Comments on: T.I. Anti-Gun Violence ‘Road To Redemption’ Leads To Harlem Off-Camera

By: M.Y.

M.Y. — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:26:19 +0000

I agree, encouraging the thought of nuclear families is a must. Extracurricular activities need to be a priority for young kids so they don’t spend most of their time after school at home with nothing to do. Every time there is boredom there are problems, the streets are the worst babysitters.

By: Emerson Diaz

Emerson Diaz — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:59:07 +0000

100%. I can’t quote them right now, but I have seen statistics that show that a kid coming from a one parent home is much more likely to get in trouble, drop out of school, teen pregnancy, etc. Especially when there is no positive male role model in the kid’s life. I can see the difference firsthand how my own kids act with me and with their mother, and she is a strong woman. But when I talk to them and put some bass on it, they respond better, quicker. On the other hand, I facilitate a “troubled” (code word for juvenile delinquent) boys group (age 13-15) and those boys are very disrespectful to everyone. One boy (out of 12)lives with his father. Of the rest, the ones who even know their fathers, they are not around by choice or in prison. They don’t even respect the police or P.O.’s. So, to reach them, I have to be patient, steady, and they have to see that I care about them. It’s a work in progress! I’m old skool and sometimes I think a good ass-whipping does a kid good. But I can’t go there. Hell, I may get shot!

By: Juan

Juan — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:32:08 +0000

Good analogy you used with finding money on the street. You’re right it is very rare. I think our focus needs to be on encouraging more nuclear families. Doing what we can to keep families together. Our society has fostered the philosophy that having the kids before marriage is cool. Yeah it is…but with such a high divorce rate, drug rate, male death rate it leaves many broken homes. We need to be more responsible about family planning as a preventative measure and on the flip side provide more support for those young families that havne’t broken yet to prevent them from becoming yet another statistic. Make sense?

By: Juan

Juan — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:26:52 +0000

You can’t live a life of fear or be motivated by fear. I believe we all should be motivated by change. I think you’re right, most of us have our business in order and though we might not have the perfect family unit, its not without at least one positive role model.
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Community work is good because we all need to fill in the gaps for the deficiencies in our community. Its our responsibility to do so, however I think we reward it more than it should be rewarded. I think some community workers think they deserve an award. I think its our duty, its just unfortunate that not enough realize that or do it.

By: Emerson Diaz

Emerson Diaz — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:28:11 +0000

I’m definetely with you on not letting television raise the children. Even the cartoons are crazy now. Violence has always been on TV because it seems like that is the best thing to watch: someone getting shot or blown up. That is why video games like Tour of Duty and Grand Theft Auto are the most popular ones. Then it should be no surprise when kids want to pick up a gun and shoot someone, just like they see all the time, either on the TV or out of their window (even their living rooms, for many)
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I really hope TI gets his life back on tract and overcomes his legal and personal issues because a lot of young people look up to him and he would serve as an example for them. I believe in atonement, and it seems like he is on that road.

By: M.Y.

M.Y. — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:56:18 +0000

I think that T.I. has seen the error in his ways and I can appreciate him for that but it is hard to ignore the opportunistic move. The whole reality show, according to him, was not for his community service but because he wanted to do it for self, that remains to be proven but I’ll take his word for it. depending on the media to highlight any event where rappers are doing something good instead of causing scandal is like finding money on the street, it rarely happens. and it really sucks because there are a lot of hip hop artists out here like the lupe’s and the luda’s that do work for charity but they hardly get the shine unless of course it is a slow news day on the local news channel.
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on another note, not to bring it to parents but I must for the sake of getting it off my chest. Parents need to stop letting the TV raise their children and start speaking to them about real issues. A lot of parents think that kids don’t know any better and can’t tell the good from the bad at their age unless it is insignificant. The admiration for guns and power came by way of movies and TV acted out by white men. You ask any person from the hood or rapper for that matter what their favorite movie is they will say Scarface, Goodfellas, or the Godfather thats where a part of the inspiration comes from. And it really irks me when people expect rappers to be role models. When they decided to be rappers they didn’t do it in hopes of being role models, the parental advisory sticker is not on the cover as a design.

By: Emerson Diaz

Emerson Diaz — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:39:56 +0000

Brothers are on it!
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The sad fact is that many of our young people live in a world where the only way that things work is with a gun. In a way, it makes things equal. That is why they have to have one. Hell, we created this environment for them (not you and I personally, you know what I’m saying?!) many of us grown people only know how to resolve our issues with violence. The lack of positive role models (not on T.V.) in their lives and craving but not having the nice things in life leads to 13 year olds carrying guns and slinging dope. It’s crazy, man! and it seems as though things just keep getting worse. Someone asked me once why I spent so much time doing community work. My answer was that I’m not worried about my kids harming someone else. They’re being raised by a strong, loving father (and mother). I’m worried about my neighbors’ kids doing something to one of mine, so I’m trying to prevent it.

By: malcolm

malcolm — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:12:48 +0000

Maybe you could get Kanye. He is, afterall, the voice of his generation

By: Juan

Juan — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:05:28 +0000

Lol…I’ll look in to that.

By: Juan

Juan — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:05:08 +0000

Great points Malcolm as always. You’re right one was only privvy to the media as its lone source imagery of black America, one would think success stories would be miles apart. But as an organization that as you put it SEEMS to be presenting a positive image one would assume our story would be worthy of all the media coverage in the world.
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The truth is we’d probably have to hire a major Public Relations firm to even get consideration in the local gazette. The truth is the story of the impoverished black community is sexier than the successful black man. By continuing to perpetuate it, the media all but insures ratings and newspaper sales.

By: malcolm

malcolm — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:56:22 +0000

And while we’re at it….
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You guys have contact in the musical world… why don’t you write a decent hip-hop or rap song about making a fortune in the legitimate world?
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Maybe something like this: two friends growing up next door, one choose the thug life, the other chooses education and capitalism. At 30 years old, one is rich and dead on the street, the other is rich and living in a mansion with the wife and kids.
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Who knows, if the song is good enough you could raise a generation of rich black capitalists.
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To steal the line from “Field of Dreams”…. If you write it, they will come.

By: malcolm

malcolm — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:47:21 +0000

Al Sharpton showing up where there was a camera?? I don’t believe it, he’s such a shy guy. (He also looks like he’s dropped a lot of weight, is he sick?)
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For at least one good reason I’m no expert on “Black America”, but that has never stopped me before, so here we go again…
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While I agree that music that glorifies violence IS the major part of the problem, I have to wonder how much of it also has to do with the emasculation of the black male by the media and (presumably) the black community?
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For example: we went through the “grandma phase” where we were told that the only thing that was going to save “black America” was the old black grandmas.
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Then there was the “powerful black woman” phase, where we were told that the only thing that was going to save “black America” was the hip, sassy black woman.
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In these and other cases we (once again) are painted an image in which the black man is incapable of controlling his own destiny; that without grandma (or the sassy wife/girlfriend), the average black man would rapidly degrade into the gang-banging pimp-daddy image that is so often used to re-enforce the grandma/sassy-gf theories.
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Here at Highbrid, we have a (seemingly) successful company being owned and managed by black men. In Washington, we have a black man running the free world.
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Are there problems? Sure. But how are we/you supposed to solve the social ills without first empowering men with the recognition that they are in control of their own fate?
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If you take ANY man, black white red or yellow, and convince him that he has no control, no hope and no future; you will rapidly see him act like a man who has no control, no hope and no future.
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As Henry Ford said: If you believe you can, or you believe you can’t, you are entirely correct.
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Or, as Chris Rock said: there has to be more than just the big piece of chicken.

By: Zack Isaacs

Zack Isaacs — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:03:42 +0000

Alright, Dr. Juan Luther King Vandross! :p This is fantastic! “Captain African-America” is classic.