or whatever else was needed.Debt peonage replaced the chains of slavery.Whites still kept black sharecroppers impoverishedand reliant on generally high interest commissarycredit advanced against the following year's crop.

It's important to remember that this system, too,became an integral part of promoting the nextbrainwashing campaign. It birthed the concept thatsomehow the bad situation was the fault of the blacksharecropper who didn't harvest enough to cover thedebt. Thus, the lender was able to cast himself asthe good guy who helped the black family surviverough times.

Migration Miseries

During the great migration, between 1910 and1970, more than six million black men, women, andchildren flooded the northern urban centers ofAmerica. The promise of better education and jobopportunities "up north" outweighed the realities ofbrutal racism. While many blacks receivededucational and job opportunities in meatpacking,steel, automobile, and other industrial and unionizedindustries, they also encountered a system ofnorthern racial oppression that was equallydamaging to their well-being.

Racial segregation, in the form of mortgagediscrimination and redlining, insured that blacks

were kept out of white neighborhoods and confinedto overcrowded, inner-city slums where rent gougingwas common. Whites were able to buy homesthanks to federal government initiatives, such as the1934 National Housing Act. That measure, whichhelped kick off the postwar suburban housing boom,severely limited lending in African Americanneighborhoods.

stylin' & Profilin'

I didn't pay my student loans for the longest time.I bought a BMW, rented a penthouse with aJacuzzi, bought out the bar for strangers. Ineeded to look like a big shot, like "Hey, I'vemade it!"

-Alan, 49, Internet sales

For generations, we've been engaged in an effortto regain a sense of "somebodiness" through ourmaterial possessions and the way we dress. Theslaveowning family dressed nicely when they went tochurch or greeted guests or attended functions. Thefine attire of whites contrasted sharply with the wornapparel of most slaves. The way we dressedbecame a source of tension between the lowly fieldservant and the often respectably clothed houseslave.

After bondage was no longer legal, the stigma ofsecond-class lowliness shadowed blacks as theymigrated north. Be it in Memphis or Harlem, onFriday and Saturday nights, blacks adorned the bestt o feel like the best. The joint, or neighborhooddrinking establishment, was the place wherecommon laborers could get a quick shot of status.Once they "hit the joint," blacks were able to mingleand be "somebody." The mad-money dynamic in all

of this esteem-based spending was that blacks notonly spent disproportionately to look sharp, they'doften blow a day's or week's pay showing off, buyingdrinks, or participating in other costly nightlifesprees.

The non-club-hopping crowd gained equalsatisfaction on Sunday mornings. The one good suit,the fancy dresses, and elaborate hats worn to churchcontradicted the sense of lowliness the weekdayuniform or daily work clothes represented. For theblack generations up until the 1960s, said GailLowe, creator of the 2000 Smithsonian exhibit onAfrican American faith, the way we dressed forservice was our way of honoring the church andsatisfying our "hunger for beauty and for self-respect."

During my high school years, I worked all kinds ofjobs to raise enough money to buy Brooks Brotherssuits. For me and a couple of my buddies, it wasn'teducation or religion that kept us coming to schoolor church-it was all about "showing up sharp!"

The Exceptions to the Rule

The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory justnow is worth more than the opportunity to spenda dollar in an opera house.

- Booker T. Washington

Although educator Booker T. Washington wascriticized for urging blacks to amass social capitalthrough education and manual labor only, he was stillamong the pioneers of the "do-for-self" economicresponsibility movement.

The founder of the Universal Negro ImprovementAssociation (UNIA), Marcus Mosiah Garvey, took the

message to an unprecedented level. In the 1920s,Garvey focused on teaching blacks how to own andoperate their own factories, grocery stores,restaurants, publishing houses, and internationalshipping companies.

For those who lived in what was known as the"capital of black economic independence"-Tulsa,Oklahoma, particularly the affluent black Greenwoodarea-economic independence was a way of life.Before a deadly race riot decimated Greenwood in1921, the region hosted 28 black townships, morethan 40 black municipalities, and a host ofindependently owned and operated businesses.

After Elijah Muhammad became the leader of theNation of Islam in 1934, he centered theorganization's mission on self-determination, racialseparation, cultural pride, and economicindependence.

Some of these attempts to build strong, self-sustaining economic foundations were fraught withfailure due to government manipulation, disunity,misplaced loyalty, and distracting, counterproductiveideologies. Still, these examples illustrate that, sinceEmancipation, there were black leaders who thoughtseriously about the way we created, conserved, andinvested our money.

There was a brief attitude of self-determinationafter the enactment of civil rights legislation. Duringthe 1960s, 70s, and even into the '80s, there was aninspiring rallying cry for race-based solidarity, self-determination, and an intense drive to play a biggerrole in the economic arena. Unfortunately, thepromise of prosperity through social integration, likemigration's promise, proved to be another frustratingshell game. With fractured identities, we still attemptt o buy respectability and status. We are still

emotional spenders and vulnerable pawns of high-priced vendors and predatory lenders.

What We Drive & What

We're Driving

A fascination with luxury cars has been another bigthing for many blacks. On a psychological level,expensive cars represent fulfillable dreams. Next tohomes, they are the most expensive item (thanks toavailable credit) the average African American canown. Cars, for men especially, are phallic symbols ofpower and control. In the black male psyche, theycompensate for feelings of social emasculation. Youcan't park a house in front of a church or nightclub,but arriving in a flashy car garners instant admiration.For blacks, cars serve as mobile billboards that say"I have arrived!"

From Sharecropping to

Payday Lending

We are a people conditioned to put our faith in thefuture, live in the now, and respond to promises ofquick prosperity. From a marketing perspective, youcouldn't ask for a better demographic. If a consumergroup believes social status can be achievedthrough consumerism, why not make millionsexploiting that perception?

Many credit card companies operate the mostvicious kinds of predatory lending scams, and youngAfrican Americans give them particular delight.Before they even get jobs or establish credithistories, blacks are among the young demographichigh-interest credit card companies target. Themajority of young black credit card holders, however,don't have the options of some whites, whose

parents will bail them out of debt or who are able tomove into well-paying jobs.

At young ages, blacks who bought things theycouldn't afford are introduced to an inescapablehigh-interest, credit-damaging cycle. The worse theyfeel about themselves, the more they buy (on credit)to feel better. No matter how deep they sink, creditcard companies and other greedy, manipulativelenders are always there to help out with more stuff,albeit at inflated prices and interest rates.

Listen closely to the payday loan industry'sspokesmen and you might recognize theresemblance to the sales pitch used by lenders ofthe sharecropping era. Their ads sympatheticallyexplain how "everybody falls behind every now andthen" and they, the payday lenders, are there to offerassistance. According to the Consumer Federationof America, the interest alone on payday loans, insome states, can be as high as 780 percent.

Used car salesmen promise to finance anybody,no matter how bad their credit. Rent-to-own dealerstell customers they can take furniture, appliances,and electronic equipment home today withoutworrying about credit checks.

It's no coincidence that high-interest credit cardcompanies, payday lenders, rent-to-own companies,and used car dealerships are overrepresented inlow-income black and Latino neighborhoods. Therecould be no better territory than ones fiIledwith thepermanently underemployed and unemployed whohave been generationally excluded from economicprosperity.

Like the landowning lenders of old, today'spitchmen swear they're helping these "risky"consumers reestablish good credit. What they fail to

disclose is how they grossly inflate prices anddemand interest rates so jacked up that uninformed,cash-strapped consumers wind up further damagingtheir already damaged credit.

Payday lending customers are allowed to take outadditional loans to cover defaults. Risky car buyerscan always get another "ride" and rent-to-owndefaulters are courted by even sleazier competition.T h e mentally conditioned can still get theirimmediate "stuff," even after repossession, as longas they're willing to pay the "black tax"-higher pricesat much higher interest rates.

Thus, as in the post-Civil War days, many blackswind up trapped in a cycle of never-ending debt anda state of economic slavery. Worse yet, they'reconditioned to believe their situations are their ownfault. Meanwhile, the "good guys"-those with theresources to hire lobbyists to thwart regulatoryopposition-exploit an exploitable demographic andmake out like benevolent bandits.

We Gotta Have It

Even with less disposable income, we lead thegeneral population in satisfying immediate desires.According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth,blacks allocate a disproportionate share of theirspending to telephone service, apparel, television,radio, sound equipment, and personal care productsand services.

Our spending habits are closely tracked bymarketers of everything from Aamco to Ziebart. In2003, we spent about $6.5 billion on personal itemsand services, $131 billion on housing, $56 billion onfood, $33 billion on motor vehicles, and $23 billionon clothing, according to Target Market News. Yet

the amount we spend on what goes in our hair andon our bodies is far greater than what we spend onwhat goes in our heads or into our bank accounts.We spent almost $120 billion on hair care products,cars, clothes, and food, and only about $40.5 billionon health care, insurance, education, and books.

Faced with such a glaring imbalance in ourspending priorities, perhaps it makes more sense toput a little less into a "do" and a lot more intoeducation and earning a college diploma that willallow us to be more competitive in the 21st century.

Ripple Effect

There's an even more depressing image on theflipside of the black inferiority coin-the lack ofeconomic self-determination and relative dearth ofsuccessful black enterprises. Our hunger for respectfrom whites has not only turned us into easy marksfor the products they manufacture, inferiorityconditioning has us so discombobulated, we'reresistant to supporting black businesses.

Ironically, the group that bucks this trend seems tobe hip-hop artists who have introduced clothing andproduct lines that are enthusiastically supported byblack and white youth alike. Where once Kangol,Pro-Keds, Adidas, Timberland, and other white-owned companies dominated the hip-hop fashionworld, Russell Simmons's Phat Farm, Sean "Diddy"Combs's Sean John, Nelly's Apple Bottom, Jay-Z'sRocawear, and 50 Cent's G-Unit reign supreme.

From a marketing perspective, it would be amistake to dismiss hip-hop artists' ability to promotetheir version of black culture to international markets.Some have been savvy enough to not only be theprofitable product but to be producers of the product.

However, in most cases, they romanticize blackdysfunction, which only amplifies the "buy now, paylater" dynamic. Also, it's yet to be seen if theirindividual accomplishments have made anycontribution to true economic empowerment orreversed our fears about saving and investing, ortackled any of our other counterproductive madmoney ways.

Matter of Trust

The present economic crisis, especially thedrastic rate of unemployment, further reminds us thatno matter what our circumstances are, they can getworse. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported thatthe unemployment rate for African Americans, as ofAugust 2009, was at 14.9 percent compared to 8.6percent for whites. For far too many low- to no-income blacks, saving for a "rainy day" remains aforeign concept. Every day it rains!

We must also consider that our reluctance toinvest, save, or prepare for financial downturns stem,in part, from betrayals by insurance companies andother financial institutions. I recall neighbors whowere denied insurance benefits after the death of thepolicyholder who paid weekly premiums for years.The experience, sadly, was all too common forblacks back then.

In 2002, the Life Insurance Company of Georgiaagreed to pay $55 million to settle allegations that itcharged blacks higher premiums than it did whitesfor life insurance policies for more than 30 years.John Hancock Life Insurance Company, in 2009,agreed to settle a class-action suit for a reported$24.4 million. That lawsuit alleged that, prior to 1959,the company routinely sold lower grade policies toAfrican Americans while it offered full range policies

to whites.

Additionally, we were confronted with inequities infinancial services. Anecdotes abound of blacks whofailed to read the teenytiny fine print on creditcontracts, or didn't understand complicated payoutformulas when they invested with financialinstitutions. Distrust, fueled by exaggerated andrepeated accounts of negative experiences at thehands of these institutions, are what keep many of usfrom even educating ourselves about the benefits ofinvesting and savings. Thus, we effectively denyourselves the needed parachute in case of suddenfinancial instability or disaster.

In short, most of us have been brainwashed tobelieve that preparing for the worst, saving,investing, or building wealth are luxuries for whitepeople only.

LnKing the Past, Understanding

the Present

One of the major intentions of this book is toemphasize that our problems don't exist in isolation.They are part of our past history and present reality.Here, we identify the origins of our buying, spending,and saving habits, and the links to a tragic past:

Mad Money Dynamics, RIow9 ThP.n

Education has always been key to self-improvement and financial stability. During and afterslavery, we were denied education and opportunitiesto fully immerse ourselves in the culture of moneymanagement and growth. Because of the psychicdeficit caused by a race-based self-esteemdeficiency, we are sitting ducks for mass media'sversion of consumer education: Buy, buy, buy. Buynow, pay later! Just as we believed in the promise offreedom, and the promise of equality, we alsorespond to commercial promises of self-worththrough consumerism. We will continue thinking wecan overcompensate for our blackness if we drivecertain cars, wear certain outfits, or drink certain

expensive liquors.

Until we break free of the conditioning, we willproceed as programmed.

Pulling the Programming

Plug

We keep a bankroll, wallet full of creditcards Cup full of Cristal, box full ofcigars...

- Lil Scrappy, "Money in the Bank"

Now it's time to unplug from the forces that fuel thebuy now, pay later madness. The process begins byexamining the benefits and costs of our habits.

Short-term Benefits

1. Overcompensation: Gives us feelings ofequality and worth.

2. Name brand and expensive product loyalty:Tempers feelings of inferiority; puts us on parwith the quality of the product and allows us toproject a false front and garner immediateattention.

3. Willingness to pay higher prices at higherinterest rates: We get our stuff now!

4. Resistance to saving or investing: Counteractsfear of losing or being cheated out of ourmoney or investments, and gives us a sense ofsecurity.

Long-term Costs

1. Overcompensation: False sense of value and

worth based on unpredictable, external forces.Overcompensation strengthens a systemdesigned to benefit from our poor moneyhabits.

2. Name brand and expensive product loyalty:Money wasted to gain temporary feelings ofhigh status; makes manufacturers richer whiledepleting individual and communityresources.

3. Willingness to pay higher prices at higherinterest rates: Depreciable products have nolong-term value; continues the cycle ofpersonal debt and guarantees consumershave no money to save, invest, or pass on.

4. Hesitancy to save or invest: Fuels paranoiaand false sense of security; undermines long-term personal, family, and communitysecurity; predisposes us to financialmiseducation, and inability to set and achievefinancial goals.

Hopefully, we are now conscious thatoverspending, creating unnecessary debt, andfailing to save and invest our money has direpersonal and communal consequences. Hopefully,we are now ready for change.

A Disciplined, Long-term

Strategy

I'm trying to change things, for myself and for mychildren. I no longer use credit cards unless I'mgoing to pay it back immediately. I'm payingdown my student loans and other debt. Mostimportantly, I talk about money and finances withmy kids. We have an account that we keep forspecial things. My kids get to watch the savings

special things. My kids get to watch the savingsgrow, and share in anticipation of what we aresaving for. It's not about instant gratification. It'sabout long-term goals.

- Toni, 36, elder-care worker

Former Los Angeles Lakers player MagicJohnson is not among the percentage ofprofessional basketball players who went broke afterleaving the NBA. Johnson, CEO of Magic JohnsonEnterprises, a Los Angeles-based company with anet worth of over $700 million, has generatedmillions while revitalizing urban areas with full-service retail outlets. In his book 32 Ways to Be aChampion in Business, Johnson talks about financialliteracy, discipline, money management, and strikinga balance that benefits the business, his family, andthe extended community. Johnson's attitude is worthemulating. Getting our minds and financial houses inorder will not only benefit us individually but have aprofound impact on the broader community.

Just as the idea of our inferiority was marketedand sold, it must be unsold. As in the days of old,marketing, promotion, and the power of positivepropaganda are the keys to real, long-lastingsolutions.

Buy Now, Pay Later Positive

Propaganda Cues

Put the "why?" in buy!

• When you make a purchase, ask yourself, "Whyam I buying this? Am I buying because I actuallyneed it, or because it makes me feel better?"

• Does buying the more expensive/high endbrand make you feel important, or increaseyour self-esteem?

your self-esteem?

• Do you think about the consequences to yourfuture when you overspend or accrue debttoday?

Stuff is not enough

• How do you define the term well-off? Is it bywhat's in your garage and closet, or by what's inyour bank account and stock portfolio?

Thou shalt not commit I-dollar-try

• We have a preoccupation with instantgratification through materialism. It needs tobe our mission to put it in its place. Reclaimyour total self: you are more than the label youwear!

We survived the worst. Now we need to preparefor the best life has to offer.

Pay It Forward

Scrutinizing the motivators, consciously changingour conversations about money, and becomingfinancially literate are prerequisites to change. Wemust also remember our history and thirst foreducation once blacks were emancipated. Teachersdidn't need a degree to teach during the post-slaveryera. As soon as a student became literate thatstudent became a teacher.

Consumer education is an essential part of acomprehensive education. As soon as one of usbecomes economically literate, it should be our dutyto pay it forward. This is why I applaud blackchurches, organizations, and individuals that areattempting to normalize the mysteries of finance.

Consider the National Black Church Initiative's16,000 affiliate churches' saving, education, andinvestment campaign. The initiative, supported bymajor financial institutions, seeks to teach low-income blacks how to save, invest, and benefit fromlong-term financial planning. On a smaller scale,Reverend Thurman Evans works with his youngcongregants, encouraging them to enhance theirfinancial literacy and invest in home ownership ratherthan lavish weddings.

Investment clubs, like the one created by theBossette family of Beaumont, Texas, also providevaluable grassroots lessons. In the early 1990s, 18Bossette family members contributed a minimum of$40 per month after starting the OrganizationInvestment Club (OIC). By 2000, the family amasseda portfolio in the upper six figures, according toBlack Enterprise magazine.

With $750 billion in buying power, we can alsocreate our own positive propaganda arsenal. To addbalance to stories about reckless black celebrities,we can promote down-to-earth, penny-wise heroes,like Oseola McCarty of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Alifelong, selfproclaimed washerwoman, McCarty, a6th grade dropout, followed her mother's advice toalways save money. Upon her death, McCartybequeathed an estimated $150,000 of her lifesavings toward college scholarships for deservingbut disadvantaged students.

Savvy celebrities need not be excluded asteachers either. In a 2009 interview with an onlinemagazine, singer Beyonce Knowles explained whyshe hadn't bought many luxury items with herestimated $80 million in earnings:

Honestly, I'm very frugal. I haven't bought a carsince I was 16 or any diamonds since I was 17. I

have a lot of property. I've invested my moneyand I don't have to make any more. Thank God,because I'm set, I'm now able really to be free.

Empowerment Through In-

Dolla-Ment!

It's up to reprogrammed thinkers like SherylRidley-Dorsey, a certified public accountant fromLumberton, New Jersey, to help the next generationbreak free from black inferiority conditioning.Concerned that the average high school studentdoesn't possess basic skills in money management,Ridley-Dorsey created Black $treet Investment Club(B$IC) to teach children investment and businesstopics, ranging from personal finance and stockmarket techniques to operating their ownbusinesses.

Our sheer numbers are all that's needed topromote a positive propaganda campaignconsisting of encouraging examples, doableinvestment strategies, and other creative programsthat take the mystery out of money management andinvestment. Nay-sayers will point to failed attempts inthe past. The BI campaign has many convinced thatwe are forever doomed to live lives of financialinferiority. But this is a different time and a differentera. We have more examples of success and moretech-savvy ways to help willing financial teachersteach.

This movement will be fostered by individualsprepared to break free from the psychological grip ofthe destructive BI Complex. Individuals with renewedminds will be prepared for unprecedented success-mentally armed and ready to reclaim our finances,our fortunes, and our future.

Government programs alone won't get our childrento the Promised Land. We need a new mindset, a

new set of attitudesbecause one of the most durableand destructive legacies of discrimination is the waythat we have internalized a sense of limitation; howso many in our community have come to expect so

little of ourselves.

- PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SPEAKING ATTHE NAACP'S 2009 CENTENNIAL

CELEBRATION

here goes anotherstatistic." I

Pam Thompson, 35, a Chicago elementary schoolteacher, hated herself when she had such thoughtsabout one of her students. She wasn't really upsetwith the child. The comment was more of anindictment against the student's parent.

Pam called the student's mother, asking that shecome to school after class. The student, a ratherbright child, had received D's in reading and math.Not an insurmountable problem, Pam thought,especially with a little teacher/parent intervention.

Pam developed an outline and asked the mother tocome by so they could discuss activities the childcould do at home to improve her grades.

The mother arrived at the meeting, defensive and ina huff.

"'Well, how many F's do you see on her reportcard?"' Pam recalled the mother asking. "Clearly,she was not giving her child any grief about thosegrades. She was pretty much asking, 'What's wrongwith a D?'-as if D's were good enough."

"If only it were that one child," Pam remarkedduring our interview for this book. She had retainedanother student she couldn't, in good conscience,pass to the next grade level. The child could readlowlevel books, Pam said, but couldn't read therequired chapter books. The child's motherquestioned Pam's decision: "Are you telling me thatthe reading grade is based on how well she canread?" Pam said, "She was upset because I wantedher child to be able to read beyond 'I have a cat."'

In recent years, Pam has encountered blackparents who insisted their children should receivegood grades just for showing up at class. She's metparents who celebrate after learning their childreceived only three or four F's instead of the usualfive or six.

"A lot of parents say things like 'All I want to knowis if my child is passing.' Not, 'Is my child excelling, isshe living up to her potential?' Just'Is she passing?"'

Pam, who had enjoyed success in the privatebusiness sector, decided to switch careers andpursue her passion for teaching. In the mid-1990s,she accepted a position with a new "laboratoryschool" created to specifically address the city's

deteriorating educational system. Within two years,she said, teaching was replaced with policing. Shehad to deal with constant disruption. During oneviolent clash between students, Pam was so badlyinjured she was off work for weeks. Even with thedrama, Pam remains a dedicated teacher whoinsists on academic excellence. She says that shehasn't dedicated more than 20 years of her life toteaching to wind up willfully allowing kids to slipthrough the cracks.

Still, it troubles Pam deeply to know that far toomany students, based largely on the lowexpectations of their parents, will no doubt wind upas statistics.

Dancing the D Dance

My niece went from speaking proper English tospeaking ebonics to the 9th degree. She did itto fit in with her peers. One time, I tried to correcther language. Her mother got extremelydefensive and said, "She talks that way becauseshe's a black girl." Whoa! So, if you are black,you don't have to speak proper English? Yet theAmerican workforce requires that you be able tocommunicate. There is a cultural enabling of thissubpar behavior. We are enabling our kids tofail.

-Toni, elder-care worker, 36

In education, D's will do. Too many black parentsmake excuses for their children's poor performance,with some actually doing the "D Dance" overmediocre grades. Some parents are content whenthei r children receive the "I showed up" award,without challenging them to show up prepared foraccomplishment.

Perhaps in no other area has the AfricanAmerican story seen so many twists, dead ends,and sinkholes than in the dominion of education.More important, perhaps, no other discussionmakes African Americans as uncomfortable as thetopic of why our children lag so far behind thechildren of other races.

Consider the 160,000 African American highschool seniors in the class of 2007 who took theSAT. Just 1,176 scored over 700 on the verbalportion-the well-established standard for academicsuperiority. Compare this to the performance ofHispanics and Asians, who had similar numberstaking the test-2,671 Hispanics scored over 700 onverbal, while 11,630 Asians achieved thatdistinction. If we go back 12 years to 1995, thenumber was even worse for blacks: that year, only164 scored over 700.

Although it has been attacked for decades asculturally biased, the much-maligned SAT test is stillone of the most widely used measuring tools andpredictors for student potential in college. In spite ofthe skepticism and charges of bias, in a society inwhich we all must function, the SAT scores of blackchildren should be troubling to all of us.

The educational gap between black and whitestudents may put many of us on edge, but asDIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education noted, theobstinate achievement gap persists, "despiteeconomic and civilrights gains for racial and ethnicminorities (that) range from the low expectations ofeducators, to watered-down academic offerings, todisinterest by the students and their families in theirschooling."

For several decades, educators, policymakers,and parents alike have posited theories, initiated

programs, clamored for funding, leveled charges ofracism, and blamed parents and teachers, blamedthe schools, blamed poverty, fatherlessness, or rapmusic.

Meanwhile, the numbers haven't budged.

Numbers Don't Lie

We institutionalized lower expectations. We're allguilty.

- Jack O'Connell, San Francisco schoolsuperintendent

We have to face the facts: African Americans arethe worst students in the country. On every measureused to assess student performance, statistical andanecdotal, the level of black underachievement isstunning. Equally grim statistics were reported byDIVERSE, citing data from the National Assessmentof Educational Progress (NAEP) that showed:

Reading scores for 17-year-olds narroweddramatically for black and Hispanic studentsbetween 1975 and 1988. From 1990 to 1999,however, gaps in reading and mathematicsremained constant or grew slightly, and littleprogress has been made since. Morealarmingly, black and Hispanic students' skills inEnglish, math, and science are about four yearsbehind those of white students, according to theNAEP data, also known as the Nation's ReportCard.

The poverty excuse offers little solace. Theperformance gap is even greater between middle-class blacks and middle-class whites than it isbetween low-income blacks and low-income whites.As a federal clearinghouse on educational research

noted, what's now known is that there's an evengreater gap in student achievement in schools insuburban middle-income communities than in innercities, particularly at the higher achievement levels(College Board, 1999).

The achievement gap also exists in the earlyschool years. In 2006, Bruce Fuller, a University ofCalifornia at Berkeley researcher, said that, onaverage, black students in fourth grade read aboutas well as white students in second grade

According to the Education Trust, a mere 12percent of African American fourth graders reachproficient or advanced levels in reading, while aheartbreaking 61 percent have not been taught ateven basic levels. The Education Trust also notedthat, after years of gains in education, black studentshave begun slipping further behind at all levels ofschooling:

The patterns for mathematics achievement lookvery similar, with significant gap-closing until theearly 90s, then a gradual reversal of those gains.In fact, the white-black gaps are approximately10 points wider, about a year's worth of learning,than they were a decade ago... By the end ofhigh school, African American students havemath and reading skills that are virtually thesame as those of eighth grade white students...In the last 20 years, the college enrollment ratesof African Americans have steadily increased...[now African Americans] go to college at aboutthe same rates as white students. However,African American college completion rates havenot increased at the same pace, and a gap incollege attainment remains.

Black and minority children are born with severeeducational disadvantages, said Geoffrey Canada,

director of the Harlem Children's Zone in New York:"The science on this is clear. We know poor familiesare less likely to have good health care. They're lesslikely to get the kind of good baby checks that youneed during pregnancy... by the time this child isthree years old, there's a gap of about 800-wordsdifference between the two groups. And that gap justincreases every year after that."

Because it led the state in high school dropout,crime, gang, and incarceration rates, "it wasexpected that children in Harlem would end up at thebottom of every important, positive indicator in NewYork State," Canada said.

The negative expectations go far beyond Harlem.An internalized sense of limitation embedded in thepsyches of black parents and sewn into the fabric ofwhite society, I maintain, keeps black kids in adisadvantaged state.

D's Will Do Dynamics

What feeds the black underachievement thatplagues our communities?

1. Fear of failure: Out of fear or their own sense ofinadequacy, parents too often stifle a child'surge to attempt academic success. Fear offailure promotes a "why even try?" attitude anddetours promising youth onto pathways ofmediocrity and underachievement.

2. Misguided protection: Black parents, who wanttheir kids to feel good about themselves, rebelagainst having them stigmatized as "failures."Parents become unreasonably protective anddefensive, defending both their children andthemselves from feelings of inferiority.

3. Success neurosis: Black children arediscouraged from moving ahead of "the group."Smart kids are ostracized as "stuck up" oraccused of "acting white." Black parents oftendon't recognize the importance of providing kidswith the tools necessary to handle negativeattitudes and destructive trends.

4. The "best black" syndrome: To compensate forcenturies of discrimination and exclusion, and toprotect blacks' sense of self-worth, segregatedcategories for black achievement andaccomplishments have been established. Ablack student isn't the "best engineer" but landsin the default position of being the best "blackengineer."

In his NAACP speech, President Obama calledfor "a new mindset, a new set of attitudes" to reversethe crisis of black underachievement. I agree-a new,reprogrammed mindset is in order. To get to thatpoint, however, the urgent precursor is to thoroughlyunderstand how the "can't do" mindset was firstcreated and enforced.

The Best Back!

When it comes to black film festivals, it's not aquestion of quality, per se. I know that some ofthe films we have here are not that good. It doesnot really matter if the quality is up to par, whatmatters is that we get more black films out there,give more black filmmakers a chance to gettheir work out and seen.

- Frank, filmmaker

In many ways, African Americans haveromanticized and institutionalized low expectations.Often our goal is not to be "the best" but to be "the

best black"-as in "best black business" or "bestblack doctor" or "best black college." Inherent inthese labels is a subliminal acceptance that our"best" is somehow naturally inferior or somehowdifferent from the white "best."

Burrell Communications was often cited as thenumber one advertising and marketing firm amongblack agencies. This was a bittersweetacknowledgment. I'd have happily swapped thenumber one firm rating among black agencies forthe number 24 rating among all agencies. Why? It'sfar more important to be rated on a level playing fieldfor the entire industry than to be a winner in aninferior category. Besides, all black firms combineddidn't bring in the equivalent billings of even onemedium-sized, successful white agency.

To counter historical attempts to mute ouraccompli shments, we've created exclusivecategories aimed at boosting our self-worth. Wenote the businesses that make Black Enterprisemagazine's "100 largest black-owned companies"list. We celebrate black learning institutions likeSpelman College, Howard University, Morehouse,a nd other schools on the "Top Black Colleges"listings.

These black businesses and schools rank high inthe restricted zone of "blackness" but are ofteninvisible on Fortune 500's "Top AmericanCorporations" or Forbes's "America's BestColleges" list, which includes universities such asHarvard and Yale. Rarely do we question why theblack entities are either positioned at the low end ornot ranked at all on these prestigious "best" lists. Formany of us, black success is all we can reasonablyexpect.

Proud to Be Dumb

As a young black man, I can't even recall howmany times I heard "nerd" or "geek" or "collegeboy" or "You sound like a white boy" used as aninsult. It's not about "white," it's about educationand power. They didn't want me to have either.

- James, writer

James's comment speaks to another challengeblack children face as they hobble toward adulthoodwithout positive support or reinforcement.Astonishingly, there are still some of us who makeli ght of academic achievement, assigning suchleanings to something not related to "blackness."

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is all toofamiliar with this oddity. Tomlin, described by theNew York Times as a "reluctant intellectual," workedhard to hide his brimming intellect even afterbecoming a member of the National Honor Societywhile attending Denbigh High in Newport News,Virginia. "He didn't want anybody to know he wassmart or making good grades," Tomlin's mother,Julia Copeland, recalled. "He wanted to be a regularold Joe football player like the rest of the kids so theywouldn't call him a nerd." Most poor black kids don'thave the community reinforcement that encouragesthem to sincerely believe they can becomeengineers, surgeons, or scientists. Hollywood hasfilled this void with characters that makeunderachievement acceptable and attractive.

Digging at the Root

Most experts believe that helping childrenunderstand they can achieve will go a long way toconvince them that they can be anything they want tobe in life. They ignore the reality that we live in the

nation that birthed the BI campaign and that has, forso long, convinced black kids, their parents, andtheir ancestors that they could not be anything theywanted in this society.

The claim that African Americans lack intelligencewas first voiced upon our arrival in Jamestown in1619. The initial attempt to deny our humanity bydenying our intellect has grown more insidious overthe centuries. Since our society is built on the theoryof white superiority and black inferiority, simply tryingto convince a black child that he or she "can achieveanything" reminds me of the wise words of Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr.: "The job of arousing manhood withina people that have been taught for so manycenturies that they are nobody is not easy."

An Educated Slave Is a

Dangerous Slave

A piece of property or a dumb animal doesn'tneed a book!

Such was the reasoning of slaveowners who notonly saw no profit in slaves who could read or write,but considered the very concept a threat to theirlivelihoods.

Frederick Douglass made it clear why aneducated slave was a dangerous slave: "The more Iread, the more I was led to abhor and detest myenslavers."

A literate slave might challenge the very rationalefor bondage. Interpreting the Bible may have led theslave to discount the white preacher's lessons aboutobliging his master. It may have exposed slaves toJesus's true lessons of equality and humanity thatcontradicted the slaveowner's decree of blackinferiority. Bible stories about "righteous" men who

inferiority. Bible stories about "righteous" men whovanquished "sinners" might have inspired the slaveto righteous rebellion.

If Southern states were unified on one goal beforeEmancipation, it was prohibiting slaves from beingeducated. As W.E.B. Du Bois observed, "The lawson this point were explicit and severe." These lawswere made even stronger after Nat Turner and thedozens of slaves he recruited killed about 60 whitesin 1831. Slavery's protectors recognized theincendiary correlation between education andinsurrection. After all, Turner-smart and charismatic-read, preached, and drew followers based on hisinterpretation of the Christian Bible.

Unlearning Helplessness

Even in the midst of heightened suspicion,determined slaves found ways to learn, as HeatherAndrea Williams, a University of North Carolinaprofessor, detailed in Self-Taught: African AmericanEducation in Slavery and Freedom. In a 2005interview Williams said:

Many former slaves told of learning to read froma slave mistress who believed it her Christianduty to teach a slave to read the Bible. Some,especially in the early periods, joined churchesbecause they knew that ministers wouldsometimes teach them so that they could readthe catechism. These enslaved people often hada copy of Webster's Spelling Book and wouldget people to teach them to identify the letters ofthe alphabet. Then, the next stage was to startteaching other slaves themselves, which many ofthem did.

After centuries of brutality and degradation, themajority of freed blacks came out of slavery infused

with the certainty that "book learning" was the key tosalvation.

In a narrative that former Virginia slave JohnWashington wrote after the Civil War, blacks putreading and writing "near the top of the list of themost sought after fruits of liberty, alongside familyreconstitution and land ownership."

Before the Southern states were brought back intothe Union following the Civil War, Northern statesgave blacks a succession of new rights, includingthe right to vote. During this period, known asReconstruction, 22 blacks were elected to Congressand others took control of legislatures in states withblack majorities, such as Alabama, Mississippi, andSouth Carolina.

One of the most significant developments of thisperiod was the establishment of the public schoolsystem in the South. Most historians agree that itcame about because of the fierce resolve of formerslaves to be educated. In fact, one of the few pointsboth W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washingtonactually agreed on was the former slave's inexorablethirst for learning. Du Bois wrote: "The very feeling ofinferiority which slavery forced upon them fatheredan intense desire to rise out of their condition bymeans of education."

Booker T. Washington said the deep desire foreducation amounted to a whole race intent on goingto school: "Few were too young, and none too old, tomake the attempt to learn. As fast as any kind ofteachers could be secured, not only were day-schools filled, but nightschools as well..."

Du Bois noted that from 1866 to 1870, formerslaves contributed the astounding amount of$785,700 to establish their own schools. This was

more understandable than astonishing, wroteHeather Williams:

It made perfect sense that someone who hadclimbed into a hole in the woods to attendschool would, in freedom, sacrifice time andmoney to build a schoolhouse. It rang true thatpeople who waited up until ten o'clock at night tosneak off to classes on the plantation wouldwant to establish schools in the open as soon asthey possibly could.

Blacks, for the most part, had a shared missionand vision. Education was widely perceived as theonly viable road to freedom and equality.Reconstruction-era legislation gave them anopportunity to finally pave that road to glory.

What happened? How did mediocrity overpowersuch certainty? What powerful force caused many ofus, even now, to revert to the slavemaster's dictate?Answers can be traced back to the fear of aneducated slave and the resulting mental chaos froman orchestrated, blatant, and later, clandestine 18th-century agenda.

Lessons of Inferiority

The national debate surrounding the status ofslaves before, during, and after the Civil Warprovides a stark picture of the contempt for blacksheld by whites in the South and the North-even bythose whom American lore now describes as"friendly to the Negro."

Countless historians have touted AbrahamLincoln's egalitarianism. Not surprisingly, most fail tomention that the president who freed the slavesmaintained that blacks were and would always beinferior to whites. Consider Lincoln's words in 1858,

on the eve of the Civil War, in a debate with StephenA. Douglas:

I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been infavor of bringing about in any way the social andpolitical equality of the white and black races.That I am not nor ever have been in favor ofmaking voters or jurors of Negroes, nor ofqualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarrywith white people, and I will say in addition tothis that there is a physical difference betweenthe black and white races which I believe willforever forbid the two races living together onterms of social and political equality. Andinasmuch as they cannot so live, while they doremain together there must be the position ofsuperior and inferior, and I as much as any otherman am in favor of having the superior positionassigned to the white race.

At the time, Lincoln articulated beliefs that hadbeen propagated for some 200 years. John CaldwellCalhoun, the South Carolina slaveowner and vicepresident under John Quincy Adams, insisted thatAfri cans were innately inferior to Europeans.Calhoun, affectionately known as the symbol of the"Old South," publicly labeled the institution of slavery"a positive good."

The inherent inferiority of blacks was a sentimentalso shared by prominent authors, school reformers,and scholars of Lincoln's day, such as renownedHarvard zoologist Louis Agassiz who, in 1847, said:"The brain of the Negro is that of the imperfect brainof a 7 month's infant in the womb of a white."

Mis-Educating the Negro

The foundation for black failure was laid long

before the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1896, ruled thatracially separate facilities were constitutional. Thecommon-school system, which served as the modelfor black schools, was thoroughly skewed to supportand foster white superiority, as Harvard scholar Dr.Carter G. Woodson stressed in his landmark thesis,The Mis-Education of the Negro:

The so-called modern education, with all itsdefects, however, does others so much moregood than it does the Negro, because it hasbeen worked out in conformity to the needs ofthose who have enslaved and oppressedweaker peoples.

Each generation after the 17th century producedcrops of white scholars who specialized in the theoryof black inferiority and legitimized warpedhypotheses that circulated through the country's moste l i te institutions of higher learning. In a 2007academic brief calling for a "Free Standing AfricanaStudies Major Program at Ramapo College of NewJersey," professors Dr. Karl Johnson and Dr. DavidLewis-Colman gave a history of "institutionalizedracism" in learning institutions.

Until the 1960s, for example, most U.S.historians taught that southern states had beenforced to adopt Jim Crow in response to AfricanAmerican corruption and incompetence duringReconstruction. For the first three decades ofthe 20th century, scientific racism defined muchof social science and natural sciencescholarship. Many prominent biologists,sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologistsdedicated their scholarly lives to proving themoral and intellectual inferiority of Africans andtheir descendents to justify the racism endemicin U.S. institutions.

Though most segregated schools were woefullyunderfunded and incompatible with white schools,they were, at least, located in segregated blackneighborhoods and largely influenced by blackadministrators, teachers, and parents. Within thearea of their own control, blacks had the opportunityto learn and adapt from trial and error. However, thisbrief educational experiment ended abruptly in 1954when the Supreme Court offered blacks a betteralternative.

Separate but Reaffirmed

The hope placed in the establishment ofindependent black learning institutions shifteddrastically after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled thatracial separation in schools was wrong and fosteredfeelings of inferiority in black children. Fortified withthe belief that white schools offered betteropportunities for their children, Southern blacksboldly confronted vicious mobs intent on keepingtheir kids out of historically white learning institutions.

Perhaps the most memorable of these clasheswas the September 1957 showdown in Little Rock,Arkansas, when nine black students, known as the"Little Rock Nine," integrated Central High Schoolwith the help of armed federal guards.

Yet, 50 years after legal desegregation, CentralHigh and other schools across the country stillstruggle with segregation, inequality, andunderachieving black youth.

Government-mandated integration, as noted byDr. Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock Ninestudents, just wasn't enough to counteract the legacyof racism.

[I]f you do something for 335 years, no matter

what it is, you don't come to a screeching halt in1954, whether it's the Supreme Court or anyother court.

After Brown v. Board of Education, black schoolswere either shuttered or further deprived ofresources. Millions of black kids throughout thecountry were bused out of their neighborhoods intowhite school districts. Black teachers, principals,parents, and students abandoned neighborhoodsand headed for suburbia seeking the promise ofsuperior education. Many black kids were cast fromprotective environments and placed in schoolswhere they weren't wanted, weren't understood, andweren't treated as able or equal. In her book Walkingin Circles: The Black Struggle for School Reform(published posthumously in 2007), legendaryeducator Barbara Sizemore bluntly wrote that theBrown decision "led us down a dangerous path,which began when we agreed to say anything allblack was all bad."

Integrated Inferiority

Although integration was sold as the necessarystep toward black academic excellence, in reality itwas a plunge into the quicksand of failure. As CarterG. Woodson stressed almost 80 years ago, blackshad integrated into a system that "...inspires andstimulates the oppressor with the thought that he iseverything and has accomplished everythingworthwhile, depresses and crushes at the same timethe spark of genius in the Negro by making him feelthat his race does not amount to much and never willmeasure up to the standards of other peoples."

The promise of black achievement had beenintricately intertwined with a system in which blackshad no control. Julian Weissglass, director of the

National Coalition for Equity in Education, describedhow educational institutions, powered by peopleconditioned to, "consciously or unconsciously," actand react in certain ways, has caused tremendousharm:

I contend that although no one is bornprejudiced, many of the assumptions, values,and practices of people and institutions hinderthe learning of students of color and studentsfrom low socioeconomic classes. Race andclass biases in particular are major causes ofdifferential success.

Subtle, blatant, conscious, or unconsciousattitudes lead educators to expect less of black andLatino students than of whites. It impacts curriculum,policies, and how funds are allocated to publicschools. These attitudes, as Weissglass noted,factor into the popular practice of "tracking"-wheredisproportionate numbers of black and Latinostudents are relegated to low tracks, most often withless experienced teachers. Children consigned tothese tracking programs are rarely reclassified, evenafter they've shown improvement.

Educational theorists and scholars, eager toescape the implications of the past, are unaware ofthe BI campaign. They compare black achievementwith students who have not been permanentlytypecast as "less than." Asian students, for example,have not internalized the stigma that they are "lessintelligent" than whites. Children may not be able toidentify the subtleties of institutionalized racism, butthey are aware of how teachers and policies makethem feel. Unable to comprehend the feeling thatthey are less intelligent or worthwhile than whites,many young people simply give up hope, rejectingthe negativity and the school system itself.

A historical comparison of the present-day "D'swill do" dynamic aligns with our trek from slavery toBrown v. Board of Education. It illustrates thecomplexity of our dilemma and the overwhelmingsuccess of the BI campaign.

Identifying our historical links is but the first stagein addressing the "D's will do" dynamic. The realchallenge is to come up with a collective way to helpblack parents and their kids become their ownsaviors.

At the age of 14, Don Luther Lee was an angry,disillusioned teen, barely surviving in the ghetto ofDetroit, Michigan. His father had abandoned thefamily. Later in life, Lee described his mother asresigned to work in the "sex trade." Still, she was the

one who encouraged him to read. Lee recalled hisfeelings that day in the late 1950s when his mothersent him to the public library to check out RichardWright's novel Black Boy:

I didn't want to go to a white librarian and ask fora black book. I didn't want to check out anythingblack ...I hated myself. I had been taught to hatemyself. All of the commercials and the Americaninstitutions taught white supremacy... Finally, Iwent to the library, found the book and sat downand started reading. For the first time, I wasreading something that sounded like me, thatlooked like me.

Lee, better known today as Haki Madhubuti-poet,author, intellectual, and founder of Third WorldPress-has often described how Wright's bookchanged his life:

For the first time in my 14 years on Earth, I wasreading literature that was not an insult to myown personhood and that was the beginning ofthis journey that I've been on for the last 45, 50years ...I stopped feeling sorry for myself. Istopped feeling inferior.

In 1969, Madhubuti cofounded the Institute ofPositive Education, which, in 1972, opened the NewConcept Development Center, an elementary schooldesigned to educate kids while steering them awayfrom "white enculturation." He started the schoolduring the pinnacle of the "black power" movement,when a thirst for self-expression and exploration ofauthentic black culture was at its peak. It was a timewhen educators, activists, and college studentschampioned the cause for racially inclusive curriculaand African-centered approaches to education.

Although some schools focusing strictly on

African-centered education have excelled in closingthe achievement gap, others started in the '60s and'70s fizzled. Most of the schools were established toright a wrong, to be anti-white, to inspire blackchildren with stories of black achievement andembellished accounts of black superiority. So intentwere idealists to create the "best black" institutions,some fell into the trap of low expectations, failing toprepare kids to succeed outside the cocoon ofblackness. Like schools established after theperiods of Emancipation, Reconstruction, andlegalized integration, most of the African-centerededucational models turned out to be promisingexperiments cut short by the overwhelming power ofa BI Complex-influenced nation.

Success Dom Within

Today, 55 years after the Brown v. Board ofEducation ruling, a perfect storm of factors hasscuttled African American student achievement:economic isolation of the poor in high-crimeneighborhoods; re-segregation that re-created all-black, under-resourced schools; concentration of thesystem's worst and most overworked teachers inthese learning institutions; the waning of the nation'sindustrial economy; the erosion of the blackextended family and value systems; the deadly drugtrade; gun proliferation; and, most damaging, mediathat celebrates violence, materialism, andunderachievement.

Yet when it comes to the question of control, thereare two distinct categories: people who either takeresponsibility for what happens in their lives or thosewho credit outside forces-luck, God, relationships,education, jobs, and so forth. Noted psychologistJulian Rotter identified these behavioral types as"externals" and "internals." People with an external

view attribute their experiences to outside forces.People with an internal orientation believe theycontrol their own destinies.

Due to our historical state of "powerlessness," toomany of us believe that our destinies are dictated bythe whim of outside (read "white") forces, whichdovetails conveniently with a system that reinforcesblack inferiority. Consider recent researchconducted by Dr. David Williams of the University ofMichigan that illustrates how a large number ofwhites still views blacks negatively:

• 29 percent think blacks are unintelligent

• 45 percent believe blacks are lazy

• Less than one in five thinks blacks are hard-working

• 56 percent of whites feel blacks would rather liveon welfare than work

Common sense should alert us to the likelihoodthat many who harbor such feelings are interactingwith black students-either as policymakers,administrators, or teachers. How can anyone whoconsciously or subconsciously adheres to theprinciples of black inferiority help black kids seethemselves as not inferior? How can such individualspossibly motivate kids to connect the rewards ofeducation with the possible rewards of communitiesthey have been conditioned to disrespect anddisregard?

Superficial black history reminders won't beenough. Black kids need an anti-brainwashingcurriculum aimed at demonstrating to them that thenegativity in their lives has nothing to do with anykind of inherent deficiency or inability to achieve.With a narrative of white superiority actively in play

and a large percentage of whites who still doubtblack potential, I sincerely question their ability orwillingness to invest in increasing race-based self-esteem in black youth.

Whatsamatta with You?

For decades, scholars, educators, politicians, andmedia pundits have approached the blackeducational achievement gap from an outsider'sposition, pointing accusatory fingers at black parentsand children without exploring the toxic andcounterproductive environment in which they areexpected to succeed. Instead of asking "What'swrong with kids?" we should determine what's soutterly wrong with the "D's will do" dynamic.

Short-term Benefits

1. Fear of failure: If a child's desire to succeed isdiscouraged, the parents and the child neverhave to worry about failing to meetexpectations. They are protected fromdisappointment.

2. Misguided protection: Prevents a biasedsociety from messing with the minds of blackkids. By setting low goals and keepingexpectations to a minimum, no one gets hurt.

3. Success neurosis: Insures black children arepart of the group. They aren't ostracized ormade to feel like outsiders by underachievers.They can fit in and be popular without stress.

4. The "best black" syndrome: By having a separatecategory of black achievement, children canaccomplish achievable goals without worryingabout whites who are at an advantage due tocenturies of societal, economic, and educational

preference.

Long-term Costs

1. Fear of failure: Human beings learn frommistakes. Stifling children's ability out of fear offailure increases the chances that they will fail.Efforts to avoid expectations of failure are fruitless.The children grow up to give up and retreat whenfaced with possibility.

2. Misguided protection: Actually endorses thedoctrine of black inferiority. Instead of protectingkids from a biased society, parents actually makethem vulnerable within that society. Setting lowgoals and keeping low expectations stifleschildren's ability to be the best they can be.

3. Success neurosis: Limiting children'sachievement so they can fit in with underachieversguarantees that they will be underachievers for life.They are also denied the challenge of becomingcomfortable with their unique selves and theirability to excel academically.

4. The "best black" syndrome: Creating separatecategories of black achievement gives children anartificial sense of accomplishment. It alsoencourages the belief that whites are superior andcan't be challenged.

Of course, black parents must play a crucial role,but the role must be redefined. Just as being the"best black" is inadequate, performing on the samelevel as whites is not good enough, either. Workingt o achieve superior performance in an inferiorsystem isn't enough to prepare black children toimprove so they see themselves as viable players orchange agents in the global marketplace. Threeimportant endeavors will help get us where we need

to be-reprogram young minds, develop a newapproach to African American education, and createa portfolio of positive propaganda tools to promote,protect, and reinforce a new education system.

Empowered to Empower

Once we're rid of the idea that we are "less than,"we can begin to empower our children. We no longertolerate friends, family members, or our children'speers who ridicule or put them down because theyexcel academically. We can celebrate our children'sattempts to go beyond academic mediocrity andpersuade them that they can aim for goals worthy ofanybody.

D's Won't Do Positive

Propoganda Cues

Wise up about dumbing down

It's not cool to not know.

Nerds: From ridiculed to really cool

You don't have to hide your books, yoursmarts, or your scholarship. Say it loud, "I'msmart and I'm proud!"

Wanna get over? Raise the bar!

Real success comes with extra effort andgenuine accomplishment.

Good enough is not good enough!

In any area of your life, don't settle for mediocrity.Try to do the most you're capable of.

Improper Crisis/ Proper

Procedure

Education experts are keeping an eye on theAfrikan Centered Education Collegium Campus(ACECC) in Kansas City, Missouri. The 40-acrecampus, which opened in 2007, serves mostly blackprekindergarten through 12th grade students.Teachers stress cultural pride and "expectedgreatness" as students strive for academicexcellence. In 2007, all the schools on the campusmet the Average Yearly Progress (AYP) standardmandated by the national "No Child Left Behind"Act.

The schools are the brainchild of educator AudreyBullard, who worked as a teacher in Liberia for 18months more than 30 years ago. In 1991, Bullard leda grassroots effort with other educators and parentsto transform J.S. Chick Elementary in Kansas Cityinto a school with an African-centered curriculum.The school has consistently scored as one of the topschools in the school district, with 48 percent of itsstudents scoring at the proficient or advanced levelson the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) fourth-grade math test in 2005. Comparatively, only 24percent of black students and 36 percent of whitestudents statewide scored as high that year.Although the approach relies heavily on parentalinvolvement and an innovative curriculum, it offersanother important component: students are taught tosee themselves as contributors, leaders, potentialentrepreneurs, and valuable parts of theircommunities.

The Betty Shabazz International Charter School inChicago, founded by Madhubuti and his wifeSafisha, is an institution that teaches black childrenthat they control their lives and futures. It's a crucial

factor, Madhubuti said:

You can't minimize the importance of culturalknowledge... you cannot build a healthy child-most certainly, he or she will not have a healthyworld view-if he or she does not see himself orherself involved creatively in the development ofcivilization, culture, industry, science.

In 2006, the school ranked first in composite testscores among 10 public schools in the GreaterGrand Crossing area, where Shabazz is the onlycharter. Sixty-seven percent of the school's studentsm e t the state's educational standards. Whenteaching science, for example, Makita Kheperu,principal at Shabazz, explained how the schoolm a k e s the subject relevant to a student'senvironment: "In science, they examine what kinds ofdecisions scientists make.. .and they learn thescientific method by exploring culturally relevantquestions like: Why is diabetes more prevalentamong African Americans than the generalpopulation?"

According to Illinois State data, Shabazz andWood lawn Community School-another African-centered Chicago schooloutperformed severalneighboring schools on the 2006 Illinois StandardAchievement Test, with about 68 percent ofWoodland's students meeting the state's standards.

These schools reflect the unfinished business ofeducational experiments started after Emancipationwith the likes of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and the dreamers who sought to establishindependent black schools before they weresidetracked by the promise of better education inwhite schools. These institutions offer templates foreducational reform that can reprogram parents andstudents to help close the achievement gap, and

open bold new pathways to unlimited possibility.

Now, we're not really giving knowledge, and we'renot giving educational information. What we're

doing is teaching people how to "fly in the spirit"..."Oh, the Spirit did it, Oh, I'm waiting on God, Oh,the Lord will do it!"...The Church is trying to hide

behind spirituality, when God is saying; "I've givenyou power, now you've got to get wisdom!"

-JUANITA BYNUM

peaking in Atlanta, Georgia, before a groupof clergy at the 2007 Gospel Baptist Conference,Juanita Bynum, internationally known Pentecostaltelevangelist, author, and gospel singer, confessedshe planned to deliver a hard message: instead ofproviding knowledge, educational information, anddirecting church members to realize that they haveinherent God-given power, churches are stillencouraging parishioners to simply wait on the Lordto solve their problems. Bynum preached:

Now, there's been a switch: the people that arein the pews have got themselves together, andthe people in the pulpit (are) playing games! Wecannot keep coming to the body of Christ,preaching baby messages, and babysitting the

people of God! The church has got to get up: It'stime to go!

I'm not sure how deeply Bynum has explored thesubject. Her sermon was aimed at church leaders,not at the "people in the pews" who enable theministers she chastised. Either way, she provides aserendipitous segue into our next topic: transferredresponsibility. Somewhere in our American odyssey,we have turned over control of our lives anddestinies, not only to the church, the original leaderso f the African American community, but also to theleaders of civil rights and secular organizations.These selected emissaries articulate our frustrationsand concerns, and tackle racial and social injusticesin our name. African Americans have beenconditioned to turn their personal power over to menand women who encourage them to "wait on God" ordepend on external forces.

The Danger of Dependency

If implicitly, we teach people victimhood as theircore selfidentification, we are not teaching self-responsibility. We are teaching dependency andimpotence. The danger is that they will feel"somebody has to do something, and that if therescuer does not come, they are doomed."

- Nathaniel Branden

We will look into the origin of the black church andhow it provided the template of leadership fortoday's black secular organizations. But we firstneed to underscore the psychological rewards andcosts when one keeps or gives up control of one'slife.

In our chapter on the African Americanachievement gap, we briefly touched on Dr. Julian

Rotter's 1966 internal-external "locus of control"studies. Rotter basically developed a means todetermine high or low levels of control by ratingindividual beliefs. If someone thinks their lifecircumstances are under the control of outsideforces, they have a low level of control. If, on the otherhand, a person believes things happen basedprimarily on their own behavior and resources, or"inside forces," they have a high level of control.

Those who recognize the power of the "insideforce" are believed to be more psychologicallyadjusted, have higher self-esteem and influence overothers, and accomplish more because they believethey have more control over their lives than thosewho believe their lives are under the control of"outside forces."

Pull of the Pulpit

In the church, and through the minister, you canfind all the answers. In fact, they are all writtendown for you. You don't even have to think yourway through the Bible: that's the minister's job.

- David, coach, 36

What I find compelling about the black church isthat embodied within its structure are all the keyelements of a classic marketing/ advertisingcampaign: objective, strategy, and tactics. Thestated objective is to spread the gospel and offersolace and salvation. The tactics are multifaceted,ranging from street-corner ministries to stadium-sized, megachurch services. The pervasivemessaging includes books, Web sites, speakingtours, televised revivals, and more. There's plenty ofmerchandise to reinforce the brand, including books,videos, and everything else, from holy water to holy

hankies.

If there's any doubt about the institution'smarketing power, watch a megachurch worshipinggala on Sunday morning cable. You will see loyalparishioners packed in spacious auditoriums, masschoirs, professional bands, video visuals, praisedancers, praise teams, and a high-tech emotionalrevival that would compete with any Super Bowlhalftime show.

This form of church worship has become a mastermedia marketer, delivering influential messagesenhanced with holy glitz and pious passion. Whatmay go undetected, however, is another form of theblack inferiority marketing campaign. As it pertainsto the church, it's God-mandated inferiority.

Come, All Ye Sinners

The implications are there: We are sinners. Wecan't help it; it is in our nature. So the onlymedicine, the only way to get "right" is to go tochurch every week, and get your weekly dose.

- Delores, 45, teacher

Mainstream Christianity programmed us to acceptand embrace suffering and oppression. Although it'sa general religious precept that we are all "sinners,"blacks were taught that their skin color and servileposition in life were heavenly markers of earthlydamnation. The black sinners' BI programming wasso convincing that we ourselves adopted andperpetrated the conviction. Our religious leadersteach the Christian ideal of redemptive suffering aspersonified in the form of Jesus. We suffer here. Wegain salvation in heaven. We suffered enslavementand apartheid dehumanization for our own good. Wecontinue to suffer for our own good.

Tom Krattenmaker, an expert on religion andmember of USA Today's board of contributors,noted that the concept of God standing "with thedispossessed against the scourge of dehumanizingracism" is deeply embedded in black religioushistory. These experts of theological propagandahave an inside track with blacks whose identity istightly wound around perceptions of inferiority,poverty, and helplessness. The subtle butinescapable conclusion: should we no longer qualifyas oppressed and downtrodden, we would no longerbe part of the Christian community. This concept canbe traced all the way back to our Christianindoctrination beneath the yoke of enslavement.

Bred to Be Led Dynamics

The following Bred to Be Led dynamics reflect ourdependence on the hereafter, on black ministers,and black leaders. They reveal how and why, in thisday and age, blacks are still such loyally conditionedfollowers.

• Religious resignation: Que sera, sera ...Iaccept God's will without question. I will "Waiton God!" I will not reach beyond what is given.

• Addicted to suffering: Wretchedness is mynatural state and my birthright. If I suffer gladlynow, my reward will be in heaven.

• Makes me wanna holla: The need for preachersor leaders who connect to our emotionalvulnerability, then give us hope and lead usthrough our challenges and troubles. Theyrelieve us of the burden of responsibility.

• Prosperity gospel: Attachment to ministers whoteach and preach the "need for greed." We

willingly allow them to take congregants' moneywithout benefit for the flock.

• Leadership dependency: The expectation thatorganized secular groups will speak and act inour behalf. The sense of helplessness if theorganizational leaders do not offer direction ormarching orders.

The introduction of plantation-style Christianity andthe black preacher; the formation of the black churchand its extension into the civil rights movement; ouracquiescence to church and political leaders-all are,unfortunately, branches of a tree rooted in 17th-century soil. But before examining the modern-dayblack church's offshoots and extensions, we mustfocus on the genesis of the first, most powerful blackforce-religion.

Upon This Rock

This battle is not yours It'sthe Lord's, not yours...

- Yolanda Adams, "The Battle Is NotYours"

What do Nannie Helen Burroughs, Adam ClaytonPowell, Jr., Martin Luther King, Jr., formerCongressman Walter Fauntroy, and formerexecutive director of the NAACP Benjamin Hookshave in common? All were or are active in the arenaof social justice and all have roots in the blackchurch. The transition from the church to civil rightsleadership is a natural one. The most organizedblack struggle was birthed in the black church. Thesame theme of oppression and hierarchal redressruns through the arteries of both entities. Likeministers, secular leaders are at the ready to ferretout and confront acts of transgression on behalf of

the flock. Like churches, our major civil rightsorganizations are funded to act for us, not toencourage individual responsibility.

In the post civil rights era, some organizationshave attempted to correct educational and economicdisadvantage. They attack racial and economicdisparities, and other important and worthwhileissues. But that's akin to treating the symptoms andignoring the disease.

In the 21st century, the problem for AfricanAmericans has less to do with blatant racism thanwith its imprint on our psyches. We've beenbrainwashed to internalize the myth of inferiority andhave not yet wrested our image from the originalmythmakers. The Massa's gift of religion wasn't toempower but to contain, to keep the slave's attentionheavenward. The term "black leader" is a throwbackto a time when the slavemaster designated oneslave as his spokesman, or spy.

Do We Have to Go There?

Is it possible that these seminal African Americaninstitutions also play a part in the brainwashingprocess? To many, the very suggestion istantamount to attacking the church and civil rightsorganizations, and all of their considerablecontributions. It's one of those "don't go there"subjects. We have been programmed to be sodefensive about all things black, the mere topicthreatens to become another zero-sum game: you'reeither for it or against it, pro-religion or antireligion,pro-black or a sellout. Even so, I maintain that itwould be a disservice to our people if we did notexamine the complicit role of churches and secularorganizations in the BI campaign.

It would also be an incomplete exploration if weignored how those roots, over the years, have growna branch of what Minister Claudette A. Copelandcalls "toxic churches," in which "pastoral care hascome to mean care of the pastor with no guaranteesof care by the pastor."

This chapter is an attempt to dig up the soil toexamine the roots, to replant and fertilize the crop fora bumper yield. The black church and secularinstitutions have been and continue to be majorforces of great power and influence. But, as the oldsaying goes, "With great power, comes greatresponsibility."

God-Sanctioned Servitude

Seems like niggers jus' got to pray. Half they lifeam in prayin'. Some nigger take turn 'bout towatch and see if Morse Tom anyways 'bout, thenthey circle theyselves on the floor in the cabinand pray. They git to moanin' low and gentle,"Some day, some day, some day, this yokegwine be lifted offen our shoulders."

- William Moore, WPA Slave Narrative Project

To keep his property under control, theslavemaster routinely stamped out any sign ofemerging leadership. Thus, he was able to trainslave leaders who fit his agenda and destroy thosewho did not, wrote leading black psychologist Dr.Na'im Akbar in his essay, "Breaking the Chains ofPsychological Slavery." Most slaveowners, however,relied on another popular means of control-religion.

Here, it's important to state the obvious: Slaveswere taught to worship a white savior. Even thoughthe literal Biblical description is of Jesus as aswarthy Middle Easterner, most available images

present him as Nordic, Germanic, blue-eyed, blond-unambiguously white. With this slanted depiction isthe assumption that Jesus's father, God, shares hisson's pigmentation. Slaves were taught from bothtestaments of the Bible that a vengeful God createdthem to be perpetual servants of His superior whitechildren.

This reliance on religion as a controlling forceintroduced what historian John Hope Franklindescribed as the "third strand braided between ourenslavement and our liberation":

Once the planters were convinced thatconversion did not have the effect of setting theirslaves free they sought to use the church as anagency for maintaining the institution of slavery.Ministers were encouraged to instruct the slavesalong the lines of obedience and subserviency.

With subtle manipulation, slaveowners andpreachers used Bible passages, such asColossians 3:22, to validate the wretchedness of theenslaved:

Servants, obey in all things your mastersaccording to the flesh; not with eyeservice, asmenpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearingGod.

By the beginning of the 19th century, the strange"braid" of African American Christianity was clearlyestablished: a liberating impulse entwined with anenslaving constriction. Noah's Curse, or "the curse ofHam," central to slave Christian teaching, was butone convenient contrivance used to drive home themessage of eternal black servitude. Though nothingin the passage states or even remotely suggestsskin color, from medieval times forward, thepassage was used to explain that dark-skinned

people were the result of a curse from God forlicentious behavior.

Christianization of slaves boomed after thereligious revival movement, known as the First andSecond Great Awakenings, swept through the Southin the late 1700s. The enthusiastic form ofworshipsinging, shouting, dancing, handclapping-and the teaching that blacks, like whites, couldreceive personal salvation, appealed to slaves.Large numbers adopted the predominant religion ofthe slavemaster- the Methodist and Baptist faiths.

Still, blacks openly accepted the premise that Godallowed their enslavement so that they could gain thebenefits of Christian salvation. Of course, blackabolitionists and some black preachers railedagainst this notion. Nevertheless, even whenrejecting a racist God and using Christianity topromote liberation, a seed of self-loathing remained-the idea of blacks as uncivilized lesser beings inneed of the white savior.

The Lovable, Dependable NO

Preacher

The concept is simple, and it reads like this:We're so forgone that we need to have thispreacher tell us HIS interpretation of the Bible,and tell us how to get closer to God. Thesethings are, in essence, things that we should andcould do for ourselves.

- Delores

Slave rebellions led by Gabriel Prosser in 1800 inVirginia and Denmark Vesey in South Carolina in1822 panicked slaveholders into strictly regulatingreligious practices. Although the plantation preacherwas most often white, some slaveowners allowed

was most often white, some slaveowners allowedblack slaves to preach a limited form of Gospel.Although they were "coerced into publicly parroting aversion of Christianity compatible with the slaveorder," author William Banks wrote in BlackIntellectuals: Race and Responsibility in AmericanLife, slave ministers found ways to frame theChristian message differently.

In Massa's presence, he emphasized obedienceand heavenly rewards. Behind his back, within theinvisible church (slave galleries in white churches orthe slave quarters), many black preachers reworkedtheir sermons, passed along vital information amongseparated slave families and, at times, even helpedplot escapes. Roles as trusted, cunningintermediaries between slavery and spiritualsalvation earned the black preacher an enduring,cherished place among the enslaved and theirdescendants.

The Colored Way: Black

Organizations

According to what was issued out in the Bible,there was a time for slavery, people had to bepunished for their sin, and then there was a timefor it not to be, and the Lord had opened a goodview to Mr. Lincoln, and he promoted a goodidea.

- Charlie Aarons, former slave

After slavery, many black religious leadersventured beyond the parameters of church matters.The Free African Society, the precursor to theAfrican Methodist Episcopal church, for example,was such an organization. Established in 1787 byex-slaves as a nondenominational mutual aidsociety, the agency set out to tackle a full range of

issues and needs that, according to its missionstatement, "were not addressed in the regular churchgatherings and social opportunities of Philadelphia."

In 1905, a group of 32 determined, freethinkingblack men met on the Canadian side of NiagaraFalls to contemplate strategies and solutions toaddress racist barriers "people of color" facedmostly in the South. The group, known as TheNiagara Movement, struggled financially andeventually disbanded in 1910. Before doing so,three whites had become members. Those whiteswere still members when the Niagara Movementmorphed into the National Association for theAdvancement of Colored People (NAACP), foundedin 1909.

Considering the times, perhaps it was a goodstrategy to tone down the drastic platform of theNiagara Movement and create a more raciallyinclusive NAACP. Or perhaps it was a way to ensurethat the solicitations sent out to 60 prominentAmericans were returned with a monetaryendorsement. What is known is that when theN A A C P incorporated in 1911, it was apredominantly white agency with only one blackexecutive board member, W.E.B. Du Bois.

Alliances with powerful whites exposed blackorganizations to influences from the dominantculture. For instance, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham,author of Righteous Discontent: The Women'sMovement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880-1920,detailed the double-edged ramifications of thealliances between Southern black women andNorthern white women in their Southern missionaryefforts. The black groups often adopted theprevailing Victorian notion that black immorality wasthe true cause of discrimination. Black women,working with white women's societies, urged blacks

to prove themselves worthy by mirroring whitesociety.

Just as the slavemaster chose leadership thatdidn't threaten his rule and helped containunpredictable, possibly radical blacks, prominentAfrican Americans, once freed, adhered to similaragendas. Black organizations in the early 20thcentury, including the NAACP, turned to whites notonly to fund their efforts but also to help set the toneand agenda for acceptable practices.

Such alliances tend to temper individual acts thatwhites may consider too radical. One has to wonderif the leaders of these organizations were in aposition to take a stand as firm as the one taken byWarmoth T. Gibbs in 1960. At the time, blackstudents at North Carolina Agricultural and TechnicalUniversity in Greensboro, North Carolina, had begunlunch counter sit-ins at the local Woolworth andstreet protests aimed at ending segregation. Localwhite Greensboro officials and business ownerswent to Gibbs, the newly appointed presidentemeritus of the university, and strongly urged him touse his authority to reign in the unruly youngdemonstrators. Gibbs declined, offering a responseone doesn't hear often from today's black clerics orcivil rights leaders: "We teach our students how tothink, not what to think."

Lost in Transition

We are a very black organization, but weain't just a black organization, y'all: we're ahuman rights organization! We're a civilrights organization, and we fight for thedignity of all people in this country!

- NAACP president Ben Jealous

Speaking before a crowd during the NAACP's100th Anniversary Convention, the organization'snewly elected president, 36-year-old RhodesScholar Ben jealous, made the announcement thatthe NAACP was strong and the agency was"winning!"

Jealous went on to list a number of NAACPaccomplishments, including helping to redirectmillions of dollars in stimulus money toward publicschools; removing a "Confederate swastika [flag]"from state grounds in South Carolina; and delivering"the first woman of color [Judge Sonia Sotomayor] toa seat on the Supreme Court!"

Of all the accomplishments Jealous claimed forthe NAACP, he failed to note that the organizationdidn't close the black achievement gap, didn't lowerblack-on-black crime, or help millions of blacks risefrom poverty and unemployment, and the NAACPdidn't create wholesome families or self-sustainingcommunities. Helping to direct federal money towardpublic schools, removing a racist symbol, andsupporting a Hispanic Supreme Court judge are allworthwhile. But the word "winning," as far as I'mconcerned, represents a disconnect between someesteemed secular organizations and the people theyseek to serve.

Consider the results of a 2006 Washington Postsurvey in which black men were asked about thegreatest problems facing their communities. In theirresponses, "racial discrimination" ranked 20percentage points behind "black men not taking theireducations seriously enough" and "too many blackmen becoming involved with crime." These findingsindicate that the general population understands theimportant issues more than the leadership.

In early 2007, Bruce Gordon, then NAACP

president, announced that he was stepping downafter a brief tenure. He stated that he wanted theNAACP to expand its mission to include socialservice. Julian Bond, NAACP board chairperson atthe time, stated: "Our mission is to fightdiscrimination and provide social justice. Socialservice organizations deal with the effects of racialdiscrimination. We deal with the beast itself."

We interviewed Gordon in preparation for thisbook. It seems the retired president of Verizon'sretail markets division met some resistance in hisattempt to steer the NAACP in a different direction:"The big debate that I finally realized that I was notgoing to win was my desire to get us to be moreaccountable for our situation, and to stop thinkingand acting as though the only way to do civil rights isto do it from a victim's point of view."

The NAACP, Gordon added, hadn't accepted theconcept of advocating within black communities:"We don't need to spend all of our time getting whitefolks to do for us...we need to advocate within ourown houses, our own families, our own communities.So I was clearly on a path to push for accountability...and they just were not hearing it.

"Old-school social change organizations are justthat, 'old-school,"' he said, "and if they don't reinventthemselves, they will continue to decline inimportance."

What some dismissed as divergent leadershipstyles within the NAACP was really an example ofthe ineffective leadership of some top secularorganizations. Yes, they have done remarkable worki n toppling legal and institutional race barriers.They've mastered the art of battling "the beast"-theexternal forces of racism. They have not, however,developed a means to maim the internal beast that's

devouring our minds, lives, and communities.

Civil Rights in the

Corporate Era

I'm not the one who's confused. You don't evenknow who you are.

- Rafika

When it comes to attacking the inner beast-theself-hatred, low self-esteem, and helplessness thatfuels the nation's disproportionately high blackdropout, crime, and poverty rates-traditional blackorganizations seem woefully stuck in an antiquatedmodel. Furthermore, the sustainability of many ofthese black organizations depends on multiracial,well-endowed external sources, which limits theirscope and their influence. One long-established civilrights organization recently listed seven corporationsthat donated $1,000,000 or more, and nine thatdonated between $500,000 and $1,000,000.

Having spent my life in corporate advertising, I cansay with absolute certainty that corporations do notgive money away for nothing. They give with theexpectation of getting something in return. At itsmost benevolent, that something is good will. At itsmost pernicious, it is to be inoculated from criticism,and given support when criticism arises.

Most of the leading black organizations' donorsi nc lude corporations with some of the mostcontroversial business models in America-non-unionretailers, large pharmaceutical companies, andinsurance giants. These companies have nothing togain from black groups that promote independentthinking. Critical thought encourages people to followthe money to find answers to burning socialquestions. It may compel them to support black

questions. It may compel them to support blackcompetitors or withdraw support from companieswhose practices are considered predatory orotherwise harmful to minority consumers.

A corporation also has to consider its publicimage. Mythmakers have done an admirable job offlipping the race debate on its ear. In the so-called"post-racial" environment, self-empowering blackagendas are now widely dismissed as "separatist"or "racist." It's hard to imagine corporate moneyflowing to black organizations that start programsdesigned to expose and reverse a campaign thathas warped our self-image and reinforced our senseof inferiority.

To be fair, major black organizations are forced todepend on corporate sponsorship. Since blackshave been conditioned to rely on outside forces, theytolerate these alliances. Companies pay a form ofrace penance in exchange for the positive PR thatderives from being associated with an organizationcommitted to uplifting blacks.

Double-helixed into our cultural DNA, it seems, isthis paradoxical habit of depending on outsiders tosave our race. Slavery is not totally dead. It's justbeen sanitized, modified, and modernized. We stilllook to the "master" for approval, guidance, andsupport. We reason that since we have no power,we need to be saved by somebody elseusually whitecorporate businesses or organizations. The socialservice organization is therefore tethered on a leashof learned helplessness that guarantees it will never,ever bite the hand that feeds it.

Reviewing the history of the black church and itsexpansion into the civil rights arena reveals how theBred to Be Led dynamics were and are still such apowerful force.

Starting to Do Good/ pnn';ntulnn to no IAI0II

There is a self-serving aspect that the race cardhas helped a lot of people. It's been the fallbackposition in lieu of critical thinking. You just whip itout. It's similar to "the devil you know is betterthan the devil you don't know." We know how toplay that card. We have not a clue of what handwe'll wind up with if we give that up.

- Reverend Carrie Jackson, minister, New York

Years ago, I joined a newly formed blackorganization dedicated to promoting black businessdevelopment. A major, white Fortune 100corporation allowed us to hold our meetings at its

headquarters. The firm always had a host to meetand greet us and sit in on our meetings.

One time, company officials told us there was ascheduling conflict and the facilities we used wouldnot be available. Minor panic set in. Organizersfretted about what to do. Somewhat sarcastically, Isuggested that perhaps we, as business owners,could have the meetings at one of our companies.We could even buy our own coffee and sweet rollsand, for once, hold a meeting without corporateoversight.

Surprisingly, it was an "aha" moment. Apparently,it hadn't occurred to my colleagues that we couldactually function without outside help. Part of the"learned helplessness" conditioning requires that webuy into the idea that organizations cannot survivewithout outside interests funding their very survival.From my perspective, it's better to meet in a churchbasement and eat on our own dime than to gather atFour Seasons and dine on gourmet meals,compliments of white benefactors.

Some black organizations are now so large andvenerable that selfpreservation and organizationalgrowth are their principal concerns. Without diseaseand illness, we wouldn't need doctors and thehealthcare system; without criminals and crime,police officers and the prison industrial complexwould serve very little purpose. Likewise, withoutovert racism, there would be little purpose for blackleaders or organizations with constricted race-basedagendas. With no other bucket to cast down, it maybe in their best interest to maintain-not solve-therace problem.

Passing the Plate for Truth

The need for radical change becomes moreurgent when we weigh the temporary benefits ofsupporting outmoded institutions against the long-term costs of promoting collective obsolescence.

Short-term Benefits

1. Religious resignation: Accepting whateverGod has willed and waiting on heavenlyrewards remove the burden to individually draftour own fortunes and futures, and makes usfeel better about bad situations that we can'tcontrol.

2. Addicted to suffering: Provides a biblicalrationale for our perceived wretchedness. If it'sour natural state and birthright, then we cantolerate suffering with the hope of heavenlyreward.

3. Makes me wanna holla: Hope is a valuablecommodity. We gain immediate gratification fromministers who lead us through challenges andrelief from the personal burden of actually doingsomething.

4. Prosperity gospel: Our value and self-worth aredemonstrated through our minister's fame andmaterial achievements. Surely someone whopreaches prosperity must look prosperous.Congregants must invest in the blessedmessenger in the hope of prospering.

5. Leadership dependency: Since we feelunqualified and incapable, it's best to wait onguidance from respected leaders. Followingindividuals already identified as our leaders,who have the proper connections and clout,simply makes sense.

Long-term Costs

1. Religious resignation: Believing that God haswilled misfortune upon you reinforces a sense ofinnate unworthiness. Waiting on heavenlyrewards robs you and your family from exploringand finding rewards right here on Earth.

2. Addicted to suffering: Perception of divinewretchedness becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.Believing it is your natural birthright to suffer allowsyou to unconsciously tolerate or even seeksuffering.

3. Makes me wanna holla: Seeking externalavenues of hope and transferring the burden ofresponsibility keeps a person in a childlikeposition while elevating another human being toa Godlike status. Seeking personal gratificationthrough God's minister is like a drug addiction. Itcan only provide temporary escape.

4. Prosperity gospel: Seeing our value and self-worth through the fame and opulence of areligious figure ultimately only benefits thereligious figure. You have just as much right toprosperity as the deliverer of the message anda better chance of achieving it through your owninitiative.

5. Leadership dependency: Waiting on theguidance or actions of a respected leader ororganized group robs us of the rewards ofindividual action. It also reinforces feelings ofpersonal inadequacy. Sometimes the leaderwith the impressive connections and perceivedclout is beholden to the agenda of the agentwho granted such privilege.

In The Mis-Education of the Negro, Carter G.

Woodson urged blacks to seek and demand newlevels of leadership. Seek not leaders who ask"what others can do for him," Woodson said. "Seekthose who will do for himself."

Bred to Be Led Positive

Propaganda Cues:

In the spirit of creating self-appointed leaders, Ioffer these positive propaganda cues.

Fellowship not followship

Become a member of a fellowship, a groupof people who exchange ideas andopenness, rather than a followship thatmindlessly trudges after those who maylead you somewhere you don't want to go.

Don't take know for an answer

Question the whole idea of certainty. Beable to recognize the difference betweenbelieving and knowing.

Look for the leader in you

We need to re-orient ourselves tounderstand our innate strengths and theability to find, define, and develop our bestself.

Forging a New Kind of

Leadership

Reverend Johnny Ray Youngblood of Brooklyn'sSt. Paul Community Baptist Church once saw hischurch described in the New York Times as "one ofGod's Alcatrazes" because of the depressing,

crimefilled surrounding area. Ten years after hebecame pastor, St. Paul's parishioners havetransformed the neighborhood. The church built aschool on its property and turned abandoned homesand houses of ill repute into family-owned homesand businesses. Youngblood and his church alsoplayed instrumental roles in the construction of some2,300 single-family homes in Brooklyn.

Part of Youngblood's appeal, wrote Maura Sheehyin the Christian Science Monitor, is his ability to"connect the church and spirituality" to the daily livesof his congregation.

"He eschews the more traditional wait-for-deliverance-in-thepromised-land brand of rhetoric foran approach committed to change in the present,"Sheehy wrote.

Youngblood's interest in connecting the dotsbetween slavery and its present-day manifestationsled to the creation of the annual Commemoration ofthe MAAFA, "a psychosocial dramatic depiction ofthe horror of the trans-Atlantic slave trade [that] paystribute to the millions of men, women, and childrenwho were lost in the government-sanctioned, multi-continent sale of humans."

In 2000, the A.M.E. Church elected Vashti MurphyMcKenzie, a former journalist, as its first womanbishop. McKenzie not only broke what she called thestained-glass ceiling, as pastor of Payne MemorialA.M.E. Church in Baltimore, Maryland, sheemphasized her management and community-building skills to increase property value from $1.6 to$5.6 million.

McKenzie launched 25 innovative ministries andinitiatives, ranging from welfare-to-work programs, tosenior-citizen computer classes, to high school job

fairs, and to establishing companies, such as acatering service for former welfare recipients.McKenzie expanded her influence by presiding overthe A.M.E. Church's 18th Episcopal District, with200 churches and 10,000 members in Botswana,Mozambique, and Lesotho. I've yet to see McKenzie,who gives new meaning to the phrase "prosperitygospel," on Sunday morning cable trying to convincecongregants to buy her a mansion or lease aBentley.

Initiatives like those of Reverend Youngblood andBishop McKenzie are representative of ministerswho don't oversee celebrity churches. Instead, theyuse their gift of influence to empower communities.Even if we aren't perfectly aligned with their specificreligious beliefs and/or political associations, theirdo-for-self "best practices" should be studied,adapted, and adopted. Such religious and secularleaders operate outside the maze controlled bypowerful benefactors whose gifts are rarely free.

Although we have been conditioned by a lifetimeof destructive images and messages, this learnedhelplessness and unconscious dependency hasoutlived its usefulness. Reversing this negativeinheritance will be difficult-extraordinarily so. AsBruce Gordon said during our interview: "We maynot have all of the power we want but we do have allof the power we need." It's time to claim it!

Once we reverse the mind game, once weunderstand that we need not depend on leaders orany external force for guidance, once we recognizethat we are all potential agents of change, it is then-a n d only then-that we become an empoweredpeople, prepared to think critically and fully engagein self-advocacy.

All the time they want to take your place thebackstabbers-backstabbers

-THE O'JAYS

he racially ugly tone of the 2007/2008presidential campaign should have come as nosurprise once Barack Obama officially declared hisintention to become president of the United States.All 43 men who held the office before him werewhite. With a viable African American candidate inthe race, of course racial paranoia would escalateand be exploited. What did come as a surprise werethe derisive, verbal bombs launched by high profileblacks, some of whom, many thought, should haveknown better. Former United Nations Ambassadorand civil rights icon Andrew Young comes to mind.During an Atlanta urban media forum in late 2007,Young decided to wade into the area of heredity andsexual prowess when comparing Obama to formerPresident Bill Clinton, the husband of Hillary Clinton,another candidate in the race. "Bill is every bit asblack as Barack," Young quipped, adding, "He'sprobably gone with more black women than Barack."Young quickly told the audience he was "clowning."

But even when listing Obama's possible strongpoints if he had to deal with America's biggestthreats-China and Islam-Young adopted acondescending and demeaning tone: "He had aChinese half-sister, his mother married an Africanfirst, then she went to Indonesia and married aChinese. So he grew up in a Chinese family. Hewent to Islamic schools in Indonesia."

At least Young didn't use the black drug-dealerstereotype. That was Bob Johnson, the founder ofBET. In a state of exaggerated hubris in 2008,Johnson went after Obama and his staffers forcriticizing remarks made by his chosen candidate,Hillary Clinton, saying, "I am frankly insulted that theObama campaign would imply that we are so stupidthat we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who havebeen deeply and emotionally involved in blackissues since Barack Obama was doing somethingin the neighborhood-and I won't say what he wasdoing, but he said it in the book-when they havebeen involved."

Johnson didn't have to spell out that "something."In Dreams from My Father, Obama wrote about hisyouthful alcohol and illegal drug use. As if the not-so-veiled swipe wasn't enough, Johnson, during thesame speech, managed to twist the knife further. Hecompared Obama to the character played by SidneyPoitier in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a filmabout a white elderly couple whose world wasrocked when their daughter brought her black beauhome for dinner. ". . . this ain't a movie, Sidney. Thisis real life," Johnson snapped. Johnson later issueda statement claiming that his comment at the SouthCarolina Clinton rally was in reference to Obama'searly life as a community organizer in Chicago. I'mnot sure which was more insulting-the comment orthe explanation.

As a candidate, Obama was fair game forcriticism. But Young and Johnson could havecampaigned on behalf of Clinton without goingpersonal, without dragging Obama through the mud,without the use of not-authentically-black, drug-abusing, socially coded threats that have been usedfor centuries to negatively define and divide blacks.In short, the brothers were crabbin' and backstabbin'.In defense of Hillary Clinton, the loyalists initiatedpersonal attacks to keep Obama from winning thenomination.

Crabbin' and backstabbin' are as much a part ofour everyday conversations as they are fixtures inour comedy routines. This is far more than just averbal put-down. It's the full impact of the reflex thatmany blacks expect the worst from one another,harbor intense jealousy, and go to great lengths tosabotage their own. Just ask yourself: How manytimes have you encountered a black supervisor whowas harder on black employees than his whitecharges, or was more disrespectful to blacks thanany white boss? How often have you beensabotaged on the job by a black co-worker? Has ablack friend or relative ever announced that they hadto find a white lawyer, doctor, or plumber becausethey didn't trust blacks in those professions?

Crabbin' and backstabbin' are but a symptom of amuch more sinister infirmity-disunity or, as we willoften refer to it in this discussion, "disc-unity." In thecivil rights and political arenas, crabbin' andbackstabbin' are as old as the categoriesthemselves. Some of our history's most impressive,far-reaching agendas have been nullified due toblack backbiting and orchestrated disruption. Killingeach other is not limited to young brothers on thestreets. There are black-on-black drive-bys in thepolitical, entertainment, civic, and business arenas.

This chapter examines how we havesubconsciously accepted mistrust andpowerlessness. Diss-unity is the handicap thathampers our ability to merge around almostanything, from job-related tasks to progressive, all-encompassing agendas. It is the biggest reason thatblacks, as a whole, stay frozen on the lowest rung ofsociety's ladder. Diss-unity is the modern-daymanifestation of BI propaganda designed to keep usimprisoned in unconscious states of inferiority andhopelessness.

Disunited and It Feels So Bad

There is a saying in the black communitythat blacks cannot improve as a peoplebecause, like crabs in a barrel, wheneverone tries to climb out of the barrel the otherones will pull him back down.

- The Disputed Truth blog

A crabbin' and backstabbin' moment in my earlycareer involved a major account in which our adagency had been significantly undercompensatedfor the work performed. After much finagling, wegained an audience with both the company's seniorvice president, who was white, and a vice president,who was black. The senior VP listened to ourconcerns and concurred that we deserved moremoney. He threw out a higher number. Weimmediately agreed to the suggested amount. Uponseeing where things were headed, the black execchimed in, blurting, "No, no, no, they don't need thatmuch!" He then recommended a significantly loweramount.

Unfortunately, his boss felt he had no choice but toagree. The original higher number that our client

suggested was obviously fair. It's not in any client'sbest interest to overpay a vendor. But why did theblack executive counter his white superior's number?Why did he believe that we didn't "need" (or was it"deserve") that much? Did he think his stature wouldincrease within the company if he demonstrated thathe would keep a black-owned agency in its place?Or did he feel that we, as a black-owned agency,simply deserved less than a white-owned firm doingcomparable work?

I have replayed that episode over the years andpondered the black executive's motivations. Today, Iunderstand that he was but another victim of thepowerful BI campaign. But was he an exception orthe norm?

Of all the brainwashing techniques, disunity maybe the most pervasive. It directly led to the all-too-prevalent notion that the "white man's ice is colder."It has historically branded black products, services,businesses, and people as inferior, substandard, notgood enough. We are so disunited from ourauthentic selves that we find comfort in artificialboundaries. The East Coast/West Coast rap warsserve as a perfect example of disc-unity gone toofar. What started as a new, creative expression ofblack artistry quickly spiraled downward into gun-toting rivalries between young rappers unable toseparate myth from music.

At one time rap was defined by the sugary, benignfun stuff, like "Rappers Delight" by the SugarhillGang and "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & theFresh Prince, and tracks by other rappers like KrisKross and MC Hammer. Politically conscious rap,following the 70s tradition of the Last Poets and GilScott-Heron, paved the way for Public Enemy.Somewhere along the line producers of hip-hopcame to realize that the real money, the real avenues

to fortune and fame, came via music about sex,drugs, and violence: how they "made it" on thecarcasses of those who trespassed on their turf-either in the streets or in the industry.

Along the line, powerful forces realized there wasgold in black music divisions.

As in a relay race, whites carried the 17th-centurybaton of black inferiority for centuries and,amazingly, in the 20th and 21st centuries they havebeen able to pass it off to blacks so they could finishthe race-literally.

Everything white people don't like aboutblack people, black people REALLY don'tlike about black people!

-Chris Rock, 1997

Chris Rock's routine was funny because we allknow obnoxious or self-destructive people. What'snot so hilarious is the unrecognized conditioning thatfeeds such humor. Rock's comment, "Everythingwhite people don't like about black people, blackpeople really don't like about black people,"underscores the fact that we have been duped.Today we are proudly repeating the negativesentiments and stereotypes that many whites holdabout us.

It's become fashionable for us to disrespect eachother and assume that certain blacks will functionlike modern-day minstrels. We pretend we have theluxury of categorizing ourselves as "niggas" and"blacks" when it's always been a fuzzy distinctionmany whites use to rationalize discrimination.Numerous business and personal encounters haverevealed the deep layers of division in our race.Perhaps, if you consider the following modern

dynamics of disc-unity, you, too, will recognize afamiliar pattern.

Diss-Unity Dynamics

1. Crabbin': Complaining about blacks who havemoved ahead of you. If I crab enough, maybeothers will share my discontent and keep thatperson in their proper place.

2. Backstabbin': Sabotaging successful blacksdue to envy, jealousy, or hatred.

3. Lack of coalescence: Refusal to support andunify with other blacks. Fear that if anotherblack person rises to your level, your job orupward mobility will be threatened. Inability toform strong coalitions. Rather than uniting togain the power to influence, black groupsfunction at a low level and can't seem to gettraction.

4. Lack of support/mistrust of black goods andservices: "The white man's ice is colder." Agenuine belief that any goods or servicescreated or distributed by blacks are inherentlyinferior. Therefore, we sometimes go out of ourway to not support them.

5. Exceptionalism: The belief that you are theexception to the "inferior black" rule. You arespecial because you are the only black at thecorporate management level or invited to thecountry club. Whites say you are different thanother blacks, you're special, and you like it thatway.

Diss-Unity for Sale

It has now become the vogue to expose ourintraracial divisions through TV dramas, socialcommentary, and comedy shows. Blackconservative pundits, such as John McWhorter andShelby Steele, have made comfortable livings asmedia experts on black dysfunction.

By contrast, the era of Obama is the showcase forthe "exceptional black." This character has been aHollywood fixture since the 1920s in films featuring aprotective, black female housekeeper shooing abiscuit-stealing black driver or house servant out ofMassa's kitchen. Today, the tradition continues withthe feuds between Tracy Jordan (comedian TracyMorgan) and James "Toofer" Spurlock (actor KeithPowell) on the NBC comedy show 30 Rock.

Toofer is the Harvard-educated defender ofeverything black who takes Tracy to task for hisbuffoonish ways and his tendency to play to thestereotype. Tracy is the foul-mouthed, N-wordhurling, late-for-work, ghetto-ized party guy whogives Toofer a hard time for being too nerdy andstraitlaced. The white leading characters, actorsTina Fey and Alec Baldwin, are just as goofy, butthey serve as referees who patiently help the blackcharacters navigate their differences. Fans of theshow will no doubt fall back on the "it's only acomedy" defense. As funny as they may be, TVshows like 30 Rock do not educate. They humiliate.

It Began with a Boat

It's little wonder that many of us instinctively doubtand mistrust those of our own hue. For generationswe've been deluged through print and digital media,and literary, scholarly, artistic, and marketingimagery of disunited, disconnected, and uncivilizedAfricans and African Americans.

Our history offers a legitimate reason why otherminorities have come to this country and surpassedAfrican Americans in the areas of businessdevelopment, and educational and culturaladvancement. There's a valid explanation whywhites, who may disagree on everything, can stillcoalesce and execute agendas that benefit theirfamilies, friends, and personal fortunes.

There may be legitimate justification but there willbe no significant and sustainable progress until weexplore why we are more comfortable supportingwhites than blacks, why we cling to individualismover collectivism, why our wounded egos prohibit usfrom coalescing and pooling our skills, and why wemaintain rigid lower-class versus upper-class, lightskin versus dark skin, highly educated versusuneducated divisions.

We can crack the code that explains our inabilityto unify and our compulsion to disrespect andundermine one another. To do so, however, we haveto go back-way back-to another time and anothercontinent, when a strange boat arrived on WestAfrican shores.

From Many Tribes to one

In my experience, black people hate oneach other more than any other race willhate on us. We are the most critical of eachother, we insult each other's looks. We'remore racist toward blacks than they are!

-Junior, 35, restaurant worker

In many ways, blacks brought to America werepredisposed to division.

The largest number of African slaves from the 16ththrough the 18th centuries came from the interior ofWest Africa. Dutch and Portuguese tradersencountered a plethora of divergent cultures, warringfactions, and sophisticated, archaic, or migratingsocieties. The soon-to-be slaves spoke differentlanguages, worshipped different gods, andparticipated in innovative or complex forms ofgovernment. Captives were herded onto ships, manyunable to communicate with the new slave next tothem. Together these diverse and culturally dividedpeople set out on a journey of thousands of miles-each as an individual island.

That Extra-Special Slave

After arriving in the New World, the next crueltywas to auction slaves to the highest bidder with noregard for family or tribal connections. Slaveownerspracticed numerous techniques to kindle distrust andkeep blacks afraid to unify. To maintain control,sometimes whole slave communities were punishedfor one troublemaking slave's transgression, real orimagined. This form of brainwashing divided theslaves' loyalties and convinced some that it was intheir best interest to distance themselves fromrebels or attempt to thwart their efforts:

Marster would tell me,"Loosanna, if you keep yo'ears open an' tell me what de darkies talk 'bout,dey'll be somp'n'good in it for you." (He meantfor me to listen when dey'd talk 'bout runnin'offan' such.) I'd stay 'roun' de old folks an' make lakI was a-playin All de time I'd be a-listenin'. DenI'd go an tell Marster what I heard ...I'd say "bringme some goobers, or a doll, or some stickcandy, or anything." An' you can bet yo' bottomdollar he'd always bring me somp'n'.

- Anna Baker, former slave

It was not bad luck or timing that sabotagedDenmark Vesey's famous attempted insurrection in1822. It was betrayal by fellow slaves. Similarbetrayals are also believed to have stopped many oft h e estimated 250 Southern slave uprisingsdocumented by historians. Informing on rebelliousslaves was one of the few ways blacks could seekreward from slaveowners. The snitches, Dr. NaimAkbar explained, having demonstrated their loyalty,became the slaveowner's "grafted leader"-"a slavebody and a master's head."

Slave-on-Slave Violence

Slaveowners employed overseers and drivers tomanage their farms and plantations, and to drive theslaves, like cattle, to work. Most often, thesesupervisors were poorer-class white men but, asnoted by Charles Joyner, author of Down by theRiverside: A South Carolina Slave Community,blacks occasionally served as overseers anddrivers. For about three years, Thomas Jefferson,who at the time owned 118 slaves on his Monticelloplantation, relied on Great George, his trusted blackoverseer. When George died in 1797, Jeffersonhired a white overseer with a reputation for keepingthe slaves in line by withholding supplies or whippingthem, even if they were sick. The ability to extract themaximum amount of labor and obedience fromslaves was a prerequisite for overseers and drivers,black or white. In Crafting the Overseer's Image,author William E. Wiethoff detailed how slaveownersrelied on enslaved blacks to apply the"dispassionate instrument of plantation discipline."The author recounts the narrative of a former slave,William Curtis, whose master used coloredoverseers to administer whippings "with ferocity

unmatched by white overseers." In the first part of thebook Clotel: Or, The President's Daughter: ANarrative of Slave Life in the United States,published in 1853, author and former slave WilliamWells Brown described his reaction at the age of 10when he heard his own mother being whipped by a"Negro driver":

"Oh, pray! Oh, pray! Oh, pray!" These are thewords which slaves generally utter whenimploring mercy at the hands of theiroppressors. The son heard it, though he wassome way off. He heard the crack of the whipand the groans of his poor mother. The cold chillran over him, and he wept aloud; but he was aslave like his mother, and could render her noassistance.

Imagine the rage and contempt that boiled in themind of slaves who'd been pushed beyondexhaustion or whose backs had been ripped toshreds by a cat-o'-nine-tails-wielding black overseer.Did the driver feel "special" or above the slaves hebrutalized? Did he loathe himself or justify hisactions in the name of survival? Such states ofexistence must have driven some slaves insane.This probably explains why 27-year-old ClydeManning, a black slave who had no ideaEmancipation had occurred some 56 years earlier,helped his master kill 11 of his friends and fellowslaves.

The Color of Dissent

Often black people in such settings collude intheir own shaming and humiliation because theyhave been socialized by internalized racism tofeel "chosen," better than other black people.

- bell hooks

Another damaging aspect of enslavement was the"field slave versus house slave" class system, withrewards and punishments that helped solidify color-coded division. In her legal dissertation, Shades ofBrown: The Law of Skin Color, Trina Jones of DukeUniversi ty examined the historical roots andcontemporary significance of prejudicial treatmentpracticed by individuals of the same race.Distinctions based upon mixed-racial heritagebecame routine early on. Some whites ferventlyembraced the theory that light-skinned blacks wereintellectually superior because of the white blood intheir veins, Jones wrote. Many mulatto slavesattracted higher prices on the slave market andreceived coveted indoor assignments onplantations. Some traveled with the slavemaster and,because of their close association with theslaveowner and his family, learned how to read andwrite. Many hard-working field slaves, not benefitingfrom the master's favors, regarded light-skinnedblacks and house servants suspiciously. If covertmeetings were disclosed, if obstinate slaves werepunished, derision was aimed at the suspectedsnitching, treasonous house slave. Thus was thebeginning of a skin-color game that outlastedslavery.

Long after slavery ended, a more privilegedclass of black folks who were fairer skinnedparticipated in creating and sustaininghierarchical social arrangements where theylorded it over their darker counterparts. Sincethey often lacked concrete material privilege,skin color itself became a mark of status. - bellhooks

A Time of Unity

After Emancipation, former slaves scrimped,saved, and sacrificed to escape the cruelties of theDeep South and start anew in the North. The fact thatthey were prohibited from living among whites orpatronizing their businesses motivated many tocreate their own fortunes.

[After Emancipation] us got together and raisedmoney to buy ground enough for a churchyardand a graveyard for the colored folks. Dotgraveyard filled up so fast dot dey had to buymore land several times. Us holped 'em build defust colored church in Hancock County.

- Jasper Battle, former slave

In an interview for this book, Steven Pitts, Ph.D.,labor policy specialist at the UC Berkeley Center forLabor Research and Education, explained howwhite society before the 1960s forced blacks intostates of unity. "Disunity is part and parcel of thevictory over legal segregation which loosened socialcontraints," Pitts explained. "For instance, there wascohesion in black consumer spending during the eraof Jim Crow. What made it so cohesive was the lackof options-we had to 'buy black."'

Blacks who migrated to Oklahoma exploited newvistas and developed one of the most affluentdistricts in the country. By 1920, Greenwood Avenuein Tulsa boasted a number of thriving black-ownedgrocery stores, barbershops, clothing stores, funeralparlors, medical and dental services, and an eclecticmix of professionals. Behind the success of Tulsa's"Black Wall Street"-its bus line, newspapers,theaters, drugstores, hotels, hospital, public library,and more than a dozen churches-was a commitmentof professional, blue-collar, and low-income blacksto recycle their wealth.

Tulsa's Black Wall Street was dealt a crushingblow when whites dynamited the district into oblivionduring the 1921 Tulsa race riot. The Tulsa incidentwas not the only example in which whites purposelyburned or destroyed black neighborhoods andbusinesses, stole farmland, or initiated bloody riotswhen black laborers threatened their livelihoods.Following the riot, city officials passed strict,unaffordable ordinances that forced many blackGreenwood residents to relocate. Through violence,intimidation, and race-based legal restrictions,blacks soon came to realize that the safety, stability,and prosperity that usually accompanies innovation,hard work, and determination was, for them, justanother dream deferred.

Divided and Conquered

Isolation is a favored weapon of psychologicalterrorists.

- bell hooks

What's missing from the Black History Monthsound bites and inspiring reflections are the storiesof division that existed between the groups fightingfor social change. Public feuds over class andideological differences all helped to undermine andcripple many progressive movements. These includethe incidents of crabbin' and backstabbin' among thelikes of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois,Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson, and ThurgoodMarshall and Roy Wilkins's "problem" with Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr.

What could have been a respectful, multifacetedapproach to black progress became grounds forexploitation by vengeful government officials,particularly the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover. Aside from

"organic and predictable ideological splits amongblack leaders, Hoover let loose no less than 15,000agents to disrupt unity efforts between black folk,"said Dr. William E. Cross, author of The Negro toBlack Conversion Experience (1971) and Shades ofBlack: Diversity in African-American Identity (1991),in an interview for this book. "External forces," Crossargues, "spent millions of dollars and devoted untoldmanpower and resources to keep whatever unitypotential blacks had under wraps."

The most powerful social experience for blackssince Reconstruction exploded in the 1960s. Thecivil rights movement gave hope while it began theupending of the officially racist American socialorder. It was a moment of unapologetic, authenticethnicity and self-definition. The Black Powermovement represented an effort to reclaim ourAfrican history, images, dignity, self-respect, andcommunities. Yes, sympathetic whites werewelcome and active in the cause, but it wasunmistakably ours. Blacks were the movement'sleaders, its inspiration, and its foot soldiers.

Expanding the teachings of Du Bois, Garvey,Woodson, and other pre-Vietnam War era thinkers,a culturally inspired generation set out torevolutionize the meaning of economic and socialcooperation. Representatives of the Black PantherParty and the Nation of Islam, Huey Newton andMalcolm X encouraged blacks to establish their ownschools, businesses, and social programs, such asthe Panthers' free breakfast program that fedthousands of inner-city children.

While Dr. King and other civil rights leaderspeacefully worked to tear down legal barriers andpush for integration, other, more militant groupsdemanded the right to defend themselves as theyaddressed economic and class issues. Instead ofstrategizing, playing their diverse strengths, perhapsassuming "good guy/bad guy" roles to share amutual prize, civil rights and black power movementleaders launched verbal attacks at each other, eachjockeying to be the ultimate organization with theultimate plan for black people. Each organizationwas so intent on being "the one," they oftenunderestimated the skill of the opposition. The public

bickering amounts to slow-pitch softballs lobbed at agrand-slam hitter. With the use of the negativepropaganda bat, the seasoned BI team, as usual,won game after game.

Massa's Media

As the feuds festered, the mainstream mediasensationalized black divisions, which not onlystoked the flames of discontent but solidified popularperceptions that blacks were only capable ofdisorganized, chaotic, and dangerous leadership.

In September of 1961, more than 30 religiousleaders endorsed a letter sent to the Reverend J. H.Jackson, then head of the National BaptistConvention (NBC). The letter beseeched Jackson toretract the public accusations claiming that Dr. Kingwas responsible for the death of one of hissupporters.

Whatever may be our differences within thedenomination, this uncalled for and unprovokedattack (credited to you) upon one of the greatestmen of our time will only serve the purposes ofthe segregationist forces in America who aredetermined to suppress the Negro community allover the nation.

Tensions between King and Jackson hadescalated since 1956 when some religious leadersurged King to challenge Jackson for the presidencyof the NBC. The men disagreed on civil rightstacticsJackson advocated redress through the courtsystem in opposition to King's in-your-face methodof nonviolent social confrontation.

Pandemonium erupted during the 1961 NBCconvention in Kansas City, Missouri, when Jacksonand the Reverend Gardner Taylor, whom King

supported, both claimed they won the NBCpresidency. Among the onstage chaos, one ofJackson's supporters, the Reverend Arthur G.Wright, toppled off the dais, struck his head, andsubsequently died from his injuries.

Jackson's allegation that King and his supporter'sinvolvement resulted in "an election campaign sovicious it produced violence" was ripe fruit for theSeptember 10, 1961 Chicago Tribune headline:"Calls Dr. King 'Master Mind' of Fatal Riot." Themedia did an excellent job of portraying not onlyKing, but all black groups at one time or another, asconservative or revolutionary, out-of-touch orphilosophically divided, under Communist influenceor controlled by militant revolutionaries. As in thedays of slavery, the media serves as thepropaganda tool to keep blacks wary of potentialtroublemakers.

A Brief Shining Moment Stolen

I remember this one time, there was an internistwho happened to be Caucasian. Anyway, hewas treating a black patient who needed to seea neurologist. So, the internist referred him tome. The moment this man walked into my officeand saw me, he became so angry! Like, "Whydid you send me to this black doctor? Is itbecause I'm black?" He was actually offendedthat I was black, and assumed that I was subparbecause of it. He stormed off in a huff, and onlycame back because the white internist assuredhim that I was the best in the field.

- Spencer, neurosurgeon

During the 1967 Southern Christian LeadershipConference convention in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr., sang the praises of a

relatively new SCLC initiative destined to createhundreds of jobs, earn the respect of blackconsumers, and pump millions into urban areas.

Indeed, Operation Breadbasket had suchpotential. The program, influenced by the "selectivebuying" campaign of the Reverend Leon Sullivan ofPhiladelphia, became an economic arm of theSCLC, headed by Jesse Jackson.

Operation Breadbasket's threats of boycottsconvinced major Chicago food chains to carryproducts produced by blacks, such as Joe LouisMilk, Mumbo barbecue sauce, and DiamondSpark le wax. Under Jackson's leadership theprogram, within three years, generated more than3,000 jobs and pumped $22 million into the SouthSide Chicago area.

The Black Power movement that birthed initiativeslike Operation Breadbasket was indeed a briefshining moment. But we mustn't over-romanticize theera. While we experienced its potential, the BIcomplex campaign worked its voodoo, remindingblacks that the new movement was still an inferiorcompetitor to all its superior brands. At an OperationBreadbasket meeting I attended in the '60s, theReverend Willie T. Barrow, later chair of the boardemeritus of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, relatedthat some black folks had remarked that Joe LouisMilk, a black-owned brand, tasted "chalky"compared to white brands, like Dean's andHawthorne Melody. This taste perception existed,she noted, despite the fact that Joe Louis Milk camefrom the same processing plant as the other two.

After landmark civil rights laws were passed in themid-1960s, great sources of potential wealth andstability were discarded when legions ofbrainwashed blacks abandoned their communities

and businesses to chase the "dream" of a newlyintegrated society. Patronizing and working forpopular and prominent white businesses, instead ofcreating, growing, and supporting their own, becamethe symbol of progress. Nevertheless, the integrationfantasy turned out to be another spiritually upliftingbut failed experiment, mostly because we weremissing an essential element that makes prosperitypossible in the land of opportunity.

The Great Culture Robbery

Why is it that other ethnic groups, some who'vesuffered atrocities in their native lands, can come tothis country, work together in unison, and outperformblacks who've been here for centuries? The answert o that question is also connected to our initialsojourn to America. Had Africans come to this nationvoluntarily, with their cultural heritage and languagesintact, we could have, like other ethnic groups,adapted those anchors for use in this new land.

Koreans, for example, have transplantedcooperative methods from their native culture toAmerica. The Korean word kye refers to an"agreement or bond ...a social organization basedupon the principle of mutual cooperation and aid witha specific objective. Although there are manydifferent types of kye, all collect dues and managefunds." Korean Americans use kye as a sort ofprivate banking system within their community.Business owners contribute money to the kye tomake loans to potential Korean entrepreneurswithout application or promissory note.

The Vietnamese use a similar system, calledROCSA (rotating credit and savings association).Vietnamese ROCSA groups utilize the hui system-groups meet regularly, with each member bringing a

f i xed sum of cash to help start or support aVietnamese business.

Instead of complaining about banks not lending tous, why haven't African Americans been able tocreate or maintain independent lending systems thatsustain community businesses? Perhaps it'sbecause the critical elements of kye and hui are trustand cultural unity-elements severed from the blackexperience. All peoples have divisions andinternecine battles. However, few other minoritygroups in America have been conditioned frominfancy to view each other through the jaundicedeyes of those who dehumanized them.

The Myth Of Individualism

The saddest thing is that in the 35 years of theBE 100 there has not been to date, that I canthink of, a significant merger of any kind thatbrought 2 and 2 together to make 5. I'veattempted a couple of them. I've beenunsuccessful.

- Bob Johnson, founder and former CEO of BET

Slavery, subjugation, dehumanization, andinstitutionalized oppression are not the stuff of whichstrong communal foundations are built. Unlike otherethnic groups, we can only draw on what ourAmerican past has taught us.

In the "Buy Now, Pay Later" chapter, we discussedhow many blacks define their self-worth throughmaterial possessions. The conditioning that feedsthat impulse also affects business relationships.Many of us take pride in having our "own thing,"doing it our way, no matter how we struggle. It offsetssocietal forces that remind us of our powerlessness.

The media constantly preaches the sermon ofrugged individualism, while whites and other racesmerge, acquire, form organizations, affiliations, andcabals to control the economic systems that benefitthem most.

Fifty years ago, owners of black-ownedadvertising agencies came together to form anassociation, like white firms, that would make usstronger and more competitive. Yet even though allof our futures were in peril, we were never able toestablish a strong association.

We are challenged to find any major mergers oracquisitions in the black business arena. Oh, therehave been successful black companies that havebeen sold or bought out by white companies. Butrarely do you see black businesses, from thecorporate to the mom and pop store levels, combinetalents and share resources with the intent ofdominating an industry or a neighborhood.

When discussing this topic, Derrick Dingle,executive editor of Black Enterprise magazine,identified a reason why black entrepreneurs arehesitant to partner or merge: "For the most part, ourbusinesses have been companies where you've hada singular vision. You've had an individual who hasdone all the spade-work, the hard work, thereforethey think, 'Why should I give up a piece of myenterprise after I put in the sweat equity?"'

That model may have worked for us in the past,but the business world is changing. "With ourpresent situation, going into the future, especially interms of accessing the same size and scale ofcontracts, out of necessity, we will have to formpartnerships," Dingle added. As an example, hementioned the recent merger between two AfricanAmerican firms, RS Information Systems and 1

Source Consulting Inc. The partnership enabled thetwo black-owned firms to become a billion-dollarcontractor with the federal government.

Getting to that "next level" will be a challenge.While other ethnicities operate on the innateprinciple of cultural collectivism, we maneuver in theego-swelling arena of individualism, which is oftenjust a euphemism for isolationism. Because of ourdisunity, we have disdain for cooperation andcoalescence among ourselves. Consequently, weisolate ourselves from the possible benefits ofcollective development and business sustainability.

nuiltllnn a Rnidnn tq llnltll

Hundreds of years of schooling in the BI Complexhave left us with no affirming, solid cultural groundbeneath our feet. We view one another with thesame contempt and suspicion with which the

majority views us. We laugh at Chris Rock's "blacksversus niggas" routine. It gives those labeled asinferior the luxury to separate themselves from"those people." I suppose there's some benefit tothat release but, like everything else, there's a priceto pay.

uuuuuIu a UUUIU of Disc-Ilnitu

Short-term Benefits

1. Crabbin': Black folk make me crazy! If I don'tcomplain, I'll explode. It's a great release.

2. Backstabbin': Sabotaging another blackperson makes it possible for me to moveahead. After all, there are only so manyopportunities available for black folk. Dog eatdog, right?

3. Lack of coalescence: Why bother? Blacks cannever do anything right. Why set myself up forobvious failure? It's best to go it alone or team upwith white people with the power, resources, andconnections. Besides, if I help elevate anotherblack person, he may become a threat to myupward mobility.

4. Lack of support/mistrust of black goods andservices: I go out of my way to avoid supportingblacks because they will let me down. Let's bereal-whites do everything better. Why give myhard-earned money to a black person when I knowthe job will not be done correctly?

5. Exceptionalism: In a sea of failure, it's quite niceto be considered the exception to the norm. I likehaving my achievements noticed. When I walkinto the boardroom or the social club, I get white

folk's instant respect. Obviously I'm "special" orelse I wouldn't be there.

Long-term Costs

1. Crabbin': Complaining about another blackperson's achievement is really a self-indictment.The possibility that another black person maymove ahead solicits that "if she made it, what's myexcuse?" feeling. Crabbing about blacksreinforces negative perceptions and validates thestereotype of our inferior status.

2. Backstabbin': Hatred, envy, and sabotage stuntopportunities for other blacks and provideopportunities for other races. Stopping oneblack person has a domino effect, guaranteeingthat others won't benefit from the high-rankingblack person's success.

3. Lack of coalescence: Disunity makes thecollective even more vulnerable. Just as a robusteconomy is good for the nation, a higher ratio ofsuccessful blacks increases opportunities forblack communities, schools, and busi nesses.Blacks will forever remain on a substandard level ifwe refuse to coalesce, plan, work together, andshare the wealth.

4. Lack of support/mistrust of black goods andservices: The white man's ice is NOT colder!There are subpar white businesses, services,and products as well as black. Going out of ourway not to patronize black businesses helpsother races exploit the wealth and resources ofblack communities, while enriching their familiesand strengthening their neighborhoods.

5. Exceptionalism: Everyone has the potential tobe special. Human beings are not trinkets or

display models. Feeling unique in theboardroom or social club is a selfish,counterproductive indulgence. Whilelanguishing in your "one and only" status, thosearound you are doing business and makingvaluable connections with folks who look andthink like them.

Just as there is no "unity meter" to empiricallygauge our cohesion, no magic formula exists that willbring us together. Every society and group has itsfissures. We have ours. However, it is our duty toensure that those fissures are not of someone else'smaking.

Because we have internalized negativepropaganda about who we are, we are more likely totreat those who look like us poorly. This is the realsource of disunity in the black community.

Diss-Unity Cues

Brotherhood is not for some other hood

We should not be sitting idly by, watchingas other groups progress through unity andmove up and ahead. We did it before, wecan do it again!

The "U" and "I" of unity

I will make it my personal responsibility to bea force for coalescence. A fist is strongerthan five open fingers.

Be a yea-sayer

See your glass as half full by learning tovalue our own abilities and those of otherAfrican Americans. We need to envision

the unity we seek and be proactivelypositive. Let's transform our attitude aboutwhat is positive.

Don't hate, elevate

Seize the opportunity to encourage theaccomplishments of others. As AlexHaley said, "Find the good and praiseit."

Collaborative Relationships

It's hard to imagine where I'd be today if not for theNational Black McDonald's Operators Association(NBMOA), which is now one of the largest and mostinfluential black business organizations in the nation.In 1968, with race riots blazing across the countryafter Dr. King's assassination, it dawned onMcDonald's Corporation executives that having allwhite owner/operators and managers at itshighvolume restaurants in black neighborhoodsmight be a dangerous proposition.

Enter Roland Jones, at the time a McDonald'srestaurant manager in Washington, D.C. Eager tocreate black franchises and managers, Jones waspromoted to the position of regional consultant inChicago. In his book, Standing Up and StandingOut, Jones writes that he was the first black man toset foot on the McDonald's corporate ladder inChicago. Jones could have been content in his roleas the "only black" on the corporate level atMcDonald's. He could have been that richlyrewarded, smiling black face in the company whomade no waves and opened no doors for otherblack folk. But that's not the Roland Jones I met inthe early 1970s.

Working closely with Herman Petty, who in 1968

became the first black McDonald's owner/operatorin Chicago, Jones had officially formed the NationalBlack McDonald's Operators Association (NBMOA). The new organization, originally consistingof five black owners and operators, was dedicatedto providing employment for black youth and helpingthe McDonald's Corporation cultivate partnershipswith African American organizations, vendors, andsuppliers.

In 1972, Roland arranged for me to make apresentation on behalf of Burrell Advertising, Inc., atwhat was then NBMOA's 2nd Annual Mid-eastern/Mid-western convention in Chicago. In hisbook, Roland writes about the event that helped putBurrell Advertising on the map:

What really got everyone fired up in 1973 was adiscussion I led and a presentation by TomBurrell... Most of the convention attendees knewlittle about Tom before that meeting, but he wasabout to change the way black people perceivedMcDonald's and the way McDonald's marketeditself to the significant portion of its customerswho were not white.. .The collaborativerelationship between Tom, NBMOA, andMcDonald's proved to be one of the mostmutually beneficial that I have ever experiencedin business.

The operative words in Roland's statement arecollaborative relationships. I share this story not toboast about my former clients but to speak of oursuccess and the power of unity. We united in thepast and we can do it again-this time we arestronger. We have more information, greaterresources, and a firm intention to build a sustainablefuture.

Don't Hate, Elevate

Today the NBMOA has 33 chapters in 32 stateswith approximately 375 members. The handful oforiginal members were truly the exception to the rule,because they understood that every link in the chainneeded to be reinforced. They set up anorganization where new black owner/operators couldlearn from their mistakes, marshal resources, andbecome a strong collective. They committed to alongterm strategy to foster solid partnerships withblack businesses that would help stabilize thecommunities in which they operated.

In my career, I have been blessed to interact withmany individuals like Roland and the men andwomen of the NBMOA. There were others, likeformer NAACP president Bruce Gordon, whopersonified the meaning of purposeful unity. Gordon,who sits on several major corporate boards, hasnever been timid about standing up for blackinclusion. It was Gordon, as president of the RetailMarkets Division of Verizon, who made it clear thatVerizon should do business with minority firms.

We need to let our united good works speak forus. The best revenge for white injustice is blacksuccess-products and services that earn a profit. Weneed collaboration and cooperation inspired by thequiet mantra of "each one, reach and teach one."

With unity, all things are possible. There is nobetter time than now to heal our divisions, no bettertime to shift our minds, no better time to pool ourresources and talents and soar. Instead of crabbin'and backstabbin,' this generation can be thepioneers who pool their resources and talent. Thiscan be the generation that says, "Enough. The

master puppeteer will no longer pull our strings."

Dear Mr. Perry: I appreciate your commitment togiving black folks jobs in front of and behind the

camera... but both your shows are marked by oldstereotypes of buffoonish, emasculated black menand crass, sassy black women. I'd like to supportyour work, I really would... but I can't let advertisers

and networks think that these stereotypes areacceptable.

- JAMILAH LEMIEUX, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009NPR

amilah Lemieux's open letter towriter/director/producer Tyler Perry receivednationwide attention in late 2009 after NPR posted iton its Web site. In the letter, Lemieux thanked Perryfor his humor and his "positive messages about self-worth, love, and respect." However, she took issuewith the images of black people Perry presents inhis TV shows and movies:

Your most famous character, Madea, is a trash-talking, pistol-waving grandmother played bynone other than you. Through her, the countryhas laughed at one of the most importantmembers of the black community: Mother Dear,

the beloved matriarch. I just can't quite get withseeing Mother Dear played by a 6-foot-3 manwith prosthetic breasts flopping in the wind. Ourmothers and grandmothers deserve much morethan that. Heck, our fathers and grandfathersdeserve more.

Lemieux acknowledged that Perry had built an"empire on a foundation of love and Christianity."But, she added, his work is mired in "the worst blackpathologies and stereotypes." She ended her letterurging Perry to examine his contributions, shift hispriorities, and use his talent and Hollywood clout to"revolutionize the world of black film."

Lemieux's open letter is not only relevant to thisbook; it also reflects another calamity resulting fromour unconscious addiction to the BI brand.

First, her missive serves as an example of 21st-century advocacy. Lemieux used the media to callattention to a perceived problem. Her comment, "Ican't let advertisers and networks think that thesestereotypes are acceptable," gives those who shareher concern a viable course of redress. Lastly, shedidn't erect barriers with a wholesale trashing ofPerry. Instead, Lemieux respectfully encouraged himto be a pioneer in the game instead of just anotherplayer. In short, she urged Perry to be his best self.

Still, as much as I support self-responsibility, it'snot entirely fair to expect Perry to chart a new coursealone. His movies and TV shows would not be sosuccessful if blacks didn't have a raging appetite formessages and images that project us asdysfunctional or incompetent. Nothing that occurredduring Amos 'n'Andy's radio and television reigncould match the words and actions of blackcomedies like Madea and The Browns. Ourattraction to self-demeaning images came way

before, and goes far beyond, Tyler Perry.

The Nouveau Coon

I don't know how I'ma stop saying "nigger" whenit describes some motherfuckers I know soperfectly. Everybody knows that onemotherfucker that can only be described as"That nigger there, goddamn, whew!"

- D.L. Hughley

A deep-rooted addiction to the BI brand allows usto laugh at the antics of black entertainers who callus "niggas" and denigrate black men and women incomic routines, songs, and music videos. Woveninto the black American experience is a strongthread of avoidance, an aversion to critical thinking,and an abnormal embrace of anything that appealsto our emotions rather than our reasoning. Theunspoken trauma of pain and powerlessness has ledtoo many of us to prefer laughter to learning, andpretending over mending. These impulses, mixedwith our damaged psyches, have left us ripe forexploitation. If a comedian, actor, or film directorstrums our emotional chords, we tolerate all sorts ofsour notes. In reality, many of these talented,creative, charismatic individuals assume the role of"Neo-Coons"modern-day jesters and clown princes.They provide superficial, shortterm pain relief thatimpedes permanent healing.

This chapter examines why we choose to laughinstead of think. We will examine comedy and therole of comedians who are responsible for some ofthe degrading images of black folk that we seeacross a variety of today's media platforms.

Blacks themselves took over the job of self-ridiculeover a century ago. Our goal is to understand fully

how this phenomenon came to be. We will alsoexplore the disturbing side of our human need tolaugh and how we've come to rely on funny men whotoo often support the marriage of white superiorityand black inferiority.

What's Good for the Group

Since its beginning, the American mass marketingand propaganda system has been the envy of theworld. Its unheralded achievement has been creatingand sustaining an almost four-century-long campaignthat has the American public not only accepting, butalso applauding anything that reinforces the originalblack inferiority brand identity.

For 45 years, I was engaged in the field ofsystematic persuasion, convincing people throughmass communication to buy-buy a product, buy aservice, buy an idea. In almost all cases, the meansby which people are convinced to buy rarely hasanything to do with reason or logic, and humor is oneof the most powerful tools in the arsenal ofpersuasive communication. It's used to distract,control, and keep people from pondering too long orthinking too critically. For too many of us, our mindsare on long-term disability while our emotions arepulling double shifts. Humor has become our way ofcoping with our sense of degradation. And nothing isoff the table-we laugh about slavery, we joke aboutlynching, and chuckle about police brutality or theshooting of unarmed black men.

Can you visualize any other oppressed groupjoking about its own oppression? Imagine if Jewishcomedians incessantly used the word kike or toldconcentration camp jokes. Why, there would be acrisis alert among Jews. Public and behind-the-scenes pressure would be mobilized immediately to

call out the offensive Jewish comedians' material orswiftly end their careers.

Yet with blacks, this type of incendiary materialreceives cheers and raucous approval. To those inthe audience outside the cusp of consciousness, thematerial is perfectly acceptable. It must be okay tolaugh at our woes, they reason, because "Everybodyelse is laughing."

With "group think," the goal is to make the buyersbelieve they are not alone. They are part of thepopular in-crowd, so it's just fine to laugh at self-deprecating humor. Still, some things that areobviously bad contain a grain of truth that reflects anegative condition. Joking about it makes it lessbad...and, unfortunately, more true.

Laughing Too Long and Too Hard

Everything everywhere is comedy material. Towatch and view the world via television,newspapers, movies, and music translate ourworld into funny. There is no subject where funnydoesn't exist. - Katt Williams

Humor and entertainment are proven sedatives.We have been conditioned to disengage fromanything resembling critical thinking. In an interviewon The View, while promoting his film Madea Goesto Jail, Tyler Perry told the audience, "We need tolaugh." We do. But we've laughed at some thingslong enough. Consider some of the topics blackcomedians find "funny":

I really want to ask white people, Why don't y'allbeat y'all's kids? Beat 'em...whip theymotherfuckin' ass. Y'all give y'all kids all kinds oftime outs and special places. What the fuck is aspecial place? To a black child, that's a coma.

- Aries Spears

I'm from the old school. I'll kick a kid's ass. Whena kid get one year's old I believe you have theright to hit 'em in the throat or the stomach. If yougrown enough to talk back, you grown enough toget fucked up.

- Bernie Mac

During the course of writing this book, I can recallnumerous instances of black children shaken todeath, beaten, scalded, smothered, and otherwisetortured by adults. Where is the outcry againstcomedy that celebrates child abuse?

Man, it's hard being a athlete. Dammit. Yougotta run, jump, block, work out everyday...shit,and that's just dodging child support.

- DeRay Davis

You know how you know when you lost a fight toyour woman? When the cops come to yourhouse and ask you, Do you want to presscharges?

- Kevin Hart

While black families are mired in layers ofdysfunction, we crack jokes about bitchy blackwomen, deadbeat dads, badass kids, and battlingblack parents.

I bought a gun because "POW POW" sounds alot better than "Hey, put that back!"

- Joe Torry

As morgues and prisons fill with black bodies from

homicide shootings, we laugh as the jokester riffsabout our threatening images, murder, and violence.As the math, reading, and literacy gaps widenbetween failing black kids and other races, asmorgasbord of jokes celebrates and normalizesunderachievement.

I'm a one-year-old bitch, but I know not to takethis note home... this is an ass whoopin' you'repinning on my shirt.

- Mike Epps

Black families suffer disproportionately fromdiabetes and obesity, yet some black femalecomedians ridicule so-called "skinny, black bitches."As single-parent homes, divorce, and a host ofsexually transmitted diseases ravage black lives,funny folk crack jokes about sexual promiscuity.

I got caught in the bed with my best girlfriendPeaches' [man], and the bitch gonna get mad atme! Talkin' 'bout, "Sheryl, what you doin'?" Bitch,I'm trying to help you! The N* said if he don't getno pussy soon, he gonna leave your ass, and I'ma mother fuckin' friend to the end, God damn it!

- Sheryl Underwood, Def Comedy Jam

My friend caught his wife fucking around. Shetold this motherfucker "it just happened." Youmay just happen to slip and fall. You can justhappen to wear a fucked-up outfit. But youcannot just happen to get fucked. You can't justwalk outside... "I done slipped in some pussy..."

- Faizon Love, Def Comedy Jam

As the economy tanks and the rates of blackpoverty and unemployment worsen, we laugh atjokes about poverty and irresponsible spending.

[For] black folks, credit means, "Get it." If you gotsome credit, get it. I got 11 flat screens in a four-room house.

- Cedric the Entertainer

Millions of blacks will wake up tomorrow todumbed-way-down syndicated radio. Most will crackup over formulaic sitcoms and reality shows, or laughuntil they cry in the comedy clubs and movie theaterswhen people who share their skin color serve as thebutt of derision. The way we act is no accident. I seeit as a direct outcome of the branding, brainwashing,and marketing program to keep blacks anesthetizedand distracted. Entertainment and humor, in itsplace, is harmless. However, when interwoven intoour everyday interactions and substituted for critical,social dialogue, it becomes self-destructive becauseit promotes and perpetuates BI.

What we need is more critical and moreconscious comedy. We must learn to incorporatecritical thinking when dealing with ourselves, ourhang-ups and habits, and when dealing with theworld we live in. Then we will be better able to laughthrough our problems.

Therefore, as much as I admire Lemieux'sindividual stance, the task is much more daunting.Getting rid of one drug dealer will not eradicate drugaddiction. The addict will simply find another sourcewilling to abet an escape from the unfaceable ortolerate the intolerable.

If we are going to address misplaced buffoonery,we must examine the genesis of the Neo-Coon andthe trauma that fertilizes his or her prominence intoday's society.

Calling Dr. Feel Good

Look, my job is to make motherfuckers laugh, tomake them feel good. Had a bad day? Go to thecomedy club. Need to forget all the shit that'swrong with your sorry-ass life? Come laugh withme.

- Sterling, L.A. comedian

Feeling good is the drug of choice, and forcenturies we have turned to black Dr. Feel Goods forour fixes. Many of these practitioners receive freerides on the cultural coattails of a people saddledwith an indoctrinated need to paper over their woes.Why do so many of us let our passions govern us socompletely and predictably? Why have we set such alow bar of accountability for high-profile buffoonery?

Before exploring those questions, let's furtherexamine what supports Neo-Coonery:

Neo-Coon Dynamics

1. Laugh leaders: Public venues, filled withapproving audiences, have come to be safeplaces to tear down and demean black people.We place comedians on pedestals and allowthem to express sentiments that would bedefined as racist or inappropriate if mouthed bywhites. We strike a hands-off bargain with blackcomedians because we rely on them to expressour frustrations about whites and publicly saythings about blacks that we quietly endorse.

2. The joke is on us: Release of toxic andtraumatic emotions through laughter. Comedyprovides the safe avenue to strike back atwhites and poke fun at blacks, while it also

unconsciously reinforces long-heldstereotypes about one another.

3. See no evil: We are fearful of facing truthsabout the psychological damage that hasresulted from centuries of systemizedoppression. We resist questioning authorityand of being labeled "stuck in the past." Suchanxieties allow us to avoid honest self-examination, which discourages criticalthinking. It's simply easier to laugh about whatails us than face and address it.

4. Assault with a funny weapon: The need toengage in the kind of self-destructive, self-debasing, and culturally demeaning humor thatintensifies the damage done to our psychesand bolsters the myths perpetrated about ourinherent inferiority.

Constructing a fertile future from a fractured past ispainful, tiresome work. Our craving to feel goodnowtrumps our ability to think and prepare for thefuture. Far too many of us hunger for salty, sugary,greasy, nutritionally deficient brain food pitched astasty distractions, fantasy thinking that leaves theblack mind flabby and malnourished. Unresolvedtrauma leaves black people today with a tremendouscraving to feel better. Like Evilene, the wicked witchin The Wiz, we have one overriding wish: "Don'tnobody bring me no bad news."

As we laugh and sing about helplessness,mediocrity, and mindlessness, the cycles ofdysfunction roll on from one generation to the next.While distracted, the task of reprogrammingourselves to build strong, vibrant psyches with race-based self-esteem goes unattended. If we thoroughlyexamine the correlation between the Neo-Coon,forced captivity, and institutionalized oppression, we

will better understand why we still subconsciously flipon the emotional switch that salves and subdues ourpainful past and uncomfortable existence.

our Ignorance, Their

Bliss

One of the primary forms of remaining in favorwith the slavemaster by the slave was to provideentertainment for the master and his household.It is easy to observe that man exults in hissuperiority over lower animals by teaching themto do tricks and to be entertained by thosetricks. Great favors of leniency and specialrewards were given to the clowning slave.

- Dr. Na'im Akbar

In spite of what we've absorbed, black America'sdisproportionate preference for emotion over reasonis not inborn. To control slaves and maintain asystem of racial superiority, it was imperative toblock all pathways to critical analysis. Proponents ofthe systemized BI branding campaign outlawededucation, stifled public dialogue, and employedother psychological restrictions to convince blacks oftheir own helplessness. Our ignorance wasnecessary to maintain the slaveholder's security. Itwas key to the creation of a product that was to bebranded and marketed-walking, talking humanchattel, without the uniquely human ability to thinkand reason.

Although slaveowners worked tirelessly to snuff outany semblance of slave thinking, they couldn't controltheir captives' feelings. Harsh reality could not bechanged, but it could be endured with prayer, easedwith song, and smothered with laughter. Emotionbecame the slave's only succor from fear, sorrow,

and hopelessness. Slaves found sustenance in thenuggets of amusement and emotionaldischargesinging, dancing, laughing, and praying.The "entertainment component of Negro culture," asauthor Charles Keil coined it, is the "one area inNegro life that was clearly not stripped away orobliterated by slavery..."

In many ways, we were forced to become idiotsavants of emotion-we are exceptionally gifted butincredibly disabled. Our overdeveloped ability toexpress feelings is at the expense of our ability tothink and engage critically. Emotional releasethrough music, joking, and religion understandablybecame a critical part of our survival. Reliance onour emotions helped us survive turbulent times. Suchreliance was not, however, supposed to be apermanent substitute for thinking as independent,sentient beings. It was a defense mechanism ourancestors triumphantly used to express their artistryand their staunch commitment to survive.

One of our greatest gifts, our instincts-that gutsense of what was good or bad, safe or dangerous,helpful or harmful-has been systematicallyanesthetized and blunted.

Originally, we used humor to keep the master fromknowing what we were thinking. Today we usehumor to avoid thinking altogether. The real questionis whether our instinct for survival has beenbrainwashed away.

Singing Away Da Blues

Slave folkses sung most all the time but we didn'think of what we sang much. We jus'got happyand started singin'. Sometimes we 'ud sing effenwe felt sad and lowdown, but soon as we could,

w e 'ud go off whar we could go to sleep andforgit all 'bout trouble!

- James Bolton, former slave

The seemingly insurmountable reality of slaveryproduced longstanding coping and communicationmechanisms within our psyches. Slaves existed in aperverted realm of "two-ness," wrote W.E.B. DuBois. The scholar meticulously defined thecontradictory state of double consciousness whereblacks saw themselves reflected by "a world whichyields him no true self-consciousness, but only letshim see himself through the revelation of the otherworld."

Escape from that other world was virtuallyimpossible. Therefore, slaves learned to cope withinit-creating and clinging to any morsel of humanity,dignity, and hope. For many, entertainment becamet h e barricade against painful reality. Music, forinstance, was a form of expression slaveownerswelcomed and exploited. Singing, dancing slavescomplemented the white man's illusion of happyservitude.

Humor also served as one of our only means ofredress, relief, and refuge. As Mel Watkins noted inhis book, On the Real Side: A History of AfricanAmerican Comedy from Slavery to Chris Rock,comedy has always been the quiet equalizer againstthe notion of inferiority and a means to stave off thebrutality of slavery:

No master could be thoroughly comfortablearound a sullen slave and conversely, a master,unless he was utterly humorless could notoverwork or brutally treat a jolly fellow, one whocould make him laugh.

Strangely, after 144 years of freedom, humor formany African Americans still serves as an outlet forfrustration and a means to "get back" at perceivedenemies. Author Glenda Carpio, in her bookLaughing Fit to Kill: Black Humor in the Fictions ofSlavery, writes about black comedians who haveattempted to flip the script on our tragic past.Harvard magazine cited an example from Carpio'sbook where she recalled comedian DaveChappelle's parody of the slave Kunta Kinte from the1977 miniseries Roots:

[A]s Kunta, he receives interminable lashes forrefusing his new, slave name.. .but just as thelashing begins to become unbearable,Chappelle's Kunta suddenly frees himself fromthe post to which he is tied, runs to the overseer,and proceeds to beat him. "What did I tell youabout getting out of hand!" yells Chappelle,turning his back to reveal the thick padding thatprotected him from the lashes all along.

Sadly, some comedians have commandeeredroles that have nothing to do with comedic relief, atleast not for black people. Unbeknownst to them,they have extended a genre crafted long, long ago tokeep us psychologically at the back of the bus.

The Founding Coons

In 1896, a man by the name of Ernest Hoganmade his fame (and most of his fortune) when hewrote, "All Coons Look Alike to Me."

All coons look alike to me

I've got another beau, you see

And he's just as good to me as you, nig!

Ever tried to be

Think of it as the multi-platinum, Grammy-winning,pop mega hit of its day. Some say it was one ofmusic's first million-sellers. It soon became astandard in every popular band's repertoire.Suddenly Ernest Hogan, who was already aseasoned comedian, singer, and dancer, became asuperstar of the new genre called "ragtime."

Coon songs were already proven crowd-pleasers.Hogan just made the most of it. After all, whiteblackface stars like T.J. "Daddy" Rice (the originalJim Crow) and George Washington Dixon (aka "ZipC o o n" ) weren't simply riding the coon songbandwagon, they were driving it.

Who could blame a talented young Irishman fromcapitalizing on the craze?

Well, what about a talented young black man?

Hogan's name wasn't even "Hogan," it wasReuben Crowders, and he was as colored as theSunday funnies.

As catchy as his little ditty was, Crowder/Hogan'sdubious distinction was that he not only wrote a hitsong, his title became a catch phrase that wouldhound members of his race (himself included) to thisvery day. "All Coons Look Alike to Me" gave whitesand blacks a handy, all-purpose put-down to whipout for any and all occasions.

Even though it's been written that Hogan regrettedhis contribution to coonery until the day he died, healso tried to justify it (as his successors do today) byclaiming it helped employ many other blackcomposers, singers, and dancers. I tellCrowder/Hogan's long-forgotten tale not because Iwant to add to his posthumous pain, but because it's

relevant to today's comedians and to this discussion.

The Minstrel Show

Although music, merchandise, media, andtheatrical and literary efforts reinforced insidiousblack stereotypes, nothing was as effective and longlasting as the phenomenon of minstrelsy. The humordelivered through this genre served to validate blackoppression and inferiority. Whites attending theshows were made to feel superior as they listenedand laughed at "nigger dialect" and representationsof buffoonish, inept Negroes who loved plantationlife.

After the Civil War, many former slaves expressedtheir newfound independence by taking over thelucrative but demeaning minstrelsy business.

The cooning of African America was just anotherphase of the massive marketing campaign toreinforce the idea of black inferiority. Not only did itnever stop, it morphed into more sophisticated,pervasive, and insidious forms-into what I call"Hogan's (Neo-Coon) Heroes"-blacks who dominatethe airwaves, stages, and television screens of ournation in an endless cakewalk through the AfricanAmerican psyche.

Why was Hogan so successful? Why, more than100 years after he died, are today's Hogans still solavishly rewarded? Hogan's success helps usunderstand the contemporary marketing that leadsus to adore many of today's biggest stars whopromote similar demeaning portrayals of blackpeople. It explains why today's comedians can jokeabout their pimp-like abilities, their sexual prowess,their pitiful "baby's daddy," "crackhead" friends, or"welfare mamas." Hogan's hit demonstrates how

adhering to and extending a known brand identity-originally created to justify and market racialslaveryremains a sure path to fame and fortune formany of today's comedic descendants.

What's So Funny, Nigga?

Over the past century, the Coon concept-insteadof dying with slavery-has spread like a virus farbeyond its blackface minstrel music hall origin.Although many of its most visible promoters todayhave black bodies as well as faces, they still seem tohave the same disregard for themselves as did theirpainted progenitors.

After clownish TV shows, like Amos 'n'Andy, weretaken off the air, we continued the tradition of self-deprecation with even more toxic, black-generatedcomic fodder, as Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin F.Poussaint observed in their book, Come on, People:On the Path from Victims to Victors:

After Hollywood had put most of the silly or uglystereotypes behind it, it began resurrectingthem. Many black sitcoms in the 1990s revertedto buffoonish stereotypes and black comediansprospered on cable, making liberal use of the N-word. In the world of music videos and theirmovie spin-offs, the images grew uglier still.

It's clear that humor and comedy served a purposefor the black slave. It was a way to share hard timesand hard truths. It sometimes saved them from thelash or from insanity. But was it insanity endured orinsanity deferred? What is sane about watching hourafter hour of "Nigga"-laced skits on black stand-upcomedy shows? As we laugh along with the jokes,we subliminally notice the underlying notion that"Niggas" aren't equipped to control their lives. An

audience of "Niggas" can't possibly walk awaydetermined to challenge the historical woes hiddenin the jokes.

Jabari Asim, author of The N Word: Who Can SayIt, Who Shouldn't, and Why, has little patience withrappers and comedians who insist they haveredefined the N-word and taken the negativity out ofi t . Its contemporary usage, Asim says, is nothingmore than a "linguistic extension of whitesupremacy, differing little from the days of slavery."

Some young entertainers today defend theiractions with the claim that we must always "keep itreal." I contend that, in our brainwashed state, wehave no idea what's "real" or what's simply part of apropaganda campaign designed to make blackinferiority a permanent reality.

Driven to Distraction

Ironically, the people who created the conditionsthat led to African America's insatiable need fordiversion are the same people who benefit mostfrom today's mindless amusement.

The disproportion underpinning the emotionallydriven entertainment component of African Americanculture is evident in the fact that in 2003, AfricanAmericans watched 23.7 more hours of televisionper week than the average white viewer, for anaverage of 76.8 hours per week, according toInitiative Media. It's not just an issue of the amount ofTV watched; it is also about the quality of what wewatch. The five shows ranked highest among blacktelevision viewers between August 2008 andOctober 2009 are:

American Idol (FOX / Wednesday)

House of Payne (syndicated)

Meet the Browns (TBS)

American Idol (FOX / Tuesday)

Dancing with the Stars (ABC)

Those shows, with the inclusion of CSI: Miami(CBS) and the rowdy talk show Maury (NBC),rounded out the top ten shows in the same timeperiod. In other words, it's a safe bet that black folkare not significantly driving up the viewership over atPBS or C-SPAN.

Of course, today's slick BI campaign comes with ahighly polished veneer of glamour, sophistication, slyhumor, false fervor, and specious symbolism thatconceals blatant psychological fratricide. Yet, withour historical microscope in hand, we clearly see theroots of this campaign.

Resolve to Be Better

To this day, I wish I'd never said the word. I feltits lameness. It was misunderstood by people.They didn't get what I was talking about. Neitherdid I...So I vowed never to say it again.

- Richard Pryor on his decision to stop using theN-word

While discussing resolutions as a guest on theJanuary 12, 2007, Tavis Smiley show, Dr. CornelWest encouraged blacks to become "more criticallyinformed" to be able to partake in "somethinggrander than us." West urged that blacks askthemselves what they can do for "God, for justice, for

freedom, for equality." There is no question thatthere is a pressing need for us to do better, to bebetter. However, what West recommends seems farbeyond the reach of a race still laboring under theinfluence of a trauma that remains untreatedbecause the diagnosis is not yet public.

We think we're joking and laughing at a script ofour own design. Instead, we have swallowed afallacy. The fact is that the script was actually writtenby those who control the media. They have beenclever enough to write it for us, feed it to us, andhave us deliver it for them, completely oblivious tothe fact that there's nothing bold, new, or authenticabout it.

To get to that healthy place of critical reflection andconcerted action, we must first untwist the thread ofhistorical brainwashing. This step automaticallyleads us to reevaluate our addiction to the laughing,singing, and smack-talking Neo-Coon.

The Pros & Cons of Neo-Coons

Short-term Benefits

1. Laugh leader: We're lucky to have comediansand entertainers who help us ease ouremotional woes. Yes, they can be demeaningand destructive, but it's a small price to pay toavoid confronting our pain.

2. Laugh factor: It's best to laugh off the pain.Comedy is our weapon. It allows us to lash outat whites and poke fun at black folk. If anybodygets mad-"Hey, it's just a joke."

3. See no evil: No one wants to hear our gripesabout racism or oppression. We can copebetter if we pretend there has been no

psychological damage caused by systemizedoppression. Scrutinizing and attacking what'sconsidered funny will only lead to moredepression and a greater need for relief.

4. Assault with a funny weapon: It feels good toattack black folks with humor. Laughter takessome of the vindictiveness away. Although weshare criticisms whites have about blacks,comedy gives us an out-the fact that we can say"I'm only kidding" separates us from racists whohate black people.

Long-term Costs

1. Laugh leader: When comedians define usculturally as spokespersons, we risk endorsing anydemeaning act. Dependence makes us vulnerableto emotional manipulation. Reliance on outsideforces, as funny as they may be, is part of the BIcampaign designed to blunt critical thinking.

2. Laugh factor: Comedy is not a weapon, it's atemporary fix. Laughing at the pain only prolongsthe pain. Lashing out at whites and making fun ofblacks is no joke. In communal settings, it onlyvalidates the status quo. The suppression of angerand frustration prevents us from moving towardselflove and empowered action.

3. See no evil: Ignoring systemized oppression orpretending it doesn't exist won't change reality orbring peace of mind. Questioning authority is anadult's prerogative and part of critical thinking. Tobe labeled as "stuck in the past" devalues ourhistory. No other culture is encouraged to forget itshistory.

4. Assault with a funny weapon: The need to validatecriticisms whites have about blacks, even through

humor, is a reflection of inferiority brainwashing.To say "I'm only kidding" doesn't separate anyonefrom the racist; it validates racist perceptions.Complicit laughter not only condones thestereotype, it adds an element of truth to negativesdesigned to demean, belittle, and oppress blackpeople.

Destroying our Inner Coon

According to the news media, comedian DaveChappelle had clearly lost his mind when he walkedaway from Chappelle's Show and his reported $50million contract. As a guest on the Oprah WinfreyShow in 2006, Chappelle attempted to set therecord straight. He left the show, Chappelle said,because he grew tired of playing "sociallyirresponsible" roles: "I felt like some kind ofprostitute or something."

Chappelle seems to have recognized the fine linebetween Neo- Coonery and dignity, and took stepsto break the psychological cycle. It takes guts torecognize symptoms of deep-rooted ailments,especially when it means sacrificing a life ofemotional and financial reward. Chappelle's act ofdefiance underscores this chapter's mission. Wehave identified the age-old game of manipulatedinferiority, the genesis of our entertainmentaddiction, and the quick fix provided by the unwittingNeo-Coon. Now is the time to defeat the forces thatpromote our communal affliction.

This is not a call to rebuke entertainers. I'm callingfor a psychological revolution-and the destruction ofour inner Neo-Coons-a planned reprogrammingprocess designed to reshape our receptors to blockBI conditioning no matter how funny the joke mayseem. This process comes complete with positive

propaganda tools.

"No Neo-Coon" Positive Propaganda Cues

Stand-up against put-downs

When a joke reinforces negative attitudesand behaviors, it is harmful. When yourealize that the joke is harmful, speak upor tune it out.

Stop yuk-in' and jivin'

For those people who have the stage, don'tfan the flames of BI propaganda.

Don't laugh to keep from thinking

Don't use laughter to avoid dealing withthe important racial issues.

Laugh at your own risk

Some jokes actually do hurt and reinforceexisting internalized feelings of blackinferiority.

Once we shift our loyalty and place comedy andentertainment in their proper perspective, we nolonger follow the lead of misguided celebrities.Disturbing messages may not seem so funny oncethey are strained through newly implanted critical-thinking filters.

The Last Word

The media is powerful. Those in the business ofmaking people laugh are also powerful. We have anabundance of creative, hard working, charismaticblack personalities. I'm confident they can produce

material that makes people laugh without beingdestructive or chipping away at our self-esteem.

With her 2009 HBO comedy special, I'ma Be Me,Wanda Sykes presented about 90 minutes ofobservational humor on politics, anti-gay legislation,personal relationships, getting older, and erectiledysfunction ads without a hint of BI Complex-inspiredselfdegradation.

We must also challenge black Hollywood to stepoutside the parameters that keep us see-sawingbetween buffoonery and pathology. Blackcomedians can rise to the challenge and it's our jobas the audience to recognize and reward those whodo the right thing, and hold accountable those whodon't. For those who tell the joke, and for those wholisten, the litmus test should be:

Does this move us forward?

Does it move us backward?

Does it keep us in the same place and in the samebrainwashed state?

Given the severity of our situation, it is vital that wework to have more in the "move us forward"category. I'm asking all African Americans who'vebeen blessed with the combination of luck, talent,and tenacity that put them in positions of influence toreally think about what we've discussed here andtheir parts in perpetuating the idea of inferiority, andto change.

As our griots have said, Once you know better,you have to do better.

The final chapter of Brainwashed cannotmust not-bea conclusion.

- DEBORAH COWELL, 40, WRITER

Dear Mr. Burrell,

I am both honored and humbled to have had theopportuni ty to be an early reviewer ofBrainwashed: Challenging the Myth of BlackInferiority. The most important thing about thisbook is its use of history as evidence. There hasbeen a brainwashing campaign of epicproportions going on for the longest time and theproof is absolutely everywhere. You don't evenhave to go as for back as Thomas Jefferson. J.Edgar Hoover went on record making it clear thatthe objective of the United States government wast o stop the rise of a black messiah at all costs.Hence COINTELPRO. This is not conspiracytheory. This is fact. History is the proof.

While digesting this book, 1 had the opportunityto be in close proximity and had intensediscussions with a few 20-somethings. Theexperience has been eye-opening. 1 am about toturn 40 and a couple of these 20-somethings havenoted that I am either the some age as, or, a yearyounger than their mothers. This does more thangive me pause. It saddens me. It scares me.

Everyone needs to have a clear idea of whatexactly is at stake. What I know is that there isanother generation of kids who are on the brink ofbeing lost.

There is a book called The Black Woman: AnAnthology by Toni Cade Bambara and EleanorW. Traylor, that targeted young folks who hadcome of age during the Black Power movement.The book, in a very specific way, was the call toaction of its time. One call urged black folk toprepare for the revolution by "breeding an army,"or so the discourse went.

Fast forward and we get a clear picture ofwhat someone else planned for our "army."Colored contact lenses, new and improved hairrelaxers, crack cocaine, poverty, teenpregnancy, AIDS, imprisonment, death, andmore dysfunction and disunity than ever. ThankGod we had hip-hop, until the record mogulsrealized that money could be made through theperpetration of violence and defamation ofwomen. Thank God for "spoken word," untiltelevision folks got hold of it and turned it into anexaggerated curse fest. Thank God, we haveblack authors and black books until publishersdiscovered there was a greater black market forstreet lit than Danticat, Morrison, or Mosley.

Thank God for the Internet. We have yet to seewhat the "until" will be. Because thebrainwashing campaign has been so deeplypervasive and so insidious, that generation iscross cultural-it's not "just us," it's all of us. Putmadness in music, set it to a wonderful beat andwhite folks play it in their headphones, too. Putcrazy images of black folks on television and inmovies and white folks lap it up, too. Incessantlyrepeat that blacks are inferior and that, too,

becomes a universal reality.

Brainwashed is more than a discussion about"what happened to us," it is a call to action-not acall to arms, but a call to action. And the time isnow.

The letter from writer Deborah Cowell arrived as Iwas tweaking the final chapter of this book. Parts ofher letter have been included in this chapter becauseher insights, passions, and concerns speak to themission I've attempted to put forth here. She notesthe "almost there" potential of the Black Powermovement and how it, too, was flipped on us andused to further our mental demise. She voicesconcern that a golden opportunity to use new mediaand fresh, unbridled talent will once again becomepart of the BI Complex arsenal.

As an example Cowell cited the newly releasedfilm, Precious, based on the 1996 novel Push by thepoet Sapphire, directed by Lee Daniels andexecutive produced by Tyler Perry and OprahWinfrey. The movie tells the story of an obese andhorribly abused black teenage girl in Harlem.Precious's fantasies of being a celebrity, a BETdancer, and a model with a light-skinned boyfriendspeak to the state of black confusion we haveexplored so far. Director Daniels received astanding ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and theGrand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival in2009.

In her letter, Cowell also expressed concern aboutthe praise heaped on those involved with the film:

The reality of black life ... right? When I heard thefilm garnered a fifteen-minute standing ovationat the film festival, I was horrified. To have notone, but a few conversations with folks who said

it was an important, must-see movie, becamemore than I can stand. I can't help but wonder-did Finding Forrester get the some response?

In his Variety review, John Anderson describedPrecious as "an urban nightmare with a surfeit ofsoul," like "a diamond-clear, bright, but oh so hard."Clay Cane, writing for BET.com predicted the filmwill "go down as one of the great films in Americancinema." In contrast, the urban web siteMediaTakeOut.com, criticized the film's "blatantcolorism in casting," noting that the "goodcharacters" were either white or biracial, while all"the evil characters" were played by "dark skinnedBlack actors." Armond White, in a scathing NewYork Press review, described the movie as a"Klansman's fantasy" that allows whites to enjoy a"sense of superiority-and relief":

"Not since The Birth of a Nation has a mainstreammovie demeaned the idea of black American life asmuch as Precious. Full of brazenly racist cliches(Precious steals and eats an entire bucket of friedchicken), it is a sociological horror show. Offeringracist hysteria masquerading as social sensitivity,it's been acclaimed on the international festivalcircuit that usually disdains movies about blackAmericans as somehow inartistic and unworthy."

The varying reviews, no doubt, reflect the diverseand complex reactions of black audiences. We arenot monolithic people. Some of us were insulted bythe exaggeration of black pathologies and colorcoded casting, while others lauded the quality of theacting and bold attempt to bring subjects like incestand sexual and physical abuse among blacks intothe public arena.

Debates will continue about Winfrey's and Perry'sinvolvement with the film but our concerns must go

far beyond the offerings of any single individuals. Willthis powerful film of unspeakable trauma andredemption serve to increase perceptions of ourcompassion and strengths or simply reinforce thestigma of our community's pathology in the widerworld? Damaging content can indeed come inbeautiful packages. We must always be ready to askourselves the hard questions. No matter which sideof the fence you land on, a film like Preciousprovides an unprecedented teachable moment anda reminder that none of us can afford to abandon ourcritical thinking capacities.

It also speaks to the power of propaganda. Thefilm was a "must see" mostly because the medianoticed it was connected with powerful black namesin Hollywood and it exposed and propagatedexaggerated but palatable black pathologies.

In real life, Gabourey Sidibe, the star of the film,defies the stereotypical role of downtrodden, abusedand hopeless Precious. At the time of filming,Sidibe, a psychology major, attended City College inNew York. We will have truly "arrived" when the blackpowersthat-be realize the value of promoting thepotential of black women like Sidibe instead of theover-hyped pathologies of Precious.

Because We Are AllPrecious

How will we use what we've learned here to enactchanges in our lives, relationships, andcommunities? What can we do as individuals tocombat something so sophisticated and soentrenched in our society? What will it take to gatherdiverse forces who will rise above historic divisions,combine their talents, and launch a collective,cohesive antibrainwashing media campaign?

Of all the disciplines and forces there are for majorchange, none is more powerful (for good or evil) thanpropaganda: the strategic planning and placementof words and images. The right words, in the rightplace, at the right time, have exponential value.Jefferson's five words, "all men are created equal"survived all his attempts to rescind them throughcontradictory deeds and writings. Indeed, a picturecan be worth infinitely more than a thousand words.Linking the right pictures and words at the right timehas a potent ability to persuade, influence behaviors,and engender the courage to change the world.

These closing pages will outline a multi-tiered,action-oriented strategy designed to finally terminatethe four-century-old BI campaign. But, withoutconcrete buy-in and radical action from Hollywood tothe hood, all we've done is recycle the black identityproblem. That's not enough. My goal is to join withlike-minded others to plan and implement the mostaggressive marketing campaign that we've everengaged in. I'm not asking you to put foot topavement, but I am asking you to put your mindwhere our future can be. In other words, this is notjust a book, it's a mission-one that no singleindividual can accomplish alone.

As Cowell said, "the final chapter of Brainwashedcannot-must not be a conclusion!" It won't be.Consider these final pages a rallying cry to the youngand not-so-young; a communal call to cease seeingourselves as victims, to roll up our sleeves, utilize ourtalents, honor our ancestors, and finally, finally regaincontrol of our lives, our destinies, and our minds.

Question, Analyze, Unplug,

Reprogram

Up to now, this book has been about the myth of

our inferiority and how, why, and by whom it was soldto blacks and America at-large-in short, how webecame brainwashed.

I've shared what I've learned as a black man whomade his living studying black people andunderstanding the power of propaganda. Unlikeeven the best-funded, most massive advertisingcampaigns, the BI crusade used every institution ofAmerican society, including media, education, law,religion, and science to seed and promote itspropaganda. The major difference between the pastand now is that the campaign is more sophisticated,insidious, and persuasive than ever. Most critically,its major perpetrators are blacks, not whites.

In Africans at the Crossroads: Notes for a WorldAfrican Revolution, historian John Henrik Clarkeexamined the propaganda that was central to theEuropean domination of the planet in the 15th and16th centuries. "The greatest achievement was theconquest of the minds of most of the people of theworld," Clarke surmised. Clarke didn't need anymedia literacy training when he called for a plan tocounteract white corporate media's brainwashingcampaign. He instinctively suggested we adhere toa powerful four-step mandate: "Question, Analyze,Rethink, and Unplug." Clarke's advice serves as myspringboard. But, considering the urgency of ourmission and the advances in media technology, Iadd an addendum: "Question, Analyze, Unplug, andReprogram."

If you've come this far, you've been prepped for thenext phase of our journey. The dots have beenconnected. We've examined the historical roots andmodern manifestations of words and images thatperpetuate black inferiority. We have answered andanalyzed the tough questions-why we can't buildstrong families; why we still promote black sexual

stereotypes; why "black" and "beauty" are stillcontradictions; why we kill one another atastronomical rates; and how denial, risky behavior,and poor eating habits are sending so many of us toearly graves. We now know why we can't stopshopping; why we instinctively expect so little fromeach other and our children; why we so easily giveup our power; why we can't work together; and weunderstand the painful and shameful motivators thatbeg for humorous distraction.

The end of each chapter was constructed to furtherthe four-step process. We've examined the costsand benefits of each negative manifestation.Awareness is the first step. We must make sure ourreceivers are powered up to detect and dissect theavalanche of daily media messages. The simplestmeans to accomplish this task is to ask three basicquestions:

"Does it hurt black self-esteem?"

"Does it help black self-esteem?"

"Does it have no effect on black self-esteem?"

Positive propaganda cues were provided at theend of each chapter to help prepare our minds torethink, challenge, and unplug from the onslaught ofnegative stimuli. With these cues, we are betterequipped.

10 ANTIDOTES TO END MENTAL SLAVERYTODAY

1. Recognize and acknowledge that you have beenbrainwashed.

2. Use your mind and think for yourself. Don't goalong with the brainwashing program.

3. Stop looking to other races to do for you. Dofor self.

4. Demand accountability from our leaders, be theypreachers, teachers, politicians, or entertainers.

5. Don't settle for seconds. Be a first-classcitizen, consumer, parent, etc.

6. Ask, "What's so funny?" Before you laugh atany friend's or professional comedian's jokes,ask yourself if the laugh's really on you...andother black folks.

7. When you hear lyrics or see videos thatdenigrate or demean through misogyny or theglorification of violence ask, "Why am Iparticipating in this?" "Why am I sitting still forthis?"

8. Demand a return on your investment. Supportindividuals and organizations dedicated tosolving, not just treating, the race problem.

9. Be outraged at white-on-black injustice but beeven more outraged at black-on-blackinjustice.

10. Understand that you are the center of yourown control. You don't need permission. Youare a self-appointed leader.

We have questioned, analyzed, and begun theunplugging process. It is time to reprogram.

The greatest social movements in history beganwith a change of consciousness. And make nomistake about it, propaganda, still is the mosteffective tool in creating new consciousness. Thanksto positive propaganda, smoking cigarettes is nolonger hip; it's now widely considered disgusting and

deadly. "Saving our planet" is no longer a cause justfor tree huggers and environmentalists. Almosteveryone now knows we can't keep trashing ourworld.

This is why, after nearly four centuries, I'm callingfor a new campaign that markets multi-dimensional,fully developed, nondestructive visions and imagesof ourselves. I'm calling for a movement created byAfrican Americans specifically for African Americansbut curative for all infected by the BI brand. This isthe beginning of a campaign to change black minds.

The Campaign to Change Black Minds

There is another election coming up in 2012.Twenty-somethings will be five years older. Theimages on television and in movies will mattermuch less than the information distributed on theweb. You cannot just say to a generation of kids,"This is what's wrong. Fix it. Good night."

-Deborah Cowell, 40, writer

Our immediate challenge is evident in Cowell'sobservation. No matter how tech-savvy, energetic,talented, or creative they may be, we cannot expectthe next generation to just "fix it." Nor can we affordto disregard or dismiss the experience, tenacity, orthe wealth and wisdom of the 30-, 40-, 70- or 80-somethings. Our grassroots marketing campaignmust be engineered in a way that allows everyonewith the will to play respected and valuable roles.

I've discussed the damaging effects of sex- andviolence-laden hip-hop lyrics and videos, but alongwith that criticism comes an acknowledgment oftremendous accomplishment. Say what you willabout the music but it cannot be disputed that youngblack people created a multibillion-dollar industry

that's just as significant as jazz, rock 'n' roll, or rhythm& blues. More importantly, they started this excitingnew genre in backyards, on the corners, in thesubways, on the beach, and in the clubs withoutanyone's permission.

I didn't wait for permission to start my ownadvertising and marketing firm. I just did it. Historicsocial movements weren't permitted; they weredemanded. Throughout this book, we have talkedabout ways to foster self-motivated change agentswho operate without the permission of teachers,ministers, or members of the old guard of the civilrights era. There's something necessary about thatyouthful spirit of creativity and independencepulsating through the hip-hop community. It must beharnessed and used for our new media campaign.

The Internet provides a level, global playing field.With the Internet and a unified mission, our churches,black organizations, neighborhood centers, andindividual homes become bases of strategic reformand replenishment. With an organized effort, anyoneand everyone with ideas, talent, and courage can beempowered without anybody's permission.

Here we must be careful to avoid the "disc-unity"trap. Valuing new energy doesn't mean we discardthose who have fought and are still fighting the hardfight mentoring, educating, and nurturing black kids,and who are actively engaged in other efforts tochange negative conditions.

Great social movements require a great change inconsciousness. By fate, profession, or lifeexperience, I am unabashedly race-conscious.Therefore, I'm calling for a new generation of race-consciousness-but in a new way. Disengagingourselves from the word "inferiority" and replacing itwith its opposite, "black superiority," will be just as

damaging, just as illusory, and just ascounterproductive for us as it has been for whites.Our mission is more complex than a label. We tried"Black Power" and "black is beautiful." We've beenemancipated, liberated, and integrated; now wesupposedly live in a post-racial society. Those labelsgave some of us hope and helped us feelmomentarily better. None, however, have beenstrong enough to truly convince us that we are asbeautiful, as resourceful, and as equal as whites.

New race consciousness moves us beyondlabeling. It introduces a new game board. It's nolonger about changing white folks' mindsit's aboutchanging our collective mindset. It's about peoplededicated to destroying the myth of black inferioritywith a powerful new media campaign.

New race consciousness creates the opportunityfor brilliant, creative minds to collaborate. Itchallenges the Jeremiah Wrights to jam with the Jay-Zs; the Angela Davises to hook up with the AliciaKeyses; the Andrew Youngs to team up with theAkons; the lyanla Vanzants to strategize with the VanJoneses; and the Wests (Cornel and Kanye) toharmonize together.

If we have reached consensus that brainwashingis real and it must end NOW, age or stature won'ttrump energy and commitment, and no one will beexpected to "fix it" alone.

The Resolution Will Not Be Televised

Thankfully, the brainwashing campaign got anegregious derailment. The level of brillianceattached to the Obama candidacy will bestudied for centuries to come. The revolutionwas not televised. It happened over the Internet.

Honestly, I believe that what we did onNovember 4, 2008 helped save the nation. Nowwe need to do the some thing with technology tohelp save ourselves.

-Deborah Cowell, 40, writer

We have an opportunity here like no other-to putinto practice what we have learned through ourcollective effort to help get the right candidateelected to the most powerful position in the world.Age, race, social or economic stature, gender-noneof those things mattered. Obama and a group ofcreative, limitless thinkers used modern technologyto trounce ancient prejudices, age-old stereotypes,and ingrained fears. The words "Yes we can!" linkedwith the right images nudged a divided nation intochanging the course of history.

In 2007, I created the Resolution Project with agoal of sparking intra-racial dialogue and sharingideas about ways we can challenge and change howwe perceive ourselves. This book is the ResolutionProject's first tangible product. Our task is to usepropaganda to eradicate negative images andreplace them with a bombardment of positive wordsand images.

Branding got us into this mess. Branding can getus out. Only this time we're branding ourselves. I'veworked with a creative team to come up with oneprototypical advertising campaign that will attacksome of the issues we've addressed in this book.For our purposes here, we'll call it the "New BlackBrains" or "New B's" campaign. The theme is meantto provide a hip, attractive, fashionable symbol forour desired actions. Part of the problem with whathas been said or written (even in this book) aboutour issues is that, out of necessity, the conversationsveer toward the creation, development, or

consequence of the problem. There's been a lot oftime spent telling us what's "wrong with us."

The New B's Campaign is designed to not onlyshow us what's right, but make it hot, sexy, hip-all thethings almost any person wants to be. Like historicefforts to change the black imageDu Bois's TalentedTenth, the Harlem Renaissance's "New Negro"ourcampaign proposes drastic social change but willuse the power of propaganda and media to attractand evangelize. Unlike others, our campaign is notexclusive to those with certain degrees or ofcelebrated status. All that's needed to join the NewB's is a new way of thinking and acting.

The New B's is only meant to serve as a catalyst tostimulate thought and more dialogue. It is offeredhere as an example of how powerful, positive adcampaigns can work. In the end, we may developsomething different but just as effective. With thatsaid, let us examine positive propaganda as ameans to replace the myth of our inferiority with thereality of our greatness.

Create & Promote the New B Image

Launch an online campaign backed by posters,slogans, lyrics, and images that promote theNew B image. This campaign even allows us toset up a boogeyman-people who act as thoughthey have "Old Black Brains." New B's aren'tviolent, demeaning, or destructive. They aredepicted in loving relationships with theirspouses and children. They are actively involvedin their communities and engaged in efforts topromote better health and safe, economicallythriving, self-sustaining communities. AppealingNew B images, songs, and catchphrases shouldbe incorporated in daily life.

Develop the Black Bill of Responsibilities

Instead of only talking about our rights, we shouldproduce and circulate a New B "Bill of Rights andResponsibilities" card and poster to remind us of ourrights. We have the right to be healthy, happy, andfully engaged citizens without living under theshadow of racial inferiority. We have the right tocreate images and communities of our own design.Thi s professionally designed, laminated card willserve as a visual reminder that we are part of alarger collective, fully engaged in an ongoingcampaign to reclaim our minds.

Create a Sovereign State (of Mind) Campaign

Part of our problem in America is that we have neverbeen independent citizens of our own sovereignstate. We have been associated with slavery,segregation, and integration. Whatever relationshipwe had to any other nation was severed centuriesago. To succeed together, we must see ourselvesas a distinct and powerful culture, instead of atemporary, inferior subculture that depends on whiteAmerica for sustenance. The "Sovereign State ofMind" campaign reinforces our uniqueness, ourproud past and our right to develop an independentsystem that addresses our distinct needs anddesires.

Create and/or Support Locus of Control Centers

We can no longer allow schools and educators,influenced by the BI Complex, to underestimate thepower and potential of black communities and blackchildren. We must support schools that teach kids toeffect change in their communities. This part of theNew B campaign supports and celebrates schoolsthat do it right and offer after-school or in-homecurricula and activities for students not exposed to

this valuable information.

Create a Black Truth Squad

Establish an African American Anti-DefamationLeague Cultural Commission, or "Black TruthSquad" organization. Like the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, the role of this onlineorganization is to combat all forms of negative,stereotypical imagery through social networksharing, publicity, boycotts, and other legal actions.The "Truth Squad" will promote positive aspects ofAfrican American culture and try to contain andeliminate negative, demeaning holdovers fromslavery and segregation. Unlike the JADL, however,theAADLCCwill initially go after black folk. Thiscampaign isn't geared to change white folks' minds.Its mission is to create a new black mindset.

Develop and Introduce the'For Example' Award

This is not an award for perfect people. If so, it wouldnever be given. The For Example Award will bepresented to everyday people who have contributedpositive value to African Americans in particular andthe human race in general. Since all of us arecapable of doing both good and bad, the ForExample Award will be given to those individualswho have done-and are doing-the most good.

Introduce the New B Wonder Awards Ceremony

This annual awards gala (named after StevieWonder) honors entertainers who exhibit the highestlevel of positive artistry without resorting toexploitative, negative, or denigrating tactics.

Create the Neo-Coon Award

Like the Mr. Blackwell "Worst Dressed Award," thisannual virtual award goes to the institution or

persons that has done the most to reshackle ourminds.

Establish the Black Brains Think Tank

This virtual, online university is the place wherescholars, professionals, and the black public at largecan study, share ideas, and develop new ways ofcreating a new black American culture. It would alsobe charged with developing a "Resolution Plan."

Sponsor the Black Future Contest

We know our past. Now it's time to invite youngminds to create our future. The "Black FutureContest" provides a cash award or scholarship toyoung contestants who come up with scenarios forAfrican American future achievement andadvancement. This New B contest should besponsored by blacks and incorporated in thenations' schools. If that's a challenge, we incorporatethrough our network of churches, organizations, andthe Internet.

Create a Great Black Images (or MissingImages) Hall of Fame, Traveling Exhibit and/orWeb Site

The most beautiful, positive, and life-affirmingphotographs, art, books, poetry, films, music,etc. and the people who created them (or whoexemplify these traits) will be displayed alongwith the most positive aspects of black cultureand achievement. Many of the artifacts (like thephotos of middleclass, healthy black families inthe late 1890s through the early '60s) that werehidden from the public would get their first widepublic exposure. The "Great Black Images" NewB ' s exhibit will be another tool to stimulatedialogue and inspire independent action and

collective change.

Other New B Concepts and Possibilities MayInclude:

State of Black Leadership Annual Report Card

This evaluation addresses all aspects of AfricanAmerican leadership in all industries and fields,and gives honest, bottom-up assessments of theeffectiveness of each individual or group.

Organize the Creation of New B's MySpace,Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social NetworkingSites

These sites will be launched for the New B's"Change your mind. Change your environment.Change your friends" continuous dialoguecampaign.

Establish Annual Regional and National NewB Conferences Held at African American-Owned Venues

Of course, propaganda, no matter how powerful,can't work by itself. To be successful, we need yourinput, feedback, and active involvement in the NewB's Campaign as we focus on four specific goals:

Mastering Media literacy

Challenging and eliminating negative propaganda

Creating and disseminating positive propaganda

Mainstreaming our new messages to the world

Technology has changed the way wecommunicate. Social networking Web sites havebecome much more than a means to find new mates

and long-lost high school buddies. Facebook,Twitter, MySpace, and Linkedln represent virtualcommunities of millions with shared interests.Corporations and organizations have discoveredthat generating conversations and discussions onthese sites creates brand awareness and drivestraffic to their own online sites.

With technology, we have the opportunity toinstitute a new communication model, elevatecultural dialogue and reward positive thinking.Consider Jamilah Lemieux's open letter to TylerPerry. After posting it on her blog, NPR republishedthe letter on its Web site. Lemieux expanded thedialogue and received international attention simplybecause she had the temerity to speak up.

Likewise, with new media technology andawareness, we can analyze, respond, create newsand reward contributors. We can dissect thetentacles and alliances of negative propagandadisguised as entertainment. New B's can commit todaily online conversations detailing how theyrecognized and overcame various aspects of theblack inferiority conditioning. Groups can regulatemedia assignments, monitoring and flagging thepositive or negative contributions of morning talkradio shows, children's programs, or new moviesand television shows.

Most importantly, we can have fun. Imaginereaching young kids before the brainwashing is toodeeply embedded. As our efforts to createsophisticated positive propaganda becomesnewsworthy, we can call on enlightened popularartists to support the effort. Imagine a 15-minutepositive propaganda YouTube spot featuring thelikes of Jay-Z, Nas, Mary J., Tina Turner, or ArethaFranklin. With a sophisticated social network ofhundreds of thousands, we have the power to create

new success stories and launch our own "New B"careers in music and the arts.

I envision a coast-to-coast community ofcommitted individuals harnessing the Internet tounleash unprecedented "no-victims-allowed"dialogue. The Resolution Project will serve as a hub,a gathering place for networking, strategizing, andtransforming reality through innovative marketing andadvertising campaigns dedicated to ending the BIComplex because we will dare to hold ourselves andthe world to a new standard. The Resolution ProjectVirtual Channel will encourage people to utilize newmedia as both consumers and producers.

The Resolution Project didn't require anyone'spermission. The seeds have been planted. Now it'sup to each of us to do the work required to create afruitful yield.

Yes, We Must!

The election of Barack Obama, the novelty of"the first black president," has worn off. Already,BI-influenced whites (and blacks) are activelytrying to undermine the magic of that historicmoment.

Deborah Cowell, hopefully one of our newestResolution Project recruits, strikes the appropriatetone of urgency. Obama gave us hope, but hopepitted against a seasoned, masterfully trainedbrainwashing champion has been KO'd in the past.

We need more than hope, more than symbolism.

President Obama, as gifted an orator as he is,didn't win the election on oratory skills alone. Withnew-age technology, word-ofmouth activity, withyoung volunteers energized by the testimonials of

entertainers and street beats from geniuses like Will-i-am, Obama's "truth" touched souls ranging from90-year-old grandmothers to 18-year-old first-timevoters.

Make no mistake about it, the most powerfulweapon in the brainwash arsenal is media-everything, audio or visual, via television, radio, film,music videos, billboard, print, the Internet, or cellphonesthat influence our minds. It is an arsenal nowat our disposal.

The anti-BI campaign is not an attack on whitepeople-they, too, are BI victims. This is not anattempt to ostracize or replace traditional blackinstitutions or individuals. On the contrary, oursuccess ultimately is everybody's success. This is acall to coalesce, unify, improve, and end adetrimental campaign that has gone unrecognizedand unaddressed for too long. This is a declaration:"We are watching. We're no longer helpless. Weplan to defend ourselves through the power of ouruntapped genius and the best communicationmediums available!"

I believe that once we change the image ofourselves, we will change the image of humanity,and subsequently deflate a debilitating powerstructure. We will blaze a new path of unlimitedpossibilities for future generations free of the BIinfluence. There is no better time, no betteropportunity, than now.

"We may not have all the power we want, but wehave all the power we need!"

irthing Brainwashed was not an easy task,and I am deeply grateful to all who helped to bring itto life.

I would first like to thank my wife, Madeline, whomamazing fortune brought into my life. She has beenconstantly by my side on this journey, as majorcontributor, loving guardrail, and guiding light.

Publisher Tavis Smiley for recognizing mypassion.

SmileyBooks president and my editor CherylWoodruff, whose extraordinary commitment andwise counsel kept me going (and growing)throughout this journey. Having been warmed by herfi re, and inspired by her tenacious dedication toprofessional excellence, I am forever in her debt.

Undaunted by adversity, laser-focused, andcommitted to the end, my newfound blood brotherSylvester Brown, Jr. showed me how to spin strawinto gold. I look forward to watching him spread hiscreative wings and soaring for many years to come.

Without the day-to-day organizational, technical,research, and creative skills of the incomparableWillow Wells, this book would not have been doneas well, nor finished as soon.

Special thanks to the indefatigable SmileyBooksteam, especially John McWilliams, Rose Jefferson-

Frazier, Carl Arnold, and Hay House's Amy Gingeryfor their exceptional efforts.

Thanks to the multi-talented Lowell Thompson,who, among his many contributions, created thevisual concept for the Timeline; and Angela Dodsonfor her early technical guidance and moral support.

Boundless gratitude to Juan Roberts of CreativeLunacy for creating our arresting cover, and tographic designer Terry Barnes and photo researcherDiane Allford-Trotman for their heroic andoutstanding contributions to the BrainwashedTimeline.

Applause to my comrade-in-arms, DeborahCowell, for her inspiring contribution to "Yes, WeMust."

Pat Ward, a trusted and constant provider ofcalming, user-friendly wisdom, kept us centered andon track through it all.

For helping to make the difficult eminently doable, Iextend my sincere thanks to Sarah Burroughs,Ronnie Reese, Atsede Elegba, Joyce McGriff,Leonce Gaiter, Diane Weathers, asha bendele, NickChiles, Todd Burroughs, Esther Franklin, JohnathonBriggs, Susie Ward, Tegan and Adam Moore, LisaRiley, Mike Smith, Nancy Davis, Cheeraz Gormon,Sergio Mims, Bob Sayles, Barbara Allen, Morris"Butch" Stewart, Janice Kelly, Leslie Cole, JunMhoon, Anita Burson, Fay Ferguson, George Curry,Fern Gillespie, and Herb Boyd.

Special thanks to dearest friends and uplifters Edand Carolyn Lewis; Susan L. Taylor, for alwaysencouraging my forward movement; David Bloom,Donna Pierce, Bill Sharp, Frantz and McGhee Osse,Denise Bradley, and Steve Durchslag. Thanks for

words of wisdom from Na'im Akbar, RandallRobinson, Joy DeGruy, Boyd James, Derrick andJanet Bell, Anderson Thompson, Carl Bell, AdelaideSanford, and Natasha Tarpley.

I proudly and gratefully stand between the strengthand the promise of my mother, Evelyn Burrell; mydaughters Bonita and Alexandra; and my son,Jason. I strive to make them as proud of me as I amof them.

And finally, my heart goes out to all the ancestorswho withstood so much, sacrificed so much, andmade so much possible. This book is just thebeginning in my pledge to make your sacrificeredemptive through conscious and committedresolution.

Chapter 1: The Scorch at the Bottom of the MeltingPot

1. W. E. B. Du Bois, W. E. B. Du Bois: A Reader,edited by David Levering Lewis (Holt Paperbacks,February 15, 1995)

2. Norman Coombs, The Immigrant Heritage ofAmerica (Twayne Press, 1972).

Chapter 2: Relationship Wrecks

1. Dr. King citation from "Black Families: SurvivingSlavery," TIME.com, Nov. 22, 1976,http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914677,00.html

2. Obama's Father's Day Remarks, Transcript, NewYork Times, June 15, 2008

3. "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations,released 1972, Hitsville U.S.A.

4. Margaret Mead, "The Negro Family: The Case forNational Action," The Moynihan Report (1965),Office of Policy Planning and Research, UnitedS t a t e s Department of Labor, March 1965,http://www.blackpast.org/?q=primary/ moynihan-report-1 965

5. Brenda L. Richardson and Dr. Brenda Wade,What Mama Couldn't Tell Us About Love(HarperPaperbacks, July 3, 2000)

6. "My Man," recorded by Billie Holiday (Brunswick1937 and Decca Records 1948)

7. E. Franklin Frazier, Negro Family in the UnitedStates (revised paperback, University of NotreDame Press, January 2001)

8. Kevin Powell, Open Letters to America: Essaysby Kevin Powell (Soft Skull Press, October 20,2009)

9. Dr. Arlett Malvo, "Black Females Raising BlackMales," July, 7, 2008, http://www.myfoxwfld.com/myvoicedc/2008/07/18/ty-one-series-black-men- revealed-back-with-a-hot-season/

10. Orlando Patterson, Rituals of Blood: TheConsequences of Slavery In Two AmericanCenturies (Basic Civitas Books, December 9, 1999)

11. Institute on Domestic Violence in the AfricanAmerican Community (IDVAAC), University ofMinnesota, http://www.dvinstitute.org/media/publications/FactSheet.IDVAAC_AAPCFV-Community%201nsights.pdf

12. Black & Married With Kids.com,http://blackandmarriedwithkids.com/

Chapter 3: Studs and Sluts

1. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia,1743-1826, Electronic Text Center, University ofVirginia Library, http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefVirg.html

2. "LeBron James Criticized for Vogue Cover:ESPN columnist sees racist undertones inphotograph with supermodel." EURWEB.com,March 26, 2008,http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur42039.cfm

3. "Race and the ape image," opinion by PhillipAtiba Goff and Jennifer L. Eberhardt, Los Angeles

Times, February 28, 2009, http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goff28-2009feb28,0,1418895. story

4. A. Elaine Brown Crawford, Hope in the Holler: AWomanist Theology (Louisville: Westminster JohnKnox Press, 2002)

5. Jabari Asim, The N Word: Who Can Say It, WhoShouldn't, and Why (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,March 26, 2007). Asim cites White's An Account ofthe Regular Gradation in Man, and in DifferentAnimals and Vegetables; and from the Former to theLatter (1799)

6. Deborah Gray White, Ar'n't I a Woman?: FemaleSlaves in the Plantation South (W.W. Norton & Co.,revised edition, February 17, 1999)

7. "Trina," http://www.wikimusicguide.com/Trina

8. "Nelly in Hot Water over Video," MTV NetworksEuropean, Jan. 10, 2001, http://www.mtv.tv/article/I0800-Nelly_in_hot_water_over_video. htm

9. "The Attitudes and Behavior of Young BlackAmericans," University of Chicago

Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture,http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/07/pdf/070201.cohen-byp.pdf

10. Earni Young, "Urban lit goes legit: authorsheadline new ventures to bring street cred into theworld of corporate publishing," Black Issues BookReview, Sept-Oct 2006,http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mOHST/is_5_8/ai n27026371 /

11. George M. Fredrickson, The Black Image in theWhite Mind: The Debate on Afro-American

Character and Destiny, 1817-1914, (Wesleyan,March 15, 1987)

12. Donald Bogle, Toms, Coons, Mulattoes,Mammies, & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacksin American Films, (New York: Continuum, 1994)

13. April Silver, "Beneath Low: BET, Lil Wayne Setthe Stage for Child Pornography," Clutch MagazineOnline, July 2, 2009, http://clutchmagonline.com/newsgossipinfo/beneath-low-bet-lil- wayne-set-the-stage-for-child-pornography/#1

14. Michel Marriott,"Black Erotica Challenges BlackTradition," New York Times, Sunday, June 1, 1997,http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/01/style/ black-erotica-challenges-black-tradition.html?pagewanted=all

15. 'Will Smith on Playing Muhammad Ali: The Fightof Will Smith's Life," ABC News.com, Dec. 3, 2001,http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/ Story?id=132161&page=2)

Chapter 4: Uglified

1. bell hooks, Sisters of the Yam: Black Women andSelf-Recovery (South End Press, July 1, 1999)

2. Hazel Trice Edney, "New 'doll test' produces uglyresults," FinalCall.com, Sep 14, 2006,http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/

New-doll-test-produces-ugly-results-291 9.shtml

3. Burrell interview with author and journalist ashabandele

4. A'lelia Bundles, On Her Own Ground: The Life andTimes of Madam C.J. Walker (Scribner January 2,2002)

5. Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X: AsTold to Alex Haley (Ballantine Books, October 12,1987)

6. Kimberly Davis, "Why more blacks are choosingplastic surgery," Ebony, August, 2004,http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi-m1077/is-10-59/ai- n611 9096/?tag=content;col I

7. "Glamour Editor To Lady Lawyers: Being Black IsKinda A Corporate 'Don't,"' jezebel.com:http://jezebel.com/289268/glamour-editor-to-lady-lawyers- being-black-is-ki nda-a-corporate-dont

8. "Hairy Advice, Glamour Stirs Another RacialDebate" by Monica Harris, blackcollegeview.com,Sept. 09, 2000, http://media.www.blackcollegeview.com/media/storage/paper928/news/2007/09/09/News/Hairy. Advice-2945315.shtm l7

9. "Mamas Wear Your Hair Natural," by K. DanielleEdwards, BlackCommentator. com(http://www.blackcommentator.com/274/274_ftf_mammas_wear_hair_natural.html)

10. Oprah Winfrey Show, Sept. 30, 2009, YouTubeclip: http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=mQlNvD206bO)

11. Laquita Thomas-Banks, "The Power of the Fro"clutchmagonline, Monday Jul 13, 2009,http://clutchmagonline.com/beauty/the-power-of-the-fro/#2

Chapter 5: Homey-tide

1. "Justice for the Jena Six-Take Action Now,"naacp.org, http://www.naacp.org/youth/college/jena6/

2. "Morehouse student convicted of murder,"

2. "Morehouse student convicted of murder,"Associated Press, published in the Athens Banner-Herald, 8/28/2009,http://chat.athensnewspapers.com/stories/082909/new 487253058.shtml

3. Fox Butterfield, All God's Children (HarperPerennial November 1, 1996)

4. Eugene D. Genovese, Roll Jordon Roll: The WorldThat the Slaves Made (Vintage; 1st edition January12, 1976)

5. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (Vintage, April 23,1989)

6. Benjamin Mays, Born to Rebel: AnAutobiography(University of Georgia Press, April 14,2003)

7. Shaun L. Gabbidon and Helen T. Greene, Race,Crime, and Justice: A Reader (Routledge, 2005)

8. Gordon Berry, "Media Effects on AfricanAmericans," Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescentsand the Media, 2007

9. The Sentencing Project: Research and Advocacyfor Reform, http://www. sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=122

10. "Jim Webb's courage v. the 'pragmatism' excusefor politicians," Salon. com, March 28,2009,http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/03/28/webb/index.html

11. "Criminalization of Black Children," MarianWright Edelman, Blackstarnews, Nov. 23, 2007,http://www.blackstarnews.com/?c=135&a=3934

12. Carlos Sadovi, Kayce Ataiyero, and Sbr AngelaRozas, "Teens: 'No more funerals' Chicago students

join public officials' call for solutions to ongoing teenkillings," April 2, 2008,Chicagotribune.com,http://archives. ch icagotri bune.com/2008/apr/02/news/ch i-ch icago-school-protest_02apr02

Chapter 6: Slow Suicide

1. More African-Americans Die from Causes thatCan Be Prevented or Treated, News Medical.Net,April 23, 2009, http://www.news-medical.net/news/2009/ 04/23/48783.aspx

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), "Health of Black or African AmericanPopulation,"http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/black_health. htm

3. Janice Billingsley, "Randy Jackson Takes Aim atDiabetes," HealthDay Reporter, HealthDay News,October 4, 2007

4. Jawanza Kunjufu, Satan! I'm Taking Back MyHealth, (African American Images, June 2000)

5. Terrie Williams, Black Pain: It Just Looks LikeWe're Not Hurting, (Scribner, Jan. 6, 2009)

6. When in Doubt, Add Bacon and Cheese: How theFood Industry Hijacked Our Brains and Made UsFat, Amy Goodman interview with Dr. David Kesslerand Arun Gupta, Democracy Now, August 10, 2009

7. Susan C. Duerksen, Amy Mikail, Laura Tom,Annie Patton, Janina Lopez, Xavier Amador,Reynaldo Vargas, Maria Victorio, Brenda Kustin,and Georgia Robins Sadler, Health disparities andadvertising content of women's magazines: a cross-sectional study,http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-5-85.pdf

8. "Root of the Problem," The Center for MinorityHealth (CMH), May 14, 2009,http://www.cmh.pitt.edu/news_051409.asp

9. Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coveragein the United States: 2008, U.S. Census Bureau,http://www.census.gov/Press-R e l e a s e / w w w / r e l e a s e s / archives/incomewealth/014227.html

10. "The Cost of Cancer," blackenterprise.com,Sept. 2008,http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2008/09/19/the- costs-of-cancer

11. TaRessa Stovall, "Racism Contributes to HealthDisparities and Early Death, Research Says," TheDefenders OnLine, http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2009/07/07/racism-contributes-to-health-disparities-and-early-deathresearch-says/)

12. Harriet A. Washington, Medical Apartheid: TheDark History of Medical Experimentation on BlackAmericans from Colonial Times to the Present(Doubleday, January 9, 2007)

Chapter 7: Buy Now, Pay Later

1. Dave Feschuk, "NBA players' financial security noslam dunk," January 31, 2008, The Star.Com,Toronto Star, http://www.thestar.com/article/299119

2 "African Americans and Latinos: The FutureMiddle Class," June 7, 2005, Demos.org,http://archive.demos.org/pubs/costly_credit_300.pdf

3. Johnnie L. Roberts, "The King's Ransom," Jun 26,2009, Newsweek Web Exclusive,http://www.newsweek.com/id/204011 and "MichaelJackson, Style Icon," Women's Wear Daily Reports,

June 25, 2009 http://www.theinsider.com/news/2307503 Women s_WearDaily_Reports_Michael_Jackson_Style_Icon

4. Alexis Stodghill, "The Real Houswives of AtlantaReally Are Broke," BlackVoices.com, Aug 7, 2009,http://www. bvon money.com/2009/08/07/real-houswives-of-atlanta-broke/

5. Barbara Ehrenreich and Dedrick Muhammad,"The Economic Fallout Has Decimated the BlackMiddle Class," Barbaraehrenreich.com, August 10,2009, http://www.alternet.org/story/I 41825/

6. Jason Szep, "Blacks suffer most in U.S.foreclosure surge," March 20, 2007, Reuters,http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1 931892620070320

7. Javier Silva and Rebecca Epstein, "Costly Credit:African Americans and Latinos in Debt," NewsAmerica Media, May 11, 2005, http://archive.demos.org/pubs/costly-credit-300.pdf

8. "Payday Lending 'Debt Trap' Siphons $3.4 Billionfrom Borrowers,"http://www.responsiblelending.org/media-center/press-releases/archives/ payday-lending-debt-trap-siphons-3-4-billion-from-borrowers.html

9. Jake Lewis, "Renting to Owe: Rent-to-OwnCompanies Prey on Low-Income Consumers,"October 1, 2001, Multinational Monitor,h t t p : / / w w w . a l l b u s i n e s s . com/human-resources/employee-development/828365-1.html

10. "Marketing Luxury Brands Q&A," July 2, 2009,Branding Strategy, The Branding blog,http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2009/07/marketing-luxury-brands-ga.html

11. "Hip-Hop Culture Drives Brand Name Shoppingin Suburbia, says New Report" May 23, 2008,Report Buyer, http://www.reportbuyer.com/go/PKF00113

12. Terry Mattingly, Gail Lowe interviewed in"Sunday hats and links to the past," June 20, 1998,Scripps Howard News Service

13. Jean Ann Fox, Director of Consumer ProtectionFederation, Hearing on Foreclosure, PredatoryLending and Payday Lending in America's Cities,M a r c h 21, 2007, http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/PDL_Kuci nich_Hearing_Testimony032107. pdf

14. Lorenzo Richardson, Sharing the wealth-investment clubs, Black Enterprise, June, 2001, /http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_ml365/is_11_31/ai 75090990/

15. "Beyonce's 'Frugal' Spending," February 21,2009, Female First.com,http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment/Beyonce+Knowles-63852.html

16. Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, "Magic Johnson onSucceeding in Business and Finding Balance," Nov.24, 2008, WSJ.com, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122754159250353209.html

Chapter 8: D's Will Do

1. Angela P. Dodson, "Community Colleges May BeBest Hope to Close Achievement Gap," June 1,2007, DIVERSE http://216.97.229.165/diverse/business/web/site3/article/7397/1.php

2. Nanette Asimov, O'Connell, "Summit called toaddress racial disparities in academicperformance," San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate),

November 12, 2007, http://www.sfg ate.com/cg i-bin/article.cg i?file=/c/a/2007/ 11 /1 2/M N H 8T5LTC. DTL

3. Bruce Fuller quoted in "The 'Achievement Gap'Gets Wider, Despite Changes," Larry Abramson,Nov. 15, 2006, NPR.org, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.ph p?storyld=6493050

4. "Harlem Children's Zone Breaks Poverty Pattern,"July 28, 2009, NPR: Talk of the Nation,http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript. php?storyld=111193340

5. "Mike Tomlin: A man of his words," by ChuckFinder, July 22, 2007, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07203/803522-66.stm

6. Douglass, Frederick, Narrative of the Life ofFrederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845),Barnes & Noble Books "Classics" August 1, 2005

7. Williams, Heather Andrea, Self-Taught: AfricanAmerican Education in Slavery and Freedom (UNCPress, 2005) Interview, http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/browse/page/1 44

8. "Lincoln's Fourth Debate with Douglas atCharleston (1858), Learner. org.http://www.Iearner.org/workshops/primarysources/emancipation/docs/fourthdebate.html

9. "Slavery a Positive Good," John C. Calhoun(February 6, 1837) Teaching American History.org,http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=71

10. Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-Education of TheNegro (Africa World Press, 1990)

11. Proposal for Free Standing Africana StudiesMajor Program at Ramapo College of New Jersey2007,http://192.107.108.17/libfiles/fa/Arch_Announce/Ramapo%20Africana%20Studies%20Proposal%20for%20Major%202007-2008.doc.

12. Dr. Terrence Roberts, "Little Rock Nine"interview with Tavis Smiley September 12, 2007,PBS.org,http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/special/littlerock.html

13. Barbara A. Sizemore, Walking in Circles: TheBlack Struggle for School Reform (Third WorldPress, 2008)

14. Julian Weissglass, "Racism and theAchievement Gap," August 8, 2001, EdWeek.org,http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2001/08/08/43weissg lass. h20.html&desti nation=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2001/08/08/4 3weissg lass.h20. htm I & level Id=2100

15. Temple Hemphill, "For poet and publisher HakiMadhubuti, success has been hard-earned,"September 01, 2007 Echo Online edition; and "EdGordon talks with writer and publisher HakiMadhubuti about new autobiography, Yellow Black:The First Twenty-One Years of a Poet's Life,"November 2, 2005, NPR.org,http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story. php?storyld=49861 91

16. Dr. Williams and University of Michigan researchcited in "How Do Educators' Cultural Belief SystemsAffect Underserved Students' Pursuit ofPostsecondary Education?" Pathways to College

Network, 2003, http://www.pathwaystocollege.net/pdf/EducatorsCuIturalBeliefs.pdf

17. Stacy A. Teicher, "Audrey Bullard and J.S. Chickelementary: An Africancentered success story," June8, 2006, The Christian Science Monitor, http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0608/pl4s01-legn.html#

Chapter 9: Bred to Be Led

1. Juanita Bynum (video) at the Full Gospel BaptistConference in Atlanta, GA 2007,http://www.higherpraisetube.com/video/7167/Juanita-Bynum- m i n isteri ng-at-Atlanta-conference

2. Christine E. Smith, Reginald Hopkins, "Mitigatingthe impact of stereotypes on academicperformance: the effects of cultural identity andattributions for success among African Americancollege students" Western Journal of Black Studies,Spring 2004,http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go2877/is_1_28/ai n29149891 /

3. Tom Krattenmaker, "Why Christians should seekMLK's dream," January 21, 2008, USA Today,http://b logs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/01 /why-christians. html

4. WPA Slave Narratives: William Moore,http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snvoices07.html

5. John Hope Franklin, "Propaganda as History," inRace and History: Selected essays 1938-1988(Louisiana State University Press, 1989)

6. William Banks, Black Intellectuals: Race andResponsibility in American Life (W. W. Norton &Company, 1996),http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/

longterm/books/chapl /blackintellectuals.htm

7. Bruce Lambert, "Warmoth T. Gibbs, EducatorWho Backed Civil Rights Protests," obituary, NewYork Times, April 22, 1993

8. Maura Sheehy, "Salvage Mission for the InnerCity," March 8, 1993, Christian Science Monitor,http://www.csmonitor.com/1993/0308/08151.html

9. "Slavery in the United States," Encarta/MSN,h t t p : / / e n c a r t a . m s n . c o m / text_7615806521/Slavery_in_the_United_States.htmI

Chapter 10: Diss-Unity

1. "Andrew Young Says Obama Lacks Experienceto Be President," Dec. 10, 2007, FOX News,http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly-story/0,3566,316366,00.html

2. Katharine Q. Seely, "BET Founder Slams Obamain South Carolina, January 13, 2008, New YorkTimes http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/ bet-chief-raps-o ba m ai n -sc/

3. Chris Rock: "Niggas vs. Black People" from the1997 album Roll with the New and the 1996 HBOspecial Bring the Pain

4. Na'Im Akbar, Chains and Images of PsychologicalSlavery (New Mind Productions, January, 1984)

5. Charles Joyner, Down by the Riverside: A SouthCarolina Slave Community (University of IllinoisPress January, 1986, pg. 68)

6. Thomas Jefferson Foundation; Monticello,http://classroom.monticello.org/teachers/resources/profile/261 /Plantation-Economy/

7. William E. Wiethoff, Crafting the Overseer's Image(University of South Carolina Press, December 30,2006)

8. William Wells Brown, Clotel, or the President'sDaughter, (Penguin Books, 2004, edited with anintroduction and notes by M. Guilia Fabi/ pgs.5-6)

9. Gregory A. Freeman, Lay This Body Down: The1921 Murder of Eleven Plantation Slaves (ChicagoReview Press, Inc., Sept. 1999)

10. hooks, bell, Rock my soul: Black people and self-esteem (Atria, December 24, 2002)

11. Trina Jones, "Shades of Brown: The Law of SkinColor," http://www.law. duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?49+Duke+L.+].+1487#H2NI

12. "Rare Bias Case Involves Dark Skin Color ofAfrican American Employee," EEOC press release,August 7, 2003, http://www.eeoc.gov/press/8-07-03.html

13. Jasper Battle, former slave, Slave Narratives: AFolk History of the United States from Interviews withFormer Slaves, Georgia Narratives, Part 1, byWorks Projects Administration

14. NBC letter to Rev. Joe H. Jackson, Research &Education Institute, http:// mlk-kpp0l.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_jackson_joseph_harrison 19001990/

15. Korean Family Customs: CooperativeOrganizations, Asianinfo.org, http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/family_customs.htm

16. "Microfinance in Vietnam,"http://www.scribd.com/doc/4304801/ Microfinance-in-Vietnam; and "Micro Finance in Vietnam: Three

Case Studies" Ruth Putzeys, Hanoi, May 2002,http://www2.btcctb.org/vietnam/docs/microfinance.pdf

17. Roland Jones, Standing up and Standing Out(World Solutions, Inc., Sept. 2006)

Chapter 11: Neo-Coons

1. "An Open Letter To Tyler Perry" byJamilahLemieux, September 11, 2009, NPR. org.,http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=112760404

2. Charles Keil, Urban Blues (Phoenix Books, 1966,re-issue University Of Chicago Press, 1992)

3. Mel Watkins, On the Real Side: A History ofAfrican American Comedy from Slavery to ChrisRock, (Lawrence Hill Books, May 1, 1999)

4. Glenda Carpio, Laughing Fit to Kill: Black Humorin the Fictions of Slavery (Oxford University Press,USA; illustrated edition, July 1, 2008); and"Subverting Stereotypes: Laughing at Slavery," byCraig Lambert, Harvard Magazine, March-April2009,http://harvardmagazine.com/2009/03/laughing-slavery

5. Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint, Come on,People! On the Path from Victims to Victors(Thomas Nelson, 2007, Hardcover)

6. "The N-word: Sordid past, confusing present,"interview with author Jabari Asim, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 29, 2007

7. Neilsen National Television Index, Oct. 08-Aug.09

8. Derrick Z. Jackson, "The N-word and Richard

Pryor," December 15, 2005, New York Times,http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/opinion/15iht-edjackson.html

9. Interview with Dr. Cornel West, Tavis Smileyshow, January 12, 2007, http://WWW.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200701/20070112-west.html

10. Interview with Dave Chappelle, February 2006,Oprah Winfrey Show, http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200602/tows-past-20060203.jhtml

arketing communications pioneer andAdvertising Hall of Fame inductee Tom Burrell iscredited with revolutionizing the image of AfricanAmericans in television and changing the face ofAmerican advertising. His award-winning workpromoted positive and realistic images of blacksand acknowledged the purchasing power of theAfrican American community. Burrell is the founderof The Resolution Project, theresolutionproject.us, anonprofit organization that promotes intra-racialdialogue and community-based new media "stop thebrainwash" campaigns. He lives in Chicago's SouthLoop area.

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