Gifted Muse

Dedicated to the memory of Sean Bell...Respect
And today... Daddy, Granddad,Uncle Billy, DuBoo DuBoo, Prince Messiah and Ozzie

"I don't wanna 4get the present is a gift..." Alicia Keys

My gift is that I am the Mother of a Beautiful, Black Man.

The Mayor of Philadelphia has demonstrated what New York's mayor hasn't shown enough courage or respect to the community to do. He needs to rethink his thought because it needs reconsideration. New York NEEDS to follow Philly's lead. We can no longer find acceptable random acts of violence against our young men simply because they are out while Black. This Blue on Black crime wave has inflicted such terror in our neighborhoods and has numbed our youth into believing their lives are of no value. HOW VERY WRONG THEY ARE!! How is it our nurturing homes have been displaced and replaced with such a faulty belief? How did we let these negative influences infiltrate and take over? Such subtle command of our streets started right after The Blackout of 1977. Some of y'all really acted up and acted out, and alla us paid the price. The repercussions of that fiasco affect us deeply today. It manifests itself in being followed around in stores or worse yet the demand to surrender your bag upon entry, (I walk out of the store when it is insisted I leave my bag), bullet-proof security windows in neighborhood Chinese take-out restaurants, demand for payments prior to service being rendered, the offer of substandard living conditions, (as if the person making the offer would actually choose to live in those conditions and have the privilege of paying a premium price), needless stops and frisks, demands for ID, confrontational, belittling and baiting behaviors, unprofessional demeanor that in no way reflects the the CPR as so prominently displayed on their vehicles. Other people have noticed the police of this city treat us differently, so they just follow suit.

Our young men have GOT to play their part as well. Pull up your damn pants, put on a belt, stop already with the n word, you are not that word, stop listening to lyrics that tell you your mother, sister and girlfriends are female dogs, they are not, no, you are NOT the next LeBron James, if you were, you would have been discovered already, so take your ass to school or get a trade, stop hannging out in all of the places that make you vulnerable to those who wish to destroy you. Have pride in doing the right thing, help someone else and pay it forward. Lastly, stay grounded in your Higher Power .

On this Memorial Day weekend, my memories are that of the soldiers we have lost to the war on the streets, Black to Black violence, Blue on Black Murder and of course our courageous men and women who have chosen to serve our country to preserve the freedom for any of us to be able to write a piece that is critical, yet is our absolute right as a citizen of this counrty. May God forever bless the service men and women of the USA.

P.S. Big up to Pedro Espada for bringing fresh fruit, vegetables and staples to give away in the neighborhood today. He is celebrating 30 years of his Health Network. Educating and providing is a good beginning to establishing the better eating habits our community should develop.