Letter Published in Sept. 16, 2004 Chicago Defender
Dear Editor:
Roland, your article in the last edition was very profound. I have wondered what name Sean Combs will name himself next.
You could have mentioned that on the Destiny's Child CD along with"Bootylicious" there was a gospel medley "praising God." And I have wondered about Beyonce's parents. Are they saying to their friends and relatives "our daughter's too bootylicious" or "we are so proud of our successful bootylicious daughter"? You are right. Not a one of us is perfect. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. However, if these entertainers want to talk the talk, then they should accordingly walk the walk.
By the way, I saw the Source Magazine Awards program. It was horrible. It wasits own parody. People were being "ignant" and "unedgimacated" on stage andat the podium. A group called "D-Block" in prison clothes were rapping. They had backup dancers in prison clothes too. After we all complain about Black men in prison, these punks and fools glorify being in prison. It seems to be the natural environment of Black men according to those images. And at the end of the awards two Black women, scantilly dressed of course, were passionately kissing each other! You know kids watch all this and emulate it.
On the same note, I took my mother to the emergency room at the University ofChicago Hospital last week. A young brother wore a shirt with the mugshotsof 10 popular rappers such as "C-Murder" and "Pimp-C." This shirt did not say"Do not be like them." This shirt did not say "This is not acceptable behavior in our community." This shirt was glorifying these rappers as criminals. I was beside myself when I saw that shirt. Remember a popular record label was called "Death Row Records" with a logo of a man, I bet Black, in an electric chair? Young people have been trained to love and attach themselves emotionally to those images. I wonder if that is the result of a conspiracy to keep young Black minds in the dark mentally and to keep them out of the mainstream marketplace. Those images do not encourage them to be educated, to be good citizens, nor to be servants to their communities. They do not even acknowledge African heritage. It is as if Black culture is totally "ghettocentric." If it is not ghetto or"geto," it's not really "Black."
Robert Oliver
Chicago
Roland, your article in the last edition was very profound. I have wondered what name Sean Combs will name himself next.
You could have mentioned that on the Destiny's Child CD along with"Bootylicious" there was a gospel medley "praising God." And I have wondered about Beyonce's parents. Are they saying to their friends and relatives "our daughter's too bootylicious" or "we are so proud of our successful bootylicious daughter"? You are right. Not a one of us is perfect. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. However, if these entertainers want to talk the talk, then they should accordingly walk the walk.
By the way, I saw the Source Magazine Awards program. It was horrible. It wasits own parody. People were being "ignant" and "unedgimacated" on stage andat the podium. A group called "D-Block" in prison clothes were rapping. They had backup dancers in prison clothes too. After we all complain about Black men in prison, these punks and fools glorify being in prison. It seems to be the natural environment of Black men according to those images. And at the end of the awards two Black women, scantilly dressed of course, were passionately kissing each other! You know kids watch all this and emulate it.
On the same note, I took my mother to the emergency room at the University ofChicago Hospital last week. A young brother wore a shirt with the mugshotsof 10 popular rappers such as "C-Murder" and "Pimp-C." This shirt did not say"Do not be like them." This shirt did not say "This is not acceptable behavior in our community." This shirt was glorifying these rappers as criminals. I was beside myself when I saw that shirt. Remember a popular record label was called "Death Row Records" with a logo of a man, I bet Black, in an electric chair? Young people have been trained to love and attach themselves emotionally to those images. I wonder if that is the result of a conspiracy to keep young Black minds in the dark mentally and to keep them out of the mainstream marketplace. Those images do not encourage them to be educated, to be good citizens, nor to be servants to their communities. They do not even acknowledge African heritage. It is as if Black culture is totally "ghettocentric." If it is not ghetto or"geto," it's not really "Black."
Robert Oliver
Chicago
posted by Robert at 11:37 AM
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