Justice or Just Us?: Black People’s Contentious Relationship With Law Enforcement

Justice or Just Us is the namesake and first segment within the topic of Justice or Just Us. The focus of this discussion is centered on Black’s contentious relationship with the criminal justice system as a whole and how that impacts in the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Does the Black Community have a legitimate beef with the criminal justice system as a whole (law enforcement, courts, etc.) or are the feelings of mistreatment exaggerated and or a figment of Our collective psyche?

2. Do you feel a heavy police presence in impoverished or predominantly Black Communities is necessary or a ploy against poor and Black people, why or why not?

3. How would you characterize your personal interactions with the justice system and what do you feel is the biggest problem with it?

FRONT STREET

Jaywalking….that’s the crime that got an unarmed black teenager killed by the police in Ferguson, Missouri.  People can slice it however they want to justify what happened, but in its most basic form, a child was killed for not walking across the street within a crosswalk.  The outrage over this and other similar situations has brought to the forefront the injustices faced by Black and poor communities since the end of slavery.  The dirty and unwritten truths believed in these communities is the entire system wants to destroy, defile, and disrupt any progress our possibility of progress for Black people and people in these impoverished communities.  But this line of thinking, even if justifiable, only leads to more questions and more confusion.  Is there a conspiracy against Black people from law enforcement?  Is there really a vested interest in seeing the poor population remain in dire situations? If not, why are police so quick to over police Black people and impoverished neighborhoods?  This line of thought is the starting point to a new way of addressing an issue as old as America and question as tough to answer as any that We currently pose.  With that being said, let’s discuss if the attitude of just Us is contributing to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more were addressed on 8/2/2014 during the discussion which is now airing on YouTube.

Justice or Just Us Part 1

Justice or Just Us Part 2

Justice or Just Us Part 3

Black Health:The Countless Epidemics that Plague the Black Community:  

The final installment of the Black Health topic focuses on the countless epidemics and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Why are Black people statistically at the bottom of so many health issues such as heart disease and prostate cancer?

2. Is our attitude towards our health generally positive or negative and why or why not?

3. What do you feel is the biggest health issue within the Black Community?

FRONT STREET

PSA to all Black folks….We are dying.  Black peoples life expectancy is nearly 3 years less than Whites.  But why is that?  Why are we more likely to get cancer or heart disease or diabetes?  I honestly do not understand some of these statistics.  When I go to the gym, I see just as many of Us there as I see of any other race.  Everyone eats the same things all in all (fast food, soda, snacks etc).  So where does the separation come in?  The honest answer may be right in front of Us and as simple as this statement…maybe We can’t do the same things as others do.  May be We have to do more to ensure We don’t become another negative health number.  May be Our lack of knowledge on health contributes to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more will be addressed during the discussion found on YouTube beginning on  x/xx/20xx.

Black Health: Sexploitation –  The Impact of Sex on the Black Community

The third installment of the Black Health topic focuses on sex and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Do you feel Planned Parenthood hurts or helps the Black Community?

2. Do you feel that Black culture has become overly sexualized, why or why not?

3. Do you believe that the Black Community would get better results by promoting safe sex or abstinence?

FRONT STREET

AIDS among other STD’s are growing fastest in the Black Community, specifically among Black women.  Blacks are among the leaders both in abortion rate and unintended pregnancies.  There are an alarming amount of Black men that engage in affairs, with a decent percentage of them engaged in these sexual activities with people of the same sex.  All of these issues have one thing in common…the act of sex.  Sex has grown to become one of the biggest factors of health in the Black Community in the past 25 years.  It can have an effect on everything from your education to your life expectancy.  Sex is complicated even for God, where in one way it is seen as a sin and another way  as a blessing. I believe this very same conflict of sex exist in the Black Community and has placed Us in a predicament.  Is sex contributing to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and respond to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These questions and more will be addressed during the discussion found on YouTube beginning on  x/xx/20xx.

Black Health: Slave Food – Soul Food or Leftovers 

The second installment of the Black Health topic focuses on the concept of soul food and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Is there something wrong with “Our” eating habits?

2. How much do you believe diet is responsible for Blacks over all health issues?

3. Why do we feel so connected and attached to our traditional foods i.e. soul food?

FRONT STREET

One of my favorite shows, the Boondocks, had an episode in which they made fun of a recently relatively successful Black movie entitled “Soul Food.”  They playfully pointed out how the family got together every Sunday to cook and eat “soul food” and showed the dangerous consequences when they emphasized the death of the grandmother from complications of diabetes.  The ultimate irony was exhibited when they accurately depicted the family mourning her death by eating the same thing that gave her diabetes in the first place.  All jokes aside, Our traditional foods were derived from leftovers the slave owners and their families did not eat.  In essence we  made lemonade out of lemons.  Our will to survive gave Us what we now consider our stable foods such as chitlins, collard greens, and fried chicken.  Recently, rich and famous Blacks have began to become vegans and have abandon our traditional foods in the name of better health and longer lives.  Does soul food contribute to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and respond to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These questions and more will be addressed during the discussion found on YouTube beginning on  x/xx/20xx.

Black Health: Black Ph(F)at – Big or Beautiful 

The first installment of the Black Health topic focuses on the idea of Black beauty and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Is Our perspective of beauty unhealthy?

2. Is Our perspective of beauty tainted by the media, i.e. movies, magazines?

3. Does Our version of beauty play into the stereotype of Black people being hyper-sexual?

FRONT STREET

Most Black men have no problems with a woman with curves and bumps and Black women have even fewer complaints with their figure.  Our version of what is sexually stimulating in general has differed from the euro-centric version of beauty and are rarely seen on the magazines in our supermarkets.  However, much like the euro-centric version of beauty, Our shapes can be viewed as harmful to both the body and the mind of Our people.  Are We putting too much into this idea or is Our version of beauty helping to contribute to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more will be addressed during the discussion found on YouTube beginning on  x/xx/20xx.

Self Hatred: Acting Black – Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How

The third installment of the Self Hatred topic focuses on the concept of acting Black and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. What constitutes acting Black and are these associations fair?

2. Do you subscribe to the notion that there are Black people and there are n_ _ _ _ _ _  and if so, why?

3. Have we been brainwashed to think, act, and react, in a certain way to things and if so, why?

FRONT STREET

We are not a monolithic people.  Some of Us voted for Mitt Romney, some of Us don’t like chicken, some of Us use proper english at all times, and yes Our ethnicity is still that of a person of African decent.  However, We would be remiss if We honestly didn’t look at Ourselves for what We have become.  We have painted ourselves into a corner labeled blackness where a person can only be considered Black if they do certain things and do things a certain way.  Not to mention, the baggage of outside perspectives on and about Us.  Does the idea of acting Black contribute to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and respond to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These questions and more will be addressed during the discussion found on YouTube beginning on  3/1/2014.

Acting Black Part 1

Acting Black Part 2

Acting Black Part 3

Self Hatred: Good Hairitage  – Intra Racism 

The fourth installment of the Self Hatred topic focuses on issue of intra racism and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Do hairstyles contribute to stereotypes about Black people even among Black people?

2. Is there any validity to the theory that slavery continues to contribute to our mentality today?

3. Are you color blind, color struck, or color stuck and why?

FRONT STREET

When We originally started Black Advancement Inc. We were often questioned why We decided to focus specifically on Black people and Black issues.  Granted, there are several reasons and explanation for this; however, one of the main pillars of Our reasoning was the issue of self hatred within the Black Community.  This issue goes deep into the hearts of Black folks and can impact Us in a variety of ways  including but not excluded to hairstyle, fashion, and even romantic relationship.  Our progress and struggle both hinge on Our ability to get out of Our own way.  The question remains, do are intra-racial issues contribute to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more will be addressed during the discussion found on YouTube beginning on  10/26/2013.

Good Hairitage Part 1

Good Hairitage Part 2

Good Hairitage Part 3

Self Hatred: The Mask  – Is It Still Necessary and Is It Still Being Used

The fifth and final installment of the Self Hatred topic focuses on the mask and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Have you ever worn the mask and if so where and why?

2. Do we only where the mask when in the company of other races?

3. Will there ever come a day when the mask won’t be necessary?

FRONT STREET

We have all been there.  We have all had that feeling We don’t belong in the rarified air of Our colleagues at Our jobs and in some cases Our friends and family.  We have all had to wear the mask in order to make it through situations.  But when does the mask become self hatred?  When does wearing the mask become dishonest to yourself and what you are?  Are you ashamed of who you are or are you just cognizant of the situation?  These are questions that Black people consciously or unconsciously face everyday.  Does the use of the mask contribute to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more were addressed on 11/15/2020 in our Roundtable which is also available on YouTube.

The Mask 

Self Hatred: The ‘N’ Word – A Term of Endearment or Enslavement

The first installment of the Self Hatred topic focuses on the usage of the word nigger in any form and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Should Black people use the word nigger in any form, and why or why not?

2. What does the word nigger mean to you?

3. How do you feel when Whites and other races use the word?

FRONT STREET

The most charged word in the English lexicon is nigger in all of its forms.  It stems from a place in American history that is linked to shame, pain, and misery.  Used as an insult to all people of African decent, this word is just as likely today to start a riot as it was in the Civil Rights Movement nearly 60 years ago.  However, through time and an ability to adapt the negative, Black people have turned the phrase into a “term of endearment,”  and something to be quasi proud of.  Use of the word in this manner has at times caused rifts between generations due to the negative connotation of the word to past generations.  Due to our inconsistency pertaining to the use of the word and who is allowed to use the word, the Black race comes off as confused and ignorant to their own history.  Does the use of the N word contribute to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and respond to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These questions and more will be addressed during the discussion found on YouTube beginning on  4/5/2014.

The N Word Part 1

The N Word Part 2

The N Word Part 3

Self Hatred: Stereotypes – Rising Down

The second installment of the Self Hatred topic focuses on stereotypes of Black people and how it effects the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Are Black people accurately stereotyped?

2. Which stereotype about Black people is least accurate to you and why?

3. Which stereotype is the most offensive towards Black people to you and why?

FRONT STREET

Every race suffers their own version of negative stereotypes, but none are quite as negative as those aimed towards Black people.  If you were to stop for a second and try to think of all the negative stereotypes attached to Black people, you would be surprised at how many you could come up with.  The issue becomes even more depressing when you are forced to look in the mirror to determine if you are complicit in perpetuating the negative stereotypes through your actions.  Are We just as guilty as the people who created the stereotypes or is it all in Our heads and the heads of others?  Do stereotypes contribute to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and respond to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These questions and more will be addressed during the discussion found on YouTube beginning on  09/13/2013.

Stereotypes:

Stereotypes Part 1

Stereotypes Part 2

Stereotypes Part 3