LUXURY DISCRIMINATION

Saw a story the other day, about a College student who was shopping at Barney's and bought $350 belt. 
The clerk also called the police and the young man was arrested & charged with attempted "identity theft".  He was held for two hours before being released. 

He has since then Returned the merchandise, and filed a lawsuit against the chain alleging racial profiling. 

Of course my main objective here is to beg the question, 'Where are our heroes?'

On this issue I will give our heroes a break. I know fully that if  someone that our 'heroes'  were to speak out on this issue, their would become (even to themselves) hypocrites. We all know and understand, as adults, that you should not be purchasing a belt for $350 unless your weekly take-home pay is at least 4 times that number.

Our heroes in order to speak out would first have to acknowledge that this incident should've never come up. But because our culture, teaches us to bond with luxury brands then he was doing what any stereotypical  person in that position would've done; spend their entire check on one unnecessary item that they may not use daily.

If I was a national black hero, I would probably shy away from these headlines also. The fact of the matter is, that freedom or no freedom what this young college student did (or attempted to do) is not OK. It is a problem that plagues my community. 

The author is not entirely immune to this new form of slavery, that is fixated,concentrated and pumped like heroin from a syringe into my peoples veins.

For the record: I hope the young man wins his racial profiling law suit, it sounds like he deserves to. I hope even more, that should he win any type of monetary compensation, that he would have the knowledge, wisdom and understanding what to do with a settlement check... Hopefully not just a whole lot more luxury merchandise.

NEW SLAVES

-KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY-

Jonathan Ferrell

On Sept. 14, 2013, just outside of Charlotte, NC. Jonathan Ferrell had a bad car accident. The police think that Jonathan may have had to climb out of the rear windshield, in order to escape the vehicle after the accident.

After escaping the vechile, one way or another, Mr. Ferrell walked to the nearest home and knocked on the door, seeking help. Unfortunately the woman who answered the door, opened the door expecting to see her husband. When she realized it was not her husband, she closed the door, pressed the panic button on her home security system. Next she called the police.

The man stood outside and "continued to attempt to gain the attention of the homeowner," a police statement said.

Not too long after the call 3 officers showed up on the scene and found a man that fit the description given in the 911 call. The officers were responding to a "breaking and entering" call.
What happened next is not quite as clear. What is certain is that Jonathan Ferrell died on the scene as a result of being shot several times by one of the officers.

"The evidence revealed that Mr. Ferrell did advance on Officer Kerrick (pictured above), and the investigation showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive," police said in another statement issued late Saturday night. "Our investigation has shown that Officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter. " Officer Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter.
 A charge of voluntary manslaughter means the person used excessive force in self-defense, or carried out the act without intent to kill.

Jonathan Ferrell was 24 years old, one month away from the dreaded age 25 (Young Black Males dread this age because stereo typically young black males won't live that long). Jonathan played safety on the 2010 FAMU Championship Team. He was also engaged to be married.




All three officers have been placed on paid leave.



It is still undetermined if Ferrell had been injured in the accident or if potential injuries (such as a concussion) could have played a role incident that ended in his life later that day.

Read the CNN article here or check out the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-wbQLeNCiM

Now, let it be known that It is not my aim to insinuate that the officer was racist. Local Civil Rights leaders have stepped in on Mr. Ferrell's behalf. The question TAOH has to ask is, where are our heroes?

If you are reading this on my blog it is currently 2014, are there no NFL stars who are FAMU Alumni?

Or maybe an athlete, or rapper that is from Charlotte North Carolina. Surely someone has some very loose connection to this mans story or struggle, and can speak out on behalf of the society we live in.

I mean seriously Florida celebrities, Mr. Ferrell was not a teenager, however, he is not actually accused of ANYTHING wrong, improper, or illegal. On the other hand, you can attempt to beat up a total stranger for whatever reason in 2013 and the entire nation is surprised because if you get shot. I am not commenting on right or wrong, just on the selectivity in our heroes. 

What's the Problem??

Maybe because their is no clear cliched way to promote the cause on FB & Instagram?

Could it be maybe that with his shirt & tie, sports background, no criminal record, engaged at 24 years old Jonathan Ferrell does not fit the stereotype of the young black male being shot down by the hands of oppressive community forces. However his death, as an unarmed civilian, and the fact that the police were responding to a breaking & entering, when Jonathan had not tried to break in anywhere should send us down that same path. The fact that one officer felt the need to shoot someone advancing upon him with no visible weapon in the presence of two additional officers.

Guess we can all just wait and see if there will be any Jonathan Ferrell T-Shirts at this/next years BET Awards.

"They would Rep', but our heroes must got their hands full..."

-Knowledge Is The Key-

Feminist Blogger Hero Against the injustice of 'Getting Over It!'

While reading other blogs in the blog-sphere, I came across something very interesting last year.

Now this blog post is from the feminist perspective, and that probably surprises some of my readers seeing as how I don't usually agree with most feminist positions. However, I read many things all over the web and in print, things that I agree with, many things I do not agree with and things some things that make no sense as I am reading. 

For this is how you find out the truth of ANY subject; you read all differing angles & perspectives, then put the pieces together and find the truth (which usually lies somewhere in the middle of the different perspectives).

This particular post is about a retreat that one of the feminist organizations was planning to have in a suburb of New Orleans in June 2014.

Before I continue, take a moment to stare at the picture below of Ani DiFranco and see if you can determine what is wrong with her concept...

 My best friend once told me that in business location is everything. Location is what upholds you and location is also the beginning of your downfall. It appears that location is also downfall of this idea. I consider myself to be young, however my grandmother's mother was born a slave not too far from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

Although Whitecastle is only 40 minutes from Baton Rouge I must admit I have never set foot inside the state of Louisiana at all. Be that as it may there is still only one definition for the word plantation anywhere inside the continental United States. (There are different definitions but only one relevant definition in the mind of an African-American).

Somehow this woman felt that the scars of slavery and racial segregation and degradation could be brought to a healing during a feminist retreat. Not during a black consciousness retreat; but a feminist consciousness retreat. 

Ms. Di Franco, has a point about what places we deem racist because the truth is that there are many places in the United States that still have not torn down the memories of chattel slavery or the slave trade whether it is the Confederate flag flying high in North Carolina or the slave quarters in the back of many buildings in Louisiana. However if you consider Miss DiFranco's name and her appearance it may be safe to assume that she is not in a position to provoke that discussion or reflection. Although if I was an assuming person I would assume she is a Italian, I say that to say, that because of her name her ancestors probably did not own slaves themselves in the United States however her complexion alone and her thought process in addition disqualifies her from initiating such a conversation. Why?

Mainly because if you never lived the experience you may not realize the discomfort that will absolutely be felt by certain participants. The discomfort will be also exacerbated if African Americans are in the minority at the retreat. Our community still suffers from the survivng remnants of the horrors of plantation life. We still hate our own and each others skin-tone etc. If you don't understand that, then it doesn't matter if you are Black or White, you are not in a position to say that 'NOW' is a good time for us to "get over it." 

LET IT BE KNOWN: A note to anyone who may disagree with my logic, consider for moment that these people are trying to vacation and luxuriate at one of the many sites of horror, family dismemberment, where the destruction of a culture, language, and history were upheld for at least 100 years AFTER Louisiana and its allies lost the Civil War. 

The retreat is titled 'Righteous Retreat in Big Easy,' was billed as a feminist songwriting retreat. DiFranco quite naturally got a lot of flak from black feminists. Mainly on Facebook. 

The most interesting thing about this story is the exchange that took place on Facebook, not to mention the fact that it was all captured in the screenshots before it was able to be deleted. 

This post alone proves the point of why the person who movies this retreat is not the appropriate person to lead a healing retreat about racism. Slavery is over however her second sentence is incorrect because those days are not gone those days I definitely still here. Various modern-day slavery In penal institutions of which blacks are disproportionately the majority. Also, 2nd class discrimination in every industry imaginable etc. etc.. The perfect way to me not away plantation serve a brand-new purpose is to tear down Nottoway Plantation and everything that has something to do with the 1800's on that land and build a brand-new multicultural racially diverse building built by racially diverse engineers and carpenters. 

If the history of a place does not turn you away and then neither will anything else. Because if the present was to push you away, then the fact that it presently has the same name and has not been rearranged but has been preserved, means (at least to me) that they (The current owners of Nottoway Plantation) too honor the past understanding & the past mission & the pass purpose of that land and the buildings on that land. 

However that is not even what makes this story laughable. After an African-American women attempts to respond to the initial Facebook post made by Mandi Harrington, The unthinkable happens: read it for yourself and I will explain at the bottom...

The fact that Mandy is busted is only the tip of the iceberg because upon her deception we see the many facets of a racist nature from someone who would probably claim to not be racist. 

1. The name that she chose. 

2. The way that she put her words together, as if in some crazy abnormal mutation of Ebonics. I personally never met anyone (male or female black or otherwise) to speak in the way that 'LaQueeta' spoke in those comments except for instances where someone was oversimplifying black/hip-hop stereotypes usually in a racist way. 

It is the opinion of the offer that the reason why the feminist movement has not been able to attain as much progress as even the civil rights movement is because of the disconnection to the civil rights movement. I understand and acknowledge that women were marginalized during civil rights, be that as it may, since The feminist movement cannot continue without African-American women the feminist movement cannot repeat The injustices of its predecessor; It cannot make it self autonomous from larger racial issues in this country. 

The author of the blog (cited in the screenshot) ForHarriet, illustrates and sums up the point beautifully saying that if men "attempted to reclaim the word 'bitch' or 'cunt' these women would understand perfectly the error of misappropriation; however white supremacy continues to skewered the realities of slavery."

The event has thankfully been canceled. To read Ms. DiFranco's late response & explanation click here.

Read the Original post here.

So, TAOH salutes you team Forharriot.com for holding it down! 

You are a Trill Black Hero!!!

-Knowledge Is The Key-

'White' NFL MVP Quarterback Aaron Rogers decides to be a Black Hero (since apparently we have none).

During homecoming week 2013 at the University of Wisconsin, students gathered at Memorial Union hall. Although the Univ. of Wisconsin has a Big Ten rivalry with Northwestern & were set to face off in the coming days, the crowd of students numbering at least 2,000, came to see Green Bay Packers MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers was in the house, to talk about Congo!

NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers speaks at the Raise Hope For Congo event in Madison, Wisconsin.CREDIT: CHARLIE POSNER/THINKPROGRESS

To see the full 3-min clip click here.












Of all the black athletes prevalent, newsworthy and influential in the 2013-2014 season, thank God there is one, albeit a different skin tone, who is not so preoccupied with endor$ement deal$ that he spoke out anyway.
The enough project, is an initiative that was started in order to campaign for the people of the Congo (DRC).
These minerals harvested by hand out of the earth, that TAOH first posted earlier this month, do not only go into Americans’ favorite products; Their sale also finance a decades-long Congolese war in which rape and genocide are weapons and children are often soldiers.

Since war broke out in the mid 1990's (2Pac was still alive) over 5.4 million dead. Over 2 million displaced. Congo is home to the deadliest conflict since World War II.

WHAT CAN I DO? I thought that you would never ask. 

• If you are political you can start with House Resolution 131 and contacting your representative about helping to pass the resolution. View the Resolution and how to send it by clicking here.. 
• If you are religious you can start with the Congo Faith Initiative. To get your faith based organization involved, click HERE.
• You can also make your City or Campus conflict free with a click.

As you can see it is not impossible. Your College would not be the first or the last.

To read the statements that individual schools have adopted in conjunction with this initiative click here

When i first read about the Aaron Rodgers story in Oct. 2013 there were over 150 College Campuses that signed up to be conflict free. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DO!! Even 2pac said, "the power is in the people."

“I’ve been given a platform based on the success that we’ve had as a team and that I’ve had individually.” “What am I going to do? I have a voice, I have an opportunity to tell people what I care about. And I care about this deeply, I care about making an impact in this world.” - Aaron Rodgers

TAOH Salutes Aaron Rodgers, A real Black Hero!

-Knowledge is the Key-

BLOOD IN YOUR MOBILE PHONE

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't watch very much television. When I finally found my now favorite channel LinkTV  (channel 375 on Dish) I was ecstatic.
Why?
Because I knew that LinkTV was the truth after watching for the first time. The first show that I ever watched was a documentary called blood in the mobile.
The conclusion of the matter is that the minerals in our cell phones, laptops, flat screens, and video game consoles.



The minerals Cobalt (needed to make the batteries) and Tungsten (make cell phones or game controllers Vibrate) are minerals that are harvested primarily from a place in Central Africa called, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These minerals are usually pulled from mines by hand that are over 1 mile deep by boys as young as 8 years old. These boys
are usually paid pennies for their labors in life-threatening conditions, so that we can play Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja.. 
Even a selfish American should be able to relate to the fact that these 'boys' in Africa are paid pennies for the basic elements of things that are marketed to us for up to $600+.
Not to pick on Apple Inc., because we are talking every cell phone, since cell phones have been created, and even beepers before cell phones used to vibrate.
Now most people I reveal this fact to usually give me a look of indifference. This look comes from an outlook that because we have our own problems we can not empathize with other peoples problems. The unfortunate fact is our plights and problems are one & the same. They are actually BOTH instigated by the same entities.
People in Africa risk life and limb to extract minerals for a corporation. No organized labor practices means they get the minerals for far less than market value.  We how ever get products sold at top level prices (unless we sign our life away for 2 years).

This fact is also reminiscent of the drug trade as pointed out on the song Diamonds from Sierra Leone Remix ..
"Over here its a drug trade, we die from drugs over there they die from what we buy from drugs... The Diamonds!

The following is a pretty good depiction of how you force children, families, communities and villages to participate or do what you want them to do.

So why should we even care about little kids that risk their lives thousands of miles away?
1st reason is because they look like you. Part of the reason their country is in the condition that it is in is because of the skin color of the inhabitants.
However, anyone who knows me personally also knows, that I do not count you my brother because you melanin matches mine. It is a truth that the Portuguese purchased the majority of their slaves from this same general area of Africa. They purchased black slaves, from black slave owners. Further east in Africa the Arabic slave-owners bought and sold African slaves until the decline of Islam when Europe began to colonize the continent.

2nd reason you should care: If you don't care about what happens to young boys in their homeland as a result of your wants and needs, then it should be of No surprise to you why No One Cares about what happens when your sons are shot down in the streets, or go to jail forever or lose their life for ever behind the end product. Remember the same slew of corporations makes money back and forth off of both sides!
No one cares how many children are murdered in 'ChIraq,' for the same reason that No one cares how many children perish in an underground mine in Central Africa.

THE POINT: Where are our Heroes?
Where are our heroes? Most African Americans think about people from Africa as all being the same race, "BLACK!" I personally disagree with that conclusion but either way when was the last time (or 1st time) that YOU have EVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ???
From ANY Black Leader Anywhere??
If i may force you to 'keep it real' as my Generation used to say, even our current President of the United States is both Black and happens to be 1st generation born from an African immigrant. President Obama has Never denied that his father was from Africa, and participated in revolutionary campaigns against the imperialists (western European powers)... SURELY HE HAS HEARD OF THIS TREND, it has been going on since the 1980's when Cell Phones were first issued to the military. Since then over 5-MILLION people have died.
How about any of your other Black Leaders? Athletes??
How is it I can find all this information all over YouTube and in print via the 'mainstream media' but no one else can?
Cliff-Hanger: Check back soon to see who will be our Hero on this issue; There is One.

-Knowledge Is The Key-

A Till Black Hero: COMMON

"What you get with a lot of young artists is if they gang bang on YouTube, pull guns and threaten someone else, this will give them a million YouTube views or 80,000 Twitter followers overnight..." - Rhymefest  (Chicago Rapper)

This is an unfortunate truth for many new and old Chicago rappers. Amongst all the negativity, there is at least one, with the cojones to stand up and speak. 

LET IT BE KNOWN:  TAOH, does not think that any one person can change an entire industry or nations way of thinking.The author does however, consider it to be the most gravest injustice to turn your head, and not say anything. It is never OK, to pretend like nothing has happened in the face of injustice. It is true, people will not like it or you, you may lose money (endorsements), time, and if history teaches us anything, you will earn attempts to take your life. As a Man, if any of that bothers you enough to be quite, there is only one adjective that describes you... Coward!

Common formerly known as 'Common Sense' from South Side Chicago (87th & Stony Island), decided to speak out in a particular way, due to the violence in Chicago last year. After speaking at the Chicago Music Summit in Oct. 2013, gunfire left 13 wounded including a 3 year old boy.

Classic Common Album

As a result Common has called on at least one occasion for a 'peace summit' that he would like to host with other South Side Chicago rapper Chief Keef. Seeing as Keef has been in a drug rehabilitation program for the past few months, nothing more has developed of the idea. Keef who's most well known stunts got him arrested after pointing a gun at Chicago Police Officers. He later violated his probation and after a video showed Keef (then 17 years old) firing a semi-automatic rifle at a gun range.
according to TMZ, and MTV Keef has been assigned as part of community service, to feed, groom and clean up after horses at the Horsefeathers Therapeutic Riding Equestrian Center in Lake Forest, Illinois.  Horsefeathers’ reportedly uses their horses as physical therapy tools for rehabilitating individuals with disabilities. 

The author happens to share the view of Common. The view that it is not necessarily Keef's fault that rival gangs in the neighborhood of Englewood have violent skirmishes, no more than Twista is to blame for so many grown men thinking it honorable to survive off the labor of their woman; For both circumstances existed before the men who glorified them existed. However, the reality is, young fans look into that window that rappers provide and are UNQUESTIONABLY, "influenced by that energy and take it the wrong way." - Common

Although this situation has not been brought to a conclusion (or an actual attempt for that matter), I still Salute Common for speaking on the issue, with any kind of idea on how we may curtail the senseless violence of my city.

Common - A Trill Black Hero!

-Knowledge Is The Key-

We Love Bo Jangles, We Know What He Came Thru… But What’s Your Excuse??

They would Rep', but Our Heroes Got Their Hands Full

The Inspiration 4 what you are about to bear witness too...
- Enjoy