Too Black Too Strong

Here we are in 2009 with a President who happens to be Black and it just as well may be back in the 60's.

The best way to describe this is "Fear of a Black Planet". Are we as a people of the human race in fear? Did you think that you could tell us the rules of the game and we would not master them? Are you really scared to changed "the complexion" and "atmosphere" of our world?

I heard this morning that some if not all of these kids are scared forever from this Creative Steps Day Care Center. I can truly say that I don't recall any type of racial segregation like this in my life. This is very troubling to me because it is a Jim Crow thing just as you have always said Uncle.

How does the below make you feel? Please write your comments I want to hear them

Hard to imagine my people use to deal with this and even harder to imagine my people dealing with this today in 2009.

What the hell are we fighting for?

It is funny to me that most all White people want to be darker by tanning, have fuller lips and a nice ass. But from looking at this picture they could not drink from the same faucet or from what is going on today not swim in the same pool? What is that?

I don't think all people are racist even though I do know we all have it in us, ya I said it. I have to deal with this fear in my own marriage. My wife's family can't accept me because I am not Italian. This is only hard for me because my wife rightfully so loves her family and want a relationship with them and our marriage has cause some distance in those relationships in my perception.

What I wish people would understand is we are more alike then we are different. We tend to let our differences dictate to us on how to live our life rather then merging our core strengths to be stronger. We are stronger together then we are alone, doing on our own. Example lets just say you can push 100 pounds and I can push 100 pounds, do you think we together working as one can only push 200 pounds? The answer is no we can push more together then we can push alone.

We as a people as a race need to find a way to make this and turn this to a positive for us all. I don't know about you but we can't afford to have another Civil War, and I will tell you why. Black folks are ready NOW! We can read, write, listen, shoot, swim, and be peaceful. Lets all pray for peace.

I want to end with this message from Tupac as I have interpreted it:

The struggle:

I am hungry, my family is hungry.

I see through the window food, fun and laughter.

I knock you open I ask you for some food so I can feed my family?

You respond "No Food In Here"

I wait to gain courage to know again because I know you have food I seen it.

I knock again and ask you please can you spare some food so I can feed my family?

You respond "No Food In Here".

I leave defeated until I realize I can't take it no more.

Now I don't knock on the door, now I break the door down and I am not asking anymore. Now I am taking what I want with my tool.

The moral of this story to me is I am only going to ask a few times for what I need, and being a part of the struggle is what leads to the need to take. I am not saying it is right, but I am saying I understand.

Now we have other tools in the toolbox that we can use.

Genesis 26:27-29

27And Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?
28They said, We saw that the Lord was certainly with you; so we said, Let there be now an oath between us [carrying a curse with it to befall the one who breaks it], even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you
29That you will do us no harm, inasmuch as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed or favored of the Lord!

OBMO

The Gift is in the Giving

"The Gift is in the giving"

I was told by a close relative of mine that "When I go I am going to leave you everything I have". This was hard for me to swallow one because it reminded me of the kind of think my mother told me. The biggest difference is she did not say she was going to give me everything she has, the first reason is she is married to my dad. Second I am the oldest with two brothers.

When he told me this I spoke to him very strongly with "Keep your money and stay alive, live life and lets do what we have been talking about". The things we have been talking about are business ventures of how to help Young Black's with life skills, and well as Homeless Vets and many different for profit ventures. When my mom told me what she said I told her "I want you not the money". I think this is why my response to this family member was so profound.

Now please understand what I am about to say because it is very important that you do. To quote my good friend TD Jakes "I am not turning down no good things, I have had enough bad things find me". I use this quote because we must understand the gift is in the giving and we must honor and respect those that want to give good things to us. It is just as important to receive then it is to give because the gift is in the giving and givers have a hard time receiving.

I do not expect anyone to give me anything because I am not looking for any handouts, I am always looking forward to hand ups. That makes me think of the first time I have ever gone fishing. My uncle took me to Nokomis to fish and I remember getting up early to go get bait in Richfield. I don't remember if we caught anything and I don't think we would have kept it anyways because from what I can see those fish don't look eatable.

The issue I have with accepting a gift after someone has passed is the feeling of responsibility to do the right thing with it. It is hard to follow a persons wish when you are not familiar with what they want done with these possessions.

I want to thank you for the gift you claim to give but like I said before keep your everything and lets do this.

That is OBMO

Be the best you

As we mourn the Great Michael Jackson it is easy to get in the place where we get stuck in all that he was able to do. The real question is "Do you" to quote a common saying from BK (Brooklyn).



I find it hard to look at someone's life as anything more then a Great oppertunity for them to have & be what they want to be. Me myself and I need to worry about Self, not in a selfish way but. If you know how to be sucessful then I say go and be sucessful, because that is a beautiful thing for you to be, but it does not help me for you to be. Unless this is the type of sucess that we both can share in as we are not a unit of one in most cases when it comes to sucess.

My God is so powerful that he shuts doors, and some times many of them to get us to see how powerful we are. For me he is helping me to realize that no man holds my dream, it is truly between God and me!

Michael was the best him he could be and he had issues of his own that only he could handle, as we all do. We never got to see him in the ways we are now, such as with the drug addiction being the big thing now. The reason being he did not get his drugs from the streets of LA his were administered by nurses and doctors. This fact does not make it right or wrong just sad that we kind of accept this as normal. I say normal because if Mike smoked crack we would be up in arms about his use of it, but this is the legal stuff.

How can you "Be the best you"? Is it by looking at the man/women in the mirror? Is it by finding your purpose in the world and unfolding it so the world can see? Or is it playing small to serve the world? I feel we spend most of our time playing small to serve ourselves and the world. Why? Great question! We play small because we are scared of ourselves, or failures as well as our greatness. We tend to think fitting in is more important then being true to self.

If Obama & Michael have learned (sorry I had to say it) me anything it is to DO IT, and DO IT NOW! The time is here, if you are waiting for the perfect day and time to do your purpose. You just as well just give up know, because when you find the perfection the creater will be calling for you. The reason is because GOD is looking for a few good men/women.

If you notice the bible is always talking about healing the sick and the people society would consider the less then or "The Least Among Us" (Luke 9:48). If we look at michael for example poor family from GI, it can be said that his hard work and the controversal dicipline from Joe Mikes dad played a part in the success of the family. But really it was GODs will who provided for the family. If it was a person who was already rich say Donald Trump we would say it is because his Dad was rich. Even though GOD was and is present in both situations. I am talking about our preseption of how this came to pass. We look at the Jackson and say it had to be GOD and we look at The Don and say he just had a rich daddy.

Bottom line is this Do Whatever It Takes (WIT) to get to the place you are going, and don't be affraid of what you will encounter along the way. For everything we encounter has a purpose for our purpose to grow beyond our mental limitations.

When you think of others remember these lyrics from Michael Jacksons song "WILL YOU BE THERE"

Hold MeLike The River JordanAnd I Will Then Say To TheeYou Are My Friend

Carry MeLike You Are My BrotherLove Me Like A MotherWill You Be There?

WearyTell Me Will You Hold MeWhen Wrong, Will You Scold MeWhen Lost Will You Find Me?

But They Told MeA Man Should Be FaithfulAnd Walk When Not AbleAnd Fight Till The EndBut I'm Only Human

Everyone's Taking Control Of MeSeems That The World'sGot A Role For MeI'm So ConfusedWill You Show To MeYou'll Be There For MeAnd Care Enough To Bear Me

In Our Darkest Hour
In My Deepest Despair
Will You Still Care?

Will You Be There?

In My Trials
And My Tribulations
Through Our Doubts
And Frustrations
In My Violence
In My Turbulence
Through My Fear
And My Confessions
In My Anguish And My Pain
Through My Joy And My Sorrow
In The Promise Of Another Tomorrow
I'll Never Let You Part
For You're Always In My Heart.

I think this song say's it all!

Thanks Nik for having my back
OBMO

Do you feel on your own?

I was asked by my wife "are we on our own" meaning do we support each other or more importantly do I support her.

My answer is yes we are on our own. The reason being is we come into this world on our own, we will leave on our own. In addition to being on our own we have lots of people in between that time of birth to death that help us along our journey.

Even though we are on our own we have a creator that I know as GOD who is there with us the whole time. When I think about my GOD he is waiting for me to get out of the way and allow all the glory that is in store for me.

It gets right back to the point of FEAR, and this will stop you from breathing, living and loving if you let it. The whole time the spirit of the living GOD is there willing, ready and able to do all things if we just believe. Not only believe that he will but believe that it has already been done.

While we are on our own don't we still have the support of our friends and family? I think so because GOD has no power here on earth. Ya I said it, no power here on earth. All of the power comes from the workings of God's people.

I will give you an example of what I am talking about. I was a temporary employee at a fortune 500 company and was close to my 1 year contact expiring and was going to be let go. I did not worry about this because I have great faith in my work ethic and knew things would work out for me.

The person that worked in my current role decided to move on to another company leaving an open position. This is called free will on the part of the person leaving, God's will was working as well to provide me with a permanent position with this company. The person knew that I wanted to gain employment so was he also on my side? I think so on some level even thought I think he wanted someone else to be in the position but understood that the best person in the eyes of the person doing the hiring would select the best person for the job.

We tend to give up on things when we are close to being at the finish or as my wife stated the "Door of Bliss". When we choose what is in our heart is that not bliss? I would say that it is the universe working to give us the Yes principle described in another blog of mine. If that is true do we really make mistakes? They appear to be mistakes but are really all things coming together to give us what we want. Hence is why I told my wife that YES she was turning away at the point when she was the closest. To be honest I have no idea but if she believes it, it is.

While God is her true help meat and I am there for her when she needs it. In some or most cases I don't know how or for what but I am there. I am never there in the way's she wants such as talking, walking or saying the right things at the right times. I tend to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, but is it really the wrong time? I don't really believe in accidents, I believe everything happens for a reason.

Support for me is not supporting them when the going is good or when you support someone for who you want them to be. Supporting someone is knowing that they are going to get through the issue. People want to be loved and trusted the same way that I feel my God supports me. I think we as humans can support our friends and family's in the same ways but after choose not to because we are lacking in the faith that the person is supporting us.

Thanks Nikki for inspiring this blog

OBMO

I will Miss You when your GONE

"Daddy I will miss you when you die" is what Lil's told me one day this week.

The inevitable will happen to us all. It took me a week to fully understand my feeling about this. Reason is because I remember asking my Grandma "What do you want me to do when you die". I will never forget her response because I was very young and expected her to say something to the effect of go and beat someone up or break something or just cause harm to everyone and be mad. Well if you know her you know she is nothing like that as a person. What she told me has helped me understand greatly about death.

Ya I said it DEATH don't be scared it will happen to you just keep living. See what she told me is "keep living and keep doing as if I was still here". That has touched me on so many levels because I love my Grandma to death, the only one that is even close at that time of my life is my own mother, this takes nothing from my mom at all she is a very special person to me more to come on that. Now I have my own family so that love is shared with them as well but you get the point.

I am not sure how Lil and I got on this subject but I responded with I will always be here for you, not in the physical but always with you when you need me. This was of great impact to me because we all want someone to love us and miss us after we are gone. It is something we live for, I hope without expectations because most people run from expectations that others put on us. My question is why not love and appreciate them while they are here?

I am not scared of death at all, on some levels I am ready to die. Not suicide ready, but ready in the sense that I can't control it or change it. I am living in the NOW trying to enjoy the beauty in it. Living in the now is to enjoy nature and everything else around you. What I can do is live life because that is what matters most, the "-" (Dash)

I have been robbed at gun point, blood sugars of 970 when I found out I was a diabetic, Typically you are in a coma at 500. I have been in a head on collision that I walked away from and actual ran after the drunk driver that hit me because he was running away. What I learned from that is "Gods Plan Supersedes Mine" Thanks unc for that one. I could have been taken out at any point by any of these. But Gods plan is greater then I can even imagine and that I believe is why I did not die in these examples.

Life is for living, loving and learning but we as a people are to consumed with the light, cable, water or mortgage payment that we spend most of our time away from what we are fighting for (Family). I know this is true for my life and would imagine most are.

I tell you this because sooner or later it will catch you as well, so STOP running. That does not mean go be stupid and do stupid things because you will die! I have found that "What you run from you run into" or "What you resist the most, you need the most".

My family is young and and we have not yet experienced much death at all, but what we have had has been very hard. The first one for me was my Grandpa then my Aunt the oldest child of the family. These have been hard for the whole family and if not they are running. My Grandma is still here fighting to live and still providing learning opportunities for us all, we are just not getting the messages so she will keep teaching I am sure. Thanks unc for everything you do in support for mom!

Thanks Lil's for inspiring this on Fathers Day

OBMO

Black and Beautiful in America

I some times answer my phone with "Black and Beautiful" or "Black in America". I do this to remind myself that I Am, Black and Beautiful in America. Usually the person on the other end knows where I am coming from with this statement then laughs in agreement.

I really started this when Obama became the President of America. Notice I did not say President of and for Black people, or for rich people or even poor people. It started then because we as a people seem to feel like we had something to be proud of again. See if you are one of these people that voted for him expecting him to make this change on his own, you are or will soon be fooled. See he is the President of America the land of the free home of the brave.

All he did was show the possibility's of making change people can see. What he understand best to me is the realizes that it only starts with him, but the rest of the work in this case is up to the people. In spite of what your thoughts or beliefs of him, he is NOT the all knowing or the all powerful one who could get himself elected or make the changes we all need. It took a nation of people to put him in office and it will take that same nation to make the changes we all need with his help and support. "It takes a nation of people to hold my people back" search the quote if you don't know.

See for Black folks Obama gives us what I call bragging rights or a even better a target on our backs. See because where whites can get away with doing something a black person is not able to. Why you might ask because them people are watching, most blacks are not the that interested in the crimes whites commit unless it is the mob or the difference of being convicted for powder cocaine (Whites) vs rock cocaine (Blacks) typically. Some black people have taken this time as some kind of power trip for themselves and to take action to the agenda they have. This is the time to exploit the differences in the way Whites are treated vs. Blacks. "It takes a nation of people to hold my people back".

When it comes to Obama they are watching for the jelly on that Brooks Brothers Suit or for him to stumble over his words or just plan show his humanness or in this case his blackness. We as a people need to be even more on point even more aware of what is going on. By checking our intentions because "the man" (White People) are still trying to figure us out. If you thought that all we had to do was put a Black man in office then you have been duped and you will be duped again.

He has only paved the way to more of the same prejudices, now just even more undercover. I say undercover because now they change the way they do things. My example is the new seat belt law in many states. A very good friend of mine was driving from a work site up north back to the cities. This was the first week this new law was put in effect. What happen is the cop sped up to get along side of him while beeping that horn that basically say's look around and move out the way, just to verify he was wearing his seat belt. This is the New Racial Profiling to stop people based on a speculation of how the car or truck looks or the driver. What they did not take into account is who is driving these cars that once looked like a Black persons car not to mention how dangerous it is to be speeding on our highways these day blowing that dam horn. If you don't believe me take a look at what stock cars and truck use to look like 10 years ago and look at them now. Now they come with Dubs or 22's from the factory, and if they don't come from the factory like that they are a factory option.

Why is that? Because Business America has realized the power and influence that Black America has on America. Take the Caddy for example. Only black people and some rare white people usually from Florida or Texas know about Vogue Tires, Mock Tops and Gold Trimming. Blacks have been adding this style as after market parts for years, now they are a factory option and the dealer will install for you and roll the cost into the load. I guess you could always get Vogue's from the dealer but they would be a special order, now most have them in stock for quick sale. As resent as 5 years ago the wheels are even getting bigger from the factory as well as gold package's and wheel and tire types of packages being sold from the factory. If you want some more example to search on or take notice of look at your news casters or reporters more blacks. Look at the beats on video games or major company commercials showing famous blacks or the music they made famous.

The issue with this form a Racial Profiling is that it is one more way for that corrupt cop to gain access to suspected law breakers. My point is now those potential law breakers with the vogue tires are blue collar as well as white collar workers, not just the baller's and shot callers of the pimps and hoes.

My opinion is this the sooner we as a nation realizes that Blacks are not going to keep asking for what they need to be a major part of this America we helped make. After we ask a couple time with now action we are going to start taking.

OBMO