Black Culture Discussion Thread

Bruh!

My big brother became a member back when he was in college.

I remember him taking me to one of their fundraising parties on campus when I was 7 or 8. Had a BLAST. Stepped with them and everything.

As he got older he didn't speak much about them or associate with other members.

Never actually said anything bad or good about them and repped them with license plate frames and other small items.

Always wondered why.

Ten years later went to an HBCU.

Was approached to join the same frat my brother did (different school).

Was "on line" about a week.

Started off cool like running, push ups, basically trying to see who was physically weak.

Was "on line" about a week.

Eventually asked to do some bogus nonsense like wash another mans clothes. Like show up at his room, get the clothes, draws and all, and wash them.

Lets just say they never approached me again.

Not once did I see them come to the hood surrounding campus much less do jack for the community...or even speak of it.

Matter of fact - neither did the school or faculty.

Never saw any school sponsored community outreach...and we were minutes from the hood.

Maybe they did but I never witnessed it.

90% of them were scared of the hood. Frat members and everyone else...but on campus they were harder than coffin nails.

Always claiming to be from the toughest parts of their city.

Mostly claiming NYC or DC. They meant MD, VA, or NY no C.

Realized they weren't the same folks my brother knew...or were they?

If they asked me to do something in service to the community things would have been different.

I know this isn't every chapter / member and I'm sure many do great things.

Just wasnt my experience.
 
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'Jesus Hasn't Saved Us': The Young Black Women Returning to Ancestral Religions
Michelle Yaa does not feel she converted to Comfa, the Afro-American religion practiced in Guyana. "I call it an awakening." she says. "It's just waking up."
Yaa, like increasing numbers of the African diaspora, decided to stop practicing Christianity in favor of a religion of African heritage. Raised a Seventh Day Adventist, she spent her childhood questioning Christian doctrine. When she didn't receive the answers she sought from church, she stopped attending.
www.vice.com

'Jesus Hasn't Saved Us': The Young Black Women Returning to Ancestral Religions

Christianity still exerts a powerful force in many black communities, but some young women are turning their back on the faith and returning to the older, traditional religions of their ancestors.
www.vice.com www.vice.com
 
KHUFU said:
'Jesus Hasn't Saved Us': The Young Black Women Returning to Ancestral Religions
Michelle Yaa does not feel she converted to Comfa, the Afro-American religion practiced in Guyana. "I call it an awakening." she says. "It's just waking up."
Yaa, like increasing numbers of the African diaspora, decided to stop practicing Christianity in favor of a religion of African heritage. Raised a Seventh Day Adventist, she spent her childhood questioning Christian doctrine. When she didn't receive the answers she sought from church, she stopped attending.
www.vice.com

'Jesus Hasn't Saved Us': The Young Black Women Returning to Ancestral Religions

Christianity still exerts a powerful force in many black communities, but some young women are turning their back on the faith and returning to the older, traditional religions of their ancestors.
www.vice.com www.vice.com
Click to expand...

This has been going on for years in the American Yoruba/Santeria community.

It good for women empowerment but the imbalance of genders causes alot of issues for straight men practicing the religion.

The communities largely consist of women and gay men who gravitated to the religion because for the most part they are accepted and given a certain level of power over time unlike other religions. When I was practicing the religion in a community setting the ratios are usually, out of 50 people, 35 women, 10 homosexual men and 5 straight men. A high level of misandry is developed among the women(and gay men) due to their previous oppression and the fact that certain ceremonies simply just require a straight or masculine man.

The lack of masculine structure leads to alot of women getting big heads after their first ceremony. The vast majority of the young women in social media portraying the religion do so on a very uniformed and superficial level. Especially now since people like Beyonce, Oshun(musical artist), Ibeji(musical artist) have exposed them to Orisha concepts like Oshun and Yemaya. The funny thing about the how young women interpret Oshun is that the deity represents a contradiction within her definition of misleading people through superficiality until they find whats truly valuable within their existence. Though this is common knowledge it takes about 7 years from what I have observed through various women who are initiated through Oshun(including my mother) to grasp this concept. Though most women on social media advocating for the religion will get a small amount of information and run with it as if they are the authority on Oshun or Orisha concepts thus misinforming them.

The other ironic thing about many women gravitating to these religions is that they also do so in order to find a man. They will spend their last for whatever ceremony or initiation in hopes that it will make them whole enough for a man to accept them. Over time these women become very jaded towards men and the misandry manifests. Traditional African Religions do not promise companionship though there alot of people that will hustle women for a bath, ceremony etc that will bring a man into their life. Unfortunately, these traditions are not exempt from scammers.

All this to say that it is amazing to have many women gravitate towards these traditions however I wonder how these traditions are going to last without the balance of men/ straight men. I don't practice publicly anymore because of the strain it takes on me as a man. Every women of every age gravitates toward you to fufill the masculine figure in their lives. They will do literally anything to have that fulfillment and I mean literally everything you can think of. My cousin is always complaining about filling my shoes since I stopped attending functions.

PS: When I mean there are no straight men, I have had attended functions where 4 of my ex's and my wife have all been at the same table chopping like nothing because I was literally the only option for dating and fulfilling the potential for companionship for them and acceptance with the religion. I'm the only basket they could shoot in so they took their shot. My wife was MVP though. It's messy but there aren't many options. The stigma of the religion to others also leave dating options stale. Both men and women that are not educated on the tradition will easily refuse to date someone practicing. It didn't affect me much as a guy because my dating pool is much more vast and most women are open minded but men will run in a heart beat. Especially when you start talking about the witchcraft/roots that can associate themselves with these traditions. People in these traditional African religions also nefariously run to spells, witchcrafts and roots to get a companion in which are traditionally not encouraged and come with consequences. The elders within these traditions also need to do a better job of educating and discouraging this sort of behavior
 
illwill8710 said:
This has been going on for years in the American Yoruba/Santeria community.

It good for women empowerment but the imbalance of genders causes alot of issues for straight men practicing the religion.

The communities largely consist of women and gay men who gravitated to the religion because for the most part they are accepted and given a certain level of power over time unlike other religions. When I was practicing the religion in a community setting the ratios are usually, out of 50 people, 35 women, 10 homosexual men and 5 straight men. A high level of misandry is developed among the women(and gay men) due to their previous oppression and the fact that certain ceremonies simply just require a straight or masculine man.

The lack of masculine structure leads to alot of women getting big heads after their first ceremony. The vast majority of the young women in social media portraying the religion do so on a very uniformed and superficial level. Especially now since people like Beyonce, Oshun(musical artist), Ibeji(musical artist) have exposed them to Orisha concepts like Oshun and Yemaya. The funny thing about the how young women interpret Oshun is that the deity represents a contradiction within her definition of misleading people through superficiality until they find whats truly valuable within their existence. Though this is common knowledge it takes about 7 years from what I have observed through various women who are initiated through Oshun(including my mother) to grasp this concept. Though most women on social media advocating for the religion will get a small amount of information and run with it as if they are the authority on Oshun or Orisha concepts thus misinforming them.

The other ironic thing about many women gravitating to these religions is that they also do so in order to find a man. They will spend their last for whatever ceremony or initiation in hopes that it will make them whole enough for a man to accept them. Over time these women become very jaded towards men and the misandry manifests. Traditional African Religions do not promise companionship though there alot of people that will hustle women for a bath, ceremony etc that will bring a man into their life. Unfortunately, these traditions are not exempt from scammers.

All this to say that it is amazing to have many women gravitate towards these traditions however I wonder how these traditions are going to last without the balance of men/ straight men. I don't practice publicly anymore because of the strain it takes on me as a man. Every women of every age gravitates toward you to fufill the masculine figure in their lives. They will do literally anything to have that fulfillment and I mean literally everything you can think of. My cousin is always complaining about filling my shoes since I stopped attending functions.

PS: When I mean there are no straight men, I have had attended functions where 4 of my ex's and my wife have all been at the same table chopping like nothing because I was literally the only option for dating and fulfilling the potential for companionship for them and acceptance with the religion. I'm the only basket they could shoot in so they took their shot. My wife was MVP though. It's messy but there aren't many options. The stigma of the religion to others also leave dating options stale. Both men and women that are not educated on the tradition will easily refuse to date someone practicing. It didn't affect me much as a guy because my dating pool is much more vast and most women are open minded but men will run in a heart beat. Especially when you start talking about the witchcraft/roots that can associate themselves with these traditions. People in these traditional African religions also nefariously run to spells, witchcrafts and roots to get a companion in which are traditionally not encouraged and come with consequences. The elders within these traditions also need to do a better job of educating and discouraging this sort of behavior
Click to expand...
Very insightful response right there! What it speaks to is that while the ancestral connection is there, which is indeed necessary and a move for the better, some of the beliefs are steeped in patriarchy, just like the abrahamic faiths. This is why I did the research, then went completely in the opposite direction.
 
KHUFU said:
Very insightful response right there! What it speaks to is that while the ancestral connection is there, which is indeed necessary and a move for the better, some of the beliefs are steeped in patriarchy, just like the abrahamic faiths. This is why I did the research, then went completely in the opposite direction.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I can go for days on how patriarchy and matriarchy inherited from western philosophies are toxic to the Yoruba tradition and the Ifa tadition. The biggest issue are that the elders in the tradition are not willing to grow and evolve beyond the nonsense inherited from western influence. The ironic thing about this issue is that it was foretold in several pataki's (Yoruba folklore for divination) but many elders do not wish to heed those warnings. A few Babalawo's (high priest) in Ifa have questioned how the Yoruba(Orisha worship) tradition will continue in this vein as we watch the unfortunate prophecy unravel.

I did hear that my exodus from my community did open alot of eyes since I went from being a highly visible role model to ghost almost overnight without alot of people knowing the details of how I was unjustly being dragged by jealous family members(all but 1 are women) and other women. Long story short someone started spreading rumors about me smashing someone that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole and my family ran with it down to my own mother. The irony was that I was courting my wife at the time and we both took offense to elders entertaining gossip in that manner considering I've never been that dude to do the dirt they were claiming nor have I ever done anything immoral like that or what has been rumored in the past. True Yoruba tradition heavily frowns on gossip as a "sin" especially among elders about their youth.
 
illwill8710 said:
Thanks.

I can go for days on how patriarchy and matriarchy inherited from western philosophies are toxic to the Yoruba tradition and the Ifa tadition. The biggest issue are that the elders in the tradition are not willing to grow and evolve beyond the nonsense inherited from western influence. The ironic thing about this issue is that it was foretold in several pataki's (Yoruba folklore for divination) but many elders do not wish to heed those warnings. A few Babalawo's (high priest) in Ifa have questioned how the Yoruba(Orisha worship) tradition will continue in this vein as we watch the unfortunate prophecy unravel.

I did hear that my exodus from my community did open alot of eyes since I went from being a highly visible role model to ghost almost overnight without alot of people knowing the details of how I was unjustly being dragged by jealous family members(all but 1 are women) and other women. Long story short someone started spreading rumors about me smashing someone that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole and my family ran with it down to my own mother. The irony was that I was courting my wife at the time and we both took offense to elders entertaining gossip in that manner considering I've never been that dude to do the dirt they were claiming nor have I ever done anything immoral like that or what has been rumored in the past. True Yoruba tradition heavily frowns on gossip as a "sin" especially among elders about their youth.
Click to expand...
Sounds like one huge ego trip to me. Egotistical pursuits often hamper evolution. That is why whenever I read or hear of someone talking that MAN crap, I always pull back, then consider the source. There has been no group of people on this planet that has been oppressed longer than women. None. If you trace back to when misogyny began, you'll also realize how and when civilization stopped evolving, and poverty through poor education began to grow. The insecure male began to grab power, which has led us to now, with the world being famished, intellectually underfed. People tend to ignore that masculinity has no gender. People, especially men, tend to fear that femininity has no gender either. People tend to turn a blind eye to the fact that there was a time that there was only one gender in humanity. That women, Black women, were the first people on the planet, and that they were also self replicating organisms. This has been scientifically proven, yet ignored by all of these so called churches, preaching the so called gospel, according to some man.

They didn't need men.

Humans are famished, intellectually underfed.

So they are taught that some deity created woman for man, from his rib no less. Every religion that echoes such crap, or even suggesting the both man and woman were born at the same time? Should be ignored, then tossed away as rubbish. From the starting point of truth, you wont have to deal with ego, insecurity.

But hey....we are still dealing with alternative facts these days.

Willfully ignorant people, are currently in charge.
 
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illwill8710 said:
AKA's love lettin the dude that's blowin their back out drive their car.

Behind every Nissan Altima with AKA plates is a nergo with a wife beater emptying out dutch guts.
Click to expand...

Damn brah..what I do..and no my girl push a Murano.:lol::smokin
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Rumors of War sculpture i- young black man with lots (and Kyrie 4s) in the Times Square. Pretty dope.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/27/arts/design/kehinde-wiley-times-square-statue.html?module=inline

Kehinde Wiley’s Times Square Monument: That’s No Robert E. Lee
The sculpture, of an African-American man in streetwear and mounted on a horse, was unveiled Friday and will eventually move to Richmond, Va., home to a number of Confederate memorials.


merlin_161616081_e4c915c2-1349-4cd7-8cd5-6f0e723588ba-articleLarge.jpg

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The sculpture, called “Rumors of War,” is Kehinde Wiley’s first work of public art and his first major piece since his portrait of President Obama.

The sculpture, called “Rumors of War,” is Kehinde Wiley’s first work of public art and his first major piece since his portrait of President Obama.CreditCreditRachel Papo for The New York Times
Reggie Ugwu
By Reggie Ugwu
  • Published Sept. 27, 2019Updated Sept. 29, 2019

He looks like a man lost in time, uprooted, with the horse he rode in on, from a previous century, perhaps, or was it a future one?
In a riot of flashing neon signs and costumed avengers, populating a patch of Times Square on Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets, he can be seen looking regal and triumphant astride a rearing steed worthy of Napoleon, flanked between the modern colonial outposts of American Eagle Outfitters and Express.
The new statue, a bronze sculpture on limestone titled “Rumors of War” and unveiled on Friday, is the first public work by the artist Kehinde Wiley. Mr. Wiley, 42, is best known for his aristocratic portraits of African-American men, including the one of President Obama that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
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“Rumors of War,” Mr. Wiley’s largest sculpture to date at a towering 27 feet high and 16 feet wide, was inspired by the heroic, equestrian statues of Confederate generals in Richmond, Va., that line its famous Monument Avenue. After the sculpture leaves Times Square in December, it will be permanently installed in Richmond on Arthur Ashe Boulevard, a major thoroughfare, recently renamed after the Richmond-born African-American tennis icon, that crosses Monument Avenue.


merlin_161616024_186215b2-f93d-4931-9dc2-b573fad00bda-articleLarge.jpg

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The figure astride the horse has dreadlocks, a hoodie and ripped jeans.

The figure astride the horse has dreadlocks, a hoodie and ripped jeans.CreditRachel Papo for The New York Times
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Artist Kehinde Wiley’s new 30-foot-tall sculpture ”Rumors of War” was unveiled in New York City’s Times Square. It will move to a permanent location in Virginia in December.

Artist Kehinde Wiley’s new 30-foot-tall sculpture ”Rumors of War” was unveiled in New York City’s Times Square. It will move to a permanent location in Virginia in December.CreditRachel Papo for The New York Times
Image
“Today we say yes to something that looks like us,” Mr. Wiley, 42, said at the unveiling.

“Today we say yes to something that looks like us,” Mr. Wiley, 42, said at the unveiling.CreditRachel Papo for The New York Times
The street’s renaming came amid a statewide reckoning over the Confederacy’s racist heritage. And the rider in “Rumors of War,” a young African-American man with a knot of dreadlocks in a hoodie and ripped jeans, reflects a similar effort to reclaim history.
“I felt that there had to be some way to turn this ship around,” Mr. Wiley said in an interview. “Maybe I can’t do it as one person, but this is my way of intervening, of saying ‘Enough already.’”
In Richmond, “Rumors of War” will stand near the entrance to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, just a few blocks south of its Confederate inspiration. But Mr. Wiley, a longtime resident of New York City whose work first gained notice at the Studio Museum in Harlem, wanted to premiere it close to home.
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He found support from Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance, in partnership with the Virginia museum and his longtime gallerist Sean Kelly.
“I think people come to Times Square with the readiness and expectation to see anything and everything,” said Jean ****ey, the director of Times Square Arts. “But even within that context, this will have a very striking presence.”
Mr. Wiley first conceived of the sculpture while visiting the Virginia museum for the opening of his exhibition “Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic” in June 2016. He was struck in particular by a statue of General J.E.B. Stuart and its evocation of Lost Cause ideology, which holds that the Confederate states were the noble targets of Northern aggression.
“I’m a black man walking those streets,” he said at the unveiling on Friday, recalling his visit to Richmond. “I’m looking up at those things that give me a sense of dread and fear.”
“Today,” he said, “we say yes to something that looks like us. We say yes to inclusivity. We say yes to broader notions of what it means to be an American.”
In 2017, after white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va. — protesting the planned removal of a Robert E. Lee statue there — ignited a deadly melee that sent shock waves throughout the country, Mr. Wiley redoubled his commitment to what became “Rumors of War.”


“The oppression of African-Americans is still pervasive in our society,” said Alex Nyerges, the director of the Virginia museum. “But if anyone is going to take on the mantle of trying to change the conversation and make things better for the present and the future, I can think of no better place to start.”
At the unveiling in Times Square Friday, as a marching band from the Malcolm X. Shabazz High School in Newark played in celebration, onlookers snapped cellphone photos and took in the district’s newest resident.
“You just don’t ever come across sculptures like this in the States,” said Gerry Atumeyi, who is from Nigeria and lives in the Bronx. “To see someone from the African-American community who is able to do that is really inspiring.”
 
Black people that are Christians and love to forgive everyone. That’s why they will kill your brother and you go run to your oppressors.

I love my people, but we are sick and stupid as hell
 
maq25060 said:
yep...went to Jackson State for a year...volleyball and softball team had a fair number of white girls.
Click to expand...

Got my masters from valley. Wife graduated from Jackson state.


Was asked to come to some type of kappa interest meeting in undergrad. Sis was an aka. One of the upperclass kappas dated an aka that lived in the apt down from me and my sis. He came to her crib and saw me sitting on her car talking to her. Told his crew of lames that he was go make it hell for me. Laughed at all of em cause I had no intention of pledging anything.

No way I would’ve been allowed near that lady after she got 10 years for killing my brother. That **** was crazy.
 
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