The Raw Suga - Delivering The Sweet Unadulterated Truth

A Lack of Trust In Dying Black Media

“…we tend to turn to the publications we trust more when news become more difficult to trust. And if those are the publications that we trust, it should look like the people whose trust we are asking for.” -Tressie McMillan Cottom on the Daily Show

The history of Black media has been rooted in the need for trust between the communicator and the reader. The Freedom’s Journal was a newspaper produced by free Black men, becoming a declaration against slavery. During this period, Black people were not only facing slavery but were also in search of a path forward after freedom. Distrust in the coverage of Black people by white-owned media during this period pushed two free Black men to create their own form of communication. Now, Black people are facing familiar and unique challenges via population shifts, climate change and workforce automation. Simultaneously, Black-owned and operated news platforms are becoming scarce. Where do our stories fit into these changing narratives? And who should we trust to tell these stories?

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Aretha Franklin — A Queen With Sage Advice & A Sharp Rebuke

Since the news of Aretha Franklin passing on to Glory, I’ve been listening to a lot of her music. I don’t know what it is about musicians passing away that immediately gets me to listen to their records nonstop, like it’s the last time I’ll ever hear it again. I know it sounds selfish, but it’s probably because I’ll never get a chance to hear that artist’s musical gifts again on a new joint. So, listening to a captured version of that person’s gifts from the past makes me cherish the time I had experiencing their gift.

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Democrats, Where Is Our Thurgood Marshall?

Image result for thurgood marshall supreme court sworn in

Democrats are in a pickle, to say the least. It is an election year, and there’s much debate, particularly surrounding red state Democrats. Will they, or won’t they? Will they appeal to their base? Or do they believe their base will be with them no matter what? Should they show some concession to those who are not in their “base”? After all, they represent all of their constituents not just the ones that voted for them. All of this debate centered around the judicial branch of government—the part of the government that should be politically neutral. But we know that these lifetime appointments have a substantial impact, especially for Black people. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall represented that impact.

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Voter Suppression – It Be Your Own People

The New Form Of Voter Suppression -- Misinformation

Source: Daily Trojan

Let me tell you a story. The barbershop is the place where ideas swarm, from the hotep-ian and bizarre work of Tariq Pee-Peed to the great philosophical work of Big Neitzsche (no Larry Hover). Ideas vary from the purely foolish to the very necessary. Normally, I try my best to keep my opinions to myself, especially while in the chair. (You never know what the outcome will be. You can end up on with a 1999 Boosie fade or in a fist fight.) So, after waiting for Bibby, my barber, to get my fade tight, he tries to spark conversation. “It’s Martin Luther King weekend. You have any plans for the weekend,” he asked. “Nah, I’m resting.” He then yelled, “Martin Luther King is a BIIIIITTTTCCCHHH!” The remaining hairs on my neck rose as I tried to stay calm. “How the fizzuck are you in living the birthplace of Martin Luther King disrespecting the man’s legacy while you benefit from it?” He went on talking about how George Soros wrote MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech and how he set his people up by leading them into a “burning house,” a misconstrued interpretation of Dr. King’s last days. I left without giving a tip. And I spent the whole night contemplating. Should I continue to patronize his business? If I tried a new barber, I’d probably end up in the same circumstance. But worse—with a jacked-up fade.

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Dear Tom Steyer, Can You Not?

Associated Press

Dear Tom Steyer,

I see your billion-dollar ads for impeachment, and I’m intrigued. What’s your motive? I know that you’re a smart business man and an environmental activist. Sure, there are other billionaires whose motives range from pure to illumanatic. And avoiding the George Soros conspiracy theories, you’ve taken a front-facing approach with a crystal-clear motive – impeachment. But why?

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Things Black People Should Be Doing Politically Under Trump

Image Source: taicarmen.wordpress.com

We live in a world of fabricated-fake outrage that is only appeased with more fabricated news or conciliatory prizes. The current president can tweet just about anything. Pocahontas is kneeling while burning a flag. Roy Moore isn’t as bad as R. Kelly. Tiffany Trump is my favorite child. All tall tales that suck us into Trump’s vortex of lies and deceit. And if we’re not distracted by a tweet, we’re distracted by the ongoing Russian investigation wishing, hoping, praying and conducting a séance, summoning the ancestors for any sign of impeachment. Yet, as always Black people find ourselves playing defense instead of offence with a strong strategy. And what are we left with? Temporary progress.

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Ta Nehisi Coates – Pimping White Guilt At The Expense of Building Black Apathy, A Success Story

Image Source: Cafe.com

Full disclosure. I probably should read at least one Ta Nehisi Coates book. To the best of my knowledge, my first introduction to him was through Very Smart Brothers, as they delicately “dissected” him for being pretentiously loquacious in his writings. And like Panama Jackson, I have no desire to pay my money to read about something I already know.

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Jay-Z vs. Killer Mike: What They Both Get Wrong About Black Capitalism

Still nigga. Black people and capitalism has always and will probably forever have a tainted relationship. Our existence in America is the foundation for what makes capitalism great and what makes it a sin. Our ancestors were brought to this land because of free labor and production. It was the same motivation for why Africans sold us. As humans became barter for trade, this was the beginning of capitalism. (A painful history many of us want to ignore.) However, the color of our skin wasn’t the motivation for why our African owners chose to sale us as human capital. Race became an issue to justify and separate people of European descent from Black people and to further dehumanize us. Capitalism didn’t start racism. It fueled racism. But can capitalism end racism?

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It’s Time to Reframe How We View Crackheads

In case, you’ve been living under a rock. Atlanta is had a bit of a traffic nightmare. On March 30, I was riding home, and took the exit to I-85 N. Right, when I was about to pass the exit for Buford Hwy, traffic came to a halt. What appeared to be smoke coming from a car quickly blew into a whole fire causing the bridge to collapse. First, I thanked God that the cars ahead of me were at a halt, stumping my courage to pass through the smoke. Second, I was curious about what was the cause of the fire.

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Democrats, When They Go Low, We Go High And Chin Check Them

“When they go low, we go high.” These words spoken by our magnificent first lady became the unofficial mantra of the Democratic campaign for 2017. It’s meaning—to fly far above the fray, dust the dirt off your shoulders, and to not grovel with the swine of the earth. However, there’s a missing part to this statement. Yes, First Lady Michelle, in all of her grace and poise, beckoned us to take the high road. Yet, Michelle LaVaugn Robinson would have added, “After they go low, do a Bruce Lee leap in the air and chin check them with a kick to the face…in self-defense of course.” This is the mentality Democrats need to take on—taking the High Road, but willing to take a sharp left at These Legislative Hands Ave.

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