Straight, No Chaser Mixtape: Volume 2 - Now Available

Straight, No Chaser Mixtape: Volume 2

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NEWBO's: The Rise of America's New Black Overclass

I watch a lot of documentaries and biographies on Hulu since I don't own a TV (and don't really plan to soon). I figured I'd begin posting some of the better ones here on the blog. This is one I watched a few weeks ago. I think it's inspirational for any young African American looking to move into business or honestly, any type of professional career. We always see bad examples of our people but this highlights numerous African-American MALES who are making moves. Check it out. Let us know what you think. Peace.

Not So Fast Professor Gates - by Henry Duncan

Reparations has been debated since the 1800’s. Yet the 40 acres and a mule has never been delivered. For some reason, Professor Henry Louis Gates has taken on this issue in his op-ed article in the New York Times entitled Ending The Slavery Blame Game. In this article, Prof. Gates argues that, since African monarchs sold their slaves to Europeans, that Europe
and Africa share responsibility for slavery. Obviously this claim has sparked much controversy. You can start with the letters in response to the article. Eric Foner, a professor of history at Columbia University, who states that “reparations are unworkable” does refute a point that Gates presents in his article.

In the article, Gates states:
Advocates of reparations for the descendants of those slaves generally ignore this untidy problem of the significant role that Africans played in the trade, choosing to believe the romanticized version that our ancestors were all kidnapped unawares by evil white men, like Kunta Kinte was in “Roots.” The truth, however, is much more complex: slavery was a business, highly organized and lucrative for European buyers and African sellers alike.

1 of 30 (National Poetry Month)

1 of 30. You give the title/subject and I'll write the poem. This is for Nicholas who told me to write on: Hunger.



Ain't nothing lighthearted about K dot P dot
so please see me not
with them LOL's and LMAO's
we out for them pesos
won't be spending mine on no yeyo
or no Jose Cuervo
probably cop some rice, that new Badu
and some lit writ by Plato
do my part for my compadres
hustle hard on holidays

Africa Is The Future: Part 2 (Continued from The Seed)

I often think about what other countries think about the images they see of Black people in the media. I'm always most concerned with how this image is taken by our brothers and sisters in Africa. Just as Blacks are given a false image of Africa, I think Africans are given a false image of Black people. Just as a European or Asian may look at Blacks with a sense of disgust, I think this is true for some Africans also. This sense of disgust helps contribute to a disconnect that already exists between the two cultures due to the the negative images many Blacks hold towards Africans.

The Historical Significance of Haiti

We all know of the recent earthquake that has devastated the country of Haiti. I don’t know if you have donated your money or time to help in the relief efforts, but in the spirit of Black history month I thought you should know about the historical significance of Haiti. Haiti is the only country in the world to gain it’s independence as a result of a slave revolt. From the early small rebellions lead by the likes of Dutty Boukman in 1780 that lead to the larger and successful revolt lead by Toussaint L'Ouverture and finished by Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The slave revolts in Haiti inspired many of the slave revolts in America such as the revolt led by Nat Turner. The link between the Black people in the United States and the people of Haiti is undeniable. Their ancestors are the same as ours. The only difference between us and them is our former slave masters. Our slave masters spoke english so we spoke english and have english names. Their slave masters spoke French so they speak French and have French names. So make no mistake, those are literally our brothers and sisters dying down there. Keep that in mind as you consider making your charitable contributions.

Were We Expecting Too Much? A year for the Black President

I remember how excited the Black community was a year ago when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. True, it was a historic moment when you consider the racial history of America. True, he's a much better president than Bush but I can't help but notice that Black people lately aren't rooting for President Obama as much as we were before he was elected. Has he let us down? Were we expecting too much? Was it all just hype?


Many of the problems in the African American community are issues that must be dealt with on the ground level. I remember last year when Obama stated that he can reform the education system but he can't wake up and take our children to school. However, when Obama was elected we acted as if all of our problems had been solved. We acted as if he was Superman and that he'd fix every problem in the African American community.