A Glimpse Of My Art (The L.O.T.E Tree)

Been a long time since I've posted here. As Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def) said on his "Black On Both Sides" debut album, a lot of things have changed, a lot of things have not. Also been a long time since I've touched a brush, marker, or anything art-related. Lonnie Ali, the widow of the late Muhammad Ali (RA) said Parkinson's Disease robs you of your confidence. I can attest to that. Developing arthritis in my left hand only adds more sugar to the Kool-Aid. Typing has become a trial of epic proportions. I think I can do about 15-20 words a minute now. LOL. But it's all life right? And this life is a test. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be tested. This is a piece I've been woking on, and finally decided on a name. Introducing The L.O.T.E Tree. The Lesser Of Two Evils. Maybe someday, God Willing, I'll do into depth about it. Stay Tuned and take care.

What You Watchin' Common? A Response To Common's Comments About Obama's Legacy Pt 1.

Painting courtesy of the artist.

One of the lies we(Black people) tell ourselves is that we're making progress...We're 

not making progress. We tend to equate progress with concessions. We can no

longer make that mistake...

...There is no difference between the Democratic and the Republican Party. The 

similarities are greater than the differences in those parties. What's the 

difference between Lynch' em Johnson and Goldwater? None!

But a lot of you (Black people) running around, talking about you Democrat, 

and the Democrats got you in the biggest trick going! They tell you "it ain't our fault,

it's the Dixiecrats' (another way of saying Republican) fault!" There's no such thing as 

a Dixiecrat! The only difference between George Wallace and Lyndon Johnson is one 

of them's wife got cancer. But you go for it.  You go for it because you're chumps...

You enjoy being lied to...

Excerpts from a 1968 address to the Black Panthers by H. Rap Brown (now Imam Jamil Al-Amin)

For all intended purposes, I am a huge fan of  legendary rapper Common, and I thoroughly

enjoy most of his work, especially his 2014 album "Nobody's Smiling",  which I still rock to this day. At a time when Black youth are being socialized and conditioned to render any Black person dead or alive, and over the age of 30 as old, dead and/or irrelevant, while simultaneously rocking apparel with Marilyn Monroe's 1950's, old dead image plastered on it, I found it comforting that a legendary rapper produced a relevant and remarkable album about the plight of today's urban youth, especially in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, complete with guest appearances from younger contemporary rappers. This was achieved without trying too hard to sound "updated" or appeal to only a younger audience. I found it very insightful, and something that every music fan and art enthusiast should enjoy. 

I even found myself coming to his defense somewhat after the backlash concerning comments he made in a 2015 interview with former host of  The Daily Show Jon Stewart about Blacks "getting past the history of racism and slavery" by extending their hands in love, and not fists. This and other comments raised the ire of many Blacks, which led to calling Common names such as Uncle Tom, sellout, and mostly the word used so popularly now, coon.  While wildly disagreeing with his stance concering racism in America and how to deal with it, I can neither agree with the oversimplification and the dismissive nature of those who oppose his view by simple name calling, and especially a sellout, or a coon. It goes to show how those who utter these words ad nauseam do not have any idea what they mean.

Common's stance towards racism is a typical Black Christian stance, a passive, "turn-the-other-cheek" stance, which goes over well concerning both White conservatives and liberals' interests. Neither of the two can fathom the idea of Blacks and other people of color or minorities going beyond mere marching, singing and voting, and becoming more aggressive and even militant in seeking justice from a country which has basically turned a deaf ear to the cries of the slain and marginalized.

But what worries me about Common, as well as others who uphold this approach is the lack of understanding of who really benefits from constantly turning the cheek at those who continue  to strike, maim, and kill Blacks without any impunity. It's not about Blacks wanting mere "payback" or "getback",  or "kill Whitey" but there is nothing in place in this country to deter these hateful people from committing these heinous crimes. Years of singing "all you need is love" and passing ineffective hate crime and civil rights bills have produced nothing, at least for Black people, and in particular Black men. 

While he and others like to push Dr. Martin Luther King's philosophy of non-violence, even at the expense of self-defense, it seems that it only encourages the aggressors to amplify their "terror" (YEAH I SAID IT...TERROR!) and terrorism. The reality remains that these actions stem from a ideological belief, and only the removing of these racial fallacies that encourage racists and bigots to disenfranchise and slaughter those who they deem inferior and blame for the moral decay of the nation( nevermind the statistics proving otherwise) will begin the process of healing. Love cannot conquer hate, despite what Marvin Gaye said. 

NOTE: I didn't mean to go this far into depth concerning Common's past comments on The Daily Show, however after careful consideration I felt I had to elaborate further on it, due to the emergence of a peculiar pattern that seems to land Common on shows like The Daily Show, and recently Chelsea, with host Chelsea Handler, which provides Blacks who hold similar views a platform to broadcast their "views" and "opinions". In reflecting on this I'm reminded of a statement 

by Frances Stoner Saunders in her book The Cultural Cold War which stated;

"The most effective propaganda was defined by the CIA as the kind where the subject moves to the position you desire, but for reasons he believes to be his own."

. 

Seems like a long time ago when Mos Def (now Yasiin Bey) boldly declared on Bill Maher's show that Osama Bin Laden was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Nowadays Bill spends time talking about "radical Muslims" and "terrorists" with panels of people, and not one of them will include an

actual Muslim. Which makes Common's appearances on these shows nowadays all the more suspect. And no I'm not calling him an agent. 

Now let's get to the heart of the matter....


PART 2 COMING SOON....

Why All This Energy? (Beyonce, The Police and The Panthers Part Four) (contains graphic language)

By now you're asking yourself  "Why so much energy on this ONE event?"

My response would be: Something's in the air, and it's not just that funky weed smoke I keep smelling in public nowadays. We have been witnessing a sociopolitical climate change that I feel intensified during 9/11 and Obama's Presidential elections. These are just two telltale events that conservatives use as fuel to recruit new believers and as they say "Take back America" in this war of ideas between conservatives and liberals, although the War on Ideas in America can go back to 1925 with the Daniel Scopes trial.

Today in America attention is being directed to 2.5 to 3 percent of the population who identify themselves as Muslims, being demonized and accused of attempting to take over this nation and "Islamicize" it, whatever the hell that means.  Using "terrorist" attacks, alleging plots of biological terrorism that has been trumped recently by the events in Flint, Michigan, and the latest boogeyman, or in this case a boogeygroup with an English acronym and a mysterious khalifah as a pretext to demonize and ban a lifestyle that has very little if anything to do with those who don't ascribe themselves to being Muslims in the first place.  It should be strongly noted that forcing people to adhere to a law when they don't believe in the way of life is nothing short of foolish, if not flat out stupid, and there is nothing in the Holy Qur'an to support this idea anyway.

Yet we hear of the big, bad, radical Muslim, severing heads on the internet, calling to a distorted definition of jihad, blowing up him or herself and for some strange reason publicize their intent to kill, maim and destroy, in an effort to Islamicize the entire globe, starting with America, whether anybody likes it or not. This scare tactic then becomes fuel for the likes of conservatives Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson, and any other conservative to use to rally America and the rest of the so-called free world to rid this menace. So now so-called patriots stand outside mosques, armed with weapons because of a claim, without looking deeply into the evidence, and asking who really benefits from such terrorists attacks?

Never mind the growing liberalization of America, especially in the areas of marriage, family, morals, something conservatives always pride themselves on. Never mind the abortion issue, the rise of feminism, the prevalence of pornography and the harmful effects, the fact that 20,000 people die annually from alcohol related issues, and the same sex marraige victory in the Supreme Court in which one conservative voted in favor. Never mind the secularization of America, and the growth of atheism. Nope, Islam is Public Enemy No. 1 here.

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH BEYONCE'?

Simple. Since the movie Birth of A Nation, Blacks have always been portrayed as savage-like creatures, who if freed with wreak havoc on such a "blessed" nation, especially on White women. This technique was used to justify the creation of a White group, claiming to adhere to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible, to keep the "savages" in line. It was eye-candy for racists who had never perceived Blacks as human beings in the first place, even if White men in Black face were used to get their point across.

And since that time any attempts made to either intergrate, assimilate or simply receive justice and self-determination in this society by and for Black people has been deemed as subversive, and detrimental to this nation by conservatives. Go figure. The demonization of the Black Panther Party by certain agencies serves as a reminder that America's melting pot and social status quo never meant to include Black people, regardless of certain "concessions" made in all spheres of American culture.

Rudy Giuliani exposed himself in criticizing Beyonce's Super Bowl performance by proclaiming what he saw as an attack on police by women in provocative getup, gyrating to a song proclaimed to be a Black pride anthem, sung by a self-proclaimed "bitch-slaying" feminist, which includes certain graphic sexual lyrics like;

When he f*** me good, I take his a** to Red Lobster, because I slay
If he hit it right, I might take him on a flight on my chopper, because I slay


Wow...How could Giuliani or anyone see an attack on police with a song like Formation is beyond me.  A video of a Black woman seductively sprawled on top of a sinking police vehicle is by no means revolutionary nor empowering to me, nor is a child in a black hoodie defiantly dancing in front of cops, who eventually raise their hands in submission does anything for me either. If anyone found that threatening, my belief is that they'll buy anything.

But some concern also goes to those who took this as something positive for Black people, that a feminist who would tell "bitches" to bow down, would promote hetero Black male figures that are now being dragged across the coals by Black liberals in some of the most disgusting ways is even more troubling for me.

Yep...Something's in the air...

But going back to Rudy, it seems he has a history of histrionics, creating or contributing to contrived events garnered to grab attention, such as the convoluted display of heroism during the 9/11 event. His constantly appearing in front of the cameras, posing to give off commands during rescue efforts, and his "take charge attitude" and "sincerity" won him the Time Magazine Person of the Year Award in 2001. Boy, you gotta give it up for propaganda.

The media circus that surrounded this event is just one of many ways some groups use to engineer consent to spread further injustice on an unknowning, unaware or unconcerned community of people, many who are either too preoccupied with frivolity or too uneducated to figure out what's in store for them. The recent repealling of key parts of the voting rights act of 1965, combined with the rise of right-wing militias, and the acquittals of the likes of George Zimmerman, Darren Wilson, the Charleston, South Carolina shootings and others in the deaths of unarmed Black people indicate that things don't seem to look very bright for people of color in the United States in the near future, regardless of who takes the Presidency in this year's election.





Beyonce's Bogus Black Power tribute being criticized and protested by some shows that certain sectors of the American public will read into anything as some form of justification to take America back to its' early years. When people of color were held captive in chains and enslaved. But why would the liberal media take this event and broadcast and parade it as such is even more puzzling.

Now I'm really beginning to understand the meaning behind this recent plethora of slave movies.

Just like those Prophet Muhammad cartoon drawing contests.




Yep...Something's afoul in the air here... and it ain't just the weed smoke.

Bye Bye Black Sheep...Beyonce', The Police and the Panthers...Part Two

OK,

The first part may have been unsatifactory to some of the readers, seeing that I posted a video with an ex-KGB officer explaining Communist subversive activity in the United States. My humblest apologies...I thought it was educational and informative.

In this part of the blog I intend to squash this notion that part of the Beyonce Super Bowl performance posed as a tribute to the Black Panthers, but first let me pause to stop my laughter.

There are so many ways I can go at this, seeing the fact that Beyonce herself has never come out publicly to address this issue, and it seems no one in the media has tried to contact neither her, her publicist, nor any parties involved to get a statement or something regarding the matter. To add more sugar to the Kool-Aid, it seems it was the media who first brought this issue up in the first place. It seems rather strange to me that the media would TELL or INTERPRET the performance, and not try to get any word from the artist herself, the producer of the halftime show, Ricky Kirshner, son of the late famed Don Kirshner, nor NFL for their reaction to such allegations, which has caused quite a stir, and quite an opportunity for some to either enter the spotlight, or recapture some lost shine.

But let's add some visuals to the subject, shall we?








These are pics from Beyonce's 2014 MTV VMA performance. Read what is displayed behind the silhouette. It says FEMINIST. This has been Beyonce's self-appointed mission in recent times, to proclaim feminism and do her part to further expose it to the mainstream. Never mind that feminists themselves are to this day scratching their heads at Bey's contradictive stances such as the 2014 "Mrs. Carter" tour. I'm sure that rubbed feminists the wrong way(no sexual innuendoes intended) to see their unofficial mainstream mascot take part in a tour entitled MY HUSBANDS' SURNAME tour.



With that in mind we must turn our attention to the Black Panther Party, the original one that is. In short the Black Panther Party was an organization dedicated to self -preservation and self-determination of Black people in America, basing its' philosophy on Black Nationalism. Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik Al Shabazz) was a major influence in shaping the Black Panthers' philosophy and 10 point program, which ranged from quests for land, bread and housing, to the removal and exemption of Black men from military services.

This is the same Malcolm X who has suddenly become a target by today's generation of Black liberals, being accused of homosexual activity by Marc Lamont Hill, being an inadequate father by the likes of Boyce Watkins, and having a strained relationship with the womenfolk in his family, in particular his mother and wife. All of these claims have been documented in a book entitled Malcolm X: A Life of REINVENTION, authored by the late Manning Marable, published and promoted by Wendy Wolf, editor of Viking Books. This book, which appeared in late 2011, almost 47 years after Malcolm was assassinated, won the Pulitzer Prize as well, and it lauded as an excellent read, although the book was heavily criticized by Malcolm's children and some of his closest associates.

In a nutshell, Black Power movements, like those started by Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, and others in their time were mainly male-dominated, with the men being the forefront of the movement, something that was heavily criticized by the likes of feminists, being deemed as patriarchal and sexist. Elaine Brown, who was a member of the party between 1968-1977, allegedly left the party due to the "sexism" and "patriarchy", which she writes in her book A Taste of Power (pg.444).

Wikipedia writes;

Brown stepped down from chairing the Black Panther Party less than a year after Newton’s return from Cuba in 1977 when Newton authorized the beating of Regina Davis, the administrator of the Panther Liberation School. This incident was the point at which Brown could no longer tolerate the sexism and patriarchy of the Black Panther Party (A Taste of Power, p. 444). She left Oakland with her daughter, Ericka, and moved to Los Angeles.

So are we still willing to believe that was a tribute to the Black Panthers? After one of the former members stated that the late leader Huey P. Newton authorized the beating of a female member? So a self-proclaimed feminist is going to give a tribute to an alleged "woman-beater"?

Need more evidence?

Well Lookee Here!

Peace All! It's been a very trying time for me, dealing with delays and other things that dealt with my art,  along with other issues, and to be honest, it took a great toll on me. My blogging and my web presence suffered greatly, and burnout seeped in. I had blogs planned from Nicki  Minaj to Azealia Banks to Bill Cosby(again), but gotta take care of home first, meaning my personal life.Maybe call it dogged determination or faith, but I'm still at it. Just wanted to brief you on what's going on in my life, and the blogs will keep coming, God Willing. There's always something to blog about.

The above piece was a  12 x 12 that I went over in black about a couple of weeks ago. Didn't want to, especially with the texture, but I'm finding my art needs more space, and this was one of those pieces. I don't think I can define clearly what I want to express on a 12 x 12, so hopefully for future ideas, I'm keeping the photo.

Take care, more to come.

What's The Deal Bill? The War Between The Others And The Others Pt. 1

This is the first of a series of sad but true stories of what happens when those who represent the minorities of America feel that they've made some accomplishments, which results in them blaming the majority of those who've suffered from structural racism and White supremacy in America as "inept" and "inferior".

I begin this series with Bill Cosby, or Dr. William H. Cosby, sorry for my blatant disrespect. Somehow this man keeps popping up in the media, beit corporate or the Black media, with the usual rant about how poor Blacks(note his rants are against one section of people) are not holding up their end of the bargain, or selling short on the Civil Rights movement. It's gotten to a point where I cringe everytime I hear or see this man's name, because I know it's not going to be good, because it's obvious that Bill, or Dr. Bill has a serious connection problem with lower class Black people.

Growing up I watched Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids religiously, as well as The Cosby Show and A Different World in my later years. Like most people, I didn't know then what I know now, which is the fact Dr. Bill is participating in a sinister war of various implications, not just on race relations, but a class war as well. How is that you ask? By not honing in on society's ills which affect its constituency, and ranting on and on about personal behavior issues, Dr. Bill, like others who feel that Blacks have progressed, places the blame solely on the individual, or in this sense, since we're talking about Black people we have to discuss the "group collective" or the double-standard that we place on each other that the actions of one or even a few Blacks represent THE WHOLE RACE.

 I didn't know the hidden subtleties that were inserted inside these shows, such as the lack of racial identity or the lack of approaching social issues that affected Blacks. Bill, oh sorry, I mean Dr. Bill, did not want to have a show which reflected the usual racial stereotypes as he put it, meaning The Cosby Show was not to reflect the realities of America then and now, which is why we never saw an episode where neither Theo or Elvin were profiled by the police, nor any of the kids being ridiculed about their hair, race, nor in any instance did we see any poor Blacks on his show, except the time when Elvin and Sondra leaves school and try their hand at owning a wilderness shop. Eventually Elvin comes to his senses and decides to re enter college...Ho hum...

That was another subtle theme that was inserted in these shows, this need to go to college in order to guarantee oneself a job in the mainstream. We were pummeled with these scenarios from Elvin and Sondra leaving school, only to come to their senses to Denise leaving school, going to Africa and getting married, only to come back to school in the end. The series ended with Theo graduating from college, overcoming his dyslexia and his slackness in his youth. To this day this idea is still being pushed into the minds of Black youth as the salvation of the race, although White students are growing more and more frustrated with the rising costs of tuition, the never ending student loan issue, which is now in the billion dollar range, and the lack of jobs one discovers after they've graduated. But Bill, I mean Dr. Bill and others in the Black middle class swears by this notion that a college degree will guarantee you a slot somewhere in the American Dream.  Even if his doctorate degree was the result of  simply submitting a thesis about the importance of using Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids as a learning tool...whoopee...

 Is this a subtle hint that being poor and uneducated is attributed to attitude or drive? Of being of inferior stock? So poor people are not dignified in any sense? This was the ultimate exhibition of Black middle class fantasy, in which the cries of the poor, downtrodden and destitute are completely ignored, as well as propagating the notion that the Civil Rights movement was the right course for African Americans to take, to not rock the boat and ask for justice and independence, but to ask to be included in a system that became rich from theft,  exploitation and oppression. As usual with these assimilationists, a  tribute was given to Dr. King, which symbolized assimilation and intergration and so called nonviolence, but not to Malcolm X or any of the Black Power movement participants.

 All of this was being broadcast during the height of Reaganomics and the Bush era, when social programs were cut, Black women were being targeted as welfare queens, drugs all of a sudden started appearing in the hood, wrecking families and communities, sending families scurrying in different directions, most of them having a negative end with either death or prison being the end result.  Then you had the Iran/Contra scandal, with Reagan disavowing any knowledge of the issue, jobs were cut, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. You will be hard pressed to find a Black Democrat who will disagree with this notion, so how is it now easy to believe this man's tirades about people who were the victims of these dilemnas?

Now A Different World was different in that it somewhat spoke of the issues facing a so called Black college, but it was not really a different world when you look at it more closely,  Dwayne Wayne, a homeboy from the streets of New York falls in love with a light-skinned, gentille southern Belle name Whitley Gilbert, who was materialistic to say the least, yet in the end she gets her way,  anyone who represented the counterculture was mocked, whether it was Freddie the hippie, Shaza Zulu, the pseudo Afrocentric who can't seem to graduate, to Terrence Taylor, who becomes Muslim, but you don't really know what he believes, due of the ambiguous way the teachings of Islam were handled by the show. It gave you the impression that to be a Muslim was all about freeing oneself from the oppression of the White man, ala the Nation of Islam, but I won't get into specifics with this right now. In the final season, Freddie gets rid of the hippie look, straightens out her hair, and joins the system and tells Lena(played by Jada Pinkett Smith) that she's going to assimilate into the system with the hopes of changing the system....Such delusion...Again this show gives a tribute to Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement, and pushes the constant barrage of vote, vote, vote, even with Rev. Jesse Jackson making an appearance on one episode.

So while The Cosby Show stayed away from racial politics of any sort, A Different World grazed those issues, but in an assimilationist fashion.

So in reality both shows were just as much propagandist in nature as any other show on television. This time it was for middle class Blacks. And in many cases it worked, due to the lack of approaching racial politics among everyday life for Blacks, especially the ones who don't make it to college for whatever reasons. But in tap dancing around those issues, it created the sense in White people that White supremacy and privilege doesn't really exist, and Blacks are just victimizing themselves, asking for handouts.

 Then there's the issue of Dr. Alvin Poussaint, who acted as the consultant for the two latter of Dr. Bill's shows, as well as co-written a book with Dr. Bill entitled C'mon On People...aimed at who? Poor Blacks of course. But just who is Dr. Alvin Poussaint? Well he's a psychiatrist from....

Hold up...Hold up...HOOOOOLD UPPP!

Dost thou not smelleth something fishy in thy nostrils?

What's the relationship between a psychiatrist and a sitcom? There shouldn't be any, at least until you read the book The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard, and begin to make the connection.

The symbol manipulators and their research advisers have developed their depth views of us by sitting at the feet of psychiatrists and social scientists (particularly psychologists and sociologists) who have been hiring themselves out as "practical" consultants or setting up their own research firms. Pg 34

 Dr. Poussaint's take on the working relationship was that he was commisioned to go through the scripts, because the majority of the writers were WHITE, and make sure that there were no nuances or hints of racial stereotyping in the script. Sounds pretty decent right? Dr. Poussaint has openly admitted that many of the Whites in Hollywood are racist, but he only says that within the confines of other cohorts who make that claim as well. I don't recall any real discussion on any major network, including Dr. Bill's favorite network, NBC, about the racism in Hollywood. In a discussion entitled Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood and Corporate Power, he had this to say:

I worked in media and often I was surprised. Sometimes very intelligent, mostly white writers, college graduates, held stereotypes about a lot of people. When they wrote them into stories they would write it in a stereotypic point of view. It's like they didn't know any other way to write it. Because frequently they were not involved in a social personal way with Blacks, Latinos or Asian-Americans. And so when they had to write something about them, they had to draw on what they knew and frequently what they knew was what they picked up from the media and frequently that was stereotypical.

Regarding the Disney cartoon moive Tarzan: ...Kids in Africa see it. They see a white man in African who is superior, swinging from trees to trees, they see no Africans. They see gorillas being the ones they relate to. What does it mean to an African child? Is it promoting white supremacy to these Black African children who watch Tarzan in a movie theater in Africa? Of course it will, and it might be promoting it around the world.

 So basically you have this actor who realizes the power of the media in brainwashing and mind manipulation, so much so that he would employ a Black psychiatrist to check the scripts and red flag any nuances that may refer to racial stereotyping, but yet his books and public tirades are hurled against the Black victims? Why do the both of them continue to work together and write books together slamming the actions of the victim, but not notate in public the actions of the aggressor? Do you see my point?

The only time I heard him rail against any actors were against the likes of Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx for their impersonations of Shenehneh and Ugly Wanda, but now I don't even hear that against the likes of Tyler Perry and his Madea impersonations, and Tyler CONTINUES to use this schtick, which has helped make him into arguably the most successful Black male actor/producer in history, but yet there's no tirade against him? What's the deal, Bill? Why not speak against the actors of today? Why not speak against Lupita's role in 12 Years A Slave, or any of these other roles that were meant to demean and stereotype Blacks, like you did Lisa Bonet when she did Angel Heart?

Surely they are educated enough to know the sordid history of Hollywood and the Academy Awards. http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-baloney-has-first-nameits-o-s-c-r.html Isn't it obvious that these two men, who strut around wearing their doctor titles and claim to be educated, should know that the actions of the poor Blacks are no different than those of Whites during the Depression.? Were they not fighting over alcohol? Were there not White gangsters during that time?  I mean Al Capone wasn't Black to my recollection. And the likes of him were ABOVE THE LAW. Where is it written that the actions of Whites during the Depression were any different? Was crime lesser with them? Where is their evidence which points to the discrepancies among poor Blacks as opposed to poor Whites? Were domestic abuse and prostitution any less with them? Didn't they use dance marathons, drugs, movies and gambling as a means of escape as well? Were the spending habits of poor Whites any different? If so, then why would an executive make this statement, also contained in the book The Hidden Persuaders:

"We can sell these people refrigerators. They may not have room for them, and they will put them on the front porch. They will buy a big automobile and all the luxuries, but they never move up the scale."
—Chicago ad executive, at a forum on lower-class buying habits

 Surely both men should know these things, unless their degrees are only symbolic,  or they are playing the role of "not biting the hand that feeds them", or they are willingly playing a game with people's minds, and engaging in engineering consent of genocide and elimination of the poor and downtrodden masses of Black people.

Now there's word of a new sitcom starring this man slated for possibly the 2014 fall season. One only knows what type of tricks this man has up his sleeves now. My best suggestion is that he quits while he thinks he's ahead.

X'd Out Again? My opinions on the recent Malcolm X controversies.

Peace all, Let's skip the chit chat and let's get down to business, OK? First my apologies for what may seem to many to be a late blog, seeing that we are now living in the age where "news" is trendy, and people are now given the impression that things work in a vacuum, or at least are considered "isolated". I assure you although this bit of "news" is about a few weeks old, it all ties into a much bigger picture. And allthough I thought of speaking frankly about Nicki Minaj's song Lookin' Ass Nigga, I hesitated much, one because of my procrastination, but also because I witness more "knee jerk" reactions when news hits the air nowadays. We tend to take the little information we feel we know, and then comment right away based on what we have at that moment. I for one think this is planned by the main press. However, if there is anything that 9/11 has taught us, especially for those who do not believe the official story, is to research, research, research before coming to conclusions that affect the masses of people.

The controversy surrounding Nicki Minaj's song with the Malcolm X picture is one of many attempts to distort the name and the legacy of the late Al-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz, better know as Malcolm X. Although she supposedly apologized and removed the image, stating that this was a conversation piece and was not the official first song off the album, it still poses as a marketing tactic that Michael Lindstrom, author of Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use To Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us To Buy, says that Calvin Klein used in 1995 when it pulled its controversial ad after an uproar from the public, and even the federal government.  In his opinion it really didn't matter that CK apologized and pulled the ad , because the controversy surrounding it and the attention it garnered was the main focus. It didn't adversely affect CK's bottom line in the end, and I don't think this incident will affect Nicki's bottom line either, seeing that many who were disgusted with the song and image most likely don't buy her work to begin with, and not to mention it won't affect the sponsorship she gets from "old money." Her target audience probably doesn't know a thing about Malcolm and what he stood for, nor the background behind the image. But I'll discuss that issue later.

 How many of us remember what happened around the same time of this controversy? You know In Queens, NY? The issue involving the teacher who barred her students from writing any reports about Malcolm because she thought that he was a bad man? How many of us who may have heard or read the article noticed that the elementary teacher who made the remarks was nowhere to be mentioned by name in ANY ARTICLE? Nor was the teacher even interviewed by any media who covered the story? Doesn't that sound strange to you, that the accused is not mentioned nor interviewed as to why they would make such remarks?

Many people have forgotten so quickly about the book Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, a book written by Manning Marable, a book that caused so much controversy because of its claims that Malcolm had a homosexual encounter in his hustler day, as well as allegations of having a tumultous marriage life with Betty Shabazz, especially with his busy schedule, among other claims. I didn't read the book at all after hearing what some of the book entails, simply because I didn't believe that I wanted to read a so called definitive book entitled A Life of Reinvention about a man who died in 1965, only to have supposed stark revelations 45-46 years AFTER his death? I don't think it would've taken the American press THAT LONG to dig up dirt on such an important figure.

And to think this book won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012, despite the criticism received from his children and close associates? So who's really behind this?

Well deeper research brings up a figure by the name of Wendy Wolf, a self proclaimed progressive who is the editor and publisher of Viking Books, who went on a tour touting this book and the supposed craftsmanship of a writer such as Manning Marable. However after listening to her make statements about Malcolm's "native" intelligence, and her own admission that she did not read the book in its' entirety due to the fact that it "scared" her, one must ask oneself would a person publish a book which castes a good light on a man that they practically can't stand?

 By now if you're still reading this, you're probably thinking "ok, another person claiming conspiracy" and to each it's own. I just think something smells fishy when one recollects the recent events and put them together. Why is this man hated so? Why is there an attempt to either distort the name and what he stood for, or at least neutralize his influence, which one can bear witness when one looks at the number people he influenced from the former members of the Nation of Islam to the international love he gets from within and outside the Muslim World, the white Muslims who point to his autobiography as a major influence in their becoming Muslim, to the ever growing love and support from the Hip Hop Community?

But I have an even more pressing question. In light of the events that's going on in America, with gentrification all over the place, the growing discontent for America's first Black President, the killing, miseducation, disenfranchisement and incarceration of Black people, especially Black Men beyond the likes of Trayvon, Oscar and Jordan, with the drone strikes and security breaches and invasion of privacy going on in a global fashion, why do we see these sporadic attacks on a man who's been dead for 49 years? Why would an unnamed teacher seek to dissaude their students from writing about such a figure if old people are supposed to be "irrelevant"? Or are they really sporadic? Are they controlled in the press as to what, when and how we receive such information?

 Is it because he represents a  dramatic transformation from hustler to a well respected world figure for human rights and self sufficiency, instead of a figurehead that's controlled by old money and corporations, who seeks to intergrate with a society who feels and teaches the inherent inferiority of Blacks? Is it because he saw the false empathy from White Liberals, and made many statements against the likes of them, for example in an open roundtable he made this statement in 1961:

  Most of your white liberals who profess to love Negroes and who profess to be pushing for this integration thing, they themselves live as a rule in lily-white neighborhoods and sometimes they’re the first ones to put the FOR SALE sign on their door when a Negro who has fallen for this integration thing moves into their neighborhood. I think that it’s very hypocritical today for me as a black man and the white man to sit down with each other and pro fess that there is a great deal of love between us. 

  Or another statement: ...no the Jews are the ones who usually represent themselves as white liberals. More so probably than any other segment of this society. Now if the Jews are genuinely liberal and they want to help the Negro, then they should show the Negro how to use the same kind of strategy and tactics to solve his problem that they used to solve their problems. And you’ll find that all over this country, wherever the Jews have been segregated and Jim Crowed, they haven’t sat in, they haven’t been sittin’ or Freedom Riders, they usually go and use the economic weapon. They bought Atlantic City, and now they can go there. They bought Miami Beach and now they can go there.

  Or another statement: We see masses of Black people who are thoroughly fed up with the deceit of the so-called white liberals, or the white so-called liberals. White liberals who have posed as our friends, white liberals who have been eager to point out what the white man in the South is doing to our people there, while they themselves are doing the same thing to us here in the North.

Why isn't he projected as an example for all of the young Black hustlers as a vehicle for transformation and reformation? Why do we have to keep hearing Dr. King's speeches about I have a dream, which was about intergration, and not about Black people's quest for justice, human rights and independence? Is intergration going to make these young men pull up their pants, start respecting their elders and become more responsible, and not lead lives that will either have them in prison or dead? I think not.

Or, do we really want to see transformation or reformation among young Black men or in the Black community? That's my real question.... www.qartworks.com

Fish and Chips Pt. 1

peace all, been a long time since blogging about things going on, but felt this one had to land on my blog. This year's been very interesting for me and my art. What looked like a great first half of the year came to a halt, beginning with being laid off from a contract because of complaints. What were the complaints? Wasn't told to me nor the agency, but one look at me and my beard and what I represent, and there is no need for more questions. Discrimination is rearing it's ugly head, or should I say becoming more obvious is this colorblind, multicultural society of different beliefs, ethnicities, and other walks of life...I can't believe I actually said such a thing without getting sick.

 I took a long hiatus from a lot of things, especially art, until I decided to come back stronger than before, I created a couple of pieces and submitted them to a juried art exhibit that I felt was liberal and open to ideas and subjects, especially since they feigned interest in showing my last work, Portrait of My Hood, which depicted the marginalization of inner city residents, neglecting their needs for a decent quaility of life, and setting them up for gentrification, among other heinous crimes of humanity, but I guess being Black or people of color in general is still not a real concern for America, huh? This gallery, which moved to another location in North Dallas, held another exhibit in which they entitled CONTAINED, and claimed that they didn't mind loose interpretations of containment. Well, seeing that they seemed to love my work, I hit 'em with two blows to the head, entitled Complex I and Ghetto Ingredients, the latter can be seen on my website as a featured piece by clicking HERE.

Complex I deals with inferiority complexes among African Americans, and it's manifestations of self-hatred , which is a by product of institutionalized racism from all aspects of American society, and to cap it off, in the background is the symbol from the controversial bestseller The Bell Curve, which I won't go into it's own critique at this momemt. Recently I have discovered that some people have attempted to give it the name Colorism, because it deals within the African American race. However when one fully researches the issue, it appears to be a misnomer, placing the blame solely on African Americans, omitting the root cause of the problem, which is racism, supplying misleading information by mentioning slavery as the root cause, and giving a false impression that slavery is over, and therefore the lingering "colorism" that is displayed in African Americans is another form of proof of Blacks' supposed "intellectual inferiority" and lack of reasoning. I wanna take this time out to thank Oprah Winfrey and others who propogate this nonsense in an effort to stay away from truly holding those person/s/entities responsible for the pathological brainwashing of people of color.

Well any, back to the subject at hand...I received a letter of rejection from the gallery, which put it so lovely that while they enjoyed my work, it just didn't make the cut...oh ducky... I kinda figured that since this gallery was moving to another area inside of a mall which renovated it's second floor and rented many floors to artists as "studios" the subject matter would be mainly escapism, which is the word of the day in the art world. Unfortunately this would be the same word for African American artists too, as I have also discovered in my travails this year into the art world. But I take it all in stride...God(Allah) is still in control....Part 2 later...

...seasons change

Peace all,

Summer's kicked off, and where am I you may ask? Well I'm up north, but only for a couple of days though. But it is a different atmosphere than in Dallas, especially with it being the month of Ramadhan, the holy month of fasting for the Muslims. When I got here I figured that I would not fast during my brief stay due to the travelling, but felt that well, maybe I would try Saturday, since it would be a full day. The biggest difference is that here sunrise begins around 3:30 AM!!!! So that's like an hour and a half difference as opposed to Dallas were it begins after 5AM. With that said, I missed my pre-fasting meal, and with the lack of sleep preparing for this trip, I decided that I will resume after I get back. I wish I could stay much longer,  I saw some excellent shots that I could've used, but my batteries needed recharging. waaah waah waaaaaaah.... Hopefully I'll be able to take some shots before I leave, but I have priorities back home...Maybe sometimes soon.

But before I left, I completed a display at my local library containing a few piece I'd finished, plus an additional piece I finished a day before leaving. The entire display is entitled Portraits of My Neighborhood, depicting the scenes that I see and wish to talk about in my area in Southeastern Dallas.

 The piece on the upper left hand is part of my Complex series, dealing with inferiority complexes in the African American communities, especially among color and class. Usually these talks are taboo in our neck of the woods, but somebody's gotta open up the discussions. It's touchy, but very needed that we get an honest discussion about internal issues as well, that is IF we want to grow and progress. Too many times people fall into the old mode of blaming those who did not follow the footsteps of the civil rights movement as the reason why Blacks are still behind in the social structures of America, but fail to look at the WHOLE picture.

 This was the first piece I did, I entitled it specifically Portrait of My Hood, which I exhibited in June's Uncensored exhibit at the Art Hotel, which resided in Downtown Dallas before their recent move to the Gallery at Midtown, in Valley View Mall. This piece has a collage on the sides, which depicted the many aspects in my area, from the lottery tickets, to condom boxes, cigar wrappers, and what have you. The collage on the bottom was my thinking, to give display a little ambience. I was a little hesitant you know, seeing that I was exhibiting things of a more mature theme, but after you see how the youth are behaving, I thought of it as a necessity to point out a few things. The other picture on the right was done in late 2012, where I used sgraffito with oil pastels. Came out nice, I think.

This piece on the right I finished it shortly before Thursday, as a complement to the other portrait, however I was unable to add any collage to it, due to the texture that I constructed on the piece, which didn't allow the pieces to stick consistently, so I just left it as it was.

So overall it's been a very interesting weekend, and it's looking up. On the downside one of my biggest and best supporters from the Highland Hills Library branch will be leaving, she'll be reassigned to another library, where she's making connections to have my work exhibited there as well. At least she'll be present for my project with the youth on July 27th. Ms. Almetta Russell has been very instrumental with my progression as a community artist, along with Ms. Letissa Milburn. They have both been in the trenches as far as the Dallas library branch is concerned, trying to get my work exposed through those channels. It's not easy being from my area, trying to break into certain arenas and bring a voice from the other side. But they've supported me, and I support my area to the fullest....This is just the beginning....

Reporting Live From Edgeville......PEACE OUT!!!

Good Night all.... www.qartworks.com

UPDATE: This blog was finished a few hours before the unsurprising verdict of George Zimmerman was handed down. My heart goes out to the Martin family or any family for that matter, but this was not a surprise in the least. At least for me it wasn't. I won't go into a long drawn out tangible over something that didn't surprise me in the least. If you've followed my blog you will know that I have put out articles from Democracy Now about the murders of the Sikhs in their temple, along with Kenneth Chamberlain, and the injustice he received, so it's no surprise that racism rears its' ugly head again, and reason goes out the window. I'm just surprised that a nation who continues to brag and boast about its intellectual prowess can't seem to figure out what type of crash course it's headed towards....oh well...some people gotta learn the hard way....peace out and THINK! 

Stand Your Ground Marissa Alexander: Congressman Corrine Brown on Marissa Alexander (Ja...

Peace all, have other blogs in mind, but there are times when art really doesn't matter. This incident, along with Kenneth Chamberlain, has not received near the same attention as Trayvon Martin, but has as much importance, due to the cruelty of this justice system, which will refuse to allow a pregnant woman to defend herself from abuse, or possibly worse scenarios. Such are the Lifestyles of the Ignored. Hope to be back soon...Please read.

Stand Your Ground Marissa Alexander: Congressman Corrine Brown on Marissa Alexander (Ja...: Congresswoman Corrine Brown Deplores Marissa Alexander Ruling (Washington, DC) Congresswoman Brown made the following statement: Earlier...

Hit the Ground Running!

PEEEACE!


It's 8:36pm, and I am tired as can be, but in a happy sense. Things have been looking much better for me, and I personally want to thank all of the well wishers who looked out for me and gave me greetings of peace and blessings. Although the month of Ramadan left and I always begin to conjure up feelings of anxiety about the upcoming months after Ramadan, there are four major events I would like to share with you that occurred. I will list the least major event first.

4)LEAVING HOME...
I said goodbye to the site that pretty much gave me foundation in regards to exposing my art and my writings to the public. You say "it's just a Ning site" but it was the first chance the public had to envision Quwwa Art and the Project as a whole. It grew in size and members, and I was very active in the site, commenting on forums, exposing my work and making contacts. It is the site where I met my sister in the Arts Shannon Grissom of Give Your Wall Some Soul, my friend La Faith LLC, and a couple of great contacts, and my great friend Tania-Maria Xavier of ColoredPeople.Net. But as the size of the site continued to grow and emphasis on sex and frivolity became a premium, it seemed as people of conscience were looked upon as oddities. I also believe the electing of an African-American as president of the United States took the sting out of the consciousness factor. People began to dream the American dream all over again, and corruption and injustice all of a sudden took a back seat, as if to say "The corruption ended when Bush was removed from office." This plight is more scarier than the corruption of the previous era due to the fact that people are being manipulated more than ever before as our President and First Lady enjoy rock-star status and to some extent idol worship. Never mind that people are still losing jobs, people are being kicked out of their homes more than ever before...Hey, no more conservatives! How foolish... A Politician is a Politician, forget the names.




3) GET YO SHINE ON!





After a long hiatus on Etsy, and at the prompting of a few friends(more like arm twisting...lol) I've added a few more items to my site, which also increased my repetoire, and I must say IT FEELS GOOD! My attempt at ACEO cards has attracted the attention of several people and it has also inspired me to delve more into the collage/mixed media aspect of things, which I believe can do nothing but strengthen and expand my knowledge and open the door to understanding and contributing to the growth of visual art, and personal growth as well.


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This also adds diversity to my portfolio, for no longer can I be looked at as a one trick pastelist pony....I will go back to painting soon...LOL

I've also added a contribution to support breast cancer research and so far the response has been overwhelming. I've already been asked to make some more as people believe this item won't stay in the store too long. It could not have come at a better time.





Since then I have been featured on a treasury and I am receiving great support from my fellow Etsymates....Thank You.

I feel I have hit another stride and my confidence has shot up another level. Be on the lookout for more wearable art, I've just begun!



2)MY FIRST SALE!!!!

Yes, a couple of my prints were sold to a long time blog follower and admirer of my art. To show you where my mindstate was, I did not know a couple of pieces sold until I looked on my blog and saw a couple of items were missing from my ETSY mini. I thought to myself, I'm gonna have to renew these items when lo and behold, I posted 2 sales on my Etsy! Talk about a boost!

1) SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED!




I've just signed my first contract to have some of my work posted in an online gallery for a beautiful store called DaughterNature.Com, which is run by Tania-Maria Xavier. I take this as a blessing from the Best of All Planners, God Almighty, Who is always on the case, never gets weary nor slumbers nor sleeps, and all depend on Him, while He depends on no one. This is a very beautiful store and I encourage you to check it out. Tania-Maria has put together a very powerful package in using her talents to expose artists and their works. I pray that I am a contributer to her success, as I have seen her work tirelessly to get the word out. She is a very God fearing person and always has a positive word for people at the right moment.

I'm sorry for the long post, but I felt I had to share this with my family, especially since two weeks away from blogging is a long time for ME!....LOL

Thank you all...You mean so much to me...We've only just begun......



Peace....Your Brother Quwwa!

Yet So Little.....

Peace All,

It's 5:12pm Tuesday evening, two days since the end of Ramadhan. The end of Ramadhan gives me mixed emotions every year. Sadness because it is the end of a time of deep reflection and contemplation and doing charitable deeds like no other time of the year. Not to say these things are not done throughout the year, but during this time of the year one can say that they are able to raise their level of awareness and consciousness to another level, giving them the ability to do more deeds and stay more focused on the task at hand. I always cry at the missed opportunities at the end of the month.




On the other hand there is a sense of joy and hope because one comes from the month revived and refreshed, ready to take on the world. Lessons are learned, reminders are given about the brevity of life on this earth, giving one the sense of urgency to do whatever is in their power to bring about peace, justice and most of all a society in which God is the Sovereign Ruler, and not man's tawdry desires, which is driving humans to the pit of disarray and utter confusion.

This past Ramadhan was spent reading the Quran and listening to an audiobook entitled The Race Beat, which discussed the role of the media during The Civil Rights Struggle. The book was entertaining to say the least, although the book had gross flaws at the end,especially when discussing the uprising of the Black Power movements. The book failed to go into more detail about the reasons that prompted certain Blacks to opt out of the Civil Rights Movement and take a more militant stance toward racism and segregation in America. The book was brief on the subject, but like other books and reports seem to give the indication that everything was quiet on the homefront and all of a sudden these unsatisfied Blacks took matters into their own hands and started rioting, looting and destroying their own neighborhoods, which sounds strange to begin with. They also scantily mention Malcolm X's name except for the fact that they referred to him as "angry and militant".

It also failed miserably to convince me that desegregation was effective in combating racism, for while those reporters who were railing against the South and their racism, the television ,which by this time had taken over print as the main source of information(and Americans have been paying for it ever since) had cartoons like the one below in full circulation, nationwide, proving that forcing people to live with one another while sharing disrespect for one another is never a solution for something that was institutionalized whether in the workplace, halls of education, and even the houses of worship.



These cartoons are still published and sold to the masses, although some have disclaimers against the racism shown, such as the Oscar Award Winner series, which is as oxymoronic as cigarettes with the Surgeon General's warning on them. I purchased a DVD box set of cartoons last year from Wal-Mart, only to find a large number of the cartoons were similar to the one above.

In short, we have a long way to go and yet so little time to straighten this human thing out, and we keep taking the wrong avenues, hoping to strike a blow at something that is more of a belief or way of life rather than an attitude. Today people are still asking why Blacks allow calling themselves the N word, but others cannot say it?

My people (referencing African Americans) are doing a terrible job at tackling the issues head on, and keep looking for trinkets to justify the Civil Rights Struggle, and the issue with the current Presidency is no exception. There is a war going on in the Black community, and no one is really looking for the solution, but keep harping on the problems.

What does this have to do with Ramadhan you ask? LOL. I guess I just started venting due to a situation over the past weekend in which I spoke with a bus driver who was discussing the problems he encountered in which he asked the question when it came to "US" He asked, is it genetics? This incident also made me think of the young African American woman who posted a video on her Myspace page of a young Black woman with bad manners and she entitled it, this makes me ashamed to be black....

Believe or not, this is prevelant in my community. So far to go, yet so little time.

Take care everybody.