Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
“I really feel that we need to restructure the black family,” he said. “Within the inner cities, we don’t have a lot of correct parenting and we have to change that. We have to figure out what we can do to change that. We know we’re starting from a deficit right now. We have to figure out what we can do as elders and as young people to support each other.”
Full Story: MSNBC
What can be done to restructure the black family?
![[image]](http://cdn.rtny.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/90/90/2013/06/producers11.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.rtny.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/90/90/2013/06/scott.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.rtny.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/category_images/bow-wow.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.rtny.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/90/90/2013/06/video-j-cole-speak-realtalkny.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.rtny.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/90/90/2013/06/video-freddie-gibbs-eastside-moonwalker-realtalkny.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.rtny.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/90/90/2013/06/dsocks.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.rtny.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/90/90/2013/06/gq.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.rtny.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/90/90/2013/06/cam12.jpg)
Great post.
I think at some point we have to realize that some things are “more important than tha mula”, especially if you’re going blow it on BS. Or, if you have to sellout to get it. There is so much money that comes into the Black community, but we won’t collectively use it to better our communities. We go move into there’s….
kill tyler perry
Stop posting videos like Troy Ave is a good start.
stop promoting bullshit music like 2chaiz, rick ross, lil wayne, and all that ignorant shit will be a good start, because thats were the influence for kids comes from, the bad influence
How you ask?
-Thirsty dudes need to stop raw dogging these females out here
-They need to start using protection
-Only get females you marry pregnant
-Females need to start making wiser decisions in who tey open their legs for
-Thugs, bad boys, pimps, etc should not never be the “trend”
-Females need to start using more protection also.
Single motherhood has been an American failure for years!
It isnt the music, its the parenting. Stop blaming the media for being a bad parent.
Yeah, good post, but there won’t be a reasonable debate in this comment section about this.
Nigel, there is only one true way to reinvigorate (not necessarily restructure, but breathe new life into) the traditional black family and that is re-examining the past when black families stuck together.
Lupe Fiasco touched on it in “Steady Mobbing” with his lines: “Every problem, genocide, desensitized to violence makes it hard to sympathize… Individuals whose feelings is minuscule will soon become criminals, if you dark-skinned and you was raised in a project apartment, public aide made it that your father could stay, he had to part with them, left with only a mother, the family structure suffers, evil soon clings to hustlers…
There was a time when people took personal responsibility for themselves and their loved ones, and didn’t just write off their problems or ignore them with zero accountability, as you see in the U.S. today.
The government made it seem like it was perfectly fine to be unaccountable for your actions, by creating programs such as welfare. They had to deal with, what they call, over-population, by creating project housing, a cheap way to house multiple families and keep them away from “respectable” suburban neighborhoods.
At the same time that these items were happening (and most of this taking place during and after the Civil Rights era that blacks were dealing with), drugs became a serious issue in the black community, specifically. Don’t get me wrong, drugs were definitely a problem in the white community, but middle to upper class whites always kept a tight grasp on their families and never let their issues become limelight for the media to take and run with it, not like blacks. In this regard, I think it always touched on the deep seated emotion that blacks needed (though never expressed directly) someone to understand and relate to what they were going through, or, a more layman’s way of putting it, “feel sorry for them,” again, though never directly expressed.
Let’s jump into current times and touch on what some have mentioned above, though inarticulately… Blacks started to take more personal responsibility, but in more of a lone-wolf sort of way, where hustling and dealing (be it drugs, stolen goods, other schemes) became a common trend, not glorified by society (obviously), but glorified by those in similar situations. A way of saluting an individual for jumping up and doing SOMETHING, though not the “right” kind of something (not that I’m the authority on right and wrong). This proactive nature to take initiative and not wait around for someone else to make a move is something that is inherent in black culture, but not observed respectably. We see this in the form of hip hop artists such as the MMG crew, the YMCMB crew, some other no-fame but deserved to be named crews, who glorify selling drugs and other issues from an urban perspective. However, it is my opinion that these individuals shouldn’t be held accountable for what’s happening in the black community. Again, while not the traditional method of being proactive and taking the initiative, these particular individuals have to be recognized for taking members of their communities and putting them to work. It’s better than them being locked up, barring personal decisions (T.I. gun charges, etc.)
Take Master P and Ice Cube for instance… 2 of the first Hip Hop pioneers to retain their recording masters and receive close to 80 or 90% of their royalties in the music business. Now, if that isn’t taking initiative, i don’t know what is. Not only that, Master P and Ice Cube are 2 members of the black community that have stuck with their families, and, in my opinion, need to be recognized more for that. And let’s not forget that Master P sat in front of congress during the Hip Hop Summit to address these issues on a global scale. That, in itself, is respectable.
I wanted to inject Hip Hop as an example here, because the black community and hip hop go hand in hand, in my opinion.
Some might argue against my thoughts, but there isn’t one singular point of failure in the decline in respectable black families. There is a systemic failure on both sides: Ours (blacks) and theirs (whites, especially whites who controlled the government at these times).
There are blacks who want to do more, but simply can’t. And some whites who want to help, though, while their intentions are pure, simply can’t undo what has taken years to root itself.
I could go on and touch on more areas, but I wanted to inject some articulation here.
the solution is to leave this cesspool racist country.
constructive we need more men like common…..respect and love always….lets c.h.a.ng.e
The problem with black America is a never ending cycle. It’s the chicken and egg scenario. Is it Hiphop that creates this ignorant lifestyle or is it this ignorant lifestyle that creates Hiphop.
Fuck whatever this post was about, i’m onto something else right now. Think about it…would these kids, teenagers, black men and black women behave so ignorantly if hiphop didnt influence them into thinking this is the norm? you now have rappers saying the word molly in every song now..what do you think this does to these kids out there now who now think they can pop E like it’s nothing…
you have rappers rapping about getting head, fuckin 3 different bitches a night and then you wonder why Hiv and std rates go up in black america. You’ve got rappers rapping about and gloriying violence and thug mentality and then you wonder why these teenagers drop out of school to portray and pursue an ignorant lifestyle.
Yes hiphop has the strongest influence in black america. Listen to how we talk, dress etc. It’s obvious that Hiphop is the single most significant trend setter
Then you have the other scenario where rappers tell you they’re rapping about all this stuff because it’s they see out there…They’re just ” reporting the news” “talking about the harsh realities.” And then they also say blame the parents but we all know that parents don’t have much control over what teenagers think is “cool” It’s the media and pop culture that influences a teenagers life and I I keep refering to teens because it’s these teens that grow up to be the non produce adults that complain about how America doenst give black people a shot, meanwhile High school’s free and yet they choose to drop out.
These rappes willl say how real they are in their raps and interviews and how honest they are about what they rap about and they continously emphasize this point but once you ask them what they think about the negative messages they spread, they’ll turn around and say, “it’s just entertainment.” ” or “If Sylvester Stalone blew someone’s head off in a movie you wouldnt go out and do it would you?” They forget that Sylver stalone wouldnt go do interviews and claim that everything he did in the movie was real..Actors don’t portray this violence off the screen whereas rappers portay the violence, sex , drugs and ignorance on and off the mic. These kids are heavily influenced by this
Would all this high murder rate, stds, drugs, high school drop outs and all that really occur within black youth if they weren’t influenced by Hiphop.
It’s time black people realize how selfdestructive this hiphop culture is. I personally think that the moral content in this music needs to change in order for black america to thrive.
There you have it black America… Hip hop is the number 1 problem.. As long as hiphop culture exists, black America will forever be held back. .
i’m not one of those blame hiphop for everything kinda guys. just cuz hiphop promotes it, or glorifies it, that doesnt mean they are the cause of it. niggas was poppin molly’s before hiphop mentioned it.
basically a rapper (insert name) is wit his entourage, and the entourage is the one thats poppin the molly’s. the rapper who desperately wants to be current and cool, will ask, is that what the kids are doing today? the entourage member will put him on to what it is, how much its done and how popular it has become, then rapper will rap about it.
remember on watch the throne when jayz said “i’m planking on a million” he tried to use the trend to stay cool, the trend had passed already, and it sounded stupid. i know jayz couldnt predict that the planking trend would pass overnight like it did, he thought he had atleast a month to use it. na homey thats old shit already.
if kids wanna request the song on 106n park and radio, then rappers will follow suit. rappers dont dictate what the culture is, they follow it. if everybody under 18 started spending money on ducktales tshirts and ducktales related shit, all rappers would follow suit.
so to quote the very first comment in this post.
“aint nothing more important than the mula”
I agree with IMme…i just realized that you’ve said pretty much what i had in mind. I read your comment after and just realized how we’re kinda making the same point..I agree 100%
Respect, Truth. I read yours too.
In my opinion, this is where it starts… listening to each other and not being ashamed to open up about these topics… we might get labeled as “punks, fags, pussies, lames, bitches, etc. (none of which I am; just a black man trying to educate)”, but either people are too afraid to talk or are too ignorant. I’mma keep spreading knowledge where I can, but knowledge of self is what most lack.
You have ignorant and immature females opening their legs for ignorant and immature men. Which is the the role model of the two? Exactly. To restructure the black family we need to refocus on what’s important. Things like education and securing your finances and family. Not gold chains, fast money, fast cars, and fast women. We need mature and responsible black adults getting married to one another and raising responsible children. Now the reason this won’t happen is because black youth idolize these fake entertainers and rappers. Also, responsible black females and responsible black males have lost faith in their race. They’d rather go interracial (which I have done). Call it selling out if you want but the worlds too small to only date one race.
Imma jump back in…..In the first post I insinuated that there were things “more important than the mula”….and I stand by that. But I’ll go further…..
COK, I understand were you coming from. That cheese is very important. However, money was created to be a medium of exchange, as a means to make commerce easier. These seems off topic, but it’s not. They way money is spent is a manifestation of where your head is. If you on that bullshit, guess what??
Now, the reason we perpetually have this problem is that we don’t have enough control over our own economy (be it geographic or demographic) and thus we limit our level of self-determination. If we retain more wealth in our communities, and place more value on productive things, then our folks will quit selling out to these media companies and we could slow the pace of this bullshit’s effect on our kids.
The more we focus on the “party and bullshit” that shit gone make us weak as fuck. Right now there’s a 4 year old singing “popped a molly, I’m sweating….whew”
Also, let me say this. I know we all mean well with these discussions. And by all means, we must check our own selves every once and a while. But we gotta make sure we speak the positive things we’re doing as well.
Why don’t we put an agenda together and petition our President to make a move on it??? Why don’t we make an investment into that brother that has a master’s in engineering and a fye azz business plan??
Don’t worry…I plan on it…
I definately understand everyones point. The problem is that we deal with ignorance so much on a daily basis that it’s practically the norm. If people are not willing to open their minds & free themselves from ignorance, it will always exist.