The Long Road Back To Black Love

Problem #1 “Look at that White Girl stealing all of our good men!!! Why doesn’t she just stay off of our men and date within her own race?” Although this is ridiculously racist, (an article for another day), I am here to tell my Black Sisters that I understand. Yes, a Black Man claiming to understand the pain you must feel when you see a Black Man, hand and hand walking with a white woman. When it was Black Women who were always there behind the scenes for Black Men during their most trying hours. Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington among other prominent men could not have done it if they did not have their Corretas in the background doing more work than they got credit for. At the end of the civil rights movement the only female that recieved mass acclaim was Rosa Parks for not giving up her seat on a bus. Although, that was an incredibly courageous thing to do, it was hardly the epitome of the Black Women’s involvement in the struggle. Swallowing your pride and allowing your brothers and husbands to get all the credit for a day in which Black People could all move up to being equals to white people. So to look up 20, 30 to some 40 years later and what do you see? A black man smiling with his trophy girlfriend, the gleams of his eyes, the reason he has a bounce in his step…A WHITE WOMAN! (OH HELL NAW!!!). All those days, fighting behind the scenes for equality and to look up and see that you were never fighting for equality, but for your black men to walk hand in hand with some white women. How could this be? What happened to Black Love? What happened to the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice?

Problem # 2

“Man, F*ck all Black guys, they are all (negro) hos!” I hear a Black Woman Exclaim as she complains to her friend about how there are no more good Black Men. “You get with one of them and sooner a later they do you dirty. Either they get to thinking that they are cooler than they are, they end up cheating with your friend, a girl you hate or of all women, A White Woman! What ever happened to the good ol days when black love was Black Love? Why can’t I trust my man not to be doing things behind my back? Why can’t I live without fear that my man is just stringing me along until he finds someone he thinks is better?”

If you feel like you have any of these problems, here is my answer.

My sistas, I am about to bring up one of the most radical ideas anyone has ever heard. After I write this....shiiiittt, I don’t this The Voice will allow me to post anymore articles here…alright….here I go. Black Women should begin to date outside their race. Now I know it sounds drastic, but drastic times call for drastic measures right? Let me explain. Every girl (for the most part) knows that one guy who if they really wanted to date, they could date. These guys are loyal, appreciative and listens to what you have to say. So why don’t you ladies date them, “…Because He is not a challenge or he’s too clingy.” Now I say this with the utmost respect for Black Women as possible. Black Women to Black Men are that friend. Now before I get hanged for treason, let’s think about it. Black Men for the most part marry Black Women, but when they are in high school, college and beyond they date outside their race…why? Because We take you guys for granted. We, rather consciously or unconsciously, always know that you are going to be there. We know that Black Women don’t look outside their race. So we have all our fun now with other races and when we decide to settle down, we go looking for the Black Woman who has and will be there all along. Although, Black men have moved on past their race, (at least for bachelor life), Black Women seem reluctant to take that step. With good reason as well, because I mean, what is Black Love, without a Black couple? However, I implore my sistas to venture onward. When you guys take that step forward, Black Men will come flocking back towards their Black Women. If it seems too fairy tale like to some of you, lets put it into context. Have you ever been next to a group of Black men when a black women walks by with a white man. Conversation stops and all eyes are on the couple. As cold stares beam at the couple, the jokes come out. “You know he can’t handle that right. She needa be with a real (negro) like me.” Almost instantaneously that Black woman becomes a jewel to the groups of Black Men because she is now no longer that friend that is always going to be there, but a treasure. Women that need to be protected and treated like the royalty that Black Women are.

*Disclaimer*

Now before I get calls from my brothas telling me that they woman left them because they suspect their man is cheating on them. ALL BLACK MEN, I REPEAT, ALL BLACK MEN ARE NOT DOGS. There are some, and dare I say, many men that will stand by your side and treat you with respect. If you have a good man, appreciate what you have and he will appreciate you in return. The last thing Black Men, (and all men for that matter) want to hear is them getting blamed for things they did not do. So please have solid proof that your man is “trifling” before you start throwing shit at the fan and making things a lot worse than it is.

...Imeabasi...

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Griot Nite Afterparty?

If you're on this website you probably have heard of and will be attending Griot Nite. However, Just as Griot Nite is finishing, a fashion show/live performance/club party will be right underway at Sevillas in Riverside.

The doors open at 10pm and the event ends at 2am.
This is an 18+ EVENT.

What to expect: Fashion show from: OneWayNorth or [OWN], Dangerous Negro (DN), Mariala, Major Hype, and Ropa Sucia.

Live performances: Dana La Rock, The PUSH!! and surprise performers.

Media: Local magazines including IE's finest "DeQ Magazine".

$COST$: $5 if you GUEST_LIST. call 951.445.0710 or 909.658.5623.

DRESS Code: no baggy clothing, no plain t-shirts, no flip-flops, no hats. DRESS to IMPRESS.

For directions and more: www.onewaynorth.com/republic/events

Sevillas: 3252 Mission Ave. Riverside,

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GRIOT NITE!!!

Griot Nite is a night full of poetry, spoken word, singing and more. It is open to everyone so if you feel you have the urge to express yourself, come out and perform.I know some of ya'll have some bomb poetry so don't let this opportunity go to waste.Besides that....come on time if you trying to sitand make sure you don't have arthritis because we not clappin' ... it's only snappin' ALSO The Barn will have HAPPY HOUR Prices for food! Hot wings, popcorn shrimp, tacos and more! SO bring yo dollas!

Date: November 20, 2008

Time: 7pm-10m

Where: Campus Barn

BE THERE! YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS OUT!

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The battle continues...

Keith Olbermann’s special comment is the most eloquent and passionate response so far regarding this Prop 8

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Somewhere, somehow, someone

I was recalling instances where I've felt I can't do much more. Instances where I felt I didn't have the fuel, the motivation to go on. If you tend to feel overwhelmed, stressed out, powerless and unmotivated then this is for you.

There are times that you feel that you cannot go on. Times that you feel you are pushed to your very limits. Times when things seem to always go wrong. And at these times we tend to feel like giving up. At these times you just want to turn back. Turn around. Take a break. And Sometimes you feel alone, as if no one understands and if no one cares. And at times you feel you are the reason to blame. You feel your choices have led you to your current state. But I just dropped by to say just remember that somewhere, somehow, someone is counting on you to go on. Somewhere somehow someone is hoping you keep going. Somewhere somehow someone is hoping you stay strong. Someone somewhere somehow is hoping you do the right thing. And Somewhere somehow someone is praying for you to go on. Somewhere somehow someone is pleading God to give you the strength to go on.

If God has given you areas of influence amongst your peers, or even amongst the younger ones, remember that they look up to you and they're counting on you to do the right thing. They're counting on you to go on. No matter what you do in life, someone somewhere, somehow is counting on you to go on. And maybe you maybe that person's only life line, maybe you may be what keeps them going on. When school is difficult and feel that old tendency to procrastinate, remember that someone is counting on you to go on. Someone is counting on you to study and to work hard.

So remember that at times we're faced with very difficult decisions. We're faced with enormous circumstances. We're faced with unbearable uncertainties. But before you lose hop's always a way where there's a will. You can go on. You can make it.

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Beauty of the Day

Alright fellas, I know it has been a while, but I had to go soul searching to find this beauty of the day:




OLUCHI ONWEAGBA!



Not known to many people, this Nigerian beauty is a Victoria Secret and Sports Illustrated model who is passionate about charity work and giving back to Africa.

Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oluchi_Onweagba
Website: http://www.oluchi.com/

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The Renaissance

After nearly a decade, Q-tip is back with his new album, The Renaissance. The jazz-infused, vintage hip hop album features Raphael Saadiq, Norah Jones, D'Angelo, and Amanda Diva in what can only be described as an excellent listening experience from beginning to end. Don't sleep.

"You" and "We Fight/We Love" are my fave tracks.

Listen to tracks from The Renaissance on Q-tip's myspace blog here.

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The Audacity of Hope

As the electoral votes swarmed in and the will of the people was expressed throughout the country, a dream came to reality.  The dreams of slaves working on plantations singing spirituals of better days to come.  The dreams of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, aspiring for a day when Black Citizens could hold their heads up high and walk alongside their white brethren.  The dreams of young black Americans across the country ever wondering if America was really the land of the free and the home of the brave. The land of opportunity and the land of equality. A land where one’s dignity, not race, character, not ethnicity decides his or her potential success.  This day has come.  This dream has been realized.

 The glass ceiling shattered with 64 million voices pleading for change.  Ready for a new path.  Anticipating the beginning of a new era.  Millions upon millions of people across the world occupied the streets. Singing and dancing. Praising and praying. Filled with laughter and tears, groups of Americans once thought of as enemies became friends. Adversaries became allies.  The strong grip of fear vanished from the eyes of White Americans and Black Americans alike, and was replaced with hope.  A hope to look past the color of skin and into the dexterity of ones heart.  A hope to look past the ethnicity of our fellow citizens and into the intentions of ones soul.   The audacity to hope for a better tomorrow came with the reward of indeed seeing a brighter future.

 The tears streaming down the faces of notable Black figures such as Jesse Jackson and Oprah Winfrey represented the tears of every African American who thought this day would never come.  These tears however were not just tears of happiness but tears of relief.  Relief from the fear that America was not yet ready to let go of its bigoted past.  Not yet ready to see Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream come to fruition.  Not yet ready to finally live up to its creed of liberty and equality for all. Instead, Black Fathers and Mothers can now look at their children and truly mean it when they say “you can be whatever you want to be.” The No Blacks allowed sign had finally been cast away and with it left the pain and struggle of Black Americans.  With it left the constant pain of government not representing your needs and your wants.  With it left the struggle to picture an African American finally embracing the full rights of everything this country has to offer.  This day will go down in history as not only the day the First African American was elected, but the day hope prevailed.

 “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

 This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.”

-President Barack Obama

...Imeabasi...

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World In Critical Condition As Obama Enters Office

In 74 days, President Barack Obama will assume responsibility for guiding the nation out of two wars and through a daunting array of real and potential global crises. Obama is likely to benefit from initial goodwill across much of the planet, where there's profound relief that the Bush years are ending. President Bush himself has taken steps, such as outreach to Iran and Syria , in his waning months that could provide Obama with diplomatic opportunities. But still, Obama faces many troubles to what might be the worst economy since the Great Depression in 1930’s.

Iraq, where Obama has promised to withdraw U.S. troops by summer 2010, is less violent, but far from stable or self-reliant because Al Qaida and the Taliban have grown stronger and now control parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal areas. Neither sanctions have halted Iran's nuclear development.

Obama has pledged to remove U.S. troops from Iraq in 16 months after taking office and to increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan . Whether he can meet that deadline remains to be seen, and the future of the U.S. troop presence is caught up in an agreement Bush is negotiating with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki that's been delayed repeatedly.

If history is a guide, Obama will face early tests from abroad as president, either from leaders seeking to gauge his mettle, or from surprise events. So please, don’t expect change immediately. Obama is a stepping stone for change. Hopefully he will be reelected because it is going to take at least one term for us to even see “change”.

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UPDATED: Yes, but what about Prop (h)8?

As we made history by electing our first African-American President, Proposition 8 passed. The election results come as a bittersweet victory for many as said proposition aims to eliminate gay marriage. Many wonder why, in a supposed liberal, equality-supporting state such as California, this prop was backed heavily.

There was a time when blacks couldn't even marry whites. It was deemed a felony just mere decades ago using the same scare-tactics displayed today; portraying it as some "abnormal", "detrimental" action among other mindless fodder spewed in campaign ads.

So here's a question: why eliminate someone's right to offically commit to their loved one? Religion? Homophobia? For those who voted Yes...why?

*If you were disappointed by the intolerance that many people still seem to possess in California, please sign the petition.

Click here.

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Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of The United States

Congratulations America and the first family...America has Changed

The Voice

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