Literature

Race Matters

Posted on by billjohnson2014

NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) reporter Stephanie Lopez  caught up with Donovan Livingston after his “Lift Off” poem presented at Harvard’s recent convocation.  The reporter had several questions beginning with the reasoning behind the poem.  If you have not seen the inspirational video please take a look.

 

Stephanie Lopez: In this metaphor you say ‘education is the key while you continue changing the locks,’ what are you getting at when you mention ‘changing the locks?’

Donovan Livingston “So when I talk about changing the locks I’m really getting at this idea that our society has become a meritocracy, where you go to school, what you major in, what you do after you’ve done all of this learning is really what matters more than anything else and we’re living in a time where a high school degree isn’t necessarily enough to maintain a living wage, and we’re also living in a time where a bachelor’s degree might not be enough to get you the sort of economic leverage that you would’ve got maybe twenty, forty years ago as a college graduate.

“Really telling students that college is the ultimate goal is not enough. As someone whose entire career in education is predicated on getting students into and through college, I firmly believe that getting into college is not enough. We need to create spaces for students to have meaningful experiences in education, and by meaningful experiences I mean really highlighting the things about them that make them feel like a whole person.

“I really don’t feel like I would’ve felt like a whole person at Carolina had it not been for my Ebony Readers Onyx Theater community or my Black Student Movement community, which really those were spaces where I could really unpack the true measure of who I was.

“And schools are one of these institutions that we has humans all pass through and I really see school as a place where we can learn the most about ourselves and how to make this country a great place.”

Donovan Livingston touched on various things in his initial answer that he would later expound on later in the interview.  In this blog I wanted to discuss the college experience of American Americans as many of us have similar experiences.  I am the first person to graduate from college in my immediate family. My father insisted that I go because the people of his generation that did really well went to college. According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics  the spring of 2005 saw a payroll employment increase of  $274,000 .  It would have been crazy not to go to college. Right?

I would learn as Donovan Livingston learned and preaches that “simply going or even graduating is no longer enough”. During the fall of 2005, I had one of the hardest periods of my life because so many of the things that made me feel connected with not only school but, life where gone. My life revolved around family, church and, football and I was removed from those comforts. It was as if I suffered a brief bout with depression, as I experienced bouts of euphoria followed by utter loneliness. I had this quote, “I feel like I’m the only one standing in a crowded party”. To top it off, I did not have good study habits as I began to doubt if I would ever be a good student.

During my second semester in college I was cleared to return to the football field and I began attending a local church which slowly started my turn around. Academically, I still continued to struggle until I received my first “A” during summer school. I attended a local junior college back in my hometown. I was able to use that “A” as catalyst for the remainder of my college career. The belief that I could be a good student seemed to free me of the psychological chains of self-doubt.

However; I can’t help but think about my peers who started high school or  college but,  never finished. I can’t help but think of the children that are coming behind. Donovan Livingston had his fraternity and his poetry group that gave him confidence, brotherhood and integrated him into the college experience. I was a member of an athletics team so that allowed me to feel like a valued member of campus life? What supports are in place for young people of color who don’t  join an athletics team or a fraternity/sorority? What gives them strength while also letting them know that they are valued?  What happens to the young people that never get the confidence boasting “A” in a class?

“Can genuine human relationships flourish for black people in a society that assaults black intelligence, black moral character, and black possibility”.-   Dr. Cornel West

I graduated in the spring of 2009 but, my happiness was short lived as the economy was experiencing The Great Recession.  In 2008 and 2009, the U.S. labor market lost 8.4 million jobs, or 6.1% of all payroll employment. No, my college degree has not generated the revenue or opened the doors that it once did. However; graduating college helped me learn the most about myself and I nor Donovan Livingston can say or show it any better.

 

Bronzeville

Posted on by billjohnson2014

I have written previously about the current state of the black dollar in America which currently circulates and lives the community in an estimated 6 hours. This number is a stark contrast from the estimated year in which it took for the black dollar to leave the community in the 1960’s. According to the NAACP   black owned businesses are vastly underrepresented, accounting for less than 7% of all small owned businesses, even though we account for 13% of the population.   Research suggests that communities’ generational economic empowerment is linked to entrepreneurial success. Therefore, if we are serious about improving our communities, improving our schools, providing jobs we must  return to the communities of yesterday year..

During the start of the 20th Century we saw many areas become hubs for African American culture and development.  Between 1910 and 1920, a tremendous number of African Americans  journeyed to many areas including the south side of Chicago . The Douglas community area received the moniker “Bronzeville”  because of the large African American presence in the area. The 7 mile area included over 300,000 people before its down turn beginning around 1950.

Bronzeville’s businesses and community institutions  included Provident Hospital, the Wabash YMCA, the George Cleveland Hall Library,  Parkway Community House, the Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments, Binga Bank and the Overton Hygienic Company. The businesses were more than alternatives to racially restricted establishments downtown. They were pillars of the community which helped to instill pride and contribute to the upward mobility of African Americans.

Bronzeville’s 20th century resurgence, which rivaled the Harlem Renaissance, is responsible for tremendous cultural and social advances. Pulitzer Prize recipient Gwendolyn Brooks, civil rights activist Ida B. Wells, and legendary musician Louis Armstrong were profoundly responsible for the area’s development and subsequent cultural crusade, which included advances in civil rights, jazz, blues and gospel music as well.

One school of thought advises that  Bronzeville fell into decline after the end of racially restricted housing. Upper and middle class families moved away, and over-population and poverty overwhelmed the neighborhood. During a recent interview  Larenz Tate submits another school  of thought which involves the Mafia and the Illinois State Lotto.

The Harlem Renaissance is mentioned in this piece that detailed the rise and fall of a similar but, little known  black community. However; I would be re-missed if I did not inform you that there where countless thriving all black communities around the nation. Black Wall  Street  was a very successful all black community in Tulsa Oklahoma which thrived from 1900-1921.

The area encompassed over 600 businesses and 36 square blocks with a population of 15,000 African Americans.  There were  pawn shops , brothels, jewelry stores, 21 churches, 21 restaurants , two movie theaters and a medical school. It was a time when the entire state of Oklahoma had only two airports, yet six Blacks owned their own planes. A local physician Dr. Berry owed the bus system and his average income was $500 a day in 1910. I said previously that the community thrived until 1921 because it was burned to the ground by the KKK on 6/1/1921. In the aerial  attack which spanned 12 hours an estimated  1500-3000 people where killed. This was the first and only time in United States history that our military has ever dropped a bomb on U.S. soil.  

Overtown” is one of Dade County’s poorest communities. The type of community like many around the nation that is filled with housing projects, easy access to guns and alcohol  which  begets the high crime rate. During the  1920’s, 30’s and 40’s  Overtown was Black Miami’s showcase, centerpiece, and mecca: a self-sustaining community filled with an entertainment district, shops, groceries, law offices — even a hospital.

Overtown was home to many of Miami’s successful black families. William A. Chapman Sr., a prominent black physician, lived and worked there. His house at Northwest Third Avenue and 11th Street is now used by Miami-Dade County Public Schools as a research center. There’s Dana Albert Dorsey, Miami’s first black millionaire, who made his fortune buying land. By 1965 much of Overtown had been razed for highway construction and “urban renewal.” Interstate 95, a ten lane expressway which today is Miami’s primary north-south artery, along with the East-West Dolphin Expressway (State route 836) were both constructed directly through the heart of Overtown during the 1960s. Later Metrorail, Miami’s new billion dollar urban mass transit system, was routed directly through the community causing further dislocation.

I choose these three examples of self sustaining black communities to shine a light on the disintegration of the black community. The  destruction of the black community has  happened overtly, covertly and systematically . In the first paragraph  we see another example of how integration  covertly  weakened the black community. The body of the work provides light on the direct unwavering racism that still existed and still exits  in this country. Have you checked Twitter or better yet, listened to Donald Trump?  The ending  section of the work highlights the systematic form of racism which  is the deadliest form. Anytime  blacks are not represented in “the meeting” but, more importantly “the meeting before the meeting” we will always get the short end of the stick. We don’t have to have the worse schools, gentrified neighbors or leaders that don’t reflect our needs etc but, we first have to awaken to the possibility.

“Know whence you came. If you know whence you came, there is really no limit to where you can go”.- James Baldwin.

 

 

 

 

No Haiti, No Louisiana Purchase

Posted on by billjohnson2014

“The prospect of a Black Republic is equally disturbing to the Spanish, the English and the Americans. Jefferson has promised that on the instant the French Army has arrived [in Haiti] all measures will be taken to starve Toussaint and rid us of these gilded Negroes, and we will have nothing more to wish for.”-  Napoleon Bonaparte

http://youtu.be/vXVMr7mLgjw

The Louisiana Purchase that I read in my grade school textbook does nothing to capture the overall climate or significance of the moment in history. The portrait painted of the consummate thinker and diplomatic Thomas Jefferson. Lewis and Clark exploring territories that made up The Louisiana Purchase  with the cinema of an episode featuring Bear Grylls.

It is true that Thomas Jefferson understood the value of New Orleans as he was willing to purchase it for 3 million dollars. Napoleon’s  offer to sale the  Louisiana Territory  for 15 million which today would be 215 million shows how desperate  Napoleon was. The biggest and most successful slave revolt in history denied Napoleon of his dream of a western empire built on international trade. This dream rested in Hispaniola’s (Haiti and the Dominican Republic’s) ability to farm sugar, coffee and tropical produce. The caveat being the port of New Orleans for the shipping and receiving of goods.

In 1789 while France was in the middle of the French Revolution Haitians where fighting for independence in Saint Dominique (Haiti). The “Rights of Man” act essentially gave free slaves and mulattoes rights similar to the separate but, equal laws enacted for blacks in 19th century America.  After much fall out the measure was retracted in 1791 which lead mass slave revolts creating who we know today as  Toussaint L’Ouverture. L’Ouverture would later say “he was born a slave with the soul of a free man”.

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Toussaint L’Ouverture which translates into “the one who finds an opening” is considered the black George Washington.  Toussaint L’Ouverture fought the French for 12 years fighting off three different regimens with former slaves he trained.  L’Ouverture’s rallying cry was “egalite” which translates to liberty, equality and fraternity.

By 1802 the Haitian rebellion lead by Toussaint L’Ouverture had succeeded in killing 55,000 French soldiers. The relentless effort by former slaves slowly made Napoleon reconsider his thoughts prompting a peace treaty. In 1803  Napoleon agreed to recognize Haitian independence and later that year a tired Napoleon sold the territory that made up the Louisiana Purchase.

In it my belief that The Haitian Revolution is the most profound revolution ever realized by human beings. It is the only revolution were slaves created a nation but, nobody wants to talk about it.

–  Jean Claude Martineau

Words with Friends

Posted on by billjohnson2014

I have a love of words and have for as longs as I can remember. I love playing with words or word play which is actually a play on words.  If you have ever told or laughed at a “that’s what she said joke” you witnessed a “double entendre”. A double entendre is a figure of speech or particular wording that is devised to be understood in either of two ways.

I was recently having a conversation about communication and I would learn quickly that I was out of my element. You see I like to converse about a variety of subjects and I have been told I can be long winded like a Baptist minister. I can talk endlessly about sports or life lessons but, I learned I was not always communicating or being an effective communicator.  Communication is defined as the verbal/non verbal exchange of information that requires a response.

I think we all could agree that being an effective communicator means conveying an articulate message with easy to follow directives.  In addition an effective communicator needs to listen showing verbal and nonverbal cues. The cues if used properly ease the speaker therefore he/she communicates openly and honestly. After receiving the information the receiver  needs to respond in a way that affirms the speaker i.e repeating the information back to him/her.

If you know anyone that is married they will tell you that marriage is difficult especially the first year.  In the opening scene we find Whitley waking up early in the morning to brush her teeth so Dwayne will be affectionate. In the episode Whitley continues sending subliminal message to Dwayne before  turning to talk show host Montell Williams for advice. In the end she turns to her  friends  before finally opening up to Dwayne.

I can attest to being passive aggressive at times and also simply  not being a good active listener.  I also can attest to speaking with friends/family instead of the person that I have the issue with. At the end of the episode like in life we learn that genuine care, concern and selflessness goes along way in the art that is communication.

The episode in its entirety brings to light poor communication practices  that are displayed in  relationships. I used Dwayne and Whitley as an example for interpersonal conflict more so than men vs women.  I chuckle as I advise this blog was not intended to solve the conundrum that is man/female communication.

 

 

Thomas Jefferson: father of change or guardian of injustice

Posted on by billjohnson2014

The Thomas Jefferson rarely talked about is one who grew up owning slaves and throughout his life owned more than 600.  According to Monticello.org Thomas Jefferson owned 200 slaves in a given year most of which were 16 years of age and under. The most notable of Jefferson’s slaves Sally Hemings was inherited from his father in law John Wayles in 1774. Sally was apart of 135 slaves that Jefferson received which included the entire Hemings family. Sally was actually the half sister of Jefferson’s wife as Sally’s mother Elizabeth Hemings was John Wayles mistress.

In 1787 Sally went  to work for Jefferson at his home in France and two years later at age 15 she became pregnant. Sally was under no obligation to return to Virginia with Jefferson as laws in France where much different than in the states .Sally decided to come back with Jefferson after he agreed that any children they had would be given their freedom at age 21. At the time Jefferson was making a bold statement  but, when you do the research it loses some of it’s luster. Any children the pair authored would be 1/8 white and in Virginia the law stated that persons 1/8 whites could not be slaves. So in essence Jefferson would only be granting individuals freedom who should have never been enslaved. Of the seven individuals that Jefferson freed during his life and the afterlife all were said to be from the Heming’s family.

Dr Samuel Johnson wrote “How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty from the drivers of Negroes”. Was the man that wrote “all men are created equal” a believer in the true spirit of the Declaration of Independence? Thomas Jefferson wrote that “slavery was an abomination” yet he freed only seven slaves. Was Jefferson simply a man of his time that could not escape the cloak of slavery? It was also widely believed that Jefferson was in debit so keeping his slaves may have been  more about capitol than consciousness. In 1784 Jefferson proposed federal  legislation banning slavery in New Territories after 1800 but, it failed to pass by one vote.

Thomas Jefferson expressed the belief that slavery corrupted  masters and weakened slaves. Jefferson argued against mass emancipation as he argued blacks where unprepared for the work force so the process needed to be gradual and practical. In reading about Thomas Jefferson I don’t feel he was this great larger than life figure portrayed by the writings on his head stone. I also don’t feel he was a cold, calculated slave driving politician from down under.

I think more than anything Jefferson was a man of opportunity. Jefferson was a privileged child who was afforded a great education at the University of William and Mary. Jefferson succeeded Benjamin Franklin in Paris, France and while there read endlessly and after soaking up french culture the seeds for his ideals on injustice were planted.Jefferson spoke out against slavery not necessarily to end it but, because he had seen a people thrive without it. Jefferson owned slaves because it was legal and took a beautiful black woman in his bed because he could. Jefferson being a man part opportunity and part circumstance could just have easily been molded into Fidel Castro or Mahatma Gandhi.

The book judged by its cover…..

Posted on by billjohnson2014

“It’s easier said than done. I read this book it’s called  How The Mind Works and I couldn’t make it all the way through I prolly made it half way through…Cause it was real…I feel like I was in over my head in terms of like how smart it was. But it was all like how the mind works…and the mind works in patterns like you see a tree because you see a pattern of leaves and barks and you know… an your mind says oh that pattern equals tree.

If the mind does work like that in patterns stereotypes would be natural…you know what I mean…I would think. But I can meet somebody that’s like Puerto Rican…19 and have genuine interactions with this type of person to the point where I know them. My patterns and my stereotypes about this type of person are a little more informed. There still not all the way accurate but, it’s like a little more well informed then a bunch of people in this world that have never had real interactions with real 19 year old Puerto Ricans… are like young black males or black people period or minorities period. The problem is most people’s opinions of these people who they’ve never met is all like given…the information is given by television and stereotypes that like already exist in the media which are never accurate…which develop untrue patterns in peoples mind…I guess that’s what a stereotype really is..

  • Jermaine Cole

Jermaine Cole continued advising that it was natural for your brain to function in that way but, it was f*ck*d up that it was every programmed that way. In listening to Jermaine’s take on the act of judging people and its central relationship to stereotypes it made me think. What if I could quantify the negative impact stereotypes have? It also made me consider the effect that stereotypes play in racism, sexism and classism. Racism, sexism and classism are deeply rooted ideals that rest in some individuals to the point where it’s like breathing. I pose the question of where did the aforementioned individuals get their beliefs from. I would mostly likely say from a source that provided them an untrue representation of the opposing race, gender, class etc.

There was this little kid named Teddy in Ms. Thompson’s 4th grade. The very non- descript young man came to class every day albeit with wrinkled clothes to go with a dis-shelved appearance. You see Teddy’s mother had died the previous year and he was having a hard time. Neither did the other kids or Ms. Thompson care for Teddy or his situation. One day Ms. Thompson had a lot of gifts on her desk as it was Teacher Appreciation Week. Teddy came with a paper bag that contained cheap half used perfume and an old bracelet as Ms. Thompson took it and thanked Teddy. After class Teddy complimented Ms. Thompson advising that “she smelled just like his mother and her bracelet looked good on her”. Ms. Thompson got on her knees later that day and apologized to God. Ms. Thompson prayed to not only teach her students but, to love her students from that day forth.

Ms. Thompson’s students went on to have a great year but, Ms. Thompson did not hear from Teddy for a long time. One day Teddy came back to her and advised that he was graduating as his high school’s salutatorian. A few years after that Teddy came back and told Ms. Thompson that he was graduating as his university’s valedictorian. Ms. Thompson thought “wow” what a great story but, it was just beginning. Again one day some years later out of nowhere Teddy came back and told Ms. Thompson that he was the medical director at a hospital and he was also getting married. Ms. Thompson was happy for Teddy and suddenly shocked as he asked her to sit in his mother’s place at his wedding. Ms. Thompson again got on her knees but, this time she was thanking God for using her.

I think about all of the things that were going through Ms. Thompson’s head about this “dirty kid”. I’m thinking about her beliefs may have even clouded her ability to teach Teddy but, I don’t know for sure. My sister told me once “my son can’t go with everyone”. I asked why as she replied “the person has to love my child because if something happens I know he or she will protect my son as I would”. I take that and compare it to the career that Ms. Thompson was able to have after she began to teach from her heart not her head.

In the society we live in today I imagine the 2015 version of Ms. Thompson would have called in a CPS case. This kid is “dirty” and he is always eating so his dad is “likely not feeding him”. Imagine if CPS got involved and say Teddy’s house is not the cleanest thing in the world… what then?

We potentially take Teddy out of the only home he has ever known. We take Teddy away from the person that he loves most. Is it safe to assume Teddy does not grow up to be Dr. Teddy? On a side note I heard a comedian who was once in the foster care system give the best commentary on social services I’ve ever heard. “Foster care is when the state takes kids out of abusive/neglectful situations and places them in another abusive/neglectful situation”. I was in tears and on the floor laughing. The point is not to bash social services as they try their best. I just wanted to highlight the approach we take in handling situations after our judgement has been clouded by stereotypes and a cynical nature.

Every dirty kid is not being mistreated or going without love. Every self-proclaimed “red neck” who voted for George Bush and loves “Ducky Dynasty” is not a racist. Not every black person knows or even cares about what happened in Ferguson, Missouri or South Carolina. Not every young woman that likes to party and have pre-marital sex has “daddy issues”. Every Middle Eastern male with a turban is not a terrorist as some know way more about rapper Drake than they do about Osama Bin Laden.

The study depicted clearly highlights socialization as the key to stereotypes. Children and adults   who have had genuine interactions with a particular race etc. look at that entity less stereotypically. I was having a conversation with a co-worker who is from England about race. I went on this retort about being a black man in America and Leon let me finish as he began to smile. He said Kerry if you walked around in the UK “I’m black this and black that” people would think you were crazy. I said why Leon? He said there’s “just men” in the UK nobody cares how dark or light as you would never been identified by race or color.

“The media’s the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses”.

  • Malcom X

I went to sleep young but, I woke up old

Posted on by billjohnson2014

I was at a work training a few weeks back…yes a work training. The second speaker was a part of the staff for the areas Substance Abuse and Aging program. The woman read from a power point and I kind of half way followed along which is the norm for such a training. The woman would stop to take questions and make little funny antidotes here and there as I began to clock watch. It wasn’t until the woman advised that she was 80 years old did I sit up in my chair. I told myself surely this woman appearing no older than 65 could not be 80 years old but, it was true.

The woman continued advising that she had two children her son being around 60 and her daughter around 55. The woman advised that she was 45 years old when her alcohol abuse caught up with her. The woman specified that alcohol ended her marriage and almost ended her relationship with her children. The woman said that her children were adults and out of the house when she began drinking every day. The woman said she knew she had a problem when her children confronted. “The conversation changed me and I entered an inpatient treatment facility”. She continued advising that she has over 30 years of sobriety which she attributed to successfully attainting her master’s degree at age 50.

The next thing that the woman said left the biggest imprint on me. She advised that it was time to retire but, she didn’t want to because all of her friends where dead. The woman advised that when your 20 and 30 they make retirement sound like this promise land but, it’s not. The women thanked God that she was in relatively good health but, she advised that she had nothing to look forward to in retirement. She specified that her children where old and dealing with their own issues. She further specified that she is taken medication for the first time in her life and it “sucks”. The woman ended advising that as a single 80 year old woman it is hard because outside of work nobody needs her.

Listening to the women made me think about the image that I had about retirement. Did I think retirement was this awesome place like South Beach? As I pondered the unknown one thing that I did know was that I did not want to be old. Don’t get me wrong I welcomed the wisdom that came with age. I really would not be where I am without the going through life’s trials and tribulations and coming out on the other side having learned the lesson. With all that said a part of me has always looked at being old as dependent, weak or lacking. In my head as a child death was that place old people went and if I wanted to avoid pain, suffering and death I need not get old.

As I’ve gotten older and closer to my faith I understand dying is a certainty. The Christian faith teaches you that if you are saved and believe in Jesus you will go to heaven and that was more than enough for me. To be honest I never gave much thought to dying as I was happy being 10, 11, 15 and so on. Something in me could not imagine me as 25 let alone 65. Every year I have a birthday it’s kind of bittersweet.

I’m not sure how it was passed to me but, since I became an adult “30” has been The Age. The age 30 signaled the end of any remaining immaturity. The time when one comes to grips with what is a dream? What is real? What is going to pay the bills? This is the reunion period in life where you consciously or subconsciously measure the new you vs the old you. At the same time you’re measuring yourself against your classmates and you’re either satisfied or disappointed. Michael Jordan said something during his hall of fame speech “getting inducted is bittersweet because the athlete in me wants to come back and play or at least make you all think I can”.

I thought so much about my feelings about aging that I wanted to see if my feelings where mine alone. My blue collar ultra-competitive never quit attitude was honed on the pavement outside my house against my dad. It would only make since to see if he had similar thoughts about aging right?

I barely got the first question out when Pop replied “Physically getting old for me is not fun at all because I’m very athletic.  The older you get the more injuries surface and things just seem to snowball”. My father has had two surgeries’ on his knees in the last several months. My father recalled “I can remember talking to my mom some years back and I told her there are two things I hate and one of them I’ve already been. The first is a child and the second is old. In both age groups I feel one cannot be all they can be as they are hindered by age or their physical/mental ability level. Speaking as a man it messes with your mind. At 25 your wishing somebody tries to mess with you but, at 50 your praying to God nobody tries. It’s a hard thing as a man dealing with old age and injuries to question whether you can defend yourself”.

My father makes his living in the service industry and he has done so for the past 14 years. He is in the kind of field that lends its self to a very long shelf life. I asked him if he could see himself working 20 more years to which he replied “I would say 10”. “There are just so many factors that go into that namely my eyes and knees”. My dad would later advise that he was currently already wearing the bifocals of contacts.

The conversation continued as I asked Pop how big would “cost of living” factor into his retirement. “I see a lot of people in my generation buying houses later and or supporting their children/grandchildren. Those types of lifestyles dictate individuals having to work into their seventies. He continued some even retire but, have to go back to work for fear of out living there money”. My father implored me saying the keyword for me and my generation is “preparedness”.

As the conversation started to wine down I asked Pop did he feel like he would become increasingly unhappy dealing with aging. He replied “I’ve said a lot of things but I don’t want you to think I’m down on aging”. “Sure the man loses some of his zeal for intimacy as yes you go through some personality changes but, I like who I’ve become”. I asked Pop to explain he replied “I had to be the lion when you kids where young, I had to protect my family. Now you guys are grown and can protect yourselves so now I’m something you pet at the zoo. I thank God that I have attained wisdom and he has put me in positions where I can help a lot of people. If I would have died young I would not have understood my mistakes and Gods plan for each of us”.

Amber, the rose that tried to grow from concrete……

Posted on by billjohnson2014

“Getting engaged is like getting…it’s the first hurdle of the roller-coaster and you hear the click.. those loud sounds. This really violent metal chunk o-chunk o-chunking…. (You’re asking yourself) what’s going on here, you know. Boy this thing really goes high (in reference to the roller-coaster) and then you go over the top. The wedding is at the top…you go over the top that’s the wedding and then you’re just screaming”.

“Marriage is like any growth you can’t be ready for it because its growth it’s going to be new. You’re going to have a new life; you’re going to be a new person”. – Jerry Seinfeld

Am I the only one that receives wedding invitations having no idea the two parties were even dating? I ask myself “Kerry where have you been”. To my credit I’m not one for competing or much less keeping an eye on the Jones’s. On a larger scale I am that friend that has no idea what Kylie Jenner wore to the Grammy’s or who Drake is dating. I’m getting off topic. I don’t spend a lot of time on social media but, when I’m on there I am surprised by what I see. What am I seeing? I see a lot of proposals, bridal showers and weddings.

I’m sure there are many reasons to why those things jump out to me. The first I would say centers on age. I’m going strictly off perception but, I would guess individuals 18-28 get married more than any other age group. I would say the second reason surrounds my use of social media. For people like me that limit their social media use we have to realize the world never stops. If you don’t track someone for a year or two you will surely be surprised with the happenings in his/her life. The last surrounds my personal association with weddings. I have been a groomsman in two weddings in the last 18 months and have seen my sister, brother and father married in that span.

To say the least I was very intrigued as to what the numbers showed in relation to couples getting married in my age range. Is the percentage higher now than in years past? Is the number lower? How are those numbers reflected in the divorce rate? Lastly where does my ethnicity factor into the equation?

Have you ever performed research on marriage? The first information that jumps out at you and repeats in various publications is the rise in median marital age. The average age for women is 25.8 and 28.3 for men. The age group that has suffered the greatest decline in marriages is you guessed it 18-28. 20 % of individuals in that age range are married compared to 60% of that same age group 40 years ago according to the 2010 Census. According to the CDC the decline is related to an increase in cohabitation and single parenthood.

The Pew Research Center goes against the grain as it advises that public perception is mixed on the institution of marriage. Meaning as a nation we do not value the institution as in years past so thus the decline. The aforementioned premise was not supported in the various studies I observed but, I actually believe that the study does have some merit. The majority of the studies concluded that minorities who as we have learned marry less than whites still value the institution of marriage. The previous statement is not actually supported when it comes time to say “I do”. As of 2010 55% of black adults had ever been married compared with 64% of Hispanics and 76% of Whites.  According to the Census currently 45% of African American households contain a married couple. Blacks are significantly more likely than any other race to never marry, cohabit and bear children out of wedlock according to the Census. The national illegitimacy rate (children born out of wedlock) is 33% but, for blacks that number is more like 70%. Educational attainment or lack thereof supports the aforementioned premise more than most give credence.

A study called “Women’s Education and Their Likelihood of Marriage” performed by professor Paula England expounded on the previous topic. The study found that 75% of college educated women are married, compared to 70% of those who attend some college and 60% with only high school education. According to (blg.com) college graduates are 20% to 30% less likely to divorce than non-graduates which is a good segue to divorce rates. Men 20 to 24 divorce at a rate of 38.8% percent which is higher than any other age range. Women share the same age ranges but, there clip is 36.6%. The website divorcesaloon.com has the divorce rate for blacks currently at 70%.

Looking over all the facts and figures from the CDC, Census and countless studies I was not satisfied. I settled myself as the disintegration of the black family started long ago and as blacks we perpetuate that cycle in various ways. I did find solace in information received on discoverthenetworks.org that gave me hope. Black two parent families where both parties work full time have a mere 2% poverty rate which leads me to my conclusion. We have to breakdown why blacks want to get married but, don’t and also why we divorce higher than any other race. I’m not sure how to correct the problem but, I know it first starts with ME. I went to college and I’m waiting to get married. I need to choose a partner that helps support our family spiritually and financially as we shape and nurture our child(s) views. I didn’t see any marriages up close as a kid and to think my son could see 4/5 just with his dad, aunts, uncle and grandfather. I think that’s a step in the right direction.

I feel like I’m a planet and the other woman are kind of moving through this solar system with me. And marriage is like you decide to jump off of your planet and cross to another planet. But you can only do it when one planet passes real close and you look and say “hey I think I can jump across”.

– Jerry Seinfeld

The trip of a lifetime

Posted on by billjohnson2014

There was this ole boy named Johnny Francis. Now Johnny didn’t take no mess from anyone and he would be the first to tell you so. In Johnny’s mind the world belonged to him. Johnny was a nice size fellow who could whoop women and men the same. Johnny kept a razor blade in his pocket each and every day until one day he didn’t. As the story goes Johnny was walking through downtown and this old shoe shine man got in his way. Johnny kicked the old man but, before you could blink the old man tripped Johnny. Johnny ended up flat on his back as the man neatly pressed a steel blade against his neck. The old man said “I’ve killed the old man in you but, I’m going to let the new man live”.  Johnny arrived home completely shaken suddenly realizing that he had his blade in his pocket the whole time. Johnny didn’t find the blade or a lot of his others ways much useful after that.

(1)Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. (Proverbs 27: 1)

Now, I’m Jewish and he’s a Muslim…and because of that he tells me I need to give up certain things, like pork and white women…I can give up the pork, but the white women? God D*mn, how the hell do you do that?

  • Drew “Bundini” Brown

Charlie Rose is an award winning journalist and television show host who has interviewed everyone from prime ministers and foreign dignitaries to sports stars. Charlie Rose recently appeared on TBS to speak with Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and others during March Madness. The questions quickly turned to Rose’s background and his pointers for a good interview. Rose advised that he worked at the store that his parents owned and being the only child no adults would talk to him unless he asked questions. Rose advised that people fascinated him and stoked his curiosity more than anything.  Charles Barkley asked Charlie Rose how he interviews an entertainer and makes it look so easy as he interviews the president of a country the next day. Rose advised that there is something interesting about everyone you just have to be first curious and second prepared. Rose also advised that he just tries to stay in the moment. Kenny Smith asked Rose how he interview’s people that are difficult or considered “bad”. Rose advised in short that he is always surprised about interviews because some of the “bad people” have been the most engaging, pleasant and relaxed interviews he has had.  Rose advised that out of the what, when and why questions the “why” normally gets people talking. “Why did you feel that way”? “Why did you do you make that decision”?

Some people that know me say that I am “the life” of the party. These people would also say I am really engaging in conversation and easy to be around because I have an infectious personality. Other people would say I am deep, passionate, introspect and my thoughts seam to run endlessly like children at play. This deep/introspective perspective that I am blessed with always me to take utter nothingness and turn it into beautiful bless born on paper. Then there’s a contingent that would say I am very humble, meek, quiet, selective with my words and more selective with actions. I am all of these things and more. I embrace all of these attributes and characteristics because they create the depth that is me. I really enjoy people that have a story. I really enjoy people that have layers to their personality. In this age of followers, favorites and five minute dating I believe we are losing our substance. I think even more today than ever to be different is to me disliked.

Image result for muhammad ali pictures and quotes

He was the salutatorian for his high school class and voted most likely to succeed as he graduated with a 4.2 GPA. He moved on to Stanford University where he graduated with an undergraduate degree in communications. He also completed his first year of graduate level study in communications before putting his studies on hold to enter the professional ranks. Aside from his work professionally he has started a foundation that purchases school supplies for students in low income families. The young man has visited several schools personally spreading the message of hope and determination. Sound like the guy you want your daughter to bring home?

If this same person was called a nig*er, jungle monkey or ape what does that say about our culture. If several people made comments that they believed the young man should be shot in the head would you be embarrassed? If these comments were made by your brother, sister or cousin would you be understanding and ask him/her why? I think to myself if this young man is being labeled as a thug with a degree from Stanford what would I be called? I don’t have a cookie cutter personality nor am I ALWAYS politically correct.  This blog is not about racist or racism. This blog is about the “why”. This blog is about the effort or lack thereof that we exert to understand our fellow man without judgment, condemnation or spite. If you show humility and understanding you may be the trip that allows someone to land on their feet.

The Power of the Pen

Posted on by billjohnson2014

Have you ever heard of “the power of the pen”? The power of the pen is an old adage that was coined by author and playwright Edward Bulwer- Lytton. “True, This – Beneath the rule of men entirely great. The pen is mightier than the sword Behold the arch- enchanters wand”! Bulwer- Lytton was advising that administrative power or advocacy of an independent press is a more effective tool than direct violence. If you look back in American history the Negro was denigrated and ostracized in newspapers that he (a) had no voice (b) had no access. By comparison the government in communist countries control the media as the only communication accepted for print must positively reflect the government and its position.

“When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. When you determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do. If you make a man feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it himself. If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told; and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one.”

  • Carter G. Woodson

I was about 10/11 years old when I received a slightly different but, just as palpable definition of “the power of the pen”. Kerry (My mother’s voice) “do you know your teacher called me today”? (Me) No Ma’am (knowing full well several teachers probably had a reason to call her). Come in her young man (Mom). Kerry “the teacher told me you were fighting in class and when she confronted you, you became disrespectful”. Furthermore she tells me you have a C in her class and a D in conduct. I attempted to explain: “she was wrong”, “she does not like me” but, my mother would hear nothing of it. She said “son at the end of the day it’s her word against yours and she has the power of the pen so you will lose every time”.

I think about some of the talks I and my mother had and I laugh because she was usually right. I learned many life lessons and people skills that I carry with me today. The first time I heard “If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all” was in reference to school behavior. “Treat people how you want to be treated”. “If everybody jumped off a bridge are you going to jump too”?” “Use your head for more than a hat rack”. “If you want respect you first have to give respect”. “Two wrongs don’t make a right”. “D is for dummy, are you a dummy?” I know some of the quotes sound old foggy but, is that bad?

To my point these lessons learned became the principles that I stand on today as a man nearing 30. In an earlier blog I spoke of how Rousseau deemed it a detriment to the human condition to have your own personal self- worth/value tied to the comments of others. In a way that statement is 100% true and by the same token there is great value in the observations/comments of others.  There is socialization and a reinforcing of positive behavior that goes with smiley faces and check marks. In the same way poor conduct grades and timeout are usually good deterrents to unwanted behaviors. If you are socialized or you conform you are what? You’re most likely to stay out of trouble and receive average to above average grades depending on your effort.  This conformity when learned at a young age usually bears fruit later in life. Even as adults we are socialized. Of course there are traffic, civil and criminal laws that govern society. Anyone that has ever received a traffic citation understands the phrase “ignorance of the law is not an excuse”.

On a more personal level we are socialized by magazines and television on what fashion is in and what cars to drive. Do you remember your last performance review at work? Depending on whom your supervisor is/was that can really be a trip to the principal’s office. In reference to social media we are socialized in so many ways it’s not real. “I’ve heard people say it makes me feel good when I get a certain number of likes”. “I post these kinds of pictures because that’s what people like”. “I sometimes post pictures to show people that I’m having fun after I’ve seen my friends post pictures of them having fun”. Is this the most asinine thing you have ever heard? Yes. Have I heard them all and much more? Yes.

I really wanted to write this blog to briefly discuss some of the positive and negative effects of the pen. I think the pen can be very positive when it is used to reinforce positive behaviors. I also think the pen can go a long way to curtail unwanted behavior. The pen can also be emotionally devastating when it is used in a mean spirited/spiteful manner. The pen has its place in our society and more personally with each and every one of us. I have said many times when we are complete people we can find mates that complements us instead of mates that are intended to fill a void. I feel similarly in that when we are complete individuals we are less likely to be critical and judgmental of others. I have made it a point to critique my friends and love one’s without being “critical”. When you put yourself in people’s shoes and offer a critique you find an ear but, when you are critical you find a wall.

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)