Sunday, April 19, 2009

Field Negro 101 Redux.


I was around some "bougie" black folks today, (a bunch of lawyers, a dentist, some guy who made a killing when the real estate market was hot and now he owns a bunch of strip malls, and a few other characters who thought they were more important than they really were) the usual mix of intellect and money. One of the people there who knew that I blogged asked me how my blog was going, and I told him it was cool. Then, of course, I got this: "Oh you have a blog, what do you call it?" "The field Negro"....(and here it comes) "Oh?" Why do you call it that? " Now since I was in the middle of watching my Fly guys push Sir Sidney and the Pens around, I really didn't want to be bothered with fam and participate in a long discussion about black folks in A-murder-ca. So I asked him if he had a computer at home. He said yes and I told him to google field Negro when he got home. He said he would, and I told him that just for him, I was going to leave an older post which explained why I use the field Negro handle. We exchanged some more pleasantries and he left me to the rest of the hockey game while he went to the other room to watch the Lakers with most of the other folks.

So anyway, in order to keep my promise to my man, here is my field Negro 101 post from almost three years ago:

I am always amused at how sensitive some blacks-particularly black conservatives-get when you talk about the house Negro field Negro dichotomy among black folks. Black conservatives are always quick to lash out at the house Negro moniker as if it's directed at them. They see it as a straw man and red herring, set up to distract from the real issues confronting black America. Well it's not. The moniker is one that was created by Malcolm X in one of his more famous speeches to make a point about certain blacks not giving their all to the movement because of their so called stake in America.

That speech ,is so inspiring, and so on point, that it is from where I find the inspiration- not to mention the name- for this blog. I use it, because I think it's still relevant for today's discourse in matters of race, as well as the black political movement in this country.When I post on other blogs, I always use the handle field-Negro, and the vitriolic responses I get for my handle alone -from whites and blacks- is at times frightening. "Why must you use that handle, it's so degrading to blacks?" "Shame on you for such a despicable handle", "you embarrass yourself and all self respecting black people by using such a handle". And so it goes, and this is just from the black folks. You can imagine what I get from white bloggers on the web; or, for that matter, the fringes of the web. [You might have noticed the vermin and rats crawling out of various trailer parks to post on this blog]But once again, I would like to set the record straight about this house Negro field Negro metaphor-and yes it's just a metaphor-and where I stand on this issue. Think of this post as field Negro 101 for your self improvement. First, being a house Negro has nothing to do with how you look, how much money you have, where you live, or where you work. The same can be said about being a field-Negro. It's not about how radical you think you are or how militant or African you may appear in your features. It's why I explain my background in detail to all who come to my blog. It's important to understand, that in spite of my upbringing and background, I am firmly entrenched in the fields. It's not about my credentials, or how I grew up, or even what privileges were afforded me. No, it's about my state of mind at this point in time, and how I choose to engage in the struggle to uplift black people and the less fortunate in modern day America.


For instance, I consider wealthy people such as Bill Cosby and Denzel Washington, field Negroes. But, on the other hand, I consider some not so wealthy people, such as Jessie Lee Peterson, and La Shawn Barber, house Negroes. I consider certain sports icons such as Jim Brown, Magic Johnson and Muhammad Ali, field Negroes, but I consider icons such as Michael Jordon, O.J. Simpson and George Foreman, house Negroes. Oprah Winfrey, in my book, is a house Negro, while her good friend, Maya Angelo, belongs in the fields. Jessie Jackson-yes Jessie Jackson-is a house Negro, but John Lewis, the congressman from Georgia, is a field Negro. In terms of appearance, the very dark Clarence Thomas should have his picture in the dictionary beside house Negro, while the fairer skinned Thurgood Marhsall was a big time field Negro. So it's certainly not about how you look. It's all about who I think is contributing to the cause of advancing black issues in the right way. Period.

Now let's look at this phenomenon literally for a moment: I have no problem with someone living in the house, and wanting the things the house offers for his or her family. The better schools, the safer neighborhoods, and a better quality of life. Only a fool would think otherwise. I don't even have a problem with the house Negro running to put out the fire if massa's house catches on fire, or if he tries to save massa's life. After all, if massa and his house are gone, where is the house Negro going to live, and who is going to hire him to work? On the other hand, I do have a problem if the house Negro tries to save massa before his own. That type of house Negro is a problem, and he is the one I speak so disparagingly of when I make fun of the house Negro. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of house Negroes like the latter around today. They are the ones who write the books for massa's ears only, kicking black folks harder than massa would ever kick us by telling us how bad we are. They are the ones -insert Thomas Sowell here- who write about America and her problems as if the white man is blameless, and as if us black folks are responsible for all of America's problems; and as if we brought whatever problems we have on ourselves. They are the ones-insert Clarence Thomas here- who we all know just wish that they not only worked in the house for massa, but wish that they were a part of massa's family as well. That is the dangerous house Negro, the self hater, who will do anything to be more white than the very white person himself, because just working and living in the house is not enough for him. This house Negro wants a stake in massa's house, and he will sell the rest of us out to get it.
I will give you an example: I have a black colleague who does very well for himself and his family. He recently purchased a home in a very affluent predominantly white neighborhood, and has from time to time bragged of being the only black in his development. Now this individual is a classic house Negro. And living in his all white subdivision didn't make him one, but being proud that he is the only black in said subdivision does. Like the "house nigger" in Malcolm X' s speech, he was proud to be the only Negro living among the whites. This is the inclination and fixed way of thinking of an individual who has fled from his people and would not mind if he never sees a black neighborhood or anything associated with black people again. This Negro didn't flee to white suburbia for better schools, safer neighborhoods, and cost effectiveness. No, this Negro fled to white suburbia because he wanted to be around massa and his house.

This type of house Negro is the one I refer to when I make my lists, and speak of when I try to point out the Negroes that are holding us back by projecting to white folks-insert Oprah here- a false image of what black folks are going through. The field Negro, given the same circumstances, would find himself going back to the old neighborhood, volunteering his time, and helping when and where he can. He would not care about how many other Negroes lived in his development, as long as his family was receiving the benefits I outlined above. So for all of you who see the handle, and wonder why a field Negro. Think about that for a minute. Think about what makes a field Negro: Hard worker; cares about his family; cares about his race; cares about humanity; and always with the masses so he knows what it will take to improve our plight. He understands -because he works so hard in the fields- that it will take more than just talk but action to make things happen. And finally, that the house is not his, and ultimately, he will have to build his own. That, my friends, is the essence of the field-Negro, and that is what every Negro should strive to become.



***Note, since this post I have changed my opinion about Oprah. I think girlfriend is on the patio now and has at least one leg in the fields.

113 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:56 AM

    the correct term is Noirgeoise. See ya in another few months

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  2. Well, that ought to help him understand where you're coming from, and all without wasting your Sunday afternoon explaining something the brother could read for himself.

    I'm writing again (when did I stop?) and quoted your LA Times piece in something I posted at my blog and at Now Public. Like you, I haven't changed my basic premise that I wrote about today: "race" does not exist as a matter of biological fact, and the Human Genome Project proves it.

    So, why do I find the word "Race" appearing nine times in an article about Barack Obama's trip to the Latin America Summit?

    'I know the news media's motive. They are trying to help us Blacks to maintain our sense of identity in a rapidly changing world. Yeah, right! :) In fact, they are trying to help WHITES maintain their sense of superior identity in a rapidly changing world -- a world in which science is utterly disproving the fundamental theories of biology upon which white supremacy has been based.'

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  3. As a black conservative, I can honestly say that I'm not offended by the concept at all of the house/field negro dichotomy. As I've learned all too well tonight, being a true field negro isn't about what you say, it's about what you DO.

    I just find it strange that Whites have always considered me Militant, and Blacks usually feel the same until they find out my view points are conservative. Now if that isn't house negro behavior, I don't know what is, LOL.

    And IMHO, Oprah has done far too much specifially for Blacks to be considered a house negro. That's just wrong on so many levels.

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  4. Thanks field. This whiter-than-white Irish lad learned a little something. Here's to your house, for it surely WILL be built.

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  5. I just love your blog. You keep me amused and informed.
    Thanks for the laughs and info.
    (Sorry for the lazy comment. It's late but I wanted to get my two cents in!)
    -r

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  6. hey field.. a good thing no...

    did you feel this exercise was good for you in terms of re-affirming your stances and takes on issues and opinions of people? ie.. you've somewhat changed your opinion on oprah..

    it is a good thing it is good to go back to primary principals once in a while to sense check myself...

    i would be interested to hear who else has changed your opinion of them....the good and the bad..

    a nice post it would make.. *in yoda voice* lol!

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  7. Anonymous1:36 AM

    It's always important to remember where you came from if you've left the 'hood. Even if in my family's case it's Tébéc (Texas as in Québéc). I don't want to rip my own family, but I can think of a few members who are "houseworthy" for fleeing the city and forgetting their roots.

    I hope that never happens to me.

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  8. Robbie:

    "Tébéc (Texas as in Québéc)."

    That's cute, I like that. (smile)

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  9. Anonymous2:15 AM

    Field,

    I am very glad you posted this. After your previous post, it couldn't have come at a better time to check my mind and heart-and to reflect on what it means to be a "Field Negro".

    It's much more than the name of your blog. Thanks.

    B#
    PS. Please tell what your colleague had to say about your blog.

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  10. Like the "house nigger" in Malcolm X' s speech, he was proud to be the only Negro living among the whites. This is the inclination and fixed way of thinking of an individual who has fled from his people and would not mind if he never sees a black neighborhood or anything associated with black people again.Field,

    And he'd have a fit at the sight of another black family moving into his little corner of the world.

    Btw, as someone who is not so much into sports, what has Michael Jordan done to earn the designation of house Negro?

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  11. If it weren't for Oprah, Obama wouldn't have been elected president so to impy that Oprah is a house Negro is house Negro behavior at it's finest.

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  12. What did MJ do? Retire from basketball a black mans sport to play golf, a white mans sport, LOL!! Once again I fail to see the house negro behavior here.

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  13. Anonymous2:49 AM

    After observing black relations in America for a while as an African, I have concluded there is both a Field and House negro in each one.

    Sometimes I see someone that appears to be a Field Negro but given the right circumstances will turn into a House Negro. I think those terms were applicable during Malcom X's time when Blacks were mostly native born but are not applicable in today's environment. They are long out dated.

    I have seen many seeming Field Negros who completely turned into a House Negro on a foreign born black. Maybe that is acceptable but I don't think that is what Malcom X meant.

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  14. I have seen many seeming Field Negros who completely turned into a House Negro on a foreign born black. Maybe that is acceptable but I don't think that is what Malcom X meant. How so?

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  15. Anonymous3:17 AM

    Unlike Magic Johnson, MJ kept his distance from the black community during his career and after. He just didn't get involved.

    Even a couple of teammates complained about that.

    B#

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  16. Think about what makes a field Negro: Hard worker; cares about his family; cares about his race; cares about humanity; and always with the masses so he knows what it will take to improve our plight. He understands -because he works so hard in the fields- that it will take more than just talk but action to make things happen. And finally, that the house is not his, and ultimately, he will have to build his own.

    I explained a House and Field negro a few days ago to someone.
    I am glad you went back into the archives to explain to the many newcomers on your blog what "Field Negro" means because too many people have the wrong negative impression.

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  17. I understood your fieldnegro housenegro think but when I tried to explain the name to a friend she thought you were commenting about the pre 1865 days and slavery. I just gave up.
    Bill Cosby has become a fieldnegro but in his early day he refused to help the effort of the Negros when they were trying to gain thier civil rights in the '60s.
    Cosby was very active in South African efforts, a good thing but at the same time he refused to make a effort for his brethern in the southern United States. I am sure I am older than you and remember things before your time.

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  18. I'm glad to see Jill Scott on your side bar. She is crazy talented.

    I can't believe some black people get that bent out of shape about the title of your blog. Are they defensive perhaps?

    We are living in some interesting times. Will the House Negroes rally around the Hannitys against Obama? What will the Patio Folks do?

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  19. Anyone remember comedian Godfrey Cambridge? I don't think he actually used the term field negro, but he did funny routines in the Sixties about how difficult it was to not act "negro" in real life because white folks thought he was just playing one on stage, & they had - I remember the sarcastic tone he used - "strange expectations."

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  20. Francis, keep writing, you have a lot to say, and a lot of folks need to listen to some of it.
    I will check out your new blog. How do you keep up? I thought I was the hardest working man in the blogging business.:)

    FlyNMy40's, MJ, kept quiet when he shouldn't have and probably cost a more deserving man (who just happened to be black) a senate seat in NC. I could go on about his womanizing,his gambling,him listening to his corporate people and staying away from controversial issues, but I think you get my point.

    I already said I reconsidered Ms. O so no need to go there with her anymore.

    marci, you are right about changing your views over time.One day I am going to think about that. I need to go back into some of my old post and see who I ripped in the past.

    I think Condi, and Oprah are the two main people who come to mind with me.

    "We are living in some interesting times. Will the House Negroes rally around the Hannitys against Obama? What will the Patio Folks do?"

    Some will go in the house, and some will come out to the fields.:)

    Thanks Rachee, please keep coming back. And the pic of the little one is cute. Having a cute little one like that is field Negro behavior.:)

    B#, hopefully my man read the post. If he did he might even be reading these comments and reach out to me to let me know what he thinks. Hell he might even post a comment.

    "I explained a House and Field negro a few days ago to someone.
    I am glad you went back into the archives to explain to the many newcomers on your blog what "Field Negro" means because too many people have the wrong negative impression."

    Blinders Off, just print the post, clip it, and keep it in your car or something. That way you can just hand it to them and ask them if they have any questions.

    Doogman,we can all learn from each other.

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  21. Anonymous7:21 AM

    (said in old jewish man accent_

    AGAIN WITH THE "MALCOLM X", WATEVA HAPPENED TO MALCOLM the XIth and XIIth???? THE WAY YOU SCHWARZES ARE ITS PROBLY XXX or XXXX BY NOW......

    Field, you see that forward on the Heat??? Has a "Field Negro" tat on the left shoulder...

    Frank

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  22. Your comment on Cosby is puzzling.

    Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, have donated millions to historically black colleges and universities.

    I also remember (I was a kid in grade school) during the late 60's his hosting a PBS show on Hollywood's treatment of African Americans.

    I never will forget how he described Shirley Temple's dancing with a black actor, and while most Americans thought this scene was endearing, black Americans wanted to cry.

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  23. FlyNMy40's, MJ, kept quiet when he shouldn't have and probably cost a more deserving man (who just happened to be black) a senate seat in NC. I could go on about his womanizing,his gambling,him listening to his corporate people and staying away from controversial issues, but I think you get my point.
    -----------------------------------

    Field, did it ever occur to you that MJ didn't support the black man running for senate (which I should remember since I have strong roots in Chapel Hill and Wilmington, NC), because he didn't support their political views? This support of Blacks for Blacks sake is ridiculous.

    If womanizing qualifies a black man as a house negro, then what the heck are Cosby and Denzel doing on the field negro list? By that definition, there aren't very many Black men on the filed negro list.

    Personally, I think you have to look at the totality of what a person has done in their life, NOT look at isolated incidents and pass judgement.

    Sharon from WI, I'm also familiar with Cosby's history and I agree 100% with you. I can also recently recall younger Blacks calling him a house negro because he spoke out against many of he ills in the black community.

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  24. Thanks for the refresher course, Field. And while my totally white self has no right to add or subtract from that metaphor, I've always (since reading excerpts from Malcolm's speech) thought of a field Negro additionally as someone who speaks truth to power. Which, in my book, is pretty damn cool.

    But that's probably what you meant when you said, "He understands ... that it will take more than just talk but action to make things happen." So, hopefully, I'm clarifying a bit...

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  25. Michael Jordan didn't have ANY political views. He supported Jesse Helms--avowed racist, over Democrat Harvey Gannt (who was as pro business a black Dem could get--Gannt built Charlotte NC from as ass-backwater town to a for-real city). He said (look it up): "Republicans buy my shoes, too."

    Read the book "Forty Million Dollar Slaves" by Todd Boyd for more on this bizarre pathology; speaking of pathologies, check out Clarence Thomas own autobiography. Of course, it would be facile to say read Merida & Fletcher's bio of him, and no self-respecting black conservative--hopefully that's not an oxymoron--would read Mike and Kevin's book anyway. But that's the great thing about pathology: it comes rushing out at you even in the subject's own words and what he/she choose to talk about.
    That should help explain MJ and Clarence. Magic, well, someone lese can take that treatise.
    FYI Obama would have won without Oprah. Trust.

    But Field, not to give FlyN and others any ammo, but many leaders become House Negroes in their old age. I note The Black Snob's talk with Rep. Donna Edwards of Md. on old Civil Rights and CBC types who are actually fairly conservative underneath, as they are dependent on corporate money, etc. The theory is that unlike white folks who can be put out to pasture in very lucrative private sector and foundation, lobbying etc. jobs, black leaders have now other source of income and ego fulfillment other than to stick around (this might apply to Tavis is an abstract and purely ego-realted sense, who knows? hahaha).

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  26. What a great blog post, this site is fnatastic!

    Jack O'Sullivan

    Bedroom Furniture SetsMens Dress Shoes

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  27. Anonymous11:47 AM

    Been reading you for awhile, I'm a WASexP and have a suggestion. It would be interesting to see (on your sidebar) a list of those black public (and semi-public) figures you consider to be "house" and those you consider to be "field" with your comments/links about their latest statements/actions/inactions you use to support their classification.
    I realize it would be a lot of work to maintain, but as an interested observer, it is nearly impossible to get timely information about people and events impacting the black community from corporate media. I have come to trust your opinions and have learned a lot from your posts and your commenters.
    Sure hope you continue.

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  28. Field,
    Have I told you lately that I Love You?
    (Laughter)
    The Wife too!
    Jaycee

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  29. CC, as a book writer I'm suprised that you "forgot" to talk about MJ's later repsonse to Jesse Helms but sadly not suprised:

    "Someone later told Jordan that Helms had a “humorous habit” of calling all black people “Fred.”

    “Yeah, humorous. Hilarious. It was then that I realized I made a mistake, I should have come out to support the brother. Let him know, if he runs again, give my office a call, we’ll hit the campaign up with all the Air Jordans and Jordan brand apparel they need. On the house. It would be my honor to be the official sponsor - along with Gatorade and Hanes — of Harvey Gantt’s next campaign.”

    You see if we're talking about people whom have NEVER in their entire lives made a mistake, then the blogging on this post needs to end now. The fact is no one is perfect, although it appears that second chances are ONLY afforded to people Black liberals deem field negroes and certainly not to ANYONE who identifies themselves as a conservative.

    One final note about MJ. As far as I can tell, he's succeeded at one of the most important tasks in a Black man's life and that is having successfully raised 2 very accomplished, trouble free young black men. And if that isn't commendable I don't know what is.

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  30. CC, I think you're deluding yourself believing Obama could have won without Oprah's support, forgetting that her endorsement came with the support of millions of whites, who were also needed for Obama to win.

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  31. Bill Cosby flirts with House negro status because he sets all the ills of the black community at the feet of the poor and uneducated, conveniently forgetting the benign neglect or actual predatory habits (Bob Johnson anyone?) of upper and middle class blacks.

    Micheal Jordan had a responsibility for instance, to use his status for the betterment of black folk, not just to pad his bank account. What kind of idiot is "surprised" that Jesse Helms is a bigot? One who is willfully ignorant I'd say. Jordan went to college right? Did he graduate? Reminds me of Colin Powell copping a mea culpa over the lies he told the UN regarding Iraq. Close to a million dead and a country in ruin; whoops, my bad. Do you think any of the billions Colin helped divert to Iraq could have been used for urban development?

    And the White-house Negro boycotting Durban 2 at the will of the Israeli lobby. How is that any different than W?

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  32. How do upper class- and middle-class blacks act as "predators" against poorer African Americans?

    With regard to the racism summit:

    If Durban 2001 is any barometer, a hatefest against Israel would be a fruitless endeavor for the United States to engage in--particularly when you have issues such as Darfur to discuss.

    The fact that that old Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be in attendance speaks volumes.

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  33. Anonymous1:38 PM

    Good Post, Field!

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  34. Btw, W's declining to participate in the conference was one of the few things I approved of. I am glad President Obama is following suit on this.

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  35. RisingTide1:44 PM

    FlyN,
    good on you. you can go on being your radical, reactionary, Conservative Field Negro self.

    Someone doesn't just apologize, I've come to learn -- they either change their deeds, or they ain't done shit.

    I'll be waiting to hear MJ change his deeds... Same way Senator "KKK" Byrd has...

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  36. RisingTide1:47 PM

    Sharon,
    Just remember that Mr. Mahmoud doesn't speak for MOST Iranians... and that significant portions of Americans (AIPAC) have a vested interest in distorting what he's actually said.
    see:
    "wipe Israel off the map" -- an idiom that connotates violence
    when he actually said
    "remove Israel from the pages of History" -- which can be seen as a more anti-imperialist "let's remove the colony".

    Still fundamentally unhelpful, but the difference!

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  37. According to your definition of the house negro, "...they are the ones who write the books for massa's ears only, kicking black folks harder than massa would ever kick us by telling us how bad we are."

    Then shouldn't Bill Cosby be considered a house negro? I thought his initial speech about the black community (i.e. our names, etc..)was definitely something a house negro would say and do. Not sure if you are a fan of Michael Eric Dyson but he wrote a whole book about Cosby and his house negro behavior.

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  38. As a member of AIPAC during college, your summoning up the bogeyman of a Jewish lobby (oooh!) just doesn't do it for me. AIPAC is no more sinister than the NAACP or the Arab American Institute.

    That said, Ahmadenejad (sp?) indeed represents Iran. That there may be some of his fellow countrymen who differ with him is besides the point.

    He is representing Iran at this conference, nevertheless.

    And based on his sentiments about Israel's right to exist and the Holocaust, I find him to be a rather execrable  human being.

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  39. false12:03 PM

    "remove Israel from the pages of History" -- which can be seen as a more anti-imperialist "let's remove the colony".That kind of speech may be unhelpful but probably not as unhelpful as dropping cluster bombs and white phosphorus all over the Middle East the way Israel and the US like to do. Oh I forgot, only Americans and Israelis can be terrorized.

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  40. RT: "Someone doesn't just apologize, I've come to learn -- they either change their deeds, or they ain't done shit."

    I agree wholeheartedly. Words are cheap, but one's actions and behavior tells everything. Thus far, MJ's deeds still haven't matched his words. Imo, he's still a HN.

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  41. RisingTide2:40 PM

    Sharon,
    AIPAC is the reason I didn't vote for John Fucking McCain.
    We Clear?
    Key people died during Operation Cast Lead. Friends, even. People who won't be easy to replace, if it's even possible anymore...

    That said, of course there are other evil lobbyists. MPAA, RIAA.

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  42. Rising Tide...good comment. I'm glad to see that not everyone in the blogosphere is knee-jerk reactive when Iran is mentioned, and have taken a few minutes to educate themselves.

    The ouster of Khatami, and the election of Ahmadinejad, unfortunately, was Iran's response to the unfortunate circumstances of the time. Those are finally over with now now, and the fact is, that there's a Presidential election coming up in June in Iran.

    The Iranian people can't stand Ahmadinejad. He's lost popularity even among conservatives there because of his inept handling of their economy, the evaporation of the civil liberties that moderates such as Mohammad Khatami worked so hard to build up, and his ridiculous foreign policy. All of my friends in Iran believe that his rhetoric has worsened Iran's isolation and standing in the world.

    Boy...THAT sounds familiar, doesn't it?

    Basically, he's Iran's George W. Bush. If he loses, he'd be replaced by Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was prime minister from '81 to '89 and current president of the Iranian Academy of Arts, who the Iranians want, and who's stated goals are to "institutionalize social justice, equality and fairness, freedom of expression, and root out corruption". If he wins in June - which is barely two months away (if it's a fair election, of course), Iran won't have Ahmadinejad as its unfortunate mouthpiece, spewing bullshit anymore.

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  43. false1: That kind of speech may be unhelpful but probably not as unhelpful as dropping cluster bombs and white phosphorus all over the Middle East the way Israel and the US like to do. Oh I forgot, only Americans and Israelis can be terrorized.

    Well said!

    Sharon, if AIPAC is harmless why are they trying to subvert the American gov't? It is no secret that long before AIPAC Israel has been spying on us. Don't make them out to be so innocent. Let's stop equating state and religion. That separation is specifically written into law to avoiding these issues. No one who (sane) says Israel is a terrorist state is anti-Semitic. They simply abhor the apartheid like conditions and subjugation Palestinians are subjected to.

    For more information on how the Israeli state uses American propaganda to it's benefit check out Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land on youtube. They used to have the full version but I think it's available in six parts. Very insightful.

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  44. I love the way you break this down. I still believe there are some AFricanAmericans whom play to massa for whom "house" is not opprium enough. they are niggers.
    I draw upon Richard Pryor's use of it before he went to Africa and decided nigger was to hurtful. His house + nigger was that person whom proceded to do the wrong thing even though he was aware he was wrong especially when it would cause grave harm to someone.

    For me AG Holder is no different than those people whom danced in the streets of Oakland when the four police officers were killed.

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  45. Right.

    The very idea that Jewish Americans would form an organization that would promote their interests.

    Such a move only shows that AIPAC is trying to subvert the United States government.

    The very idea.

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  46. RisingTide3:05 PM

    tjwash,
    I hope we throw the dictators of KSA into the fucking ocean, and make nice with Iran, which is an actual DEMOCRACY!

    Yeah, I know that Iran wanted to cozy up to us and make nice after 9-11, all helping with our anti-terrorism stuff (they know a good deal when they see one -- they ain't China, which has always had shit for diplomacy).

    And then we label them "The Axis of Evil" ... well, do you blame them for kicking a nuclear weapons program into high gear?

    They've thought better of the idea, in recent years, of course... but when you have the biggest country in the world, a nuclear superpower breathing down your neck... I'd want some nukes too!

    J,
    you damn straight it ain't no secret that Israel has been spying on American citizens. CIA knows about it, FBI knows about it. And they don't beloved care about the little whorehouse. What? you thought you knew something that the CIA didn't???

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  47. RisingTide3:09 PM

    Sharon,
    creating the conditions for genocide is NOT fucking helping anything. AIPAC is NOT helpful. NO, just NO.

    America is a great big nuclear superpower. She can do whatever she damn well pleases, and reducing Gaza to well below most third world standards is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE.

    That said, In the likely event that Israel is blown up by nuclear weapons in the near term future... it won't be because of Palestine.

    AIPAC wanted war with Iran. I want peace, and a working, good relationship between the Middle East's two functioning democracies.

    I'm no dove, but I know a good deal, and I know paranoia where I see it.

    Oh, and FlyNMy40s? It's you. It's not your conservative views, nor nothing like that. It's you. That's what got everyone's feathers ruffled.

    ReplyDelete
  48. I invite you Sharon to read this article and find out what AIPAC was doing while they were promoting Isreal's interests.http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=6890

    Rising Tide,

    Kudos for bringing up that little-known but highly effective propaganda hit job regarding the Iranian President's words. I'm no apologist for the man. I think he's a small fish in a big pond. He is what would have happened had Guiliani won the GOP primary and the election. I shudder to think it. I'll leave that to the likes of Philip Roth.

    ReplyDelete
  49. RisingTide said...
    Oh, and FlyNMy40s? It's you. It's not your conservative views, nor nothing like that. It's you. That's what got everyone's feathers ruffled.
    ----------------------------------

    Grow the fcuk up and stick to the dam topic, 'cause I don't give a rats ass what you think about me................

    ReplyDelete
  50. Wow, fly. Are we getting through that armor of hatred you pride yourself on? Taking a harder look in the mirror?

    Sadly for you, Rising Tide is dead on and I wish I had been more economical in my words to you on the last post.

    It's not your views, fly, it is you.

    ReplyDelete
  51. RisingTide4:13 PM

    FlyN,
    And to think I was complimenting you!
    Give a bitch a physical break. Or you'll get to hear me barking till doomsday.

    I posted that In this Topic so you'd see it. I KNOW it's irrelevant, give me that much credit.

    I apparently gave you more credit than you deserved, as I assumed you were just having a bad day. Ain't nobody gets so upset as you do around here, so maybe it's just community norms (not even Granny, when she's defendin' whuppin' her kids)

    Tune your 'tude down, it gets in the way of good points that you got.

    We can all be good lil children, and listen to each other, and try to not fly off the handle.

    OR, I can fill the entire window with profanity... I'm told I'm rather colorful.

    It's your choice.
    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  52. RisingTide4:14 PM

    J,
    They called Guiliani "The Little Nazi" in NYC -- and these were Jews! So they don't do that lightly.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Speaking of the world conference on racism, here is an article commenting on Ahmadinejad's recent speech at said conference.

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/20/racism.conference/index.html?eref=rss_world


    Apparently some European delegates walked out. The Jewish Holocaust was committed by white, Christian, Europeans but, somehow, it's the Palestinians who must pay for their sins.

    At the bottem of the page it mentions the US boycott saying:

    The U.S. State Department said Washington's decision was based in part on a conference document that "singles out" Israel in its criticism and conflicts with the United States' "commitment to unfettered free speech." emphasis mine.

    I guess speech is only free if you're saying what white folks want to hear.

    ReplyDelete
  54. RisingTide4:22 PM

    Iran rubs women in shit for talking with a man who isn't a relative. And they're allowed to talk about civil rights???
    false1, you get back to me on that, and you show me where it points out that female genital mutilation is also condemned.

    Israel is not the world's best country, but it's far from the worst.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Lemme guess J. You're one of those cheatin' house negroes, right lol?

    ReplyDelete
  56. Like I said in the last post you bore me. shoo, fly.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Just to say the word "negro" is difficult for some blacks...it has too many connatations for SOME folks. They have 70's flashbacks, thier parents' pains and concerns.

    I like the word...I am not exactly negro...but I am pretty damn close ;-)

    These concerns surround which moniker is in vogue for black folks at the moment. Well I guess it might be..."black folks" ;-) or blacks, black people....people of color.

    As opposed to negro...negroes, coloreds or African Americans.

    But maybe I am wrong.

    The term negro has a lot of underlying history and I like that. I would label myself a field negro...but I see that is a matter of opinion and thankfully no loner a job title ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  58. AIPAC isn't all that powerful. The people in the State Dept who are in charge of negotiating with Palestinians and Israelis don't pay a whole lot of attention to what AIPAC has to say.

    Admedinajad is a demogogue. But he's what happens when the West goes messing in the Rest.

    From what I can gather, and it took a great while, Israel has no more "right to exist" than any other nation that could be defeated militarily. By that, I mean if the Palestinians had the firepower to defeat Israel, then it would be Palestine and hilirarious for the US to say anything about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking into it, I'm not willing to say whether or not the Jews should have a country. (But if they get one, I'm just sayin using Liberia to get rid of ex-slaves doesn't really count.) Israel does a lot to educate about the Holocaust and its supposed impact, but the movement to create Israel started in the 1920s. Israel came to be by the same tactics as most other colonial countries: fire power. They're gonna need a 2-state solution because really, neither group really has a claim over and above the other's except that it was Palestine before WWII. And Israel is doing the Palestinians dirt. I don't think the rocket fire into Israel is acceptable, but Israel is recreating something like apartheid.

    I'm disappointed that so many are boycotting the UN conference, and maybe AIPAC had some influence there. We're not going to get past these issues if we don't talk. We got much bigger problems when it comes to racism around the world than what a demogogue thinks about Israel.

    As for the dichotomy, I completely agree. Though I have to say, your tag, FN took me off guard the first time I saw it, but once I understood where you were coming from, it was too good! I wished I had thought of it myself.

    Now, I'm loathed to say/ask this, but I'm curious. It seems to me that conservative policies - those policies we identify with the Republican party, CPAC, etc - do a great deal to maintain the racial status quo. I think the Dems would do better to not be so paternalistic, but they do much better the Republicans. The very first people to suffer from this economic crisis that was brought on by conservative economic policy were us. I'm always curious to understand the Michael Steeles of the world. I hear what they say about the free market, but a racialized market isn't exactly free. And the truth is, in a completely free market, things like racism and old boy networks will work to keep one group above the others. And I know of few credible economists, even conservative economists, who actually think supply-side is something to build economic policy around.

    Now, I understand no one "owes" me an explanation. But as one who's open to voting however will best benefit my people, I'm curious to know.

    And just to be sure, MJ should've known what Helms was about. Helms had been the same way since he came into congress. He beat Gantt by running the commercial where the black hand is taking something from the white hand, and related it to jobs. From what I can tell, MJ probably votes Dem or is sympathetic to Dems - he just doesn't want to lose the Republican market.

    By the by, Eugene Robinson won the pulitzer. Way to go, Eugene!!

    ReplyDelete
  59. The Jewish Holocaust was committed by white, Christian, Europeans but, somehow, it's the Palestinians who must pay for their sins.

    At the bottem of the page it mentions the US boycott saying:

    The U.S. State Department said Washington's decision was based in part on a conference document that "singles out" Israel in its criticism and conflicts with the United States' "commitment to unfettered free speech." emphasis mine.

    I guess speech is only free if you're saying what white folks want to hear.
    Apparently, you never heard of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and his complicity with AH and Company.

    Not everything is in shades of black and white.

    ReplyDelete
  60. knockoutchick - Personlly, I like "African American." It acknowledges the land of my ancestors while also acknowledging what my ancestors have gone through and done for this country and where I am now. You know? (But, admittedly, I do use it to seperate myself from US racism and idiocy around the world.) But for the purpose of being pc, folks should just stick to African American or black unless you're a group member. That's my personal view.

    ReplyDelete
  61. no1kstate:

    "Eugene Robinson won the pulitzer. Way to go, Eugene!!"

    When they did announce that, today? And what did he get the pulitzer for? I haven't turned on my television set today at all, so I'm getting the news from you fresh off the press. (smile)

    ReplyDelete
  62. Anonymous5:43 PM

    I came across this on Harriet Tubman...

    "When she was only five years old, Brodas began "renting" the young Harriet to neighboring families where she performed such work as winding yarn, checking muskrat traps, housekeeping, splitting fence rails, loading timber, and nursing children. Tubman eventually came to prefer field labor over domestic duties."

    szpork

    ReplyDelete
  63. szpork:

    What book you read that in or other source?

    Oh, yeah, one more thing, I'm still waiting on that recipe for the pecan sweet potatoe pie.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Granny - I don't know. I just heard on Hardball on MSNBC.

    But I looked it up for ya!

    Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson captured the prize for commentary for his writing about the campaign that led to Barack Obama's election.
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/20/AR2009042001981.html?hpid%3Dartslot&sub=AR

    ReplyDelete
  65. no1kskate:

    Thank you sweetheart! That is some wonderful news. I pray that more black journalist are recognized and awarded. We do have some good ones out there, but most of them don't get the credit they deserve. Travis Smiley is not one of them though.

    ReplyDelete
  66. You're welcome! I completely agree.

    ReplyDelete
  67. What I find fascinating is why so many people care about what ONE MAN'S opinion of what a field or house negro is.

    It betrays an almost comical insecurity on anyone's part if they care if a blogger thinks he or she is a house negro. Not saying anything bad about field's blog, but if you need someone else to approve your lifestyle, you're already lost.

    Just my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Robbie said: "It's always important to remember where you came from if you've left the 'hood. Even if in my family's case it's Tébéc (Texas as in Québéc). I don't want to rip my own family, but I can think of a few members who are "houseworthy" for fleeing the city and forgetting their roots.

    I hope that never happens to me."

    Me and my family came up on the South Side of Chicago. Our family was ripped apart by drugs and gang violence (I was shot once myself). I will NEVER understand the mentality of people who feel they need to stay in these types of neighborhoods to stay "real".

    It's FUCKED UP that so many black neighborhoods are drug and gang plagued. It's FUCKED UP that too many of our people are poorly educated and on top of that, lacking some basic emotional maturity. These things aren't cool. If you work your ass off by going to college, joining the military or whatever you do to move out of those neighborhoods, that's COMMON SENSE. No, you don't forget where you come from, but you also don't pine for "the good old days" in the 'hood that were actually horrendous days.

    Some of my brothers couldn't pull themselves out of the trap of drugs and gangs and now I have on in prison on double-life. I will never return to my old neighborhood because there's nothing for me there. Where I live now (Maryland) there are some young brothas in my development that seem to be on the fast track to the "thug life". I do my best to talk to them and show them a different example of how a black man can be. Too many of our people think we are SUPPOSED to be violent, uneducated and classless. When will our neighborhoods be places where we aren't killing each other in the streets and selling each other poison and calling our women bitches and hoes?

    When can THAT be where we don't "forget where we come from?"

    ReplyDelete
  69. False1 & Stacie, fair points about Cos. But when I consider his overall body of work I have to put him in the fields. Has he had some issues? Yep. And do I wish he had handled some of his speaking out about black folks a little differently? Yep. But for the most part Cos walks the walk with his time and money.

    You all know I want to jump into this debate about AIPAC, right? But I am going to leave it alone for now.I might blog about the racism conference and A-murder-ca's response, later. no1k-state, I liked what you had to say about the issue. And maybe one of our resident conservatives can answer that question for you.I would give it a go, but I don't think I am allowed to speak for conservatives.

    Big ups to E. Robinson! That is serious FN behavior.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Anonymous6:41 PM

    Granny, was at http://www.answers.com/topic/harriet-tubman

    The Miss. sweet potatoes just showed up at Kroger. I'll try to cook that this week and then will post recipie if it's any good.

    szpork

    ReplyDelete
  71. szpork:

    Okay, thanks! I'll be waiting. :>)

    ReplyDelete
  72. szpork:

    Here is a link to electronic books that no longer have copyrights on them that were written in the late 1800's and early 1900's. They have many Black History books you can download and read, copy them to a disk, and share them with others. In addition, they have other categories to choose from such fiction, nonfiction, etc. They are free.

    http://manybooks.net/categories/

    ReplyDelete
  73. Luv:

    Sorry to hear that about your family and what you've been through. Drugs destroyed a lot of families and neighborhoods. Until they start taking down those at the top, we'll probably continue to have that problem. Just arresting the little man at the bottom of the totem pole for the sake of appearance while letting the big cats at the top go free will never eradicate the problem. It is got to be pulled up and chopped off at the roots.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Lynne from Brooklyn7:54 PM

    Just a note on Muhammad Ali. Remember his fight with Joe Frazier in Manilla, Philippines? It was billed the "thrilla in Manilla". In the weeks leading up to the fight Ali repeatedly called Frazier a "gorilla" during press interviews and posed with a stuffed toy gorilla-punching it and saying he would knock out Frazier. All of this ugly speech by Ali is appears in a documentary film just shown on HBO.
    Now in light of how very upset folks were about the monkey cartoon in the NY Post recently which was obviously a racist slap at the President by the Post's cartoonist and editorial board, how do you feel about Ali's "gorilla" name calling of Frazier? Does he still deserve to be considered a field negro?
    Check out the documentary film and decide for yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  75. I keep on telling you:

    Oprah OWNS THE PLANTATION. She goes wherever she wants.

    But, I'm glad to see the Patio back.

    LOL

    Great post, FN.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Anonymous8:37 PM

    Granny, There was an oil artist who painted about growing up in Balck Helena, AR. The time for the events in the paintings would be the 30's but were painted much later. I remember a picture of the inside of a rundown wooden speak easy on Saturday Night and another of some guys leaning on pitchforks outside a barn. You wouldn't know who this guy was, would you? I've wasted a lot of time trying to figure this out.

    spork

    ReplyDelete
  77. Lady-Cracker8:49 PM

    Francis L. Holland this is a visible acknowledgement of what you posted; "I haven't changed my basic premise that I wrote about today: "race" does not exist as a matter of biological fact, and the Human Genome Project proves it."

    I have made mention of that a couple of times referring to the tracking of prehistoric DNA referencing the July, 2008 Scientific American, with out getting a single ping back.

    I want to to have that acknowledgement, I truly and deeply that people will get this information and move on.

    ReplyDelete
  78. I kind of agree with the folks that say our positions in and out of the house can change at times, but there's never a need to get cruddy once we've transitioned.

    As For Dr. Bill Cosby, I personally have NO USE for him at all.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Lady-Cracker, when we begin to refer to the theory of "race" as an historical scientific error, then we will all be better off. The Catholic Church has admitted that Copernicus (?) was right and the world is not flat.

    Now it's times for Blacks and whites to acknowledge that "race" doesn't exist and it never did. It was always just a big scientific hoax to divide us.

    I'm pissed because although we know that "race" doesn't exist, yet I see the word NINE times in a Washington Post article talking about the "importance of Obama's race." It's his fucking skin color that we're talking about and the word "race" is just an attempt to bootstrap it up into something much more substantial. They WANT skin color to ALWAYS be fundamental and that's why they insist on calling it "race" all the time.

    Yeah, Field, Oprah was there when Obama needed her, and she could have just kept her mouth shut. She showed courage, risking angering some white people to support a Black man.

    Lady Cracker, you can always comment at the American Journal of Color Arousal Blog and you'll have my undivided attention on this matter of the utmost importance.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Lynne....I saw the film. And can I tell you something? I know Smoking Joe somewhat. Our paths have crossed quite a few times here in Phily, and I heard that story long before the film came out. I also know about his (Frazier's) contempt for Ali.What Ali did to him was wrong.But I still have to keep Ali in the fields. He shouldn't have played the fool the way he did and insult Joe's looks so that white folks could get a laugh, but I can't put him in the house after his stance on Nam, not to mention the way he spoke out about other social issues at the time.

    "Too many of our people think we are SUPPOSED to be violent, uneducated and classless. When will our neighborhoods be places where we aren't killing each other in the streets and selling each other poison and calling our women bitches and hoes?"

    Co-sign Luv.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Bill Cosby is a Field Negro!?! Are you kidding me?

    Makes me wanna throw Mike Dyson's Book "Is Bill Cosby Right of Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind" at you. And I'm talking the hard cover!

    ReplyDelete
  82. Robert M,

    Richard Pryor was in fact a house nigger (a hypocritical hiding "up in the attic" house nigger if you ask me). Sidney Poitier, Lou Rawls, James Brown... all of them, all the way back to friggin Frederick Douglas hypocritical house mongering backside. The list goes on. I would never quote anything from those people. (spit)

    ReplyDelete
  83. @GrannyStandingForTruth

    Thanks for posting the web site.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Field, I never will forget how, as a seventh grader, a teacher denigrated Muhammad Ali, saying he was a coward for declining to serve in Vietnam.

    Her name was Sister Louella. She was a bitch in general--and she certainly was a bitch then when she said what she did about Ali.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Anonymous9:50 PM

    La.... why do you say Federick Douglas was a house negro? He wasn't, he was a great man. He did more for black people that Malcom X ever did. Read your history book.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Think about what makes a field Negro: Hard worker; cares about his family; cares about his race; cares about humanity; and always with the masses so he knows what it will take to improve our plight. He understands -because he works so hard in the fields- that it will take more than just talk but action to make things happen. And finally, that the house is not his, and ultimately, he will have to build his own.Or her own. And when you realize that in order to be a complete human being, you need to do the equivalent of burning down your father's house, the trick is not to burn yourself up at the same time, but to go off and build a new one of your own. A new habitat for humanity, as it were.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Oh yes Anony 9:50, I stand corrected. He must have been a really great black man in your eyes, he was even given the "privilege" to marry a white woman in the 1800's.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Anonymous10:55 PM

    I love the Field Negro moniker, and find it so evocative not only in terms of its application to the immediate issues of race, but by extension in more general human terms. Maybe this is an obvious point and maybe it's been made before in which case I apologize I'm fairly new here, but fwiw I think this is one reason why you have such an apparently diverse following. Many of us of all stripes share the sense of operating either against, outside, or at least in spite of, the establishment, rather than on its behalf, which as I understand it characterizes in some measure the house/field dichotomy.

    While a lillywhite englishman can't presume to have an intimate identification with the black american experience, it thus occurs to me to ask, how far beyond the boundaries purely of color might the house/field dichotomy be legitimately applied? I accept the answer may be "not at all, get your own damn dichotomy," but even if so I still find great resonance in the concept, in relation to the human struggle in a broader sense.

    Andrew

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous10:55 PM

    What about Rappers. Jay Z, Notorious BIG, Tupac, Diddy, etc. Are they field of House Negros?

    ReplyDelete
  90. Anonymous said...
    "What about Rappers. Jay Z, Notorious BIG, Tupac, Diddy, etc. Are they field of House Negros? "

    They're musical Pied Piper slave catchers in disguise.

    ReplyDelete
  91. Anonymous1:14 AM

    FIELD,

    QUICK QUESTION: In a new sidebar px, What does the sign (held by the black woman in the blue blouse) say? I can't read it, but I'm curious to know why she's a HN.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Respect! Field...

    ReplyDelete
  93. Szpork:

    To your answer on the painting, I've never seen it before, so I wouldn't know. Sorry I couldn't be of help.

    ReplyDelete
  94. BLACK PHILANTHROPY BEARS MANY FRUITS

    Leading Foundations & Charities

    NAME(S) Occupation ORGANIZATION(S)

    Oprah Winfrey TV Talk show host The Oprah Winfrey
    Foundation; Oprah's
    Angel Network; Oprah
    Winfrey Operating
    Foundation

    Eileen Harris Executive Peter Norton Family
    Norton Foundation Inc.

    Tom Joyner Radio talk show host Tom Joyner Foundation
    Inc.

    David & Valerie Former NBA player/ The David Robinson
    Robinson philanthropist Foundation

    Tiger Woods Professional golfer The Tiger Woods
    Foundation

    Sean "P. Diddy" Hip-hop artist, actor Daddy's House Social
    Combs Programs Inc.

    Rachel Robinson Philanthropist The Jackie Robinson
    Foundation

    Eddie & Sylvia Money manager/ The Eddie C. & C. Sylvia
    Brown philanthropists Brown Family Foundation

    Alonzo Mourning NBA player Alonzo Mourning
    Charities Inc.;
    Zo's Fund for Life

    Earvin "Magic" Former NBA player/ The Magic Johnson
    Johnson philanthropist Foundation

    Ben & Candy Pediatric neurosurgeon/ Carson Scholars Fund
    Carson philanthropist

    Russell Simmons Recording executive/ Rush Philanthropic Arts
    philanthropist Foundation

    Charles Barkley Former NBA player The Charles Barkley
    Foundation

    Hank & Billye Former MLB player/ Hank Aaron Chasing the
    Aaron philanthropist Dream Foundation

    William & Actor/philanthropist William Henry Cosby Jr.
    Camille Cosby and Camille Olivia Cosby
    Foundation; Hello
    Friend/Ennis William
    Cosby Foundation

    Marshall Faulk NFL player Marshall Faulk
    Foundation

    Chris "Ludacris" Hip-hop artist, actor The Ludacris Foundation
    Bridges

    Montel Williams TV Talk show host The Montel Williams
    MS Foundation

    Warrick Dunn NFL player Warrick Dunn Foundation
    Inc.

    Alphonse Fletcher Money manager The Fletcher Foundation

    NAME(S) CAUSES 2003 GIFTS

    Oprah Winfrey Education, the arts, $10,537,131
    public health, women

    Eileen Harris The arts, education, 4,595,260
    Norton community health

    Tom Joyner HBCUs 3,064,119

    David & Valerie Education, 1,727,629
    Robinson feeding the hungry

    Tiger Woods Education, sports 1,519,099

    Sean "P. Diddy" Youth, education 1,333,333
    Combs

    Rachel Robinson Education 1,220,104

    Eddie & Sylvia Education 1,142,493
    Brown

    Alonzo Mourning Underprivileged 1,015,864
    children;
    disorder research

    Earvin "Magic" Health, urban 430,206
    Johnson education

    Ben & Candy Youth, education 518,351
    Carson

    Russell Simmons Art, education, 388,798
    youth

    Charles Barkley Education 319,200

    Hank & Billye Education, youth, 220,362
    Aaron

    William & Education, dyslexia 215,500
    Camille Cosby awareness

    Marshall Faulk Inner-city youth/ 133,027
    children

    Chris "Ludacris" Abused/homeless 121,830

    Bridges children

    Montel Williams Multiple Sclerosis 120,000
    research

    Warrick Dunn Single-mother 108,091
    families

    Alphonse Fletcher Art, youth 101,450

    SOURCE: B.E. RESEARCH

    Leading Individual Donors

    NAME(S) TITLE

    Oprah Winfrey TV Talk show host,
    The Oprah Winfrey Show

    Sheila C. Johnson Partner, Lincoln Holdings

    John H. Johnson Publisher, Ebony magazine

    Robert L. Johnson Founder, BET

    Carl & Mary Ware Philanthropists

    Dennis W. Archer Chairman, Dickinson Wright P.L.L.C.

    Edward A. Blackmon Attorney, Blackmon & Blackmon

    Eunice Walker Johnson Secretary-Treasurer,
    Producer-Director,
    Ebony Fashion Fair

    Willie Gary Attorney, Gary, Willliams,
    Parenti, Finney, Lewis,
    McManus, Watson & Sperando

    Bishop William A. Hilliard Retired bishop

    Calvin & Tina Tyler Jr. Philanthropists

    Eddie & Sylvia Brown Investment manager,
    Brown Capital Management

    Jalen Rose NBA player/Founder,
    Jalen Rose Foundation

    Jonas T. Kennedy Owner, Kennedy Turkey Farms

    Louise Tarver Jackson Former teacher, alumni

    NAME(S) RECIPIENT(s)

    Oprah Winfrey The Oprah Winfrey Foundation,
    The Oprah Winfrey Operating Foundation

    Sheila C. Johnson Parsons School of Design,
    Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

    John H. Johnson Howard University

    Robert L. Johnson National Underground Railroad
    Freedom Center

    Carl & Mary Ware Clark Atlanta University

    Dennis W. Archer Wayne State University,
    Dennis W. Archer Community
    Development Fund, et al

    Edward A. Blackmon Tougaloo College

    Eunice Walker Johnson Talladega College

    Willie Gary Shaw University,
    Florida Atlantic University Foundation,
    Edward Waters College,
    Gertrude Walden Day Care,
    Virginia University Lynchburg,
    Alonzo Mourning Charities, et al

    Bishop William A. Hilliard Livingstone College

    Calvin & Tina Tyler Jr. Morgan State University

    Eddie & Sylvia Brown Howard University,
    African American Museum of
    History & Culture

    Jalen Rose Detroit College Scholarships,
    Assist Donations,
    Celebrity Charity Weekend,
    Chicago Children's Fund

    Jonas T. Kennedy Claflin University,
    Africa University

    Louise Tarver Jackson Paine College

    NAME(S) AMOUNT

    Oprah Winfrey $132,580,000

    Sheila C. Johnson 7,350,000

    John H. Johnson 4,000,000

    Robert L. Johnson
    3,000,000

    Carl & Mary Ware 1,500,000

    Dennis W. Archer
    1,217,665

    Edward A. Blackmon 1,149,300

    Eunice Walker Johnson 1,000,000

    Willie Gary 950,000

    Bishop William A. Hilliard
    500,000

    Calvin & Tina Tyler Jr.
    500,000


    Eddie & Sylvia Brown
    400,000

    Jalen Rose 261,200

    Jonas T. Kennedy 254,000

    Louise Tarver Jackson
    250,000

    ReplyDelete
  95. nonymous said...
    "What about Rappers. Jay Z, Notorious BIG, Tupac, Diddy, etc. Are they field of House Negros? "
    They're musical Pied Piper slave catchers in disguise.Have to co-sign here. They are the most maddening and dangerous ones of all:

    Clearly House Negroes that have convinced significant parts of the Field that they are Field Negroes.

    Don't get no scarier than that.

    ReplyDelete
  96. Oprah is not a House Negro or on the porch Field. She is her own woman. Her audience is white. She does whatever she wants. She doesn't have disdain for Blacks she's just not on the firetruck trying to rescue people who may not even accept the help anyway.

    And from my perspective by the way some of your exalted men have treated Black women they wouldn't be in the fields.

    ReplyDelete
  97. DuchessDee8:40 PM

    FN I am glad you brought this back up. When I first came across your blog i too spoke on it. Now that I understand, Kudos. While your out in the field remember not only the mind mentality needs to be taken care of but the body, spirit and soul.

    ReplyDelete
  98. Anonymous9:10 PM

    Anonymous said...
    "What about Rappers. Jay Z, Notorious BIG, Tupac, Diddy, etc. Are they field of House Negros? "

    They're musical Pied Piper slave catchers in disguise."

    La, you know you are right!Pied Pipers leading the youth into a darkened ditch to know where!Great comment!

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  99. When I first found this blog I had to look up this field negro and house negro thing. I have to say that Malcom X's declamation on the issue raised my opinion of Malcom X. Say whatever one will, but the man had a wicked and dark (no pun, honest) sense of humor.

    No sword is without its other edge. The downside of that dichotomy, as I see it, is that it can create unwarranted suspicion of whites among blacks. Of course, let me be quick to add that a lot of that suspicion is fully warranted, but there are situations where it's as if there are hidden cracks in the sidewalk, and not just for black people.

    Anything that aids in the process of telling the truth, attacking the problems, and (eventually) healing the wounds is good. Anything that does the opposite is an issue.

    By the way, I'm a fan of Bill Cosby. I was when I was a kid, and I am as an adult. The man has told the truth. He has spent his life saying what has needed to be said, to whoever needed to hear it. That's not something to casually dismiss.

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  100. Glad you posted this again, but I remember the first time I saw your blog and Malcolm's picture in the sidebar, I chuckled. I knew right away I had come across a blog that would have intelligent, thoughtful and provocative posts. I'm not saying I expect any blog with a pic of Malcolm to be those things. It was the combination of the name and the picture that tipped me off. I'm glad I was not disappointed.

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  101. One more thing. When I read the following: Black conservatives are always quick to lash out at the house Negro moniker as if it's directed at them, the old country saying came to mind, "Guilty dog hollers loudest." Generally people only leap to the conclusion that someone is talking about them when they feel some guilt about something they've done or something they believe.

    A white woman dropped by at a site where I blog after I posted on The Ebony Experiment to tell me that drugs, gangs, violence in black neighborhoods should not be blamed on white people; black people had done that to themselves.

    Bear in mind that nothing in my post said drugs, gangs, violence etc. was a particular group's fault. I didn't even address those kinds of problems. Various people, both black and white, jumped down her throat. Some tried to be polite and teacher her something. But she kept coming back with more nonsense, misrepresenting Malcolm X, etc.

    Finally I'd had it and said, "I'm not going to respond to you anymore than I would respond to a KKK site argument." I knew the term "KKK" would do it. She went ballistic after that, calling me a "moron," (not that she hadn't been insulting me all along by telling me that I lacked intelligence because I used excerpts from other blog posts to make my point, you know supporting evidence) and then claiming she had a biracial child as though that proves she's not a racist.

    I chalk her coronary arrest up to another case of "the guilty dog hollers loudest."

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  102. FN:

    In my opinion, this is the best prose I have read on your blog to date.

    Yes, your writing structure has improved over the years. But, in my opinion, this post is going to be tough to best.

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  103. The really hard thing to do is disentangle the roots, to figure out what can be traced to slavery and its legacy, and what can be traced to community pathology, and what can be traced to family issues, and what can be laid onto pure evil.

    That's the downside, to me, of Malcom X's field negro vs. house negro distinction. It can be a device to lay off all pathologies present among black people to the effects of white racism.

    Anyone with brains, which includes a whole lot of black folks, knows that it's a dodge to lay it all on white racism. Anyone with brains, which includes a whole lot of white people, knows it's a dodge to say that white racism is something we only see in the rear-view mirror.

    It's not easy to go at these things, but not a whole lot of things worth doing are easy.

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  104. @Grinder

    The truth is that once you hold for socio-economic status, are issues, crime, drug abuse, etc, are no worse than anybody else. And the fact that a disproportionate number of blacks are poor is due to racism. Our over-representation in the justice system, in foster care - studies all show it's due to racism. The only thing that stands out is the number of out-of-wedlock births - and even some of that can be traced to racism. The environment black men have to face is toxic. But, that's a whole nothing issue.

    Basically, our "problems" are the same as anyone else's. Racism aggravates it. Period. And, I guess I should say sorry, but I'm not going to pretend black folks have to be better before we're accorder equality, and to act as though our issues are just our own pathologies belies the facts.

    Don't get me wrong. I'd agree with you 100% about racism being a convenient excuse if it weren't for the fact that it's true.

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  105. Racism is rarely more than an explanation. It's almost never an excuse. The biggest victims of pathology among blacks is black people. That's the real irony, isn't it? But isn't it also the real opportunity?

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  106. @grinder - I'm sorry. I didn't understand.

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  107. Anonymous10:46 PM

    "I have seen many seeming Field Negros who completely turned into a House Negro on a foreign born black. Maybe that is acceptable but I don't think that is what Malcom X meant. How so?"


    Sharon,

    Any Black person that goes out of their way to denigrate another simply because they are not native is HN. And look no further than this blog.

    I am truly sickened by minority hypocricy of crying discrimination and then turn around and do the same to their own based on national origin and even skin tone. That is why I believe there is a bit of both in everyone. Its no longer one or the other.
    When one thinks they can gain favor of the dominant group, the typical minority will step on you to get ahead, forget the Kumbaya stuff. This whole way of looking at race is seriously outdated.

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  108. "When one thinks they can gain favor of the dominant group, the typical minority will step on you to get ahead, forget the Kumbaya stuff..."

    Grata, you make a good point.
    B#

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  109. Field, i'm late out the gate-but this post was right on time!! and on that note-selah!!

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  110. NYButterfly8:39 AM

    I just happened across your blog by chance and saw this entry. I have to say, I laughed too much! Very well written, very funny, and very true!

    I'll be bookmarking this. :)

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  111. Anonymous11:24 AM

    Keep up the good work, Field! I'm a white guy and in my experience, sometimes it's embarrassing to be either based on the behavior of my tribe.

    To the people who don't get why Michael Jordon is on the House List. Here's my take:

    If Michael Jordan wanted to help black American kids, he could (no, SHOULD) have done a public service message that said:

    "Listen, you're probably not going to be an NBA star, OK? If you want to make something of yourself, please don't waste hours on your free throws. Spend your hours with you face inside of a book. The odds are 1 in 10 million, you'll make it to the NBA. Play the odds and get an education. That's WAY more likely to help you than being good at basketball."

    Something to that effect. As far as I can tell, I've never seen or heard him say much for any "cause" except selling gatorade, NBA or shoes.

    I always wondered...doesn't MJ feel some sort of responsibility or does he just want to gamble, play golf and enjoy his huge mansion (the "I've got mine, screw everybody else" syndrome).

    I could be wrong of course. Maybe he is a philanthropist...maybe I'm just not aware of it. I'm just disappointed that somewhere in all those gatorade ads, he couldn't have tried to speak to Black Youth directly...

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