{Paraphrasing}
The past is there for us to learn from. We don't have to repeat it
Thursday, August 27, 2015
West Phillie Produce
Fresh produce and kind service abound at West Phillie Produce 18 South 62nd Street near 62nd and Market on the west side of the street. I have bought one of the freshest water Melons I have ever tasted there; some very good cherries; some very good corn on the cob; some great lemons; and some simply great bananas that I made banana Fresh Toast out of. It is great and high time we started supporting Black stores and this is one such store. Don't ask for the ``hook up'' because getting free fruits and vegetables is How our Black stores go right out of business. PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET JUST LIKE YOU PAY THAT EUROPEAN MAN AND BE PROUD YOU HAVE A BLACK STORE TO GO TO!!! I THANK YOU AND BROTHER LARNETT & HIS FAMILY THANKS YOU. Easily accessable at 63rd and market by the El; or the number 21 Bus.
Blue-Eyed Soul a rather flat subject with me, was explored.....
Painted Bride is the Local for Blue-Eyed Soul
Searching in the Music Industry
By Anonymous
A vibrant & attractive panel of Black music
industRy professionals took part in an
event Wednesday night [Jun 17th, 2015] that pondered How Black music
is confiscated from Black artists and economically expatriated right under our
noses. This co-opting of music is a
major frustration for Black professionals in the jazz, rock and Pop idioms and
has gone on for decades even during the days of Otis Redding & Fannie Lou
Hamer.
The event was well attended and held at the
Painted Bride cultural center. This time, however, organizers for the event
made a real effort to broaden the panel and be inclusive of a more grass roots
point of view by including Brother Rich Me. Plenty of success for Brother Tracy Gibson
& his company Brother Tracy Gibson & Associates, Inc. & all
his sub-businesses & all his ideas so he can re-channel money back into the
black community & help himself & his family thrive & Black People thrive.
A Path to Glory takes work and money
FIRST IN A SERIES OF SIX GATHERINGS TO DISCUSS BLACK PATHS
FOR OUR BLACK MOVEMENT!
Dear Brother Joe:
I Am Finally getting around to writing the document I had
promised to write to you several weeks ago concerning a Public Event where
Attorney Michael Coard and Myself argue and discuss what some suggested paths might be for Our Black movement. This entire
document is for the betterment of Black People, not our Caucasian friends. Often
we work and work for progressive change, but no one really knows the parameters
of this change, How to achieve it, when enough change is enough, who shares
what, How to get there, How do we include EVERYBODY, including communities of
Black People we personally might not like or appreciate and so forth. Some of
the items I want to air out include:
1] The absolute ridiculousness of not having a system set up
where Black activists are paid some sort of money or stipend in an on-going and
consistent manner for the work they do as long as that work has been deemed
effective, helpful and needed.
2] How to include communities that are traditionally left
out and or get communities that generally don’t relate to each other to work on
at least some issues together. Er Go: How to include more Black children &
Black youth and Black teenagers; Black women; Black elderly; Black Lesbians, Black Gays, Black Bisexuals
and Black transgendered People; Blacks in the prison system; the Black church
and Mosque communities; etc. & How to include the community of Black
handicapped People, etc.
3] How do we determine what to work on. For example, I
thought to spend a whole election cycle on fighting the Republicans on voter ID
was ridiculous. Such an ID would cost maybe $10. Or $5. and would have put
the issue to rest. To fight on this issue meant we didn’t get to some meatier
issues like child abuse in our own homes; the rape of our women by our own men;
the abuse and rape of men in the prison and general reform of the prison system;
getting enough money in everybody’s Black hands to have enough to live a decent
life; and protecting our Black males and Black females from harm when they are
of an impressionable age. I live in the Black community and I am Black and I
have seen poor Black People spend upwards of $100. a month of lottery
tickets. Yet no Black leaders had the heart or fortitude to stand up and say we
should take the responsibility to buy our own ID card to vote properly and shut
the darned Republicans up? Preposterous.!! We as Black Poor People also spend a
good amount of money hundreds of dollars a year-- on alcohol, marijuana, brand
new sneakers for our children, haircuts when we don’t need them and food at
McDonalds and Burger King that is literally killing us, and we spent an entire
election cycle talking about voter ID cards and How we don’t want them or don’t
want to pay for them?. Preposterous
Again.!!
4] Money from the state, federal government, the private
sector and the city of Philadelphia to enjoy the Arts each month. I think we
should get a $250. a month to enjoy artistic events in the city and I think
such a program should be extended to each and every city and hamlet and village
in the United States and the world. It is fantastically ridiculous that we can
live in Philadelphia and never get out of North Philadelphia and go down town
or in our own communities to enjoy a first run movie; a play with Black actors
and Black actresses; a jazz show; or other Black artistic events. Such events
enrich us; teach us and broaden and widen our experience as Black humans and
help us understand communities within our community we might not like or want
to understand because we have bought into some of the prejudices that are sold
like hot cakes on the open market through the media.
5] We should also use each and every opportunity to make
sure ALL Black People of every stripe and income level and sexual orientation
are included in on the development and production of the artistic events we
experience as Black North Americans. I
am dog sick and tired of seeing a few Caucasian gentlemen share so much of the
production access and wealth generated in that development of media only with and among themselves. We are often the ones who have the source
brain power and ideas to create plays, tv shows, movies, music, etc, and we are
sucked dry of our talent & ideas, but we often end up NOT reaping the
financial benefits from the creation of this media. Our own Black millionaires
and Black billionaires don’t seem able or willing to stand up for the poor Black
masses and make sure we all are included wholeheartedly in this media
production process. We need Black groups, Black individuals, Black
organizations & Black institutions that will stand up to be financed
properly to do the Black advocacy work necessary to broaden our Black inclusion
at every level of production. And in ALL job categories
This document was written by Brother Tracy Gibson, full
legal name: Mr. Tracy Charles Gibson; I am a proud supporter & member of
the African American Museum in Philadelphia; The National Museum of Jewish
American History [Look up the proper name]; WURD Radio 900 AM; & Other
Progressive media & or other Progressive Black media .
A New & Better World.....
A New & Much Different Black World
By Anonymous
In this New Black World
Black People are the sole survivors. There is peace and harmony in the world. It
is a land without hatred & deceit, without injustice, without
negativity. A land where wealth, riches
and resources are shared & where education is free for all and readily
available. It is a land void of rape and child abuse. Black folk just get
along. It is a land without forced child-support payments because fathers and
mothers WANT to take proper care of their children!!! It is a land where Capital is readily
available to be utilized to build successful Black businesses. Almost everybody
owns a Black business of size and stature.
It is a land where People of different hues, but still all Black, have learned
to LOVe & respect each other. Men don’t have to put on macho airs to be
Real men, women have healthy babies & healthy pregnancies taken to full
term. There are no more pesticides and harsh chemicals. Young girls & young boys don’t think
about having sex before they are 23.
This is a real world
and it exist right here and now. We don’t have to fight tooth and nail for it
to happen. All we have to do is stop and ask GOD for it -- He will show us the
way. All we have to do is listen
closely to our hearts and read instead of watch so much tv. All we have to do
is turn off the ipod and rediscover we have loving parents who want the best
for us. All we have to do is go to church and or mosque and ask for forgiveness
before GOD, but not for anything we did wrong, because doing wrong is
impossible. Ask for forgiveness for not trying our best and working to get back
the LOVe we give everyday. GOD is there to forgive us. But GOD is also in our
Homes and in our hearts and filled with forgiveness. This is why He has
suspended our thinking of ourselves as sinners. He has lifted shame from us and
asked us to forgive ourselves and LOVe ourselves. Those dick tracy watches are
for the birds. No one needs a computer
because Black People live off the earth and LOVe each other mentally like at no
other time in our past. We be Back. We be holistic thinkers. We be born
mathematicians and scientists. Without the computer we get back our ideas and
we start to invest again. Real Grass-Roots science that lives close to mankind
and womankind and the good earth. We be
going back to Kismet and back to Egypt and Back to Timbuktu to move ever so
gracefully forward.
There is a world of
cauliflower and white rice a billion light years away. A billion light years
away. We will never see it again. It has
vanished into oblivion. It is gone.
The laughter of Black
children plays nicely with jazz and calmed-down, non-hyper rap music, sweet
soul music, Black spiritual music and Black classic music that is designed
to make one know their existence is not
a threat to anyone else, but is in a time and place of peace, harmony, LOVe,
balance and decency.
Sparrow
To Black Youth: The
Sparrow………..
There is a song in the Black
Church about keeping your eyes on the Sparrow. I have noticed that the Sparrow
is a very small bird. Small in stature
and light in weight—The Sparrow is agile, smart, compact and able to fly very
quickly. They are also very accurate in
choosing their flight path and Pattern.
They are very sweet little birds with a very common name and a very
common look. But don’t under calculate,
misrepresent or underestimate the Sparrow. They are not nearly as bold and noble {we
think} as their large cousins—The Eagle or the hawk. But the Sparrow is able to get around and see
what we as Black People are doing. Maybe
they carry the eyes of GOD on their backs and warn us when there is danger, or,
more importantly, tell us when to celebrate, laugh, play and LOVe each other in
the proper Ways we should. A Black Man
or a Black Woman can take encouragement from this simple bird if we watch it
eat food and go about it’s daily business.
We should never forget the Sparrow and its’ commonness—when we see it,
we see ourselves. If we become rich and
able to help others we should come back to our black communities and help our
people like a Mother or Father Sparrow feeding its’ young. Onward…
From Brother Tracy Gibson…
Changing Film Ratings for a Good Purpose.....
February 13th, 2015 Friday
From: Mr. Tracy Charles Gibson,
Writer—Film Critic
–Social Commentator—Researcher
Post Office Box 42878
Philadelphia, Common
Wealth of Pennsylvania 19101-2878
1(215) 921-2065
Draft to: Pastor Robin Hynicka of Arch Street United
Methodist Church, in Philadelphia.
Draft to: Brother Magic Johnson, Expert Businessman, Former
L.A. Basketball STAR.
Draft To: Denzel Washington, Actor, Director, Producer.
Draft to: Martin Sheen, Actor, International Progressive
Political Activist.
Jill Scott, Actress, Singer.
NetFlix Boss Mr. Reed Hastings.
Blake Shelton, Noted Country Singer.
Harry Belafonte, Actor Singer, Activist.
Alicia Keys, Singer, AIDS Activist.
Draft to: Director Dee Rees.
Draft to: Mr. Bill Cosby, comedy expert, educator, Actor,
born in Philadelphia.
Draft to: Mr. Wynton Marsalis, Prestigious Jazz Trumpeter
& Jazz expert from New Orleans & New York .
Draft to: Mr. Spike Lee, Writer, Film Director, Producer,
Businessman…
Draft to: Queen Latifah, Actress, Rapper, Business Woman,
Activist.
Draft To: Sister Charlotte Harris, Activist, Educator, Board
Member of Brother Tracy Gibson & Associates, Inc.
Draft To: Ms. Michelle Parkerson, Black Film
Director from Wash D.C.
Draft To: Pastor Jeffery A. Haskins, Presiding at
Unity Fellowship Christ Church Philadelphia, Former Actor, Public Speaker.
Draft To: Mr. Harum Ulmer, Originally from
Philadelphia, Actor, Children’s Theater Director.
Draft to: Brother Rod Risebrook, Black Film
Director from Brooklyn, New York.
Draft To: Mr. Kamau Gibson Hunter, Black Film
Director from Brazil.
Drafts To: Quency & Deondray Gossfield,
Directors, Film writers, Actors.
Draft To: Mr. Tyler Perry, Actor, Director,
Producer of a few fine movies from Atlanta.
Draft to: The Motion Picture Association of America;
500 Mamaroneck
Avenue, Suite 403,
Harrison, New York
10528;
&
Actor’s Equity; 165 West 46th Street;
New York, New York
10036;
&
Director’s Guild,
Brother Darrell L. Hope;
110 West 57th
Street;
New York, New York
10019…
&
The Film Foundation,
7920 Sunset
Boulevard, 6th Floor
Los Angeles,
California 90046
Re: Improving on How
Movies get rated; demanding new gerunds & Asking Who decides what movie
topics & movie subjects get to be considered & accepted for actual
production of feature films in the United States for International distribution…
How do we improve on this picture!!!
Dear Madam or Sir:
I am an
avid movie watcher & I have been since a very early age. I know there is a
social, economic & intimate equation used to figure out what movies get
rated. My feeling is the system needs to be changed & overhauled dramatically
to allow for more professionalism, more broader subject areas to be studied
both artistically & through the documentary format & for a greater
number of independent films to get the kind of rating that will allow for a broader more main stream audience to
accept them… While these changes must be
dramatic, I think they can be put on a time schedule that would allow them, the
changes that is, to be phased in over time incrementally. My feeling is the film rating system needs to
be changed to include new gerunds that really didn’t exist before. For example,
X-Rated films really should not just be all lumped together as X films and
given a public shunning when people privately spend hundreds of dollars on such
movies. [Some of them may have parts or entire films that are of some artistic
value.].
There should be, in my humble estimation, a gerund that denotes
educational video among the adult film venue. Such films, although adult, could
be used to help sometimes reluctant parents teach a higher level of ethical
intimate behaviors to their children. *[ I am not a parent, but I am deeply
concerned as to what our young People are watching. I think there should be an
independent board that answers to the public need to determine ratings, but I
feel this board must be REALLY independent and include regular people, parents
& some younger people [over 20-years of age] as well & be racially
mixed, mixed as far as religion, class, income level, sex, and sexual
orientation.] Such independent adult
films could include no slapping or a great deal less slapping or hitting; no
violence of any kind and no ethnic slurs; Women would need to be treated like
real human beings for a change, as would Lesbians and Gay men. Such films could
have more meaningful story lines, complex dialogue, and a greater acting skill
level than what is common in present adult film. Such a film could have some kind of Adult
Sexual Education designation and could be separated along lines of sexual
orientation—Gay or Straight. I would
also recommend no sharing of body fluids & a required use of condoms in
such films. These films would be mostly for entertainment purposes for adults
over 21 years of age. For example they might be called: More Ethically Sensitive Adult Films.
There is yet another gerund for more adult films. These would be used to help parents, as
mentioned earlier, to make sense of sexuality, intimacy, early sexual
development of their teen-aged children, if the parents so desired to use them
as an educational venue. Early sexual
encounters & other early quasi-sexual encounters that youth may have
had with adults or other people in the family or just friends or employers may
have a devastating and deleterious impact on young adults and teen if they have
no context through which to experience such early experiences. I am not saying that such encounters between
adults and teens were or are of an overt sexual nature. Such encounters may have been an awkward
conversation or an awkward phone conversation with a parent, an ole aunt or
uncle; a phone conversation or personal conversation with a peer; or may have
been more openly intimate in nature. Degrees & levels of decency &
appropriateness need to be made clear early on for young people so boundaries
can be established & not so easily crossed as they tend to be right now in
Western society, especially in the United States. There needs to be some penalties for crossing
such boundaries put forth by parents, grandparents or guardians, but those
penalties don’t need to be gross, unusual or too harsh, but they need to make
clear what was done wrong & there needs to be help to make sure they don’t
happen again. Such film would be more educational in nature than for
entertainment purposes. These films could be for young People between the ages
of 13 to 20. They could be called for example: Films That Educate Our Youth on Appropriate Sexual Matters, Intimacy
& Sexual etiquette.
There could also be another designation for youth 5 to 16
talking about inappropriate & appropriate touching by adults & peers
& how to ``deal with same’’ if & when they happen Listening to trusted
& responsible adults, responsible grandparents, & other significant
& trusted family members can have a significant positive impact on
lessening the long-term damage to youth
in such cases. I, for one, don’t think that just because a person in the family
is Gay or Lesbian that their sexual orientation makes one unqualified to be a
trusted or significant role model or parent-like member of the family. I have
friends who are male homosexuals who have sons & children of their own
& have done wonderful work at raising their children in relatively healthy
households. Back on subject, such film could be used to help the extended
family avoid those ``sweep-under-the-rug’’ subjects like incest, sexual child
abuse, molestation, sexual violence and inappropriate touching, etc. These films could help expose the abusers in
the family & help lead to psychiatric help for such family members instead
of just ignoring or shunning such family members. Such film could also be used
to help determine what happens exactly in such cases and help those abused feel
lee victimized and more empowered. This would certainly lead to more healthy
families in the Black & Latin community. I am sure ALL ethnic communities
could benefit greatly from such a new film gerund. For the African, Caribbean
and African American family, bringing in traditional African mores, traditions,
family histories, long-held values & so forth may very well be very
beneficial, even if such mores & family values go against more modern family
traditions & more modern community standards. Such film might be called: Films That Examine Appropriate Interactions with Our Youth.
At the same time, these newly proposed changes are not
thought up or proposed to curb or curtail artistic expression. Rather, they are
being extended to help give legitimate boundaries to move towards helping
people understand the new realities they are faced with each and every day in
modern Western societies. I think of, for example, how Black families used to
feed each other very unhealthy foods at family reunions. For example, now very
few Black family Reunions, even in the Deep South--where more traditional Soul
Food cuisine is prevalent--offer some vegetarian alternatives. Many younger
people & the older more responsible people want to eat or try delicious
vegetarian foods even if it is for the first time. There may even be a person
in the family or two, like my sister, who specialize in cooking such vegetarian
fair. Back to the subject at hand, like
food, with film, it is important to point out that I am not saying to do away
with all the other types of adult films. People will still want traditionally
fattening foods like they will want traditionally over-the-top adult film. Taking away choices might well be impossible
because of the inexpensiveness of producing independent film on a shoestring
budget & because of the ``underground market’’ for such film. Just offering alternatives will be hard
enough for the porn establishment to embrace & accept. By the same token,
it is hard, but improving, for the food industry to accept vegetarian
alternatives that are better for us and less fatty, salty and processed. The market for an array of film that might exhibit
some of what might by many be considered very odd & strange behaviors, is
still very strong. I have personally
tried to avoid such films that, in my own estimation, go too far. But having an alternative & more choices
will have, I believe, a very positive impact on our culture and our People here
in North America.
I would like you to circulate this letter to your friends in
the Film Industry and write me back to let me know how I can extend the impact
of this letter and any other such letters about film ratings and how there is a
rising need to change the codes through which films are rated. The Goal is to extend
and create or recreate new film gerunds in U.S. & World Markets; break down
stereotypes at all levels and in all Ways; improve the quality and diversity of
films of major production; hire more Black actors, Black directors & more
Black producers, as well as People of color of other ethnic groups and stop the
marginalization of our Darker Brother and Darker Sisters; increase the viability, accessibility &
visibility of Independently Produced films; increase the financing for
Grass-Roots film production; and make sure the voices and images of Black
People and other formerly marginalized people and poor people are clearly heard
and clearly seen. Creating safe spaces for more educationally intimate films to
be created that will ultimately bring forth a better, more healthy environment
for families to talk about intimacy & sexuality in a coherent,
knowledgeable, insightful & parentally authoritative Way that will help
spread more truth, create family stability & lessen fear and ignorance on
this subject,
Peace & Blessings,
Tracy
Charles Gibson, Activist
Healing Prophecy
The Healing
Prophecy….Mr. Tracy Charles Gibson
By ALL means, give
yourself time. Go into personal retreat. Don’t worry about what your friends
and parents say. If you need time to
heal, you need time to heal. There will
be plenty of time for parties and friends later. Spend time on healing yourself
like you were able to stand in front of the Bank teller and hand her as much
money as you want and pretend the money—the healing—is going into your bank
account only. Pretend you will be able to take it out when YOU need to. That is
what mental and emotional healing is like.
It is like giving yourself money—and lots of it. It may take years to
show up and get back to you, but it will come and when it does it is like a
mighty rain.
Sometimes as Black
people we need to detach ourselves from the technology that we really had very
little to do with the development of and get away and spend quiet time with GOD
and let Her or let Him tell us about ourselves.
Stop being fearful of therapy, this fear is what is holding you back in
life from being the very best you can be.
Be something different. Do something different. Try something legal, fun
and different instead of rolling a joint and thinking you are cool. Instead of drinking a beer or a 40 drink a
Power juice. Not a BULL not a BUD drink
a green Power juice and turn on your mind and let some jazz music or some
soothing music roll over you and advance your life. Get plenty of sleep, even if you have to
drink some Sleepy Time Tea and listen to the quiet humming sounds of some
Whales or Dolphins. [You can get such natural sounds as these or the sounds of
water crashing on rocks at any video store in the specialty section.] Listen to some nice Pop music but if you are
over 35, go Ole School. Get some Gladis Knight, some Jeffery Osborn, some
Aretha Franklyn, some Quincy Jones, some Stevie Wonder, some Melba Moore, some
Pattie Labelle, some Travaris, Some Whitney Houston, some Johnny Mathis, some
Billy Ocean, some Billy Paul, some Michael Jackson, some Shilights, some
Common, some Queen Latifha, some Jackson Five, some Diana Ross, some Roberta
Flack, some Sarah Vaughn, some Jessie Norman, some Ella Fitzgerald, some Billy
Eckstein, some Muddy Waters, some Miles David, some John Cole Train, some
Donnie Hathaway, and …
Take time for
yourself. Away from your husband or your wife or your partner or your children
or your dog or cat or your friends and think about what you really want to
achieve in life and how you get there.
Don’t matter about how much time you think you have on this precious
earth GOD gave us, your work can be handed to your children or to the community
or to your nieces and nephews, or grandchildren or maybe it can be archived for
the Black museum in Washington. Just
because you didn’t finish something does not mean it will not be a great value
down the road somewhere. Listen quietly to the voices of reason and the quiet
voice of GOD and move forward with y our plans.
Be as meticulous and think as clearly as you can. While the crowds are at the blood movies, go
to the African American History and Cultural Museum; While they are enjoying
the football game and the $50.00 tickets, go to the Library and read something
that moves your plans ahead. I offer
this to my celebrity friends, my personal friends, my church friends, and my
family. And I have, this week, been thinking especially of Mr. Bill Cosby and
praying for Him. What they did to deny
Him the proper growth and success He could have had was criminal. The loss of His son was never unearthed. And
yet He gave us a very long lived and successful life and is still an
inspiration to thousands of Black teens and young Black men. I stand proudly
among them.
Magic Johnson
Itinerary
for Proposed visit from Magic Johnson to
promote Safe Sex for Black Youth & to Promote Black Businesses in
Philadelphia. As of August 12th, 2015 Wednesday.
In Philadelphia from
October 13th through October 15th, 2015
October
13th:
Meet with youth at church at the Arch Street United Methodist Church –
55 North Broad Street; Visit West Phillie Produce at 18 South 62nd
Street for a youth reception & shopping;
A visit with the 76ers. Mr. Johnson and His friends can have the rest of
the day and night as free time.
October
14th: Meet with Blacks Educating Blacks
About Sexual Health Issues [BEBASHI] Near 12th & Spring Garden
to promote safe sex and have breakfast with staff and the surrounding
community. [This event will actually be
held at the Chosen 300 Church Mission at 1119 Spring Garden] ; A 12 noon visit
to the Enterprise Center with Iola Carter and staff and children; A visit to
WURD Radio 900 AM The Voice of the Black Community & City Councilwoman
Blondell Reynolds-Brown on Delaware Avenue at 3 P.M. A 5: 30 P.M. visit to Lea
Elementary School at 47th & Locust Street. Mr. Johnson and His staff can have the rest of
the Day off.
October
15th: A visit with community activist Ali
Hacket in South Philadelphia; & later the Brother who runs Malcolm X Park at 52nd and Larchwood Avenue; T-
Shirt Promotions at Jim’s Steaks on 5th
& South Street where Community Activist and business leader Brother Tracy
Gibson will eat His first cheese steak sandwich in 15 years. Mr. Johnson can
have the rest of the day off.
**None of these times
and dates have been confirmed by any of the People involved except Mr. Tracy
Gibson who has already agreed to appear. All times and dates are subject to
change until we get confirmations from the People involved.
On Being Gay.
Introspective Thoughts
on Being Black and Gay in North America….
By Brother Tracy Gibson.
It is not easy being Black and
Gay in North America. Yes we are
attractive and in ``Vogue.’’ Yes we have sex and have fun and can, to some
degree, enjoy our lives, especially now with the higher level of acceptance
among Gay and Lesbian people in general.
But underneath the parties, the bar scene, the entertainment industry
jobs and the flashy new acceptance and the ``Gay Marriage’’ issue in the headlines,
there is a lot of pain that runs very, very deep and a Black community that is
still unforgiving, harsh and often hateful towards us. But all that aside, I have to ask each and
every Gay and Lesbian Black person in North America, what have you done lately
to raise the ethical standard of yourself and our community? What have you done to be more honest in your
personal and business relationships?
What have you done to make your living as a faithful Christian, Jew or
Muslim ring true, real and authentic with yourself [ourselves] and in the face
of GOD? What have you done to be honest
with yourself about the issues you have that need clarification, study, thought
and mental and emotional healing? When we do these things, this introspective
homework, we will see our level of acceptance rise and even if we don’t our
level of self-esteem, self-LOVe and self-acceptance will go up significantly
and that will cause the healing and the forward motion we have all been
seeking.
I have been politically and financially and even socially ostracized for
some of the views I have. When you LOVe
God and LOVe yourself, you have a tendency to step on the toes of racism,
injustice, bullying, phoniness and hatred without even trying or taking
calculated steps to do so. The Bull-Shit
artists have to move out of your Way so you can do your work. Even if those Bull Shit artists sit in the
White House, in Union Halls, in Editorial Board meetings at the Philadelphia
Tribune or at Philadelphia Magazine’s plush down town office. Or, yes, on Wall Street or at the TV Networks
or other places of power like the Pentagon, the Philadelphia Inquirer or The
Board of Education of Philadelphia.
There are now, more than even, a lot of Bull Shit artists in this world.
[I could name several, but you might be surprised at the names I come up
with. I am NOT only talking about White
racist Republicans.] I am also talking about young attractive Black men who are
homosexual, but because of a job and a paycheck, they stay inside a cocoon they
perceive as safe and cushioned. Just ask
the Brother who is now getting all the accolades for ``coming out’’ as Gay who
plays for the NBA. Everybody loves him
now, but no one is talking about the people he hurt when he was flexing his
perceived Heterosexual muscles and
calling other Gay men, maybe even intimate sex partners the ``F’’ word FAGGOT
when it made his male ego larger and helped shrug off the looks he might have
been getting when it may have been discovered in the press that he had no steady
girlfriend.
Therapy has done me good. I have seen a therapist for about 34
years. Now I mostly go to get medicine
every third month and to chat a bit about any real troubles I’ve been
having. Usually now the troubles are
more professional than personal in nature, even though I don’t have a steady
man friend myself right now. But we as
Black Gay men do a lot of hiding, shady treatment of others and back-biting
that feeds into a lot of
negativity. This negativity ultimately
goes into the general perception that we are not a healthy segment of the Black
community. But our Whole Black community
needs to be sitting on the Psychiatrist’s sofa.
We have, as a people, some very hurt feelings and hurt ideas that need
to be made correct, healed and rectified so we can, as a people move on to
internal and external freedom.
I want to share with you two
things that my Pastor at church, the Unity Fellowship Christ Church in
Philadelphia, Pastor Jeff Haskins said to me or omitted to comment on that show
just how far we have to go as Black Gay and Lesbian people and as Black people
in general. I once mentioned in an
e-mail that we should have a picture of a Black Christ at church, not the White
one that has been there for seven years. [We share the church space, so I’m not
sure this is possible, but it would have been nice to have gotten enough
respect to have gotten an answer from authorities concerning this.] Don’t get me wrong. Pastor Haskins is a sweet, kind, generous [in
spirit], LOVing, and healthy person [in mind and body]—much more so than many
of us as Black people are. He visited my
home once when I was feeling a bit down and not making good decisions for
myself. I was not dealing with reality
correctly for a while there and Pastor Haskins and my LOVing Sister, Mrs.
Claudia Aziza Gibson Hunter, really helped me find a better path. GOD helped also. But the fact that there is a White Jesus at
church speaks volumes about how we don’t or can’t correctly take the mantel that
GOD has given us and move onward with it.
When we truly LOVe ourselves we want to see our image in positive places
and represented by positive people.
Sometimes I think it doesn’t matter if Jesus was Black or White, but to
pray in the presence of a White picture of Jesus in a mostly Black, politically
aware, self-affirming Gay and Lesbian church says we are not really serious
about who and what we are and how we can advance from where we are to what we
want to be. That little picture says it
all. Black images have been emasculated,
destroyed, torn asunder, disheveled and misrepresented since the days of Amos
and Andy right through to the images that are displayed in Tyler Perry’s
movies. That one little picture may be
part of the reason we don’t have the new church building and the new location
we want for our church. Another thing
that Pastor Haskins did that showed me where He is as opposed to where He needs
to be was I once told him over a nice Asian dinner at 40th and
Chestnut Street, that I had suffered with some anger issues around race in
North America. He said point blank, ``I
Guess you are just racist.’’ After I
picked my broken ego off the floor, I said, no I’m not racist. I have totally legitimate concerns about
being Black in North America. I think
those concerns have been revealed by the dismay many people have after the
Zimmerman verdict. I think those
concerns are revealed when we look at the incredible numbers of Black men and
Black women who are incarcerated in U.S. prisons. I think those concerns are
totally understandable when we look at the continuing unemployment rates in
cities like Philadelphia, Detroit [where the City Council voted down a proposal
for Africa Town and now the City has gone Bankrupt], Chicago, Los Angeles,
Newark and Camden to mention only a few.
And I think those concerns are still very real when I look at the total
mismanagement of our Schools at the hands of a mostly-White state board in
Pennsylvania and a mostly White and mostly Jewish Board of Education in
Philadelphia that is more concerned about the profits of the private sector
than the Well-being of our Black youth and their proper education.
Some of the leaders of the Black
Gay community are in desperate need of more training on racial matters;
leadership matters; matters of relating to other leaders without letting ego
get in the way; and in matters of raising funds properly and ethically. There is a segment of the so-called ruling
class that really wants to help us even though much of our stigmatization has
been their fault. We have to find Ways
of letting that help and healing happen in positive and meaningful Ways without
falling all over each other grabbing for dollars, free professional services
and the promised non-gentrified refurbishing of our businesses, communities,
churches and schools. We cannot afford to be in high and respected places and
be novices politically.
On yet another matter and in my
relating to another Black Gay activist in Philadelphia: I sent an e-Mail to
Brother Tyrone Smith about how I felt this ostracizing or marginalizing from
our own community, but I personalized it and mentioned him and Michael Hinson,
another Black Gay leader who was very visible in Philadelphia during the Street
Administration here and just before that at the Colours Organization. [Brother Tyrone was head of an organization
called Unity which provided support services to people with HIV and Aids in the
Philadelphia area.] Unity was very, very
effective for any number of years and Brother Tyrone MUST be commended for part
of that effectiveness under His stewardship.
I want to publically apologize to Brother Tyrone and Michael for that
remark, but like I’ve said, I’ve felt out of the loop for years in some circles
of leadership right here in Philadelphia, even though I have dedicated myself
to the political struggle here for over three decades.
Another sector I have felt
ostracized and omitted from was Congressman Gray’s dealings as a Black City
Father. With over 20 years of activism
under my belt at the time, I felt and still feel I more than deserved to be
included when money was given out for certain Black Progressive projects. I was
NEVER invited to the table. Still. Like it says in the Bible, I forgave him and
I gave some of my very hard earned few monthly dollars to one of Reverend
Gray’s charities at his passing a few months ago.
I am not saying I am better than
anybody else. What I’m saying that until
we all as Black people STOP letting the corrupting influences of the dollar
bill get in the way of what we want to achieve for our people, we remain
mortals scattered about like so many roaches, unable to pick up the ropes of
power and control our own destinies.
Copyright warnings and infringements from ``It's Your
Biz,'' By Susan Wilson Solovic, with
Ellen R. Kadin and a forward by Edie Weiner. Page 150...
``Because I write many columns and blog posts for a variety
of companies and media organizations, I use search-engine tools to alert me if
anyone is picking up and using my material.
Some people have literally copied my writing and presented it as their
own, even though this is an obvious copyright infringement. There are both civil and criminal penalties
for copyright violations, and the severity of the penalties depends on the
situation.''
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)