The Urban Source Magazine by THE BOYKIN MEDIA GROUP

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WORDS FROM THE PUBLISHER

CONTENTS

Page

WORDS FROM THE PUBLISHER

3 FEATURED STORY OF THE MONTH

WAKE UP BLACK PEOPLE!

Wake Up Call To Black America

President Obama: Tear A Page From FDR & Turn A Tin Ear To The GOP

POLITICS America’s Fear Of A Black Body Politics

BLACK PERSPECTIVE

4 5

They Are Still Our Slaves Why:Ignorance, Greed & Selfishness Themselves?

HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS

Why Black Women Always Hate On Each Other?

REAL TALK

Has White America Lost It’s Mind

THE BLACK HOLOCAUST She’s Gotta Have It Promiscuous

OUR PERSPECTIVE

For Colored Girls: A Skewed Image Of Black Men

OUR LEGACY BEFORE SLAVERY Black Wall Street 8 MIND, BODY & SOUL KWANZAA To Speak On The Fourth Of The Seven Principles

SINGLE INDEPENDENT SISTAH 5 Signs You’re Too Old for the Club

EDUCATION

9 9

Don’t Let The Criminal Justice System... Kill Your Sons

DEAR MS.BOE, Advice, Relationships & Marriage Tips

HEALTH & FITNESS You Can’t Play With My...Yo-Yo Dieting

QUESTION?

10 11 11

OUR CHILDREN SISTERS ARE BEING THEIR OWN, HIV RUNNING RAPID THE BUSINESSES COMMUNITY. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

THIS HAS BEEN ANNOUNCEMENT

Are BlackWomen Left On Their Own Have The Black Man Checked Out?

URBAN SOURCE BOOK REVIEW POETICOLOGY By Percival Jordan II

MUSIC OF BLACK CONSCIENCE

ARE DYING! OUR LEFT TO FEND ON & DIABETES ARE & WE DON’T OWN IN OUR OWN WAKE UP...OH YEAH, A PUBLIC SERVICE FROM THE PUBLISHER.

THE URBAN SOURCE STAFF

11 12

Mark Patton Talks The State Of

Urban Hip Hop

HOT GHETTO MESS It Ain’t Mine

SPORTS

12 13 Artis Stromas

Where are all of the BLACK head NFL coaches?

Distribution Manager

Tina Clark Editor

Darren Boykin

CEO & Publisher

Shericka Taylor

VP Graphic/Web Designer

Bonita Saunders Executive Assistant

THE URBAN SOURCE To Contact Us Call: 1.888.466.0850 2178 N. Gettysburg Ave. Dayton, OH 45406 dboykin@urbansourcemagazine.com THE URBAN SOURCE is published by The Boykin Media Group and may be distributed only by authorized distributors. Each issue is 99 cents. All Rights Reserved.

Trevon Lewis Teen Writer

William Henry Sr. Staff Photograher

Alisha Boykin

Contributing Writer

JaQua Hambrick

Jr. Graphic Designer

Camela Douglass Contributing Writer

FEATURED STORY President Obama:

Tear A Page From FDR & Turn A Tin Ear To The GOP By: Earl Ofari Hutchinson

outh Carolina GOP Senator Jim DeMint gloating in the aftermath of the GOP House wipe out crowed that the election sent a message that the country rejected Obama’s policies. The message was not a message but a warning that Obama must toe the GOP line or as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell just as bluntly put it the GOP will fulfill its goal of making him a one term president. President Obama now more than ever must turn a tin ear to Jim DeMint and House Republican hawks. A quick glance at history gives one answer why. FDR after his smash reelection win in 1936 took a similar GOP drubbing a bare two years later in the 1938 midterm elections. The Democrats lost seven seats in the Senate, and a crushing 81 seats in the House. The issue that the GOP latched onto to ramp up their numbers was pretty much the same as the issue the GOP used to hammer Obama this go round, namely the economy. The economy turned even sourer in the two years after Roosevelt’s 1936 land slide win, and unemployment crept up higher from its still double digit numbers. But it wasn’t just the numbers, the GOP played hard on the feeling that the New Deal wasn’t working, and that it had run

out of steam and that the real answer to the nation’s economic crisis was to turn things back over to big business and let it run the economic ship without the Roosevelt and New Deal governmental restraints, agencies, tampering and meddling. Roosevelt ignored the administration baiters and lurched left. He increased spending on job programs, continued to pound the “economic royalists” for subverting the economy, and attacked the auto and steel giants and the super rich “Sixty Families” for doing everything to stymie the recovery. FDR upped the ante even higher when he appointed Robert Jackson as the aggressive new director of the antitrust division of the Justice Department with a clear mandate to hit hard at the trusts. FDR railed that they were blocking his program and micromanaging the GOP rightwing attacks and takeover. In a fireside chat, FDR talked bluntly with the American people immediately after the 1938 election and made it clear he would not reverse course and that he’d do everything he could to “create an economic upturn” by keeping the government firmly in the business of creating jobs and economic security for the millions still suffering from the Depression. 2010 is really no different. The GOP took the House and a good chunk of the Senate back and it will fol-

low the 1938 script with FDR. That to claim their win as a total rejection of the Obama administration’s program on health care, financial reform, and stimulus spending, and claim that Americans loudly clamor for a return to fiscal conservatism, permanent tax cuts for the super rich, and a sprint backward on expanding government programs in education, housing, and highway and urban infrastructure construction and reconstruction. Polls show nothing of the sort. They show that voters want Congress to work with the president on solving the nation’s problems, starting with the economy. They do not want a repeat of 1994 when a hardball, pig-headed GOP leadership shut down government and caused national angst and misery. They want home foreclosure relief, to give health care reform a chance to work, keep hands off financial reform, and an end to the Iraq and Afghan wars. The polls showed that they hold Congress and that includes the GOP in far lower popular esteem than Obama. Voters also rejected Tea Party crackpot Senate candidates Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle, and possibly Joe

Miller and a pack of the other shrillest Tea Party loonies. This isn’t to say the Tea party activist’s faux anti-tax, anti-big government, borderline race tinged appeals and sloganeering didn’t touch a deep nerve among those already inclined to believe and think the worst about Obama. It did. Yet, there is one final thing President Obama must bear in mind. While arguably much heat on the White House and White House backed incumbents came from the GOP mainstream, Tea Party activists, the low intensity grousing from many progressives and liberal Democrats of expressing disappointment, and frustration with Obama also took a toll. The not so subtle hint was that

a disaffected and angered left could hurt Obama too by not hitting the barricades in massive numbers to back White House backed incumbents. The White House must not to remove panic or be bullied by the Tea Party egged by House GOP hawks, or swallow the media mantra that the election was somehow a total rejection of Obama’s initiatives. FDR didn’t panic in the face of 1938 midterm losses. He stayed the course, remained true to his populist faith, turned the tables back on his foes, and dared them to move the country forward not backward. Obama should do no less and turn a tin ear to the right.

POLITICS America’s Fear

Of A Black Body Politics By: WILLIAM P. MUHAMMAD -GUEST COLUMNIST

inalCall.com) - In the raucous nature of national debate, the exclusion of racial and ethnic issues from mainstream discussion appears driven by fear. More often than not, those directing America’s political discourse dismiss Black grievances through either active opposition or passive denial. In light of this fact, it is difficult, if not impossible, to solve America’s racial gap without a strong commitment to Black unity, economic self-sufficiency and independence oriented goals. Regarding history’s unpleasant truths, among the worst to be found is the legacy of the transAtlantic slave trade. Undoubtedly ranking high as one of America’s original sins, to this day, questions abound over what to do about its lingering effects. Although formally abolished in the United States by 1865 (except as punishment for crime), the psychology American slavery produced, among Blacks and

Whites alike, is perhaps one of the most obstructive roadblocks to solving issues of race today. For instance, when examining the poverty and social dysfunction running rampant in so many of America’s urban and rural settings, left out of the equation is the sophisticated opposition that has undermined Black efforts to produce v i a b l e solutions. Historically speaking, while social integration was the official means for addressing racial discrimination and exclusion, it likewise discouraged the building of an economic infrastructure, which led to the draining of wealth, political capital and brain power from Black communities throughout the United States.

Nevertheless, while some resisted this tendency and openly worked to build independent economic and political systems, fears of an autonomous Black polity led those claiming to be allies, some in Black leadership and the government itself to

destabilize such progress as a means to manage the so-called “negro problem.” As the concept of total integration replaced the idea of economic and political independence, the lack of a national vision eventually led to apathy, disunity and the

community dysfunction we witness today. For years, American mythology advanced an institutionalized caricature of Black people as the boogeyman. In popular culture, images of the savage or buffoon reinforced mindsets of fear and contempt as the Black male was made an object for scorn and ridicule. Through overtly racist films such as W.D. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation” and symbolically racist films such as Merian C. Cooper’s ‘King Kong,’ the myth of “the White man’s burden” was sold as fact as Blacks labored under the weight of prejudice, oppression and misrepresentation. Psychologically speaking, famed psychiatrist, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, whose research

identified fear of “genetic annihilation” as the root cause for White racism, postulated that White supremacy was a survival mechanism among those who constitute a global minority. As fear appears to have dictated the nature of White opposition to Black liberation, “preventing the rise of a Black messiah” appears to have been the primary focus and objective of the social engineers and policy-makers. With the crisis of Black men filling prisons cells faster than college dormitories, it is clear that the policies of the last 46 years have failed to deliver to the masses the fruits of the Promised Land. Furthermore, as out of wedlock births coupled with high unemployment rates imply a vicious cycle of poverty and dependence, the need for a radical change of thinking is more than self-evident. Although the effort to depict strong Black leadership as

Continued on page 14

BLACK PERSPECTIVE They Are Still Our Slaves Ignorance, Greed & Selfishness By: Devona Walker

THEY

ARE STILL OUR SLAVES. We can continue to reap profits from the Blacks without the effort of physical slavery. Look at the current methods of containment that they use on themselves: IGNORANCE, GREED, and SELFISHNESS. Their IGNORANCE is the primary weapon of containment. A great man once said, “The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book.” We now live in the Information Age. They have gained the opportunity to read any book on any subject through the efforts of their fight for freedom, yet they refuse to read. There are numerous books readily available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com,

not to mention their own Black Bookstores that provide solid blueprints to reach economic equality (which should have been their fight all along), but few read consistently, if at all. GREED is another powerful weapon of containment. Blacks, since the abolition of slavery, have had large amounts of money at their disposal. Last year they spent 10 billion dollars during Christmas, out of their 450 billion dollars in total yearly income (2.22%). Any of us can use them as our target market, for any business venture we care to dream up, no matter how outlandish, they will buy into it. Being primarily a consumer people, they function totally by greed. They continually want more, with little thought for

saving or investing. They would rather buy some new sneakers than invest in starting a business. Some even neglect their children to have the latest Tommy or FUBU, and they still think that having a Mercedes, and a big house gives them “Status” or that they have achieved their Dream. They are fools! The vast majority of their people are still in poverty because their greed holds them back from collectively making better communities. With the help of BET, and the rest of their black media that often broadcasts destructive images into their own homes, we will continue to see huge profits like those of Tommy and Nike. (Tommy Hilfiger has even jeered them, saying he doesn’t want their

money, and look at how the fools spend more with him than ever before!). They’ll continue to show off to each other while we build solid communities with the profits from our businesses that we market to them.

Continued on page 14

HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS? Why Black Women Always Hate On Each Other? By: Von

Black women, we have a serious problem. While our problem may not be as profound as two black men killing each other over a pair of Jordans it is still a

problem nonetheless. So, what’s the problem? We hate on each other for some of the most pettiest shit! We hate to see each other looking good. We hate to see each other happy. We hate to see each other with something we want. Most of all we hate to see each other with a quality fine black man! I’m convinced the main thing fueling the hate between black women is the black male shortage. Oh, you haven’t heard? Black women outnumber black men. The total number of black people in the U.S. as of 2008 is roughly 41 million. Black women make up 54% of the black population (22 million) while black men only make up 46% of the black population (19 million). If we knock off the estimated 800,000 black men who are incarcerated and

the growing number of black men marrying outside the race…well the situation doesn’t look good for black women. The reality is every black woman won’t end up with a black man. Some will either have to share their man (not by choice- more on this later) or marry/date outside the race, which is not likely to happen as black women are the least likely to date outside their race with only 3.6% doing so. Though I will admit that this percentage will more than likely grow with my generation (80′s babies) as I’m noticing many in my generation are open to the idea. The Issue Created By The Black Male Shortage Black women are finding themselves in a unique situation: Having to

compete on all fronts for the affection of black men. Black men are taking full advantage of their low numbers by having more than one black woman at a time. Often many black women have full knowledge of the “other woman” and blame her for coming between her and her man. Some women will do whatever they have to do to hold onto that man. These women adapt a “He’s mine… you may have had him once but I got him all the time” attitude. But the reality is wherever he lays his head for that night is his home. If throwing a brick through the back window of the “other woman’s” car will get rid of her then so be it, but giving up that man is often out of the question. Black women are finding that they have to be

Continued on page 14

sexier than the next black woman. They have to be smarter than the next black woman. They have to be raunchier in the bed than the next black w o m a n (knowing full well that what she

REAL TALK Has White America Lost It’s Mind? By: Steven Thrasher

It had been a pretty good run up

to that point. The brains of white folks had been humming along cogently for nearly on 400 years on this continent, with little sign that any serious trouble was brewing. White people, after all, had managed to invent a spiffy new form of self-government so that all white men (and, eventually, women) could have a say in how white people were taxed and governed. White minds had also nearly universally occupied just about every branch of that government and, for more than two centuries, had kept sole possession of the leadership of its executive branch (whose parsonage, after all, is called the White House).

But when that streak was broken—and, for the first time, a non-white president accepted the oath of office—white America rapidly began to lose its grip. As with other forms of dementia, the signs weren’t obvious at first. After the 2008 election, when former House majority leader Tom DeLay suggested that instead of a formal inauguration, Barack Obama should “have a nice little chicken dinner, and we’ll save the $125 million,” black folks didn’t miss the implication. References to chicken, particularly of the fried variety, have long served as a kind of code when white folks referred to black people and their gustatory preferences— and weren’t many of us already accustomed to older white politicians making such gaffes?

But who among us sensed that it was a harbinger that an entire nation was plunging into madness? Who didn’t chuckle, after all, the first time they heard that white people had doubts that Barack Obama had even been born in the United States and was therefore ineligible to be president? It sounded like one of those Internet stories in which some (usually white) writer does his best to prove something everyone knows to be true is actually the exact opposite. And you go along with it for a few paragraphs to see how long the writer can convince you that what you know is right is actually wrong. Seemed like that, didn’t it? After all, what was the beef? Obama’s father was

Kenyan, and the kid was born in Hawaii—which is barely a part of the United States to begin with (only a state in 1959!). His mother was white, and after the Kenyan guy left, she married an Indonesian guy, so little Barack

lived in Jakarta for a while before coming back to Hawaii to be brought up largely by his white grandparents. . . . And that’s it? Come on, this was after-school-

Continued on page 15

THE BLACK HOLOCAUST She’s Gotta Have It Promiscuous Girl By: Tina Clark -Editor

ccording to the CDC (control disease center) 1 out of every 2 African American girls ages 14-19 has an STD Black Women are at least 50% more likely to die from cervical cancer than White women African American women are 25 times more likely than White women and 4 times more likely than Latino women to have an AIDS diagnosis Gonorrhea rates are 30 times higher in African Americans than in Whites African American women are at high risk for genital herpes Blacks accounted for 51% of the 42,655 (including children) new HIV/ AIDS diagnosis in 34 states with long term confidential name based HIV reporting The image of Black women as long suffering victims can keep us passive and confused about the abuse in our lives, not only does this stereotype affect our intimate relationships it impact our daily experience as well. Why is it so much higher among Black women in

getting genital herpes? Well, according to the CDC it’s likely that biological factors make women more susceptible to genital herpes than men. Social economic factors that negatively affect blacks general state of health and it’s no surprise that Black women draw the “short straw”. Poverty, violence and lack of opportunity may force people to have multiple sex partners sequentially or concurrently. Women living in poverty and/ or violent situations may be survivors of forced sex or they may have multiple sex partners in order to cement

social networks, acquire food, shelter or other necessities and/or seek companionship. Self-hatred and violence seethe in black sexual relationships, because of this, black men and women rarely experience natural love in their relating, they get sex and no love or love and no sex. The love quality plus the quality of respect for females is impoverished by the pimp/whore syndrome imposed for so long upon black people by American racism and oppression. Violence masquerades as affection, the deeper, more blinding emotions of male and female are mutilated by mutual exploitation, distrust, disrespect and strivings for selfish aggrandizement. There are thousands of young and old

blacks who simply don’t understand the anatomy of a male/female relationship outside of sex, money, politics and verbal or physical violence. The cultural causes of misogyny, rejection of or the guilt about sex is the most obvious, it leads naturally to degradation of women as the sexual object and projection onto her of the lust and desire to seduce which a man must repress in himself. At the same time that he denigrated women sexual functions, the attempt to repress desire is apt to make him see her exclusively as a sexual being more lustful and not spiritual at all. Since women were designated as the originator of sexual sin, Black women were naturally seen as the embodiment of female evil and sexual lust. Sexual exploitation of Black women undermined the morale of newly manumitted black people. Systematic

Continued on page 15 7

OUR PERSPECTIVE For Colored Girls

A Skewed Image Of Black Men By: Boyce Watkins

I went to see “For Colored Girls,” the

exciting new film made by the great Tyler Perry. I love Tyler’s work, most of the time, and I’ve defended him on multiple occasions when he’s come under attack for the nature of his films. Spike Lee is one particular Tyler Perry hater that I’ve taken issue with, primarily because I think that Tyler does more good than harm in the industry. But as much as we love Tyler Perry, all voices must be portrayed when responding to his style of film making. My own voice became amplified after seeing “For Colored Girls,” primarily because the film made me damn near embarrassed to be a black male. Let’s go down the list shall we? The black men in the film consisted of a rapist, a thief, an abuser who murdered his own kids, a pimp, and a brother on the down low. Now, Hill Harper had the distinct honor of being the

knight in shining armor, but he was the only ray of goodness in the terrible rainbow that represents the experience of the black woman in America. I wonder what I would think if I were a non-black person watching this film to get a sense of what happens in the African American community. Well, first I’d conclude that most black women are well-balanced, fair and emotionally giving to men who

simply don’t deserve it. I would then think that a small percentage of black men have the capacity to do good things, but that most of them will steal from you, deceive you, rape you, cheat on you and do all they can to provide irreversible and unthinkable pain to those who love them the most. I can just hear one of the white women in the theater saying, ”Those poor black women. Why in the world do they remain loyal to those horrible men?” Perhaps Tyler needs to make a sequel to his film titled, “For Colored

Men.” In the film, we would portray the millions of black men who do the right things and end up being demonized for not doing the right thing in the right way. Perhaps we might tell the story of the man who doesn’t want to get married, but is pressured into marriage by a community that will force a man to do something that he knows he can’t do very well. We can also tell the story about the gay black men who go to a church which tells them that if they pray hard enough, the homosexuality will leave their body like the 24-hour flu. We can cover conversations where some black women repeatedly state that if a man doesn’t make enough money, he doesn’t deserve to have access to her (as she dates the man with a lot of money who breaks her heart). We could also tell other stories, like that of the good men who pay extra child support to take care of children who are not their own or those who fight

Continued on page 15

OUR LEGACY BEFORE SLAVERY BLACK PEOPLE & OUR PLACE IN WORLD HISTORY BLACK WALL STREET

The Black (Negro) Wall Street”

was the name given to Greenwood Avenue of North Tulsa, Oklahoma during the early 1900’s. Because of strict segregation, Blacks were only allowed to shop, spend, and live in a 35 square block area called the Greenwood district. The “circulation of Black dollars” only in the Black community produced a tremendously prosperous Black business district that was admired and envied by the whole country. Oklahoma’s first African-American settlers were Indian slaves of the so-called “Five Civilized Tribes”: Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminoles. These tribes were forced to leave the Southeastern United States and 8

resettle in Oklahoma in mid-winter over the infamous “Trail of Tears.” After the Civil War, U.S.Indian treaties provided for slave liberation and land allotments ranging from 40100 acres, which helps explain why over 6000 African-Americans lived in the Oklahoma territory by 1870. Oklahoma boasted of more AllBlack towns and communities than any other state in the land, and these communities opened their arms to freed slaves from all across the

c o u n t r y. Remarkably, at one time, there were over 30 AfricanAmerican newspapers in Oklahoma. Tulsa began as an outpost of the Creek Indians and as late as 1910, Walter White of the NAACP,

described Tulsa as “the dead and hopeless home of 18,182 s o u l s . ” S u d d e n l y, oil was discovered and Tulsa rapidly grew into a thriving, bustling, enormously wealthy town of 73,000 by 1920 with bank deposits totaling over $65 million. However, Tulsa was a “tale of two c i t i e s isolated and insular”, one Black and one White. Tulsa was so racist and segregated that it was the only city in America that

boasted of segregated telephone booths. Since African Americans could neither live among Whites as equals nor patronize White businesses in Tulsa, Blacks had to develop a completely separate business district and community, which soon became prosperous and legendary. Black dollars invested in the Black community also produced self-pride, self-sufficiency, and self-determination. The business district, beginning at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street, became so successful and vibrant that Booker T. Washington during his visit bestowed the moniker: “Negro Wall Street.” By 1921, Tulsa’s AfricanContinue article online at www. urbansourcemagazine.com

REVIEW MIND,MUSIC BODY & SOUL

KWANZAA

Examining The Fourth Of The Seven Principles By: Tina Clark

ith Kwanzaa quickly approaching (December 26 January 1) I decided to speak on the fourth of the seven principles. “Ujamaa” or cooperative economics which basically means. “To build and maintain our own shops, stores and other businesses and profit from them together”. A small percentage of African Americans understand and practice this principle, the vast majority either due to a lack of knowledge or simply choose to ignore the potency of this principle and the devastating impact our lack of economic unity has on our community both politically and economically. African Americans spend 98% of their income outside of our communities only 2% remains in black hands inside the black community. Now, we do practice group economics to an extent but

it’s only within the black church, the black funeral home and the beauty salon and black barbershops. Hair care is a culturally sensitive area for African Americans, historically black hair in it’s natural form has been viewed as

contrary to European standards of beauty. The retail beauty supply industry is a case in point. African Americans spend $6 Billion annually on personal care products

and services. This industry became dominated by Koreans and is now 80% owned by Korean proprietors. In an industry in which African Americans spend billion of dollars on hair moisturizers, relaxers, hair for weaving and braiding and other products; it pisses me off that these enterprises rarely employ African Americans. The dollars are being stripped from our communities and taken to other communities and often times other countries. The Koreans, who now control the product supply chain, have began manufacturing some of the products as well. Based upon historical patterns of aggressive business practices exhibited by the Koreans in this industry suggest that within the next 5-10 years they will also dominate the manufacturing side of the

business. In response, The Black Owned Beauty Supply Association (BOBSA) was formed in 2003 according to the organizations website (www.bobsa.org) members of the group are “advocates for black institutions that depend on beauty supply stores and their distribution networks for support to operate competitive hair care services for the black community”. My people, if we are to ever grasp the concept of group economics (ujamaa) we must rid ourselves of the expectations that the goal of other groups is to be “fair” to us. Their objective first and foremost is to build a profitable business which they can expand to create wealth for their families and communities, since more than half of our income is geared towards beauty it is time we take an initiative in our communities and for our families. Happy Kwanzaa

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SINGLE INDEPENDENT SISTAH 5 Signs You’re Too Old for the Club By: Staff Writer

y 40-something cousin and I were talking about the dating scenes in both our cities. Eventually, we got around to discussing where we spend time outside of work (and the fact that we rarely see eligible men in these places). You won’t find either of us desperately hanging out in sports bars or barber shops hoping to get some random dude’s attention, but you’d find us in these spots before you’d find us at a nightclub. We agreed that after about 25, it’s time to retire the VIP pass and save the club hopping for special occasions, like bachelorette parties or milestone birthdays. Why? I’ll tell you why. Nobody wants to be the old chick up in the club. How can

you tell whether you’re she? Here are my Top 5 signs. 1. You run into someone you used to babysit. At first you’re happy to run into little Tyler from your old church. You remember when he was playing with Power Rangers and thought girls were yucky. Then, you realize he’s at least 21, and that makes you … slightly depressed and too old to be in the club. 2. You only want to dance to the DJ’s old school set. You’re tapping your feet when the crowd’s getting hype over some Lil’ Wayne. You bob your head when Ciara sings. You rock a bit to Chris Brown, but when BBD’s “Poison” plays, you’re on the dance floor quicker than Bobby Brown left New Edition. While most of the clubbers take this opportunity to get

another drink or use the facilities, you know this is what you’ve been waiting on all night … a chance to do the running man! 3. The music is too loud. Seriously. Who needs to feel the bass vibrating major bodily organs? Besides, you can’t hear your BFF who’s desperately trying to give you a recap of the week’s “Young & the Restless.” Forget doing the Dougie, you wanna know what’s going on between the Newmans and the Abbotts. Gheez! 4. Everyone calls you ma’am. You were prepared to get bumped a little in the club. It’s expected, but the fact that everyone is grabbing your arm and making sure you don’t break a hip is cause for alarm. Do they think you’re

a senior citizen? Yeah. They do. 5. You want to be home by midnight. It’s 11:30 and while you’re thinking it’s about time to be heading home, you notice the line outside wrapped around the building and people entering who look like they just left the house. Who starts the evening this late!? Everyone under 25. Of course, I’m not speaking from experience. I’m just trying to help a SIS or two who may not know when to quit. If three or more of these signs pertain to you, let go of the velvet rope. Retire gracefully.

EDUCATION

Don’t Let The Criminal Justice System... Kill Your Sons By: Boyce Watkins

comes to understanding the impact that the criminal justice system has on our community and our children. The first person to feel the brunt of my thinking was a young woman I spoke with who has two young sons. Both of the boys are between three and five years old. Like many other black boys their age, they are learning about the world, and starting to emulate what they see.

This week, I got together with a

coalition of other concerned citizens and met at the steps of the county courthouse. We then marched around the jail to fight for the rights of two

people of color, Chuniece Patterson and Raul Pinet, both of whom recently died while in police custody. The march and the reasons behind it led me down a path of self-discovery when it

They imitate rappers they see on BET, and they are hypnotized by athletes like LeBron James and Carmello Anthony. Also like many other black boys across America, one of them has already been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Their mother wasn’t aware that black boys are over five times more likely than white ones to be diagnosed as having a learning disability. In some cases, the diagnoses are legitimate, but in others, they are an excuse to keep the child from being

Dear Ms. Boe, Advice, Relationships & Marriage Tips Incarcerated Cargiver By: Bonita Saunders

’’ve been dating someone for the past six years. When I met him, he had just been released from prison. I decided to help him get on his feet until he found employment. Problem is, he still hasn’t found solid work. I have been the bread winner in the family. I already have two children from a previous marriage I’m sick and tired of feeling like I’m obligated to care for a grown ass man I’m ready to kick his sorry behind out on the streets what should I do?------ Incarcerarted Caregiver-Lakisha Okay, IC girl I understand your pain and frustration but be honest. You knew that he was just released in mainstream from prison did you believe that he was going to get hired quickly? not saying 10

that you were wrong, just look at the entire spectrum. I’m sure his ego has been emasculated by the many times he has to hear to tell him that you’re the “bread winner” I agree that within the past six years he should have found something (legal) that could contribute to the household, but I’m also sure that. It’s been difficult for him as well. If he is abusive in anyway to you or the kids, then hell yeah get rid of him. but if he is just simply going through a life storm right now, the last thing he needs is to be given up on. believe it or not men are sometimes as sensitive about their flaws as we are. Incarcerated Caregiver I say support your man without enabling unproductivity. talk to him, openly and honestly without

berating him and bragging about your contributions. let him know how much you need him. Nothing makes a man feel more appreciatedthan to know that he is needed. especially a brotha. we (independent strong black women) can beat not only the hell but sometimes the life, the desire and the hope out of our men. I pray prosperity for you and your family Incarcerated Caregiver.

YOUR ROMANCE GUIDE, DATING ADVICE, LOVE, REALATIONSHIP AND MARRIAGE TIPS. E-mail your questions in to Ms. Boe at: advice@urbansourcemagazine.com

properly educated. I was diagnosed in the same way as a child, and my mother told the teacher to shove that medicine where the sun will never shine. Had she not intervened, I would not be where I am today. I might really have ADD, but I’ve apparently learned to survive it without psychiatric medication. Pretty soon, the young woman’s sons will be going to school with teachers who expect them to become thugs instead of scholars. They’ll be thrust into a world where they’ll learn to dribble a basketball before they learn how to read. An inferior education will likely be accompanied by an early exposure to the criminal justice system and a black male unemployment rate that is more than double the rate for white Americans. All of this creates the standard black male recipe of unemployment, incarceration and a

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HEALTH & FITNESS You Can’t Play With My... Yo-Yo Dieting By: Camela L. Douglass

Have you ever walked past a

mirror, stopped, backed up, looked in the mirror again to make sure it was you that you saw the first time? Or maybe you have gained and lost weight so many times that you’ve earned the super hero name “elastic-girl” or “stretch man.” How is it that you can walk into your closet and find a Petite section and a Plus section? If you have experienced the aforementioned, you may be a victim of Yo-yo dieting. Small scale fluctuations are normal especially when it’s that “time of the month.” However, losing a considerable amount of weight then gaining it back is not normal. It’s not okay to lose weight, gain

weight, lose weight again, only to gain it back and then some. “Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles analyzed 31 long-term diet studies and found that about two-thirds of dieters regained more weight within four or five years than they initially lost.” Yo-yo dieting is the process of losing weight and gaining weight throughout one’s life. Diet fads sound good, but never deliver willpower as an ingredient. After a person fails at eating only crackers and juice for 3 days, they turn around and eat a pizza, a cinnabon, and drink a 2 liter of

Pepsi. Or they successfully lose 25 lbs., experience a misfortune or a disappointment and within months they pack the weight back on. Yo-yo dieting can be very dangerous and can have long-lasting effects. Some of which include: liver problems, loss of muscle, lower metabolism, high blood pressure, diabetes, and a shortened life span. Yo-yo dieting transcends race, gender, and socio-economic status. Luther Vandross, Oprah Winfrey, Kirstie Alley, and Janet Jackson can attest to this fact. For years, millions of fans have been puzzled as to how you can

be overweight with personal trainers and personal chefs at your beck and call. The truth is, personal trainers and private chefs cannot control a person’s willpower. A healthy lifestyle is a daily personal choice; one meal at a time, one exercise at a time. Willpower is challenged every day. Some days it is stronger than others. However, there are important steps that must be taken to achieve a healthy life. 1) Define a realistic weight loss goal, 2) eat 5-6 small meals a day, 3) drink plenty of water, 4) exercise regularly, 5) prepare yourself for the weak moments and 6) keep your eyes on the prize.

QUESTION? Are Black Women Left On Their Own Have The Black Man Checked Out? By: Von

ere in the black community in the United States of America we have a serious problem or maybe I should say problems (plural). Let me break it down… 72% of black children are born out of wedlock. There are an estimated 1.8 million more black women than black men. 42% of black women have never been married. 70% of black women are single (not married). According to the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS), an estimated 29.1% of African American females and 12.0% of African American males are victimized by IPV in their lifetime, defined by rape, physical assault or stalking. This rate is second only to American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) victimized by IPV (AI/AN: 37.5% females, 12.4% males). Let’s not forget the code of silence in the black community. Chances are the actual numbers are far worse than

what’s reported. An estimated 37.2 % of welfare recipients are black (it’s 38.8% for whites…consider the size of both populations when interpreting this stat). African Americans account for just 12% of the U.S. population but make up 44% of the U.S. prison population. In 20 states, the percent of blacks incarcerated was at least 5 times greater than their share of resident population. Over 90% of prisoners are male. In the United States out of all males between the ages of 25-29 that were sentenced and in prison 10.4% (the largest percent period) are BLACK MALES. According to the CDC, AIDS is the leading cause of death for African

American women between the ages of 2534. The CDC believes that 74% of black women who have HIV/AIDS contracted it through heterosexual contact with a man. According to the CDC HOMICIDE is the leading cause of death for African American men between the ages of 15-34 (yeah consider that age range for a second). When you look at the statistics, can you honestly say black women for the most part aren’t on their own? When you look around at the black women you know, and those in your community can you honestly say black women for the most part aren’t on their own? When you look around at the

black men you know and those in your community can you honestly say black women for the most part aren’t on their own??? I can honestly look around and say for the most part (key phrase) black women are indeed on their own. At some point in time black men checked the fuck out! People reading this can deny if they want, but there is a reason why states are studying the plight of black men. There is a reason why Bill Cosby is telling black women they will have to leave black men behind ( here). There is a reason I keep receiving emails from BLACK MEN reading, “I feel sorry for young black women.” There is a reason my original blog ruffled some feathers. Be HONEST with YOURSELF about it. Black women cannot count on black men at all, period…for the most part we are on our own. If this were not true do you honestly think we would see the above statistics? 11

THE URBAN SOURCE BOOK REVIEW POETICOLOGY

By Percival Jordan II By: Tina Clark

No sense is made from nonsense that’s why

Common Sense is the heir to the throne of conscious hip-hop Kanye, Kweli and Mos Def are his brothers in royalty. And they got all those fake rappers that don’t say nothing to shine their boots. Jay-Z and Nas are the assassins, Saul Williams is the priest, DMX is their secret weapon they call that brother the beast. Eminem and D-12 are the jesters. Dame Dash and Russell Simmons, we call them the investors. Lauryn Hill is the lost empress to this arsenal of enforcers. Sadly we had to find a replacement Jill Scott and Alicia Keys are co-queens in this Matrix. Busta Rhymes is the specialist in demolitions Rakim is the mastermind that organizes the missions. Run DMC are running these streets while Timbaland and Pharell are conquering these beats and I am the young Guru. The sniper so to speak. My words paralyze, sanitize and pulverize All depending on your persona All depending on your needs I use my words to bring destruction cuz I have no desire to make you bleed

I destroy brain cells Because the body can not live without the mind That’s why I intend on building you a new one Potential prospects to conscious hip-hop Cuz the kinetics are out of reach And I speak with that hotness so there’s no need to correct my speech I make my own corrections I teach those so called real rappers more than what they think can give them an erection And my diction is way past skeet,skeet,skeet in my rhymes And I speak about more things then going to the club and wasting time And I tell these Nubian queens to do more with their lives then shake what their mama gave them That’s why I’m here to save them

From the tyranny of fake lyrics And the misuse of rhymes They’re willing to trade the soul of hip-hop just to say they’re on the grind Noticeably they didn’t spend time on the development of their mind Skills were never nurtured through the passage of time So if hip-hop falls to shambles If hip-hop falls to shame We will always know that it was our kingdom’s peasants that were to blame. I sat at a Café in the Oregon District in downtown Dayton, Ohio bobbing my head to the sound of KRS –

ONE, my oversized cup of hot chocolate sent whirls of steam in the gray sky. Faceless bodies scrambled around, scattering into coffeehouses, rambling on cell phones, picking up pennies from the ground (for good luck). The blinker on my computer pulsated. I was reading a copy of a book sent to my email.

The words on my computer and the words in my ear merged into the Nile creating Pharaohs. Gods and Goddesses of letters that formed words too powerful to ignore. That day at the Café I knew that I wanted to know more about the author that reminded me of the rap legend KRS. Percival Jordan II is a Jamaican and Panamanian Poet, Author, and Songwriter. Commanding attention with his 2009 debut book entitled “Poeticology; the Modern Study of Rhythm and Rhyme” where he uses styles that go from lyrical to revolutionary. Percival breaks down his definition of what “Poeticology” is- “Just like biology is the study of life, poeticology is the study of poetry in its many forms. Poeticology is the text book from which people can learn from life through poetry”.“Poeticology is a unique depiction of poetry with intellectual array of poems” – Poetic Monthly Magazine “Poeticology is the passionate expression of the feelings and life observations of a young black man rendered in

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REVIEW CONSCIENCE MUSICMUSIC OF BLACK

Mark Patton

Talks The State Of Urban Hip Hop By: Mark Patton

“Black

people have already done everything that can be done on earth within the reach of the human spirit. Black people have done everything except recognize each other for it. Black people wait for the White person whose recognition we cherish to tell us when weʼve done something meritorious, worthy of note and study. Black people might call a thing great, but they wait and see if White people will agree with them before starting to believe it themselves.” - Ralph Wiley In this, my initial column for The Urban Source Magazine, I can proudly say that my monthly columnʼs will almost always be about positive recognition of Hip Hop music and culture. Recognizing the culture that I am a part of in a constructive and loving way. The column 12

may be directly related to an artist or it may be a bit of social commentary. Meant to engage the community of readers in conversations relevant to the positive progression of Hip Hop culture. Iʼll also express what I feel i s

Hip Hop cultureʼs potential as a vehicle for positive, peaceful, intelligent, inclusive and tolerant progress around the world. The great, Mr. Cornel West tells us in his book ʻHope On A Tightropeʼ that “Hip Hop music is the most important popular musical development in the last thirty years.” But he also states via Twitter that “Too often, Hip Hop still lacks deep vision a n d

analysis. Itʼs morally underdeveloped and spiritually immature.” Hip Hop culture must not waist such power on ideas, objects and artistʼs who do not understand their own power and influence. And it must recognize itʼs areas of underdevelopment and immaturity. While Hip Hop culture is still young, our time to address the issues that plague us and also use itʼs benefits for our advantage is now. While exposing the light that is Hip Hop culture, I will also critique the culture. At times expressing my frustrations and disappointments... constructively and always honestly. I think that with Hip Hop cultureʼs current fascination with all things extravagant and somewhat unconscious, my voice has to be a challenge to that fascination.

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HOT GHETTO MESS It Ain’t Mine By: Staff Writer

here is no subtle way for me to say this. I am not a conventional writer, I don’t waste time attempting to console fragile egos. I am blunt and straight to the point. Black women I am so sick and tired of seeing some of us being buffoons on national television sprawled out on stage humiliated because the numerous men that “we” were “200%” sure was our baby daddy....um...yeah... well they weren’t. I am sick and tired of seeing that same sista that has appeared on the past five seasons of Maury and has done a paternity test on over twenty-seven men still run her behind backstage and collapse on the couch pleading to find “the right man” and Gawd knows that I am really fed up with the countless

black women that have compared their child’s nose, ears, hairlines and yes even penis size to some man that’s either doing the dougie on stage or completely dumbfounded with a bewildered stare in the camera. When I posted the choice for this article, within moments emails flooded asking why I wanted to bash “single mothers” most of the questions were the same- my response remains the same. Again, I don’t intend to be insensitivebut lets be honest. As a race of black women we have created books, songs,

movies,you tube videos, articles, blogs and so on about the no good, the dead beat, the cheating, the down low, lazy no job having black man. Now please don’t misunderstand me, I am fully aware of some low life men like the brotha that is 30 years old with 21 kids by 11 women. Nor am I trying to win the “mother-ofthe-year” award I’m just sayin that black women we really need to get our shit together. We must accept the consequences for our behavior we look ridiculous as a whole unit of black women. We must stop disguising our low selfesteem with the “bad bitch’ syndrome. We look like jesters to the world. Daytime television has been bombarded by this new breed of black women, “they” applaud and snicker at our foolishness while we flaunt our ignorance and drop it low all the while our children are exploited sitting in the greenroom completely oblivious. The fundamentals of not only womanhood but also motherhood has to be restored back into our homes.

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REAL SPORTS TALK Where are all of the BLACK head NFL coaches? By: Alisha Boykin

he NFL has 32 teams and 6 black head coaches, we have more black referees then we do black head coaches, where are the black NFL head coaches and who are the current distinguished men opening a minority path of victory for the NFL? There’s; Chicago Bears Lovie Smith, Cincinnati Bengals Marvin Lewis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Raheem Morris, Indianapolis Colts, Jim Caldwell, 49ers Mike Singletary, and Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin.Pro Football hall of famer Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard made

NFL history in the late 1920’s and middle 1930’s when he became the first NFL head football coach of the “Chicago Black Hawks” and “Harlem Brown Bombers.”Those sounds good but why aren’t there more, why not even out the score and have half and half? Come o n

man…what is stopping the NFL in hiring more black head coaches? Could it be another reason to keep the black man from over powering anything that is white related and let’s not talk about where are the black female head NFL coaches or any head female coach…oh no wait, we do have one who is making history, head football coach Natalie Randolph in Washington DC at Calvin Coolidge Senior High School. I don’t know why there aren’t more black head coaches that would be a question NFL Commissioner Roger Goodel would have to answer. Although,I can tell you what has helped the NFL to consider interviewing a potential black head coach and that’s the “Rooney Rule”which was established in 2003 by Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney who believed the NFL has to consider interviewing minority candidates for head coaching and senior football

operations opportunities. Thank you Dan for providing some fairness, but is that still enough, will that help convey more black NFL head coaches? Now for your NBA service announcement:Its basketball season, LeBron James is playing with the Miami Heat, and no one cares anymore because the Cleveland Cavalier fans have moved on and the Cavaliers are winning multiple games without him. 2004 defensive player of the year Ron Artest, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, is auctioning off his 2010 championship ring for $2 a ticket with a minimum purchase of 5 tickets. This is Artest first championship ring, it sounds absolutely crazy, and why is he giving away his first ring? Artest decided to raffle off a ring he says he never wears and donate the raffle money to kids who want to go to

Continued on page 15 13

Urban Hip Hop continued..... There is a place for extravagance and maybe even unconsciousness from time to time. But there must also be a balance between those things and reasonable consciousness. A place for maturity and development. Hip Hop culture must begin to view itself as a cultural catalyst. It must recognize the force it has to bring about all things righteous and well intentioned. Hip Hop must start down a path where the recognition for the benefits of the culture overshadow the things much less desirable. Iʼll help with that process.

I plan on being a voice amongst many, here at The Urban Source, to bring about positive change within our community. So, letʼs grow together. Letʼs improve together. Letʼs laugh together. Letʼs cry together. Letʼs (re)build together. Letʼs dream together. Letʼs hope together. Letʼs question each other and reach solutions together. Letʼs love Hip Hop together. Peace. Power.

Why Black Woman Always Hate On Each Other continued..... won’t do the next woman will). Perhaps the most damning expectation of them all is the fact that black women have to compete with other races of women for the affection of black men (therefore she must subscribe to the “European” standard of beauty black men favor). All of this is what’s fueling the animosity between black women. I’m not saying black men are always the cause of the drama, but 9 times out of 10 two black women going at it are probably fighting over a black man (or a man period in some cases). The Solution Black women as a collective are going to have to start holding ourselves to a higher standard. If black men had to “work” for the affections of black women instead of getting the milk for free (and never buying the cow) it would force them to step their game up and become grown men.

What do I mean by holding yourselves to higher standard? Make it clear to these black men that you don’t plan to settle or be anyone’s “baby mama.” Start looking down on those who are content with being someone’s baby mama. Let other black women know that this type of thinking and behavior is unacceptable (thereby forcing them to rise to a higher standard). If black women as a collective start demanding to be the black man’s wife he would be forced to change his ways. The truth is men need women more than women need men. If black women decide to go on strike tomorrow there would be a great number of hurting black men in this country. This would force them to get their act together and commit to one woman. I don’t recommend anyone go on strike but I do suggest black women hold themselves to a higher standard. If YOU change…it will force black men to change.

They Are Still Our Slaves continued..... SELFISHNESS, ingrained in their minds through slavery, is one of the major ways we can continue to contain them. One of their own, Dubois said that there was an innate division in their culture. A “Talented Tenth” he called it. He was correct in his deduction that there are segments of their culture that has achieved some “form” of success. However, that segment missed the fullness of his work. They didn’t read that the “Talented Tenth” was then responsible to aid The Non-Talented Ninety Percent in achieving a better life. Instead, that segment has created another class, a Buppie class that looks down on their people or aids them in a condescending manner. They will never achieve what we have. Their selfishness does not allow them to be able to work together on any project or endeavor of substance. When they do get together, their selfishness lets their egos get in the way of their goal. Their so-called help organizations seem to only want to promote their name without making any real change in their community. 14

They are content to sit in conferences and conventions in our hotels, and talk about what they will do, while they award plaques to the best speakers, not to the best doers. Is there no end to their selfishness? They steadfastly refuse to see that TOGETHER EACH ACHIEVES MORE (TEAM). They do not understand that they are no better than each other becauseof what they own, as a matter of fact, most of those Buppies are but one or two pay checks away from poverty. All of which is under the control of our pens in our offices and our rooms. Yes, we will continue to contain them as long as they refuse to re ad, continue to buy anything they want, and keep thinking they are “helping” their communities by paying dues to organizations which do little other than hold lavish conventions in our hotels. By the way, don’t worry about any of them reading this letter, remember, ‘THEY DON’T READ!!!

America’s Fear Of A Black Politic continued..... subversive is designed to prevent the emergence autonomous views, questions must be asked as to whether or not society truly desires a solution for Black suffering. From the time of slavery through today, advocates for freedom, justice and equality have labored under an imposed yet false premise that to struggle for Black people is to struggle against America. While nothing could be further from the truth, it is this suggestion that drives hatred and animosity against those who offer meaningful solutions in times of uncertainty and confusion. In the meantime, as society’s upper tier continues to play upon the fear and ignorance of White people, many Black leaders have been maneuvered into a compromise position that hampers their willingness and ability to speak and act freely. As many Black organizations are dependent upon grants and philanthropic dollars, they have become more reactive than proactive regarding programs and solutions to poverty, injustice and the lack

of representation. With all that has been said, Black leadership is in the valley of decision with paths leading either to freedom or to social, economic political death. While amalgamation with other interests and causes may weaken organizational aim and purpose, seeking resolution in areas of difference should not mean the wholesale dismissal of self-interests for the sake of inclusion. In America, other racial and ethnic groups have prospered by pooling their resources and advancing their own unique agendas. Affording them leverage for the good of themselves, their families and their people, this has allowed relative newcomers to build institutions, vibrant communities and enter into international trade and commerce. Creating respect, jobs and opportunity, the “do-for-self” model, that proved effective for Black people once before, must now be reexamined and implemented to save a community that is clearly in distress.

Don’t Let The Criminal System Kill Your Sons continued..... lack of education. At least that’s the script that’s been written for them. I told the mother of these boys that their life’s plan is already in place. Society has a schedule for the black male that is usually not going to lead to productive and positive outcomes. I urged the mother to realize that by understanding the system, she can change the course of her sons’ lives, saving herself from the heartache of prison visits, sudden funerals and expensive legal fees. I certainly hope she listened. We all know that our economic, educational and criminal justice systems have significant problems. In few places do the issues show up more clearly than in the outcomes of the African American male. We have a black man in the White House and another black man (Eric Holder) serving as Attorney General. Perhaps their ascension can serve as a catalyst for all of us to empower ourselves to confront these matters accordingly. Such a confrontation might even require us to challenge

Obama and Holder themselves, but I hope this is not the case. When it comes to your own children, make sure that you educate yourself on how society works. Secondly, ensure that your kids are on a different path from other black boys in America, who are effectively being treated like rodents being led to poisonous food. We are fed a healthy diet of hip hop, sports and criminal activity, which can define the boundaries of who we think we can become. Then, when we end up as 25year old, unemployed ex-athletes with a fifth grade reading level, we are not properly positioned to be good husbands and fathers in our communities. This recipe for destruction is affecting us all, and it’s time that we get both educated and empowered to fix it. As far as the rally that we held here in Syracuse, we are sure our voices were heard. But this is just the first of many stops I plan to make in the future, for the job is far from over. In fact, it might be time for a movement.

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White America Has Lost It’s Mind continued..... special material, the kind of thing that brings a tear to your eye because little half-Kenyan/half-white Barry made good, not the stuff of conspiracy novels. But the more you shook your head at it, the more it seemed to have taken root deep in the lizard part of the white nervous system. Obama is not an American. He says he’s Christian, but he has a Muslim-sounding name. He’s not black, he’s not white. . . . Is . . .is he even human? Today, Newsweek has found, nearly a quarter of Americans believe that Obama is a Muslim, with barely 42 percent of the nation accepting his claim that he’s a Christian. CNN finds that a quarter of Americans also believe that Obama was “probably or definitely” born in another country. Harris found in an online poll that 14 percent of Americans believe in their hearts that President Barack Obama is the antichrist, with nearly a quarter of Republicans saying so. At least in this form, however, Satan (sometimes) wears a flag pin. What was going on? Had decades of sucking down so much high-fructose corn syrup not only made Americans incredibly obese, but also messed with white brain chemistry to the point that some sort of tipping point had occurred? Not a bad theory, but no, there’s a simpler explanation, with two parts: For the first time in their lives, baby boomers are hard up against it economically, and white boy is becoming outnumbered and it’s got his bowels chilled with fear. “In an age of diminished resources, the United States may be heading for an

intensifying confrontation between the gray and the brown,” writes Ronald Brownstein in his July National Journal article, “The Gray and the Brown: The Generational Mismatch.” That’s a polite and understated way of saying that older white folks are losing their shit as they’re being replaced by young brown and black kids while the economy is in the crapper. Brownstein notes that 40 percent of the nation’s population under 18 is already non-white, with that number significantly higher in the Southwest (read: Mexicans!). By 2023, that number of young non-whites will be an outright national majority. At the same time, the baby boomers are getting older. At 80 percent white, boomers have gotten pretty used to dominating nearly every field of endeavor in this country since they came of age—politics, business, education, the arts—just about everything but MTV programming. Boomers set the national agenda in so many ways that we can forget how much the national economy and national media cater to them. Bewildered by the number of Cialis ads you see on television showing those flabby couples sitting in bathtubs? Or the way that older women are suddenly “cougars” and “MILFs” and . . . oh, yeah, you remember, boomers are getting old, but still want to think they can get the sheets sweaty. See? Boomers and their fixations and fears explain nearly everything. . .

For Colored Girls continued..... to make a marriage work with a black woman who refuses to hear that she may also play a role in the breakdown of African American families. Finally, we can tell the story of the millions of men who may not always behave exactly as women ask them to behave, but are good, caring human beings nonetheless. The moral of the story would be that black men are human too, and that both genders are inclined to make bad choices. I admit that I’ve seen “For Colored Girls” in the past in the form of other movies. The films were called “Waiting to Exhale” and “The Women of Brewster Place.” In both films, there was one story after another of why black men are responsible for the misery of black women. Also, there was a gathering (you know, a party or something) in which the women worked through the horrors that the men in their lives had caused them. Perhaps one day, we can get past the notion that black men have a monopoly on demonization and realize that it might be morecomplicated than that. Simplistic plots to tell a complex story just don’t always work. Tyler, as much as I respect him, can be the master of simplistic plots and characters. I still love Tyler Perry and I still support his role as a film maker. But with this latest project, he seems to send a message that his films are for colored girls only. I look forward to the day where black men have a voice, for we have stories to tell too.

Shes Gotta Have It continued..... devaluation of Black womanhood led to downgrading of any activity black women did. Many black women attempted to shift the focus of attention away from sexuality by emphazing their commitment to motherhood. There are three main stereotypes that White America have had about black women for hundreds of years; the first is “Mammy”she is “fat” almost a Mother Earth figure but she has no sex appeal. She is happy with her life of faithful service to White people. She smiles and laughs, sometimes too much; she has a good heart, not very bright and un-trustworthy. In the 1960’s the Matriarch stereotype took her place which in turn gave rise to the “Welfare Queen” in the 1970’s. The second is “Jezebel”- she is named after an evil queen in the bible. She is a loose woman who wants sex all of the time, she uses sex to draw men into getting what she wants, sometimes it’s money and sometimes it’s to destroy them. The third stereotype is “Sapphire”- she is named after a character in Amos-n-Andy. She always seems to have her hands on her hips while she is running her mouth putting her man down making everything into a fight. She is overbearing, hard and undesirable who drives men away. Whites have read the behavior of black women through these stock images. These stereotypes are not a well meaning but unsuccessful attempt to understand black women. They are an attempt to excuse the behavior of White people and Black men toward Black women. A clear example of this is when black men bring up the (sapphire) or what is known today as the “strong black woman” as an excuse to date and marry white women. These stereotypes inform us that black women are happy to do the dirty work (mammy) do not mind having sex and children without a wedding ring (jezebel) and complain too much (sapphire) and if so many of them find themselves bringing up children without a man, it is their own fault (sapphire). A study in 2006 on White American university students showed that nearly all of them saw black women as (sapphires) to some degree, it seems to be common among black men too. The power of having Oprah and Claire Huxtable on television is that they cut right across these stereotypes and weakened them. The danger of today’s hip hop is that it strengthens the idea that black women are nothing but bitches (sapphires) and whores (jezebels) The historical and social experiences of African women during slavery resulted in numerous images that defined African American women as defiant. African American women were defined as immoral and sinful to white men of the era, women of all races were considered property to use and abuse the degree of psychological abuse meted out to woman of color. African

American women are forced to combat the dual stereotype (race) and (gender). The stereotypical image of the black woman as strong and powerful (sapphire) dominates the consciousness of most Americans that even if a black woman clearly conforms to the sexist notions of femininity and passivity she is still characterized as tough, domineering and strong much of what has been perceived by whites as an amazonic trait in black women. The independent role black women are obligated to play in the labor workforce and in family are automatically perceived as “unladylike”. Black women are disproportionately represented among street prostitutes and consequently at greater risk for arrest. The job discrimination that plagues black women in legitimate employment also operates in the sex industry for instance; escorts services, massage parlors and brothels tend to hire mostly white women although some black women are hired to offer customer “variety”. Because of the economic realities facing black men and women in this society, many blacks know women who have worked as prostitutes and therefore less likely to carry cultural stereotypes about prostitutes being bad, immoral, dirty or distressed. They are able to empathize with the black female sex worker and distinguish sex on the job from sex in the context of relationships. In retrospective examination of the black female slave experience sexism looms as large as racism as an oppressive force in the lives of black women. White male slavers did not regard the African female as a threat so often aboard slave ships black women were stored without being shackled this was only done to the black man due to fear of an uprising. White male slave owners usually tried to bribe black women as preparation for sexual overtures as to place them in the role of prostitutes. Frequently the slaveowner used the word “prostitution” to refer to the buying and selling of black women for sexually exploitative purposes. The brutal treatment of enslaved black women by white men exposed the depths of male hatred of women and a woman’s body. Racist exploitation of black women as workers either in the fields or domestic household was not as dehumanizing and demoralizing as the sexual exploitation. The sexism of colonial white male patriarchs spared black male slaves the humiliation of homosexual rapes, while institutionalized sexism was a social system that protected black male sexuality it socially legitimized sexual exploitation of black females. Black female slaves Continue article online at www.urbansourcemagazine.com

Where All Of The Black NFL Head Coaches continued..... college and need scholarship money. For those who have followed Artest basketball career and personal life should be aware that Artest deals with a lot of psychological issues and daily therapy sessions with his Doctor Santhi Periasamy (who follows him around spending countless hours with him) has allowed Artest to realize, “I want to become a better person and help people,”he feels that auctioning off his ring and donating the money will be a good start. Artest made NBA history for having the longest suspension for the remainder of

the season (with 73 games and playoffs) for an incident in the 2004 game against the Detroit Pistons when he got into a verbal confrontation with Pistons and Pacer fans then punching a Piston fan by the name of A.J. Shackleford.That’s Artest for you… he is known for doing, “I think I’m getting PUNKED,” spur of the moment stunts. To learn more about the 16K gold championship ring and to purchase tickets for the raffle, visit Artest website, www. ronartest.com contest ends December 25, 2010 and good luck and Happy Kwanzaa!

Poeticology continued..... the rhyme and cadences of hip-hop”- Miriam always cool to be you and be different. There are so many clones walking around doing what Knight (Top 10 Reviews) they see on T.V. instead of changing the game Getting to know Percival: by playing outside of the box. Poets are our last How did you begin your writing career? I’ve look into realism so, I choose to be as real as I always been writing. From middle school can be…to myself. winning awards at the fair for short stories all the way up through high school. I don’t think I Are there any authors/ artist that you would like really started taking poetry seriously until I had to work with? a creative writing class in my junior year. My Wow that’s a ridiculously long list. Saul teacher had us writing a lot of stories but it was Williams, Mos Def, Mums, Jill Scott, Erykah mostly a poetry based class. I think everything Badu, Andre 3000, Bob Marley if he was alive, changed when I saw a documentary in that class The rest of the Marley family, Nas, KRScalled Slam Nation. I paid particular attention ONE, Busta Rhymes, Lupe Fiasco, Cornel to a poet named Saul Williams. From that day West, Lauryn Hill, Michael Eric Dyson, Spike on my whole writing style changed. I think Lee, Muhammad Ali, Common, Talib Kweli, that’s when my career actually began. What/ Pharoahe Monch, Jay-z,… and the list goes on who were your influences growing up? To this but that’s all I can think of for now. day I don’t really know. I think my high school Where can I find your books? years as a whole were the biggest influence. Online mostly... Amazon.com, Barnes & Spent my freshman year at home in Miami. I Nobles website (bn.com) or you can just google went to Venezuela for my sophomore year. “Poeticology” and the book will be one of the Then spent my last 2 years in Maryland (D.C.) first few entries. I saw so many different things, did so much and experienced so much that I would say that time What words of advice do you have for upin my life molded all my outlooks on the world coming artist? around me. Even though I’ve lived most my Persevere… don’t ever give up on your dreams to life in Miami, Maryland and Venezuela played be whatever you want to be and don’t let anyone big roles in whom I am. How do you hope your slow you down. Also never believe you’re too book will inspire other African Americans? I good to work on your craft because there always want to inspire people to express themselves people that may remain undiscovered that are 10 and be able to talk about the things that are what times better than you. So you must continue to a poet named Kirk Nugent would call “The evolve any way you can. If you don’t evolve and Unpopular Truth”. You hear the music these aspire to get better at whatever your craft is then days and it’s so emotionless. I listen to a lot of you might as well just be a dinosaur and become hip hop and too often it’s considered un cool to extinctvisiting porn site. be who you are. I want to show black people it’s

Retraction: The Urban Source would like to apologize. November’s column of Urban Source Book Review was by Valerie Coleman and the correct title was “Blended Step-Families.