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Volume 2 Issue 51… Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race… December 31, 1999

by Yohannes Sharriff Smith

 In the fleeting hours of a fading eve,

I entered the familiar garden.

Sinking beneath the horizon,

Sun struggled to eye me as I grasped, "Utopia."

My senses, brought to life by a breath of air,

I found myself surrounded by intoxicating perfumes,

Wondrous hues and hypnotic sounds.

With my face painted innocent,

This ignorant thief longed to steal beauty's truth.

As my illicit passage across this virgin earth hissed, "Deception!"

Moving through the lush underbrush,

I was welcomed by thorns,

But the heat piercing that ache grew euphoric,

As my eyes beheld an ethereal sight.

The sun bled a crimson sky

To frame exquisitely my life's only mystery.

There...so ripe, so ready.

So shapely was this curvaceous form,

Expressing a rich captivating color

So powerful and intense,

Seducing all who dared to gaze upon it.

This celestial body,

Neglected for so long by these passing eyes,

Now baptizes the witness in the aura

Emanating from a supple siren of enticing flesh;

So perfectly flushed with a hidden wish

Anxiously waiting to be possessed.

A gentle voice whispered, "Take me."

And with frenzied hands,

I plucked that heavenly pome

From Mother Nature's bosom.

Carefully, I removed the outer layer to reveal

The core of the opulent fruit.

The exposed body lay there before me,

So mature, yet unmolested.

Amidst the forbidden excitement, I felt weak.

From my senses sprang,

This undeniable craving to simply taste.

How my guilty mouth

Wanted to partake of the flesh.

In a tortured hesitance, I spent an eternity

Praying silently for a savior.

Yet, I kneeled alone.

One with all that experienced breath.

My existence suddenly

Alive with a single question:

"Had fate brought me here to feel this rub,

To live the passionate fear of choice?"

Wrapped in the flood

Of this emerging nubile awareness,

Reason betrayed my heart.

With poisoned intentions, as this naked freedom

Crossed the threshold of night.

To know the verity of my own desire,

I penetrated temptation,

Creating a wound so deep.

As our shaded world sang of sin,

Sensation's sweet nectar

Flowed freely...and...she was consumed.

More Weekly Intuit's Weekly Vibe

  Eating Fruit

Evoking negative emotions for most slave descendants, school is a highly inconsistent and threatening environment. Slaves masters used religion to teach slaves and their descendants, "You may eat any fruit in the garden except fruit from the tree of knowledge - this fruit will open your eyes and make you aware of right and wrong, good and evil. If you eat this fruit, you will surely die! (Genesis 2:16-17)." Imagine listening to a white man preach such a sermon, knowing a slave had recently been lynched for learning to read. Training regimes developed during slavery are deeply rooted in educational psychology. Perceptions of blacks as having fewer intellectual abilities than whites are unchanged. Desires to keep slaves' descendants ignorant and locked out of society are as strong as ever. Laws and customs, which block African and Native American equal access to education, are openly supported.

Lack of access is more than whites hating blacks; it is taxation without representation. Slaves' descendants paid for education through property, sales, local, state and federal income tax. African Americans got mis-educated in tax-funded segregated schools. Even today, white children get the best tax money can buy, while black children get empty promises, over crowding, trailers, unqualified white teachers and administrators, no science or computer labs and zero tolerance. Schools for black children are holding pens for the criminal justice system. Research has shown this type of environment impacts learning negatively. Consequently, quality of learning for black children reflects environmental factors, not learning ability.

As with slaves, whites see black students as the problem and believe the solution lies in changing black children. Retrospectively, slave masters believed punishment would make slaves conform. Conformity is how whites measure black intelligence. Whites feel, the harder blacks work to conform, the more intelligence is exhibited. Theoretically, African American education is behavior modification: a restraining bolt used to control how and what one thinks. Education today is designed to do for slave descendants, what training did for slaves - fear information. T.H.I.N.C. about it! Other Essays by Mr. Smith

by John Burl Smith

Point men on every number-ten reconnaissance mission from Udorn, Thailand to Saigon in 1965, soldiers faced mortality on countless occasions. Hanging onto bits of the past is all that kept them tied to a sense of self. Spaced out between duty and madness, house parties and sounds, like Grow Closer Together, Sad Sad Girl and Boy, It's Alright and I'm So Proud, were lifelines for black GI's dropped into that mind-grinding hell hole called Vietnam. Images of his big eyes peering through Coke bottle lenses set on a shinny black face capture the sage speaking to me. I've Been Trying and People Get Ready accented his clarion call, We're a Winner and Keep on Pushing.

Back on American terra firma, Curtis brought "Future Shock" four square with This Is My Country, Choice of Colors and Check Out Your Mind; civil rights exploded across America. Carrying the flag high, Curtis struck a prophetically soulful beat, as "black power" came to Beale Street. He inspired African Americans mired in America's chasm of inequality with Move on Up, If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go, and The Makings of You. A conceptual breakthrough, "Super Fly" confronted blacks cowing under segregation's boot by rejecting its restraining bolt. Like pinpricks of reality, five years in a Tennessee prison brought back his haunting refrain of "New World Order," re-igniting our consciousness. Curtis' musical genius personifies the true nature of black men. Curtis Mayfield was a "Nightjohn." Throughout his life, he faced his mortality gracefully. Proudly exemplifying dedication, diligence and dignity, he became the standard. His humanity inspired us to survive and appreciate life. He was a true brother!

About Me: Curtis Mayfield died Sunday, December 26, 1999. His music spoke about us; it captured the hearts and imaginations of a generation struggling to reconcile America's promise with our reality. Curtis will be missed by all that love his music and appreciated his special gift for delivering a powerful message. You will be missed. We salute you - Curtis Mayfield - a musical legend and a Nightjohn! Other Artists in the Venue

by John Burl Smith

Applied psychologists assess learning in actual situations. Demonstration reflects the true value of an education. Generalizing knowledge from specific instances indicates adaptability. Readily taking advantage of experience reflects responsiveness. Coping strategies determine probabilities of survival. Natural selection passes the best survival strategies to successive generations. These propositions are basically what are known about learning objectives.

Differences in acquisition and utilization of knowledge relate to physical health and environmental conditions. If individuals are physically intact, differences between them can be attributed to level and quality of their experiences. Hostile and inconsistent, slave masters used aversive techniques like punishment and deprivation as motivators. Research reveals excessive anxiety and stress negatively impact higher cordial functions. Everything Africans learned was designed to make them think, believe and behave as slaves.

Personality formation facilitates understanding the slave master mindset. A brutal and repressive system, slavery denied the basic humanity of Africans. Deemed less than human, blacks were on par with stock. Absolute power allowed slave masters to bend slaves to their will. Torture, rape, murder and so forth are activities abusive personalities crave.

Conversely, addictive personalities believe a greater power controls them. They feel powerless to change relationships. Dependent, they believe the master/slave relationship produces well being, and they cling to it regardless of its destructiveness. Addictive personalities experience mood swings ranging from separation anxiety to post depression due to lack of access or cravings. Slaves fit this profile.

Emancipation ended forced bondage. However, the slavery mindsets never ended. Attitudes and customs did not change. Institutions retained old practices. Laws reinforced practices when habits were not sufficient. Lynching was instituted when slave descendants defied customs and challenged laws. Neither Blacks nor whites have ever undergone any reprogramming to change the slave/master mindsets dominating America. Other Essays by Mr. Smith

In looking at the "grades gap" between Native, African, Asian and white Americans, the College Board, which administers standardized tests to high school and college students, found the gap exists across socioeconomic class. Basically, the numbers suggest that if you are African and Native American, you are less likely than your white and Asian counterparts to make the honor roll. Why? One not so mainstream reason is the restraining bolt. When psychologists start to study the African and Native American experiences, particularly slavery and manifest destiny, then these findings will make sense, given what we now know about learning.

Vanessa Siddle Walker's Their Highest Potential gives us a real life example of what black children achieve when the element that is missing in public education today is restored - caring. Walker is an Emory University associate professor, who happens to be African American. Her book tells the story of a successful black school during segregation; she worries it will be used to argue against integration, when in fact, she wishes only to point out what is possible when caring is part of the black child's educational experience. And, she wanted to dispel the notion that black segregated schools were unsuccessful in educating black children. More Phantom Scribblers

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro eagerly anticipated Christmas. When asked if he received what he wanted most, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro replied, "No. It was not white; I wanted snow!" Other Batcave Comments

Disgruntled says: Ted Turner should change the name of his baseball team from the Atlanta Braves to the Atlanta Rockers. It better fits his philosophy.

Disgruntled wants to know: Police know schemes to steal money. So, how did they hire a telemarketer that raised over $700,000 in charitable contributions and the police got roughly $40,000 or less than 10% of the take, and nobody is arrested or imprisoned for scamming?

Disgruntled feels: re-marginalized for 2000! More Disgruntled Moments

Charles Adams, an independent scholar affiliated with the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. has produced a couple of books that are recommended reading for those who want to know more about the history of taxation. Adams' work covers taxation over the course of civilization, including the tax revolts in American history. The Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization and Those Dirty Rotten Taxes: The Tax Revolts that Built America offer a credible explanation for the rise and fall of empires based on the kinds of taxes levied and the means employed to collect them. In Course of Civilization, Adams provides a number of examples of the destructive power of taxation. From ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire to modern day America, Adams shows how the power to tax is truly the power to destroy. He identifies strong parallels between the past and present, which should sound an alarm about American taxation. Other Bits of History

Americans are awash in overt and covert taxes. Overt taxes include federal income, property, death, gift, sales and Social Security taxes assessed against most Americans. Covert taxes are those levied by the criminal justice system; they are the fees, fines, probation and incarceration, which accompany racial profiling and other "black codes," like the "War on Drugs."

Everything we do and purchase is taxed, that means everything from fuel to foodstuffs in some states and municipalities. Even the working poor pay sales tax and Social Security (FICA), the employment tax, which pays retirement benefits. Like most taxes, blacks do not realize a return on FICA, since few live long enough to draw benefits. In general, taxes are diverted from the black community in downside up redistribution schemes: taxation without representation. Overt taxation is onerous for all Americans, but the covert taxes are more burdensome. Families that come into contact with the criminal justice system can attest to the financial devastation of court fines, fees, penalties and incarceration for everything from driving without automobile insurance to being poor and homeless. Other Hood Notes

by Dot Smith

The DISH supports John Rocker's right of free speech and applauds his courage in speaking honestly. With political correctness comes an age when the value of honesty is too often discounted. Asked to take a back seat to lies and half-truths, honesty is the tradeoff for political correctness - painted distortions. An excellent example is the publicist's statement issued to whitewash Rocker's honest comments, which appeared in a Jeff Pearlman interview in Sports Illustrated. Pearlman's interview, Full Blast, and the Columbine killers' videotapes gave voice to popularly held views. Listen to Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News or CNN. Rocker/Columbine killers' sentiments spew from the mouths of the news readers, talking heads and invited guests; it is the white American psyche - linear secularism.

A gentleman's agreement keeps most whites silent on "the race problem." Obviously neither Rocker, Pearlman or the Columbine killers was schooled in this tradition. However, Pearlman's breach of etiquette should open the door for meaningful dialogue. Instead, Rocker is skewered for being frank. Even with the skillfully worded clarification, Rocker is less of a hypocrite than his critics. Rocker comes from a long line of white men who believes as he does. He honed his human relation skills at white dinner tables, in locker rooms and intimate social gatherings. The men who nurtured Rocker's notions will become his critics or will be silent.

Ted Turner and Bobby Cox are the strong silent types; they share Rocker's philosophy. And, in private moments, they have made similar disparaging comments about immigrants, minorities and women. Publicly, Ted has shown a lack of respect for the fairer sex. He treated his wife like a second class citizen for citing Georgia child poverty statistics, which read like a third world country. Though Jane Fonda spoke the truth, Ted did not like it, so he CNN-ed her, making Jane appear the fool. Numerous reports issued since verify Jane's information, but she dare not speak. Only money talks and Ted is loaded! Hypocrites, Turner and Cox will knock Rocker a bit for telling it straight with no chaser! Rocker will learn that honesty only counts when it is convenient or part of a "colorized" script. The unvarnished black and white truth is not the American way. Hypocrisy rocks our world and wagging the dog rules the day! Other Hot DISHes

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