Breaking Niggaism At Its Roots - Ujima Kwanzaa 2007 and Beyond

Corporate executives hire Black people to create and cultivate Niggaism in media. This isn’t a theory or a speculation; it is in deed a fact. The Media not necessarily a Think Tank of individuals around a triangle type table with some King Arthur figure at its point, media in this case being; music, film, television, Internet and news. With many of these sources greatly consolidated into the hands of single individuals, the practice of “Niggaism” perpetuates and compromises the collectivity of quantity as oppose to the actual quality of Black culture. The practice of how many Black people will buy into to this is simple, sweet and a cheap commodity. Niggaism is a formula that people in America into the World has bought into, becoming the norm for which all others see Black people as being. We can see evidence of this in Music Video and Television Shows which centers on Black life, often in the form of comedies, local News reports where a daily dose of horrible crimes concentrate on Black Families and or Black on Black crimes, International News where the continent of Africa is a cesspool of death and disease and genocidal wars, or the traditional political and cultural debates between Black Leaders in America jocking for who shouts the loudest for the African-American cause.

You don't have committed Black adults who are in the position to dictate their images, their profits, or even their value to their communities or the world for that matter. So Blacks become subservient to the controls of an industry’s design without major influence to change or effectively challenge the status quo within the industry of Media. In essence, Blacks become bit players of a large chest board of media and capitalism. It isn't until Blacks have survived the pitfalls of the industry, if even, do they begin to understand the impact that they have globally. Lets refer to this as the Rapper Baby Daddy Effect. That is when a Rapper has children and discovers that he doesn’t want his child influenced by “HIS” art. Like all things generational, youth have no ears for elders and by the time they do, the damage is done. Chalk this up to good old fashion Marketing and Political manipulations.

That is why the old school of leaders, musicians, writers, speakers and politicians are still here and holding on to a psudo-sixties reality of People and community. Why that time period? This would be the official time when the Civil Rights movement slowed to a crawl and veered in a direction that seemed to chase the mythology of an American Dream and not the true reality that the Black presence in America is still in a state of economic slavery and there Masters are the benefactors of their ignorance and generational servitude. Too often you hear Black youth claim that the older generations don't teach and show or lead as examples but it is also equally said that the youth are selective learners and listeners. Especially if the words of what is right means to sacrifice money or fun, or being what is canonized as being the American Way of Life.

If “African-Americans” begin to think in terms of being Black as oppose to being African-American, we can begin to think globally and relate to other Black people around the world as oppose to just being American or just Niggas. That in turns would open up Black minds to see the connection between the individual to those of Africa, the Caribbean, South America and Asia. It will begin opening eyes to see that we have more in common with Latin peoples than Europeans. Latinos will then see that they are not a “race” but part of the evolution of Native Americans with cultural influences from their enslavement by Europe and forced to into servitude with their African Brothers and Sisters. That is where our commonality lies. It will also be the dismantling and break down of what is American and thus doing that, we re-write the very history that has been one-sided since the days of Columbus.

"Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together."