Quiet Riot: Campuses Rebel Against Gangsta Rap

Quiet Riot: Campuses Rebel Against Gangsta Rap

Paul Scott




In 1971, Gil Scott Heron recorded, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Although the song was written during the time of the Vietnam War, Heron could have just as easily been talking about the war against gangsta-ism being waged on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's), today.

Across the country , students are protesting the fact that student funds are being used to give fat paychecks to Hip Hop artists that promote violence and disrespect of women. Every year, black institutions of higher learning, collectively, spend millions of dollars bankrolling Hip Hop homecoming shows that promote the worst kind of anti-intellectualism.

Unfortunately, except for a few Hip Hop websites and scant local media coverage, the protests have received little attention from a black community that should be rallying around such efforts to protect the minds of African American youth.

Earlier this month, students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, NC protested an appearance by rapper, Gucci Mane because of his lyrics that glorify gang life. Although, the concert is still scheduled for October 31, the students were successful in getting North Carolina A&T administrators to drop the school's support of the show.

Now, The FAMU People's Coalition, a group of students and community activists around the campus of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University have started a campaign against their upcoming homecoming show with the rallying call,' You Call that a Concert?".

According to group co founder, Terrance Darnell during an interview with No Warning Shots Fired.com, the current FAMU concert lineup is in direct conflict with the cultural and social guidance that the institution is supposed to provide. The lineup was originally scheduled to include Gucci Mane but he will not attend, supposedly, because of legal issues.

"The University shouldn't validate these artists, " said Darnell.

It has been reported that a HBCU can invest upwards of $100,000 to put on these types of shows , money that Darnell says should be put to better use.

"The money could have gone to get a higher caliber of artist," he said.

On the organization's website , they list a group of performers whom they feel would better represent the university's mission statement including, Common and Lupe Fiasco.

Although, many people believe that all young black people support the gangsta-ism of some of today's Hip Hop artists , Darnell says that his group's own research contradicts this long held myth.

"Where are all the people endorsing this" he asks? "The majority of the people understand where we are coming from."

Perhaps, the bigger question is why is so little attention being paid to these gangsta rap rebellions ? It can be argued that if the students of HBCU's were involved in some negative activity it would be front page news. However when young folks raise their voices against negative noise, the silence is deafening.

In an era when the educational gap between black males and their peers just keeps getting wider and children are being killed on the streets by senseless, gang violence, how can we hold our tongues and refuse to speak out?

Where are the religious leaders who should be on the front line of this fight? Where are the educators who should be waging war against the destruction of young minds? Where are the alumni of HBCU's who should be upholding the honor of their schools?

Could it be that the blood money that these concerts generate makes those who should be aiding the protesters look the other way?

The activities of these activists should be the main topic of conversation in barbershops, community meetings and Sunday morning church services in every city in America. Members of the community should be textin' and tweetin' this information to their circle of friends until the wee hours of the morning.

Some my ask, why with all the problems facing black folks, should we be so concerned about a rap concert?

Terrance Darnell said it best.

"I'm not willing to have this on my conscience when I'm 70 years old."

Neither should we, brother. Neither should we...


For more information on the FAMU People's Coalition visit http://petitionfamuconcert.blogspot.com or on Facebook (You Call that a Concert?)




Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com He recently launched the Intelligence Over Ignorance Campaign http://www.ioimovement.com

Time to Cancel Columbus Day

Time to Cancel Columbus Day

Paul Scott



"Information we get today is just wack. But ask yourself, why is that?"
Hip Hop artist KRS One




As a child, I don't know what I learned first, the lyrics to the Jackson Five's hit "ABC" or that little ditty about Columbus sailing "the ocean blue in fourteen-hundred and ninety-two." Anyway, the latter had a much greater role in shaping my world view and that of many others.

October 12, is Columbus Day; a time that is traditionally set aside to honor the "founder of western civilization," Christopher Columbus.

However, to some of us it is the glorification of one of the greatest lies ever told in the history of mankind. For the drones who will be partying on C-Day, I bet not one of them will ask the basic, fundamental question "How can someone discover a new world when there were real live breathing human beings already there?"

But, in America, not only do folks celebrate such outlandish myths, they create holidays around them.

I never understood the proper way to celebrate Columbus Day, anyway. What do you do, go out and "discover" the UPS package left on your neighbor's doorstep?

What many people recognize as Columbus's great "discovery" merely marks the beginning of European western imperialism.

According to James Loewen in his controversial book "Lies My Teacher Told Me," the coming of Columbus should be remembered for two things; "the taking of land, wealth and labor from the indigenous people, leading to their extermination" and "the transatlantic slave trade."

If you don't believe me, the next time you run into a Caribbean Arawak...

Oh, that's right you can't because, thanks to good ol' Chris, they don't exist, anymore.

Also, it must be noted that, according to researchers such as the late Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, author of "They Came Before Columbus," African people (among others) visited the West long before the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria dropped their anchors in the Caribbean.

So, the real purpose of Columbus Day is to reinforce the idea of European global Manifest Destiny, "the white man's burden" or whatever excuse used to justify the subjugation of the non-European people of the planet.

What is most disturbing is the fact that falsehoods such as the Columbus myth still form the cornerstone of the United States educational system.

This is especially sad during a time when a nonwhite person is leader of the free world.

I don't care how many education initiatives that President Obama launches, unless the citizens of this country challenge traditional western thought, they aren't worth a hill of beans.

How can we encourage our children to value education when we allow myths to go, unchallenged ? How can we ask our youth to think for themselves and not succumb to the evils of peer pressure if we,as adults, don't have the guts to smash the idols of our collective intellectual oppression ?

We tell our young people not to believe the images that they see on BET and the lyrics they hear on Hip Hop radio stations but at the same time we tell them it's okay to believe in historical fairy tales.

It is time that we finally have the courage to stand up and say that we will no longer allow lies parading as truth to poison the minds of our children. In order to do this we must not only tell the truth about Columbus Day but all the other myths that plague us.

Collectively, we must push for a society where truth trumps educational dogmatism.

Over the last year this country has changed politically. Now it is time for us to change mentally.


Paul Scott is a self-syndicated columnist and author of the blog, No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com