SO...WHAT NOW DO WE TELL OUR BLACK YOUNG MEN...?

So.....

What now do we tell young black men?

That you can't be seen in a multi racial neighborhood after twilight, even if you are unarmed and only carrying Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea?

You can't wear a hoodie, because people will see you as a thug.....?

Possessing marijuana is seen to make you look more aggressive and sinister, even though most weed is used by whites in America and everyone with an IQ over 13 knows that weed makes you sleepy, hungry and horny?

That you need to speak to police in an extra humble way, because of all the cases of INNOCENT black men murdered for "appearing" to have a weapon, or beaten for "looking menacing"?

What do we tell black boys?

That there are rules carved out, just for you, that limit your expression, that modulate YOUR behavior, that society says implicitly, silently, that we must follow, but no one else has to follow...?


Do I want to raise a black boy in a world that views him as a threat no matter what he does, says, walks, wears,or behaves? That every moment of his public existence he must watch how firmly he speaks, because "creepy ass crackers" will see him and may shoot him for standing up for HIMSELF, AND STANDING HIS OWN GROUND?

What do we tell our young black men....?


This is not a facetious question, or one of sarcasm......

If a boy cannot walk back to his father without being gunned down...cannot walk down the street without being "stopped and frisked",cannot wear this, cannot wear that, cannot wear this, cannot do that cannot speak too firmly to a white or other person,

Cannot...

Cannot....

Cannot...


Cannot...

Cannot...

Cannot....
Cannot....

Then tell me what year we function in? What country we live in? Because the only time that a group of people are singled out and told they "cannot" do so many things, was in Jim Crow Segregation and slavery....

Even when they obey your laws, you still kill them in cold blood and walk away free...

Even when they ascend to the Presidency of the United States, you demonize him as a terrorist, a Hitler-figure, and all manner of vicious, sophomoric names...

So tell me America.....

What do you want me to tell my young male cousins or teenage nephew?

Because if I can't tell him to do his best, get good grades, walk the streets without a weapon, stand up for himself in the face of injustice,and live his life in the same way people who are classified as white do...without still being slaughtered for no reason...

Then you are telling me to prepare him to be a slave.

To prepare him to walk as an inferior, talk as an inferior, modulate every movement, watch every step, look six ways before crossing, do not resist police brutality, do not question anything....no matter what...

You are asking me to raise black boys to "stay in their place"...like good "niggers" do...

Then how much have you changed?

What do I tell a black boy when he sees white boys concoct all manner of drugs, including meth(Tina),mushrooms, illicit drugs, prescription drugs,illegal drugs, drugs that haven't even been classified yet.... and stands a far better chance of being able to do it without being targeted or punished....?

I am going to tell black boys that this country sees him as the enemy....and everyone responsible for maintaining "order" has a bullseye on his chest...

You know, right where Trayvon was shot. In the heart.

Excuse me if I don't salute this flag, steeped in the blood of my ancestors....

Excuse me if I don't spout patriotic jargon and rhetoric about how "great" this nation is.

I can't tell a black young man to love this country....I can only tell him to be careful and watch out for it.

NEW LOOK FOR BROTHER HASSAN'S BLOG! CHECK IT OUT!

HEY GUYS!


Had to give this blog a makeover.....I think it looks much cleaner and more professional.....what do you think????

Let me know!



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ZIMMERMAN ATTORNEY WEST CALLS RACHEL JEANTEL "STUPID", CELEBRATES "BEATING STUPID" WITH ICE CREAM!

WELL, WELL, WELL...... The Zimmerman defense team, chiefly Attorney Don West, the idiot that famously made the "KNOCK KNOCK" joke in opening arguments for the Zimmerman murder trial of Trayvon Martin, is at it again... This time, with his two daughters, calling witness Rachel Jeantel "stupid".... He had the nerve to take a picture of him and those two ugly trolls under the title of "we beat stupid celebration cones" in which all three are holding up ice cream cones, in the most unprofessional display of arrogance ever from an attorney on a national case. SMH....

























P.S. Dont forget to get your copy of my book, "When The Lights Go Out" TODAY!

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MY OPEN LETTER TO MONA SCOTT-YOUNG REGARDING "LOVE AND HIP HOP"!!!

Dear Mrs. Scott-Young,


My name is Hassan Hartley, and I had the unfortunate displeasure of watching the rank, repugnant coon-fest that you produce called "Love and Hip Hop", in which you profit mightily and heavily from casting people, particularly Black and Latino folks,(my folk) in the worst possible light. You, along with other cutthroats like Shaunie O'Neal, Wendy Williams, and Andy Cohen, have fed millions a pathological diet of ratchet, ignorant, stereotypical imagery mainly centered around black women, chiefly being angry, bitter, uneducated, catty, bitchy and conniving with each other,while the men are cast as oversexed, unfaithful, dishonest, anti-intellectual(think: stupid) deviants that cannot fulfill even the most basic of obligations to their spouses/mates.

As an openly gay man, I am equally disgusted by the imagery of "my kind" on your shows(albeit brief imagery-blink and you may miss the finger popping, effeminate, flamboyant stereotype of a Funky Dineva-although funny as hell) that perpetuates a false narrative that black gay men's chief desire is to be a sassy, flip mouthed black woman. Turning black gay men into the new Mammy figures of reality TV is not cute.

I understand that you are not the network owner. VH1, along with MTV, BET and a host of other media outlets, are owned by Viacom, and Viacom is owned by the very wealthy and Jewish Redstone family. You may be nothing more than a mere pawn in a game far bigger than your imagination and intellect can comprehend. I get that. I also  understand the "get that paper, make those coins, make that money" aspect of television. No one is "hating" on you for being a financially successful, strong willed, capable  black woman in a white/Jewish dominated entertainment industry. We need more sisters(and brothers) on their hustle. Their grind. My issue is with the content and imagery, not your business acumen.

What bothers me, after watching your "reunion" special, is how you seemed to be feeding the discord and strife between these women for ratings...you are not an unfamiliar kind of black person to me. I have studied Negroes like you for most of my life. See, there were blacks like you, who, in the 1500's, sold others into the worst chattel slavery the world has ever known, for sheer profit. There were blacks like you who, while on the plantation, sought the favor of their white masters so much that you would be his informant, should any uprising occur. There were blacks like you, who in the 1960's infiltrated both Civil Rights and Black Nationalist organizations to sow discord and strife, for your individual profit, as well as your bosses collective gain.

I have decided to spotlight you and your program, along with several others, in my upcoming book, "THE NEW MINSTREL SHOW: COONERY AND BUFFOONERY IN 21ST CENTURY BLACK ENTERTAINMENT" under the chapter dealing with the "21st Century Sapphire/Negro Bed Wench Syndrome"...I will use footage from some of these shows-maybe even yours-in the interactive e-book edition of the book to highlight the ratchet mess that television has become.

Thank you for reading these words, and I am sure you will keep raking in the $$$ by throwing your own sisters under the heaviest of buses.

Hassan Hartley

R.I.P. BROTHER MALCOLM X: FEB 21ST,1965

Hey guys! Just dropping a quick note to pay homage and honor to one of our greats, El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz(Malcolm X), was was assassinated 48 years ago on this day... It occurred to me that Malcolm X is one of the only world figures I can think of, who is remembered more on the day he was murdered, than the day he was born.

 Only President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy fit into a similar mode that I can recall. It pains me that so many folks have such a distorted and watered down view of Bro. Malcolm's ideology and philosophy, both under his guidance and teaching from The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and later after his defection. Black nationalism has now almost been equated with socialism, to ask many mainstream media outlets. It is amazing how death cleans up a man's image. When Malcolm died,he was referred to as the "number one anti Semite in America"....yet 27 years later, a Jewish-owned film company pours 30 million dollars behind a biopic of his life titled, "X"....and  Malcolm commercialism exploded!

Spike Lee's movie essentially killed "Malcolm-mania" within the Black community,however...in the late 1980's and early 1990's, black social consciousness was re-emerging, largely through hip-hop, and everyone had a Malcolm X hat, t-shirt, chain, etc...after Spike's three hour, 20 minute biographical movie of Malcolm, an hour and 47 minutes of which focused on zoot suits, conked hair, and gave very little of what made Malcolm so feared by the white power structure... entertaining as a film, but a disappointment to those of us who were literally raised from the age of six and seven on Malcolm's speeches and pamphlets by our parents, who either sympathized with, or were devotees of Black Nationalist/Pan Africanist/"Pro Black" ideologies espoused by Malcolm.

 Months later, in 1993,after the movie enjoyed only modest box office success( or as we say...it did "so-so" at the theaters.....it did "aiight"), Gangster rap was stepped up to the next level, and into commercial overdrive with such artists as Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Tupac, etc...and our young people have not been the same ever since.....


Coincidence? Hmm.....More on that later.....

 Anyway, much love Bro. Malcolm! RIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!



 P.S. MY BOOK, "WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT: THE TRUTH ABOUT BLACK MALE PRISON SEXUALITY" IS STILL ON SALE! GET YOURS TODAY!!
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I'M DREAMING...OF A WHITE PRESIDENT!

Hey guys!


OK,OK,OK, so the title was a tad dramatic. I needed to grab your attention, however. I read an article on www.yourblackworld.net about radio host Tom Joyner attacking Tavis Smiley yet again, saying he was, in words, "trying to be like Dr. King", and wondered to myself if this silliness will ever have an end to it. I have not seen Tavis attack "Tom"Joyner, but Joyner seems to be acting like a Rotweiler for President Obama, shielding him from any policy based critique coming from the likes of a Tavis Smiley, Dr. Cornel West, or anyone else.

It brings up a larger, more insidious point that goes unspoken in Black America. The code of silence surrounding black folks and this current President because he is African American, has proven to be, in my opinion, counterproductive. All Presidents, no matter their color, represent the power structure that black folks must keep pressure on, to further our collective agenda. This is not personal, no matter Democrat or Republican. If 96% of African Americans voted for President Obama in 2008, and 93% did so in 2012, then that voting bloc represents a constituency that has a right to present the "White"House with an agenda that is important to its own community.

Somehow, black folks, or "Negroes", do not feel that asking for a few things from this administration is appropriate.

We hear all of the popular excuses. I will outline a few and address them:

1). "He is busy trying to get this economy on track, settle these wars, get folks back to work and all this other stuff Bush left him". Well there is no question that he has a heavy job to do. Funny how black folks only bring this up when their issues need to be addressed.


Jews do not care whether or not this President is busy, and Obama MAKES time for Jewish interests and concerns.


I will repeat that.

"Jews do not care whether or not this President is busy, and Obama MAKES time for Jewish interests and concerns."

The Jewish community in the United States is much smaller in numbers than African Americans, with estimates ranging from 12 to 13.5 million, as opposed to between 45 and 50 million for African Americans. They voted consistently for President Obama around 70%. Obama's busy schedule never stopped them from putting their agenda before him, and he stops what he is doing to address their concerns.

Why doesn't POTUS do this for you, black folks?

Latinos/Hispanics voted for him around 70% as well, and they have no problem asking for certain agenda items that will benefit their community. The white LGBT community does the same. THIS IS HOW POLITICS WORKS. You vote for a candidate out of your community's self interest. Not because he is the same color. You petition said Administration for agenda items that will benefit your community. He or she addresses those needs or not. If not, you vote for his opponent and put him out of office. Other voting blocs understand this about politics;why not black folks?

2). "Black people are always criticizing each other. You all wouldn't go after a white President like that". Really? Have we been asleep for the eight years prior to Obama being elected?Black folks left and right were attacking Bush. Not merely criticizing, but attacking(yes it was warranted, but it didn't stop black folks from taking advantage). President Clinton has been roundly criticized for many of his policies that were detrimental to the African American community, while "Negroes" hailed him as the "first Black President". We won't even go into Reagan and that madness from 1980-1988. The nature of politics is to have a critical eye of any Administration's policies, no matter what. We seem to have lost that perspective.

3). "Obama can't wave a magic wand and solve all of our problems...".... Who the hell asked him to? Nobody. No one is looking for one man to ride in, and in Messianic fashion, heal black folks issues. To even suggest this is oversimplification at best, and childish in fact. If I vote for a candidate,I expect him to address certain issues that prompted me to vote in the first place. The mass incarceration of black men unfairly due to the "War on Drugs", disproportionate poverty among black inner city communities that has risen DRAMATICALLY since Obama has taken office, and better educational policies are all realistic things to require this POTUS to address, that will benefit the African American community. It doesn't take a magic wand to do this. Merely a press conference in which he uses his "bully pulpit" to turn the nation's attention to these issues would be a good starting point.

4)."Why you hating? You mad? Why you mad though?" This is the default retort that many Obama "fans"(not supporters) resort to, when they have no argument against sound, measured criticism of Obama policies or the lack thereof. It reeks of teenage taunt-filled childishness. There is an assumed thought process, that because Pres. Obama is black, and we are black, that we must not criticize his policies or lack thereof, because we don't want to help vicious, ignorant right-wing nutjobs in their attack of him. A silence that causes us to subordinate our issues for the sake of some silly "unity" that does not even truly exist in the black community to begin with. If you all were UNITED, then you wouldn't be begging for jobs, but creating jobs for our people, particularly our young men, who are so marginalized that it isn't even humorous.

To be sure, the right wing, especially the "Tea Baggers"(shade intended) has launched an unprecedented assault on this President. I thought the job they did on President Clinton was a beast....until I saw this mess. That should not stop us, however, from challenging the "White"House to address those things that the branches of Government can speak to and craft legislation to assist in.

If this man is smart enough, thick skinned enough, and sagacious enough to become the first African American President, then he can handle a few critiques from us.


 IT IS OK TO CHALLENGE THIS PRESIDENT, BLACK PEOPLE. YOU CAN STILL LOVE HIS DIRTY BOXER BRIEFS AND CHECK HIM WHEN HE NEEDS TO BE CHECKED.

I am beginning to believe that the worst thing for black people in 2013 is to have a black President. We have grown even more complacent. More divisive toward each other whenever normal critique of a President occurs. I can't speak to Tavis Smiley or Cornel West's personal feelings about Pres. Obama. What I can speak to, is their right to offer legitimate critique of his policies. Criticism that should not be met with childish personal attacks by Negroes like Tom Joyner, but should prompt thoughtful, nuanced discussion among us to get our needs met.


Maybe it would be better if we had an "adversary" in the White House, instead of someone we looked at as our own family.

Maybe a white President would be in order.


PLEASE NOTE: For all the Obama "fans" and "stans" that wish to engage in petty, childish attacks in regard to my analysis of this President, PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT YOU WILL BE BLOCKED IMMEDIATELY UPON YOUR ATTEMPT in whatever Facebook or other social media forum this blog is shown. NO EXCEPTIONS GIVEN.

NONE.

THE NEW MINSTREL SHOW: COONERY AND BUFFOONERY IN 21ST CENTURY BLACK ENTERTAINMENT...COMING SOON!

 

HEY GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 www.brohassansbooks.com

Also, just a quick note to inform you guys that I am currently working on my next project as well! It is a departure from my current project, but no less intriguing....the title of it is, "The New Minstrel Show: Coonery and Buffoonery in 21st Century Black Entertainment", and will focus on the ratchet, ignorant,(or as some folks say,"ignant"), stereotypical imagery of black folks on television, in Hollywood, in sports, and in music. It will be both deep and entertaining, so get ready! Look for it sometime in late summer 2013/early fall 2013!!!!!!!!!!!

Also,my book,"When The Lights Go Out: The Truth About Black Male Prison Sexuality", is now available on my website, http://brotherhassans.blogspot.com/2013/08/when-lights-go-out-still-on-sale-today.html as an instant download! For those who may remember, the way the old Paypal system I had set up only allowed you to purchase the e-book version, and I would have to manually email the book to you. That was beyond annoying for me, and I'm sure it was for some of you as well! The price is the same, but it will be far more convenient for all involved to safely, and securely, purchase the e-book formatted version of our book.