“Violence: The Feel of Pandemic Proportion”

The love and admiration I have for my city of Youngtown, Ohio, I’m sure in many ways is no different from what someone may feel for Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Los Angeles etc… However, what I feel right now is the hand of a wretched sickness that is suffocating the life out of our urban communities. In fact, this sickness has found a home in host across this country abruptly making itself normalized in the psyche of many Americans. History will note, a man by the name of Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown) who said “Violence is as American as cherry pie.” This spoke to the prevalence of its normalcy in his day. How far have we evolved as a society when we can hear of or witness violence then race our minds on to the next thought?

The sickness of violence in my community of Youngstown, Ohio reached a new plateau. This week its members said good-bye to 10 year old, Persayus Chanell Davis who was struck by a bullet at home. As I looked at the picture of this precious little girl on the local news, she actually depicted the image of a princess adored in a princess outfit wearing a crown…..If I’m off with the depiction of her, make no mistake about it, that’s what I saw. Yes, someone’s baby, another princess, queen gone. It was at this moment, I began to recant in my mind like so many before me, “How long?” However, my mind would not dare begin to fathom the answer “Not long.” The sickness of violence has created a culture of numbness where much of our reaction becomes a commonality of condition until it hits home. Violence has mutated into various capacities morphing and positioning itself to impact another context of one’s reality. In fact, I would say that its woven itself in the fabric of this country’s existence: taking on a wicked life of its own. Preceded with tension, at times we can feel its approach in the air. It is disheartening when we can take a look around and see we have so much in common with the violent occurences of your Chicago’s, Cleveland’s, New York’s, and LA’s. My friends, there is a suffocating feel in the air. It appears at the moment, the vastness of violence spans as far and as wide as a spiritual eye may see.

Society, to the extent of its moral capacity can understand the peril of our time. However, what has been proven is that this era of violence in the black community has a feel of pandemic proportion. Its impact is far reaching and people tragically suffer it around the world. Undoubtedly, we know the staggering accounts of violence in the black community and ultimately around the world. Its impact has exposed a fragility of life, touched by its deliverance of emotional pain which can bring the strongest to their knees. Take a look around and witness a black mother at a crime scene crying out for a young black man who is still her baby, victim of the violent pandemic.

In Youngstown, Ohio, it was reported by local news source WKBN that “there have been over 80 shootings this year, on track to surpass the 98 shootings in the city in 2020. There have been a total of 18 homicides this year.” Allow me to say, if one looks at these numbers and tries to convey braggadocios comparison to their own city, I am afraid that he/she may be part of the problem. One life in one city is too many. “Violence: The Feel of Pandemic Proportion” is raging in the black community. However, there is a cure, where the dose of economics and education must meet. There is a cure, where the struggle of self-hatred can be treated with the love of one’s image designed in creation. Our cure can be found in the spiritual and its application manifested in tangible terms. Violence: its feel of pandemic proportion has a cure but it will take a “renewal of the mind” in our current reality.

“Stereotypical Oppression”

“I wanted to take an opportunity to provide an excerpt from my book “Cell Observation” that will be presented in the near future.” Thank you for taking time out to read this short excerpt!

“Frank and explicit- this is the right line to take when you wish to conceal your your own mind and to confuse the mind of others.”

Benjamin Disraelie

Much can be gathered from this statement from the late British prime minister, Benjamin Disraelie. Applying it to a historical and present day context may add for some interesting dialogue. Specifically, while the institution of slavery has made a lasting impact for generations, its toxicity has shaped thinking for over four hundred years. In fact, hegemonic culture has done a great job in defining the make-up of its society whether explicitly or implicitly. For example, we’ve viewed over time how stereotypes and misrepresented imagery have created a perception of oppressed people around the world. This has been carried out in various segments of society including religion, politics, education, entertainment etc…. The psychological impact of such representation has made it extremely difficult for the oppressed to rid itself of disheartening depiction. According to Niam Akbar, “African Americans suffer from a psychological impact of slavery where we find ourselves struggling to break the hold it has psychologically on our mindset.”

The preponderate amount of stereotypes given specifically to African Americans are profoundly abhorrent in nature. Dominant culture has allowed this to be vividly played out in numerous sectors where many Americans grow up believing in these these stereotypes. Case and point, the entertainment industry serves as an example. Specifically, during the early 20th century, blacks who were talented and needed to support their families were type cast into subservient roles. These roles often portrayed black people as having very little mental aptitude and oftentimes fostered an environment in Hollywood that isolated blacks from more serious roles. These subservient roles were often characterized in the persona of “Amos and Andy and Stepin Fetchit.” Of course, the dialogue currently presented is nothing new or groundbreaking for other scholars such as Akbar have discussed this topic before. However, what we find now in the 21st century, within the world of entertainment is the premise by which certain roles are consistently acknowledged for greatness. For example, the roles of the hoodlum, drug dealer, and feministic black man are applauded or have “the juice” or should I say spew of popular influence in Hollywood. Much of America’s entertainment viewing comes in the form of Reality T.V. It is here, we see that many Americans love these personalities and Hollywood reinforces what the public adores. At cost of not specifically exposing personalities within the Reality T.V. world, a pattern has occurred where black folk have to demonstrate an ability to exert a mixture of either psychopathic, aggressive, and/or black male feministic behavior. Undoubtedly, the mix of these portrayals have increased viewership over time. Further, your major studio productions promoting more intellectually strong black male and female type roles are far few in between in comparison. The question is why? Historically, why have stereotypical roles been applauded over more original portrayals…………

“Mental Freestyle”

Question my friend, “when was the last time you assessed the canvas of your inner most thoughts?” Specifically, what I am referring to is taking yourself on a trip and finding a way to get outside of yourself and truly looking at your life for what it reflects at this very moment. I am talking about a “Mental Freestyle.” A “mental freestyle” as I frame it, can be considered an intentional day dream where for a moment we visit pain, loss, joy, triumph, and the sometimes consuming gray areas of our lives.

The thought of resielncy often leaves us with a moment of wonderment and amazement. We are often left with the question of “how does one person come back from going through so much?” With typical struggles that come with balancing marriage, family, friendship, and holding on to our purpose in being, many of us would think those areas alone bring about a time of personal victory and/or challenge…. right? Well, so many of us rarely have taken time to look over our mental canvass and conceptualize its content. If we do, maybe we can identify the things that we run to and run from. However, what makes us who we are is our ability to identify our pain, joy, loss, and triumph. Many times it is not within our control to remain in one space in life whether good bad or indifferent. Quite naturally, life evolves and simply happens.

Allow me to remind us that our resiliency can be measured by how we get beyond our sorrow and perhaps even a complacency in our own success. The question that persist in the exercise of “mental freestyle” is how do we strive ourselves in becoming a better person regardless of where we may be? What are the divine principles that guide us toward becoming that better person? Can we ultimately view ourselves in what we truly believe contains the properties to become better people? Unless we allow opportunity for “mental freestyle”, we stand to rid ourselves of embracing the experience of life bouncing back, becoming better people , and realizing where this all encompassing help comes from.