Real Talk

Peace and blessings,

It appears that as a result of the

Christian Defense Coalition putting pressure on civil rights leaders,

and the controversy that has surrounded hip-hop lyrics in the midst of the Imus incident, folks are taking action. On the music side,

Russell Simmons is now urging companies to censor some of the artists' lyrics,

a bold move given the issue of free speech and expression that characterizes all forms of music and all artistic expression. On the business side,

Rev. Al Sharpton plans on purchasing stock in Time Warner and Universal Music Group,

so that he can attend the board meetings and advocate for the censorship of offensive and degrading lyrics.

Although these moves are a long time coming, I am glad that serious, concrete steps are being taken in the right direction. While we may applaud these steps, however, we must be careful as to not become complacent such that we think that by these and similar moves, the problem will be "solved." When I look at this issue in its entirety, I see a three-pronged problem that requires and three-pronged solution. Two of the three aspects appear to be addressed in the above examples. Russell and Sharpton's moves address both the artist (via personal responsibility) and corporate (business) aspects of the problem and solution. What area these moves do not appear to address (at least explicitly), is the issue of women (and young girls') choices to be participate in these videos, recite the very lyrics that degrade them, and purchase the music. A while ago I was told that the majority of consumers of mainstream hip hop are white people and women. When I thought about it, that made sense. I know from personal experience as a hip-hop fan that if I wanted an album, I could find it somewhere (bootleggers, internet) for free and probably before the official release date. For real hip-hop heads, there really was not a need to purchase an album unless you really wanted to support them, because you could find it for free (this was until they started cracking down on bootleggers and illegal file sharing). Before moving on, let me clarify that I am not supporting bootlegging or illegal file sharing, but I am simply talking about what I used to do in the past when I really wanted an album.

Ok, back to the topic at hand. The point I am trying to make is that unless we (males, females, old, young, as a community) address the factors that influence womens' choices to participate in these videos and allow themselves to be degraded in these videos, then our efforts to limit arists' offensive lyrics will only be partially implemented and successful. I'm not saying that women shouldn't be in any videos, because there are videos that present women in a respectable, "degrading-free" light. What I am saying, however, is that we cannot only address the corporate heads and artists without addressing, supporting, respecting, and caring our women as well. Moreover, it is difficulty for women who oppose these offensive and degrading lyrics to state a legitimate claim when their fellow sistas are willfully participating in the very videos the women are trying to denounce. A problem affecting the whole community requires a community-wide solution. Plain and simple.

"Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall." (Luke 11:17, NKJ AMP)

Now is the time for all of us to address this issue at many different levels. Not to point fingers, but to form a fist and knock out this problem once and for all. Check out this

website clearinghouse for grassroots efforts to combat misogyny in music

for more information and to get involved.

Labels: artist, choices, controversy, degrading lyrics, Don Imus, hip-hop, Luke, mainstream, media, videos, women

Peace and blessings,

Out of the various churches i'ved visited or been apart of thus far, one thing is certain: Witnessing Jesus move in peoples' lives and hearing their testimony is something one must experience, because trying to use words to describe it does not do it justice. Hearing about the miracles Jesus performed and the lives he healed (e.g. mentally, emotionally, physically, etc...) is one thing, but to listen to the pastor or a member of the congregation speak about their personal encounters with Jesus is phenomenal. What's even more phenomenal, in my opinion, is when people encounter Jesus in settings outside of the church. If you have not read or heard about the story, let me introduce to you

Harmony Dust

...

As someone who was abused as a little girl and had a rocky relationship with her mother, her problems would increase as she got older. In the midst of financial problems and going to college (a combination in which too many are familiar), she decided to strip to make some extra money. What started as temporary became much more (e.g. she only planned to do it for a few months, but it turned into a few years), and her self-esteem started to feel the effects. In the midst of all of this, she started attending a church.


One night, she recall hearing a song that she had heard three years ago once she first started dancing, and took it as a sign that it was time for a change. After giving her life to Christ she left stripping. She now has a ministry called

Treasures out of darkness

. The purpose of the ministry is to reach out to women who are strippers, and to reveal Christ's love to them. Not only did she have the strength to leave and demand more for herself, she also was humble enough to reach out to others in a similar situation.

If you haven't already, make sure to check out her article and website(links provided below). These type of testimonies demonstrates the applicability of God's love to all areas of our lives, and the fact that He meets us wherever we are at. Furthermore, most of the women Jesus spent his time with were those who were social outcasts who probably had low self-esteem prior to encountering Jesus. Even though Jesus undoubtedly has the power to transform anyone's life, it does not excuse the personal responsibility to treat one another with love and encouragement, so that we do not contribute to situations that make it more likely for women to engage in that lifestyle. Who knows what would have happened if people reaffirmed Harmony from the beginning of her value and worth. Ahh, the power and love of Jesus. Until next time, speekonit...


http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2006/12/stripper



http://www.iamatreasure.com/index2.html

Labels: Christ, churches, Harmony Dust, Jesus, ministry, strippers, Treasures Out of Darkness, women

Peace and Blessings,

During the last few weeks or so, the rape allegations involving the Duke Lacrosse players and the stripper have permeated various news mediums. The other day, however, the situation was brought to my attention in a way that views this case within the context of a much larger, but often neglected issue. A good friend of mine sent me the following article (peep the links section) that addresses the ways in which the beliefs and themes around this case reflect larger stereotypes about African American women. After looking at the various headlines about the lacrosse players' lawyers seeking information to weaken the woman's credibility, it confirmed the sentiments expressed by the African American women in the article, mainly that black women are intrinsically sexual deviants, and thus cannot be rape victims. Although there are exceptions, no one would disagree with the assertion that this stereotype about black women constitutes the prevailing notion of black women throughout history as well as contemporary discourse.




The purpose of this piece is not to offer my hypothesis on what actually happened with the lacrosse players. Instead, I would like to call our attention to this form of ideological oppression that has been plaguing black women for centuries. Oppressive systems have a way of only presenting one side of an ideological coin, the side that perpetuates inequality and notions of moral and intellectual inferiority. If we are to inquire about the root cause(s) of the current belief that black women are sexually superior and aggressive, we must go back to the 19th century and look at Europeans' exploitation of

Saartjie Baartman

, an African woman from the Khoikhoi people in what is now the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Europeans took her and at least one other Khoisian woman all throughout England and exploited them as an attraction under the name Hottentot Venus. They were viewed and treated as an attraction because of what Europeans considered unnatural bodily features, arguing that these features are proof that black women were abnormal, sexual creatures. Although not as explicit as Hottentot Venus, black women today are still viewed more so as victimizers than victims when it comes to sexual crimes.



While this image of black women was being shaped a couple of centuries ago, another image of black women existed in the United States. I'm sure everyone is aware of the belief that suggests that all black women as sexual deviants, yet what they may not be aware of is that also in the 19th century

Maria Stewart

, the first American-born woman of any race to speak out on political themes, gained national prominence. She spoke out heavily against the immorality of slavery, espousing beliefs and moral principles stemming from her Christian Faith. I find it ironic that the first woman in American history to exercise her voice on political issues was a black woman, who's mission, which she firmly believed reflected God's calling for her life, was to denounce the immorality of and liberate black people from the same inferiority ideology and exploitation that Europeans used to try to denigrate African women. This image of black women as beacons of strength, epitomizers of faith, and advocates of all things moral is the proper image of black women that we should all come to know, love and cherish. I argue that this is the rightful image because unlike the sexual deviant image that is based on beliefs, stereotypes, and interpretations, the image of black women as moral agents of strength and faith is based on and evidenced by fact. Whether it was utilizing their "superwoman" characteristics to provide for their children during slavery, or providing the backbone for many churches, especially those instrumental in creating social change throughout history, black women have and consistently continue to overcome obstacles. Further, this is the rightful image because it is consistent with the image that I believe God wants all of us to represent and uphold.

In closing, I wanted to address the issue of "Where do we go from here?" Before we proceed with this question, we must make an important distinction. Although it is easy to point the finger at the media and the entertainment industry as being primarily responsible for the maintenance of this sexual-deviant stereotype, there is more to the situation that meets the eye. There are three aspects that contribute to the prevalence of negative images about black women. One aspect involves women who carry themselves one way, but are portrayed and perceived another way. A common example is assertive and independent black women who are often viewed as having an attitude, aggressive or confrontational. The second aspect involves women who are in certain occupations that have negative connotations, but only hold these occupations because it is the only way they can "keep their heads above water" in a society where they are oppressed on two levels (e.g. as a black person and as a woman). A common example here are the women who are strippers only so they can pay their way through college or provide for their child. The third aspect is one that I don't think gets addressed often, and it involves women who, regardless of the reason, operate with the mentality that deems engaging in behavior and in occupations that are objectifying as permissible. A common example are women who are in "highly-sexualized" music videos, artists and video girls alike. The point of identifying these aspects is not to pass judgment or to point the blame, but to hopefully shed light on the extent to which stereotypes about black women, which were socially and ideologically constructed a couple of centuries ago, still affect us today.

Even though this piece focuses primarily on women, when I say "us" I am referring to black men as well. I am in no way suggesting that the sexual-deviant stereotype is a black woman problem, because it affects and sadly to say, is often perpetuated by we as black men as well. As a black man, I implore that we take more responsibility for and thus more of a leadership role in respecting and maintaining the God-appointed image of black women, who are simultaneously His children and our queens.

What do you think? Stay blessed and speekonit...

Labels: African American, Duke lacrosse situation, stereotypes, White, women