We can talk about every policy, law, and institutionalized practice that keeps blacks in the hood, but when thinking about what gets the select few out is the question. W.E.B. Du Bois authored The Talented Tenth which didn’t answer the question, but stated the responsibilities for those who would make it out to help those who weren’t afforded the resilience to excel past their peers.
The majority who don’t make it out of the hood have what I would like to call, “hood mentality.” They don’t see life outside of their zip code and life outside of their circumstances. At birth they are given a disadvantage that perpetuate a low ceiling for them. When an individual has no incentive to better themselves or anything to aim for they start to live day to day instead of anticipating a future. Even when you look in the media from news outlets and even music, people are consistently reminded that they might not live to see 25 or that they will end up being a welfare queen. Many of “us” in the hood also have a false sense of inclusion into dominate society. They feel that maybe if I can buy this or put an image then I have made it.
If you look at history in the 1500’s all Jews lived in ghettos. They didn’t have exceptions because Christians during that time made sure that if a Jew tried to escape that they would be placed there. In contemporary times blacks are not segregated by color into lower income communities, but by policy they have been grouped there. Also they have been grouped there by gentrification. These types of practices have been going on for so long that many develop a “hood nigga psychological” complex. In today’s thought process we have been made to believe that hood and black coincides with one another. For those who don’t accept this and reject these notions (The Talented Tenth) they are looked at as acting white, sell-outs, and less than black by their “hood” counterparts. Even though no one will openly say that they want to struggle or live in poverty, many will tell you that they don’t want to be rejected by their own.
Even though we have given ourselves low ceilings we has a collective have refused to work together to break through the glass, and even though some may not be spiritual we still use the principle of GOD as a deterrent by just believing that he will make a way instead of individuals taken it upon themselves to put in the work.
For those who made it of the hood without the use of entertainment and sports can be looked at as simply wanting it more. They reject every negative notion about themselves. In my opinion the only way to make it out of these conditions is to believe that you have a higher ceiling. Even though you know racism and discrimination exist you must always keep in the forefront of your brain that you belong here and you just as good as your counterparts, if not better. Of course it is best to avoid earlier pregnancy and incarceration because those things can just return you back into that same cycle of poverty. To make it out you have to have discipline, especially the ability to deal with the processes of obtaining new information. The brain consumes about 20-30 percent of all the calories that the body intakes daily. When a person is consuming information that rapid increase of information can cause many to feel tired or bored. Those who don’t accept these feelings are able to confront limitations that are presented to them. The gap between the talented tenth and those who go to jail or those who are stuck in the hood isn’t that much different when you focus on it with wide lenses. Few take that leap of faith and many take steps back and look at the probability of the outcome by past history and expectations that they or others may have for them.
Our choices ultimately depend on fear. Do you anticipate the banquets that life will cater to us, or are you scared? Those who make it have a purpose in life. They don’t believe that they just live here, they believe in living. From working with secondary educational students I can tell at an early age who will make it, not by listening to their words, by observing their actions. When you look at a person’s everyday choices that will reveal what they believe is central and that in-turn will drive them there. If you take steps towards trying to be a street nigga that’s how you will be, but if your actions are propelled towards learning that will bring you into that demographic. We must also note that an educated demographic doesn’t coincide with hood, even though the hood may be a part of their studies. The difference is that you just study the hood from the sidewalk.
At the end of it all are conscious actions and beliefs are the ones the run the show and get us out of the hood. No government program, scholarship, speech, or black president can. The only thing that brings us out of the hood is ourselves and willpower.
The majority who don’t make it out of the hood have what I would like to call, “hood mentality.” They don’t see life outside of their zip code and life outside of their circumstances. At birth they are given a disadvantage that perpetuate a low ceiling for them. When an individual has no incentive to better themselves or anything to aim for they start to live day to day instead of anticipating a future. Even when you look in the media from news outlets and even music, people are consistently reminded that they might not live to see 25 or that they will end up being a welfare queen. Many of “us” in the hood also have a false sense of inclusion into dominate society. They feel that maybe if I can buy this or put an image then I have made it.
If you look at history in the 1500’s all Jews lived in ghettos. They didn’t have exceptions because Christians during that time made sure that if a Jew tried to escape that they would be placed there. In contemporary times blacks are not segregated by color into lower income communities, but by policy they have been grouped there. Also they have been grouped there by gentrification. These types of practices have been going on for so long that many develop a “hood nigga psychological” complex. In today’s thought process we have been made to believe that hood and black coincides with one another. For those who don’t accept this and reject these notions (The Talented Tenth) they are looked at as acting white, sell-outs, and less than black by their “hood” counterparts. Even though no one will openly say that they want to struggle or live in poverty, many will tell you that they don’t want to be rejected by their own.
Even though we have given ourselves low ceilings we has a collective have refused to work together to break through the glass, and even though some may not be spiritual we still use the principle of GOD as a deterrent by just believing that he will make a way instead of individuals taken it upon themselves to put in the work.
For those who made it of the hood without the use of entertainment and sports can be looked at as simply wanting it more. They reject every negative notion about themselves. In my opinion the only way to make it out of these conditions is to believe that you have a higher ceiling. Even though you know racism and discrimination exist you must always keep in the forefront of your brain that you belong here and you just as good as your counterparts, if not better. Of course it is best to avoid earlier pregnancy and incarceration because those things can just return you back into that same cycle of poverty. To make it out you have to have discipline, especially the ability to deal with the processes of obtaining new information. The brain consumes about 20-30 percent of all the calories that the body intakes daily. When a person is consuming information that rapid increase of information can cause many to feel tired or bored. Those who don’t accept these feelings are able to confront limitations that are presented to them. The gap between the talented tenth and those who go to jail or those who are stuck in the hood isn’t that much different when you focus on it with wide lenses. Few take that leap of faith and many take steps back and look at the probability of the outcome by past history and expectations that they or others may have for them.
Our choices ultimately depend on fear. Do you anticipate the banquets that life will cater to us, or are you scared? Those who make it have a purpose in life. They don’t believe that they just live here, they believe in living. From working with secondary educational students I can tell at an early age who will make it, not by listening to their words, by observing their actions. When you look at a person’s everyday choices that will reveal what they believe is central and that in-turn will drive them there. If you take steps towards trying to be a street nigga that’s how you will be, but if your actions are propelled towards learning that will bring you into that demographic. We must also note that an educated demographic doesn’t coincide with hood, even though the hood may be a part of their studies. The difference is that you just study the hood from the sidewalk.
At the end of it all are conscious actions and beliefs are the ones the run the show and get us out of the hood. No government program, scholarship, speech, or black president can. The only thing that brings us out of the hood is ourselves and willpower.
No comments:
Post a Comment