IN THE NEAR FUTURE WE BLACK FOLKS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO VOTE….BUT WE CAN BE GAY AS HELL!!!! WHAT’S UP PEOPLE????

You know, there’s something to be said about the Supreme Court striking down the Voting Rights Act of 1965 while America’s supposed first Black President is in office. If I had to choose one word to describe what the nation’s highest court has done to us, the word progress would not be the motherfuckin word! But I suppose that would depend on who you ask; because, one man’s progress can be another man’s, “We want our country back!” And of course we know why.

To that point, as ridiculously absurd as the reasoning for the decision by Justice John Roberts, I suppose us Black folks are supposed to trust “certain people” to do the right thing. Which is ironic today, when you consider that the lazy ass Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) asked President Obama to establish a task force to look at and secure Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act way back in 2011. Unfortunately, that request like all of our other requests to his greatness fell on deaf ears, and was never fulfilled. Hum?

Yea, we’re now forced to be post-racial in spite of evidence to the contrary. What matters now in the eyes of some, is that there’s a Nigger in the White House which signals the end of racism as we know it.

Never mind recent attempts to suppress the votes of Black folks. When the Black voter turnout surpassed that of white voters in the November 2012 general election for the first time in history, I knew our fate was sealed! The aforementioned record voter turnout which also saw 72% of Mexican voters casting a ballot for President Obama may have been the nail in the proverbial coffin for freedom, justice, and equality. In my opinion, the results of last year’s elections which secured President Barack Obama a second term in spite of failed attempts of disenfranchisement was the straw that broke the back of whiteness, thus the Supreme Court’s decision.

Until congress acts on this, we can expect an explosion of laws designed to disenfranchise Black voters across the country. As a matter of fact, it only took two damn hours from Monday’s announcement for several states to announce plans to do just that. Until Congress acts, we won’t see a return to poll taxes and literacy tests for would-be Black voters in the future like the days of old. But you can bet your bottom fuckin dollar that we will see lines redrawn to weaken Democratic districts and strengthen Republican strongholds. You know that’s something contrary to the intent of democracy. This may be a victory for some white racists today, but given the success of the Civil Rights Movement in the past, I suspect that this fight ain’t over. If anything, I believe they’re underestimating the power of the Black vote, much like they did in last year’s general election.

I tell you one goddamn thing folks: Given this week’s Supreme Court decision to gut the 1965 Voting Rights Act, don’t ever tell me anything about the Republican Party being anti-slavery, pro-freedom, and the party of Martin Luther King Jr. and all that shit!! Sorry, I’m not buying that bullshit after this week.

BALLERS AND RAPPERS IN THE WHITE HOUSE

A few things to think about on Fathers Day…..first let me go on record and note, the ballers and rappers that many young Black kids fantasize about, played a key role in getting Barack and Michelle into the White House, not once, but twice!! From Lebron James to Jay-Z to Will.i.am to Common to Beyonce, who the First Lady famously said was a role model for her daughters, were all up in the mix during their campaigns and later on, inaugurations. These rappers and ballers went out and engaged their fans, by doing songs, concerts and special appearances, urging Black folks to go to the polls and vote in what we saw were record numbers.

If we really wanna keep it 100 as the youngins say, I saw Diddy and Jigga Man hanging out at the inaugurations in 08, and 12, and not prominent scholars like my friend Dr. Cornel West who actually went and campaigned in over 60 cities for the President. We’ve seen countless pictures of rappers all up in the White House. Why wouldn’t a Black kid fantasize about being a rapper or baller when it’s them hangin out with the Obama’s and not his mentor, teacher or preacher? Hum?

Second point... for the love of God, lets do away with this crazy ass 25-year-old cliché first screamed by Spike Lee back in the late 80s at the height of the crack epidemic about Black kids not wanting to read because it would make them seem white. People who are trying to do the tough love thing have been running with that quote for far too long and it has no bearing in our reality.

In the age of You-tube, the Internet and other kinds of technology we have all kinds of cross pollination taking place. You have some Black kids in the hood rocking skinny jeans and skateboard gear made popular by white kids, and in the suburbs you now see lil white kids rocking a hat to the side and sagging pants made popular by their Black counterparts in the hood! Slang and patterns of speech are damn near universal at this point in time. In short if we’re going by style of dress and surface mannerisms, you have to ask yourself; what does it mean to be Black or white? Hum, again? If we wanna talk about Black kids reading books and the stereotypical perceptions behind that, we have to dig down in the context of disparities in education and how that plays out on the ground. Another story…another time my friends.

The fact is many of the ballers and rappers who Black kids fantasize about are actually moguls in their own right with a hell of a lot of money and power which folks have to understand is the result of them having a hustle mentality, a willingness to get on the grind, and intelligence to navigate through the bullshit before them. Whether it’s Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Common, Rick Ross, Kobe or Beyonce, you name it; all of em has made it abundantly fuckin clear their success was the result of them grinding!! It’s been made clear their mogulness has been the result of them soaking up game and learning the business aspect of the worlds they enter. As Jay-Z once famously rapped….I’m a businessman, I’m a Business. Man if that ain’t clear enough for your ass; it’s up to people like Michelle Obama to highlight that aspect versus deriding one’s fantasy! I’m Phillip Norton, and I’m out!!!!

NSA Data-Mining & Why My Black Ass Ain’t Afraid

Pissed off that the government is spying on your ass? Welcome to being Back in America. My man, Dr. Cornel West called it the “Niggerization of America.” And it’s been happening since 9/11, but we Black folks know better!! To that point, watching privileged folk lose their freedom-loving minds has been nothing but pure fuckin comedy for me.

Oh, and when I say “privileged folk,” I’m not talking about “certain people” who identify as Republicans or Conservatives, no; those folks are annoying as hell to me. Instead, my source of humor has been the silly ass cries of disgust aimed at the White House in light of the news that the National Security Agency’s data-mining program is in the interest of national security. What is NSA data mining, why is the government doing it, and why are some of my friends upset? Surely it’s a cause for concern if you’re interested in the U.S. Constitution, and luxuries like freedom and justice, yea?

Senate Majority Leader, ol Harry Reid, in response to the bullshit had this to say, “Everyone should just calm down and understand this isn’t anything that is brand new.” Sen. Reid is totally correct; yea, this NSA program ain’t nothin new. At least from where I sit as a Black man, the NSA program damn sure ain’t nothin new. This is why I find the reactions of some of my friends to be fuckin hilarious.

 People of color – us Black folks in particular – have always been suspicious of “the man” spying on our asses. Shit, we’ve seen what COINTELPRO did to the Black Panther Party and other organizations associated with the Black Power Movement. Aside from more than a few Black folks sitting in prison for allegedly buying dime bags of weed on the phone, we have plenty of political prisoners in Cuba right now to serve as evidence of these practices by the government. Truth be told, the U.S. government has been tapping the phones and checking the emails of Black folks since slavery. Hum??

So yeah, welcome to being Black in America, my white liberal friends. And yes, you have the NSA to thank for this. But don’t worry motherfuckers; you still have some of your privilege left? Yep, you don’t have to worry about random unreasonable searches by police officers; or the occasional interrogation room anal probe without an attorney present. Nope, no stop-and-frisk for you either. And yes, you’re still less likely than a Black person to be arrested for marijuana possession. See? Not all is lost. Just calm down and understand that calling your cocaine connect in Columbia (or, maybe the owner of a poppy field in Afghanistan) might not be a good idea right now. Instead, have one of your Black friends to do your not-so-illegal dirt, like always. Besides, if the government says it’s perfectly legal to kill you without due process, why then is the NSA data-mining program unreasonable?