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His name was Danye Jones. He was 24 years old. He was lynched.

But was is so horrific about his death is that it only happened fifteen days ago. Yes, an African American man was lynched in 2018, only a couple days ago. Yet there has been no news coverage, no articles, nothing; just a few posts on twitter.

Being that there was really no information on the event I was able to find out that the boy’s mother actually was the one to speak out against this on her Facebook account. It was rumored that prominent Ferguson activists and their family members were being targeted and assaulted. Melissa McKinnies, Danye’s mother, was one of the activist in Ferguson protesting the death of Michael Brown which happened back in 2014. Danye’s mother unfortunately was also the one to discover her son hanging from their tree in her backyard.

I can only image what his mother must be going through. To discover your own son in that state must be devastating. But of course it got worse when allegedly the police decided to forego an investigation on his death and instead rule it a suicide. This unfortunately isn’t the first time I’ve heard of this. I recall another story happening some time ago where an African American male was found hanging from a tree and the police ruled it suicide.

It’s honestly crazy to think that they wouldn’t look further into these deaths. Nothing about hanging from a tree sounds logical. But unfortunately just as our lives are undervalued alive, they matter even less dead sometimes.

I am tired of African American lives being reduced to hashtags once they die. I am tired of barely hearing of the deaths of African Americans (this goes for other marginalized groups as well) on solely social media rather than news outlets. Why is this young man’s death not being discussed? Why is it being swept under the rug?

Events like these really make me wonder what kind of society we live in. You know with events like these one would think we were back in Jim Crow South. But unfortunately we aren’t, were in America in 2018!!!! We’re in what is so called one of the ‘greatest’ countries in the world, yet were still dealing with issues of racism and ignorance and continue to protect THE WRONG SIDE. I mean for someone to still be lynched in 2018 really speaks volumes to the so called ‘progress’ we’ve made as a country.

I just hope that my fellow African Americans do not have to continue to die at the costs of racism. I hope that my fellow African American’s deaths are not then silenced due to racism and neglect.

We must speak on these issues every chance we get and call out these unjust practices. Police should not just simply turn the other cheek when another African American is killed. It’s time we say something, it’s time we do something. Because the only way to take down a system is for everyone to realize the part they play in it. Because this is no longer a question of whats right or wrong, we know it’s wrong so let’s finally do something right.

In my AFAM class “Living While Black”, we’ve recently discussed prominent African American figures such as Angela Davis (my queen). In specific regards to Angela Davis we watched an interview conducted at UCLA around this time in 1969, when she was a TA/student there. While she addressed many different topics throughout her interview, one I felt stuck out the most was her mentioning of the “Institutional Racism in the Education System”.

It was not that long ago when African Americans were finally given the chance to attend public schools here in America. But as the Supreme Court clause of “separate but equal” took over the conversation in terms of establishing certain institutions for African Americans, it became evident that the equal in the separate in equal was in fact not equal at all. African Americans were given disproportional supplies and support when establishing certain institutions such as schools. While their white counterparts were receiving brand new textbooks, they were given outdated, inaccurate second-hand ones that were probably headed for the dump.

What this then caused was the immediate setback for African Americans as they received second rate educations due to negligence. Angela Davis addresses these disparities as it caused many African Americans to seem “unqualified” and overlooked in the college admissions process. She discussed how at the high school level leading up to college many African American students were encouraged to lean towards more vocational career paths rather than educational ones as it seemed for ‘realistic’ for them.

But what I admired about Davis’ interview was that she expressed that what these colleges deemed as ‘unqualified’ amongst African American student, she identified as ‘potential’. Davis highlights that while the education system ostracizes African Americans students, they still hold much potential to achieve as their white counterparts.

Now that we are in 2018, not much has changed unfortunately. As I sit here today as a Penn State student, I don’t really realize how lucky and rare it is for me to be here. I forget the fact that I am part of the 5.98% of African American students here at Penn State, which is actually pretty high as far as percentage of African American students goes across the nation (average at the college level is around 8%). Because in reality, it is unfortunately rare for African Americans to attend college after high school.

We still face the same issues where inner city public schools are given sub par funding and resources. And though we identify these schools as ‘inner city’ the demographics of these schools are still predominately African American and now Latino American as well. These kids are too often overlooked and ignored in terms of receiving an adequate education ultimately setting them up for failure. It’s this vicious cycle for African Americans, without education in today’s society you lack equal opportunity, which then leads to this struggle for survival causing many to turn to crime instantly creating this pipeline of African American youth into prisons. It has been noted in many studies, ( I’m referring to PEW Research: Mass Incarceration) that there is a connection between broken education systems and the possibility of imprisonment.

But as we come to face all this information what is actually being done? It takes more than African American celebrities like Chance the Rapper donating to inner city schools in Chicago to fix these issues. It takes the government recognizing why there are issues and how they can solve it. Because it order to take down a broken system, everyone must recognize the part they play in said system and begin the effort to rebuild.

Given the recent article we read for homework (yes I know I’m blogging about the homework, ew) I felt inspired to discuss it further because I feel as if Wesley Morris touched up on a very important issue concerning African Americans.

In Wesley Morris’ “Rise of the NBA Nerd: Basketball Style and Black Identity” he discusses how the portrayal of African American NBA players have changed over time and why. While we already discussed this in class I felt as if we didn’t touch up on an important part of the article which was Black Identity.

I was recently discussing this with one of my close friends as well in my AFAM class actually which is the issue many African Americans face: our identity. As society as often portrayed us to fit certain stereotypes, we have unfortunately taken in those stereotypes in our communities and have used them as the standard for what an African American is.

I recall a girl in my class describing how though she lived and attended a school in the suburbs and while many of her fellow black classmates did as well, she found a handful of them to act a certain way. She described how her friends would purposely act “ghetto” and as if they were from the “hood” when they weren’t at all. It’s these issues of identity many of us African Americans face, that if we don’t act a certain way or come from a certain area we aren’t “black” enough.

What I love about Morris’ article though is that it combats these stereotypes and shows the diversity in what African Americans can be. He mentions pivotal characters such as Carlton from Fresh Prince of BelAir and the Huxtables from The Cosby Show. While to you these may seem like any characters, to us these characters display what Africans Americans can be. We can attend prep schools and live luxurious lives. We can be doctors, and lawyers, and dentists and dominate higher level professions. Morris also states that “there are people who never thought they’d see a black American president”, and that also goes along with it. The fact that being the President of the United States is something that was never really associated or a possibility for African Americans.

Unfortunately while I have always personally believed that I could truly achieve any profession of my liking despite the color of my skin, that is not a reality for many African Americans. The “hood” stereotype has sadly been the epitome for Africans Americans for so long that it’s become the only thing that many believe. That they cannot strive in the world, pursuing and behaving however they please without fearing the fact that because of just that they might be considered “not black enough”.

But just as Martin Luther King Jr. preached something all African Americans should say is that “I am black, but I am black and beautiful.” It is those words of self-love that will help us disassociate from the stereotype. Because not only are you beautiful, you are beautiful in everything you achieve and hope for in life. You are beautiful in all your diversity, you are beautiful because you are different and fearful of being just so.

 

Being that we celebrated World Mental Health Day yesterday, I believed in was only appropriate to discuss issues of mental health within the black community. Unfortunately there is a major stigma concerning mental health as it is overlooked and often ignored though a number of African Americans deal with issues of mental health.

I know personally I have struggled with my mental health and found myself not being able to really communicate it. Due to this stigma in the black community, mental disabilities are frowned upon and looked at negatively. Personally coming from an African household, my parents didn’t really believe in mental health as the culture they grew up in viewed it as taboo, something fictional. Due to this lack on knowledge/belief, it made it very uncomfortable to deal with certain issues as I feared being looked at as ‘crazy’ causing me to often ignore and invalidate my feelings.

For many African Americans this is a reality. Where having a mental disorder can cause you to be shunned or invalidated. This issue also becomes worse in some cases for African American males specifically. As they have to deal with keeping up a certain image of being this strong provider, having or dealing with issues of mental health is seen as a ‘weakness’.

While these issues are often seen as taboo, unfortunately they come up one way or another. In recent studies according to the US Office of Minority Health, African Americans teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than are white teenagers (8.3% versus 6.2%) even though we make up for a smaller amount of the population. They also stated that African Americans held beliefs related to psychological openness and help-seeking, which in turn affected their coping behaviors. This led to participants in the study not being very open to acknowledging psychological problems they’ve dealt with. They also pointed out the fact that African American men were particularly concerned about the stigma and that stigma and judgment prevents African Americans overall from seeking treatment for their mental illnesses. In the study it was indicated that African Americans believe that mild depression or anxiety would be considered “crazy” in their social circles. Many believe that discussions about mental illness would not be appropriate even among family.

While reading many of these statistics can be saddening, again it is unfortunately a reality for many African Americans, including myself. But even when facing issues of mental health, there are issues within treatment itself. Studies have found that because less than 2 percent of American Psychological Association members are African American, some may worry that mental health care practitioners are not culturally competent enough to treat their specific issues. Many have stated that this issue is compounded by the fact that some African American patients have reported experiencing racism and microaggression from therapists.

Another issue often overlooked concerning treatment is the mass incarceration issue that effects the black community. Rather than acknowledging these problems, society tends to turn the other cheek for African Americans. As there is a gross overrepresentation of African Americans in jails, POC are found to make up 60% of the prison population. This is not because  ‘African Americans commit more crimes than others’ because that is simply false. This is due to injustices committed against African Americans often causing this pipeline directly from the black community to prisons. But that’s an issue to be further discussed for later.

In hopes of combatting the ignorance surrounding mental health, there needs to be more discussion, acknowledgement, and validation of mental health within the black community. It’s okay to have an ‘off’ day, it’s okay to feel a certain way sometimes because at the end of the day we are human. Do not ignore your feelings because you’re afraid of being viewed as ‘crazy’. And while this may be easier said than done, remember even if you do ignore them they will manifest in some way and come back, even worse sometimes.

Taking from my experience I truly hope those out there going through similar things, despite your race, know that their issues and feelings are valid! That what they’re going through is understandable and worth talking about.

Here are some appropriate topics to make jokes about:

• Your Boss
• Traffic
• Funny Personal Experiences

Here are some inappropriate topics to make jokes about:

• Rape

While I may feel this is the general consensus among decent human beings, I guess as always our so called ‘president’ didn’t get the memo.

Recently attending a rally in Mississippi, Donald Trump mocked the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford doubting her alleged sexual assault.

Now while Republicans have done, and continue to do everything in their will power to discredit Dr. Ford’s testimony our ‘president’ decided to go on NATIONAL TELEVISION and confidently mock the testimony of a rape victim. I truly do not know what in his right mind thought it was okay to do this, wait let me take a step back because I am assuming his mind is ‘right’.

When stumbling upon the video on twitter, I was disgusted beyond belief. He goes on to say that a “man’s life is shattered” because of the “evil people” who falsely accused him. Within those few sentences alone our ‘president’ revived rape culture. What’s sad is that when spewing out this disgusting propaganda there are people behind him cheering him on, applauding him for his words.

The first thing that came to my mind after was how the millions of victims of sexual assault across the nation had to witness this. They had to sit and listen to this man, who has been accused of many acts of sexual assault which have later been PROVED, invalidate their experience with sexual assault and put shame on them. It amazes me how someone of such vile history as Trump, could have the audacity to call anyone else evil. Because those who rape and ruin lives are not evil, no. Instead their lives are ‘shattered’ when an actual victim finally gains the confidence to speak about the acts committed against her. Because god forbid we acknowledge assault victims and take about the heinous crimes men have committed. How their lives are forever changed and will never be the same or ‘normal’

Please also remember when reading this I am not accusing men as an entire gender. I am accusing the select few who ARE rapists and do not respect women, men such as our ‘president’. Trump claims that men are the ‘real victims’ due to false accusations. But according to a study conducted by Stanford students, they found only about 2% of all rape and related sex charges are determined to be false using information directly from FBI data. They also found out that only about 40% of rapes are ever reported to the police, and this is partly because “victims know that if their claim becomes public, their every behavior will be scrutinized, they will be shamed for their sexual history, and they will be labeled as lunatic, psychotic, paranoid, and manipulative.”

With events such as our ‘president’ mocking a victim, there is no wonder why women are afraid to speak up about their experience. Because the few times women DO report their assault, they are immediately questioned and blamed. Women not only have to deal with the constant fear of something happening to them for simply existing, but also have to face a system that tries to discredit them the moment something does.

One thing I absolutely hate is when someone accuses me of lying when I’m telling the truth. Like of all the times I COULD HAVE or HAVE lied, it’s when I’m telling the truth is when you doubt me. Naturally my reaction when accused of lying is standing my ground and reiterating the fact that I’m telling the truth because I feel as if I was disrespected.

Recently in the U.S. Open Women’s Singles, upon the final game Serena Williams was accused of cheating as the referee pointed out that she received couching during the game. When called out on this Serena, very maturely addresses the referee and stated that she didn’t receive any coaching. She then asked for an apology from the referee as this accusation was an attack on her character and stated that she’s experienced similar discrimination every year she’s participated in the U.S. Open.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this topic as some believed that Serena did in fact cheat but when called out reacted ‘immaturely’. But her coach did come out and admit to the fact that he was trying to coach Serena, he ALSO stated that Serena hadn’t noticed his hand motions and simply thought he was just giving her a thumbs up.

Even though this event has been somewhat settled, the reason why I choose to bring it up again is in light of a cartoon released after this event.

 

What one might think is a harmless cartoon of the athletes reaction is actually a very dehumanizing, painfully resemblance of Jim Crow imagery. When I saw this image on twitter following the U.S. Open finals I couldn’t believe that in 2018 something like this was published.

While during the event Serena claimed the accusation was an issue of sex, race always is the underlying issue. As mentioned before Serena has always experienced discrimination throughout her career from being drug tested disproportionately in comparison to her peers to cartoons such as this being released attacking her character.

Well you may ask yourselves, what’s exactly wrong with this cartoon? Well for starters the fact that Serena was drawn resembling an ape like being isn’t exactly new when on the topic of black caricatures. Also the fact that Serena’s nose and lips take up a majority of her face is something that has long been used in the stereotypical exaggeration of black features.

But even when stepping away from Serena’s depiction, taking a look at what is supposedly Naomi Osaka one can tell her character was especially white washed. Out of context, one would never guess that that cartoon was supposed to represent that Japanese-HATIAN player Osaka. But this wasn’t a mistake at all, Knight didn’t accidentally give Osaka fair skin and blonde hair. He did it in contrast of Serena’s ‘ape like behavior’, in contrast of her blackness.

It’s sad to think that in 2018 African Americans are still looked upon as inhumane. It’s sad to think that our reactions are so easily invalidated and somehow are attributed to our skin color. It’s sad to think that as an African American myself I have to act a certain way around others in fear of being ostracized and attacked. It’s a reality that unfortunately many of us have to face, and that our white counterparts will never experience.

 

It’s a normal Tuesday afternoon and I’m scrolling through my timeline on Twitter, probably avoiding work, and I notice a lot of people posting similar pictures. What are these pictures of? They’re of torn socks, pants, hoodies and other clothing items. First thing that comes to my mind is “Oh, maybe Kanye is about to release a new Yeezy Season”. Unfortunately, I was mistaken; instead they were pictures of people who cut out the Nike logo from their clothes. Now I’m sitting here thinking what would cause people to do this? Because I KNOW those sweatpants weren’t cheap.

Recently Nike released an advertisement featuring Colin Kaepernick titled “Dream Crazy”. This commercial presents the idea of the possibility for an individual to not only achieve their dreams but to go above and beyond when achieving it. Kaepernick narrates throughout the commercial, stating the importance of “believing in something even if it means sacrificing everything” which alludes to his own personal campaigns of kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and other social injustices against Black Americans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2CvmgoO7I

In regards to Kaepernicks #TakeAKnee movement, there has been much controversy surrounding the issue. Many find his actions disrespectful and inappropriate, using the argument that kneeling during the National Anthem equates to disregarding the thousands of veterans who have sacrificed their lives in order for those back home to have freedom. But Kaepernick has spoken out multiple times, stating that he holds much respect for those who have fought for this country. Unfortunately those very freedoms and liberties they are fighting for have not been guaranteed to everyone.

Though Kaepernick has done everything he can to explain why he begun the movement and what it stands for, many people have stuck with the narrative that it is done in disrespect of veterans continuing to view the movement as unpatriotic.

So going along with that, when Nike released their advertisement many people spoke out on various social media platforms expressing their utter disgust and disappointment in Nike for ever standing behind someone like Kaepernick. So what’d they do to express their opposition? They decided to destroy all of their Nike apparel, even going to the extent of burning it. But it’s not like, you know, they already PAID for their stuff or anything. Trust me when I say Nike has long since benefitted from your worn and torn, decade old pair of Nike Monarch Training Shoes and ‘used to be white’ socks (long story short you probably did yourself a favor by burning them).

Now while my take on the issue may be evident at this point, if not I am FOR Kaepernicks movement as it aligns with many of the issues I have spoken out against myself and advocate for. I decided to ask my fellow Penn Staters on their take of Nike using Kaepernick to be the face of their advertisement and their opinions on the #TakeAKnee movement itself.

When asking my fellow peers for their take on the ad, a plurality expressed that they had not even seen the ad themselves but have heard about it briefly on platforms such as Twitter. Once explaining the jist of the ad to them, many had stated their support for Nike featuring Kaepernick, a controversial African American. Though some expressed concerns regarding if Nike genuinely was in support of Kaepernicks movement or if using his face was just a marketing tactic.

Many also stated that the reactions of those who decided to boycott and ruin their Nike products “blew the situation out of proportion” and held no valid reasons to act as they did. They personally felt the ad was inspiring and powerful and wouldn’t stop them from continuing to purchase Nike products.

Naturally, this only led me to ask people to further elaborate specifically concerning Kaepernicks movement itself and their take on it. This is where the discussions began to get a little interesting.

Shockingly, I was surprised at how many of my peers supported Kaepernicks actions. Not that I like to assume the worst in people but taking in what I’ve seen on social media I was expecting many people to be against it. Though some made it clear that personally they found it disrespectful to kneel during the national anthem, the consensus was irregardless of their personal opinions they believed that Kaepernick still held the right, as expressed in our American Constitution under the very first amendment, to kneel during the national anthem.

Many people brought up the fact that are more appropriate ways to go about his campaign rather than kneeling during the anthem, such as using social media platforms and holding press conferences. But I believe, as do some others, that it wouldn’t have in fact held the same effect or have gotten the same amount of attention. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated in his Letter From Birmingham City Jail, “Nonviolent direction action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.”

Exactly what Dr. King expresses in this quote, Kaepernick acts upon. Through his kneeling during the national anthem he calls upon the American public to address issues of police brutality and other injustices committed against Black Americans. If anything he in fact highlights the hypocrisy within the anthem as “freedom and justice for all” in actuality is not practiced but instead selective. When asked, a peer of mine described Kaepernicks movement as “enlightening of what American values truly are”, that not only does his movement represent the very ideals and rights we preach of in this country but it displays the ability we hold to freely speak out and act upon injustices that happen everyday.

The genuine, informing conversations I was able to generate through this topic not only allowed me to expand my perspective on the issue but affirm my stance on it as well. I truly believe Kaepernick did what most wouldn’t dare to think of, sacrificing a career and life all for something he truly believed in.

In the meanwhile I’ll be here chilling in my Nike hoodie and my Nike slides scrolling through Twitter as I would any other day, because I don’t know about you but these Rolf memes have me in TEARS.

*PSA: NIKE OWNS CONVERSE TOO SO BRING A PAIR OF BACKUP SHOES*