Category Archives: Black Popular Culture

African-American Women, Black Girls, Black Popular Culture, Black Women

Why Do So Many Black Women Like Keke Palmer Refuse To Grow Up?: Yet Another Sign of Black Cultural Dysfunction

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I am sure you’re privy to the recent brouhaha between Keke Palmer and her boyfriend, Darius Jackson. If you are one of the fortunate ones that somehow sidestepped the latest episode of “Black folk sure know how to waste some time,” let me bring you up to speed.

During a trip to Las Vegas, Keke Palmer and her girlfriends attended a performance by R&B superstar Usher. Adorned in a see-through ensemble with a bodysuit beneath, Palmer was called to the stage by Usher. Video footage shows Usher serenading Keke as she twirled around so that everyone in the building could view her hind parts while being cheered on by her entourage. When footage of the adult behavior appeared on Twitter, Mr. Jackson, Palmer’s boyfriend, responded with what most consider a controlling message of toxic manhood via Twitter that read, “It’s the outfit tho…you a mom.”

Of course, those folks that rushed to the defense of any Black woman, regardless of her antics, criticized Darius Jackson while reminding him that he was merely a boyfriend, not a husband. In response to the vociferous criticism from those who encourage the continuing devolution of Black women and Black culture, Mr. Jackson offered the following rebuttal.

We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is. This is my family & my representation. I have standards & morals to what I believe. I rest my case.

I found this young man’s response compelling and reasonable for someone attempting to navigate the myriad obstacles that usually derail Black families. Yet, this essay you are holding in your hands was not caused by the much-too-public spat between Keke and Darius. Raena Boston, a social activist for Black women’s rights, was the catalyst for the words you are reading.

According to Boston, Darius Jackson is not a dutiful boyfriend seeking to build a family with Keke Palmer, the mother of his newborn child. Unbeknownst to Darius and every other sensible Black man, he is “setting the terms of a woman’s existence.” In yet another moment of incoherent psycho-feminist babble, Raena Boston trespasses across adulthood, parental obligations, familial structure, and manhood in one swoop; it is pretty impressive when viewed through such a lens. According to Babbling Boston,

There’s this idea that once a woman becomes partnered with a man, it’s almost like that’s the beginning of the death of herself. And then, once you have kids, it’s game over. You’re just in the service of your husband, in the service of your children. You, as a person, cease to exist in a lot of ways.

In many ways, Boston’s statement reveals the illogical belief that neither adulthood nor the birth of children should alter the lives of Black women. Millions of well-adjusted, sensible, grown Black folks disagree with such foolishness. Boston could not be more wrong in her rhetorical flourish; ask any responsible Black parent, regardless of their gender.

Boston is unaware of the age-old wisdom that once children arrive, your time as a free-wheeling person without an ounce of responsibility ceases. The failure to understand such simple matters that have served as guides for civilized people for centuries is stupefying.

Although this is not a gender issue, one does not need to look far to find dutiful fathers who have worked nearly to death to serve their wives and children. The same goes for women who have sacrificed all in the service of their husband and their children. These sacrifices are what adulthood looks like.

I pray that someone informs Keke of this crucial information before it is too late. I’m sure this message will not arrive from the likes of Raena Boston or the legion of grown boys and girls who are so enamored with the utter foolishness they enjoy to the detriment of their spouses, children, and the larger community.

It is time that Black parents, regardless of gender, get serious about life because a perusal of any census data proves that they are the only one’s out here playing in the high-stakes game of life. While others are building wealth and a legacy for their children, far too many “grown” Black folks remain committed to little more than what the Notorious B.I.G. called “party and bullshit.”

Sit your ass down and instill some semblance of self-esteem in your children so that they will not need to seek it from a public that will view them as pitiful people without purpose or a sense of self.

To all the parents stung by my words, it is time to stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself the following mantra until it is drilled into your foolish head. “Your time is up, you old bastard.”

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2023

 

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African-American Girls, African-American Women, Black Girls, Black Popular Culture, Black Women, Hip-Hop Culture

Black America We Have A Significant Culture Problem: Essence Festival 2023

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I am old enough to remember when Essence covered the diverse nature and multiple issues of Black women living in a white man’s world. Essence went further in their coverage of Black women than merely printing beautiful pictures of them; there was no beauty of the week centerfold within the pages of Essence. I recall the presentation and discussion of substantive issues impacting Black America and Black women. When one desired exposure to the multi-faceted nature of Black women, Essence was mandatory reading.

The recent performances of Megan Thee Stallion and Janelle Monáe at Essence Festival reflect the diversity found among Black women regarding how they choose to present themselves to a world whose amused contempt and pity rise with the risqué nature of the presentation. At the same time, the alluded performances have resurfaced an essential issue among Black America regarding what a Black woman should be and should do. It can be reasonably stated that Black women have never been monolithic in any facet of life. This rich diversity of thought, dress, language, and public behavior has unfortunately forced a conversation that sadly ends in the conclusion that there is now a vocal minority population that can no longer be considered a credit to the Race regardless of the evaluation criterion.

In a long-forgotten comedy special, Chris Rock made the shocking statement that a Civil War is occurring in Black America between Black people and Niggas, and Niggas have got to go. Although I would like to cite the recent performances of Megan Thee Stallion and Janelle Monáe as the catalyst to a significant split regarding public decorum, morality, and sensibility among Black women, the truth of the matter is that those issues have been gradually worsening at an increasingly rapid pace for decades. Somewhere along the way, many, certainly not all, Black women have abandoned Black America’s cultural norms and chosen to violate our ancestors’ age-old advice to not go out and “show your color.”

One needs to look no further than the response that artist India Arie’s reaction to the performances mentioned above that, including a twenty-woman twerk fest from festival attendees at Meg’s invitation or Janelle Monáe’s idiotic decision to bare a pasty-covered nipple to the disappointment of Black men, women, and children attending the Essence Festival. Arie issued the following constructive criticism in the wake of the performances.

Is everything for KIDS? No, is everything for EVERYBODY? So when we as a culture make something like this mainstream, it shows a lack of discretion and discernment.

The response that the above comment received from a vocal minority was telling due to its wicked, horrific, and unceasing nature. Supporters of the public twerk fest and unnecessary display of nudity dismissed India Arie’s criticism as irrelevant and out of touch with the times. Undoubtedly, a significant segment of our population celebrates the devolving culture threatening to bar Black success permanently.

This championing of socially unacceptable brutish behavior among Black women and girls is proving to be a significant threat to Black America’s existence. One needs to look no further than the manosphere to encounter Black men expressing frustrations regarding the absence of marriageable Black women. Many alluded men have reacted to the declining numbers of what they deem suitable Black women by searching foreign lands for a lifetime mate.

The most frightening aspect of this matter is that the decline of marriageable Black men and women is an unprecedented threat to Black existence. However, there appears to be no way of stopping this cultural devolution that ultimately results in Black women celebrating their status as bitches, hoes, and baby mommas and Black men as uneducated, inarticulate thugs, absent a modicum of discipline. Unbeknownst to those who are reveling in copious amounts of ignorance, their Black contemporaries disapprove of their flawed value system and display a penchant for leaving them behind as they build lives worth living.

In time, the developing gap between an educated class of responsible, forward-looking Blacks and a have-not class will be too vast for the latter group who have chosen to twerk their way through life when they should have been working to cross. Fortunately for future generations of Black America, the formula for creating a life worth living remains available if they desire it. If not, they should seek out their tribe and be prepared to “throw that ass in a circle.”

We need Black men and women to do better!!!!!!

Immediately!!!!!!!

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2023

 

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Black Girls, Black Males, Black Popular Culture, EDUCATION, RACE

It Truly is A Different World: A Case for Exposing a New Generation to the HBCU Experience

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There is a nearly unavoidable danger that creeps up on us so smoothly that we neither recognize its arrival nor its presence. Yet, each of us is susceptible to this evil and the vast majority of us will fall victim to it. The danger that I am referring to results from spending too much time within a self-advantageous echo chamber that allows for us to make sense of the world.

I must admit to having found a comfortable echo chamber that fits my needs and interests. The foremost by-product of this dilemma has been conclusions regarding how I could best serve emerging generations of Black America.

While reading a recent post by former student Adrienne Cain, I was taken aback that after making a presentation to a group of high school students, many raised questions about a shirt that she strategically chose to wear. Emblazoned across the front of the shirt were the words Prairie View A&M University; Ms. Cain’s alma mater. To Ms. Cain’s surprise and my chagrin, the majority of students sitting in front of her had never heard of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The cornerstone of the Black middle-class and most reliable path to Black uplift.

In the new millennium, I never thought that the promotion of H.B.C.U.’s would be necessary. Yet, here we are once again. This issue has proven to be so bothersome that I eventually searched my mental Rolodex for an answer to the following question.

When did I learn about H.B.C.U.’s?   

Before I can answer the relatively simple question, I must explain a few things about my upbringing. Although I am from the great state of Ohio, a state where two H.B.C.U.’s exist, neither of my parents attended college. I was also not fortunate to have a blood relative who had attended college and was willing to offer any guidance regarding my desire to pursue a secondary education. Put simply; my exposure to secondary education was non-existent.

While my parents were incapable of providing first-hand testimony regarding the collegiate experience, God made provisions in that area.

I was fortunate to have been raised within a community where black teachers eagerly stepped into existing gaps that I and my peers working-class parents could not. A push toward higher-education was such an area. In hindsight, I cannot recall a moment of my K-12 tenure that I did not hear the familiar refrain of “you are going to college” from some Black educator. Ms. Jones, my sixth-grade teacher, took it a step further and refused to grade subpar work. I cringe at the repetitive experience of having ungraded work returned to me adorned with the blazing red words of “This is not college-level work, DO IT AGAIN!!!!!” The reconstruction of my formative educational moments would be woefully incomplete if they did not include Mr. Rick Roberson, the most important influence in my current status.

My response to the above question of “When did I learn about H.B.C.U.’s?” is an unbelievably specific one as I can tell you the exact date and moment that I was exposed to the Black college experience. It was Thursday, September 24th (1987) at 8:30 EST when A Different World debuted. I know that it was a Thursday because The Cosby Show came on every Thursday at 8:00 EST. And of course, it was through that iconic show that droves of Black students such as myself were introduced to fictitious Hillman College and the illustrious H.B.C.U. world.

Although other factors swayed me away from attending an H.B.C.U. during my collegiate years, I often wonder how different my life would have been had I made a different choice. As a professor at Prairie View A & M University, an H.B.C.U., I can now attest to the indispensability of Black Colleges to the development of Black students. From my vantage point, Black Colleges and Universities are the primary sources of racial uplift and hope for the eventual achievement of racial equality.

When one considers the overwhelming influence of media on the minds of our nation, particularly the youth; it may be time for a resurfacing of a Different World. It is imperative that Black students are exposed to every potential avenue of uplift as they navigate a world that may prove less than accommodating to their hope, dreams, and aspirations. Regardless of what many naysayers may think, the H.B.C.U. remains the primary gateway to a different world for poor and working-class Black students.

The time has come that every Black student understands the true meaning behind the words that opened every episode of A Different World.

I know my parents love me,
Stand behind me come what may.
I know now that I’m ready,
Because I finally heard them say
It’s a different world than where you come from.

Here’s a chance to make it,
If we focus on our goals.
If you dish it we can take it,
Just remember you’ve been told
It’s a different world,
It’s a different world,
Than where you come from
Than where you come from

As a professor at Prairie View A&M University, I can attest to the above lyrics and encourage others to learn more about and propagate the H.B.C.U. for future generations. Because it is truly a different world from where you come from.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.

 

 

Black Girls, Black Popular Culture, Black Women, Hip-Hop Culture, Rap Music

Why The Scuttlebutt About Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion is Nothing New aka What is the Most Reliable Path for Black Women to be Noticed

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One of the many benefits of teaching at an HBCU is that it forces you to remain abreast of popular culture trends. There is rarely a week that passes that some new “trend” reminds me that I am now a middle-aged man who has almost, I do emphasize almost, seen it all. Although I would love to say that the cultural factors that shaped my childhood are long gone. The truth of the matter is that they remain present. When I see today’s youth culture, I am reminded of rapper Q-Tip of a Tribe Called Quest who offered the following brilliance in the song Excursions.

Back in the days when I was a teenager

Before I had status and before I had a pager

You could find the Abstract listening to hip hop

My pops used to say, it reminded him of be-bop

I said, well daddy don’t you know that things go in cycles

The way that Bobby Brown is just ampin’ like Michael

Prior to the global pandemic’s arrival, there was rarely a day that I was not reminded that my generation, the creators of Hip-Hop Culture, have been pushed from the center stage by younger African-Americans.

Let me be honest about this situation, there is regret and bitterness that afflicts every generation when their time under the spotlight ends. This moment breeds regret regarding things that you wish could have been said, attempted, or accomplished. If one is not careful, you will find yourself steeped in a self-promoting generational warfare battle that you are bound to lose.  I have done my absolute best to not participate in intra-racial cultural wars that ultimately paint me as some miser whose present is marred by an envious view of these anonymous historically and culturally illiterate kids who lead Hip-Hop Culture today.

Trust me when I say that the urge to denounce black youth culture is omnipresent, in fact, it often appears that young African-Americans are begging us to do such.

The latest invitation to criticize today’s hip-hop generation arrived via the imagery and video of rappers Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. If it can be stated that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” the referenced photo communicates a host of things that generations of black folk have fought against with all their might. We must never forget that although black men have been socialized within a white patriarchal society that there are many who possess enough wisdom and courage to take definitive action to protect black women who Malcolm X characterized as “the most disrespected person on the planet.”

Considering that I am one of the black men who have dedicated much of their lives to protecting and uplifting black women, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion could present a dilemma that revolves around a question of should that type of black woman be protected by black men. Keep in mind that I said COULD present quite a dilemma. In actuality the dilemma is non-existent.

The historically literate in our midst realize that the imagery and message being promoted by some record company for profit is not much different than previous rap songs and videos such as Luther Campbell’s Scarred, Too Short’s Blowjob Betty, Ying Yang Twins Wait, Ludacris What’s Your Fantasy, Missy and Ludacris One Minute Man, Khia My Neck My Back, 2 Live Crew We Want Some Pussy & Pop that Pussy, and the list goes on and on.

We all should understand that imagery matters. So, regardless of how you consider the marketing campaign surrounding Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, it is impossible to argue against the assertion that this presentation matters. Some blacks are cringing at the imagery because they believe that it verifies bigoted whites’ stereotypes of Black America. I will tell you the truth, I am unconcerned with outsiders’ view and belief systems that never fail to amplify occurrences of ignorance while ignoring more plentiful moments of black excellence.

My concern is focused on the impact that negative hip-hop images and messages have on emerging generations of black boys and girls devoid of effective parental supervision and guidance. Let’s keep in mind that they are both digesting these images. The haunting words of James Baldwin remind us that

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.

Equally important is the unfortunate reality that it is Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion who stand at the forefront of debates surrounding black women. They are certainly black women, however, they are far from a fair representation of black womanhood.

CARDI 1

Nevertheless, the centerstage status of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion has once again muted the genius and incalculable ingenuity of black girls and women that I know. At a moment where it appears that Presidential hopeful Joe Biden is poised to select a black woman as his running mate, Black America is engrossed in criticism regarding a cultural expression that is far from new.

Such developments leave me with no other reasonable conclusion than the following one. If black women really want to be heard, intelligence is not the most reliable path. A more productive path appears to pattern themselves after black cultural icons such as Lil Kim, Khia, and Foxy Brown; put simply, they should use their physical attributes to get what they want. After all, that is the message that men, regardless of race/ethnicity, have given to black women throughout the annals of time.

So, in the words of UGK,

Let me see it, let me see it

Let me see it, let me see it

Let me see it, let me see it

Let me see it, bend over and let me see it

Let me see it, let me see it

Let me see it, let me see it

Let me see it, let me see it

Bend over and let me see it

If you do that, I guarantee you that you will be ushered to center stage and the world will notice you.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.