Maher's Moment

Well, it is time for me to add my two cents and you all know how I like to do that! There has been uproar over Bill Maher’s twitter assertion that March Madness is “a stirring reminder of what America was founded on: making tons of money off the labor of unpaid black people”.  What is the problem with the statement and why are people hot under the collars? Well, first of all, those individuals that profit off the games, etc. do not want the truth to be known. God forbid we actually become conscious of reality and begin to pull away our support. The guys work tremendously hard and do not earn one red cent. Number two, the college years of playing allow for those players to be showcased in a way that could potentially change their lives forever, for instance, many of our now NBA superstars (Carmelo Anthony, Dewayne Wade, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Kemba Walker, etc.) were once players in March Madness. Lastly, whether the players are motivated by exposure and hopes of being in the NBA draft or not, no one makes them play. Yes, people are profiting and have done so for years, but the stark difference in this situation is that it is not forced. No one is threatening their lives (that we are aware of ). Maher makes a valid point. The NCAA makes a millions if not billions of dollars off the blood, sweat, tears, (and ticket sales) of these athletes. According to Department of Education, men and women sports generated $12.6 billion in 2011. Which brings me back to the point—was Maher wrong in his conclusion? I think in the broad overview of the situation, he was right. But, are we not all partaking in the “exploitation”?  There are much more sinister events and injustices occurring daily and for us to give so much attention to Maher and what he says are a waste of time and energy. Maher is doing what he does best-speaking his mind. There is much to be concerned about but this is not it. What about those working on the new age plantation AKA prison? What about our youth who are locked up at ages as young as 12 with grown men only to be abused and scarred for life? What about the gun violence that continues to ravish our communities? What about the lack of pride in our women? What about the poor educational infrastructure? Is this worth an argument? You make the call.

One Love,

Andréa

Marissa Alexander-- Miscarriage of Justice

Marissa Alexander and I have a lot in common. We are both of the same age (I will be 33 in a week and a half); we are both mothers; we both had abusive husbands; we are both black. But there is one huge difference between Marisa and I—I am not facing 60 years in prison for firing a warning shot at my would-b e attacker husband. But I could have been. Florida is no place to be for an African American. One either side of the law, whether we are the aggressor, as Zimmerman claimed Trayvon Martin was, or the victim, as Marisa had been as she was attempting to protect herself and her children—Florida views us as guilty.

Many people do not know the details of the case. Marissa had just given birth and her husband was threatening to kill her. He was physical with her and she did not shoot at him. She shot into a wall to make him flee. Now, I do not know about the next woman but after giving birth , your body is going through so many changes. You are exhausted, your bodily functions are trying to return to normal, you are bleeding, and you are having to adjust to not being pregnant anymore. Now imagine someone pushing, hitting, and threatening you after you’ve performed a miracle of God. There is no way that an individual of sound mind can look at the events of the case and not say that Marissa was under duress and that her actions were warranted.

Some people say she should have called the authorities. But, sometimes the authorities are not your friend. Would they have taken her seriously or just thought it was some lovers spat? I am praying for Marissa and all the other unjustly prosecuted individuals in this country. What chance do we have when this double judicial standard is allowed to continue? My fear is that other states with similar laws as Florida will begin to initiate similar actions against our people to add to the already fattened pockets of the prison industry. The plantations still exist but the “fields” are the prison compounds and the labor and abuse is legal. Shame on those who seek to steal the life of this vibrant young woman and mother. Shame on the state of Florida for continually seeking to destroy the lives of the black man and woman. Shame on the prosecutor seeking to sentence her to 60 years. And most of all, shame on those who chose to keep their mouths, eyes, and ears closed to the real issues of this world. Just because you state “Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil” , doesn’t mean that evil no longer exists—that’s what evil wants you to do!

One Love,

A

Life

Life is a funny thing. Sometimes you think you have it all figured out. You know what you want to do, who you want to be with, how you see things playing out. And then it happens. You wake up and realize that the life that you thought you wanted is not what you want at all. You realize that you are not the same and therefore your needs and desires have changed. What do you do and how do you handle it? I do not have the answer but I do know that when I have followed my first mind, I always had a more favorable outcome. Over the past few years, my life has been one big whirlwind, trial after trial with glimpses of hope and small triumphs along the way. I likened my life to a wilderness that I was caught in. Initially I fought with every ounce, but one day I decided to stop fighting and to simply be patient and take one day and step at a time. I felt such a sense of peace within from focusing on the task at hand and not allowing myself to be consumed with issues that were out of my control.

If you know anything about hurricanes, then you are aware that the eye of the storm is the calmest. But you may not know that the eye feeds the storm, acting as a vortex, and as long as it feeds the storm, the conditions persist. I was living within the calm of the eye but in doing so, was feeding the storm of my life. When debtors called, I let the call go to voicemail. I isolated myself from others so as not to have to answer questions about “what was going on”. I ignored my heart—I was hurting but I was too stubborn to admit it. I felt rage if I cried, my tears reminders of the pain I felt deep within. So, I did the impossible—I went into the storm and submerged myself into the tumult. I opened my eyes wide and analyzed my situation and realized that either the storm would kill me or it would strengthen me. I have experienced a level of peace and an increase of strength by allowing myself to let go that I know I will never be the same again. And it is my belief that since I left the eye, the storm in my life lost strength and is dissipating.

 In my life, I have experienced great loss, loss so heart wrenching that there were times when I wanted to end it all but the Most High had a plan for my life as He does everyone else. He and He alone is responsible for my triumphs and successes. I look at the lives of other people in my life, friends and family and associates near and far and it has become so clear to me just how connected we are and how our lives are intertwined. I realized the true meaning of testimony and know that others are better of my will.  My outlook on life has changed dramatically over the past year. I view the world on a much deeper level. Life and time are precious commodities and we must not waste them because we will never get it back. Life is fleeting and time waits for no man. I now know that I do matter and life is a thing to savor. When I eat, I am aware of each flavor; when I hold my children close, I cherish each heartbeat and word they say; when I look into the mirror, I see a full-grown woman. I love her. She is not perfect but she is a work in progress. She aspires to greatness. She is me.

One Love,

Andréa

Ratched Fights--Why?

How many times have you seen the “Ratchet fights” posts on your Facebook timeline and wondered why? Sometimes there are situations in which individuals are beat up for good reason, such as abuse of their mate or mistreatment of a child. But, more often than not, it is someone who is fighting over drugs or being bullied and the whole scene makes us look bad. There are videos of other races but most of the ones I have seen have involved black peopl , which is even more disheartening. And to add insult to injury is that sometimes the same people who hit the share button, are the same ones preaching “We have to do better”. Is that not being contradictory? Doing better is applicable to all. We all must do better if we desire better. The universe is a funny thing—what you project, you will receive in return.

Ratchet fights would not have a platform if we did not provide it. We are built to love one another and by feeding into this system where fights between our people are exploited for profit and laughs are certainly not conducive to any progression. We must also be mindful that our children have access to these videos. Is that the message that we want to give our young people—that violence amongst your brothers and sisters is permissible? That it is okay to laugh when someone is punched, kicked, spit on, or worse and then humiliated by being videotaped? No I am not saying that I am the moral authority and yes I do think that are some people that need their behind tore up or worse but, there is a line that we should not cross. And what really is sad is the so-called “grown people” rooting the fights between kids on. What is the world coming to? I implore that the next time you are tempted to share a ratchet fight video, really think about it. Is this the way you want our people to be represented? Is this what we have been reduced to? I am shaking my head as I type because there is no way the world will begin to refrain from the violent acts against us when we laugh and support violence from our own people. Is it really that funny? I do not think so. Take a deep breath and think.

One Love,

Andréa

Rebuilding Our Community

Hello Everyone! Usually I vent and express my opinions about particular topics especially relative to the condition of my people. However, I want to do the same thing but I am going to give statistics to support the challenge that I am going to impose upon you. African-Americans are the largest consumer market in the US, spending $600 billion per year in products and services, however, we make up only 13% of the population. And what is worse is that 27.4% of us live below the poverty line. Now, with the amount of money that we spend on clothing, jewelry, electronics, etc., we could use half of that money and change the face of our communities. African-American communities desperately need recreational centers, financial assistance for the unemployed, emergency funding, and expansion of education. We can make a brighter tomorrow for our children if we become more responsible with our money and sow seeds in our own communities. Support black business. Many of us have a disdain for others of us who were resilient enough to start our own business. If they are providing quality goods and services, we should be their most loyal customers. The large corporations of this country are not without fault either.We need to hold these corporations accountable and make them responsible to support our communities. They need to reinvest the monies we spend into our communities. We need to restructure and rebuild. Our children deserve safe and loving environments and it is not an impossibility. As long as there is life, there is hope. Let us look back at our past and use the lessons that our ancestors taught. Did they march in vain? Is there no love in the hood anymore? Are we not sistren and brethren? Don’t our kids deserve more? I have a vision and a passion to do what I can with the cooperation of others to improve the future of Afrikan people in this country. It can be done—one community at a time! Stay tuned!

 

One Love,

Andréa

 

 

From the Mind of Andre'a : The Value of Young Black Men and Their Life

From the Mind of Andre'a : The Value of Young Black Men and Their Life: We are living in hostile and frightening times. Our world is filled with violence and hatred, intolerance and ignorance, distress and strife...

The Value of Young Black Men and Their Life

We are living in hostile and frightening times. Our world is filled with violence and hatred, intolerance and ignorance, distress and strife. It grieves me deeply especially when I see the lack of value placed on the lives of our young black men. Their lives are taken and the world continues going about business as usual, with no lapse in activity. The recent announcement of George Zimmerman and DMX and the proposed "celebrity" boxing match is sickening. How dare we even entertain such atrocity? Does killing an innocent teenager, let me rephrase that, an innocent black teenager, make you a celebrity? It is an atrocity and a disturbing trend that is occurring in the United States. Young black boys and men are killed, often violently, and the story is "Well you know he was a thug" or "He was in a gang" or "He smoked marijuana". Does any of these immature acts give someone else the right to kill that individual. It is an outrage that Zimmerman was not imprisoned for murdering Trayon Martin. Now he is profiting off that young man's innocent blood. Not very long ago, Zimmerman sold artwork depicting the prosecutor from his trial for money, now this. He is allowed to skirt the law and it is high time that we took action. Enough is enough. There is a petition on Change.org to stop the fight but more needs to be done. We need to take to the airwaves, the streets, to the politicians, to the hood, to the suburbs---the attack against our men is going to end. There is going to be an end to the bloodshed. No more will we take a passive role--it's time to fight! Our men and boys deserve a chance to live! Revolution!

One Love,
Andre'a