| Author | Message | ||
     Troy AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Troy Post Number: 1824 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
12 Things The Negro Must Do For Himself by Nannie Helen Burroughs (Circa Early 1900's) 1. The Negro Must Learn To Put First Things First. The First Things Are: Education; Development of Character Traits; A Trade and Home Ownership. The Negro puts too much of his earning in clothes, in food, in show and in having what he calls "a good time." The Dr. Kelly Miller said, "The Negro buys what he WANTS and begs for what he Needs." Too true! 2. The Negro Must Stop Expecting God and White Folk To Do For Him What He Can Do For Himself. It is the "Divine Plan" that the strong shall help the weak, but even God does not do for man what man can do for himself. The Negro will have to do exactly what Jesus told the man (in John 5:8) to do--Carry his own load--"Take up your bed and walk." 3. The Negro Must Keep Himself, His Children And His Home Clean And Make The Surroundings In Which He Lives Comfortable and Attractive. He must learn to "run his community up"--not down. We can segregate by law, we integrate only by living. Civilization is not a matter of race, it is a matter of standards. Believe it or not--some day, some race is going to outdo the Anglo-Saxon, completely. It can be the Negro race, if the Negro gets sense enough. Civilization goes up and down that way. 4. The Negro Must Learn To Dress More Appropriately For Work And For Leisure. Knowing what to wear--how to wear it--when to wear it and where to wear it, are earmarks of common sense, culture and also an index to character. <b>5. The Negro Must Make His Religion An Everyday Practice And Not Just A Sunday-Go-To-Meeting Emotional Affair. 6. The Negro Must Highly Resolve To Wipe Out Mass Ignorance. The leaders of the race must teach and inspire the masses to become eager and determined to improve mentally, morally and spiritually, and to meet the basic requirements of good citizenship. We should initiate an intensive literacy campaign in America, as well as in Africa. Ignorance--satisfied ignorance--is a millstone abut the neck of the race. It is democracy's greatest burden. Social integration is a relationship attained as a result of the cultivation of kindred social ideals, interests and standards. It is a blending process that requires time, understanding and kindred purposes to achieve. Likes alone and not laws can do it. 7. The Negro Must Stop Charging His Failures Up To His "Color" And To White People's Attitude. The truth of the matter is that good service and conduct will make senseless race prejudice fade like mist before the rising sun. God never intended that a man's color shall be anything other than a badge of distinction. It is high time that all races were learning that fact. The Negro must first QUALIFY for whatever position he wants. Purpose, initiative, ingenuity and industry are the keys that all men use to get what they want. The Negro will have to do the same. He must make himself a workman who is too skilled not to be wanted, and too DEPENDABLE not to be on the job, according to promise or plan. He will never become a vital factor in industry until he learns to put into his work the vitalizing force of initiative, skill and dependability. He has gone "RIGHTS" mad and "DUTY" dumb. 8. The Negro Must Overcome His Bad Job Habits. He must make a brand new reputation for himself in the world of labor. His bad job habits are absenteeism, funerals to attend, or a little business to look after. The Negro runs an off and on business. He also has a bad reputation for conduct on the job--such as petty quarrelling with other help, incessant loud talking about nothing; loafing, carelessness, due to lack of job pride; insolence, gum chewing and--too often--liquor drinking. Just plain bad job habits! 9. He Must Improve His Conduct In Public Places. Taken as a whole, he is entirely too loud and too ill-mannered. There is much talk about wiping out racial segregation and also much talk about achieving integration. Segregation is a physical arrangement by which people are separated in various services. It is definitely up to the Negro to wipe out the apparent justification or excuse for segregation. The only effective way to do it is to clean up and keep clean. By practice, cleanliness will become a habit and habit becomes character. 10. The Negro Must Learn How To Operate Business For People--Not For Negro People, Only. To do business, he will have to remove all typical "earmarks," business principles; measure up to accepted standards and meet stimulating competition, graciously--in fact, he must learn to welcome competition. 11. The Average So-Called Educated Negro Will Have To Come Down Out Of The Air. He Is Too Inflated Over Nothing. He Needs An Experience Similar To The One That Ezekiel Had--(Ezekiel 3:14-19). And He Must Do What Ezekiel Did Otherwise, through indifference, as to the plight of the masses, the Negro, who thinks that he has escaped, will lose his own soul. It will do all leaders good to read Hebrew 13:3, and the first Thirty-seven Chapters of Ezekiel. A race transformation itself through its own leaders and its sensible "common people." A race rises on its own wings, or is held down by its own weight. True leaders are never "things apart from the people." They are the masses. They simply got to the front ahead of them. Their only business at the front is to inspire to masses by hard work and noble example and challenge them to "Come on!" Dante stated a fact when he said, "Show the people the light and they will find the way!" There must arise within the Negro race a leadership that is not out hunting bargains for itself. A noble example is found in the men and women of the Negro race, who, in the early days, laid down their lives for the people. Their invaluable contributions have not been appraised by the "latter-day leaders." In many cases, their names would never be recorded, among the unsung heroes of the world, but for the fact that white friends have written them there. "Lord, God of Hosts, Be with us yet." The Negro of today does not realize that, but, for these exhibits A's, that certainly show the innate possibilities of members of their own race, white people would not have been moved to make such princely investments in lives and money, as they have made, for the establishment of schools and for the on-going of the race. 12. The Negro Must Stop Forgetting His Friends. "Remember." Read Deuteronomy 24:18. Deuteronomy rings the big bell of gratitude. Why? Because an ingrate is an abomination in the sight of God. God is constantly telling us that "I the Lord thy God delivered you"--through human instrumentalities. The American Negro has had and still has friends--in the North and in the South. These friends not only pray, speak, write, influence others, but make unbelievable, unpublished sacrifices and contributions for the advancement of the race--for their brothers in bonds. The noblest thing that the Negro can do is to so live and labor that these benefactors will not have given in vain. The Negro must make his heart warm with gratitude, his lips sweet with thanks and his heart and mind resolute with purpose to justify the sacrifices and stand on his feet and go forward--"God is no respector of persons. In every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is" sure to win out. Get to work! That's the answer to everything that hurts us. We talk too much about nothing instead of redeeming the time by working. R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R In spite of race prejudice, America is brim full of opportunities. Go after them! | ||
| Troy AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Troy Post Number: 1825 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: |
Karen Hunter introduced me to Nannie Helen Burroughs during a women's day speech she gave at Bethany Baptist Church: http://www.getgreenbooks.com/Podcasts2/index.asp I pulled the text from Black Men in America's site: http://www.blackmeninamerica.com/12.htm It is really astonishing how after a century these 12 steps are needed more than ever. I should tape He must learn to "run his community up"--not down to my front door | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13780 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Astonishing is right. Just goes to show that Bill Cosby had forerunners.  Deep down inside black folks have always known what they needed to do, but they got caught up in the reactionary politics of victimization and it became easier to focus on the why we were doing wrong instead of what we could be doing right. We believed we could reform the white power structure when we should've been eroding it by making ourselves indispensible. Sigh. We were idealist enough to believe that life was fair, and once we decided that having to be twice as qualified in order to compete was not fair, we sought equal opportunity with the defiance of being half-prepared. So, here we are, our masses bogged down in ignorance and illegitimacy and indigence, hangin out, yearning for the bling and grinning up at Obama.  And so it goes... | ||
| Libralind2 AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Libralind2 Post Number: 1228 Registered: 09-2004 Rating: N/A |
What he said LiLi | ||
| Sisg Veteran Poster Username: Sisg Post Number: 340 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Wow Troy, so true...but even over a hundred years later...it's still not too late to practice what is preached here. | ||
| Troy AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Troy Post Number: 1826 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Cynique; "...defiance of being half prepared..." is so true especially of my genertion. And of Mr. Cosby is not original. Sist, no it is not "too" late, but the snooze button has been pressed too many times... | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 7985 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
What a list. Doing all that back then got Negroes lynched. Check out Rosewood Check out Black Wall Street in Tulsa. The Negro is out to lunch. The Negro must stop thinking that he can tell other Negroes what to do. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13782 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Who told "negroes" what to do any more than Malcolm X? If rabble rousers can tell negroes what radical steps to take to challenge injustice, then reformers can also them what to do to uplift the race. Apparently, back then too many "Negroes" weren't doing what Ms. Burrough implored them to do to improve their lot, which is why she compiled her list. | ||
| Yvettep AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 3560 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
The idea that this list may be appropriate these so-many years later is interesting. But not unique. Many writers, activists, and others writing about problems in previous times could have their language updates, but have the content still sound relevant. It is not that "Negros" have not learned, but that social problems generally are notoriously intractable. My opinion is that in general folks respond better to example more than in being lectured to. If all these things will help, then show us an example of someone for whom this is working out for. The advice always given to aspiring writers is appropriate here, I think: Show, don't tell. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1933 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
I am riding with Chris on this one. I too get so tired of theses "what negroes need to do" lists. Hell, it's not like those that know what to do are doing it so where's the problem? I mean who the hell are they talking to? It's doubtful "we" are going to change. The system is simply not setup that way. It sure is not going to happen because some negro told others what "they" need to do! Re: Malcolm, The only real change came about when Malcolm was on the scene. Negros are afraid to compare the rewards gained through so called "rabble rousers" and the "uplifters". What the hell does uplifters do anyway??? Can we please take off Uncle Toms shoes?! | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1934 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Ditto Yvettep. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13783 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: |
You choose to cherry pick who can and who cannot tell negroes what to do, Carey, deeming it permissible for the leaders you sympathize with to dictate to other Blacks. However, Malcolm X did modify his stance as he evolved, and what he started telling blacks to do wasn't drastically different from what Ms Burroughs said in her list. And somebody apparently has to tell you that uplifting the race means to raise the expectations of black people by reminding them what it takes to make progress in their lives. As for examples, the black middleclass has set an example of what following an agenda like Ms. Burroughs suggested. But, of course, rather than giving them credit, certain detractors would rather resort to calling them Uncle Toms, hoping that this label will divert attention from how they've uplifted themselves. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1935 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
You said it right there, Cynique, I didn't. "They" set an example, they didn't tell others what they should do. Again you said it. "They" came up. They were not "uplifted"! Who said anything about dictators? First you called Malcolm X a rablerouser, now you're calling him a dictator. Yet again, you are supporting our auguemnt. Malcolm may have "moderated" his stance. He may have moved a little left but that arguement does not negate the rewards of his previous positions. Where did he move from?! If I give you 10 cents from my dollar, I still have 90 cents. Stupid is as stupids do. Negroes will remain negroes and Uncle Toms will never die. Who said you have to work in them. What does the middleclass have to do with this. I think you need to look at that list one more time and tell me if "the middle" has anything to do with washing your ass. Is strong values the sole possesion of the middleclass. More so, is strong morals and character stuck in the middle and are you sure they even lives there? What are you talking about ...the money middle ...the middle of the deepend - what? You have to come a little stronger than that ....that's poppycock! | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13785 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
I got a little lost in your maze of contradictions. Malcolm X moved to the LEFT? He was already at the far left. He moved to the center. Middleclass values correlated with what Burroughs' list called for. She was in the vangard of the black bourgeoise who coalesced and attempted to educate and uplift themselves from the dregs of slavery by adhering to a more refined and responsible type of behavior. Middle income people are not necesssarily middle class because although they are not poverty stricken, they are not necessarily appalled by what the middle class considers scandalous. "Uncle Tom" has become such a meaningless label. A time-worn tactic in the ongoing debate between blacks wherein each faction accuses the other of either being cooning minstrels or pseudo sophisticated lackeys. And while you're chiding other people for telling folks what to do, maybe you ought to stop telling them to stop being what YOU consider an Uncle Tom, - a description which by your standards could apply to the compromising Barak Obama who lectured to black males about taking the responsibilities of fatherhood, and to school children who think it's "acting white" to get good grades. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1936 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Oh no my dear Cynique, you can't slip out that door. We ALL know what an Uncle Tom is - don't we. It's by no means "meaningless". "I got a little lost in your maze of contradictions. Malcolm X moved to the LEFT? He was already at the far left. He moved to the center" Cynique,You're going to have me think you've been living a lie. I am sure you're heard the black phrase "don't go left on me" - haven't you? Please take that black face off your black face. "Middle income people are not necesssarily middle class because although they are not poverty stricken, they are not necessarily appalled by what the middle class considers scandalous" Duh ....my point exactly! What are you talking about?! Malcolm moved to the middle of what?! Now you're really drifting to the deepend. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13786 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
As far as I am concerned, "Uncle Tom" has too often become a convenient term that Blacks resort to when they disagree with another Black's philosophy about race. In a debate it is a label used to deflect the legitimacy of an opponent's view. Many people call Bill Cosby an Uncle Tom just because he stepped on their toes with the accusations that many black activists have also made. And, as usual, we are on different pages. I was referring to the politial spectrum, where those who are left-leaning are Liberal and the further left they are, the more radical they are considered. The right-wingers are the Conservatives, who are usually white, southern, Republican, super-patriotic religious fundalmentalists, epitomized by people like Rush Limbaugh. Black Panthers were left wing revolutionaries. The Neo-Nazis are right wing militants. People in the middle are referred to as Moderates. | ||
| Troy AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Troy Post Number: 1827 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
"...only real change came about when Malcolm was on the scene..." Carey you got me tripped up on that one. Positive change in our community came years before Malcom was even born. Tulsa and Mound Bayou (the community Linda has been talking about) are a couple of examples. I believe many our are gains have been reversed in the last generation or two. Carey, "Uncle Tom" is really only meaningful to the person who uses it. Is Barack Obama an Uncle Tom? Cynique, funny I never thought of Malcolm X as a left winger, a liberal. His values were conservative once he turned his life over to The Nation, then Islam... ----------- At the end of the day, I have to believe no one here is disputing the importance of the list... right? If we agree the list is valid. The question is how do we get folks to adhere to the principle described. Yvette suggests that if we model the behavior then others may learn through observing the behavior. I think is true, for some of us, but it can not be the only approach, because some of us will not get with the program unless there is a foot up our ass. We need to talk the talk, walk the walk, and everything in between. The REAL problem I have is that some of us are actually questioning the validity and value of the advise related by people like Nannie Helen Burrough. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13787 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Actually, Malcolm was kinda hard to categorize. He was conservative in his morals, but radical in his politics. He wanted change by any mean necessary. I agree that the petulant reponses to Ms Hubbard's list is counter productive, the opposition to her suggestions being based on a resentment of contructive criticism. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1937 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Cynique - "Actually, Malcolm was kinda hard to categorize. He was conservative in his morals, but radical in his politics. He wanted change by any mean necessary" What's radical about telling a person that if you put your hands on me I am forced to use whatever means I can to make you stop. Only Uncle Toms were calling Malcolm a radical. Tell me, aside from that poor example, what other elements of Malcolm's agenda were radical ...in your opinion? Troy, I am so glad you came aboard on this one. Look, I think you squezzed my words. I didn't say "positive change", I said "real change". Let be real about this. Since the evolution of man, few societies have changed hands without violence or the treat of it. More so. it wasn't Martin's civil rights movement that was the catalysis to chnaging American policies, it was Malcolm's ability to get our struggles in the world court by his insistance that our plight was a Human rights problem. We were forever bumping our heads up against the laws of our oppressor ...that changed. Again, positive change is so ambigious. When the slave moved to the big house,that was a positive change for many. ...."Carey, "Uncle Tom" is really only meaningful to the person who uses it. Is Barack Obama an Uncle Tom?.... Come on Troy, you can do better than that. No ...and again I disagree. There may be shades of "Uncle Toms" but we all know what constitutes a real Uncle Tom. Sure, they may voice postive values but in the end they generally veiw the black man through the eyes of the white man and want to assimilate him at all cost. And in doing so, they take on the spirit of that man they so love. Uncle Toms get offended when someone points a light at them because THEY know what it means. Therefore I stand on my statement that it will never be meaningless and you know it! Troy wrote: "The REAL problem I have is that some of us are actually questioning the validity and value of the advise related by people like Nannie Helen Burrough" Well Troy, from what I've read in this thread, I didn't see anyone questioning it's validity. I am questioning it's value. Again, who's it for? Who's going to run with these 12 steps and become a better person and ....Lawdy Lawdy, I done found the Middle class after reading all dat good stuff dey done told me I should be doing. Tell me, tell me, tell me true ....are those 12 steps for a special kind of fool? | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13788 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
It suffices to say that you and I don't see eye-to-eye, Carey. Malcolm X was a revolutionary. To me, that is radical. At one point he advocated Blacks uniting and relocating in a separate state. To me, that is radical. I appreciated and agreed with the list Troy posted because it was sensible, and I think in the year 2009 "Uncle Tom" is a label people use to discredit those who they disagree with. That's as far as I'm going in justifying my position. If you don't agree with it, tough. Who cares?????? | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 7992 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
I believe many our are gains have been reversed in the last generation or two. (Can you believe it, folks? Here is a Negro, a Negro with advanced academic degrees, with his own website, with a loving family, and a Brownstone in the middle of Manhattan, screaming that WE are going back. Just what else do you want? A white woman? (Cue Mahalia Jackson playing in the background. Backlight Troy Johnson, standing on a mountain top, eyes raised, gazing off to some imaginary point in the distance, tears welling up in his rhuemy old eyes, getting ready to go into that tired old Mantra, "Ain' nuuna us makin' it 'til we's ALL free!" Here the thunderous ovation from the choir. I got an idea. If you really belive this, why don't you turn over all YOU got to some nice deserving Negro family? After all, you can start over, right? Right? (Cue up crickets chirping as Rev. Johnson heads for the high grass. 'Til they get our black butts back in them fields picking dat cotton, we ain't gone back NOWHERE!) There was never a guarentee that EVERYBODY would make it. In fact, that is a fact of the Capitalist system that you so love and follow. There are, there MUST be casualites. If all the Negroes were making it, where might YOU be? Contemplate all this on the Tree of Woe. | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 7993 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Who told "negroes" what to do any more than Malcolm X? (As I remember he got his brains blowed out behind that cuz he wasn't following the script. Jesus, if you are coming back, hurry it up before these Negroes go absolutely insane!) | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13789 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Puleeze. Once again your inability to grasp anything that calls for an in depth perspective has made you look like the fool that you are, chrishayden. One need go no further than the inner cities of America, rife with drugs, gang-bangin, and broken families to realize that these factors have negated black gains of the past. All of your inane attempts to ridicule and obscure this reality fall flat. And how does Malcolm X being shot contradict or apply to the fact that he did tell people what to do? Your illogical irrelevance is pathetic. One can't be a leader without voicing a mission statement. I guess the message you are sending is that black folks should keep silent because being bold is dangerous. I wouldn't argue if somebody called you an "Uncle Tom". | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1939 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
LOL@ "I wouldn't argue if somebody called you an "Uncle Tom" AND "(Can you believe it, folks? Here is a Negro, a Negro with advanced academic degrees, with his own website, with a loving family, and a Brownstone in the middle of Manhattan, screaming that WE are going back. Just what else do you want? A white woman?" That Chris Hayden cracks me up! | ||
| Doubled First Time Poster Username: Doubled Post Number: 1 Registered: 12-2008 Rating: N/A |
this sorta reminds me of another negro list....... THE NEGRO MATH EXAM 1. Jayquan has an AK-47 with a 40 round clip. If he misses 6 out of 10 shots, and he fires 13 times at every driveby, how many drivebys can he pull before he has to reload? 2. Jose has 2 ounces of cocaine. He sells an 8 ball to Big Willie for $320 and 2 grams to DJ for $85 per gram. What is the street value of the balance of the cocaine if he doesn't cut it? 3. Leroy is pimping 3 girls. If his price is $65 per john, how many tricks will each have to turn so Leroy can support his $800 per day crack habit? 4. Ray Ray wants to cut his 1/2 pound of heroin and make a 20% profit. How many ounces of cut will he need? 5. Tyrone gets $200 for stealing a BMW, $50 for stealing a Chevy, and $200 for stealing a 4x4. If he has stolen 2 BMWs and 3 4x4s, how many Chevys will he have to steal to make $1000? 6. Juan is in prison for 6 years for murder. He got $10,000 for the hit. (a) If his common law wife is spending $100 per month, how much money will be left when he gets out of prison? (b) How many years will Juan get for killing her for spending his money? 7. If the average can of spray paint covers 22 square feet and the average letter is 8 square feet, how many letters can Eduardo spray if he steals 3 cans of spray paint and finds 1 can of spray paint 1/3 empty? 8. Hector has knocked up 6 girls in his gang. If there are 24 girls in the gang, what percentage of gangster b*tches has Hector knocked up? 9. ShaKeisha can cook dinner for her 9 children for $7.50 per night. She gets $234 a month welfare for each child. If her $235 per month rent goes up 15%, how many more children should she have to keep up with expenses? 10. Miguel was arrested for dealing crack and his bail was set at $25,000. If he pays a bail bondsman 12% and returns to Mexico, how much money will he lose for jumping bail? xoxo double d xoxo | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1940 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
I have a question. Who is this double guy (gotta be a guy) and what's he really trying to say? I ran out of fingers so I couldn't come up with a single answer. Well,when he started out with Jayquen and an AK47 I was done :-). I knew some shit was about to jump off.For real, I was like, what kind of bullshit is this. And, I know I am too old to teach new tricks but what's .....xoxoxodouble DD xoxoxo? Have I now pledged to a new gang? | ||
| Troy AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Troy Post Number: 1830 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Chrishayden, as entertained as I was with your post (and it was quite humorous), it was riddled with too many flaws and inaccuracies for me to address in one sitting... First you have to make a distinction between me personally and us as a people. Just 'cause I'm doing fine (today), does not mean that I should not be concerned with what is going on around me. Plus, no one said "Everyone" would make it. I'm not aware of any system that purports to guarantee that. My thing is that more of us should be making it giving the resources that we have. Cynique: Chris "Uncle Tom" Hayden is certainly appropo for someone who believes Black folks can only make it at the expense, or to the exclusion, of other Black folks. | ||
| Troy AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Troy Post Number: 1831 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Oh yeah welcome Doubled, have not seen a new posters in a long time. I have not approved any new accounts in months because spams bots have make the task too time consuming. I know a teacher who said she knew of student with the names (I kid you not) Asshole and Shithead; pronounced Ash-holy and She-tead respectively. and please excuse the old geezer. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1941 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Yeah Troy, thanks for putting me in check. I was wrong for welcoming the new poster in the way that I did. I can't assume they knew it was in jest. But if you call me the old geezer one more time, I am going to ask Chris Hayden to breakout one more of those Richard Pryor-ish lines on you *lol* and you know he loves doing that! Btw, stop crying and open the door. I don't want to hear anymore mess about spam this and spam that. Get on your job and stop hob-nobbin' with all the mucky mucks :-). | ||
| Doubled Newbie Poster Username: Doubled Post Number: 2 Registered: 12-2008 Rating: N/A |
thank you for the welcome troy and carey i'm glad you clarified that your reaction to my post was in jest carey i thought you were serious i'd like to add #13 to ms. burroughs list 13. The Negro should learn to laugh at himself that was the reason behind my post i'm a woman by the by double d get it? somehow it appears as doubled wish there was a way to change that i'll pop in from time to time as my job allows i'm a correction officer in new jersey and married to a correction officer too different facilities they have rules against relatives working at the same prison i dabble in poetry on the side and laugh every chance i get that helps combat job related stress xoxo double d xoxo | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1942 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Hey Double-dee-dee, I have a correction officer friend that also wrties a little poetry. Shes in DC and is a blogger. Stop by and say hello and tell her that CareyCarey sent you http://afreespiritbutterfly.blogspot.com/ Welcome. | ||
| Ntfs_encryption "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Ntfs_encryption Post Number: 3615 Registered: 10-2005 Rating: N/A |
"As far as I am concerned, "Uncle Tom" has too often become a convenient term that Blacks resort to when they disagree with another Black's philosophy about race. In a debate it is a label used to deflect the legitimacy of an opponent's view. Many people call Bill Cosby an Uncle Tom just because he stepped on their toes with the accusations that many black activists have also made." Excellent point. I have been saying this for years..... | ||
| Ntfs_encryption "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Ntfs_encryption Post Number: 3616 Registered: 10-2005 Rating: N/A |
"I know a teacher who said she knew of student with the names (I kid you not) Asshole and Shithead; pronounced Ash-holy and She-tead respectively." I have a high school friend who is a newspaper editor in Ohio. He told me about a case where another Negro named her child Asshole and pronounced it exactly as you wrote the pronunciation. The mindless coon culture revisionists have a painted a generation of blacks into a corner with these obscene and childish names. I was watching Inside Black America (also know as the Mory Povich show) for about three weeks. I collected twenty three different coon names, all ending with the 'a" vowel (I have yet to figure this fanatical collective Negro obsession with names ending with the letter "a"). I kept hearing them over and over, so one day, I decided to write down each one I heard (e.g. Shalonda, Kerita, Shemika, Tyeria, Lahtisha, Lashandra, Tahneria, Tenikwa, Rashandra, Tywana, etc, etc.......) until I stopped at 22 different names. The coonery continues unabated...... | ||
| Urban_scribe AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Urban_scribe Post Number: 729 Registered: 05-2006 Rating: N/A |
I get your point, NTFS, but I don't think it's that the name ends in 'A'. I think it's the name overall that's an indicator of, dare I say it: "ghetto culture". Most perfectly good girls' names tend to end with the letter 'A': Carla Jessica Cynthia Sophia Samantha Tanya Ana Christina Andrea Gabriella Daniella Martina Maya Linda Lena Tina Joanna Dena Natasha Gina Georgia Hilda Maria Myrna Lisa Mona Ramona Priscilla Suzanna Svetlana Rosa Matilda Sara Laura I could probably post 100 more perfectly "normal" girls' names that end in 'A'. I'm sure you get the point, though. I think if anything, names that end in 'A' are indicative of feminine names. It's interesting you brought this up. I don't have any daughters, but when I was pregnant with each of my sons and before I learned that I was having a boy, I was hellbent on choosing a girl's name that didn't end in 'A' because I wanted to be "different". If I had had a daughter I would have named her Rosalind, but that never came to pass. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1957 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
You guys have to be kidding me?! What's up with blasting sista's names. That shit reminds me of the fools that believe foreigners that don't speak proper english are dumb. It's raining outside, you better drop your nose. You might drown in that bullshit. | ||
| Urban_scribe AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Urban_scribe Post Number: 731 Registered: 05-2006 Rating: |
Carey, please. You know as well as anybody here that you'll be hardpressed to find a career in Corporate America if your name is Shaneequa. You'll be hard pressed to find ANY professional career if your name is Shaneequa. When was the last time you met a doctor, lawyer, professor, teacher, investment banker, human resources consultant, etc, with a name like Shaneequa? I'll answer for you - never. The Shaneequas of the world don't go to med school or law school or graduate school. Shaneequa goes to Cosmetology School or gets her food handling certificate; right after she passes her GED. That's why no Black parent with a drop of common sense would put their child at an additional automatic socio-economical disadvantage by bestowing a phukked-up ghetto name on their child. As it is, the child's Black - that's strike one. Now you're going to make life worse for your child by adding strike two with a phukked-up ghetto ass name that no one can pronounce or spell. Is that what you're defending, Carey? Is that what you're defending? Phuk outta here! | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1959 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: |
*lol* @ ....Carey? Is that what you're defending? Phuk outta here! That's a great line. I wish I would have written that one. Nawl Miss Scribe, here is what I'am defending. You are absolutely wrong by saying the Shaneequas of the world do not go to med school, law school,etc,. The name doesn't go to school, the person does. With your line of thinking you're trumpeting the thoughts of Bubba and all the other racists. I will agree that many individuals are similar to you and draw an unjust conclusion/opinion of a person based on their name. but that was not the root of the debate. I didn't like the way you guys were double dutching their names. Yes, a name like that could be a setback. But do you see the real problem. It's with the people that see a fool behind a name. Now, it may not be a smart idea to name your child after a bottle of wine but the child didn't choose that name. Btw, I do know a doctor named Shanequa. I had another problem with those posts. Well, I was at another site and this one person continually put everything black on blast. they loved calling black people coons and baffoons while pretending to be black. Well, one day they slipped up and said "I was out with one of my black friends". What black person do you know that speaks of their friends as "black friends". Sista Scribe, what are you going to call you and your girls? | ||
| Troy AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Troy Post Number: 1839 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: |
While I would not name MY child Shaneequa; a simple Google query revealed at least one MD named Shaneequa (CMS Regional Administrator Dr. Shaneequa Harris, for Mississippi). Carey is right; "a name doesn't go to school, the person does". Honestly I have less of a problem with a name like Shaneequa than I do with my own name, like my own, of Johnson -- which I have to assume came from some wealthy white slave owner. Just because "Johnson" is more palitable to white folks does not make me feel any netter about the name. However we know, A rose by any other name would smell as sweet... | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13801 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Yeah if only all of this idealism resonated with corporate America. I just read an article about a human resources black person, relating how in this time of job scarcity, resumes submitted to companies by candidates with ghetto sounding names are automatically discarded. Whether Hispanic surnames make the cut depends on how good their credentials were. She further said that the business world also discriminates against fat people and young married women who are likely to become pregnant, or young nursing mothers, or mothers who might have to take off time from work with sick kids. The business world is quite discriminating and certain names do send up red flags. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1965 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: |
If we are going to narrow/qualify this discussion to what the business world does/thinks, we might as well cut our throats and put our morals beneath our feet. Shanahnah is welcomed in my home any time and so are those that also may have an unpopular name - muslims. Again, although some may not agree (for reason beyound me) the fact remains ...The name doesn't go to school, the person does. And on that note, it appears as if some need a little more schooling. Yeah, some that go by the names of Dick, Jane, Jack and Jill. "look at spot/look at spot run/ look at Jane/ look at Jane run/" Yes sir, some need to go back and start over. Maybe they will find a new way of thinking. Change is a terrible thang to waste. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13804 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: |
No matter how you try to ennoble concocted names, one of the biggest advantages a mother can give her child is a name which does not carry a stigma and which will not make this child the butt of jokes by the greater community. | ||
| Urban_scribe AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Urban_scribe Post Number: 733 Registered: 05-2006 Rating: N/A |
Carey, your Executive Assistant walks into your office with your morning coffee, just the way you like it, and your daily toasted, buttered cinnamon raisin bagel and fruit cup. She says, "Good morning, sir. Just a reminder, you have an interview scheduled at 9:30 with a Ms. Marilyn Smith and your 10 o' clock is with a Ms. Shaneequa Smith. Both have applied for the receptionist position." Here's the $64 question: Which Ms. Smith is Black? Bottom line is I don't think it's in a child's best interest to be branded with a name that is very likely to hold him/her back in life. The one Dr. Shaneequa you know is the EXCEPTION. If anything, the exception proves the rule. Your mileage may vary, but I find these "ethnic" sounding names are only detrimental when it comes to Blacks. With a name like Maria Lopez, an employer thinks: Great, she's bilingual. Now we have someone to communicate with our Spanish speaking customers in their language. With a name like Ming Liu Shao, an employer thinks: Great, she's Asian. Most likely, she excelled at school. She's going to be bright, thorough, efficient, and a dynamic addition to our company. Most likely, she also speaks Mandarin or Cantonese so we'll have someone to communicate with our Chinese customers. With a name like Svetlana Margolin, am employer thinks: Great, she's Russian. Most likely, she also excelled academically. She's going to be a take-no-shit b/itch on wheels. She'll keep everyone on their toes and make sure this place is in tip top shape. She probably also speaks Russian. She'll bring in the Russian speaking customers, which includes a good percentage of Jews. Now tell me, Carey, what are the advantages to naming your child Shaneequa and the like? It's not me judging the name. What people name their children has nothing to do with me. And the Shaneequas of the world don't need to worry about the Bubbas of the world, either, because the Bubbas are probably worse off than the Sheneequas. However, the Sheneequas do have to consider what Corporate America thinks. You can't deny, Carey, that Corporate America is going to take a pass on the Sheneequas in the vast majority of cases. | ||
| Troy AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Troy Post Number: 1853 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Urban_scribe, I disagree with your assessment of Corporate America. I've run into too many people with name like Sheneequa in my broad experience in that environment. I believe professional Black folks are harder on the Sheneequa's of the world, because of their names, than Corporate America (white folks) are, in general. Besides, the majority people in the country do not work in a Corporate environment. Even then, most of those jobs are nonexempt roles like mail room, janitorial, security, clerical; where nobody cares what your name is. The next biggest group of job are low and midlevel professional positions where, frankly no one cares what you name is either. If Ms. Shaneequa Smith was concerned about her name she could simply go by Ms. S. Smith. Besides there are plenty of professionals with names like Shaneequa. The name is really, at the end of the day, a non-issue and is trumped by ability. A Black president with the name of "Hussein" should tell you that. Cynique, only a fool would discard a resume soley on the basis of a name. If an HR Professional actually did that they should lose their job -- seriously. Well run company simply do not do this. Do you know the name of the company the "Black" person was describing? Plus we all know that Leroy Jackson, Jerome Brown, Willie Johnson, are probably Black -- do these resumes get discarded too. They were/are "ghetto" sounding names too? | ||
| Urban_scribe AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Urban_scribe Post Number: 734 Registered: 05-2006 Rating: N/A |
Troy, my experiences in Corporate America span twenty-two years. I can honestly say that during that time I've never encountered a "Shaneequa" in any office I've ever worked or any company I've ever worked for. Obviously, your experiences have been different. But I personally find it rather odd that I've never encountered any "Shaneequas" in a corporate setting in over two decades. I imagine the chances of running across a "Shaneequa" in a corporate environment will largely depend on the company and its target demographic. Let's not even get into biracial Barack. That's a whole 'nother discussion, which deserves a thread of its own. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13809 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
This was some woman who was giving out advice to job seekers on how to tighten up their resumes, Troy. And, like you, she suggested that blackes with "ghetto" sounding names should just use the first letter of the first name because it was her experience that resumes from people with these type of names were not checked out. What we should further consider is that these names are synonymous with the "baby mama" element found among the black underclasses, a culture of young unweds who give birth to children who will perpetuate the lifestyles of the mothers who drop them out. These females are free to name their brats anything they want to, but they should know that white America don't give a s h i t about how unfair it is to judge people by their names. Just in case these weave-wearin Shaqueena's with their nails "did" want to give their child an edge in escaping the ghetto grind, one way to do so is to name their squallin newborn "Mary". Or "John".  | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1973 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Well well well, now the truth is coming out ......"Just in case these weave-wearin Shaqueena's with their nails "did"" Ms. Scribe, I never said it may not be a disadvantage. That was never what I was on. I think Troy said it best ...."I believe professional Black folks are harder on the Sheneequa's of the world, because of their names, than Corporate America (white folks) are, in general" Besides, who gives a fat FK what they think anyway ...GTF out of here. | ||
| Urban_scribe AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Urban_scribe Post Number: 735 Registered: 05-2006 Rating: N/A |
Carey, you're adorable. I'm so used to "wtf" I had to stop and think about "gtf". Clever. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13812 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
I see you didn't challenge the truth that you recognized in my comments, Carey. For once you had the sense to stfu. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1977 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
See, you couldn't leave well enough alone. Didn't I tell you to stop poking at me. It looks like another love TKO. You missed it again ol'generic one. The truth IS you've been hanging around Uncle Tom to much - Miss Tom. The truth in your statement IS that you continue to look through the eyes of the white man. See, only a Tomette would conjure the image of Shenequas, as you did: ..." Just in case these weave-wearin Shaqueena's with their nails "did" I am not going to tell you to STFU but you need to stop drinking all that hater-aid. Take off those contact lenses and stop hating yourself and your people. Say it loud, be black and be proud. Btw, what kind of a damn name is Cynique - huh? Shit, if you come through the door asking for a job with a name like that, I'd tell you to get yo' fake ass the Fk out of here. I'd tell you to take off that cheap wig and those ying yang nails. Yeah, what kind of a wacked name is that? What, getto fabulous - old school style? Am feeling a Sunday-Sunday ...old school style. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13827 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
Oh who gives a s h i t whether or not you subject us with one of your rambling Sunday excursions into inanity, Carey. You really think they carry weight. How serious can people take the figments of your feeble imagination?? And thanks for proving my theory about people who use the term "Uncle Tom" to reinforce a silly argument. Yea, I make fun of the baby mamas who inhabit the inner cities. You certainly can't take them seriously. And it's not like they're innocent victims. You don't have to view them through the eyes of white people to realize that their preoccupation with materialism and their embracing of indiscrinate motherhood and the neglect that is the ramification of it, along with the multi-syllabic names they brand their kids with all contribute to problems of their own making. People who make better choices are the ones who make it out of the ghetto. Kudos to them! They provide less fodder for the TV show of white Maury Povich. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. STFU. | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 8032 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Yea, I make fun of the baby mamas who inhabit the inner cities "One minute you brag about how you live way out in the sticks with white folks, and the next you are an expert on the inner city. You don't know anything about the inner city, and like many egomaniacs you won't admit it. You display the worst aspects of the secondary intelligence, an inability to hold two opposing ideas in your head at the same time-- By the way. I'm thinking about getting a blues band together and I am thinking about getting a female lead singer to be the new "Queen of the Blues" Fits you to a T, don't you think? How about it?" | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 8033 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
No matter how you try to ennoble concocted names, one of the biggest advantages a mother can give her child is a name which does not carry a stigma and which will not make this child the butt of jokes by the greater community. (Like Oprah? Like Beyonce? Git wit de program, Granny! How about wonderful people like Clarence--) | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13845 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: |
Inasmuch as it is impossible for a myopic moron like you to ever utter anything of veracity about my circumstances, what you say automatically rolls off my back, crissy boy. I don't know where you got the idea that I live in the sticks with white folks, when I, in fact, live in a Chicago suburb that is 85 percent black and rampant with the inner city life style. And surely a linnear thinker like you, who I have repeatedly exposed as a numbskull totally lacking in periferal vision who stumbles down your narrow street of a mind paved with illogic and irrelevancy, doesn't have the nerve to attack me, who on a regular basis, gives 2 sides to every question. And as names go, Oprah and Beyonce don't count. These are 2 syllabel names, that don't contain apostrophies or a plethora of vowels. I'm surprised you don't use yourself to disprove my contentions, crissy. Guess that called for common sense. You have a regular name, stayed in school and did all the requisite things, and still ended up on the dung heap, indistinguishable from the bull s h i t that is the prime composition of your make up. Phew! Now go back to jackin off your brain in the hope that it will eject something that contains an iota of intelligence. |
