Tag Archives: Race

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If The Killing of Qasem Soleiman Leads to WWIII, Should Blacks Serve American Interests Abroad

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Although I did not foresee the frenetic fears and scuttlebutt regarding how the Trump ordered drone attack that ended the life of Iranian military General Qasem Soleiman could affect Black America, I am not surprised by the robust discussion.

From what I have been able to glean, there appear to be two strands of discussion occurring within Black America.

  • Will the draft be reinstated?
  • Should Black Americans support this nation in its conflicts abroad?

It is the latter of these two matters that delivers an unmistakable feeling of having been here before.

This question regarding “should Blacks support this nation in its conflicts abroad?” is a familiar one that invariably arises during every military conflict.

Consider for a moment after Germany sunk the Lusitania, an act that guaranteed the U.S. would enter WWI, non-Whites (a populace that included new immigrant populations from Germany, Italy, France, Ireland, etc.) were called on to prove their loyalty to “the land of the free and home of the brave.” W.E.B. Du Bois, the foremost leader of Blacks during this period, felt that we must serve and “prove ourselves brave” as this would be the war to “make Americans.” He later realized that his analysis was severely flawed as it failed to recognize how deep racial hatred ran through the veins of non-Black Americans even during times of war.

To the chagrin of many Blacks and the surprise of no one, the plight of Blacks after their heroic service during WWI remained the same. In fact, their subordinate status was emphasized via racially segregated victory parades and the Red Summer of 1919. A historical period that facilitated a steep rise in the lynching of Blacks, particularly servicemen who had just returned from advancing this nation’s interest abroad.

It is this situation that inspired Claude McKay’s poetic call to arms If We Must Die.

If we must die, let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,

Making their mock at our accursèd lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die,

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!

Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,

And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!

What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,

Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

Similar events surround Black participation in WWII.

Having learned lessons regarding the evil that appears to be etched into the spirits of so many of their countrymen, Black soldiers entered WWII fighting under the banner of “The Double-V Campaign” — Victory Abroad and Victory at Home. Yet, their final reward was a continuation of their subjugated second-class citizenship.

Participation in neither war appreciably altered the status of Blacks in this nation. Hence, it should be expected that the question of “Should Blacks support this nation in its conflicts abroad?” remains pertinent.

In many ways, the consistent pressure from “Whites” regarding Black patriotism is not only offensive but also reveals our opponent’s well-worn tendency to gloss over historical realities. Within the historically unsupportable assertion that Blacks are less patriotic than their fairer-skinned countrymen is a hidden revelation from Whites that if they were treated as poorly as Blacks have been by this nation, they would not support it in any way shape or form. Even the issuing of this question by a mongrelized “White populace” conveys a historically unsupportable perspective that they are the sole owners of this nation.

Even a cursory reading of American history definitively proves that there has not been a single military conflict where Blacks have not displayed their patriotism. How quickly do people forget that the first to give his life for the establishment of this nation during the Boston Massacre was Crispus Attucks, a Black man.

In actuality, the patriotism question should be placed at the feet of the descendants of Confederates who warred against this nation, not Blacks who have always served this nation with no guarantee that their service would appreciably improve their condition. When viewed through this lens, a credible argument could be made that Blacks are the most American of all.

In regards to the question of should they serve this nation during military conflicts that have historically delivered little tangible improvement to their lives, I am indifferent. My indifference flows from the fact that my countrymen have repeatedly proven to be hypocrites who have yet to display a consistent determination to provide access to much-needed resources on a fair basis regardless of race, creed, or sex.

If the current situation with Iran leads to WWIII, I already realize that Blacks will do what they have always done and defended this nation without either demand or expectation of any tangible improvement in their lives. It is what we have always done and I don’t see any reason that it will change at this point.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.  

African-American History

KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON: WHY I AM SO INSPIRED BY A PHOTO TAKEN ON THE WHITNEY PLANTATION

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Eric Morris is one of my dearest friends in the world. In many ways, our lives have been on parallel tracks. We attended the same schools, however never sat in the same classrooms as he was a year my senior, the same church, and our beloved mothers actually sat next to each other every Sunday on the same pew, listening to the same word of God via the Rev. Archie Johnson and the Rev. Dr. Johnny R. Heckard.

Yet, we are opposites in regards to our personalities. While Eric is an extrovert capable of engaging anyone, I am solidly in the camp of ambiverts, an introvert around unfamiliar settings and people and an extrovert around close friends and a few family members. I’ll tell you the truth. There were times when I thought that Eric’s life mission was to poke, prod, and provide commentary regarding everything that he encountered, particularly my stoic demeanor.

I remember the following question as if it were presented to me yesterday. In his joyful, yet inquisitive manner, Eric articulated the following.

Man, let me ask you something. Why are you so serious You don’t drink, you don’t smoke, all that you do is read, write, and think. Hell, what do you do for fun Many you are way too serious about life. 

Of all of our thousands of verbal exchanges this inquiry stands as a prominent memory for a host of reasons. Within this question I found a description of myself — I have actually never had a drink of alcohol or smoked anything (I was frightened by what would occur if I used any type of drugs because addiction runs in my family), yet it simultaneously show that even my closest friends never realized that my actions were aimed at fulfilling a directive my mother and the surrounding Black community provided early in my life. If I had to put this directive in words, it would be stated in the following way.

You are our soldier and your primary duty is to engage and defeat the adversary at every turn through any methods available. This is a life’s work that will only be accomplished via the total dedication of your life.    

I will tell you the truth; there is not a period in my life that was not dedicated to fulfilling this Herculean task. I was motivated by the fact that there was work to do, people to save, others to inspire, and the sacrifice of my life was not too big of an ask.   

This calling serves as propulsion for my lectures and the unyielding demand that I be referred to as DR. JAMES THOMAS JONES III. Despite what many may think about the fact that I will not respond to anything other than Dr. Jones, the truth of the matter is that this demand flows from an interaction with an elderly Black lady who approached me on my campus and related how it lifted her spirits to see that “Black folk are now called Doctor this and Doctor that. Y’all keep on keepin’ on. I love it!!!!!!!”

This pivotal moment in my life has risen to the forefront of my mind due to my own “keep on keeping on” moment. I recently viewed a group of medical students from Tulane University posing for a photo on the Whitney Plantation. Sydney Labat, one of the students in the photo, provided the following caption for the powerful moment.  

Standing in front of the slave quarters of our ancestors, at the Whitney Plantation, with my medical school classmates. We are truly our ancestors’ wildest dreams.

I can only speak for myself in stating that there is no more fulfilling occurrence than when a student reaches a significant marker in their lives be it graduation, entrepreneurship, marriage, etc. and continues a path of ascension that I know makes our ancestors say “Keep on keepin’ on.”

I salute these future medical doctors and all young people for their steadfast determination to engage and conquer the many obstacles standing between their current station and ultimate destination. I pray that they remember that this entire world is in desperate need of their contributions and counting on their success as it serves as yet another dose of wind that educators such as myself will use to stay afloat in the arduous struggle to continue the historical struggle to throw up roads to success where there has previously not been any road or light.

Keep on keepin’ on y’all.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019.    

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RICHARD G. HATCHER: A LIFE OF POLITICAL LESSONS THAT BLACK AMERICA CONTINUES TO IGNORE

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I have attempted to make sense out of Black America’s deafening silence regarding the death of Richard G. Hatcher, the first Black mayor of Gary, Indiana. In many ways, this silence is yet another reminder that far too many Blacks have little understanding of a historical record that holds indispensable lessons regarding what will and what will not work in the struggle for Black liberation.

If nothing else, Black America should know who Richard G. Hatcher and Carl B. Stokes, the first Black Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as they were living symbols of a “Black Power” politic that failed to uplift Black America from an all too familiar position of economic marginality.

Those well-versed in a volatile identity politic driven 1960s that witnessed Richard Hatcher and Carl B. Stokes’ election as the first Black men to lead major American cities will tell you that by the mid-sixties non-Southern Black activist communities had abandoned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. non-violent civil disobedience and pursuit of integration with a hostile White community in favor of a yet to be fully defined “Black Power” politic.

There is no more prominent example of shifting political winds than the fact that the Watts Rebellion began August 11, 1965, a mere five days after President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. While many Americans displayed optimism regarding a potential path to racial reconciliation, Black America abandoned gradualism in favor of an impatient Black Power politic. Black Powerites rallied behind one of two goals.

  • The overthrow of America via revolutionary action.
  • The seizing of central cities via political participation and economic solidarity.  

Ironically, the vanguard organization of the 1960s, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would travel down both of these paths during their existence.  

While outlandish Black Powerites issued threats that they had no power to execute, Richard G. Hatcher became the Mayor of Gary, Indiana. 

Parliament beautifully articulates this unprecedented moment as the arrival of “Chocolate cities and Vanilla suburbs.” This moment of Black political hope was born of equal parts White flight and Black political naïveté.

The ascension of Black men to political power in cities such as Gary, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Atlanta was a test case regarding the utility of the vote. Unfortunately for Blacks, this test of political theory would prove that there was not much that Black Mayor’s could do to reverse the steep economic decline each of these embattled cities would experience.      

Gary, Indiana, much like Maynard Jackson’s Atlanta, suffered mightily as a result of the racial slur that it was now a Black city. While White citizens fled the central city, they carried their businesses and much-needed taxable income with them. It soon became apparent that not even the election of a Black Mayor could significantly alter the fortunes of Black urbanites. During a late-seventies interview, Hatcher addressed the worsening struggles of cities such as Gary in the following way.   

There’s almost a vested interest among a lot of powerful business people, the tax assessors and other county officials who keep business taxes low here, in proving that a city run by a black will fail.

Unfortunately for Blacks who dedicated their lives to expressing “Black Power” via electoral participation, it became increasingly clear that such efforts were incapable of staving off poverty, violence, or other social maladies that flowed from the river of economic inequality.

In the wake of his ascension to the apex of local politics, Hatcher shared lessons learned during the journey. According to Hatcher, there was no balm for the suffering that the ‘powerless’ experienced at the hand of “affluent elements of our society.” In fact, this nation’s central cities were nothing more than “repositories for the poor, the Black, the Latin, the elderly.” Hatcher now understood that such groups were incapable of accomplishing significant change. Hatcher now believed that the only hope for meaningful change would occur via a coalition of liberals, Black Powerites, and radical Whites who were truly committed to concepts such as “power to the people.”

Unfortunately, it appears that such concepts are as meaningless to present society as the death of Richard G. Hatcher, a man whose political life once held so much promise. 

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019.

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WHY 50 CENT’S ATTACK ON OPRAH SAYS SO MUCH ABOUT HOW LITTLE BLACK MEN AND WOMEN SUPPORT PROGRESSIVE BLACK WOMEN

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Before an attentive global audience, famed comedian Chris Rock simultaneously shocked Whites and angered Blacks by airing a portion of Black America’s “dirty laundry” before “mixed company.” According to Rock,

There is a Civil War going on within Black America between Black folk and niggas. And niggas have got to go!!!!!!!

Unbeknownst to Whites, Blacks regularly discuss this risqué topic in the privacy of their homes, barbershops, during Black-only happy hour gatherings and church meetings.

An attentive listener would realize that Rock’s riveting commentary touched on only one of the many “Civil Wars” occurring within Black America. Politically astute Blacks can attest to the fact that at any given moment there are many “Civil Wars” occurring within a non-monolithic Black community. This understanding of the never-ending in-fighting within Black America makes the recent attack of Oprah Winfrey by rapper 50 Cent understandable.

In case you missed it, 50 Cent took the famed talk show host to task for inconsistencies in her #MeToo activism.

From the hip-hop icon’s perspective, Oprah has chosen to attack Black men such as Michael Jackson and Russell Simmons while remaining quiet as a mouse regarding White men deserving of her attention.

According to 50 Cent,

I don’t understand why Oprah is going after black men. No Harvey Weinstein, No Epstein, just Michael Jackson and Russell Simmons this … is sad.

If nothing else, this matter provides insight into how many Black men view the duties of “their sisters” as they seek to navigate this White Man’s world.

The alluded to men harbor a dogged belief that at their best, Black women serve as “helpmeets” whose sole purpose is to aid them along this path called life. These women sacrifice themselves for the good of the Race without any expectation of reciprocity. Although such demands may appear selfish, the truth of the matter is that the alluded to self-centeredness is informed by a historical record rife with Black mothers, grandmothers, girlfriends, aunts, daughters, and acquaintances effortlessly sacrificing lives and muting hopes and dreams for the men that they adore.

Make no mistake about it, when Whites attack Black men, there is a natural expectation that Black women will rush to the front of the line to defend Black men. Ironically, the above expectations are not lessened when Black women are the victims of some Black male’s brazen attack. For far too long, Black men have taken it as a given that Race trumps gender in the minds of Black women. Far too often, Black women have served as a willing sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered at opportune moments for the benefit of all others.

Although frightening, it is nevertheless true that many Black men mirror 50 Cent’s thoughts in believing that Black women are little more than a tool to be used to advance personal political agendas. Behind closed doors, it is not considered boorish for Black men to demand that Black women settle into a depressing intellectual slum that promotes Black male interests while muting the concerns and interests of Black women.

One needs to look no further than 50 Cent’s commentary to understand that many Blacks consider Oprah Winfrey a traitor to the Race. Such thinking beckons Black America to a time where racial solidarity was essential to survival. Unfortunately for those harboring such thoughts, many Black women have vacated “their place” and take definitive steps toward advancing an agenda centered on “Black women issues”; interests that may not benefit Black men directly.

There may be no clearer sign that many Black men are participating in a Civil War against Black women such as Oprah Winfrey who seek to take Black men to task for their actions against their “sisters”. Unfortunately, it does not appear that there are many Black men interested in aiding Black women as they seek to ascend out of a marginalized position that has historically been so marginal that Malcolm X termed them “the most disrespected person on the planet.” Even the most optimistic among us must concede that far too many Black men appear to have at best a loose alliance and fleeting interest in the plight of Black women.

And in the words of 50 Cent, “that is … sad.”

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019.   

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Why Black America’s Tradition of Supporting “Bad Niggers” like Queen & Slim Confuses White America

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If it can be said that America loves its gangsters. It can also be said that Black America, a community that has often taken its cues regarding values and the keys to success from Whites, has similar proclivities. Truthfully speaking, the adoration that Black America heaps on their “lawless,” a population that writer Gilbert Moore characterized as “bad niggers,” hinges on the rebellion being someway aimed against White supremacy. Many are shocked to find that the omnipresence of White Supremacy has failed to create an annual crop of “bad niggers” who seemingly revel at the opportunity to fight against occurrences of racial bigotry and institutionalized racism that impact all of Black America in one way or another. 

Maybe it can be attributed to the fact that there is no dearth of daily reminders, let alone a full history of racial oppression in this nation that causes African-Americans to include themselves in some intangible way to the antics of “bad niggers” rebelling against the existing system of racial oppression. It matters little to those offering what amounts to inconsequential support that from the moment they appear that their arc will be similar to shooting-stars in their spectacular impromptu appearance and short lifespan.

The recently released film Queen and Slim beautifully reflect this portion of Black life.  

One may wonder why Black America silently champions the “bad niggers” in their midst. The truth of the matter is that they realized long ago that it is the comprehensive tie of Race that holds the potential to put them all in the same boat. Blacks understand that neither educational attainments nor socioeconomic status mutes the dangers of being Black in White America. There is not a socially conscious Black person alive who does not have the absolute worst nightmare of being stopped by a bigoted “law enforcement officer” eager to express his own leanings lethally. 

Blacks know that even a mundane traffic stop like the one that starts a cascade of unexpected twists-and-turns in the film Queen and Slim is capable of ending Black life. The reality that Black life could terminate without any notice encourages their sporadic and tenuous moments of Black solidarity on behalf of “bad Niggers” like Assata Shakur, Eldridge Cleaver, Karl Hampton, and the fictional characters Queen and Slim. From the lens of Black America, the appearance of such figures conveys some hope that the battle over racial matters is not over. 

Albeit frustrating for White, racial matters are permanently affixed at the forefront of the minds of most Blacks. Many would argue that it is the single-most-important variable in their lives, and therefore it will never fully recede to the recesses of their minds. 

The criticisms of American Whites regarding Blacks continuing agitation for politico-economic improvement serves to encourage Black America’s rallying around “bad niggers” such as Queen and Slim seeking to capture tangible and intangible resources that Whites have always considered their sole possession. 

Let’s be honest about America’s Race problem. It began with White Anglo-Saxon Protestants who long ago shared their birthright with late-arriving European immigrants. It stands to reason that if the socially constructed system began and has been maintained for centuries by “Whites,” its existence and therefore demise lies in the lap of White America. Unbeknownst to Whites, African-Americans exist in a constant state of suspicion. Their skepticism of Whites revolves around the reasonable expectation that there will be a debut of chicanery designed to continue Whites’ monopoly over politico-economic resources.

When framed by the above matters, I hope that Whites are not bothered by the natural inclinations of Blacks to offer varying levels of support to “bad Niggrs” such as Queen and Slim as they seek to escape the hang man’s noose that Black Americans believe will one day be placed around their neck. After all, “bad Niggers” like Slim and Queen that White America denigrate “lawless gangsters” are inspirations to a maligned Black populace that has experienced far too many losses and been dominated far too long.

I guess it is true that one man’s terrorist is another man’s revolutionary. 

Dr. James Thomas Jones III 

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019.