"As long as ignorance prevails, blacks will be the tools of the exploiting class." -- Charles Hamilton Houston

What’s up my people. To those of you who are new to the site welcome and to my regular viewers, welcome back.

My mission with this site is to usher in a new era of self-examination. And because I am proud member of the black community, they are my priority. However, those of other races take note and if the shoe fits wear it. I think it is time that the black community or (insert your race here) needs to take a good look at itself in the mirror and each of us ask ourselves why are our communities are going to hell.

This site does not proclaim to know the answer to that question, for the answer is different for each of us. I want each and every person that reads these words to look at your life and ask how you can make yourself better, your community better or your kids better.

I am just holding up a mirror to my community so don’t blame me if you don’t like your reflection.

Frankly, the blame game is getting real tired. There is simply no excuse for not maintaining a high standard for yourself and your children. And by high standards I don’t mean expensive stuff, I means high standards of character. We already squander our considerable spending power on stuff and look where’s its gotten us. Yes, yes I know there is racism, there is inequality of opportunity, gross disparities in education and health care. But my reasoning is, BECAUSE there are all these things, it is even more imperative that we look inward and strengthen our communities ourselves. When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me that I had to be twice as good as my white counterparts to be considered equal. And of course we still have to fight the big fights for civil rights, health care reform, equality in education, economic opportunity but I just don’t see how we can do that when our own communities are in shambles. Those fights require cohesion and strength. Two things we are struggling with in the black community right now.

Back in the day, everyone lived together, the doctors and teachers and plumbers and lawyers and housewives and whinos all lived in the same community—so you had standard bearers-- role models, people for the kids to look up to. But now, with our cities economically segregated, there are areas of concentrated poverty where kids have no idea what opportunity is—not because there are none, because there is no one to show them what it is. The black middle class has moved to the suburbs and too often don’t have time to tutor or mentor an underprivileged child because by the time they get off work and brave traffic back to their McMansion, where has the day gone. Now we all bear part of the blame, the middle class has moved up and out never looking back to help our less fortunate brothers and sisters, and some of our less fortunate brothers and sisters conduct their lives like idiots.

And money isn’t always the answer, just because you are poor that doesn’t give you license to live any kind of way. You can pick up the trash in front of your damn door.

Just because you are poor doesn’t mean you don’t have to support your children, respect women, live in a pig sty or you can have 5 kids by different fathers. To say that we shouldn’t expect strength of character from a person because they are poor is insulting to all the hard working folks scratching and scraping to get by but know they must set a high standard for themselves and their children if they ever want to change their condition. Look at black folks in the 20’s and 30’s when we didn’t have two nickels to rub together but we had pride in ourselves and our image. And you’re just as bad if you ARE making money and not helping somebody else along the way.

So again, I ask what are we doing to help each other because as Farrakhan said recently, “the days of the benevolent white man are over.” Power concedes nothing. All we got is us people. We can’t afford to live like we’re living. From school, to clothing to music, to our children—where have our standards gone? And if our own can’t come out and rally for change, who can? Why do we so often condemn the people who point out what’s wrong instead of condemning the behavior?

And I will say again, to all of you who are angry at me for airing our dirty laundry—good I’m glad you’re angry, now maybe collectively, including me, we’ll be forced to finally go wash it. This site is the beginning, the ending is up to us.

Peace.
Jam Donaldson
Creator

P.S. I love y’all because y’all are mine.