"Sins of the father, like recessive genes, revisit their pain upon subsequent generations without warning." Recapitulating Jeremiah 34 from a hip hop frame of reference, Yohannes Sharriff Smith, in his book, T.H.I.N.C.(Teaching Humanity In New Consciousness): The Chrysalis of Evolution, speaks as an outsider relegated to the fringe of society.
Experientially, Yohannes is connected to young people struggling to resolve psychological, emotional and social dilemmas society denies. Cast against today's backdrop, T.H.I.N.C. is a beacon, a lifeline capable of reducing the space between people. A student author, Yohannes explores social contradictions and their impact on life at the edge of American society. T.H.I.N.C. offers usable information to those who feel abandoned in a world that disregards their independence and demands conformity.
Jeremiah 34 is an admonition to parents from the 1960s. Free loving, drug taking and letting it all hangout flower children, they rebelled against their parents' plastic lives. However, greed co-oped their values, and during the 1980s, they became "born again Christians." As parents, baby boomers are far more self- righteous, tyrannical and unfeeling than their parents ever were. For today's movers and shakers, children are a necessary part of successful image building; it is family values without valuing children.
T.H.I.N.C
. empathically views children as acting out roles society projects. They are not behaving out of character. Social rewards motivate behavior. Unlike grownups, children must learn deceit, hatred, racism and other attitudes that build self-esteem by belittling others. Parents relive their dreams through their children. Too often, when the image reflected does not match the one desired, parents give up on them.America's message - "Children only deserve attention when they cause trouble"- is countered by T.H.I.N.C.'s compassion. "Life may seem a desperate struggle now; you can survive, if you trust your intellect." This society has squandered many opportunities to reach out and embrace young people with love and understanding. Instead, it has become more repressive, intolerant and punitive.
Special groups and social cliques in high school and college create separation between children, while increasing tension and feelings of isolation. America's socialization model aims to produce children, who are carbon copies of their parents. It rejects children who do not think and behave as their parents. Jeremiah 34 was a warning. T.H.I.N.C. Other Essays by John Burl Smith
Disgruntled says:
If people practiced what they preached, the world would have fewer pious hypocrites!!
Disgruntled wants to know
: Why did the racist cop, Officer Voyles, who admitted he sodomized Abner Louima with a stick, weep like an old sissy begging sympathy without apologizing to his unfortunate victim?Disgruntled feels
: Like the Lone Ranger! Disgruntled
Hunger's Cry
by Yohannes Sharriff Smith
Breathlessly speak those sweet words
Carelessly feed my anxious ears
Recklessly magical phrases without substance,
Pour waxing silk, capturing inebriated fancy.
Total abandonment for my sensitive nature
Masculine attention is the only objective
But, is your need monogamous or anonymous?
Milky illusions filled with such potential
Turn kinetic by mist and spirits.
This momentary glimpse of possibility
Leaves the body drowning in an unattended fire.
Clouded eyes watch caramel sweets
Melt and move without form:
A hypnotic hallucination.
Lie with me please, sate my need
Sultry siren tell of your love's promise.
And, for tonight, I will believe, just don't leave. Intuit
Infinite Currents is launching "a new venture in downtown Birmingham," in conjunction with Hollis Wormsby & Harambee, Inc. Verbal Vybz merges live Jazz and Spoken Word. The monthly affair kicks off Thursday, June 17, 1999. Both the legendary and the up-and-coming will be featured. To make this event a success, Infinite Currents needs our support via Internet distribution, word of mouth and most importantly, our attendance. Location: The Harambee Room, 1815 Fourth Avenue North, Birmingham, AL. According to The Seventh Sun, "We are trying to raise the bar in Central Alabama - artistically, intellectually, culturally, as we connect with and advance the NEW BLACK RENAISSANCE that has already affected many other major cities across the nation." For more info, contact The Seventh Sun at griot_7@hotmail.com. Atlanta Vibe
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is a work in progress. For months, he has dazzled us with his bravery. Now, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro is afraid of the dark, things that go bump in the night frightens him. Bat Cave
The Slave Children of Thomas Jefferson
Plugging The Slave Children of Thomas Jefferson, a book by Samuel H. Sloan, SaundraB@aol.com wrote: "On April 17, 1804, Maria Jefferson, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson by his deceased wife, Martha Wayles, died. Thomas Jefferson went to Monticello to attend the funeral, which was held two days later. Sally was waiting for him there.
On January 19, 1805, exactly nine months later to the day of the funeral, Sally Hemings gave birth to the fourth of her five children by Thomas Jefferson.....Thomas Jefferson named his newborn son Madison, after his vice-president. Another child, Eston, was born on May 21, 1808, while Jefferson was still president. Jefferson named his son Eston after the name of his traditional family home in England. In spite of denials of this fact by a number of famous historians, DNA testing has confirmed that Eston was actually a child of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.
Jefferson never denied his relationship with Sally Hemming. After he died, the Virginia Legislature voted a special dispensation for her in recognition of the well-known fact that she had been the President's mistress. Only Sally and her sons, Madison and Eston, were allowed to stay behind at Monticello. All of the other 187 slaves were disbursed. Jefferson's three older children had previously been freed..." For more about this book, contact Kiseido Publications via e-mail at kiseido@aol.com.
"Beginning in 1444 and lasting for well over 405 years, it stands today as clearly the most sorrowful, the cruelest and most inhumane chapter in the history of mankind. The most learned African-American scholars today estimate that as many as 125 million of our ancestors lost their lives during the dreaded six-to-ten-week Middle Passage, as well as on the other slave trading routes. Worse, it is also generally acknowledged that at least three Africans died for every one that actually made it to the New World healthy and fit for the slave market. Now, this was a holocaust, if ever there were one. By sheer numbers alone, it overwhelmingly dwarfs the similarly abhorrent massacre of six million European Jews carried out by Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler during World War II." HCHAPS2@aol.com.
"Born April 19, 1925 in Omaha, NE, Malcolm LITTLE was nicknamed Red as a young street hustler; he later called himself ElHajj Malik EL-SHABAZZ after making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Best known as Malcolm X, this captivating speaker became a leader of great stature who preached Black Nationalism, self-sufficiency, self-discipline; he was a Muslim Minister and a strong advocate for an alliance between Africans and African-Americans.
Malcolm X rose to prominence through his association with the Nation of Islam. In 1964 he broke with the Nation after conflicting with spiritual leader Elijah MUHAMMAD. Malcolm X formed his own nonreligious political organization, the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), in June 1964. Shortly thereafter, he was assassinated while speaking at an OAAU really at the Audubon in Harlem, New York in 1965. Peace Be Unto You." HCHAPS2@aol.com Bits of Black History
On Slave Mortality
by Monica Davis
"It was horrendous; but, if you add the 98% mortality figures for Native Americans, then you have nearly a quarter of a billion people that were exterminated in the "discovery" and "civilizing" of the Americas. Blood runs thick and deep in this land. Is it any wonder there is so much violence and death in our nation? The spirits of the dead cry out for vengeance and recognition, and they are getting it in spades. However, America is too blind to see it. Basically, what goes around comes around. Energy is neither created nor destroyed: it merely changes form. Evil transmutes itself into violence and passes through the ages like a nuclear blade through a stone. No problem is insurmountable, for even the mountains turn to dust." E-mail Monica at m.l.davis@usa.net.
About Me:
"I run a marketing and promotions company in Indiana. My focus right now is trying to keep all of my projects together without overloading my reluctant brain cells. I have completed one book, and am actively searching for agent/publisher. I have two others in the works. My passion is rabble rousing, getting city government off its collective behind, and keeping the Huns from my neighborhood. I love to singe cyberspace with my "brain droppings" and any forum I can get is greatly appreciated. I run an Internet discussion group and am actively seeking bright, inquisitive folks to join. I hale from Indiana University, many lifetimes ago, and got no patience for sheepskin totin' dimwits." Venue
by Latonya McNeail
OK! You DISH readers, I know everyone is fed up with "Jerry Springer." Were it not for us watching and the strippers, lesbians and others with no self-esteem who appear on the show, there would be no Jerry, Jerry, Jerry! I watch the show; it's the hottest thing in the metro. I must admit though, it is pure unadulterated trash. Jerry's guests have no shame in telling the whole world their business in crass and crude terms. Jerry's women remove their clothes at the drop of a hat, without a blush.
Jerry depends on "hood-rats," i.e., black, white and Hispanic trailer trash who will let it all hang out. A lot of the show's language is bleeped, and nude body parts are hidden. So, why allow the "N" WORD to be aired? This word is disrespectful; its constant use is a turn-off. Being Jewish, I am certain Jerry would not allow the "K" WORD to be used and not get bleeped. This difference in sensitivity should be the next topic entertained by Jerry. Hood Notes
DISHing It Up Hot!
On Urban Cleansing
by Dot Smith
The DISH
receives numerous e-mails from readers around the world. Often, they contain useful information on issues that we cover. Our electronic messages deal with various subjects from the arts and entertainment to politics and urban cleansing, the new buzzword for human displacement or manifest destiny; its term of course depends on one's perspective.From its mailbox, below are three e-mails dealing with urban cleansing, as opposed to the ethnic kind going on in Kosovo. These e-mails concern what is happening in Tibet, Cabrini Green and Harlem. Rather than trouble in the Balkans, these e-mails identify potential problems for Washington and Beijing.
Cabrini Green is a public housing project in Chicago, IL; its residents and their supporters are claiming the proposed forced evacuation and demotion of the housing project "is part of a systematic, multi-faceted plan to destroy a poor black housing community, " a process that makes more poor people homeless. According to Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) estimates, 62% of the project's 6,335 residents are under age 21. The unemployment rate is 93% (CHA reported a tenant employment rate of 7%). For more information, e-mail stopurbancleansing@yahoo.com.
Commemorating the 74th anniversary of the birth of Malcolm X, Harlem business and community leaders participated in a rally aimed at defending the community against urban cleansing and building a people's militia to halt the insidious process. According to D12M@aol.com, "Harlem is under attack. Day by day, we witness the deterioration of the black community throughout N.Y. We must build a people's militia focused on the human right to self-determination and self-defense according to international law, the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence."
According to Students for a Free Tibet, "urgent action is needed to halt the World Bank's plan to assist China in its population transfer into Tibet. On June 8th, the World Bank will vote on whether to fund a project that will move tens of thousands of non-Tibetans into Tulan Dzong, which is in the Amdo Province of Tibet. This project will assist China in its population transfer policies. It is harmful to Tibetans and unacceptable. It is essential that people from every country take action to stop the World Bank from funding this project."
What can you do? Call James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank at 202-458-2907; fax or mail a letter, contact your country's World Bank executive director or the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Larry Summers, and voice your displeasure at tax dollars being spent to fund this Chinese population transfer into Tibet. For more info, contact Students for a Free Tibet at ustcsft@igc.org. DISHing It Up Hot!
Learn how you can stop paying rent and become a homeowner! Second Chance Community Services, Inc., a non-profit faith-based organization is sponsoring a series of seminars on the home buying process in conjunction with H.U.D. The next seminar on the home buying process will be held July 10, 1999 at Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church at 1202 W. Marietta St, NW. Rev. R.L. White, Jr. is host pastor. On September 18, 1999, a similar seminar will be hosted by Rev. C. Freedman of Holy Family Baptist Church at 3220 Glenwood Road in Decatur. For more information about these seminars and other events sponsored by Second Chance Community Services, Inc., contact Rev. O.C. White at 404-289-8774. New You Use
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