very few brothers tend to be on some ol' male feminist steez, but if you've ever read any books penned by Mark Anthony Neal, you know he specializes in thinking outside the box. but if you're still not hip to my man's brilliance, or if you're sitting there thinking, "what the hell is a male feminist?!?", check out this brief interview on NPR to hear it explained in the author's own words...

few black public intellectuals are in the public eye and are seen or heard through various media channels as much as Michael Eric Dyson. as an ordained Baptist minister, he is able to straddle the line that connects the halls of academia to the pulpit. many brothers and sisters of the mind have used Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath to hand out critical pimp slaps upside the heads of what they call "the New Black Church," specifically its focus on materialism and blessings in the form of bling. certainly this is something that needs to be addressed, what with Jesus being a champion of the poor and oppressed peoples of the earth.

and that's exactly what makes this article from Dyson so relevant. it explains the significance of the black church and spirituality to those outside of those experiences. at the same time, for all those who are familiar with and are a part of the Christian faith, it reinforces the stance that the church ought to have regarding social action within communities across this nation and the world. one hundred percent on-point.

i tell ya, brothers and sisters living the life of the mind in our academies nationwide have been on their j-o-b regarding their individual takes on the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. this brief listing is only a sample of the articles and commentaries out now and ever increasing by the minute.

and then there's this MSNBC article. in light of the president's speech last night, this one is quite relevant as to whether or not Bush will really address the problem of this nation's poverty through action (particularly since the social programs he proposed last night are exactly the kind that conservatives cut first chance they get). the writer seems to think that Bush is up for the challenge. me...i'm not nearly that optimistic.

the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has brought forth voices of dissent both far and wide. i am of the opinion that class always trumps race, but any fool should be able to see that race and class often go hand in hand. nowhere is this more apparent than the majority of those who must suffer the most from this storm's outcome. eloquently written articles by William Jelani Cobb and Mark Anthony Neal make that abundantly clear.

meanwhile, Maurice O. Wallace appeals to brothers and sisters of the faith regarding the importance of mourning and acts of compassion. and then there's Kanye. think it's a safe bet to say that Time Magazine's probably regretting giving him a cover story not too long ago?

i quote an email that i recently received from the Complacent Nation: "you deserve to be f**king furious." anytime the media refers to blacks as "looters" while whites are "finding" bread and soda, that's blatant proof that this country is racist as hell.

...or so says Marc Lamont Hill in his latest article, which i'm sure will cause quite a stir in some circles. seeing as how i'm a born-again Christian that knows what it means to grow up as a post-Civil Rights generation child with hip-hop as a part of my daily soundtrack, this was for a very intriguing read for me. i can definitely see some of brother Hill's points. the pastor of my own church has been rather aggravated at a lot of the "prosperity preaching" that is currently pimped from pulpits nationwide, which i believe is largely the target of Hill's diatribe. he mentions Creflo Dollar, a popular TV evangelist, and my wife and i have our own issues with him. i can't blame this brother for wanting to protect generation hip-hop, seeing as how it's an easy target for so many groups to take potshots at. quite often, it's a chance for some to talk about the sins of the flesh so that you don't have to talk about the sins of the spirit that are eating away at you.

at the end of the day, one would hope that a believer would ask themselves: is a preacher saying "name it and claim it" or Creflo's trademark "MONEYYYYYYY COMIN'...TA ME....NOW!!!" really all that different from 50 Cent saying "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'"? quite honestly, if your message comes down to the paper chase (be it a 'hood tale or a holy sermon), not really...

both Big Daddy Kane and the new film Hustle and Flow have declared that "pimpin' ain't easy." neither is doing the right thing in the face of a media conglomerate blindsiding our youth with images suggesting to do otherwise. Kim Pearson breaks it down further in this article...

first up, Bakari Kitwana contributed a brilliant article to the Village Voice last month regarding the predominantly white audience for black conscious hip-hop acts. rather sobering read.

and of course, my man Dr. Mark Anthony Neal is always puttin' in work. there's his latest NPR commentary for starters, plus he just finished up a fantastic four-part article on R&B's decline. here are the links to parts one, two, and three, as well as the epilogue, containing a short list of artists holdin' it down for the soul nation.

let's file this one away in the "y'all deserve so much more than just a kick in the ass / i've got a noose for each of you" folder:

so what was up with the Senate handing out a nickelbag of "sorry" for failing (ignoring, really) to pass anti-lynching legislation over the past century? over 200 measures introduced and all of them going the way of the dodo. nice going, folks. and before you say "damn Republicans," apparently Senate Democrats are largely to blame. This article from Spelman scholar William Jelani Cobb makes it plain while revered historian John Hope Franklin takes it several steps further in his NPR commentary, recalling a time when he came face to face with a lynch mob back in the day. i echo the sentiments of my man Dr. Mark Anthony Neal: i hope i have that kind of fire when i'm 90 years old.

speaking of Dr. Neal, he offers commentary on a much lighter note, just in time for Father's Day, speaking about Daddy's record collection.

"i want my daddy's records!!"

read my lips: Dr. Mark Anthony Neal is killin' it right now. this is the man that made my last semester at SUNY Albany bearable. his black intellectuals course showed me what time it was in terms of darker shades gettin' their learn on and connecting mental dots in terms of black history, our place in popular culture, our music, slicing through the barriers and stereotypes that others put on us (as well as the ones we put on ourselves), and how it's all connected. after his SUNY years, he did a bid over at the University of Texas, now he's doin' the Duke (University, that is). crazy commentaries abound on the 'net: a gang of music reviews and pontifications over on popmatters.com (like this one), africana.com, then he'll hop over to AOL Black Voices and flex brain tissue a lil' somethin' like this, plus there's that NPR commentary action. yeah, brother's catchin' all kinds of wreck right now.

he's written several books, the latest of which is New Black Man. and finally, FINALLY! he has his own blog. serious music journalist and crate digger Oliver Wang believes that he should have his own audioblog and i agree wholeheartedly, but that's a cyber-triumph for another time. in the meantime, please check the link below and come to know what i have: the M.A.N. will never steer you wrong.

New Black Man - The Blog

p.s. wanna drive your parents crazy? suggest to them that Marvin Gaye and R. Kelly have more in common than an older generation wants to admit. go ahead...i DARE you...

more reasons to show love for my man Dr. Mark Anthony Neal. it's observations like this that make me feel so fortunate that i had a class with him when he taught at SUNY Albany. dem chilluns at Duke best recognize greatness when they see it...