If you don’t already know my homey GrandMaster from his comments you should check out his mixtape.
GrandMaster tagged me in some of his Facebook comments and I appreciated that.
I send out a lot of shit via USPS snail mail and sometimes I forget who got what. I think about who I send my shit to, but like I said, I send out so much shit that I mentally can’t keep track of what went where. GrandMaster is a detail oriented person like myself and I knew he would dig the Star Wars stamps, plus the post office was about to raise their rates again so I decided to use up all the superheroes and Star Wars stamps that I had been collecting.
I mailed the GrandMaster a copy of the O.G. Incredible Hulk movies in a two DVD set. The BILL BIXBY Hulk series was so well written and so effing emotional that I might have got some dust in my eyes after watching one or two of those episodes. Bruce Banner used to have to keep it moving all the time because the Hulk waylaid some backwater ‘burg.
I was so busy this past weekend that I couldn’t take a minute to see the new Hulk movie in theaters. Thank goodness C.S. has the Optimum Rewards card which lets us see movies for free on Tuesday nights (and half price every other night). This is a great deal if you go to the movies on a weekly basis, which I do.
I hope they give my man LOU FERRIGNO some shine in this new Hulk movie. Sonn definitely deserves it.
Over the past forty years the churches that African Americans frequent have traditionally been the stalwart locations that the Democratic party has sough to curry the support of their candidates. This has given some reverends and pastors a tremendous amount of political power in the party. Some of these Democratic elders feel a certain kind of way now that the party no longer consults them for their outreach. They should be scared too since OBAAMA has made his strides without recognizing them.
During his Father’s Day speech that he delivered at a different Black church than the one he had been fucking with previously OBAAMA let the congregation know that he wasn’t going to co-sign any of that old Black bullshit. Black men were going to have to assume their mantle of responsibility despite what other shit was popping off around them. I agree that racism and supremacy shouldn’t ever stop anyone from being a father to their child. OBAAMA even quoted TuPac, which drew a standing ovation from the gathered worshippers. Its time for Black folks to do for self since racism is now officially over and there is a somewhat Black(not 100% white) candidate for president.
There’s been a dramatic shift inside of the Democratic party which recognizes that inserting a civil rights agenda into a candidates platform is equal or worse than declaring yourself pro-choice. Affirmative action is being taken off the table similarly to the gains made by labor unions. The African American voting bloc which was once a respected jewel in the holy grail of Democratic electability is now questioned for its validity and existence. The American political landscape is facing the horizon of a brand new day where the “Black church” is no longer the moral compass and Blak people are no longer politicized s perpetual victims. I just haven’t quite figured out who the winners are for this shit.
So here’s a list of the losers…
AL SHARPTON a/k/a Reverend Simple Savior who was a staunch CLINTON ally, has now been reduced to being a sideline OBAAMA cheerleader. SHARPTON blew the whistle early on BARACK OBAAMA’s infrastructure claiming that he was simply a blackfaced operative for a white power base. SHARPTON might be correct in his assessment, but the question that pops up is this… Was HILLARY CLINTON a whiteface operative for a Black rights agenda?
JESSE JACKSON lost too, just not as much as SHARPTON. The political career for JESSE JACKSON has long since been over, but his prestige in the Democratic party still remained until OBAAMA emerged. JACKSON, in a possible fit of jealousy, called out OBAAMA on one of the things that would make most regular Black people upset. JACKSON said OBAAMA was “acting as if he were white“. That’s right up there with talking about someone’s mama, but since OBAAMA’s mama IS white it didn’t faze BARACK in the least.
BILL CLINTON lost the sheen on his legacy. If you know Black people like I do then you know that sheen is very important to us. CLINTON’s condescension for OBAAMA struck people as hateful and dismissive. We also got to see firsthand the underhanded voter manipulation that he employed as a president. BILL CLINTON went from being the first Black president to one of the people in the long line of plantation owners that lost his shit when one of the slaves talked back.
ROBERT JOHNSON was on my worthless negro list from way back. Most Blacks tolerated him because he was wealthy. Blacks are always impressed with wealthy Blacks, no matter how these rich people secured their money. JOHNSON is a bloodsucker on the African American community worse than any leech because his skin color allows him to blend in.
Reverend JEREMIAH WRIGHT has been nullified and silenced to the point that we can no longer debate the merits of the statements he has made over the years. OBAAMA’s candidacy is actually part of supremacy’s machinations. Black people are the new native Americans. I just wonder how long it will take for casinos to be installed in the community rooms of the housing projects?
The Children’s Television Workshop which produced Sesame Street and the Electric Company was so progressive as a vehicle for creating television programming that was both educational and entertaining. They weren’t afraid to feature African American entertainers as real people and not as the characters they may have portrayed in other media.
These entertainers helped show that learning your fundamentals begins with learning to have fun.
You don’t think they were progressive? Who other than Saturday Night Live would feature RICHARD PRYOR?
The great LENA HORNE also spent some time on Sesame Street.
PATTI LaBELLE took us all to church.
This was too church not to post. STEVIE WONDER is the G.O.A.T.
Editor’s note: Three years ago on this day my dad passed away. The letter below was sent to my friends because I felt guilty about my relationship with my dad. He put in a lot of work to get me to this point in my life and I wish that I could have been there for him at the moment that he needed me the most. Although I had repaired the strain that my teenage years put on that bond we had, it can never make up for lost time. If you have a family member or a friend that you truly love please take a minute today to tell them that you love them. Do that for my dad and me.
I have some sad news to relay to you all. My dad died yesterday morning. He passed away due to a massive coronary failure and this was a shock to the immediate family since he has had no history of heart problems. I am more likely to have a heart attack than he was. He had been in the hospital recently for a pancreas condition but there was no inkling that he was having any heart issues since his EKG and blood pressure tests both appeared normal. On tuesday morning as he prepared himself for work he felt chest pains. He continued with his prep until about an hour or so later when he realized that he needed some help. He phoned the ambulance service and he was rushed to the hospital. Inside the hospital as he has undergoing treatment his heart stopped and the doctors could not revive him.
I am sad for his passing, but what compounds this feeling of sadness is the fact that I have never been one to accept the responsibility that is usually reserved for an eldest child. I did not have any concerns for anyone other than myself and I lived my life without the cognizance that there was someone else that was watching me and heavily influenced by my actions. I spent time in and out of jail and other troubles and everytime that I needed someone to bail me out he was always there. He certainly didn’t have to be because he wasn’t my father, and one day I told him so to his face.
CLARENCE PENN married my mom after meeting her at NYU night school. She had divorced my father, DALLAS ELLIS, two years after I was born because of his habitual drug use and his physical abuse. Mr.PENN knew that my mom had me and he accepted the responsibility of being my father. He worked hard to put me through prep schools and provide the experiences for me that would help me excel in life. In my teenage years I began to resent him because I felt that he was too demanding of me. I left my parents house at 17 after being thrown out of Brooklyn Technical High School and quitting the work-study program at City-As-School.
I spent the next ten years in a virtual detente with my father. Not speaking more than a hello and not offering more than a good bye. Even though we used my mother as a conduit for communication, we never shared a conversation. When I needed money for college because I refused to take any loans, he would send me a check for tuition through my mother. This situation may have have continued up to his death but when I was 27 he gave me a phone call.
My dad asked me to help him out with my kid brother who was falling prey to the same demons that attack most of us middle-class Black kids. The peer pressure to affirm your Blackness through criminality. Its sometimes as if our skin color doesn’t satisfy that confirmation, so then we must go into the world and perpetuate a stereotype. That my dad turned to me at this moment was a profound revelation. He could have called on so many other people that were close to him, but that he came to me for help was so humbling to me. Ten years prior I had broken his heart to the core, but here he was before me on bended knee asking for my assistance.
All I can say to you is that from that point forward I learned more about brotherhood, fatherhood and manhood than in the 28 years prior. One thing for certain is that getting someone pregnant is the most miniscule part of fatherhood. There is a value system and a dedication to principles and community. Then there is an unconditional love for family and friends. Unconditional love requires the courage and heart of a lion. This is probably why I took it for granted that Mr.PENN’s heart could last forever. I owe my father now more than I can ever repay him and that is the saddest part of his passing.
I thank you all for allowing me this moment to cry on your shoulders and for lending my family your prayers and your support.
