Django: The African mind (Re)chained

In light of its nomination and the proximity of the Oscars, the members of the Kwame Ture Society of Howard University have collaborated to write a serious critique of the film, Django: Unchained. With African-Deep Thought as our critical methodology, it is our hope that this critique is insightful as well as engaging.

 In an interview, director Quentin Tarantino claimed he wanted Django to be "an ex-slave western hero". His "attempt" was decidedly unsuccessful. As such, we shall address why Django was a sidekick and why Django is offensive, specifically to African people.

 Django's intended role of sidekick in the film becomes evident from the opening scenes as he begins the movie in chains. Then enters the god-like – real hero – figure Dr. Shultz, and Django is effectively apprenticed to him. Dr. Shultz exhibits a tangible power over the other people around him. Eventually both Django and Broomhilda belong to Dr. Shultz because he has paid for them both – with written documentation to prove it. Shultz shoots and kills one of Django's former masters, trains Django as a sharpshooter and bounty hunter (but promises him only a third of the reward money), and masterminds the rescue plan for Django's wife. Django’s improvisation – i.e. his mistreatment of the enslaved Africans on Monsieur Candie’s plantation – of Dr. Shultz’s plan (Mandingo trading) reinforces the idea that the plan was conceptualized by Dr. Shultz.

 Ultimately Shultz position as hero is solidified when he kills Monsieur Candie with a fatal shot to the chest. Historically speaking, the hero almost invariably kills the main villain. Shultz gives his life for a righteous cause, simultaneously inheriting the glorious immortality of martyrdom and exonerating the heavy mantle of white guilt, to solidify his place in the viewer’s heart. Until his untimely demise on Monsieur Candie’s plantation, the plot of the movie is driven principally by the actions of Dr. Shultz and the repercussions of them. While this is enough to dismiss the movie as somehow good for Black people, there are several other factors that contributed to our conclusion.

 We contend that Django: Unchained was an intellectual ambush designed to dupe Black people, evidenced by: the over sexualization of Black women, lack of dialogue between Blacks, reinscribing the motif of the “Exceptional Nigger” (a phrase employed by Monsieur Candie), the passivity of the enslaved and the satirization of slavery.

 If Django: Unchained is being touted as a film that Black people can be proud of, what are we to make of the consistent presence of demeaning and degrading female imagery throughout the film? The hyper-sexualization of Black women in Django is magnified by their silence: the women of Candieland are quite literally wordless objects of sex and pleasure, decorative accessories places conspicuously for the use of anyone who may feel so inclined. In the cases where women are given the platform to speak, their lines are dripping with blatant sexual suggestion. When considering the history of rape and sexual trauma which existed between white men and Black women during the period of enslavement, watching enslaved women refer to their master as "Big Daddy", stimulates a poignant disgust rather than a lighthearted chuckle.

 The dialogue that existed amongst the Blacks in the film was either non-existent or centered around an axis of pathology. The Black men in the film were portrayed as brutes – with the “exception” of Stephen, who also falls under Monsieur Candie’s idea of 1 in 10,000 – and their dialogue was absent in most cases but pathological when present. There were several scenes when there could have been dialogue between Django and some of the other Black men, outside of him talking down to them, but this never occurred. The absence of dialogue is almost invariably the same when considering Black women in relation to each other, and Black men to Black women. When we consider Django and Broomhilda, here is a man who is in love with a woman and other than the few lines of German she spoke, Broomhilda says very little. In fact, her wordless image appears in the movie more often than her voice does, which once again indicates that Black women are to be seen but not heard. As a result, we can assume that Django loved Broomhilda because she was an “exceptional nigger”; after all, she did speak German!

 Django reinscribes the notion of individual advancement juxtaposed to group advancement. Throughout the movie Django, and to a lesser extent Broomhilda, were considered rare, exceptional niggers. This idea, where Blacks advance as a function of their exceptionalism, condemns the masses of Black people because it states that as a group Black people are inept “except” in those “Django” (1 in 10,000) cases (modernly read as Obama, Jay-Z, Mia Love etc.) In fact, maybe it is the lack of Exceptional Niggers among the enslaved that ensured the passivity during the insurrection caused by the real hero and his faithful sidekick, Django. We find it odd that there were no attempts, by the enslaved Africans at Monsieur Candie’s plantation, to assist Django as he shot up the nameless, insignificant whites (significant whites include Django’s slave owners and Monsieur Candie, both shot and/or killed by Dr. Shultz). Historically speaking, there are no slave insurrections that come to mind where there was only one assailant. Somehow this historical fact is not portrayed – though Tarantino made sure to overzealously use Nigger to maintain historical accuracy. Instead, we see Django take on an entire plantation alone, almost demonstrating Blacks’ adoration and/or indifference toward slavery. Even after Django (alone) has killed the three slave-traders, freeing himself and the other men in the caravan,. Tarantino declines to send those men back – even if on foot – to help Django defeat the rest of the plantation. Django rides off alone and the three Black men sit in an open caged-wagon in silence, waiting for their next captors. This movie has to be a satirization of slavery because it would be hard to prove that these events would have unfolded in a similar way if this was a true story.

 The satirization of slavery in Django is among the greatest factors that make the film unsafe for the African Psyche. It is surprising that Dr. Shultz's offensive and condescending lines in the opening scene went un-rebuked by Black audiences. Shultz says, “Now as to you poor devils, so as I see it, where it comes to the subject of what to do next, you gentlemen have two choices; one, once I’m gone you could lift that beast off the remaining Speck then carry him to the nearest town which would be at least 37 miles back the way you came or two, you could unshackle yourselves, take that rifle, put a bullet in his head, bury the two of them deep and then make your way to a more enlightened area of this country – choice is yours .” He goes on further to say, “Off chance there are any astronomy aficionados amongst you the North Star is that one.” This simply implies that the Black men were not “exceptional” enough to make their own decision such that Dr. Shultz had to point out the blatantly obvious. In addition, the satirization of the klu klux klan –though it may have been well intended to show the idiocy of racism – not only made lite of a serious situation but also gave whites an alternative with regards to genealogical attachment. In other words, whites who viewed the movie could make the claim that their ancestors were not the stupid klu klux klan but were more akin to the brilliant Dr. Shultz. But, even greater than that, the movie, in general, was intended to be funny and to satirize slavery; let us not forget the enslaved women enjoying themselves on the swing just as the whipping is going to take place. The unfortunate thing is that Tarantino and his cast, although comfortable satirizing slavery, would never make a film satirizing the Jewish Holocaust in the same manner.

 In conclusion, Django: Unchained failed as a movie under its various claims of heroism and historical accuracies. However, the movie did manage to successfully deceive some people who felt the movie was “good”. Blinded by the sentiment of love and one man’s revenge, people completely missed all the clandestine undertones, including: the over sexualization of Black women, lack of dialogue between Blacks, reinscription of the “Exceptional Nigger” , the passivity of the enslaved and the satirization of slavery. In addition, there were a number of other instances that should have offended people. For instance, Django says that “Broomhilda ain’t no field Nigger, she’s pretty”. The implications are quite far reaching and they too reinscribe a particular ideology aimed at colorism. As remediation for this psychological-trauma of a movie, we offer the movie Posse, by Mario Van Peebles, as an alternative if you need a western hero. Though the movie does not deal with slavery – it takes place after the emancipation proclamation – it does effectively deal with everything else that was overlooked in Taratino’s sorry excuse of a movie. Your (African) mind has been UNCHAINED.

Kwame Speaks: The Significance of Choice

In his autobiography, Ready for Revolution: the Life and Struggles of Stokely Carmichael [Kwame Ture], Kwame Ture describes his time at Howard University.

In the chapter aptly named "Howard University: Every Black Thing and Its Opposite," Ture credits his Howard experience with giving him the education that proved vital in that stage of his development.

Though we now know Ture as a giant figure in the proud legacy of Howard, he was once just another freshman in Drew Hall. This chapter gives the reader a glimpse into that time of his life while teaching a very important lesson about self-determination.

Anyone remotely familiar with life at The Mecca, or any other HBCU for that matter, will identify with his account. Ture writes that his experience at Howard confirmed him in his determination to struggle with and for his people.

He talks of those whom he labels "Afro-Saxons," seeking to emulate white society and values in hopes of being recognized as relevant, equal or important. These Afro-Saxons could be found across the campus in any number of spaces from administration to the student body.

However, he reminds us that at Howard he found every Black thing and its opposite. To counter these chocolate-covered anglophiles, there were "consciously black intellectuals of the first order" who represented a "splendid, stubborn commitment, a sense of duty and purpose". These people – Sterling Brown, Chancelor Williams, Eugene Holmes, and Arthur Davis among others - were "custodians of tradition, keeping truth alive".

What separates the HBCU from other institutions of higher learning is the burden of service that is intrinsic to its mission. Beyond the pursuit of worldly treasures and social achievement there lies a responsibility to take the education gained and do.

Ture realized that, "In struggle one not only fights against something – injustice, oppression – but one must struggle for something equally real but positive." Because he identified these respective poles in his life, he was able to make the smaller decisions using these as a guide.

He struggled against the compartmentalization of African people into nationalist classifications. So, he made a conscious choice to defy campus social structure and deliberately interact with African students from across the Diaspora instead of restricting himself to those who came from New York with him.

He struggled for the liberation of all African people, without regard to class. Unsurprisingly, he engaged the disheveled man on the street corner and took his suggestion to read George James' Stolen Legacy. He struggled against ignorance and complacency within his own life. Consequently, he joined an extra - curricular reading and discussion group led by Professor Harold Lewis.

Each of us is faced with choices as well. Do you stop and engage the unkempt woman in McDonalds? Do you find that reportedly wise professor and ask for a reading suggestion? Do you postpone the dinner in the café and go to the event discussing political prisoners?

We are deciding now what kind of people we will be forever. There is no dress rehearsal; we are live. For and against what do you struggle?

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Jocelyn Cole
(Published 2-23-11)

Kwame Speaks: The Cure

A wise man once said, "Work is the antiseptic that kills the Negro." Unfortunately, in recent days I have come to the realization that this is true and have been looking for the cause of this antipathy, for this allergic reaction has become an epidemic.

Why is work such a repellent? I have concluded through careful observation that it is not the subject of work but rather the requirements of work that generates repulsion in most. This is due to the fact that strong work ethic is a learned behavior.

In most cases, work ethic may be considered an example of a fixed action pattern, in scientific terms. A fixed action pattern is a sequence of unlearned behaviors that are essentially unchangeable and, once initiated, is usually carried to completion.

These behaviors are triggered by external forces called sign stimuli. Those who work, tirelessly, endlessly, and consequently with no sleep at times, exemplify this. This approach requires that effort is exerted until the task is completed.


On the other hand, others who do not have strong work ethic must learn it, and operant conditioning can be helpful. This type of learning is the association of certain behaviors with a reward or punishment in order to avoid or repeat the action, and is usually the process through which most learn (though it takes much more for others).

Ostensibly, in the case of the Negro, evasion is in the blood. For example, Araminty, better known as Harriet Tubman, evaded her hunters for years in order to not return to her oppression. Martin Luther King, Jr. evaded violence in order to gain civil rights.

Alas however, these examples do not sufficiently support my claim. Araminty did not evade work but rather worked exhaustively to free her enslaved brothers and sisters.

Martin Luther King, Jr. may have advocated non-violence but used protesting and legal reform as work through which he fought segregation. Can we honestly believe that following the violence, horror and threats experienced by his family that King defended non-violence? King fought consistently in the courtrooms and lunch counters to defend the rights of his family and many others.

I use these examples because many do not do the work to know about others such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey or Martin Delaney. In retrospect, it seems there are no feasible examples to support this claim, except the truth. The evasion of work occurs due to pure laziness and the incompletion of work is accompanied by excuses.

Yes, there may be uncontrollable outside forces that may affect a person's desire to work from time to time, but not all the time.

This allergy is simply called laziness and it affects many on a daily basis. Its side effects are excuses, excuses and more excuses. Disagree? Prove me wrong. You have the ability to do the hard work—the work that must be done. Stop feeding your disorder with the pseudo pills of excuses and DO THE WORK.

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Samantha Obuobi
(Published 4-19-11)

Kwame Speaks: The Evasion of Work

"We sin because in our befuddled brains we have linked money and education inextricably. We assume that only the wealthy have a real right to education when, in fact, being born is being given the right to college training…We bury genius; we send it to jail; we ridicule and mock it, while we send mediocrity and idiocy to college, gilded and crowned."

When W.E.B. Dubois wrote these words in 1920 he captured, in a snap shot, the disproportionate nature of America education, particularly with regards to race. The sentiment expressed by Dubois still reigns true today. However, focusing more narrowly on class distinctions within race, this quote from Dubois takes on a somewhat different meaning.

After the desegregation period, precipitated by Brown V. Board of Education, Black students began to gain access to White schools. The Black schools that these children attended prior to the desegregation period were inadequately funded but they were Black nonetheless, which, I would argue, made them better institutions for Black children intellectually, socially and culturally.

Integration still occurred, to the detriment of Black people, and to this day, we still see and feel the putrid effects of this act. Fast-forward almost 60 years later and the effect of desegregation, still remaining, has taken a slightly different countenance.

Many black scholars are now being reared in predominantly White institutions (PWI) from K-12. Then they either opt to attend a Black college more so for the "Black" experience, and not so much the education, or choose to attend PWI's for their college education. Blacks who have taken this path will defend their choice of predominantly White institutions because the school is stronger academically.

For example, a predominantly white high school may average a score of 500 or better on the SAT or GRE while the predominantly non-white school may average a score of 400 or lower. Coming from a non-White school, one may be left with the impression that Blacks educated in predominantly white institutions are better equipped to do intellectual work. However, based on my observations at Howard alone this is not always the case.

In fact, it appears that Blacks trained at predominantly white institutions are better at evading work rather than actually doing the work. Conversely, it appears that those educated at predominantly non-White institutions, although not always adequately prepared, tend to have stronger work ethic, which allows them to do the work rather than evade it.

I could certainly ramble on about the inadequacies of Blacks in White schools but, in a nutshell, the evasion of work seems to plague those trained at the "better" schools. The sad reality is that some Blacks trained at White institutions have been socialized to operate not only against themselves but against their people as well.

In the future, those who have the training to do intellectual work should use their skills to do the hard work that must be done instead of taking the easy road and evading work. In other words, Pick up a book and READ IT BOURGOISIE!

*This piece was written by Mike Leak. It was mistakenly attributed to Damarius Johnson.

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Mike Leak
(Published 2-1-11)

Kwame Speaks: To Work Hard or Hardly Work

"How many successful Negroes have forgotten that uneducated and poverty-stricken mothers and fathers often worked [until] their hands bruised so that their children could get an education? For any middle-class Negro to forget the masses is an act not only of neglect but of shameful ingratitude...the salvation of the Negro middle class is ultimately dependent upon the salvation of the Negro masses."

As Martin Luther King Jr. penned these words months before his death, he pinpointed a central challenge facing the Black world today: community-mindedness. In building community, it is important to remember the poor, on whose shoulders the educated have stood (and stand today), and to offer instruction and inspiration in this work. It would therefore be good to heed their example.

A distinction could be drawn between the degree of work-ethnic of low-income workers and their more educated counterparts. The lower income workers' idea of work is defined by intensity and importance that exceeds the educated classes'. The labor of an educated class is typically less burdensome or taxing than their working class, lower-income counterparts. Low-wage work is often tiresome, laborious, but necessary. Moreover, for the low-wage earner whose work is often charged with the immediacy of securing survival needs, leisure is often unfamiliar. The desire to guarantee survival would also seem to suggest that having and doing productive work is an important goal for low-income workers. For the formally educated however, the idea of work is seldom motivated by necessity, and if it is, it is unlikely to be separated from the idea of leisure. Having a disposition that views work as invaluable and leisure as secondary is significantly important.

The American Negro Academy is an important model of this ideal. The ANA began in 1897 under the leadership of Alexander Crummell as an organization dedicated to the "special race problem of the Negro in the United States." In his urgency to meet these concerns, Crummell built an organization for the uplifting of the Negro race. Today, in an institution very similar in form and function to the ANA, the educated class must again meet and overcome, with the whole of the black race, the challenges ahead.

Crummell explains that the obligation of the educated is race-service, or servant-leadership. Crummell thought leadership should be "feeding the living soul." One must know as Crummell and King did, that human beings, in their mortality, face problems and have weaknesses. He also knew that these weaknesses must be embraced, both in individual and collective circumstances-and their source must pinpointed. Crummell and King dealt with the realities of human beings in the environment of black life and pinpointed the source of their challenges as the "special race problem."

Today, our diagnosis would declare a similar disease with little improvement, and the particular effects of our sickness, especially in our economic, political, and social lives remain to be determined. In this respect, the educated classes have the benefit of study and as a result, the encouragement of work. Hence, we must ask ourselves in working to find the cure: Do we work hard or hardly work?

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Damarius Johnson
(Published 1-26-11)

Kwame Speaks: Still No Work, Consequently We Lack a Celebration

In 1943 the founder of Negro History Week, Carter Godwin Woodson, wrote that "[Negro History Week] is the week set aside by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History for the purpose of emphasizing what has already been learned about the Negro during the year." In March of 1950, Woodson lamented the African-American community in an article entitled "No Work and Consequently No Celebration."


It was written in The Negro History Bulletin, also founded by Woodson. The article criticized the celebration of Negro History Week without having studied the lives and work of the Negro prior to or after February.

Expanded and renamed "Black History Month" in 1973, the problem exposed by Woodson continues to plague us today. Instead of adhering to the guiding principles developed by Woodson at Negro History Week's inception, we consistently waste the time allotted to experience nostalgia- reminiscing on the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements but seldom discussing ways to build new and effective movements.


I do not encourage the Black community to disregard the work of our ancestors, I do encourage that we use those memories as a framework to construct new ways to uplift the race. What have we (especially the student body of Howard University) done that warrants a celebration this February?


We are students of a historically Black university; therefore, we must acknowledge that our duty is to rescind the necessity for Black History Month. We must make an effort to integrate our history into the collective history of the human experience, as it is not separate. Otherwise we will continue to fall victim to the cyclical nature of failure.


February: the only month we discuss the outdated accomplishments of our ancestors.

Which of us will be the subject of a middle school student's report in the year 2040? Let us be aware that our work lies not within how many names and dates we can recite from the past, but how many footsteps we can leave for future generations to follow.

Until the black experience, in its most accurate form, is the subject of discussion whenever there is one regarding history, there is work to be done. Let us not be weary, but let us push forth and be the harbingers of a new era.


As a community, we must produce quality work, lest Carter G. Woodson's labors be in vain. No longer can we celebrate what has been done or what we wish to do. I urge us all to celebrate what we are doing and breathe life into the unfinished efforts of Woodson and his like-minded counterparts.

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Sheneese Thompson
(Published 2-16-11)

Kwame Speaks: In, But Not Of: The Futility of Our Quest to Exist Independent of Each Other

Who are we really? Are we a collective African people? Our inevitable unity betrayed by our skin, painted in beautiful earthy hues by the sun rays of our motherland?

It seems that the group consensus stands in opposition to this idea. We have all come out from among "them," in order to peer through our more individual, subdivided lenses through which everything we behold is colored. Our people are now "those people." Those ghetto, bourgeoisie, ignorant, "other than me" Negroes. At Howard, the stratification of groups often becomes too much to bear. I often wonder, what happened to the "we" that we once claimed to have ties with?

Our intrinsic desire to examine others so we can concretely define our individual selves is a direct consequence of human nature. We naturally engage in meaning-making concerning the world around us.

However, the extreme pursuit of this process which causes a suffocating emphasis on the failures and shortcomings of others, swiftly becomes a detrimental practice. Frances E. W. Harper writes, "...one of the great lessons...is how to treat each other better. We fail...in fully comprehending our relations to society, and the reflex influence of that ignorance on its purity and progress."

We have been given the tools to practice community building, but we have created walls instead of pathways. What of connectedness? Family? Bison Pride?

The historical threads, which connect African descendants; threads that run deeper and longer than our brief sojourn on this planet, may become an inescapable net to be mourned. Our ties will be made of historical obligation and duty, or an unfortunate accident of nomenclature, rather than the genuine desire to be a part of each other. It is in this fashion that our "we" disintegrates. "We" simply are not.

Whether we choose to stand and bear the weight of our reality or reject and flee from it, we have a responsibility to each other. We belong to the people within and outside of the gilded gates of Howard University, and therefore must raise our collective voice within and outside of its walls to complete the symphony of freedom.

I come to you today as a concerned observer and a regretful participant. The faults, flaws, habits and inconsistencies of our brothers and sisters, have become more important than the brothers and sisters themselves. All African people should strive towards a time when we can acknowledge differences without bickering, condescension and name calling, and promote community as opposed to distance.

Harper continues, "We need men and women whose hearts are the homes of a high and lofty enthusiasm, and a noble devotion to the cause...who are ready and willing to lay time, talent and money on the altar of universal freedom."

At the end of the day, the setting sun illuminates us all again as the children of our ancestors, who charged us with the task of continuing on. Together. And perhaps, on that perfect day, it will finally, finally dawn on us that we are each others keepers. If we can change our perspectives of our individual selves and each other, opposing images may become reflections.

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Ansharaye Hines
(Published 2-9-11)

Kwame Speaks: Black Labor, White Wealth: Black Unemployment, White Wealth

"The slave went free; stood for a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery." Dr. Dubois, writing in 1935, expresses the sentiment of those times as well as the present day situation. Black labor, since this nation's inception, has been the driving force that not only built this tyrannical country but also sustained it.

As with any labor, it is useful in many ways: it can serve as the actual labor or it can serve as a threat to other laborers. At the dawn of "emancipation," and in some places beforehand, Blacks attained education in hopes of bettering their condition. However, since Brown vs. Board of Education, Blacks have slowly moved back toward slavery, more so in a mental sense than a physical one – although we are still a major force in physical labor.

The court decision rendered from that case claimed that segregation was unconstitutional and legally outlawed segregation, to the demise of Blacks. Blacks began integrating into white schools and also integrated their values, housing, and political agendas. Consequently, the privileged class was given a factitious door leading out of Blackness.

Those who accepted that door as authentic find themselves criticizing the masses of Blacks, typically with no critique of the system. For example, President Barack Obama gave a Black-Fathers-are-MIA-speech on Father's Day a few years ago, or Bill Cosby and his rants of "do better" – irrespective of circumstances – talks he likes to give, as age takes its toll on his neurological functioning. What is absent from these critiques is an analysis of the corrupt system in which we live.

Michelle Alexander points out that "more African-American adults are under correctional control today – in prison or in jail, on probation or parole – than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began." Noting this as factual information and still maintaining the same critique has proven itself to be foul, absurd, and just out right moronic.

Unfortunately, for those who subscribe to those unjust critiques, the present situation has shed light on the realities that the masses of Black people face. One source claims that across the United States, "100,000 to 300,000 public education positions are in danger." The source also states, "pink slips [for possible termination] were sent out to 22,000 teachers in California, 17,000 in Illinois, and 15,000 in New York. The jobs of 8,000 school employees in Michigan, 6,000 in New Jersey, and 5,000 in Oklahoma may also be axed." Given this reality of just one occupation informs the elite that success in America is not guaranteed, even with "hard work."

Another disturbing piece of information claims that unemployment rates, even among those with college degrees (yes you/us elite Negroes too), are twice as high among African Americans than their White counterparts. It appears that regardless of our class situation there are other forces purposely operating against us. Whether we serve as the labor or the potential labor that keeps the other labor in check "white wealth" is still the benefactor.

As Gil Scott-Heron said in his poem B Movie, "…I guess we're all actors in this I suppose" because the only way we can be used to this magnitude is if we consent, passively or actively. We need to use our labor effectively to bring about change and remember that "just because you're unemployed don't mean you're out of work." We need to use our time wisely and live out our life until the expiration date fighting to create the world in which we would ideally want to live.

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Mike Leak
(Published 3-9-11)

Kwame Speaks: Dr. West: Career Leader, Will Travel

This past Sunday, Howard University was graced by the illustrious presence of, the great public intellectual, Dr. Cornel West.

While it appeared that most folks gathered, as fans, to hear West give one of his oft-recycled speeches, I myself sat and listened to West with the critical ear that Minister Farrakhan charged us to use on the previous day.

In his 55 minute chapel lecture, not only did West fail to quote (or mention) the Bible, he also – possibly by accident – made it a point to unveil his contradictions and incongruent lifestyle. The contradiction stems directly from his lecture, particularly when he claimed, "being a leader is not a career."

While this may be true for some, it is certainly mendacious (to use a West word) for Dr. West, who will, – unfortunately – be written down in history as a race leader and who, more importantly, has made it a career.

If we looked at Dr. West critically, we would see that he has made his living (easily $500,000 annually) off Black people. During the reception after chapel, Dr. West shared why he could never teach at Howard (let alone another HBCU); primarily because of the perquisites he receives at Princeton, namely a salary (without teaching much), time off for speaking engagements (which are typically financed), and two months of paid freedom to write books.

In other words, an ivy league pays West, to pimp Black people. One has to wonder: how would Dr. West earn a living if Black people were in a different position in America?

Even as we (yes, me too) appreciate Dr. West's oratorical skills, one often wonders how much of his written work his fans have read (so much for accurate critiques). With such "radical" views and a brilliant mind, one must also wonder how Dr. West keeps a job at an ivy league. Maybe his commentary is funded to the degree that it is not West speaking but his sponsors (i.e. Wal-Mart, Home Depot - check youtube).

To paraphrase (and somewhat decontextualize) Olive Cox, West's lectures, "in this advanced nation has done all it could, or intended, to do – which is always something short of revolution." Furthermore, Dr. West has been characterized by Houston Baker, in his book Betrayal, as a centrist, which "[is an] arch example of the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar's wearers of the ‘mask that grins and lies,' capable of endorsing any available position."

Baker continues, "[centrists (i.e. Dr. West)] glide around history's sharp edges and throw up faux-ethnic salutes to their best-paying customers." It is clear that others have noticed Dr. West's uncanny ability to straddle the bob-wired fence, "save" black people (as if talking and getting paid to do so is the key), and still manages to ride from Princeton, N.J. to Washington, D.C. in a stretch limo.

All things considered, Dr. West appears to be a good-natured brother and his lecture on Sunday was filled with insightful (and recycled) idioms masterfully used to maximize his message. However, if there is one thing that I would like everyone, brave enough to have read this in its entirety, to take away is that we need to be critical of intellectuals, particularly public intellectuals.

We must not be fooled by great orators because oration is a skill that is generally found within our culture. Dr. West has a breadth of knowledge and a captivating preacher-like delivery and most folks would love nothing more than to listen to Dr. West as mush as he is willing to speak. I wonder how much it cost Howard to bring him here. It really doesn't matter as long as West is at Princeton he "will travel" (if you can afford him).

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Mike Leak
(Published 4-6-11)

Kwame Speaks: Modeling After Models

"For those who live with any full consciousness of our history, our present condition and our future, there is really little choice if the various worlds of fantasy are to be avoided. Each of us must find the place in the struggle where he or she can best stand- or admit that we cannot stand." Indeed Vincent Harding's unerring words ring true. We are completely unprepared for the work which will meet us, should the few among us decide to engage the harsh realities blacks face.

The rule that hard work pays off is sounded repeatedly to us. But can it really be true when everyone is unequally paid for their work? This, to me, is false. How, for example, can one truly repay a parent? How does one return the favor to one's biological and psychological progenitors, to those who have given sacrifices beyond one's recognition or knowledge?

How can one repay those who, whether formally or informally were one's actual parents, performed a custodial and decisive role in one's proper growth and development? What justice can thankful words exchange for their actions? And what justice are our right actions if they can but hopelessly equal the inconceivable gift of their sacrifice? It seems to me; if we can generalize the case, that service is itself the single, satisfying, though incomplete, return for sacrifice.

Often those who have given themselves as parents have asked the single request of our good turnout. And each of us cannot but multiply the return of the favor by considering how their gift may be multiplied in service to others. But we need not boil service into that which is seen in public and open view. For our studies and coursework, are, with due consideration, themselves qualities of service, as each of us is contributing to a future world improved through our present labors.

Life itself appears to be a continual training, a process of growth and development from which identity is shaped. Indeed the process of learning itself is the consultation of many teachers, living and deceased, modern and historical, direct and indirect, to instruct us in the creation of ideals and refinement of goals which shall later be our guides. Thus the issue of training is most significant.

We should enact models of being which agree with our personalities, enlarge our abilities, and contribute to society generally. For it is through these things, especially Service, that we make ourselves most agreeable to a Self in a disagreeable world later encountered.

So may we Learn, and Be, and Do, for the betterment of ourselves and others, that we widen our sphere of influence through becoming serviceable models. For as we culture and manage ourselves Today, we anticipate the inevitable harvest of Tomorrow. Through this work will be the community that will bring forward into an anticipated world.

-
Damarius Johnson
(Published 3-30-11)

Kwame Speaks: The Power Of Language

What is the nature of language? Are language and the divine somehow linked? In an attempt to even begin to explore this question, it is important, here at least, to trace language back to antiquity and make a case starting with, ironically, the word theology.
The dictionary defines theology as “the field of study and analysis that treats god and God’s attributes and relations to the universe; study of divine things or religious truth; divinity. The actual word theology comes from the Greek words theos and logos, where theos translates to divine or God and logos translates to intelligent speech. In other words, theology can be understood as divine speech. Ironically, the language of the Kemetic people, Medew Netcher, translates directly to English as divine speech. It is safe to assume that Kemetic people predate the Greeks by at least a few thousand years therefore, if there are borrowed terms it was done so by the Greeks.
The people of Kemet, which is a part of ancient Africa (today known as Egypt), conceptualized speech as the expression of thinking, and thinking itself, for humankind. Dr. Carruthers, in his book Intellectual Warfare asserts, “To understand this epistemology, reflect on the process of thinking. Once you start speaking, whatever your thoughts before you started speaking, you can not [sic] go back to that any more and get a grasp on things. This is one of the reasons most people cannot remember things that happened before they were two or three years old. Once you start speaking, you think in speech.”
The power, in this conceptualization of speech, is that it begins to address questions regarding language and culture as it relates to the mind. For instance, if an African speaks seven languages, what language does she dream in? In thinking about this theoretically, we can begin to see the power of language.
Dr. Na’im Akbar, in an essay entitled Cultural Expressions of African Personality, postulates that African people in America may use profanity because of European languages, namely English, lack of emotion expressed by its words. Akbar claims, “Rather bland words such as “wow”, “gee”, “golly” etc. are woefully inadequate for the highly charged life of being African in America.” If any or all of this is taken as true, an alternative to expressing ourselves colorlessly, Africans (at home and abroad) should begin to learn African languages.
African languages, in general, not only have the expressional prowess necessary for the African vernacular but it also will allow Africans to tap into the memory that we have lost consciously but still exhibit behaviorally. Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, in his book Something Torn and New claims, “…he can reach out to his African memory only by making efforts to learn an African language…”. By reconnecting with an African language, not only will Africans tap into their immaculate memory, but we will also truly be able to reconnect with the divine and restore the power of our indigenous tongue rather than empowering our oppressor’s languages and, as a corollary, their thinking and conceptualization of the divine.
-Mike Leak

Kwame Speaks: The Learned Servants: Dr. Carter G. Woodson & Dr. John Hope Franklin

"When the Negroes had begun to make themselves felt in teaching, the attitude of the leaders was different from what it is today. At that time men went to school for the uplift of a downtrodden people. In our time too many Negroes go to school to memorize certain facts to pass examinations for jobs. After they obtain these positions they pay little attention to humanity."
-Carter G. Woodson, Miseducation of The Negro

From the above quote by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, former professor and dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Howard University, it is clear that he views the role of education as a tool necessary for the improvement of the black community.

Woodson's perspective is vital because he instructs us "learn to deal with the Negro as he is and where he is." He sees education as providing the knowledge necessary for productive engagement in our communities, though we must furnish the will to accomplish the task.

The above quote is also a critique of the class of black intellectuals who lack the integrity to produce quality scholarship and lack proper relationship with those who raised them to their lofty position.
Woodson expresses disappointment that the educated class has forgotten the purpose of their being sent to college: they were sent to gain knowledge to become scholars, and to retain their sympathies to become activists.

The educated of Woodson's generation have forsaken this obligation, instead, they chose an education that "does not bring their minds into harmony with life as they must face it."
Woodson offers as a remedy to the miseducated Negro: he must "find out exactly what his background is, what he is today, what his possibilities are, and how to begin with him as he is and make him a better individual of the kind he is."

This self-knowledge is the basis of scholar-activism, and it is the feeling that captured Howard University during the student takeovers. It was those actions, motivated by the desire for self knowledge, that produced African American Studies Departments across the nation. The work in these departments attempts to answer the challenge that Woodson poses.
We are encouraged that "if the ‘highly educated' Negro would forget most of the untried theories taught him in school…if he would fall in love with his own people and begin to sacrifice for their uplift- if the ‘highly educated' Negro would do these things, he could solve some of the problems now confronting the race.”

The only hope for the improvement of the black community is through those who are willing to give self-sacrificing service motivated from deep love. The possibility of falling in love with our people must happen through our memory. James Baldwin suggests to us: "Know whence you came. If you know whence your came, there is really no limit to where you can go."
This memory is the balm through which our toil and effort are replenished; through remembering the sacrifices others have made for us, our obligations become less burdensome and our own sacrifices less difficult.The lesson that Carter G. Woodson teaches is that we cannot be concerned with the lives of our brothers and sisters, that we cannot speak as their representatives or claim that we love them, from a distance.

Our education lays the foundation for the work that is set ahead of us, and our commitment inspires us to engage in the difficulties attached to that work.

Woodson's description of the scholar-activist is personified in the life and work of Dr. John Hope Franklin. This past year marked the republication of his popular textbook, From Slavery to Freedom, and more importantly, the celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Franklin as he became an ancestor.
Multiple panelists had remarked about his humble nature and tireless efforts to improve conditions within the academy and beyond. Panelists had testified to Franklin's high expectations that his students produce quality work, and his deep attachment to world affairs.

Dr. Franklin captures these sentiments in his autobiography, Mirror to America saying: "I began to feel that I had a duty to speak out in matters affecting the scholar and, in turn, in matters affecting the community." The greatness of Dr. Franklin, in his accumulation of honors and awards, did not overcome his humility.

A panelist had recounted that during his studies Dr. Franklin had often cooked him breakfast and provided him with transportation to conferences and other events. Dr. Franklin was widely accomplished man whose humanity seemed to impact those who knew him as deeply as his achievements.

The commemoration of Dr. Franklin impressed upon me the need of great people to walk humbly. In striving for humility, persons act in accordance with its Latin root, ‘humus,' meaning close to the ground. This closeness to the ground is to be contrasted with popular term of the university as the ‘ebony' or ‘ivory tower.' In working as social and intellectual elites in the academy, we must keep memory of the roots that ground us, lest we be distanced from our communities in the ways the academy provides.

Dr. Franklin makes these point, saying: "The longer I live the more I am inclined to question the capability of the human race to be consistent in its judgment and unswerving in its commitment to lofty, constructive principles." In the corrective environment of community, we remember our accountability to our people, and we keep our actions aligned with our intentions.

Woodson leaves us with useful insight: "The servant of the people, unlike the leader, is not on a high horse elevated above the people…the servant of the people is down among them, living as they live, doing what they do and enjoying what they enjoy. He may be a little better informed than some other members of the group; it may be that he has had some experience that they have not had, but in spite of this advantage he should have more humility that those whom he serves, for we are told that ‘Whosoever is greatest among you, let him be your servant."
-Damarius Johnson

Seeking Donations

With the upcoming conference swiftly approaching, we have encountered some unexpected costs that registration is simply not covering. We have tried to keep the registration cost low because we feel that everyone should be able to participate but now we must ask for donations so that we can cover the remainder of the costs and have a successful conference.

With that in mind, along with the low cost of registration, we ask people who plan to attend TO REGISTER ASAP. If you have registered, or you cannot attend but send your support, we ask that you donate by clicking the button below.

Yours in the Struggle for the Liberation and Uplift of all African People,
Kwame Ture Society

Call for Papers

If you are submitting a paper for the Call for Papers, or were planning to, it is not too late to submit a proposal to kwameturesociety@gmail.com! We are accepting papers until the spaces fill!

Dinner Menu for "An Evening of Africana" at Busboys and Poets

Starter: House Salad – Mixed field greens in a citrus-balsamic vinaigrette

Entree (Choice of One)

• Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast with a roasted garlic tomato herb sauce; served with mashed potatoes and steamed kale
• Blackened Salmon with wild rice, asparagus, in a lemon butter sauce topped with tomato corn shallots salsa
• Vegan Eggplant Parmesan with a roasted tomato basil sauce, served with garlic toast
• Asiago Porcini Ravioli (vegetarian) with a tomato herb cream sauce, served with asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and shiitake mushroom

Dessert: Assorted Cookies and Brownies

Beverage: Unlimited Fountain Drinks and Coffee

Dinner will be from 6p-8p on Thursday, April 1, 2010. RSVP by downloading a form at the following link http://www.mediafire.com/?x2tmeokwyqy

Mail RSVP forms to us at the address below. Or email us a kwameturesociety@gmail.com

Kwame Ture Society for Africana Studies
Department of Afro-American Studies
2400 6th ST NW
Washington, DC 20059

Registration Now Available for Our 2010 Conference

Please register for this year's conference, Theorizing Africana Studies: Spotlight on the Upcoming Generation, using our secure form. (Payment through PayPal, account not required.) Please let email us any questions comments of concerns at kwameturesociety@gmail.com

You can go directly to the secure form by clicking the link below.

Theorizing Africana Studies: Spotlight on the Upcoming Generation

Updates--Theorizing Africana Studies Conference

• Registration and Payment link coming soon! (Friday, February 19, 2010 at the latest)
• RSVP for Student dinner by March 30, 2010 (NOT March 5, 2010) Cost is still $28 and payment information coming soon.
• RSVP for Conference Housing ASAP!
• visit our on-line store?: http://skreened.com/kwameturesociety
• For Downloadable files that contain Conference information, including aforementioned RSVP forms visit our mediafire link: Mediafire Conference Files

Call for Papers and Conference Flyer

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Kwame Ture Society's 7th Annual Conference

“Theorizing Africana Studies Conference: Spotlight on the Upcoming Generation” Howard University, Washington, DC

April 1-3, 2010

Forty years ago Howard University students, faculty, staff, and the African world gathered to imagine a societal and academic transformation in which a truly Black university would become the vanguard in their theoretical development and tactical methodologies. Their aspirations to fortify the Pan-African community resulted in a series of student protests, the "Towards a Black University Conference” at Howard University, and Black Studies departments that began to emerge throughout the nation.

It is with great pleasure that we invite the Africana Studies community, including faculty, staff and especially students, to return to this historic location to commemorate 40 years of Black Studies (and all of its manifestations), to critically examine the state of the discipline and to envision the future of Africana Studies. Your presence is requested so that we might forge stronger alliances with Black Studies Departments at various institutions and create a larger sense of community that extends far beyond our individual campuses. In addition, we wish to facilitate discussions regarding the standardization of Africana Studies curriculum, methodology, and pedagogy. It is our hope that with this assessment we will recommit to the ideals, expansion, and practical application of Africana Studies. Our goal is to provide a forum for the next generation of Africana Studies Scholars to discuss our visions for the field and the discipline.

We look forward to strengthening our intellect, our esteem, and our bonds.

Enclosed you will find information for our “Theorizing Africana Studies Conference,” which will take place April 1-3, 2010 in Washington, DC on Howard University’s campus. The enclosed information specifically discusses Day 2 and 3 of the conference to which everyone is invited to attend.

We have specially invited students to attend Thursdays’ dinner event (Day 1), which will include fellowship and open discussion on the present state and future of Africana Studies as we understand, interpret, and envision it. The event will take place at DC’s premier Busboys and Poets. We strongly encourage undergraduates and graduates to attend.

For any questions, comments, issues or concerns, feel free to contact us via email kwameturesociety@gmail.com or via mail at

Kwame Ture Society for Africana Studies

Department of Afro-American Studies

2400 6^th St NW

Washington, DC 20059

visit our Facebook Group for full descriptions of each day's events. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2265673339

Join us for February's Black Love Series

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