By Dr. E. Faye Williams
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – pot·pour·ri noun \ˌpō-pu̇-ˈrē\ 1: a miscellaneous collection. Now and then, my thoughts for the week exceed a single subject. When that happens, I’m usually left with the choice between one or the other. I believe I’ve made correct and timely choices. This week, I’ll deviate with brief discussions on two subjects – a potpourri of thought. Simply, this means that I’ve got information that needs to come to you from two directions with a sense of urgency based upon my perception of our need.
For over 28years the National Congress of Black Women has led the effort to clean-up “Gangsta-Rap” because of its deleterious impact upon young people in our community. We’ve always felt that it’s impossible to separate what’s ingested – either physically or psychologically – from its impact upon the body.
To that end, we’ve testified before Congress, picketed record shops, met with BET and after being rebuffed, we’ve picketed BET. We have purchased stock in companies so that we could speak at stockholders' meetings and make our positions heard.
We’ve contacted sponsors of the purveyors of “filth” in the media and music and we’ve asked them to withdraw their support. We have achieved our greatest success with this strategy. It’s difficult for them to justify “feeding” the children of others “filth” they would not allow their own to partake.
We will continue to transcribe the lyrics of some of the grossest, most denigrating songs and make them available to parents who may be enjoying the musical beat of their children’s music without knowing the words.
As you can expect, we’ve experienced tremendous push-back from those whose only interest is in making money. They’ve made it very clear to all who would listen that their concern is in commercial success and not in the damage done to the psyches of our children. They spew their filth and violence laden garbage in our community and expect us to be willing to pay for the privilege. In their wake, they leave millions of our youth with distorted perceptions – some that will never be corrected - of the realities of life and relationships
In light of current discussion on violence and other elements of social discourse, we need the reminder that we must be vigilant in monitoring “information” our children consume. We must offer a counter-balance to the detrimental impact of this garbage.
We will not quit this effort and we pray that those who are just entering this fight will join our efforts to perform this hard and, often, unrewarding work.
Switching gears from our future to our past, the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Home is competing with other historical sites for funds to be used for restorative preservation. The home is where Dr. Woodson lived when he established the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, and promoted the first Negro History Week. It is the nominal "Birthplace of African American History."
I accessed the Partners in Perseveration website (https://www.preservedmv.com) to determine the status of the Woodson Home on the list of 24 sites vying for funds. I sadly report that the Woodson Home ranks 14th with only 55,230 votes. The number one site has almost 10 times more votes. Considering the number of African Americans who have computer and Internet access, this is a travesty.
Until the voting deadline on May 10th, you may vote for your chosen site once each day and you are encouraged to do so. I also encourage you to forward this to those in your e-address book, Facebook Friends and anyone you contact through social media.
We should be unyielding in our support of our past and our future. Dr. Woodson gave us something far more valuable than the filth in much of the music we hear today will ever provide.