Bro. Prizmm, the waking of the sleep giant is a role we all share- and it's happening because more us are becoming aware of how we can go about changing big things with small but effective actions.
Bro. Khasm13, what you've mentioned is such a critical point. Hollywood is fine with Blacks being "street smart" like Eddie Murphy, Martian Lawrence, Wil Smith etc., have all played in movies that show them outsmarting regular Cops on the street. This concept adds to the sub-conscious of Whites that Blacks are intelligent when it comes to the criminal element and thus we must be dealt with harshly.
When you do see the Black Genius/Inventor- he is killed. Wil Smith- I Am Legend. Dead. Samuel L. Jackson in "The Spirit"- dead. Such roles are very important for Black Men because we are the architects and builders- this is the main reason Black Men are placed into prisons to begin with. Women cannot produce their visions if Men are in captivity.
I sat across the table from a native African gentlemen that built a small empire by creating movies with a cheap dv camera and selling those movies at gas stations. He specializes in relationship dramas because those are the best sellers. He pockets something between $100,000-$400,000 a year. His method is not special. It's the same method allot of Brothas in the hood are doing in order to bootleg movies, record pornography and sell on the street.
Tyler Perry is who is is today because he learned these same techniques from the street hustlers, he was also selling dvds of his plays at one point.
What I find so interesting -is why so many Blacks who earn their living producing and distributing their own products end up selling out- literally to White companies? How is it these White companies can see the writing on the walls by they can't? The answer is already mentioned in this thread. Too many of us really believe what these Racists have been telling us. And we believe they are better at the business of distributing and marketing product than we are. We believe they have the intelligence of the business on their side and all the connects.
I see the same level of stupidity from the writers/authors, producers and filmmakers, rap/song artists and painters. Everyone seems to believe they need a White face or a White company to represent them in order to reach the goal status of making millions of dollars.
Like I told a Music Producer once, who said he needed to sign a distribution deal for his music- I asked him who was his demographic. He said the hood, Black people. Then I asked him, so you need a White Man to distribute your own music to your own people? That's like paying another Man to have sex with your Woman. And that's what the majority of us have been doing.
We have to become more intelligent about our product. I noticed Africans that cross into America don't seem to have that same hangup, because they haven't been programmed to believe they are incompetent when it comes to business. And so, even when we engage with native Africans at a business level they come off at times to be arrogant and boastful. Sometimes they are, but its also because they don't share that belief that need a White face/company to accomplish something. Even if you needed to sell to White America for whatever reason, Black Business Women and Men handle that calling very well.
Authors are in the same book. Just about every week I hear another story about yet another Black Author that is complaining about not getting a royalty check from their publisher. In this age of self-publishing, youtube and print-on-demand printers I'm still surprised that so many "very intelligent" authors have not seen the writing on the wall. Especially now that most publishers are asking you to do your own marketing anyway. Hello? Why do you need a publisher again?
There are so many ways that we can go about combating negative Black images. It starts with declaring our intelligence. It's not about being a know it all. But it saying to yourself, I may not know all the answers but I am intelligent enough to find the answers. And then the strategies do come as a small grain of common sense.
Personal monitoring systems controlled and ran by Black companies would revolutionize how Black boys/Men are accused of criminal activity and imprisoned. But these visions take organized power that can be produced when we keep our collective mind focused on that goal. Now it's important to get the logic out there, spread it for free if you have too. When methods relating to race work for one, it would work for all- and we should spread that information to all cities in America.
While the internet is a powerful medium for building, the actual spreading of powerful information for our people at least on the street is done through small books/newsletters and cds/dvds. They can't monitor those.
Bro. Khasm13, what you've mentioned is such a critical point. Hollywood is fine with Blacks being "street smart" like Eddie Murphy, Martian Lawrence, Wil Smith etc., have all played in movies that show them outsmarting regular Cops on the street. This concept adds to the sub-conscious of Whites that Blacks are intelligent when it comes to the criminal element and thus we must be dealt with harshly.
When you do see the Black Genius/Inventor- he is killed. Wil Smith- I Am Legend. Dead. Samuel L. Jackson in "The Spirit"- dead. Such roles are very important for Black Men because we are the architects and builders- this is the main reason Black Men are placed into prisons to begin with. Women cannot produce their visions if Men are in captivity.
I sat across the table from a native African gentlemen that built a small empire by creating movies with a cheap dv camera and selling those movies at gas stations. He specializes in relationship dramas because those are the best sellers. He pockets something between $100,000-$400,000 a year. His method is not special. It's the same method allot of Brothas in the hood are doing in order to bootleg movies, record pornography and sell on the street.
Tyler Perry is who is is today because he learned these same techniques from the street hustlers, he was also selling dvds of his plays at one point.
What I find so interesting -is why so many Blacks who earn their living producing and distributing their own products end up selling out- literally to White companies? How is it these White companies can see the writing on the walls by they can't? The answer is already mentioned in this thread. Too many of us really believe what these Racists have been telling us. And we believe they are better at the business of distributing and marketing product than we are. We believe they have the intelligence of the business on their side and all the connects.
I see the same level of stupidity from the writers/authors, producers and filmmakers, rap/song artists and painters. Everyone seems to believe they need a White face or a White company to represent them in order to reach the goal status of making millions of dollars.
Like I told a Music Producer once, who said he needed to sign a distribution deal for his music- I asked him who was his demographic. He said the hood, Black people. Then I asked him, so you need a White Man to distribute your own music to your own people? That's like paying another Man to have sex with your Woman. And that's what the majority of us have been doing.
We have to become more intelligent about our product. I noticed Africans that cross into America don't seem to have that same hangup, because they haven't been programmed to believe they are incompetent when it comes to business. And so, even when we engage with native Africans at a business level they come off at times to be arrogant and boastful. Sometimes they are, but its also because they don't share that belief that need a White face/company to accomplish something. Even if you needed to sell to White America for whatever reason, Black Business Women and Men handle that calling very well.
Authors are in the same book. Just about every week I hear another story about yet another Black Author that is complaining about not getting a royalty check from their publisher. In this age of self-publishing, youtube and print-on-demand printers I'm still surprised that so many "very intelligent" authors have not seen the writing on the wall. Especially now that most publishers are asking you to do your own marketing anyway. Hello? Why do you need a publisher again?
There are so many ways that we can go about combating negative Black images. It starts with declaring our intelligence. It's not about being a know it all. But it saying to yourself, I may not know all the answers but I am intelligent enough to find the answers. And then the strategies do come as a small grain of common sense.
Personal monitoring systems controlled and ran by Black companies would revolutionize how Black boys/Men are accused of criminal activity and imprisoned. But these visions take organized power that can be produced when we keep our collective mind focused on that goal. Now it's important to get the logic out there, spread it for free if you have too. When methods relating to race work for one, it would work for all- and we should spread that information to all cities in America.
While the internet is a powerful medium for building, the actual spreading of powerful information for our people at least on the street is done through small books/newsletters and cds/dvds. They can't monitor those.