OPINION: When Trash Becomes Trash: Denunciation of Rap

ement of self-hate and negative messages about Black folks, and stereotypical tropes have been in existence since the birth of the nation.

But once upon a time, this self-destruction had difficulty metastasizing because the music that Black people embraced had expressed the richness of our culture.

We called it soul music because it moves your soul.

What is our music trying to move today?

Death Threats

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media

In a statement sent to CBM, Grove who has been the main champion of SB 14, addressed the threats and said such attacks against lawmakers should be taken seriously.

“It can be a felony offense to threaten public officials in California. I urge any legislative member who has received a threat to contact the Capitol police immediately so that an investigation can take place and those making threats can be held responsible for their abhorrent actions,” Grove wrote.

By Charles Blackwell Special to The Post

An agenda for Black people’s self-destruction has come to the attention of a group of writers and artists.

Representing the souls of Black folks, a group of African American keepers of the culture standing on the shoulders of our ancestors by being well versed in history, traditions, socio-political thought, and the way African heritage and lived experience reflects an Afrocentric world view is calling for a reflective moment.

Besides myself, this concerned community includes: Warren Goodson, Artist North Carolina; Vincent Kobelt, poet writer, Sacramento; Safell Gardner, sculptor, Detroit; Stephen Monroe, poet/journalist, Washington D.C.; Arlene Goodson, poet, New York City; Alan Laird, artist/writer, Florida; Sylvester Guard, artist-poet, San Francisco; Bisola Marignay, poet writer, Oakland; Napoleon Henderson, artist with Afrocobra, Boston.

We have been missing the mark as a community and failing our children by exposing them to the worst kind of rap music.

Melle Mel, one of the progenitors of rap and hip-hop, noted: “I would say this. Yesterday’s music is way better than today’s music. . . For 20 years now they have been talking about selling dope and killing people. We deserve a better life than this and we deserve better music…”

As Ice Cube said: ‘You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.’ And so, we have to check ourselves before we continue wrecking ourselves because our children’s well-being is in the balance.

While it is true that racism has a way of eroding the dreams of our youth, restricting their growth, and arresting their development, our own popular culture is also contributing to diminishing the dreams of our own youth.

Our children are being exposed to adult language and concepts contrary to their development: We must protect the innocence of our Black children. Of course, the destructive el-

On the turntable of influence today, we hear imitation music: high-tech electronic beeps, and fuzz-scattered, distorted voiceovers filled with cuss words degrading women and men, promoting violence, the glorification of gangs, immoral sexual behavior, and poor self-esteem all amplifying this new self-hatred.

You think to yourself, “Nothing can be done now. It’s too far gone to change it.” Yet the mental health of our youth is at stake. America doesn’t care about Black mental health — but we have to. Let us use an analogy to drive home this point.

Black American adults are nearly twice as likely as white adults to develop type 2 diabetes. If you have this condition you have to fight it in order to beat it and improve your health. You cannot improve your health if you have a defeatist attitude.

Something has gone terribly wrong with Black popular music and America does not care about the impact and role that hip-hop plays in the lives of our Black youth. We have to combat it ourselves in order to change it.

Next week: Part II

Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), along with other Democratic lawmakers and April Grayson — a witness who last month testified against a sex trafficking bill proposing stiffer penalties for repeat offenders — have disclosed receiving death threats laced with the N-word and other racial slurs.

Jones-Sawyer and Grayson, who are both Black, said the threats and insults came by emails, telephone and social media.

“The number of death threats, people who threatened to rape members of the Assembly and their families, the number of times people were called the ‘N-word,’ and staff members who may be with the LGBTQ community, were called the ‘F-word,’” are just a sample of what Jones-Sawyer told California Black Media (CBM) he was hearing. “They were calling like crazy. That’s not a place for public discourse. You can disagree but you don’t have to be disagreeable.”

The hate-filled messages came after Jones-Sawyer, chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee and other Democratic committee members were criticized for not supporting Senate Bill 14 authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). The legislation proposes adding the sex trafficking of minors to the list of “serious” crimes under California’s Three Strikes law.

A conviction, including previous felonies, would increase prison sentences to 25 years to life. The trafficking of minors currently carries a prison term for up to 12 years, or 15 years to life.

On June 11, the Democratic majority on the Public Safety committee unanimously abstained from voting on the bill. The committee’s two Republican members voted for it. The bill’s failure to advance from the committee drew national attention and sharp condemnation from conservative groups.

“After passing the Senate with a unanimous, bipartisan vote, I had hoped Democrats on the Assembly Public Safety Committee, led by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, would agree to make sex-trafficking of a minor a serious felony,” Grove said in a statement after the committee vote.

“I am profoundly disappointed that committee Democrats couldn’t bring themselves to support the bill, with their stubborn and misguided objection to any penalty increase regardless of how heinous the crime,” Grove said.

Two days after SB 14 failed in the Public Safety committee, it passed with a 6-0 vote.

California Legislative Black Caucus members Assemblymembers Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) and Majority Leader Assemblyman Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights) abstained from voting.

Jones-Sawyer has stated that he is committed to ending sex trafficking in California, but he wants to improve Grove’s bill so that it does not just result in more incarceration, considering that some of the offenders are victims themselves.

In the Legislature, Jones-Sawyer has also been a vocal supporter of shifting the focus of California’s criminal justice system from incarceration to rehabilitation.

Grayson is one of those victimoffenders who was trafficked as a child but ended up spending 17 years behind bars.

Since her release from prison in 2015, Grayson has been politically active. She worked on California Assembly Bill (AB) 124, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. The bill creates a channel for survivors of human trafficking to request a reduced prison sentence.

“(Grayson) broke my heart. She told us about being trafficked and then she became a trafficker. When she got caught, they put her in jail,” Jones-Sawyer said. “Nobody ever gave her any counseling or found her a safe place where she could go. They didn’t have that 20 years ago. She was not only victimized by the trafficker, but she was criminalized by our criminal justice system.”

Veterans Of Oakland California

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2727, located in Oakland, CA is seeking new members to join its Post.

Must meet eligibility as follows:

1. Proof of Service by providing a copy of your DD Fm 214

2. Must have been awarded a recognized campaign medal or badge

3. Served in Korea between 30 June 1949 until present, or earned Hostile Fire or Imminent Danger Pay as evidenced by your DD Form 214.

4. Overseas service in hostile areas.

If eligible, Post 2727 will pay the membership fee for the pt 2 years of your membership. For more eligibility details and to apply, please contact one of the following individuals:

Arthur Butler, 253-343-8554

Aumont Phipps 510-677-4843

Al Dean 510-332-2891