Forreal

Boy! Boy! Boy! Today's class was quite....INTERESTING.. to say the least! At first the Women's Liberation Movement was the topic, but the remainder of the class was spent debating on the topic or (issue to some) of Black men dating white women.  There were many mixed feelings, but I felt like hey everyone is entitled to their own opinion so I really wasn't appalled by anything said.  However, I was a bit disturbed by one comment one of my classmates made, she angrily explained  how she disagreed with all the discomfort felt by many of my classmates on the topic interracial dating, but I felt she shouldn't criticize them for their opinions, because they are all a result of personal experience and opinion.  She later said how she had two brothers who were both married to white women and they had bi-racial children and I thought, "Well that is why you feel that way, look at your situation, bi-racial relationships have been a major component to your family".  Im not downing her, just saying man, in the words of the best rapper in my eyes T.I. "IN ORDER FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT, YOU'LL HAVE TO PUT YOURSELF IN MY POSITION, YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO THINK LIKE YOU CAUSE MY LIFE AIN'T LIKE YOURS, YOU KNOW WHAT IM SAYING..IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ENGLISH..IM DONE TALKING".  No need to get mad home skillets... we re    all  INDIVIDUALS.. Just listen and take it in stride.. I do!! ::)... But anywho.. I digress.  I don't have a lot of friends, but they majority that  I do have are males and I'm the only girl with two brothers so my life has been primarily composed of men since birth.  I never even thought anything about interracial couples until I came to college because it seemed to really strike a nerve with the black women around campus.  I constantly heard moans and groans when a black athlete was seen with a white woman, who was usually in their opinion NOT cute.  So I became curious as to the reasoning behind their choices and my discoveries were a little insulting to me, but honestly not surprising.    One athlete I questioned (( I'm not going to blast the man)), is quite known for his interracial relationships with white women, so I asked him were white women his preference or were there other motives.  It's funny because as soon as I asked did he like black women he was like "Hell yea, where they at? What's Up?"  Which shocked the HELL out of me because I've NEVER seen this man with a woman of the same race as he! 
     After getting over my shock we continued the conversation.  I will never forget what he told me that day.  He said: I date white girls because they "KNOW THEIR PLACE".  They know how to treat their man.  They do whatever you tell them.  After he looked at my disgruntled expression he began to explain further, "It's not that I don't like black girls, its just the black girls here ((OLE MISS)) that I don't like.  They're all loud with smart ass mouths, they're nosy,and they're nothing but DRAMA!
   I asked my older brother and his friends and they said the same thing ((except the part about them being at Ole Miss)).  What I think is just the funniest thing are the reactions I get from black men on the issue of black women dating white men.  Both my brothers and my cousins are disgusted (( in all seriousness)) by  just the thought of this occurring.  Its kind of baffling to me, But hey we do NOT live in a perfect world, IF we did I would have every pair of exclusive Jordans Mike came out with! ::)
 

"My Lady"

Check out this video!! I love it.. D'Angelo uplifting his Black LADY!!! peep how he says his "Lady"!! You know for the longest black women weren't considered ladies! Enjoy ::)

"necessary BUTseconday"- The woman of the Five Percent Nation

For My Criminal Justice 390 course "Intro to Gangs" we had to pick a specific gang  to do a research paper on.  I chose the Five Percent Naton, which is basically the same teachings as those that can be found in the Nation of Islam with a little twist added by its founder Clarence "13X" Smith.  What does this have to do with AAS 362, well I'll tell you.  When it comes to their women, they are treated as second class citizens.

"Women are often described as necessary but secondary.  They can become members of the Five Percent Nation, but only as child bearers relying on their GODS (( which is what the men of the organization are called)) for guidance and support.   The Woman is referred to as the moon, earth , or queen (moon because she revolved around her man, earth because she bore his seeds).  It is up to the woman to teach the children to continue Islamic tradition.  However, she is not trusted to carry this burden without supervision and control.  So she has to follow six rules, there are six of them altogether:  

1. The black woman is not to sell her physical composition for payment.  

2.The black woman is not to destroy or tamper with the god's star by using any form of birth control.

3. The black woman s not to have emotional affects with anyome but herman, regardless if they are devoted to Islam.

4. The black woman is to keep and obey the rules and regulations given by her man.

5. The black woman must reflect the light of god and relect it on her star.

6. The black woman must make sure her womb and vagina is clean before permitting her man to plant his seed  in her vagina. "

Helga Crane

This novel was quite interesting especially the beginning, however her over usage of "big" words I felt were a little unnecessary.  But i digress, anywho, Helga was a hard character to follow and she at times, excuse my French (( pissed me off))!  For instance when she began to feel frustrated and annoyed with Anne and her other black friends, for no apparent reason!  I can see how the  constant conversations on race relations would annoy her, but not to that point; the point in which she decided that she despised them and wanted to get away from them.  I am almost (peep the almost) ashamed to admit that  I had acquired the (thats what you get) attitude when she went to go live with her Aunt Katrina.  In my opinion she was nothing more than a spectacle, because of her "strange" skin tone and unfamiliar features.  She seems to be a unpredictable and sometimes irrational person, like when she just decided to leave the school all of a sudden and ended up with only five dollars in her pocket because Uncle Peter's wife wanted nothing to do with her, and demanded that she not come back around. However, it is clear that Helga is in constant conflict with herself, being neither all white nor all black she doesn't really identify with either side. Her internal struggle is quite evident throughout the entire story.

"I Got Your Back"

Black love isn't depicted enough in today's society!! So big ups to T.I for letting the world know how he feels about his black woman!! ::)

"I'm Watching God"

ahhhhhh....there is nothing like Black Love.  It is always portrayed in the media as this violent and heavily sexual partnership but it is MUCH more to it than that!!  Today in my AAS 362 class we watched "Their Eyes Were Watching God", which is an adaptation of the novel by Zora Neal-Hurston titled the same as the movie.  In it we meet Janie, the main character who marries the newly elected mayor of Eatonville, Florida.  Their union starts off rocky and Janie spends twenty silenced years by his side until he dies, where his last words are " I hope thunder and lightening kill you".  Finally free Janie is able to enjoy her life once again, doing simple things that bring her joy such as wading in the lake near her house and basking in the sun outdoors.  She meets a drifter by the name of  Tea-Cake, who is 12 years younger, and he helps her to realize the true meaning of love and living.  Unfortunately, during an earthquake, Tea Cake is bitten by a dog, and later it is discovered that he has contracted rabies, and is slowly going mad, he is so far gone to the point that Janie shoots him to avoid being shot herself.  Soon after she returns home to Eatonville, and after telling her friend her story is once again frolicking in the pond!  This movie was awesome.  It showed the many struggles that black women of that time had to deal with.  With Janie, it was almost as if she was silenced.  Like all the black women that we have covered in class, she struggled with having no voice or an outlet.  The perfect example of the silenced black woman is, in all seriousness, Miss Celie from the color purple!! Many women in that time probably felt that they couldn't stand up for themselves because in Janie and Miss Celie's case when they did, they experienced dire consequences!  I digress from my point, which is black love is still in existence.  You may have to kiss a lot of frogs, but eventually for many they find their prince, in very unexpecting places and instances.  Like Janie, who assumed, like her fellow towns people that Tea Cake was just some user who would "use her for his good time girl", in the words of Mayor Starks.  But he proved everyone wrong and literally loved her until his death!!! ::)   

"The Colored Girl"

While reading "The Colored Girl" by Fannie Barrier Williams it evoked many reactions and emotions.  It referred to many topics that still plague black women today.  One issue being the lack of African American women, that even though they may be beautiful and charming they are still not relevant in society.  They aren't "what's poppin" in the words of my professor.  Examples of this can still be seen today, especially in our media outlets such as magazines and movies.  Magazines such as "Glamour" and "Vogue" are graced by white beauties.  In 2009, Glamour magazine released its' 50 most beautiful women and of those fifty beauties only eight black women made the list!

May 15, 2009:  Glamour Magazine’s TOP 50 Most Beautiful Women. Here it is:

#1 Kate Winslet
#2 Anne Hathaway
#3 Michelle Obama
#4 Angelina Jolie
#5 Reese Witherspoon
#6 Jennifer Aniston
#7 Heidi Klum
#8 Scarlett Johansson
#9 Gisele Bündchen
#10 Penélope Cruz
#11 Beyoncé Knowles
#12 Natalie Portman
#13 Charlize Theron
#14 Halle Berry
#15 Cate Blanchett
#16 Eva Mendes
#17 Rihanna
#18 Catherine Zeta-Jones
#19 Nicole Kidman
#20 Sarah Jessica Parker
#21 Kate Beckinsale
#22 Selma Hayek
#23 Jessica Alba
#24 Kate Hudson
#25 Gwen Stefani
#26 Leighton Meester
#27 Gwyneth Paltrow
#28 Blake Lively
#29 Carrie Underwood
#30 Tina Fey
#31 Amy Adams
#32 Katie Holmes
#33 Jennifer Lopez
#34 Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
#35 Taylor Swift
#36 America Ferrera
#37 Katherine Heigl
#38 Drew Barrymore
#39 Tyra Banks
#40 Megan Fox
#41 Meryl Streep
#42 Jessica Biel
#43 Queen Rania Of Jordan
#44 Rachel Weisz
#45 Diane Von Furstenberg
#46 Queen Latifah
#47 Demi Moore
#48 Oprah Winfrey
#49 Iman
#50 Kate Moss

Even though the "colored girl" was hindered in all directions she still made a way out of no way.  She was in fact, the pillar of her race.  This can be seen through the examples of Amy Joaques Garvey, second wife of Marcus Garvey, who wanted to take matters into her own hands and encouraged the women of her race to do the same.  She, like Terrell and Wells felt compelled to take a stand and start fighting for themselves because the white women that they called upon to help werent doing anything and the men of their race were not either!!  As the piece later reads, the black woman really is the most interesting woman of this country!!!!