Friday, January 24, 2025
Culture

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First J.Cole went down to Ferguson to meet with the people who lived there to speak on Michael Brown’s death, where he spoke on the topic of what hip hop used to do; his words “When the music changes, so will the people”. This is a fact because looking into the background of hip hop it has always been the voice of the people, speaking on the issues of poverty, gang violence, police brutality, gentrification, drugs, etc. Hip hop has always spoken on the issues of the black community regardless of the times. The rappers latest project “2014 Forest Hills Drive” is a great depletion of being black in a world where racism is still prominent. With tracks like “No Role Modelz” and “03 Adolescence” it is clear that this rapper has been paying attention.

Next, it was the California native Kendrick Lamar with the ground breaking album “To Pimp a Butterfly” where the gifted rapper spoke on the issues of being black in America to even how we as black people are never taught simple things as saving and investing our money. With tracks like “Wesley’s Story” where he speaks on how we as a people handle our finances using the story of Wesley Snipes and his bankruptcy and IRS issues. We have seen so many fall short due improper spending habits. The rapper spoke on an interview with XXL on how he taught himself how to do spend and save his money wisely. Also, with tracks like “Complexion”, “King Kunta” , “Alright” and “I” which is similar to Gill Scott Heron’s “Who Will Survive in America” where the genius Lamar single handily created the anthem for the next big moment for black people.

Then there was the DC native Wale who would do something else amazing, by going down to Baltimore during the riots and speaking with the youth of the area about the ways of this world. The rapper would surprise a group of students just to show that he stands up for his community. He also would drop the project to the “Nothing” series ‘” The Album About Nothing” where the rapper has tracks such as “The White Shoes” speaking on the issues of black youths dying over sneakers and trying to keep up with the “Jones’s” by trying to keep up with expensive gear by going to great lengths to obtain it. Other tracks would include “The Pessimist” where the rapper and J.Cole both speak on how we as a community thinks in some aspects, the idea of being broke but having nice cars, living in the hood but with expensive material things, black on black crime etc. Addressing issues that so many of us talk about all the time.

There would be some others but the one that would come to the surface next would be T.I. “Tip” Harris the “King” of Atlanta speaking on the conditions of this world, the killing of young black youth by Police Officers. His performance on the Triumph awards on Friday night would broadcast that hip hop is doing what it used to do and that is speak on the issues of the world. On his latest project Paperwork: The Motion Picture where his first single from the album “New National Anthem” feat. Skylar Grey speaks on the hardships that all young black men face whether they are famous or average they are still treated the same by police officers. The rapper speaks on how so many young people have died under the hands of police brutality…he would deliver this poem

“United we stand, because we created a hashtag for Sandra Bland,” Jumped off the front of the ship and dove into the internet waves swimming with DM’s, likes and comments. Not noticing how much that it makes us slaves..chained by a man-made device small enough to fit into the palm of out hand. Guess that’s what’s make it easy to swipe to the left, scroll to the next and forget about Sandra Bland…United we stand because we wore hoodies and t-shirts that read “Black Lives Matter” but, Wait homie take this flick..gotta make sure all my followers see this fresh fit, Are we really about the movement or more concerned with our follower count growing fatter…

We are Trayvon Martin, We are Jordan Davis, We are Eric Garner, WE are Tamir Rice, We are Walter Scott, We are Eric Harris…We are Freddie Gray and We are Sandara Bland. United we Stand”

T.I. would state the truth and ask the real questions. Are we really about the movement that we talk about? How many more times will only a handful of us continue to speak on the deaths of our people from the world and ourselves; only to have the rest simply hashtag and return to “free my nigga” the homeboy who really performed a crime but we are asking that he be free?. How many more times does it have to happen? Does it have to be a blood relative for us to care? Or do we just Pray and keep it at that?
What happened to the people who once prayed and then moved on the issues? By organizing, boycotting, and standing up for them. The people who walked out on their jobs and education to join the movement? We have become so individualistic, materialistic, egotistic, full of pride that we literally only care about ourselves. As a people we should treat each other as if we are all blood related because that’s what it’s going to take. In order to get the results we want we have to start moving, spreading more positivity and end the Jim Crow show we perform every day on social media for free. It’s time for us as a race to stop the continuation of stereotypes, complexion battles , “flexin” on one another, doing the things that society has taught us.

So many of our behaviors were taught by our oppressors but it is us who took those ideologies and ran with them. It is us who added more to the rules of how to treat each other. We assisted with bringing damnation to ourselves in a world that I considered “Free”.

“Home of the brave and free, free just to murder me”…it just may be our new National Anthem, T.I.

-A.C.T.

Aqueilla C. Terry, commonly known to many of her followers as “A.C.T” ; is a talented artists of this generation. Born and raised in Richmond, VA is truly a gem of her time. She has been writing for over 10 years as a young child to know a young woman in a world were “words” are her weapon of choice to achieve success. Often considered to be Erykah Badu’s daughter for her way with words, style, presence, music selections and overall persona. A.C.T. is definitely going to take over the world with wide range of creativity. Her ambition is driven by her will to succeed in reaching her goals, but by doing so by remaining herself along the journey. A.C.T. redefines the young black woman by sticking to her beliefs and who she is inside.

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The State Hotline – To Volunteer or donate resources call 1-888-585-9643

American Red Cross – Needs volunteers, mostly at shelter locations around the state. For more info redcross.org/local/sc.

American Red Cross Website – donate to the Tri-County Flood Recovery Fund

Trident United Way in partnership with The Post and Courier – set aside $100,000 to match dollar for dollar, any public donations up to $100,000 tuw.org/floodrecovery

Trident United Way Text – $10 mobile donation to the Trident United Way by texting FLOOD to 27722

Trident United Way – send checks payable with Flood Recovery 2015 in the memo line, to: Flood Recovery 2015, Trident United Way, 6296 Rivers Ave., North Charleston, SC 29406

NewSpring Church – #FloodSCWithLove – link: newspr.in/floodscwithlove

SC’s Minor League Baseball Teams – donate to the Palmetto Strong GoFundMe page

Salvation Army – 1-800-SAL-ARMY

United Way – For volunteers call 800-733-2767, to donate money go to redcross.org, or text REDCROSS to 90999

Get Water to Columbia – On Facebook

Francis R Willis SPCA – on GoFundMe

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and if you’re still mad at Chris Brown six years later then you are going to DESPISE the state of South Carolina! Chris Brown, since is violent incident with Rihanna back in 2009 has been trying to redeem himself. Six years later, Chris Brown seems to be a devoted and loving father, he’s been in some trouble but he’s has apologized publically many times for the assault, and he has served his time. There are people around the globe who aren’t yet ready to forgive the young talent, famous for such songs as “Look At Me Now” and “Kiss, Kiss”, Breezy has been going hard to win back the good grace of fans and some people that were never fans.

In Australia, they aren’t feeling Chris Brown either. According to CBS News, A group of activists have banned together to put a stop to his tour in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. But in rare Chris Brown fashion, he has decided to respond to the protesters by offering something a little different this time that doesn’t contain expletives. This time, young Breezy is offering a little – education. Chris Brown has declared via twitter, that he is willing to visit Australia to bring awareness to the domestic violence epidemic. Check out his tweets below:

No word yet on whether the protesters have decided to accept Brown’s offer, but I have to say, that was a good response Breezy.

On a more serious note, October is the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and living in South Carolina makes this a month of significant importance. South Carolina is ranked Number 1 in domestic violence related deaths. That’s right! WE have the highest rate of murders of females at the hands of men in the country! Check out some of the alarming statistics for the state of South Carolina:

  • More than 300 women have been murdered in this state during the last ten years
  • South Carolina has topped the domestic violence murder rate at least three times
  • The murder rate for women in South Carolina is more than double the National Average
  • Nationally, an average of three women are killed daily due to domestic violence
  • The Post & Courier reported that the national rates have fallen over the past two decades, however South Carolina rates have remained steady
  • South Carolina has 46 Animal Shelters but only 26 Domestic Violence Shelters

As a female from the state of South Carolina, these statistics have me worried and the sad part is that I can go on and on about the politicians and legislature here in South Carolina who tried to cut $400k from the budget back in 2012 which would be used for rape crisis and domestic violence centers, see this article for more details.

While the world seems to want to focus on holding Chris Brown’s nuts to the fire, our country is in a state of emergency and women are dying at a rate of three deaths per day, which continues to grow right here in my home state. During the month of October, I beg you to check on your fellow sisters, pray for the fallen mothers and daughters, and reflect, act and VOTE for leaders who are willing to take action on improving the lives of women in the state of South Carolina

SOURCE:

http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2013.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/us/gov-nikki-haleys-budget-ax-is-blunted-by-legislators.html?_r=1

http://mic.com/articles/96876/women-are-getting-murdered-in-south-carolina-and-no-one-is-doing-anything-about-it

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chris-brown-wants-to-raise-domestic-violence-awareness-in-australia/

https://www.facebook.com/REALMADSC?fref=ts

https://www.womenshelters.org/sta/south_carolina

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First rule of Facebook – Don’t Believe These Lames!

You mean to tell me there are people out here trying to convince women that they are “less black”, have low self-esteem, don’t love themselves, or are trying to be European, simply because they choose to wear a weave? Again, black women are being thrown into the fire of having their blackness tested or their essence of being black questioned, simply because they want to rock some fake hair? And, of course who is it coming from, other black people. I’m not certain why in 2015 people have developed a case of the Bill Cosby Syndrome – BCS is the need to point out all the flaws of people who look just like you, in order to make yourself seem better or more acceptable. I say, Girl / Boy Bye!

Its time someone put this pure ignorance to rest. There has been lots of chatter online, on tv and radio about hair weaves in recent months. Hair, especially the hair of black women, has always and will forever be a conversation that will never be put to rest. First things first, people have a right to like, or not like weaves. It is a personal preference and if you like weaves, I say DO YOU, and if you do not like weaves, that is absolutely OK too. However, for many people who are on the side of disliking weaves, they have decided to take to their social media platforms in order to convince women that wearing weaves means that they are trying to be “more European” or wearing weaves make you “less black”. Yes, seems like the fake outrage that many communicate daily throughout the World Wide Web, is now trying to attack black woman (of course) for not being black enough, being insecure, or not loving themselves because they choose to wear fake hair.

How people have deciphered that there is a correlation between fake hair and the ability to assess someone’s self-esteem is beyond the realm of understanding. However, knowledge is power ladies, so this blog is for you.

First and foremost, never try to CONFORM to someone else’s standards of what they believe blackness means. I say f*ck each and every person who tries to attempt to label you as a lesser version of what you are – intelligent, creative, and beautiful INDIVIDUALS…period. Hair is a part of who you are, but it is NOT the definition of who you are. But truthfully, I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know, so let’s get to the meat and potatoes of why these fake ass, pro-black people want to attack your blackness ladies.

Reason 1 – They are ignorant and do not know their history. If people would bother using Google or cracking open a book, they can learn a lot about the history of Africans and hair. One of the most important facts is that wigs and weaves were created IN AFRICA! In ancient Egypt thousands of years before the birth of Christ or (B.C.), both men and women wore wigs. Back in these days only the rich, including Pharaohs, wore wigs and hair extensions made out of human hair, some of the poorer Egyptians also made wigs, but they were made from vegetable fibers, grass or other synthetic fibers. Sounds familiar right, lol. They used materials such as beeswax to keep the wigs secured.

140918-amarna_2fe4a19c1e403d9b9f6da441019587aa_nbcnews-ux-600-480









The remains of a 3,300-year-old woman who wore a complex hairstyle with 70 hair extensions were discovered in the ancient city of Amarna. Photo Credit: Jolanda Bos and Lonneke Beukenholdt

According to Egyptologist Joann Fletcher, Ph.D, she has seen the remains of a man buried at Mostagedda, who had used thread to fasten lengths of human hair to his own. Yes, an ancient Egyptian sew-in honey! Hair was serious for the ancient Egyptians, similar to today’s standards. They colored, cut and even adorned their wigs and weaves with gold jewelry, flowers and other accents. Most importantly people from all walks of life who lived during these ancient times used the styling of their hair as unique self-expression and as a form of cleanliness. Hopefully, if you ever get to visit the Cairo museum in Egypt, you will be lucky enough to see some of the ancient wigs and weaves kept securely in a case in the museum.

Most often, during this era, you would see hair braids and woven hair, which researchers claimed were the favorite form of extensions for this time period! Dr. Fletcher also stated that Queen Meryet-Amun’s wavy brown hair had been filled out around the crown and temples with tapered braids.

Now, this has been recorded as far back as 3,000 years B.C., so ladies, if you have ever heard anyone say wearing a weave or wig means you are trying to be more European, you know for sure that you are dealing with a person that knows NOTHING about black history!

Reason 2 – They are insecure about themselves. One thing for sure, when a person feels the need to attack, degrade, or cut down a specific group of individuals, often it is due to the insecurity they hold for themselves. As much as people try to recreate their seemingly “perfect and successful” lives through the facade of social media, it’s obvious that some folk are just trying hard to convince people that their smokescreen is reality. There are people who make an effort on a DAILY basis to come on social media and tell women what they are doing wrong, tell them that they are dressed wrong, tell them they are not good mothers, tell them they shouldn’t buy whatever type of sneaker, tell them that they are not positive role models, or tell them about what’s wrong with their looks/hair, but when you examine the person doing all of this attacking – their biggest accomplishment in life so far was that they got 100 likes on a Facebook post (laughs). Their constant need to tear people down on social media is equivalent to the girl on Facebook that has a constant need to continuously talk about her man/boyfriend/husband – often, its insecurity. And what makes an insecure person feel better – trying to make others feel worse.

Reason 3 – They don’t know about PRESENT African culture. Yes, folks that claim that weaves/extensions are European, or state that you don’t love your blackness ALSO don’t know that tribes in present day Africa still wear weaves/extensions. Below, this young lady shows off her beautiful tresses made of either goat hair and/or Indian hair. You Go Girl!

article-2607647-1D2A570500000578-658_964x627

In conclusion, see my first sentence of this post and Don’t Believe These People On Facebook! They have no idea what they are talking about and their sole purpose is to attempt to insult you, while trying to sound smart. Key word TRYING. But most importantly, do you! Don’t find yourself held captive to the opinions of others, and most importantly, don’t let these people put you in a box. Rock your braids or your remy and love yourself! Trust me, tomorrow these lames will just find something else to complain about.

So ladies now that you have a little more knowledge of how important hair was to your ancestors, now that you understand that hair, even thousands of years ago on the continent of Africa, was used as a creative form of expression, and now that you know that weaves and sew-ins were born, created, and perfected in Africa, I urge you to DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Sew in, braid, color, cut and dye until your heart is content! But most importantly, never conform (unless you want to be a lame).

Source: http://www.beautymatters.blogsot.co

Source: Egypt Revealed Magazine

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2607647/Incredible-photos-reveal-elaborate-hairdos-Himba-tribe-created-using-goat-hair-MUD.html

Source: http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/09/ancient_egyptian_woman_with_70_hair_extensions_discovered_in_cemetery.html

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/weird-science/ancient-egyptian-woman-wore-70-hair-extensions-n206911

Source: Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2607647/Incredible-photos-reveal-elaborate-hairdos-Himba-tribe-created-using-goat-hair-MUD.html#ixzz3n03eg06Q

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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Talk about a story that simply makes your day. Juice for Life is the newest food spot in the Bronx, NY. No, its not the typical corner store where you can find cigarettes, honey buns, and any of hood snack that we all have become so use to consuming. Jadakiss and Styles P are bringing a healthy, affordable option to the hood, and we believe that this concept is amazing!
According to the video below from Elite Daily, Jadakiss and Styles P explain:

“Our juice bars are open in the hoods on purpose to educate our people on health awareness. Most of the hood don’t have access to good food, most of the hood don’t have health insurance…”

What was most fascinating about the video was that the Juice for Life bars are not only giving people, who at one point, didn’t really have healthy food options – besides what was located at their local grocer. This juice bar has a menu that explains the benefits of the fruits and vegetables that are within each juice option. Most of us have gotten in to the juicing trends within the past few years, now that we are becoming aware of the importance of eating healthy with a purpose. It’s great to see that children, who may not necessarily have the means or exposure to food and health education, now have the option to learn about the importance of eating certain foods; this way, they will be able to make wiser decisions about food choices.

What Jadakiss and Styles P are doing is not only a benefit for the hood TODAY, but this type of education will affect generations to come. The more you know, right? Good look guys! We hope to see more of these affordable juice bars in a hood near you. CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW!

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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