By: Osage Dior

A former boss told me, “Ms. Caesar if you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing…” I can steal my mom’s favorite quote all the time, “I’m neither black or white…I’m in the gray area…” Yeah, she was definitely an artist prior to Prince and his symbol.

Basically, it comes a point in your life where you have to make a decision. Now, it’s not going to be easy, but you have to just do it. The outcome will be the outcome, and worry about perfection later.

By: DesiBjorn

http://theangriestblackmaninamerica.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/culture-of-dependency-the-trap/

The Story

In the last post in this series I discussed how the inefficiencies of social programs create a trap of poverty not because everyone who utilizes them is trying to live off the system, but because the programs do not actually offer a platform for which people can actually elevate or restore their lives to a normal (I use that word very loosely) standing.

By: DesiBjorn

http://theangriestblackmaninamerica.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/the-worry/

Writer/blogger for The Root, Lawrence D. Bobo, coined the phrase “The Worry” that so accurately describes the anxiety of Black Americans today.

The Story

Bobo describes “The Worry” as the aprehension the growing Black middle class has about the current economic situation and it’s detrimental affects on the Black community. I cannot think of a more accurate term for the silent purgatory of emotion that many Black Americans are feeling right now. However, Bobo and I part ways on the details of “the worry.”

Bobo suggests that the Black middle class (he defines middle class as individuals with an income that is 2-4 times the poverty level) is afraid for the largest part of the Black community which makes up the “poor” “underclass” of American society. Perhaps this is true. I would not be so quick to believe that the Black middle class has concerns about the majority of the community (who are not “middle class”).

Check out my friend Nikala’s post on this wonderful lady Chimamanda Adichie
http://blackhomeschoolmom.com/2013/03/14/chimamanda-adichie-the-danger-of-a-single-story/