Then You Realize...

7.15.14 10:40pm

They say when it rains it pours
That's when life throws you bullshit, after bullshit
Until you're to the point you can't take any more
Then you get pissed enough
To say you don't give a fuck
You fall down, then get back up
Then you realize, life is packed with ups & downs
And you're ready for all your battles & you're finally able to smile

                                                                            - Trevor Wynn

Your Love Story

Your Love Story
May 24th 2014 9:32 pm

Everyone has a love story

Some are despairing

Some are blissful

Some have concluded

Some are unceasing

And some are dwindling

While some are growing

But everyone has a love story

Have you told it?

                                                       -Trevor Wynn

Vacation to a Cloud

Vacation to a Cloud

May 15th 2014 10:37pm

Fly with me

Vibe with me

Get high with me

Kiss the sky with me

Get lost in each others' eyes with me

Baby, lets address this stress...

Take a vacation to a cloud...

And fly with me

...vibe with me

...baby, get high with me

                                                                            

                                                                                           -Trevor Wynn

"Sisters & Brothers" (short poem)

Sisters & Brothers

May 15th 2014 1:39pm

Unity is nonexistent 

When it is much needed

Cries are unheard

When the masses have begged and pleaded

We're murdered by them 

And murdered by ourselves, because we don't know each other

When will we really unite as sisters & brothers???

Sisters...& Brothers...

                                     -Trevor Wynn

DOUBLE-CONSCIOUSNESS

           Double consciousness is a concept that W.E.B. DuBois addressed in his book The Souls of Black Folk.  DuBois spoke on this struggle of the self-identity of the black man and black woman. In his book he writes,

It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in an amused contempt and pity.  One ever feels his twoness an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. 

What I feel W.E.B. DuBois is saying about double consciousness is the affect that it had on the black men and women in American society.  This double consciousness didn’t allow black men and black women to truly identify with themselves because they were at a constant struggle of trying to stay true to their own unique identity but still conform to the white American society that already didn’t see black men and black women as equals to themselves. 

         During this time in history blacks are free citizens, no longer enslaved to slave owners, so there is a desire for blacks in America to finally be accepted into society as equal citizens and to have the fair opportunity to better themselves from their previous enslaved state of living that they were not very far away removed from and blacks wanted to accomplish this without having to change themselves to be accepted by the white American society but to be able to be a Negro and still be treated as an American.   DuBois expresses this desire when he wrote,

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife-this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.  In his merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost.  He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa.”  He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.  

 In this quote, DuBois was expressing the desire for blacks to be able to just be their true selves in front of society without their identity being criticized, and to be allowed the same opportunities that would be available if they were white.
           Double consciousness still exists in many black men and women today in 2014.  It is also supported consciously and sub-consciously by the American society.  There is a sense of alienation that exists in many blacks from the American society and the feeling of unacceptance that most blacks feel in society that is caused by the subliminal rejection of black culture.  An example of subliminal rejection by American society is the notion that black people’s hair in it’s natural state isn’t accepted in a professional setting.  Dreadlocks, which is a unique way to style one’s hair that is deeply rooted in African culture is very often rejected in American society, which results in many black women and black men being hindered in gaining employment and other opportunities because of their decision to express the roots of their culture.  For most blacks with a double conscious this triggers the other conscious in black men and women to reject their true identity against their wishes to conform to the societies standards so they can get the approval they’re seeking.   

Although double-consciousness is being addressed by W.E.B. DuBois about the double-consciousness of blacks, it can also apply to any type of person adapting to a new society.  It’s time for more people to be able to embrace their cultural identity, and be able to have acceptance in society without being hindered from progress.  In an online article, the author writes,

As I began to work on this project, I was drawn to W.E.B. DuBois’s concept of

double-consciousness for its power to describe a dilemma that I experience in my life day after day as an immigrant in the United States, and that is constantly echoed by my family and friends. Living between two worlds, struggling between two identities that at times seem to be mutually exclusive, are also ways in which immigrants describe how they feel about their experiences and their different personal and social identities. (Upegui-Hernandez 2009) link to this article here>  http://www.academia.edu/2021330/Double-Consciousness_A_Journey_through_the_Multiplicity_of_Personal_and_Social_Selves_in_the_Context_of_Migration

DRIPPING FAUCET (RACISM)

My thoughts March 14, 2014 3:08pm

It’s time (again) for racism to be addressed head on, with passion, intensity, intelligence and without any filter whatsoever.  That time has presented itself again.  I say “again” because throughout the history of black people being in this country since slavery there have been essential moments in history where racism and the mistreatment of black people became overwhelming and there was an eruption among the people that caused a reaction or a course of action.  First reaction being slaves rebelling against their slave masters and oppressors, numbers of rebellions similar to Nat Turner’s to rebellions such as forming an entire society of runaway slaves (the maroon societies) that trained themselves for warfare and were dedicated to attacking plantations killing slave masters and freeing slaves.  Then…the slaves were freed and there was a little sense of satisfaction among the majority of blacks that “things were getting better”, although things did get better, things weren’t what they were supposed to be.  The continuance of racism, brutal acts of violence, mistreatment, failed promises and lack of assistance from the amerikkkan government only followed.  Again, this started to overwhelm blacks in amerikkka causing 2 different reactions: marches, protests and sit-ins challenging Jim Crow laws and Civil Rights in a peaceful non-violent way, then when blacks grew frustrated of blacks STILL being assaulted and murdered.  This birthed a rebellion in that era that was a more aggressive approach voicing the needs and demands for equal opportunity and treatment and defending themselves by any means necessary. Again, after this era passed there was another sense of “well, things are better now.”  So now here we are, 2014 and there is still acts of racially fueled violence against blacks, police discrimination, profiling, & brutality against blacks, a justice system that is geared against poor people of color, even the government still ignores blacks in this country that still owes black people reparations that were promised to our ancestors.  That is OURS to collect, think about it this way, if your parents pass away and they have a debt that’s left behind, you as the descendent, is now responsible to repay that debt, so if our ancestors are owed then it is ours to collect what was owed and the government’s to pay, being that THEIR (governmental ancestors) had the debt owed.  Also keep in mind that the German government aided the Jewish people in Israel for the mass murder of approximately 6 million (depending on your source) Jewish people during the holocaust, paying $1.5 billion.  The amerikkkan government has not paid a single penny to the black people for slavery and the millions and millions of racial murders and lynchings since the middle passage in 1619.  Can money take away the pain or erase what happened? Hell no, but can it be used to improve our black communities and people in poverty to help advance black people in society? Hell yes.  So, it’s 2014, by now we should be feeling overwhelmed by the blatant mistreatment of black people that constantly occurs in amerikkka but is looked at with blind eyes and listened to with deaf ears.  We must react again, not in a provoking violent manner, but it has to be noticed, addressed and fixed. People have to recognize that the mistreatment of black people in this country is still a problem.  Things might have gotten better, but not much has changed.  So we can’t ignore racism when society hasn’t been fixed when we thought it was fixed, just like you can’t ignore a broken water faucet that you thought you fixed.  Eventually that constant drip at night when you’re trying to rest will drive you to the point to get up and do something about getting that faucet fixed.  Well racism in this society is that drip at night when I’m resting and now it’s driving me to the point to try to do something about fixing the faucet that we thought was fixed.  Is it keeping you up? Or can you sleep through the leak?

Be peaceful, be safe, love your beautiful black skin and all power to the people.

“A people who have suffered so much for so long at hands of a racist society must draw the line somewhere….the black communities of America must rise up as one man to halt the progression of a trend that leads inevitably to their total destruction.” – Bobby Seale

THE MURDER OF JORDAN DAVIS

My thoughts, Feb. 15. 2014 9:36pm
So many emotions unraveled learning about this murder from beginning when it was reported on the news, to the disappointing verdict in court that could not find Michael Dunn Guilty for the murder of Jordan Davis.  Emotions ran through my body and soul such as, Anger, frustration, sadness, and sorrow.  This murder, along with the murder of Renisha McBride, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant (and so many other black lives that I could fill so many pages by naming) these murders, along with the circumstances leading to the murders and how the murders are handled by the justice system shows how much our lives (black people) are worth in the eyes of this classist, racist AmeriKKKan society.  Lives are being taken and justice isn’t being served.  Young black lives cut short for wearing a hoodie, playing music too loud, knocking on a door for help at the wrong hour in the ‘wrong neighborhood’, or just being black is suspicious/threatening enough to most.  These murders are excused because the ‘law’ justifies a white person snatching a black life because that person felt their life was in danger, even when that person is unarmed.   Let’s remember, Jordan Davis was APPROACHED by Michael Dunn.  Trayvon Martin was APPROACHED by George Zimmerman.  These events obviously affect me deeply because I myself am a young black male that someone with a prejudice mind would assume me to be an aggressive threat, and treat me as such which would usually result in me being violently assaulted or murdered.  I am not the only person that falls under this description, but other people I love and care about could be also assumed as such, and not only myself and others that I love, but people that others love also…someone’s father, brother, mother, sister, son, daughter and so on.  This affects us all.  So my thoughts have brought me to a conclusion.  I don’t know if this conclusion is the right conclusion, (only time and results will reveal that) but it’s what I feel is needed.  I feel that black and brown people in AmeriKKKa must arm themselves to defend their lives and their loved ones lives from racist animals like Michael Dunn and trigger happy, racist police officers that murder our brothers and sisters on a nightly basis across this country without consequence.  We must arm ourselves to be protected from people like that.  If we train ourselves with firearm knowledge, knowledge of firearm laws, and arm ourselves with a firearm, we will at least have a chance to defend ourselves if we are approached by these animals.  If we’re walking home and feel like wearing our hood on our head and we’re approached by an armed racist, we will have a form of defense.  If we’re sitting in our car and play a song we like at a high volume and an armed racist approaches us, we will have a form of defense.  We must also remember to keep peace/love ahead of all in our hearts/minds.  We don’t need to go killing people in retaliation because we’re angry, but we must defend ourselves because we want to live.  Be safe, be peaceful, and love your beautiful black skin.  ALL power to ALL the people.

“We’ve got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say you put out fire best with water.  We say you don’t fight racism with racism.  We’re gonna fight racism with solidarity.”  - Fred Hampton