By H. Lewis Smith – Whenever the “massa” gave the enslaved black man something, no matter what it was, he took it—whether voluntarily or by coercion. Sadly, no matter how demeaning or dreadful the thing may have been, he had no choice but to accept the token, allowing it to become a part of his […]
H. Lewis Smith
Black America’s Survival: Hinging on Group Success vs Individual Success
In spite of the numerous blatant and subliminal social obstacles that the Black community has faced in the past and continues to face, a remarkable number of African Americans have risen to highly-esteemed statuses in the professions, arts, letters, professional sports and the entertainment field in the last 100 years. Within the past 10 years, […]
60 Minutes’ Byron Pitts and the N-word: The need for top-down reprogramming
By H. Lewis Smith – Visualize a circle about the size of a grapefruit, and imagine that the space inside this circle represents an individual’s total, inclusive realm of knowledge. At the same time, this same individual is also mindful that there is more knowledge outside of their particular circumference of awareness. However, when somebody […]
Giant Step for Esperanza Spalding and the Grammy Awards
The 53rd Grammy Awards has given me new-found faith in humankind. The selection of musical jazz artist Esperanza Spalding as the Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist was a weighty aversion from human indecency and a strong score for human decency. In the past, I’ve been an out-spoken critic of the Grammy Awards and […]
Agitation Over the Removal of the N-Word from Huck Finn
By H. Lewis Smith – The removal of the n-word from Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn has caused complete outrage, shock, and outcries of sorts all across the American landscape. If the term is removed from historical texts, which were written during and work to convey the reality of the times – depicting the distorted face […]
Grammy Awards Manipulative or Not?
By H. Lewis Smith – The song “F— You”—which is clearly laced with expletives, as well as the n-word—has been nominated for the February 2011 Grammy’s “Record of the Year” Award. Rapper Jay Z and Alicia Keys have also been nominated to receive an award for their performance of “Empire State of Mind”, which is […]
The Power of Thought and How It Reforms Reality
By H. Lewis Smith – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”(Genesis 1:3) “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry […]
Has Black America Lost It’s Backbone?
By H. Lewis Smith – All by-products of African-American ingenuity, Negro spirituals, blues and jazz were created to help African Americans maintain a sense of internal calmness and hope during strife; cultivate, embrace and express individuality; and serve as living connections to and trophies of cultural history, knowledge and heritage. In spite of all the […]
The N-word: The Indoctrination Process and overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome
By H. Lewis Smith – Plantation owners, overseers, merchants, bankers—all of those who were benefactors of the American enslavement of black people—had a huge stake in eliminating the true identity of the newly-arrived Africans. These benefactors knew that in order for their scheme to be completely effective, they would have to maintain complete control over […]