10 Reasons Why The Revolution *CAN'T* Be Televised!

Today was the 75th Annual Bud Billiken Day Parade. Black people from all over the city gathered to watch as parade participants marched from 35th to 55th and King Drive on Chicago's southside. The parade, which culminates in Washington Park is more than just a tradition, its a rich legacy for Black folks that promotes school excellence. Its a sort of hats off to the end of summer and welcoming to fall and children's return to school. However, in recent years, this rich legacy has turned into one big disaster waiting to happen and this year proved to be no different and certainly no better. There was incident after incident which forced police to hold up the parade several times.

It seems almost pointless for me to even try and recap the level of ignornace and foolishness that colored today's event because it would just further display how we aren't progressing as a people. I know many people hate to hear that and I definitely hate to say it, but we have reached a point where we have more than a few rotten apples in the barrel. Damn near the entire orchard is ruined. We refuse to come together in peaceful celebration. So, I must comment on a few things. I just have to.

At the close of the parade, my boss said to a couple of us, "I thought my people were ready, but after being at the Bud Billiken Day Parade, I just don't know." His sentiments so captured my emotion of the day.
As I sit here typing this entry a little bit before midnight, I'm trying to find a way to process and get this out intelligently, yet I feel absolutely bewildered. Musicmatch is playing The Staple Singers I'll Take You There in the background. How prophetic...because essentially, I'm gonna have to take yall there. There's just no way around it.

First, the parade was organized and managed to a great extent by a teenager. While I am impressed and inspired by her efforts and her attempts to hold it down for the cause...shame on the Chicago Defender for relying on this young woman to manage such an overwhelmingly difficult responsibilty. The parade was disorganized, the staff were rude and untrained and it pretty much set the standard for the mayhem that would take place the rest of the day.

The Black Star Project was #164 in the parade. I'm not sure how much that really matters because we weren't lined up in any kind of numerical order, nor could onlookers really see our number. We wore Black & Gold, which also happens to be the Alpha Phi Alpha colors, who we just so happened to be marching behind for half of the parade. Side Note: Thank you God for small favors because them brothahs were FINE, dear God they were FINE, but I digress!!!

We looked great out there, in our Black and Gold and our bright yellow signs with positive messages encouraging parents to be their child's best role model and asking them to get involved in their children's education. We marched and we passed out information...tons and tons of information. We encouraged parents to join us for the Million Father March by taking their children to school the first day or the first week back. It was during the passing out of information that I got to see up close and personal my folks on some next level bullshit.

So I walked into the crowds, as did other Black Star members and I talked to my folks. I asked to give them information. I asked them did they have kids. I asked them to help in the cause. However, I learned from several of my folks that a vast majority of us just aren't interested in any movements to educate our children and essentially working to improve our lot in life. I guess some of my folks said since Gil done told us the revolution will not be televised, we just said fuck it, we ain't even gonna try. In the the five hours I spent out there in the parade trying to get from 35th to 55th amidst the drama and commotion that ensued, I realized exactly why the revolution CAN'T be televised.

1. WE HAVE TOO MANY EXCUSES!I can't tell you how many people refused to take the information we were handing out and refused to hear the message we were trying to spread. THEY REFUSED!!! Some gave reasons why it was pointless to even try. One sistah told me, "I don't have no kids." So you mean to tell me, that you don't know any kids either??? We aren't the least bit concerned about our neighbors kids. What happened to the village?!?!? What happened to our concern for others?? This same woman was surrounded by other women with babies on their hips!!! W-T-F?

I had some brothah tell me that his kids were in another state and another one said his were in the system. Yet, another one told me his baby mama got a restraining order against him, so he can't see his kids. A couple of these brothahs were surrounded by their homies... who thought that shit was funny. As I shook my head and turned to walk away, I thought...can we really be this lost?? We have every excuse not to do what we should be doing. And in the case of those brothahs, they seemed content to let barriers keep them from trying. Are we really this unconcerned??

2. WE ARE HIGH...ALL THE DAMN TIME.
As I marched along and went out into the crowds and saw all of my folks out there barbecuing ribs, chicken, hot dogs etc, there was still nothing more pungent in the air then the stench of weed. I even walked up on a crowd of brothahs and got a contact upon arrival. Some of us apparently need substances to be able to celebrate our children going back to school. How fucked up is that??

Hell, my girl Afrika overheard one of the parade marshals talking on his cell saying...."bag it up nigga, we'll be on 47th in a minute." Now I'll admit, i'm a little slow on the uptake of the hood lingo...but not that damn slow. What were they baggin up????

3. IF WE AREN'T HIGH, WE'RE DRUNK AS HELL.
For all those that weren't high, there was an equal amount of drunkards to make up for it. Brothahs and sistahs were chuggin forties down like it was the last supper. Some of them thought it was cute, because after all, I guess this is the message we are trying to send to our kids. Yeah we'll support you going to school, but we have to be drunk to do so. One woman in the crowd read my sign aloud as I walked by the curb..."Parents are their children's best role models" and then yelled "I'll drink to that" and commenced to hold her paper bag in the air. What are we doing????? Somebody, please explain it to me!!!

4. WE HAVEN'T FINISHED GETTING OUR HAIR DONE.Now I'm just as much black woman as the next black woman. I like to look good and well put together at all times, but not at the expense of looking like a damn fool. Now I'm a natural head so I am biased towards hairsyles that are expressions of our natural beauty. I'm not hating on sistahs that perm and press their hair, although I think we need to stop. I realize that we come into our own at different times and whats right for me isn't necessarily suitable for the next sistah. However, sistahs with weaves upset me. WHY????

Why do women think its ok to cloak themselves in synthetic hair in the name of some arbitrary European style?? If you were meant to have long hair, YOU WOULD HAVE IT!!! Chances are your shit is so fried and died...that it completely dead and can't grow anymore. Some of my sistahs looked like an all around hot mess out there, but their hair was whipped up into some hideous dos.

5. WE P-I-M-P-S.
I don't know what you heard about me /But a bitch can't get a dollar out of me/No Cadillac, no perms, you can't see/That I'm a motherfucking P-I-M-P. © 50 Cent

Well whoever said 50 was the only pimp around obviously hasn't been to Chicago. But then again, the Chi is unfortunately the original home of the bishop don juan and the pimp convention. Well I guess we should be thanking God some of our people are out there learning a trade. Obviously our brothahs and many of our sistahs are thinking pimpin' is easy. That was most evident at the parade. Young men and women were out there negoiating sex, like a transaction at a grocery store. Its just all about gettin' some.

6. HO-ING AT AGE 9, 101.
And somebody said we aren't teaching out kids anything!!!! When we reached our first intersection at 39th and King, a dance group made up of girls ages 7-13 intruded on our space behind the Alphas (damn). They got in front of us in their little...and I do mean little, pink and black skirts and halter style tops and began freakin' and poppin'...HARD!! When I looked at the faces of these girls, I couldn't believe my eyes. Their little faces were made up with heavy pink eye shadow and lip stick. These babies looked like some $2 hookers in training. The leader of the group....wearing a matching pink and black velour sweatsuit that was too tight for her wide behind...thought they were hot. Grown ass men were hollering after these little girls. At this point, I was ready to fall out from exhaustion and coupled with frustration and gloom, I was beside myself. I'll ask again....WHAT ARE WE DOING??? WHAT THE HELL ARE WE THINKING???

7. GOTTA HAVE THOSE RIMS.
As we neared the end of the parade and could see the cars parked for blocks along the streets. I saw bucket after bucket rimmed up with spinners and other fancy wheel wear. Brothahs were piling into these rides and beginning to show off their sound systems. All of this is apart of the scene you know. My brothahs are making some serious statements here..."I may not have a job, no goals, no real ambition and my priorities are way out of wack, but shit...I got my ride rimmed up...muthfuckah!!"

8. MY NIGGA...YOU NIGGA...LOOK NIGGA.
Nigga talk never advanced any movements or added any value to the earth. I guess thats why we embrace it so much. We love it. We took the shit and ran with it!

9. BUT ONLY IF ITS FREE.
I want... I need... Give me... My kids can't... The teachers dont... I thought the school would... How much.. Well I don't know...We are so busy waiting for a savior, somebody else to do things for us, yet nothing gets done. So long as it free of cost, of both monetary and energy expenditure, we're alright with it. We just don't understand, if there is no struggle, there is no progress. It's a struggle ALL of us must take part in! Gloria Anzaldua put it best when she said, "What we say and what we do ultimately comes back to us, so let us own our responsibility, place it in our hands and carry it with dignity and strength." But they don't hear us!!! They just don't hear us!!

10. WE DON'T HAVE A CLUE.
As I walked away from the parade, one thing was clear...we don't have a clue! Unfortunately, without a clue, we can't have a plan; and without a plan, we don't have a chance in hell of ever rebuilding our communities. All of our traditions and institutions are just mere shadows of themselves. We can't even parade right...so how in the hell can we sustain a movement. Our children are at the bottom of the educational system without a fighting chance, but damn it...we're profiling the latest.. roca wear, baby phat and pastel louis vuitton demis. Don't you dare tell us we don't look good.

Hmmm...Hmmm...

The revolution will not be televised,
will not be televised,
will not be televised,
will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live! © Gil Scott Heron

-M