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Posts Tagged ‘youth’

T.V. Brainwashed: “Married To Medicine” isn’t Georgia

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Blacks, Bravo, Georgia, hip hop, Married To Medicine, Obama, Real Housewives, tea party, youth on April 24, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

The horrific, cowardly acts in Boston last year were carried out by young men who were brainwashed and/or radicalized. An argument can be made that all or most of us could be or have been radicalized on some level when inundated with too much of a particular point of view.

Blacks in America would be a good place to start this discussion. We knew upon arriving on these shores that wrongful actions brought us here. But, we had to patiently wait until the mid-1970s to experience the freedoms of this free nation. Americans who believe in the Christian Bible know our book is filled with references to waiting on the Lord and to me, being humbled by suffering prepares us for heaven as a proposed to those who think they have heaven on earth. Those cats might have a dated with a fire on the other side.

My friends from the Taxed Enough Already Party (TEA) are correct in many ways on taxes but they don’t have the patience of Black folks. If these guys don’t get what they want now, they are ready for an actual revolution…now.

People on both ends of the political spectrum often constantly listen to and read information from pumped-up sources. Too much of these opinions at one time can lead to an overdose. For example, viewers should know how to watch T.V. shows in their proper entertainment context.

Seinfeld doesn’t reflect all of my Jewish friends; Homeland doesn’t reflect all of my Muslim friends and the Real Housewives of Atlanta only reflects the lifestyles of about a dozen families in the ATL.

Oh, we should talk about Married To Medicine, the latest effort of the gay agenda at Bravo to make everyone else look foolish. (Kidding)

When I was a child, people said that politics was show business for ugly people. But, reality television has blown that out of the water…like blowing stumps on Swamp People. Today, the music T.V. channels have no music videos and the history channel has little history on it’s main channel. It’s all about reality shows and the affect of American culture could be cancerous.

The fight between lovely sistas in ball gowns last week on Married To Medicine should in no way reflect the behavior of Black professionals in Georgia. Bravo searched high and low (really low) for people who would trade dignity for instant fame. Oh, I knew as a child that lawyers, bankers, professors and physicians were regular people away from work and subject to the same drama as anyone else. Actually, my college sweetheart contends that her colleagues in the medical profession are socially awkward because they spent so many years in the books while others were learning social skills.

An old adage states “just because you paid for college, doesn’t mean you have class.” We have a problem in the Black community that centers on the desire for wealth. We like people to see us with shiny stuff in shiny cars heading to fancy meals at fancy places. If your natural abilities didn’t provide you the means to get this stuff, you can always marry well if you are smoking hot.

The Mariah lady to M to M is simply hood and will always be hood. The show is produced in some way in association with her production company. So, she sat in a board room at Bravo and pitched this product with promises of cattiness, ugliness and fights. The two lady doctors are classy as is the attractive woman Toya, who was basically jumped by Mariah. Of course, the hood has people without money who have class and they lack of money could be based on their refusal to compromise their integrity wealth.

So, people across America watch messy T.V. about groups of Americans they don’t know and formulate faulted opinions. “He is not this child’s father…either.” Then during the news hour, Fox News tells you that you are paying for these people to hang out all day while you are at work making money that a Kenyan born president will take from your check. On the other side of the extreme, MSNBC is doing the same thing from the stay point of “the government can fix all the problems in the nation with enough tax money….no one in America should be outside the middle class.” Huh? Can everyone be middle class? Isn’t the government ensuring a minimum quality of life basically socialism?

Fox, MSMBC and Bravo don’t brainwashing as well as the hip hop culture. Did I love hip hop as a college student? Yes sir, I was proud that urban youth created an art medium to reflect the realities of their situations. But today, life is imitating art because youth are glamorizing thugs and strippers while some students are actually downplaying their academic success. On his quality reality show last week, rapper T.I. told his kids that he never met a thug who wanted to be a thug. My man told them to rap about having a nice life. T.I. is the king of the South.

In summary, we need to be careful what we watch and hear because forces can radicalize you before you know it. In a diverse nation, there is no substitute for getting to know (humanizing) others. When we know each other, we can start the process of explaining now personal choices and decisions have consequences. If not, the next generation of Black southerners might include people that some people (including positive Blacks) will want to rightfully avoid.

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Carlton Fletcher on Half-raised Fools

Posted in politics, tagged crime, senior citizens, youth on April 15, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

I have had it up to here with half-raised folks and don’t want to hear about rights and bla bla bla. Yes, in our free society, people have a right to have kids when they want and with whom they want. But, someone must say that developing a baby into a productive, responsible person is one of the hardest things in life. Young people who terrorize senior citzens are actually domestic terrorists to me.

In my Sunday morning newspaper, columnist Carlton Fletcher of the Albany Herald details a story about a group of young punks being disrespectful to an older couple. We must have a new type politician/policy maker that design public policy in a way that encourages people having kids when they are really ready.

The passage of time is the ultimate neutralizer in life

http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2013/apr/13/passage-time-ultimate-neutralizer-life/

Carlton Fletcher

Time waits for no one, and we’re running out of time.

— Friends of Distinction

My blood started boiling as I surveyed the scene, and I found myself amazed anew at the human race’s capacity for cruelty.

A pack of young men, four strong, walked away from where an older couple stood looking warily after them. The four were laughing uncontrolably, pointing at the couple and falling all over each other in their mirth.

The old couple looked wounded, but not in any physical way. It was more a look of embarrassed resignation, of stunned disbelief. I noticed tears on the woman’s cheeks.

Trying to size up the situation, I asked the couple if they were OK. The man waved off my concern.

“No big deal,” he said. “Just some young hoodlums showing off and letting off steam.”

The woman, though, said nothing. She silently walked away, the tears flowing freely. I watched her slip quietly into their nearby vehicle and asked the man again if they were really all right.

He stood looking at me for a moment before saying anything.

“You know how it is with young kids,” he said with a long sigh. “They’re out roaming around with all that energy and nothing to do, and they have to let it out somewhere. I figure we’ve all done that at some time in our lives.

“But that doesn’t stop their words from hurting.”

The man stopped talking abruptly, as if he’d said too much. I actually looked around to see if the kids were coming back, then let the silence linger for a moment before asking if he wanted to talk about the incident.

“Oh, it’s just kids being stupid kids,” he said. “They made some cracks about us being old and used some language that got my dander up. I said something to them — told them to have some respect — and that got them going.

“They ran at us like they meant to hurt us, then stopped and said some real mean things.”

The man stopped again, and this time a look of hurt enveloped his face. It’s a look that touched my heart.

“They called my wife things like ‘pig’ and ‘sow’ and screamed how ugly she was,” the man said quietly. “They called her some nasty things that I wouldn’t repeat. I wanted to go after them, but I was scared they’d hurt my wife.”

Tears welled in the man’s eyes.

“That woman is the sweetest, kindest woman God ever created,” he said. “She’s been through more than her share over the years, put up with just about every kind of hardship you can think of. She just doesn’t deserve to be treated so mean.”

I offered my condolences and asked the man if he wanted me to contact law enforcement.

“Nah,” he said, “ain’t no need for that. We’re just gonna head on home now. I’ll have to see if I can’t find a way to make my wife feel better.”

I offer what I know are insufficient words to try and bolster the man’s feelings, but he waves me off.

“Son,” he said, “I’m not really concerned about those young punks. It makes me mad that they hurt my wife’s feelings, but she’ll get over it in time. I probably would have fought all four of them in my younger days, but those days are long gone.

“That’s one thing about life: It marches on. I was like those boys in a lot of ways when I was their age, but look at me now. And my wife may not win any beauty contests, these days, but, son, back in her day she turned every man’s eye. Heck, she’s still that beautiful young woman to me.”

He smiled at the memory.

“I figure time will catch up with those boys like it does all of us,” he said. “I won’t be around to see them get theirs, but I can rest easy knowing that, sooner or later, it will happen.

“Time gets us all.”

As the man shuffled off to join his wife in their car, I watched him with mixed feelings of respect and sadness. I was thankful that I’d happened upon him — in spite of the circumstances — but I couldn’t help but think about that look of bewildered hurt on his wife’s face.

As the couple drove away, I found myself dwelling on the man’s parting words: Time gets us all.

Email Metro Editor Carlton Fletcher at carlton.fletcher@albanyherald.com.

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For-Profit Colleges: Schemes and Games

Posted in politics, tagged college, Congress, education, youth on April 4, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Is every college really a college? An industry has developed around funneling unwitting people into a questionable segment of the educational system and the federal government could be directly or indirectly involved. Today the for profit higher education sector is mired daily in controversies and its benefits to those it purports to serve is questionable at best. This press release is an example of the problem.

http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/education-management-corporation-nasdaqedmc-accused-by-employees-of-concealing-evidence-in-billion-dollar-fraud-case-231823.htm

Firstly, college and technical college, like anything worth doing, should be hard. In my day, students said they “took” this degree and that degree from creditable institutions. You knew the creditability because the schools were state institutions or private ones accredited by known sources. While I loved President Obama, I disagree with his effort to have everyone go to college (higher training and life-long learning, yes) but college is different. I hate commercials about making college easy and working around busy schedules. If I spent the first six years of my adult life eating noodles and writing papers, a person who went directly into the workforce to make money is in a different situation. Many of my friends who make six-figures simply took a job weeks after high school or went into the military and worked their way up.

To be honest, people who are “between opportunities” often consider school as an educational option that brings money into the household and there is nothing wrong with that. They should enroll in the local state college or select a major at the state-run technical colleges.

However, proprietary or for-profit schools are signing up loads of students from minority communities who aren’t familiar with the financial aid process. “Just sign here and you will have some cash in your hand every few months.” These students don’t know that most of this money is simply a student loan, the cost of the school is higher than a state school and some of the diplomas they might receive wouldn’t be as accepted as traditional ones. The wiki page on this topic is a real eye opener.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_schools

“If this problem was true, surely my congressman would be on top of this matter.” Child, please. The Wall Street firms behind these schools are some of the biggest contributors to both political parties. The student loan default rate for these schools is astronomically high and taxpayers’ money ultimately secures the loans. We are starting to hear more and more from former employees of the corporations behind these schools and the federal investigators are learning the real deal.

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Hill Harper: Letters To A Young Brother

Posted in politics, tagged education, faith, Hill Harper, Obama, youth on February 22, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Between Barrack Obama and his Harvard Law School classmate actor Hill Harper, I surprisingly think that Harper could have as big an impact on young Americans of all colors. Hill has dedicated his life to sharing positive information with others. Below are my notes from his first book. The underline sections are the beings of paragraphs that I really found useful.

Letters To A Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny Author: Hill Harper

Xii I want young men to have knowledge of the things that bring them true empowerment: education, a strong sense of purpose, compassion, confidence, and humility to name a few.

Xvi It is no coincidence that both my mother and father became doctors just as it is no accident that I graduated from Brown University magna cum laude and received graduate degrees with honors from Harvard Law School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. My family taught me that doing my best, educating myself, and being in service to others were not optional and that having values and being truthful were not negotiable.

p. 5 You will live longer, become better educated, make more money and be happier than the previous generation. You are here to improve the human race, and you need to embrace that.

p. 8 A good man is honest, lives his life with integrity, and behaves responsibly.

p. 9 Be Balanced

p. 13 You can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends.

p. 14 While it is important to have friends, it’s also important to realize that you, completely on your own, have to be able to make yourself happy.

p. 17 There is nothing wrong

p. 20 Luckily, as I matured

p. 21 Rejection is God’s protection

p. 21 So the most important thing I learned is that my absentee parent didn’t leave me, she left the situation. My mom left the relationship with my father because she felt she had no other choice. Even though your father may have left when you were a baby, it’s important that you realize he didn’t leave you. He didn’t even know you. Your father left for reasons that had nothing to do with you.

p. 24 Truth be told

p. 24 Also, you may not

p. 33 Will Smith: Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.

p. 34 School, as hard as it may seem, is easier than the real world.

p. 36 The only two areas in your life where you should allow yourself to owe someone else money is for school (education debt) and when you buy your house – and notice I’m saying “when” you buy your house not “if” – that’s what we call “mortgage debt.”

p. 42 Hey, man

p. 44 General Colin Powell: “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

p. 44 “Working smart” means using your brains first to formulate a plan of how to “work” most effectively. If you are working smart, you are first very clear about what you want to achieve – that’s your goal. Then, before you take the first step toward achieving that goal, you use all the knowledge and information you have at your disposal to decide what the most effective route will be to get there.

p. 66 “There are some things that money can’t buy.” In fact,, if you break it down, money can buy one thing, and one thing only and you know what that is? Options. Money cannot buy you freedom or happiness or love. If you have enough money, it gives you options as to what you can do in your life and with your life.

p. 68 More focus needs to be put on developing an inner happiness, doing what you love, and having faith that if you do these things, the money will come.

p. 69 For instance

p. 74 The first car

p. 79 Girls are attracted

p. 81 Women care about much more than just external things. A woman wants a man who will treat her with respect and wants to do fun things with her and make her laugh.

p. 82 Sanaa Lathan: All I want to know is can I talk to him? Is he really interested in getting to know how my mind works? Does he truly listen when we talk? Do we have fun, do we laugh, and ultimately how do I feel when we’re together? Be careful of wearing too much bling cuz it might outshine your better qualities.

p. 87 Throughout the history of the world more men have been brought down and had their lives destroyed because of their irresponsible sexual activity than by any other single act.

p. 88 Sex is not a bad thing.

p. 89 And remember, just because a woman wants to have sex with you, it doesn’t mean you should feel you have to have sex with her.

p. 90 Men have lost

p. 92 Gabrielle Union: Oftentimes as girls and women

p. 99 Let’s face it-mistakes

p. 101 Mistakes are decisions we have control over. And you can make a mistake in an instant, which is why it’s important to know who you are and what you stand for before you find yourself in a situation where you make a wrong decision.

p. 103 It seems a recurring theme

p. 111 So let me set you straight- making money is not a goal. Making money is a result.

p. 114 If you find what you love to do then, ‘hard work’ becomes easy – it’s more fun than just chillin’ or doing some job just for the money. If you’re doing something you love, working hard at it is more fun than working just to work; now that’s hard!

p. 116 Venus Williams: School is very important

p. 122 Here are some questions

p. 128 I’ll give you an example….Barrack Obama

p. 129 You have to first, dream; and second, work hard to achieve those dreams.

p. 135 “There are three kinds of people: Those who make things happen; those who wait for things to happen; and those who sit and wonder what happen.”

p. 155 Every day we are faced with challenges and choices. Some are harder than others. And sometimes, what seems like a big deal at the time doesn’t matter at all a week later. The one thing I’ve learned is that if I approach each day with an attitude of gratitude, even the most difficult challenges fail to bring me down.

p. 156 Obama: Life appears to be hard

p. 161 Wealth comes from knowing both your value in the world, as well as the value of the blessings life has brought you- family, friends, future opportunities, health, and the opportunity for true unreasonable happiness. You win when you embrace all of these and look toward the future with a positive attitude. So yes, you are wealthy already if you just look around you.

p. 163 Another wealth component

p. 167 Mantras and affirmations are strong tools that have been used for thousands of years in prayer and meditation.

I promise:

- To be strong so that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.

- To make everyone feel that there is something special in them.

- To look at the positive side of everything and make my optimism come true.

- To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.

- To learn from the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

- To have a cheerful presence at all times and give every living creature I meet a smile.

- To give so much time and effort to the improvement of myself that I have no time to criticize others.

- To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

- To be a light for others, not a judge of others.

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Michelle Obama, Darius Rucker and Lynrd Skynrd: Simple Life Is Alright

Posted in politics, tagged agriculture, country music, faith, Georgia, Michelle Obama, Mitt Romney, Obama, Rucker, youth on November 17, 2012 | 2 Comments »

I could do more for the future of young Americans with this blog post than Obama and Romney combined. The central concept is live a simple life. With secondary regard for whom is or isn’t president, folks need to develop their faith, eat right and exercise, grow their career and minimize lust for material things.

Obama is the key—Michelle Obama. The first lady’s personal history is the story of a Chi-town girl who got her homework, focused in class and honored her parents with her actions. As we would say back in the day, I like how she “carried herself.” We spend billions of state, local and federal governmental dollars addressing personal problems that some Americans went out of their way to create. They should have been living the simple life.

Last week, a country song came on the truck radio called “Alright” and it was all about enjoying a basic existence. I don’t want to get side tracked about how country music is really blue-eyed blues, and rock and roll is blue-eyed soul which was stolen.

Anyway, I searched the net for the song and it is actually by Darius Rucker, the brother who turned to country after fronting the pop/rock group Hottie and the Blowfish. Peace, love and happiness to Brother Rucker and his song is similar to the rural vibe of many tunes in that genre. As quiet as it is kept, my favorite cd of all time is Lynrd Skynyrd greatest hit compilation called “Gold and Platinum.” Rucker’s song feels like Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” and both songs seem to be based on what you tell kids at home and at church.

On that same cd is the mellow cut “Comin Home.” It’s all about missing being at home. While cities are nice to visit, living 10 to 15 miles from an urban area is cool to me. As more rural Americans move away from direct involvement with agriculture, opportunities persist in food inspection, processing and distribution. When people grow weary of the congested North and the struggling Rust Belt, they should consider Georgia other than Atlanta (someone needs to pick up that city and shake it until some of those people fall out.)

Bottonline: if you live a simple life, you can limit drama, stress and strain.

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Table of Discussion: School Choice and Family Planning

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Blacks, Conservatives, crime, education, faith, hip hop, Obama, youth on October 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

School choice and family planning are two topics I would love to hear discussed in my community because they are at the foundation of our futures. However, I want that discussion to take place around a discussion table sixty or seventy years ago.

A.G. Sadler Sr., third seated from left

A photo of my father and his fraternity brothers meeting at the local Black college hangs in my mother’s den. The organization wore Black and Gold and he was old enough to actually know founders personally but it could have been a meeting of any Black fraternity or sorority of that time because they were all committed to moving the race forward. You can see the steely determination in their eyes: we as a people would have the opportunity to learn, earn and prosper in this great nation and the sky would be the limit once those doors of opportunity opened.

If we had a time machine or a portal to the past (like a smart phone app), we could tell these gentlemen that we were from 2012 and that a Black man was in the White House…a Black man without a mop. Since most of the men in that picture were college professors or public school educators, I want to know their opinions on school choice.

Today, we recognize that public school K-12 education needs a top to bottom overhaul. I personally think that the teachers enter the profession ready to teach and that the facilities are generally acceptable in my area. For a myriad of reasons, some of the kids just aren’t ready, willing and able to learn. I think the foundation of education is discipline or obedience learned at home and church.

Those guys in that photo didn’t question their parents in their generation and neither did we in my generation. Today, I hear kids ask their parents “What?” and “Why?” with a tone that would have never happened in my day. One of the men in that photo was likely the dentist that my father would have taken me to see after he knocked my teeth out for saying “What.”

We should discuss parents having a tax credit or voucher to put their children in the best quality educational situation. When schools in the South were integrated, White private schools popped up in every county. But, I can remember the dedication of the educators from the all-Black schools. A period of “separate but equal” would have been fine with many Blacks because they wanted fairly funded schools more than forcing us to attend school with people who thought of us wrongly.

When we debated school choice as congressional staffers in the 1990s, I would always argue that private schools would cherry-pick the best students and those remaining in the public schools would be students from families that couldn’t afford to get out. If the best 20% opted for private schools, the worst 20% should have a voucher to attend a special school after getting kick out of regular school.

Public policy can’t solve the education problem because the ultimate problem is that some people are having children before they are prepared to raise and nurture them. To me, people shouldn’t get married until they are around 24 years old and they should then wait 24 months before having kids (a waiting period to ensure that the marriage is viable.) Before 24 years of age, people could be finishing their education and training, moving up in the workplace and having fun socially. Children should come into the mix when folks are ready to be parents like those Alphas in that old photo. Instead, we have kids having kids and early grade teachers are half educators and half parents.

Current conservatives trip me out with talk of abortion and welfare. The guys around that table never envisioned people having the government deeply involved in their lives. They were concerned more with anti-lynch and opportunity. The conservative men in that photo would have a lot to say about the long-term effect of LBJ’s policy that would come in a decade or two.

A recent study indicates free birth control dramatically reduces abortion and teen pregnancy. Since the far Right conservatives are rightfully concerned with governmental spending, they should know that abortions and public assistance goes down if fewer pregnancies occur in the first place. The guys in that picture could discuss the wrongness of abortion and premarital sex as well as the wrongness of hungry children and struggling families. Reasonable people know that you can’t always push your faith’s beliefs into the public policy of a diverse nation.

http://news.yahoo.com/study-free-birth-control-leads-fewer-abortions-210623724.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CabFnBQvlUAOf7QtDMD

The achievement-oriented Blacks of my fathers’ generation would be disappointed to learn that music is crime and sin-based and hip hop shapes the mindset of our youth more than parents and church. If those guys in that picture were transported into current times, they would figure out a way to get the best education for their families. Unfortunately, those pioneers in education would be compelled to seek schools for their families that kept their kids away from certain elements without regard to race. Oh, I would teach government and tennis at an all-male school that brought academic heat all day every day–a place where gentlemen were built.

Teaching the guys in that photo was easy because they were enthusiastic about learning; it was learn or be an unofficial slave during Jim Crow. If they had a window on today at that table, they would be flabbergasted with the way our youth are carrying themselves and disappointed with the squandering of opportunities.

I enjoyed hearing this speech by Kappa founder Edward G. Irvin.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P7rpu-0Tf4]

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My niece Mackenzie’s Cool Speech on Peer Pressure

Posted in politics, tagged peer pressure, teens, youth on September 1, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Makenzie and Susan Taylor

My niece Mackenzie Kerry wrote and gave the following speech. She is very insightful for a high school freshman and did a great job on it. In the picture, she is with Susan Taylor, the former editor of Essence Magazine. When I was about Mackenzie’s age, I started reading Essence monthly because guys should learn about cool women from cool women.

Mackenzie Kerry: Charlotte Cares Event

If I were a predictable person I would write a speech about the typical drugs, violence and sex. But you can tell us teens to quit these things all day long and it will go in one ear and out the other. So I had to dig deeper way down to the roots of these problems. What did I find? Better yet who did I find? Insecurity. Insecurity walks on stilts and wobbles wherever she goes. Her nails have been bitten down to stubs and her eyes are glued to the ground. Insecurity may be small and unconfident but don’t let that fool you. She can cast a very big shadow. She can get under your skin and mess your brain.

Insecurity is what has the youth of today messed up. Nobody wants to be that one kid who is bullied and destined to spend every lunch at that empty lunch table and their Friday nights at home alone. Everyone wants to fit in.

But you know there can’t be fitting in without peer pressure. Those two are best friends. Peer Pressure only knows one way and that is the way of the world and Peer Pressure will do anything to get you to conform to it. Peer Pressure has the mesmerizing eyes of a snake and a voice a smooth as silk. He will slither like a serpent and whisper right into your ear.

Peer Pressure is the one who will convince you to join gangs; the gangs that will provide you with protection, a family, a superior title and plenty of money. The same gangs that will get you injured, put your family in harm’s way, land you in prison. The same gangs that could end your life.

Peer Pressure will persuade you to try drugs, because it’s the cool thing to do. They let you escape reality for a period of time. The same drugs that can cause hangovers, depression, seizures, diseases and even death.

Speaking of depression, did you know peer pressure can do that too? Peer Pressure a jack of all trades can create violence, gossip and bullying. These are all things that cause you to feel stressed and isolated. Stress and isolation can lead to depression and depression can lead to problems at home and school, drug abuse and yes even suicide.

Do you see the theme here? All of these things Peer Pressure does can lead to death. If all of the youth die out then there is no future because we kids are the world of tomorrow.

So how can we build self-confidence and blow insecurity and peer pressure out of the water?

Parents you all play a huge role in our future. Although we may not show it all the time we need you. There are many things you do to help us build self-confidence. Recognize our achievements. When we finally reach that goal or get an A on that test any accomplishment, big or small, show us that you care and that you are proud.

Secondly, believe in us. It is a lot easier for us to believe in ourselves if we know our parents believe in us. Let us know that you expect us to do everything to the best of our ability and make us believe that failure in not an option.

Thirdly be a good role model. Not just for your own child but for any child you come in contact with. There is a shortage of good role models in our communities. Us youth are always going to be looking for role models and if we can’t look to you then we turn to look up upon celebrities. And imagine where the world would be if all of the youth copied celebrities.

Yes it would be a mess.

Now youth we of course have to do our part. When we are trying to reach a goal, we should strive for an accomplishment rather than perfection. Nobody is perfect except God. When we do make mistakes we should think of them as lessons and opportunities to learn. We should be proud of ourselves for attempting and then let it go because if you hold on to those mistakes they will stay in your head and torment you which will not help build self-confidence at all.

Next, take pride in your opinions. If your friends engage in something that you know is wrong, don’t hesitate to say no. Do not lower yourself to their level. We are children of God and he would expect much more of us.

Lastly, stop thinking those negative thoughts. The dance teacher at my church taught me there is a way to compliment yourself without being arrogant. Replace those thoughts of “You are ugly, and dumb and you could never do that” with “You are beautiful, you are smart and you can do that”.

I used to be the shy kid in the corner who constantly worried about what people thought of me. But then something in me changed. Insecurity and Peer Pressure were thrown to the curb and something else took residence in my soul. An explorer committed to following her own direction. The one who exceeds everyone expectations and writes out stereotypes. The one that doesn’t need people to tell her she is pretty and isn’t hurt when people call her ugly because she is perfectly content with herself just the way she is. The one who is strong enough to resist being crushed and molded to fit into what the world thinks she should be. The one we walks down the street with her head up because she is proud to be a child a God. And her name is Confidence.

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Register By October 9th /High School Football

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Conservatives, democrats, Georgia, GOP, Mitt Romney, msnbc, Obama, sanford bishop, youth on August 21, 2012 | 47 Comments »

Georgia is a possibility for Team Obama if we get young people registered and prepared to vote. Chuck Todd with MSNBC keeps pointing to a map with Florida, North Carolina and Virginia as the only swing states opportunities in the South. The president won these states in 2008 and Florida is the big prize because it had 27 electors (electors are the people voting in the electoral college and equals the number of members of congress.)

In 2008, Senator McCain won Georgia by 52 to 47 (a margin of 5.2%.) That’s peanuts or should I say there are enough guys in rural Georgia named Peanut, Dirty Red and Man to sway the 2012 election. Actually, the 204,607 votes need to change that election and maybe the 2012 election could be found easily in Atlanta, our five next largest cities and dozens of rural towns. The congressional races of Rep. Sanford Bishop (Macon, Columbus, Albany) and Rep. John Barrow (Augusta) cover the non Atlanta population centers except Savannah so turnout in these areas is important. Look at it like this: on the first full night of high school football, stadiums around the state will have thousands of unregistered young Black adults.

If you can sit in a ball park for three hours, you can take 10 minutes to register and 10 more minutes to vote. Many of the young men on that field, the cheerleaders and the band members will decide to serve our nation in the armed forces and we should elect leaders who view them as people—someone son or daughter.

October 9, 2012, is the last day to register to vote for those wanting to vote in the presidential election. How would Obama supporters feel if the election turned even nastier after that date but thousands of then-concerned Georgians couldn’t vote because they missed the deadline? Before someone trips out about race, I wanted to remind people that our community was seriously loving on southern White guy Bill Clinton; that’s my dude. Actually, I voted for Romney in the primary because he was the best in a jacked-up field after Jon Huntsman left the GOP primary contest. If Huntsman won the GOP nomination, I might be 50-50 between the president and him at this point. So, supporting Obama isn’t about race as much as it is about keeping the crazy part of the consevative movement out of the White House and the fact that the president has done a good job.

We know that the Democratic Party of Georgia and the national DNC isn’t as crafty as the GOP. The boys in Chicago and D.C. don’t know the kudzu covered rural South like we know it. Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and even Georgia can be won by President Obama if we mounted a serious GOTV and registration efforts before and/or after high school football games.

Social media and smart phones are the tools and wouldn’t it be nice to use these devices for something positive. Hey, we need to fire up the grills and get the best old school D.J.s to pump Maze, pfunk and Tina Marie. It’s time to talk with the young folks about history and it’s way of repeating itself.

My friends in the GOP have a way of ignoring those who vote for someone else (Dems listen to everyone.) While Obama and Romney will be rich and happy no matter what, we need to show some political muscle so the federal, state and local elected leaders will remember our side of town when making policy and laws.

http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/Voting_information.htm#Registering to Vote

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Youth Exploratory Initiative: Skybox

Posted in politics, tagged college, FSU, Obama, rap, youth on July 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

My June was spent in a small summer program called the Youth Exploratory Initiative. We created this project because kids today seem to spend too much time on video games rather than playing outside like we did. Let me tell you, those video games have given them an understanding of basketball, football and the military that is vastly superior to our old school childhoods. They read defensives and select plays in football like N.F.L. coaches. But, all the videos games in the world still can’t replace their excitement with hitting in the baseball batting cage, facing an opponent in chess, hitting a golf ball 100 yards or conquering the water by swimming or boating. They went from Wii to “We.”

These young men, who all do well in school, get in their early years what some folks don’t get until high school or college: you gain knowledge to use it in life. For example, grammar isn’t store in your mind to be use only in actual class or at work. One should speak well 24/7.

On this Fourth of July, no fireworks or backyard barbeque spark a young person’s appreciation for the blessing of being an American like the History Channel’s documentary “America: the Story of Us.” Oh, whoever made this film came from the action movies genre because George Washington looked like Brad Pitt. Commentary about grit and perseverance was offered by everyone from Rudy Giuliani to Colin Powell to P. Diddy—I got cool points with the Y.E.I. guys because I have a picture with Newt on my blog and the speaker was featured in the documentary. Yes, moderate Democrats know some conservatives.

Of course, some might say that a summer program with good kids is like preaching to the choir but sometimes it seems like we spend too much time, energy and resources on “other” kids and that is not fair to those doing what they are supposed to do. Remember in the original “Longest Yard” movie when Burt Reynolds’ character was looking for football players for his prison team and someone said that a guy played at Florida State—to which Reynolds replied, “Florida State University?” “No, Florida State Penitentiary.” The late Biggie Smalls rapped that he was more familiar with the state penn than Penn State.

Well, the boys in the Y.E.I. program are more interested in Duke for academic reasons than being gladiators of the gridiron. Oh, don’t get it twisted; they would love balling in the NCAA, NBA or NFL. But, their parents have them focused on books and character. We visited FSU and FAMU and they walked into Doak Campbell Stadium. I ask them where they wanted to be in this arena in the future: a benchwarmer for national power FSU; a football starter and honor student at visiting Duke; or eventually the guy eating pasta salad in his corporation’s skybox. Of course, they said a former FSU national champion who was an honor grad and is now in the skybox because he went to grad school at Duke.

We were lucky that it was orientation week at FSU and FAMU so the guys could imagine their parents walking the campuses with them in a few summers.

To be honest, the Y.E.I. program was basically a reward for their hard work during the school year and we should do more of that. You would be surprise by what these kids already know. Coach A.J. and I played a You Tube video of the greatest music composers of all times and the guys knew most of the music from action movies and cartoons. But hey, we to introducing them to the classics: jazz and Motown. To our surprise, the know Motown and old school R&B because the rappers have sampled them to death— keep the legal and your money right.

They also know that rap is a medium of art and that art should imitates life rather than life imitating art. In other words, thug rap is a corruption of real hip hop, which was mostly positive. The hardest rappers of the past now have their kids in prep schools because no community should glorify a hard life. Since parents work hard to give you a comfortable life, those parents are more heroes than some guy with “a condo on his wrist” who is proud of his police interrogation (FYI “Cashin Out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GbolQtl17o&feature=related ). Y.E.I. kids’ families are local law enforcement and military veterans and that is real “Call of Duty.”

The web-based information we cover is on a tab at the top of the Project Logic Ga page and pictures are can be found on the Project Logic Ga facebook group page. Thanks to the sponsor of the project—who actually came up with the idea. President Obama and Governor Romney would agree that real health care improvement starts with diet and exercise. Some folks talk a good talk but the team at S.P.A.M. truly is about getting our youth of the path to better health. (Come on now, The Y.E.I. guys ate four pizzas a day… but washed it down with bottle water rather than soda.)

The billions of dollars that will be spent on political campaigns this year could be better utilized thanking good kids and the long-term benefits would be amazing. As professor Aaron Johnson taught them during a brief visit to his econ class at Darton College, it’s all about cost benefit analysis and risk/reward.

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Psalms 71:18: Zimmerman and Old Men

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Bible, Blacks, community, crime, jobs, senior citizens, Trayvon, Unemployment, youth, Zimmerman on April 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

George Zimmerman meant well but we must be careful in our zeal to protect our communities. Trayvon Martin was a better young man than most but sorting good kids from the bad ones has become difficult because most of them –Black, White and Brown- seems to admire the thug/hard element.

I didn’t add “Yellow” to the list above because (as I stereotype) Asians youth in America still respect their elders and attempt to be obedient. Oh, it is a matter of time before certain parts of American culture ruin them also.

We have two or three generations of young people who don’t give a flip about how they carry themselves. They will say or do anything in front of anyone and dare you to look at them sideways. Zimmerman, with the warmth of his firearm, wanted to be that heroic figure in the neighborhood who stood for what was right; he wanted to be the man not afraid to stop the crime drama. But, he stepped mistakenly to a decent guy.

On some level, I feel like the guy on the block who senior citizens seek regarding community matters but I am much smarter than Zimmerman. You must establish a vibe with the young folks and I have found that the holiday season is the best time. During Christmas and the Fourth of July, my 40 something classmates come home to visit their parents and, of course, yell (like we do) at a brother from down the street. It usually surprises the current young people to know that their uncles were once young and that some oldheads gave us words of wisdom—now it’s our turn.

The seed gets planted when my old friends put their massive hands on their nephews’ shoulders and say, “listen to my homeboy and help him keep the block straight for moms.” That nephew and his crew are the ones with the booming car music at 3 a.m. We always want to diplomatically address these matters rather than seeing another person heading to expensive penal system.

We have so much unemployment in rural Georgia but a factory closing doesn’t mean you don’t have a job to do. Most of my friends have worked continuously since high school. I have seen guys laboring to keep their kids in Polo and Tommy gear but the kids grow up with a feeling of entitlement. A year out of work might just be the year when dude saves his son from the streets or the year when moms’ house get the renovations it needed.

On the job front, we are starting to see reports on employers who will only hire whose currently working. Really? In my community, we must do everything we can to weather these rough times. The good news is that Black folks have perseverance encode on our DNA. If we get rid of Polo, Tommy and other aspects of conspicuous consumption, we could live with less money. Secondly, we must stop trying to keep up with the Jones because the Joneses are in debt up to their eyeballs.

There is nothing wrong with a guy being a stay at home dad for a minute; I have been a stay at home son for more than a minute and yes the salary drama is stressing me out. We are now the old guys who voluntarily read the Bible and I like Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength and the beauty of old men is the grey head.” I find Psalm 71:18 to be equally cool “Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and they power to every one that is to come.” While unemployed, you still have work that needs to be done.

Proverbs 22:6 states “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Well, my daddy had a strong commitment to our community and my neighborhood was created in the 1970s by men who were overworked and underpaid on someone else’s farms. If those dead men paid for these houses with years of hard labor, we can’t let a few half-raised youth destroy the area to the degree that widows are in constant fear. And the crazy thing is that homies who come home from prison are the main ones telling the youth that the wild path isn’t the right one.

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Obama vs. Cain, the Black Women with White Men List and Other Insults

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Bill Clinton, Black college, Black women, Blacks, Congress, Fox News, Georgia, GOP, Herman Cain, hip hop, Michelle Obama, Obama, youth on November 2, 2011 | 1 Comment »

People get and give insults in the South all day every day. If you have thin skin, you should move. These insults come to mind.

The Michael Basiden Show’s list “8 Reasons Black Women Should Date White Men: First, Black Women should date whoever makes them happy and treats them well. But, the list from Basiden’s show ticked me off because I don’t think the desired traits are rare among my friends. I did like the list’s view on our community’s glorification of thug life.

http://madamenoire.com/22660/8-reasons-to-date-a-white-man-30188/

Obama vs. Cain: I once worked at the U.S. Congress across the hall from Rep. John Conyers’s office and he had a young bright chief of staff named Julian Epstein. At my Black college homecoming last weekend, many old classmates asked my opinion of the Herman Cain presidential candidacy and I told them that Obama vs. Cain was great for several different reasons from several different angles. I am insulted by Black people who think the Black electorate isn’t intelligent and crafty enough to vote for Cain in the open primary states if they want to see him faceoff with Obama.

While watching Fox News yesterday (yes, I watch Fox News sometimes), Julian Epstein let the cat out of the bag by saying that Democrats aren’t behind the recent Cain drama because smart Democrats want Cain to be the G.O.P nominee. Epstein then seriously said that Democrats would donate to Cain’s campaign. As we say in the South, Julian should “hush” because he is telling family business in the streets but he is so right.

Cain is to Obama as LBJ was to Kennedy: Yes, I can insult my political friends by stating that crass LBJ passed bills that smooth Kennedy didn’t get to before his tragic departure. Those Kennedy boys were no match for the Dixiecrats but old Lyndon knew how to fight fire with fire. LBJ said that he was insulted when a lifelong Black employee of his family would drive from Texas to the White House and if she need to use the bathroom in route, she had to squat in the woods.

Obama is my favorite president but possibly too nice to turn the nation around. He is too nice with the loyal opposition and he is too nice with his base regarding personal responsibility. If you read the 8 reasons Black women should date White men, you will see that the president and the first lady could say more about their development and growth relative to teaching the next generation of all colors. If Obama won’t get brass, Cain certainly would and that might be the answer.

Herman Cain, Bill Clinton and Thomas Gipson: I worked at Albany State University with old school southern gentleman Thomas Gipson..God rest his soul. Mr. Gipson, like Rev. Jeremiah Wright, had knowledge and wisdom for you everyday but he got a pass or was grandfathered on political correctness. Gip said that the university’s harassment policies were nonsense and that he would never stop complimenting lovely women.

Bill Clinton, one of my three favorite presidents, insulted me with that whole Monica mess as did Bush 43 with weapons of mass destruction. If I gave Clinton and Bush passes, Herman Cain gets one also. If people from Albany, Georgia, want to know what Cain likely said, they should remember Thomas Gipson and know that what was once tradition is now litigation.

In summary, “yes we can.” We can reelect President Obama. We can elect a Georgian as president if not Obama. We can better position ourselves to enhance the lives of Black women. We can understand if said women find happiness elsewhere. We can understand that no candidate is perfect and neither are we. We can use insults as positive dialog starters.

We can put on that Sade’s remake of Timmy Thomas’s 1972 classic “Why Can’t We Live Together,” sit back and explain to Cain’s supporters why they are alienating the massive political center. You can’t win the White House without the center.

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Uncle Sam and Rev. Wright

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Conservatives, Herman Cain, Michelle Obama, Obama, youth on September 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

For me, being an uncle is an important role and we should all know our roles. Avuncular is an adjective that means “of or pertaining to an uncle.” Uncles and aunts serve as part-time parents like the Parents Reserves—one weekend a month and two weeks per year.

A kid may hangout with good old uncle Teddy for a short period of time and then it’s back to the parents because Sports Center or Jeopardy is on the box.

History buffs know that the term Uncle Sam came from meat-producer Samuel Wilson who provided barrels of processed meat to our troops during the War of 1812. That aid is the source of the term pork barrel spending.

An uncle shouldn’t take the place of parents and young people should never have kids with plans for mama, daddy, uncle, aunt or Uncle Sam to provide long-term support.

Readers of this blog know that Uncle Teddy welcomed the Obama campaign and presidency in part to hear the Obamas/Robinsons cut loose on their methods for family success: education, hard work, hose to the grin stone, eyes on the prize, and avoiding toxic people. I am still waiting for them to speak frankly but I can tell that the First Lady is going to write one important book on the subject after they exit the White House. She is going to tell us what is really wrong with us in her opinion and she will be so very right.

Uncle Sam isn’t your daddy. Uncles can help create nurturing environments but uncles and aunts cannot do for you what you must do for yourself. The late, great Bernie Mack took in his sister’s kids but that guy was rich. Most uncles and aunts aren’t rich and neither is Uncle Sam.

The Obama Administration (the current Uncle Sam) should explain the national debt to regular Americans and employ the JFK statement about “what you can do for your country.” You should have kids after age 25 with someone with a proven income who is emotionally-developed. You should focus on a career path in school. You should honor the fight for freedom by staying out of jail.

I might be eccentric Uncle Teddy in my family because “there is no-telling what Uncle Teddy might say next.” But time will tell that “unc” or auntie say what the parents didn’t or wouldn’t.

To me, Rev. Jeremiah Wright was Obama’s uncle and the White House’s message would be better if he was around. Yes, the old guy said some wild things but all old guys do that—they earned the right as combat vets. When the old guys who drink coffee at McDonald’s ask me if I am my father’s “boy,” there is no need to trip.

But, Rev. Wright’s directives to Black America are rooted in the self-determination mentality that existed before the welfare state. Rev. Wright is actually as conservative as Rev. Herman Cain and could sit and listen to a discussion between them for hours.

Uncles will praise your accomplishments but we will grind you up when you mess up. It will take the uncles and aunts in my community “reading” the youth if our futures are going to be better. Man, my Aunt Della could get you told for “old and new” with a quickness. I am keeping the family tradition.

Aunt Della

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The Entitlement Mentality: Unlikely Allies Project

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Blacks, hip hop, Newt Gingrich, youth on September 1, 2011 | 4 Comments »

An entertainer called Chapter recently released the satirical video “It’s Free, Swipe Yo EBT.” I was ticked off until I realized the song was a poor attempt at parody. But, the bigger questions are the social responsibility of so-called artists and the direct effect they have on the entitlement mentality.

Warning: strong language

If you grew up when and where I did, you know that the government isn’t your friend. The limited role of government ranges from delivering the mail and defending the borders to helping hungry children. The truly heartless are the only ones who want to see hungry babies resulting from some people have children at the wrong time with the wrong people.

Chapter or Keywanda actually started an important discussion. When people on the far Right argue that the federal government should be extremely limited, they should remember that Black people appreciate the intervention of the fed into the affairs of southern states during the struggle for freedom.

In the 1990s, Newt Gingrich pushed Bill Clinton in the correct direction and Speaker Gingrich had me convinced that the roles of federal, state and local governments are to create a level playing field or fair opportunity for Americans to develop. If an individual blew those opportunities in the best country on earth, that person made their bed.

We spend so much government money addressing bad personal decisions and it’s not free. Yes, temporary assistance is a needed safety net but some people misunderstand the intent. With medical science, proper diet and regular exercise, people are living longer. So, young people should enjoy being young, develop a career path and have fun until they are in their mid 20s—there will be ample time for marriage and parenthood after the club days are over. Club sweethearts aren’t necessarily spouse material.

This video was made in California but southern Blacks who actually vote are appalled by the mindset that this video highlights. We must get and keep the government out of our business and no one should need to tell any parents of any color to care for kids who didn’t ask to be born.

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Our Youth, Soft Skills and the Chameleon Project

Posted in politics, tagged Conservatives, education, Georgia, jobs, youth on August 11, 2011 | 1 Comment »

What are soft skills? The front of the Albany (Georgia) Herald today has a story about state official Melvin Everson coming to Albany to emphasis soft skills in K-12 education.

http://www.albanyherald.com/home/headlines/Officials_Soft_skills_important_in_the_workplace_127499653.html

Soft skills include punctuality, ability to learn, appropriate business attire and teamwork. Really? Reading that article was a long blink second for me. My homeboy Richardson (Fort Valley State, Omega, teacher) talks about long blinks when realizing what the youth today don’t know or refuse to learn—it’s called good, old fashion common sense or home training. You learn it from the community, church, sports, band or working (as we did) in the “fields.”

Because I could talk and dress, I got out of the watermelon fields in high school and behind the microphone at “WRSG…radio Sylvester.” To be honest, I did say there was a 60% chance of precipitation during a downpour but I was trying. A lady called and said, “genius…there is a 100 percent chance..look out the freaking window.”

Many Americans learned soft skills from watching Leave It To Beaver, Father Knows Best, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Family Matters and Good Times. James and Florida raised quality kids in a rough environment; they were a strong family.

Guys learn it by listening to oldheads in the barbershop and I imagine girls do the same in hair salons. Everson learned it at our Albany State University and in the U.S. Army. During his candidacy for state labor commissioner, I told Melvin that he would have had my vote in the general election because he was a Golden Rams and gets it.

Everson is a conservative and fully conscious of the budget constraints facing the state and national governments. So, I want to help Everson and former congressman, now Governor Nathan Deal save some money (Deal is cool because he always supported peanuts and other south Georgia crops.)

Georgia should create a program called the “Chameleon Project.” As we know, the chameleon is a little lizard that changes to camouflage itself in different settings. Of course, today’s youth want to be hard and thuggish like some hip hop stars. Newsflash: your hip hop heroes send their kids to prep school in the suburbs because only a nut wants to be in the hard life–ask prisoners. As the late, great Bernie Mack said, “If you went to jail for someone else…you aren’t a punk…you are a new fool.” The Mack man said he would have been jumping up and down in court with his hand up, “he kilt that boy, your honor..I tried to call you but I didn’t have your number.” I digress.

The Chameleon Project would show young people how to learn from everyone, how to switch attire to secure the cool mall job and how to speak clearly and properly. Watching the right T.V. shows can improve soft skills. If a person says “youknowwhatIsayin” constantly, I don’t. The smooth tone on NPR radio would give a young person a vocal camouflage option. Cuban immigrant and former CEO of Coca Cola Robert Goizueta taught himself English by watching the same movies over and over. We know some people can turn it on and off like a faucet but if you can’t, default to the manner of speech that puts legal money in your pocket.

It is a shame that young people spend so much money on clothes (not made in America) but don’t have a dark suit to wear to their grandmother’s funeral. FYI: cut the tag off the sleeve. The unofficial hero on the Chameleon Project is Eddie Haskell from Leave It To Beaver. Eddie was a cutup but he could pour on the charm when parents were around. In the courtship and employment interview processes, we oldheads like to see a young man who can rock the classics….Blue Blazer…presses white button-down…khakis..penny loafs… prep tie. I was crushing the sweethearts’ mommies with that gear in 82 and it was the same gear my father wore at A&T in 32. That functional outfit could be put together in Wal-mart for under $100 bucks.

That Eddie Haskell

I once worked in a job skill training program and the clients/students always said that this information should have been introduced to them ten years earlier–before certain paths were chosen. So, Deal and Everson are on the right track because moving into management will require more than the basic technical skills. I bet the youth in developing nations are as sharp as a razor and clean as a whistle; they have the eye of the Tiger.

Melvin, check this out, oldschool..holla at your boy.” Translation: “Mr. Everson, look here, fellow alum..contact me for additional discussions regarding this matter.”

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Education and School: Unlikely Allies Project

Posted in politics, tagged education, school, youth on August 1, 2011 | 1 Comment »

What should children learn as they head back to school?

The start of the school year is filled with promise but I have serious concerns about the American education system. First, kids have much better resources than we had but we had home training, which was actually home, church, and community training. It was important that we knew when to sit down, be quiet and focus. From 150 T.V. channels to Xbox, today’s kids like flashy and that makes good old fashion teaching boring.

Newsflash: much of life in the real world is boring and making yourself do what you don’t want to do is an important part of growth and development. Children should arrive at the logical conclusion that they will be in school anyway so why not gain knowledge that will make their futures better. Every subject from my school years has come up in life at some point and in some way. When Black kids study American history, they should develop an understanding about the past and their obligations to strive into the future. The revolving door on American prisons indicates that should young people don’t value the freedom many fought to obtain.

High school economics is a needed subject in my opinion because kids need to know about conspicuous consumption, cost-benefit analysis, risk/reward and delayed gratification. Even people who make 60K plus working in industry without college degrees should know that material things aren’t that important and everyone shouldn’t know what you have. We should hope that kids learn to be balanced, law-abiding, happy citizens. They should also learn that it’s not the government’s job to take care of you; the government doesn’t love you like that.

Teachers enter the profession fully prepare to perform but the half-raised part of the student body will ruin the learning process for all involved. A stress-out teacher’s thoughts turn to mortgage and SUV payments—so they take it. As the Negro hymn goes, “before I be a slave..I will be buried in my grave.” I would sooner stave that allow a student to disrupt school while disrespecting me. To be honest, the wrong folks are having too many kids at the wrong time and they would be the first to tell you that—ten years later.

[http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhP91JK3E2gM29c5O8]

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Jobs and Economic Recovery Topic: Unlikely Allies Project

Posted in politics, tagged education, jobs, Obama, Unemployment, youth on April 4, 2011 | 8 Comments »

What should the average American know about the job market and the government’s role in job creation?

Ted Sadler: Employment/recovery was the obvious first monthly topic for our new discussion series because so much pivots off jobs. We should admit a painful fact: many of the jobs that America lost during the economic downturn won’t be coming back. Companies are functioning leaner with more automation so the unemployed and underemployed should plan carefully. We must work hard and work smart because the traditional 40 years with one employer and a solid pension is becoming the exception rather than the norm. The government can’t guarantee a job that produces funds to meet your financial needs and wants. As President Kennedy might have said, what you can do for your country is limit your obligations, training hard and pinch pennies until they scream.

The government should provide quality schools for K-12 kids and educational options for adults while creating a business environment conducive to job creation. We must keep a watchful eye on politicians and their relationships with special interest groups because at times it seems that the paychecks elected officials are most concerned with protecting are their own. Candidate Obama was a master at straight talk and I need him to speak honestly about the possibility of emerging nations out hustling us with their “hungry for opportunities” workforce. We better get on the ball. Finally, I was alarmed by a CBS Sunday Morning cover story about 50 plus years old unemployed people. Surprisingly, many employers pass on experience applicants because they are concerned with retirement while young workers are cheaper to employ. Look here: the job market is a rough game and must be worked from every angle….half the process is crafty networking. If you find yourself unemployed, the time could be right to build your own house or spend precious time with young family members—raise them or the streets will.

CBS Sunday Morning story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI1qy1Iwzl8&feature=player_embedded

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Recruiting Options for Black Male Teachers

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Arne Duncan, Blacks, crime, education, Georgia, spike lee, youth on February 25, 2011 | 1 Comment »

In Georgia, we spend too much money on criminal justice after spending cash for 12 years to education whose who would become criminals. New Governor and former congressman Nathan Deal was alarmed by the crime-related items in the state budget. To me, it’s like that old Fram oil filter commercial: “You can pay me now or you can pay me later” the mechanic says.

Well, we should pay teachers who today unfortunately do more than the teachers of old. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Spike Lee are pushing for more Black men to consider teaching. Currently, one percent of teachers are Black men and over the next 20 years many teachers will be retiring. In this down economy, teaching could be a cool option for those with the right temperament and the paid is not bad.

Education officials should look into a program Silver Springs, Maryland, had in the 90s called college style teaching. The D.C. Area had many retired federal workers and military veterans who would like to work part-time because they were basically fine financially. The school system found recruiting difficult because those who wanted to simply teach didn’t wanted the headache of hall, bus, homeroom and activities duties. While the majority of the teachers were “full teachers with full pay,” the college style teachers, who received less money, arrived on campus 30 minutes before their first class, taught two classes, had a planning period, taught two more class and left campus—similar to college professors.

Options for other duties like coaching and clubs came with more money in a cafeteria plan like current coaches’ stipends or supplements. We could be talking about former Wall Street executives, well-travelled war veterans, and high-paid factory worker who want a change for the last phase of their working years. If the schedules are right, these teachers might split time between teaching and consulting in their former fields. The real winners would be the children who would get teachers who know exactly what the workforce needs. I love the idea of lower grades kids having more positive men in the schools as role models.

Yes, our communities were better when parents and the church primarily raised kids. Today, music videos, the internet, 150 T.V. channels and the streets are framing young minds. If we don’t do something innovative soon, we will continue spending more money sending youth to Georgia State Penitentiary than Georgia State University. The rough kids disrupt the education experience for those to want to learn. I will tell you what: get this program before my 50^th birthday and I will teaching four American government/civic classes and coach tennis for 30K and be glad to have it.

The added benefit of having clean-cut men in the schools is the character options for boys, and the experience of being around real men for girls whose fathers were elsewhere. Oh yeah, some of those life-long daddy issues and quickness to argue with men stem from rarely being around a certain type man. As Chuck D said in the rap rhyme back in the day, “with a man in the house…the bullsh__ stops.” I shouldn’t go there but let me rhyme, “with men in the schools…knowledge becomes more cool.”

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President Obama, Hill Harper and Bill Cosby On Family and Full Grown Men

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Blacks, family, Michelle Obama, Obama, parenting, youth on January 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Solving the pressing family crisis in our community could start with some simple solutions. President Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope, Hill Harper’s books “Letters to a Young Brother” and “Letters to a Young Sister,” and Bill Cosby and Alvin Poussaint’s “Come On People” all contain a central theme on the family. To me, the theme was be careful when and with whom you start a family.

President Obama and Hill Harper were classmates at Harvard Law and both seem to emphasize waiting until the early twenties at least before making huge life decisions—like 23 years old. Of course, young people start college, training at technical schools, serving in the military and building careers before that age. But, I wish they would train, study and work by day and worship, chill and enjoy life at night and on the weekends while being very deliberate about life-altering actions like parenthood and crime.

The difference between 16 years old and 23 years ago is vast. While working in a community service program with young mothers, I quickly learned that most of the moms wished they would have waited to better know themselves and the guys with whom they were dealing before having a child. Most of my students later discovered that the dudes themselves didn’t really know who they were at the time. If you like to party, you should get partying out of your system before dramatically affecting you life and those around you.

My friends and I are constantly puzzled by young people who were raised under difficult conditions who put themselves in the same conditions. Of course, that young person’s parents often shoulder the burden of caring for the teen mom’s baby at a time when grandmothers should be enjoying relief after struggling for almost two decades and getting their money straight.

We know that medical science, diet and exercise could give young people today the opportunity to live 20 years longer than their grandparents. So, what is the rush to be a parent? Hill Harper wrote that many young women are looking for love from guys or want a baby to love. But, careful life-planning and love for the unborn child should have them delay parenthood until conditions are better—never perfect but better.

Governmental resources are scarce and taxpayers are understandably ticked about entitlement spending. While some loved the general idea of an Obama presidency, I was crazy about Obama speaking to young people about being careful with life choices in a manner similar to the decision-making of President Barrack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bill Cosby, Hill Harper and countless others who could teach these life skills and back them with proven actions.

I say young people should study, work and have fun while they are maturing and please listen to older people around you—they have been where you are heading and you can learn from their personal histories.

The Audacity of Hope: Barrack Obama

p. 255 In other words, African American understand that culture matters but that culture is shaped by circumstance. We know that many in the inner city are trapped by their own self destructive behaviors but those behaviors are not innate. And because of that knowledge, the black community remains convinced that of America finds its will to do so, then circumstance for those trapped in the inner city can be changed, individuals attitudes among the poor will change in kind, and the damage can gradually be undone, if not for this generation then at least for the next.

Such wisdom might help us move beyond ideological bickering and serve as the basis of a renewed effort to tackle the problem of inner city poverty. We could begin by acknowledging that perhaps the single biggest thing we could do to reduce such poverty is to encourage teenage girls to finish high school and avoid having children out of wedlock. In this effort, school and community based programs that have a proven track record of reducing teen pregnancy need to be expanded, but parents, clergy and community leaders also need to speak out more consistently on this issue.

p. 245 Then there’s the collapse of the two-parent black household, a phenomenon that is occurring at such an alarming rate when compared to the rest of American society that what was once a difference in degree has become a difference in kind. A phenomenon that reflects casualness toward sex and child rearing among black men that renders black children more vulnerable – and for which there is simply no excuse.

p. 347 I didn’t have a prepared text, but I took as my theme “what it takes to be a full-growth man.” I suggested that it was time that men in general and black men in particular put away their excuses for not being there for their families. I reminded the men in the audience that being a father meant more than bearing a child; that even those of us who were physically present in the home are often emotionally absent; that precisely because many of us didn’t have fathers in the house we have to redouble our efforts to break the cycle; and that if we want to pass on high expectations to our children, we have to have higher expectations for ourselves.

My notes from the Cosby Book: Come On People

http://projectlogicga.com/2009/06/26/come-on-people-the-cosby-book/

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George C. Fraser: Economic Empowerment over Political Power

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Blacks, Congress, Conservatives, politics, youth on September 16, 2010 | 1 Comment »

George C. Fraser

In his book “Success Runs In Our Race,” George Fraser convinced me that networking was vital to professional and social success. On Tavis Smiley’s Covenant With Black America, Fraser asserted that African-Americans were the only Americans who sought political power before economic power upon arriving in this country or what would become this country.

You have to love being at a cookout or mixer when intelligent topics like this come up. The radical brother points out that we arrived in the hulls of ships and in bondage; political power was needed first just to keep citizens and the government itself from harming us or restricting freedoms.

The conversation then turns to the age-old Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Dubois argument. When I was young, Dubois’ push for education and college degrees appealed to me. As I grew older, Washington’s focus on job training, business ownership and finance made more sense.

Helen Blocker Adams is bringing George Fraser to Augusta, Georgia, on October 14, 2010, and I must go hear this noted author because we are in rapidly changing times. While some in our community are bracing for a political nightmare if the conservatives take the House and Senate back, those of us who grew up reading Black Enterprise Magazine are wondering how we will adjust, maintain and prosper. Southern Black voters are generally moderate to conservative but more importantly resilient when the government doesn’t care—and the government often doesn’t care so stop looking to them and save yourself.

During this campaign season, I imagine Fraser’s networking principles would recommend meeting and listening to everyone—don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. I think young people miss the networking opportunities they could experience from following politics. If you go listen to everyone or volunteer, the professional benefits will come.

Fraser’s new book is “Click: Ten Truths to Building Extraordinary Relationships.” The current political candidates need to read this one and come to the event at Paine College.

http://www.georgecfraser.com/ Check out his video

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Obamacrats: Get Smart and Scrappy

Posted in politics, tagged African Americans, Blacks, blue dogs, Congress, democrats, moderates, Newt Gingrich, Obama, Sherrod, tea party, youth on July 23, 2010 | 5 Comments »

I don’t care what anyone says; President Obama is exactly the president “candidate Obama” said he would be. The problem is people don’t know how to listen. He isn’t big on party politics because he didn’t spend that much time in the national arena before ascending to the top. That’s why he is constantly looking for Republicans with whom to work. He thinks that is natural and logical in D.C.

Of course, the GOP leadership dares their members to seriously dialog with the White House—let them fail so the Red Team can take the presidency in 2012. Can any good American really say “let them fail”? “I hope Hurricane Katrina kills thousands so the Democrats can win in ’08.” “I hope BP’s oil reaches Key West, turns and goes up the East Coast so we can get the White House back.” How sick can someone be to think those thoughts?

I don’t know the plans of the Democrats or Republicans but we Obamacrats still believe in changing the way Washington works. (Okay, this is just me thinking out loud.) First, we must remember that Obama is not Superman or the second coming. He is a very smart person and I think he is malleable. The president would come toward the center if it produces results and keeps decent conservatives from drifting into radical ranks on the far Right The center is mandatory to lead in America–belive that.

The situation with Mrs. Shirley Sherrod shows what I have always known: Obama is not familiar with the plight of southern Blacks because he thankfully has not been through our troubled past. I am glad the brother grew up around sweet people and it reflects in his considerate nature but is he mean enough to scrap like Clinton—Bill and/or Hillary. Mrs. Sherrod’s Baker County, Georgia, is similar to Hope, Arkansas so Bill knew how nasty things could get. Speaking of nasty, we should discuss the fact that thuggish youth of all colors are more of a domestic terror threat than the Klan and the Taliban put together. In the public policy arena, one must have a certain amount of nasty in them.

How can we help our community during this election season? We should support our traditional candidates but develop a line of communication/dialog with a select group of reasonable conservatives (wrestle them from the Far Right.) If a candidate is lock-step with the far Right’s approach of misinformation and hate-speak, they should be defeated for pitting Americans against each other and scaring folks for political gain (the same applies to the far-Left.)

In the 90s, our community overwhelmingly supported the Democrats. When Newt Gingrich and company took the Congress, we were toast. Conservatives vote when the only election on the ballot is a run-off for dogcatcher but our community is fickle about hitting the polls.

Obamacrats (Republicans, Democrats, and Independents) should dialog on understanding, policy and logic. Personally, I could trade a few anti-Obama Blue Dogs for conservatives who are about dialog with the whole community. Senator Johnny Isakson would be the best example of such a Member of Congress and moderates should have as much influence with him as the Far Right. Those conservatives would be essential for this White House over the next two years and the people will decide in 2012.

President Obama is one of the smartest people in American history but he can’t know everything. We remember governing without our community’s input and must work to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. The African American community is very diverse and our conservative brothers and sisters believe in a limited government than in many ways makes good common sense. They should talk with their other family about the questionable methods and techniques of the recent past because maybe we can make progress or at least peacefully function.

I still believe in the version or incarnation of Newt Gingrich that simply stated that the limited role of the federal government was to foster an opportunity for children to grow, learn and achieve if they focus, work hard patiently and keep it clean. If not, the life they get will be the life they made. I can live with that.

I can’t live with people who benefit from the Obamacrats but ignore us or worst slam the White House. Obama is a nice guy but the rest of us grew up with these scrappy Tea Party people. Scrapping and calling someone out is nothing new to us.

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Project Logic Ga

Southern Moderate African American Issues

Posts Tagged ‘youth’

T.V. Brainwashed: “Married To Medicine” isn’t Georgia

Carlton Fletcher on Half-raised Fools

For-Profit Colleges: Schemes and Games

Hill Harper: Letters To A Young Brother

Michelle Obama, Darius Rucker and Lynrd Skynrd: Simple Life Is Alright

Table of Discussion: School Choice and Family Planning

My niece Mackenzie’s Cool Speech on Peer Pressure

Register By October 9th /High School Football

Youth Exploratory Initiative: Skybox

Psalms 71:18: Zimmerman and Old Men

Obama vs. Cain, the Black Women with White Men List and Other Insults

Uncle Sam and Rev. Wright

The Entitlement Mentality: Unlikely Allies Project

Our Youth, Soft Skills and the Chameleon Project

Education and School: Unlikely Allies Project

Jobs and Economic Recovery Topic: Unlikely Allies Project

Recruiting Options for Black Male Teachers

President Obama, Hill Harper and Bill Cosby On Family and Full Grown Men

George C. Fraser: Economic Empowerment over Political Power

Obamacrats: Get Smart and Scrappy

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