Uncategorized

Cutting Off Their Nose To Spite Their Face: Why the Republican Party Will Continue to Experience Difficulty Recruiting the Masses of Black America

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I realize that I have much company within Black America in regards to my steadfast determination to deny certain things before what many term “mixed company.” Of course, a portion of this discipline flows from a vow never to marginalize the Black image before White America. It is truly a peculiar and somewhat tricky burden to carry at times, a responsibility that I will lighten with this post.

The alluded to burden that I have silently carried for far too long is the fact that I do not find many of the tenets and principles supporting Conservatism repugnant. I am sure that if outsiders viewed many of my political viewpoints, they would argue that I am a closeted Conservative. Private conversations with other African-Americans inform my belief that I am not alone.

I adhere to the following principles that Conservatives have seemingly trademarked for political reasons. The populace I am alluding to harbor the following beliefs.

·      They are fiscally conservative

·      Adhere to a moral compass that overrides reckless behavior

·      Harbor a constant belief in socially responsible individualism

·      Believe that we should suffer the consequences of poor decision-making

The ideological underpinnings of Conservative politics are neither foreign concepts nor burdensome to Black America. Black preachers propagate these concepts several times a week to their African-American congregations.

Alas, Black Americans have not poured into the Republican Party as reasonable-minded people would expect.

I am sure that Conservatives are confused by the refusal of the vast majority of African-Americans to join their ranks. Black America’s repudiation of Conservatism flows not so much from concerns with political policy. The staunch refusal of Black America to migrate to “the party of Lincoln” communicates their refusal to join a political party filled with individuals whose political beliefs rest on pillars of white supremacy and racial bigotry. It is Republican Party leaders’ refusal to denounce the presence of those who carry such ilk that guarantees marginal success in recruiting Black America.

I pride myself on not grouping all Whites under a large political canopy that makes them a monolithic population of racial bigots whose sole priority is the oppression of Blacks. Such a judgmental characterization is not an accurate depiction of White America. However, one has to fight against using such a conclusion when square-dealing White Conservatives refuse to identify and publicly repudiate the racial bigots and White supremacists that are their political brethren. This failing sits at the core of why the Republican Party will continue to fail to make significant in-roads into Black America.

Although I do not doubt the desires of segments of the Republican Party to secure a more substantial portion of the Black vote. I do doubt their willingness to expel white supremacists and bigots to make their party more appealing to Black voters.

If I were a betting man, I would place my wager on the Republican Party remaining analogous to a political Frankenstein with often mismatched parts haphazardly put together in a desperate attempt to retain access to political power. To the chagrin of those seeking to add a little color to this political Frankenstein, they must understand that the vast majority of Blacks will continue to resist all overtures from the Republican Party until the leadership of that party disavows the white supremacists and racial bigots who call the Right, home.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

Uncategorized

The Choice: Why I Choose to Work at an H.B.C.U.

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Although the intrusive and loaded question is a familiar one, its appearance never ceases to amaze me for reason that I hope are apparent to you.

The alluded to question of “Why are you working at an H.B.C.U.?” never fails to rear its ugly head in the moments following some speaking engagement, panel discussion, or lecture delivered in one of my courses.

The question arrives via routes of communication such as the following:

  • You’re much to smart to be at this school.
  • You’re wasting your time working there. Those students aren’t capable of learning.
  • I’m going to go back to my campus and tell them about you. I’m going to push them to recruit you and get you over there where I am.
  • You’ve done your time there. It’s time for you to move on to bigger and better things.

I have grown so weary of this offensive question that I am going to answer it once and for all in this space.

Undoubtedly, the inquisitors asking the daunting question were not attempting to be offensive. In fact, I am certain that they have no idea of how offensive their words are as their gross devaluing of the H.B.C.U. is inextricably linked in my heart-and-mind to a daunting view of poor and working-class Black folk; my folk.

Those who have made either subtle overtures or unabashed attempts to prod me toward reconsidering my commitment to Black America and by extension H.B.C.U.’s surely do not understand that the foundation of that commitment flows from a conversation with my mother. Kathryn Jones was a woman who was determined that her children would have an understanding of what our ancestors experienced as they fought for the right to exist on this planet and what was owed to them by those who were gifted with life in this nation wracked by racial strife. The following verbal exchange — which I shared this week on the blog talk radio show Who Did It To You (please feel free to join us every Wednesday at 7:00 est, the call in number is 563-999-3682) — is tantamount from my mother.

Me:                      What exactly do I owe those that died for me                                to be here today?

My Mother:       Your Life!!!!!!

This single exchange serves as my guiding principle to this moment.

Trust me when I say that the decision to service the young people whose parents possessed enough wisdom to send their children to an H.B.C.U. was the best career decision I ever made.

Although the following may sound cliché, my relationship with my students is a Love affair under girded with unending respect. My students’, and not all of them are Black — many are Brown and a few are White — who have made it into my inner-circle are much more to me than former students, they are an integral part of this thing called life. For me, the expectation that our association would extend beyond the classroom and well into their arrival and engagement of the various stages of life is to be expected. No other relationship would make any sense at all.

My engagement with an H.B.C.U. has been a never-ending learning experience that has taught me not only the utility of relationships, but also the dangers of navigating the ebbs-and-flows of life alone. In hindsight, it is obvious that my mother’s advice has come full circle for me. The decision to dedicate my professional life to uplifting those students who attend Prairie View A & M University has provided me a unique life that was only realized via my association with them. My path and association with H.B.C.U. students is best summed up by Huey P. Newton’s poem Revolutionary Suicide.

By having no family I have inherited the family of humanity.
By having no possessions I have possessed all.
By rejecting the love of one I have received the love of all.
By surrendering my life to the revolution I have found eternal life.
Revolutionary suicide.

I can think of no better way of living “a life worth living.”

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019. ڬ�

African-American History

An Unnecessary and Burdensome Load: Why Black America Must Shed Any Shame Associated With Slavery

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During a recent event celebrating the work of a fantastic collective of African-American artists addressing ‘Afro-Futurism,’ I listened intently during the Q & A session that followed. All that I can say is “out of the mouths of babes” because the most poignant inquiry raised came from one of the youngest in the audience.

The poised middle-school-aged African-American female was undoubtedly wise beyond her age, an “old soul,” so to speak. This child shared a heart-wrenching account of how uncomfortable she becomes when the issue of slavery arises in any of her classes. This impressive young sister shared the following.

When we talk about slavery, all of the white kids turn in their seats and stare at me. It is uncomfortable. I wish that my teachers would not talk about it at all, mainly because I am the only Black person in the class.

Unbeknownst to this young lady, the vast majority of African-Americans, regardless of age, educational attainments, and socioeconomic status, experience the “shame” when the topic of chattel slavery arises. It would not be a stretch to argue that the subject matter haunts them like an unwanted haunting. I will never understand why the descendants of those victimized by American chattel slavery choose to carry negative connotations regarding the African Holocaust on their sturdy shoulders.

The burden is not theirs.

If anyone should shudder at the mention of America’s original sin, it is those who have Anglo-Saxon blood flowing through their veins. They are not difficult to find as they proudly lay claim to this eternal transgression by claiming sole ownership of this nation. Unbeknownst to them, their claim carries a foreboding history that should guarantee one’s place in the hottest portion of Hell. Rest assured that this thought is not new, as evidenced by the words of an American Patriot who advised his countrymen of the desperate need to shed the sin of slavery in the following manner.

If God is just, and I believe that he is, we will burn in Hell for this shit.

White Anglo-Saxon Protestants claim to this nation identify them as the descendants of a people who perpetrated untold horrific deeds during this nation’s darkest period. As if that were not enough, the same boasting and bragging convicts their kind as the perpetrators of multiple Holocausts on the North American continent. If only we could get others (Polish, Japanese, Italians, Ghanaians, Brazilians, Nigerians and a host of others) to join in the process of laying such atrocities at the feet of White Angl0-Saxon Protestants, racial matters would become less convoluted in this nation. 

When one thinks about this issue, it becomes evident that the “original settlers” of the North American continent (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) have been able to shed what should be inescapable blame and responsibility for the deeds of their ancestors.

If nothing else, I have to tip my hat to the ingenious ways that White Anglo-Saxon Protestants have been able to convince persons of African descent that their ancestors were responsible for their victimization during the world’s greatest Holocaust. Similarly, “Whites” whose ancestors did not arrive in this land until well after the deplorable institution was established and operating have been duped into believing that a portion of their admittance to whiteness is paid in their joining the White choral whose favorite tunes are the denouncement of racial justice and resistance to reparations.

Arguably, this is the longest-running con on the North American continent. The most crucial element in its achievement is the astounding lack of historical knowledge that engulfs the vast majority of Americans. When viewed from a detached view, it is obvious that the greatest tie binding Americans together is the shocking level of historical illiteracy that governs their belief systems and worldviews.

Anyone who has studied the discipline of History in depth can tell you that the most powerful element in shaping the worldview and beliefs of people is “the narrative.” The narrative is merely the arrangement of facts to generate sympathy and support for one’s version of History. Experience has taught me that Black America, despite their oral traditions, have yet to learn that they must seize their historical record, just as persons of Jewish descent have, and wield it as an Excalibur against less than favorable “narratives” of History. I guarantee you that until that occurs, African-Americans will continue to carry the shame of slavery on their shoulders, there may be no greater manifestation of this unfortunate reality than the nervousness and insecurities that overtake Black children at the mention of slavery.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2019

Committed to investigating, examining, and representing the African-American male, men, and manhood by offering commentary regarding the status of Black Men and Black Manhood as it relates to African-American Manhood, Race, Class, Politics, and Culture from an educated and authentic African-American perspective aimed at improving the plight of African-American men and African-American Manhood in regards to Politics, Culture, Education, and Social Matters.