PBS breaks ‘media blackout’ of story on PENTAGON PROPAGANDA

"...The New York Times published an explosive report exposing the Pentagon’s secret campaign to use analysts... TV news organizations have largely been silent on their role in the propaganda. Ari Melber notes that last night, PBS’s Newshour finally broke this blackout, but couldn’t convince the other networks to participate..."

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John Ridley: The Undeniable Virtue of Jeremiah Wright's Pro-

Adherence to pro-black values isn't code for "kill whitey...A commitment to the black community" is what got us collectively through slavery, through an abandoned reconstruction and the ensuing era of Jim Crow. As I'm sure some will recall, because of a pesky little thing called segregation there was nothing for the black community to rely on but..

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CRISIS OF THE NIGGA INTELLECTUAL: HOW CONSCIOUS HIP HOP FAILED US

Crisis of the Nigga Intellectual: How Conscious Hip Hop Failed Us by Min. Paul Scott



Here comes MC Revolutionary X, dressed down in his military gear with a Malcolm X t shirt, raising his black fist, vowing to strike down capitalist swine and anyone who benefits from this fascist system. (except his lawyer and accountant.) Yeah, Brotha spits a lot of game about fightin' the powers that be. But at the end of the day, he is the first dude in line trying to get a record deal from the same powers that he is supposed to be fightin'...



Back in 1967, Harold Cruse wrote a groundbreaking book called "The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual," in which he dissed (critiqued) everyone from the Civil Rights people, the Black Nationalists to the Black Arts Movement. Today, the issues that Cruse raised are still as relevant as they were 40 years ago, only with a Hip Hop soundtrack.



Most serious Hip Hop historians mark 1988 as the official start of the "conscious" Hip Hop movement with the release of Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation to Hold us Back" followed by Boogie Down Production's "By Any Means Necessary." To jack a lyric from KRS, "these two albums started consciousness in rap."



For a four year period, it seemed that the prophesied "revolution" was just around the corner and the dreams of "Huey P" were about to be realized at any moment. However, 20 years later, we see that the promised revolution never came, replaced by a devolution of not only Hip Hop but black culture, in general.



In our never ending quest to get back to rap's "golden era" we have neglected to ask the fundamental question.



"What went wrong?"



Although, many look back at this period as "the good ol' days, as it is said, "the good ol' days weren't always good," as the failures of that period set a precedent for the Hip Hop of today. So, it is important that we study this period because if you don't understand the years 1988-1992, then you don't understand Hip Hop.



One of the flaws of this period was the failure of the conscious Hip Hop community to stick with the political Black Nationalist principals on which it was founded. It can be argued that, although celebrated, the Native Tongue and other successive movements actually were a well marketed deviation from the more political messages of Public Enemy; creating a movement of hippies rather than freedom fighters. Also with the rising popularity of MTV Raps and its crossover appeal, conscious Hip Hop became more Hip Hop-centric than Afrocentric.



Also, even the most militant political Hip Hop artists refused to take a stand against the West Coast "gangsta invasion" with their visions of joint tours and collaborations under the universal banner of "Hip Hop" clouding their judgment. That is why "gangsta rap" spread like a plague because the conscious Hip Hop physicians refused to provide a cure. So we allowed the African "kings and queens" concept to spiral downward into a culture of niggas and bitches.



As scholars such as Harold Cruse and Kwame Ture have pointed out, the capitalist state has a way of absorbing all opposition by coercion or force, when necessary. So the force of "the system" was too strong for young black artists, many of whom just wanted to make music and move out of "the ghetto."



This is not to say, by any means, that this applies to all of them. There have always been those who have used culture as a means to an end and not an end to a means. Many of them found out the hard way the limits of "Hip Hop Nationalism" as a socio-political force.



Despite what power the conscious movement professed to have, it was unable to organize a defense for its casualties of war such as Professor Griff and, later, Sister Souljah. Also, although the Arsenio Hall show gave national exposure to many in the Hip Hop community, there was no mass movement of these same artists to defend him after his show was cancelled for having Min. Louis Farrakhan on the program. This is despite the fact that many artists were either quoting Min. Farrakhan in their lyrics or using his voice for samples.



As it was during the Harlem Renaissance, according to Cruse, there was still an over dependency on elements that were hostile to anything with Black Nationalist overtones. However, the roles of white leftist and Euro-Jewish influence (and in the early to mid 1900's Communist) influence on black culture is too often a taboo subject where Hip Hop angels fear to tread. Some have even argued that the whole Harlem Renaissance was just a well financed ploy to divert attention from the Black Nationalist Movement of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association.



While some of the blame for the failure of conscious Hip Hop must be put on the shoulders of the artists, some of, if not most of the blame must be put in the hands of the Afrocentric scholars and lecturers. Many of the scholars did not see the long term value of Hip Hop in the context of the "movement."



Also, as the case is today, many are more concerned with selling overpriced books and DVD's and getting honorariums from college kids instead of organizing "the hood." While it was understandable before the popularity of the internet for them to claim that that was the only way to get their messages out, with the 'net and and the various PDF files, youtube, podcasts, etc, there can only be one reason why these resources are not used to give critical information to the struggling masses of Afrikan people. The scholars and the rappers are both caught up in the tangled web of capitalism.



This brings us to where we are today where the "movement" for some has become just a marketing tool to pimp a record deal from a multi national corporation.



The main and possibly the most destructive difference between the conscious movement of 1988- 1992 and today is the "dumbing down" of black culture in an attempt to capture the "gangsta market." Therefore, the over reliance on gangsta themes and the glorification of the "thug/nigga" concept has made the current direction of Hip Hop more European than African. The fact is often ignored that anyone who chooses to conceptualize himself as a "nigga" can never pose a serious threat to the power structure because embedded in the "nigga" concept is a psychological dog collar that prevents the wearer from ever biting his master, despite how loud he may bark.



It must be noted that most of those who are most impressed with the gangsterism of conscious Hip Hop are the left wing and anarchist white college kids who are a cash cow, often financing their college tours and Hip Hop summits.



Also, the cloud of capitalism prevents the Hip Hop audience from seeing that, for the conscious artist, it is the record company, itself that is "ground zero" for the battle for the minds of African people. But they rap about an external enemy when the internal, major enemy of Black Liberation is sitting in the boardroom two doors down from their recording studio.



In order for conscious Hip Hop and Hip Hop in general to survive, it must become what the system never really allowed it to be; a way to educate, inform and inspire Afrikan people to become involved in the betterment of their global communities.



To borrow from Kwame Ture, at the end of the day white people (even the most liberal) are fighting for power but black people are fighting for survival.



And we "gonna survive America!"



*Min. Paul Scott represents the Messianic Afrikan Nation. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283

minpaulscottt@yahoo.com

http://www.messianicafrikannation.com

TRUE CONFESSIONS OF AN EX CHRISTIAN

True Confessions of an Ex-Christian
Min. Paul Scott

I became a better “Christian” when I stopped being
one.

While the obvious contradictory nature of this
statement may be overwhelming, the essence of this
pronouncement reaches deep into the Blackness of my
soul and brings forth a great spiritual awakening that
cannot be contained within the tiny religious box in
which the European has placed me. Unfortunately, many
of us remain trapped in the theological prison of
Eurocentric Christianity from the cradle to the grave.
We have suffered from the inability to break the
spiritual chains that were placed on us by our
oppressors and we have failed to define our
relationship to the Creator from our own experience.

I am not the first who has come to the crossroads
where European Christianity and Afrocentricity meet.
Unfortunately, many have refused to articulate this
feeling of alienation and have instead chosen to sit
quietly on the pew in the back of the church trying to
convince themselves that if they just sit through one
more sermon, the lottery ticket in their pocket will
hit and all their worries will be over….

The relationship between Black folks and Christianity
has been the subject of many essays, books and
lectures and most would agree that what is called
“Christianity” was a religious practice forced on our
ancestors. There is no denying the fact that
Christianity has been used by the European as a form
of nationalism and an agent of social control. The
fallacy of a blue eyed blond haired Jesus and the
factuality of the Blackness of the original Hebrew
Israelites has also been discussed at length by some
of our greatest minds.

But the question here is can one be both Afrocentric
and Christian or is the term a misnomer such as
Communist-Capitalist, Republican-Democrat,
African-American ?

Many Afrikan people see Christianity as something that
was forced upon our ancestors with whips and chains,
our parents by a giant propaganda machine and
ourselves with a belt if we did not get up in time for
Sunday school. Under these circumstances, we had no
choice but to become Christians. Since it was forced
upon us, we did not have a chance to make the
connection between the religion and our Afrikan
spirituality. So the thing that was supposed to make
us FREE became the tool of our continued oppression.

Sadly, many Black folks may never feel the need to
grow beyond the theological teachings of their
childhood. As long as they have FAITH in a God who
will show up when the bills are due, send them the
perfect spouse and forgive them for sneaking around
with a member of the usher board , they are willing to
go with the flow without once asking themselves; what
does it really mean to be a Christian and who makes
that decision?

But Christianity becomes problematic when one begins
to discover his “Blackness” and trades in his comic
books for books on African history and starts spending
less time in the clubs vibin’ to the latest Hip Hop
jam and more time attending lectures about the
struggle of Afrikan people. What happens when these
two worlds collide; the immovable object of
Eurocentric Christianity and the irresistible force of
Afrocentricity. Can Christianity with its strong
Euro-nationalistic overtones coexist with the quest
for Black self determination?

This conflict often leaves the Afrocentric Christian
isolated. Alienated from the church because he is
Afrocentric and alienated from the Afrocentrists
because he is a Christian. On one hand the church is
saying that he is going to hell for getting involved
in “that Black stuff” and on the other hand the
Afrocentrist hides behind the shield of Black Unity
and religious tolerance while all the while belittling
his religious FAITH. Does it make one less of a Child
of God because he refuses to let the white man define
his existence or his relationship with the Creator. Or
does it make one less valuable to the struggle of
Afrikan people because he follows the teachings of a
Black revolutionary born in Northeast Africa? Does
using the words of the original African Hebrew
Israelites (the Bible) make one less Afrocentric than
a Brother or Sister who has chosen another path to the
Creator?

The reason why the white supremacist system never
wanted us to dig below the surface of Christianity is
because they have always known that the religion that
they transported to Rome is African at its core. And
the revelation of this would signal the end of the
white control of the minds and spirits of Afrikan
people.

But the question remains can one still answer to a
Roman derogatory term and claim Afrocentricity ? And
if I am no longer a Christian how do I define my
religious convictions ?

The answer to this goes back to our power to define
who we are and our relationship with the Creator. My
personal conversion from an Afrocentric Christian to a
Messianic Afrikan along with the rejection of a blue
eyed Jesus Christ and the acceptance of Yeshua, the
Black Revolutionary Messiah was more than just an
exercise in semantics; it was the missing link between
my religious belief system and African spirituality.
And I did not have to give up the Bible nor my African
history books to do it. Instead, I found the
connection between the two. As far as trying to put a
name on my religion; If Yeshua taught that he is the
WAY, TRUTH and the LIFE, then my religion is the TRUTH
that is the WAY to a better LIFE for Afrikan people.
When it is all said and done, after all of our
prayers, chants and religious symbolism, isn’t that
what we are all striving towards.

Each day we strive to gain more KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM and
UNDERSTANDING of the Creator and we are all stumbling
in the darkness searching for the LIGHT but as they
say in the church’ “We will understand it better by
and by.”