All posts by Dr. James Thomas Jones III

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Why Umar Johnson’s Penchant for Conspiracy Theories Does a Disservice to His Followers

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Unfortunately for Black America, Umar Johnson has reappeared. Yep, despite innumerable promises that his “public career” was over, Umar Johnson is back. If nothing else, Johnson should be applauded for his uncanny knack to break every promise or commitment that he makes to anyone willing to listen to mounds and mounds of his foolishness. In every way, Umar Johnson is nothing more than the latest in a long line of self-proclaimed “Race men” whose antics have retarded the progress of Black America.

Prior exposure to Umar Johnson’s foolishness makes his most recent video essays regarding the tragic death of former Los Angeles Laker superstar Kobe Bryant inevitable.

In response to Bryant’s death, Johnson issued a wild conjecture filled conspiratorial tale whose most tangible support was of a helicopter crash of the incident. The only problem with this crucial piece of evidence was that the footage was not of the crash that led to the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and others. Johnson’s total ignorance regarding this being the incorrect video is in a word, revealing. In fact, it is predictable as none of what can be termed his signature conspiracy theories are evidence-based. His followers are apparently not bothered by a small thing such as evidence.

Make no mistake about it, Umar Johnson’s antics have done a grave disservice to the downtrodden Blacks who follow him. You know the type of people that I am referring to, those whose daily experiences inform their intuition that the deck of life is somehow stacked against them. Devoid of the means of articulating their angst, they turn to the Umar Johnson’s of the world to articulate the voluminous pain that shadows them daily. History will remember many of Umar Johnson’s followers as well-meaning lambs who were victimized by greedy conmen who simultaneously filled their pockets while building towers of self-importance that benefited their followers in no appreciable manner.

Umar Johnson’s roving sideshow serves as the antithesis of Malcolm X’s charge to Black leaders to “Tell the truth.” Instead of truth, Umar Johnson intentionally makes up theories and stories based on nothing other than the fanciful, flighty, and frightening notions of his mind. In many ways, it appears that Umar is actually sharing with the world an internal dialogue that would be best shared on the sofa of some credentialed psychiatrist. Yet, there are those in Black America who are so desperate to make sense of this world that seemingly rests on deplorable principles such as denigrating Blackness at every turn that they not only listen to the conspiratorial stylings of Umar Johnson but allow such foolishness to significantly alter their world. If they are not careful, they will accept Johnson’s implicit argument that blackness dooms them to be oppressed their entire lives.

When one really thinks about it, Umar Johnson’s standard shtick that conveniently attributes tragedies ranging from Kobe Bryant’s death to his own failed endeavors to a yet to be identified conspiracy from “White folk” fashions Whites as Gods capable of destroying the plans of mere Black mortals. I am sure that I do not need to tell you that this reliance on conspiracy theories must be abandoned immediately and replaced with Marcus Garvey’s mantra of “Up, you mighty Race, achieve what you will.”

It is the only reasonable path forward, and that is no conspiracy.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.

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Redefining Cool: Why Black America Must Alter What They Teach Black Boys About Being “Cool”

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There is no room to doubt that despite their obvious diversity, African-American men have historically considered themselves to be the personification of “cool.” This ownership of “the cool” may be the only thing that Black men agree on. Let’s be honest about this, Black men have historically possessed a monopoly on “the cool”.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Black men, “the cool” has proven to be a double-edged sword that boosts self-esteem, yet widens the path toward evil. In hindsight, it is obvious that “the cool” is of little utility beyond the veneer of self-confidence it provides.  

It is this “cool” quotient that African-American men emit via dress, walk, and talk that young Black boys learn to model during their adolescence. According to Richard Majors, the “Cool Pose” is a set of language, mannerisms, gestures and movements that

exaggerate or ritualize masculinity. The Essence of cool is to appear in control, whether through a fearless style of walking, an aloof facial expression, the clothes you wear, a haircut, your gestures or the way you talk. The cool pose shows the dominant culture that you are strong and proud, despite your status in American society…Much of cool pose is ritualistic imitation of peers. If you’re not seen as cool, you’re an outsider. It’s a way to be included.

Considering the present state of African-American males, one is faced with an over-arching question of “Is the “cool pose” working against the formation of healthy male/female relations within Black America?”

A subtle glance at the Black Family would convince any objective person that “the cool” is a negative for African-American males, the women that they create children with, and the alluded to offspring.

Although “the cool” benefits a few African-American males by bolstering their status among peers, it simultaneously ensures their rejection by a larger White society who despise its manifestation in Black bodies. Make no mistake about it, a segment of African-American males’ well-documented inability to secure meaningful gainful employment, a pre-requisite to marriage and the starting of a family, hinders every aspect of potential relationships within Black America. History has proven that African-American males who have spent their cultural capital investing in the “cool pose” will eventually find themselves permanently ostracized from mainstream society.

Unfortunately for younger African-American males, their ritualistic imitation of peers frequently leads them to prison, probation, parole, unemployment and/or early death. The “cool pose” is integral to understanding why

  • 1.5 Million African-American Males are involved in the penal system via incarceration (Federal, State, and Local) or on some form of probation.
  • There is a 85% recidivism rate for African-American Males.
  • 60% of African-American males are involved in the penal system for a drug-related crime.
  • In 1979 there were 100,000 Black males in the judicial system, today that number has swelled to 1,500,000.
  • The majority of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails are people of color, people with mental health issues and drug addiction, people with low levels of educational attainment, and people with a history of unemployment or underemployment.

This begs the question of what is Black America to do?

It may be time to forge a socialization process that redefines and promotes a new form of “the cool.” This alteration to a basic element of so many African-American males’ identity would allow Black males to retain their “cool quotient” while directing them toward success. There is no need to argue against the reality that our failure to redirect Black males down a more productive path will lead to the continuation of today’s unfortunate realities. The onus for such an alteration belongs to Black parents and families interested in the success of such individuals; not a “Black leadership cadre” whose in-action all but signals their abdication of such responsibilities.

It is imperative that future generations of Black males abandon what Richard Majors appropriately terms the “cool pose” and replace it with a new view of themselves and what a Black man ought to be and ought to do. Noted poet Gwendolyn Brooks predicted in her poem We Real Cool that the failure to do such all but guarantees that if they fail to do so, “We Die Soon.”

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.

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The Matter of Silence: A Call for Action

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Now, I do not want you to get the impression that I abhor silence. I do not. I have intentionally carved out portions of my day to be in a word, silent. I guess that is not entirely correct as that silence is routinely broken by Jazz pianists such as Red Garland and Ryo Fukui. I find it strange that the same silence that provides comfort has the ability to transform into something that I abhor.  

I am certain that you understand that as an African-American Studies Professor at a Historically Black University that silence from students communicates a series of unfortunate realities that serve as the foundation for much of Black America’s suffering.

My students deafening silence regarding matters ranging from the contributions of Africans to the Jamestown colony through the impact of Reaganomics on Black America communicates an educational deficiency not easily overcome. Although often ignored during discussions of what is best termed a non-representative American educational system, the initial intellectual curiosity inside of every child is slowly eroded via years of “instruction” with little to no utility to Black life. In all fairness to my students, I often wonder if it is possible for them to remain interested in History or any other academic endeavor that never includes anything substantive or relevant to their experience.

Unlike the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the American educational experience that shapes and informs the opinions of African-American schoolchildren seems to avoid racial matters “by any means necessary.” The alluded to lengths include

  • The exclusion of African-American authors addressing matters revolving around Race and identity.
  • The crafting of a historical narrative that keeps the contributions of Blacks on the periphery of issues that they were fully involved in.
  • The continuation of a non-representative ill-equipped faculty and culturally illiterate administration that has little awareness that their presence is offensive to those they have been entrusted to “teach.”  

When combined with a disengaged cadre of parents who have foolishly decided to trust that public schools will educate their children, the above inadequacies serve as a reliable deterrent to the progress of African-Americans via traditional avenues of improvement such as educational achievement and the continuation of the deafening silence that envelopes the Black and Brown youth who populate my courses.

I am sick and tired of this silence. I pray that there are others in my number who are willing to do something about it.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

African-American History

Reconsidering the post-March on Washington Martin Luther King Jr.

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I deplore how society lays aside historical figures and their profound contributions to our society for 364 days out of the year, only to revisit them on an annual basis as if they are Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is arguably the foremost victim of such antics.

As society sits poised for yet another MLK breakfast or program, I am going to expound on one of my most frequent refrains regarding Dr. King. The statement that I am referring to is my belief that the “I have a Dream” speech delivered on August 28, 1963, has proven in retrospect to be King’s worst moment. 

The faces of the vast majority of people transform when they hear the above critique of Dr. King’s most memorable moment before an audience of 250,000 people. During robust lectures, I often follow that statement with brother Malcolm’s somewhat humorous quip that the A. Philip Randolph organized March on Washington “…was a circus, with clowns and all.”

Although I frequently use Brother Malcolm’s quip, I do not agree with his summation. Yet, I do harbor issues with this moment that have nothing to do with the content of Dr. King’s speech on this momentous occasion. My problem revolves around the reality that this moment was so big that most mistakenly freeze Dr. King in this moment and use it as a guide to understand his entire public life. Those harboring this belief are in grievous error. If one did not know any better, they could be led to believe that Dr. King was assassinated moments after his much-celebrated speech as the remaining portion of his life is rarely discussed. Unbeknownst to many, Dr. King’s prophetic voice was not silenced by an assassin’s bullet until 1968, nearly five years after his impassioned speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Despite the flawed historical recollection of a gullible American public, Dr. King’s legacy did not end on August 28, 1963. Most would be shocked to learn that “the Prince of Peace” never stopped evaluating and growing ideologically during this volatile period of this nation’s existence.

Consider for a moment that when faced with growing White resistance in the wake of Lyndon Baines Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights (1964) and Voting Rights (1965) Acts, Dr. King understood that Whites were unwilling to share political power or economic resources with anyone. This political climate led King to issue the following indictments toward both the nation and the movement he headed.

“[W]ith Selma and the Voting Rights Act one phase of development in the civil rights revolution came to an end. A new phase opened, but few observers realized it or were prepared for its implications. For the vast majority of white Americans, the past decade — the first phase — had been a struggle to treat the Negro with a degree of decency, not of equality. White America was ready to demand that the Negro should be spared the lash of brutality and coarse degradation, but it had never been truly committed to helping him out of poverty, exploitation or all forms of discrimination. The outraged white citizen had been sincere when he snatched the whips from the Southern sheriffs and forbade them more cruelties. But when this was to a degree accomplished, the emotions that had momentarily inflamed him melted away,

When negroes looked for the second phase, the realization of equality, they found that many of their white allies had quietly disappeared. Negroes felt cheated, especially in the North, while many whites felt that the negroes had gained so much it was virtually impudent and greedy to ask for more so soon.

The practical cost of change for the nation up to this point has been cheap. The limited reforms have been obtained at bargain rates. There are no expenses, and no taxes are required, for Negroes to share lunch counters, libraries, parks, hotels, and other facilities with whites…

Negroes of America had taken the President, the press and the pulpit at their word when they spoke in broad terms of freedom and justice . . . The word was broken, and the free-running expectations of the Negro crashed into the stone walls of white resistance.

Whites’ increasing resistance to racial equality in the public arena, let alone any degree of racial justice, forced King’s hand. In his search for a path to securing racial equality, MLK was forced to address the growing nihilism within the Civil Rights Movement that was most forcefully articulated by a rising tide of young Black Powerites. The shifting political winds were so significant that Dr. King felt compelled to issue the following statement regarding Black Power politics.

There is nothing essentially wrong with power. The problem is that in America power is unequally distributed. This has led Negro Americans in the past to seek their goals through love and moral suasion devoid of power and white Americans to seek their goals through power devoid of love and conscience…. [I]t is precisely this collision of immoral power with powerless morality which constitutes the major crisis of our times.

Black Power is a call for the pooling of black financial resources to achieve economic security.… Through the pooling of such resources and the development of habits of thrift and techniques of wise investment, the Negro will be doing his share to grapple with his problem of economic deprivation. If Black Power means the development of this kind of strength within the Negro community, then it is a quest for basic, necessary, legitimate power.

It is indeed time that those interested in this nation securing racial justice re-evaluate MLK’s legacy by placing some attention on his post-March on Washington speech era. Such action is crucial for anyone seeking to expand their understanding of King, Black Power, and the pursuit of racial justice. Hopefully, you do not think that Dr. King was the type of man to waste any portion of his life. Trust me when I say if you think that about Dr. King, you need to re-evaluate your entire understanding of “the Prince of Peace.”

James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019.

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Why Black Schoolchildren MUST be Exposed to Serious Black Writers

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From the moment that my African-American Studies Literature Professor Dr. William Maurice Shipley uttered the question of

“Don’t you have your own traditions and stories? Or will you simply rest on the creativity and imagination of Europeans?”

I realized the unbridled power the piercing query held.

Not only was this question an inquiry that served as a call to arms for writers, musicians, and artists who would create the Harlem Renaissance but it also serves as a call to today’s Black writers.

As an African-American Studies Professor, I cannot tell you how disenchanting it is to encounter students whose extremely limited exposure to books can be traced to a haphazardly created reading list forced on them by some “teacher” who failed to include a single Black writer on their “reading list.” The vast majority of my students have never heard of the following writers.

  • Richard Wright
  • Toni Morrison
  • Walter Mosley
  • Alice Walker
  • James Baldwin
  • J. California Cooper

Obviously, my sadness solves nothing.  

I will not spend my time addressing “school reading lists” devoid of Black writers as it is incapable of solving the unfortunate situation. I believe that better use of this space is the issuing of solutions to reverse the systematic erasure of Black writers from the developing minds of American schoolchildren.

The path to addressing this deplorable situation is a straight-forward one that hinges on parents and the larger Black community. Despite what many may think, the development of Black children is an endeavor that must include the entire community. It is this process that allows those that love Black children to put action to their hopes and dreams.

While addressing the plight of young Black males, noted educator Jawanza Kunjufu posited that “What you do the most you will do the best.” In many ways, Kunjufu’s observation refutes the familiar refrain that there is something intrinsically wrong with the minds of Black children while illuminating a path to academic success.

If one extrapolates Kunjufu’s assertion, it becomes easy to understand why professional sports leagues such as the NBA and NFL are predominantly Black. The sports arena is where they have spent the majority of their time and therefore “do the best.” Although many bemoan the concentration of Blacks in the sports and entertainment industries, such criticism blocks the silver-lining that it definitively proves that Black excellence is possible despite the long odds of success in sports and entertainment. The conquering of such odds speaks volumes about Black excellence.

When one considers the plethora of interests of Black children, we must busy ourselves creating avenues of success grounded on a rich history of Black excellence. There is no more assured path to such goals than the inundating of Black schoolchildren with Black writers who have illuminated both a glorious past and pointed the way toward an unbelievable future. It is imperative that every Black parent develops a reading list of Black literature for their children and actively participates in the reading process. I can attest to the fact that such is the path to having children who are lifetime readers possessing copious amounts of intellectual curiosity.

If nothing else, the inundating of Black schoolchildren with Black writers will save educators such as myself from moments where we wonder if we are making any progress in this uphill battle to change the world via education.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.