Nation's Capital, Here We Come!

Our women's basketball team is invited to play in the Inaugural National Title IX Holiday Conference (NTHICC) in the nation's capital. We were chosen as one of eight teams nationally because our basketball program places a strong emphasis on STUDENT athlete. While in DC, we'll get a tour of the White House, and supposedly tournament hosts are trying to get First Lady Michelle Obama to be one of the guest speakers. I hope it works out. Either way, when we get to the White House, I'm taking about ten copies of my resume and accidentally leaving them all over the place.

In Constant Battle With Yourself

Regardless of a person's level of intelligence, wealth, or age, we all struggle with decision making. Why is it so hard to make the right choice at all times? Sometimes I feel as if I'm having an out of body experience. I look back at a situation and find myself saying, "Did I really just do that?" or "I can't believe I just said that! What in the world was I thinking?" It's as if it wasn't even me talking or carrying out that particular action; it was somebody else.

Sometimes it seems as if we're in a constant battle against ourselves for the control of our own mind. It's as if our real self takes a nap, only to wake up right after that other self has made a stupid decision. Now the real self has to suffer the consequences. And then we're left thinking, "What in the hell just happened?!?" (see Tiger Woods, Mark Sanford, Kanye West)

Unfortunately, this "coma-like" state can last for weeks, months, even years for some people, before they come back to their senses. By that time, they may have lived a life that they never intended.

As a child many of our mishaps are chalked up to being young or inexperienced, but what's the excuse when we grow up and become adults? What is it that causes these laps in judgement? What is it that makes people wander about in a conscious yet unconscious state of mind? If you know someone who is currently living with this state of mind, what can you do to help them to come back to reality to see again? How can we counteract moments of blindness to prevent decisions that can negatively affect us forever?

Insert Foot in Mouth

Most of my friends and family know me to be quite the comedian. I love to make people laugh and smile. However, sometimes I pick the wrong time to be funny.

Case in point-yesterday in class one of my students was selling snacks out of his book bag. I have gotten on to him several times, even confiscated the goods a few, for doing this during my class/at school.

I said," Shawn**, I'ma start calling you hustle man. You always trying to sell something!"

He replied, "I like that name. I know somebody else by that name who stands on the corner." Another student decided to chime in and said, "I know that dude too! Is he light skin with curly hair?"

Now it just so happens that this young man has light skin and curly hair, so he was setting his self up, in my book. Therefore me and my quick wit self replied in a joking manner, "Oh, so that's yo daddy?!?"

Erebody in the class started laughing. The students started saying, "Oooooooo! Ms. B just slayed you!" and "Ms. B. killing today!" I mean it was funny, but I felt really bad. The student looked extremely embarrassed and appeared to be concocting a come back. I needed class to proceed because we had just started. So I immediately started talking, pleading while he seemed to be gathering his thoughts , "I'm sorry, so sorry. Thank you Pete** for being the bigger person and not responding. You're better than me. I'm being mean today. Thanks for not slaying me back." He looked like he wanted to say something so bad, but he didn't. I was proud of him. And class moved on.

Ironically, I had a conference with his aunt that afternoon. So I'm at the conference trying to discuss a success plan for him, and she tells us that Pete's mother died when he was younger and that he had been staying with his grandmother. Now she, the aunt was his caregiver. No mention of his father.

Felt real bad after hearing this. The joke in and of itself wasn't that bad, but now knowing what he's been through, it just wasn't a good idea. So today when he came to class, I pulled him outside and we had a talk about how I wanted him to be successful and what it would take for him to pass my class. I asked him for his goals in life and he said he didn't have any. Monday he's supposed to give me one short term goal and one long term goal.

I can't take back the comment I made in jest, but I can help him move forward in a positive direction.

**Names changed

Out of Academic Shape

Within the 90 min block, I plan several different activities so that we don't spend too much time doing one thing, which helps diverse learners and keeps their attention longer. Time also goes faster when you stay busy. But in order to be able to complete all of the assignments, one has to be "in shape," ready to handle the academic, mental workout. I had never thought about this before, until this past Friday.

This past Friday, my second period started complaining about doing work. It wasn't everybody, just a few. Every once in a while, my students would say, "Can we just have free time?" or "Do we have to do this?" My normal response to this type of questioning is, "I'm sorry yall. I didn't mean to make you do work. My bad. I thought this was school!" Most of the time they start laughing, remember "Oh yeah. This is school," and then get back to work.

However, on this day, a light bulb went off for me: my sophomore students are out of shape--not physical shape, but academic. Some students are not used to working for 90 mins and become agitated and ill when asked to do so. It's just like an athlete at basketball practice ( I love sports analogies). When a ball player is out of shape, the last thing she wants to do is run sprints or suicides. She may whine,complain, or become attitudinal about having to run because she is already tired. But the only way to get better at it is to practice, and we all know how some athletes feel about practice: "This is practice . . . not a game--practice!" ~Allen Iverson.

Well the same thing goes for a student. Learning is tiring. It's physical and mental work. So the next time my students complain about doing work, I'm not going to think that they are just being lazy or unmotivated. I'm going to chalk it up to them being out of shape, and needing a little more encouragement to keep going--learning.

Getting "In the Way" of The Truth

A couple of months ago I read a Daily Bread devotional entitled "Getting 'In the Way.'" Looking at the title, I thought it was possibly going to be about things that get in the way of us serving God. But, it was about God being the way and if you are to follow Him, then you are in the way. I thought the title and message were very deep.

I also liked the scripture reading, John 14:1-6. Verse six really stood out to me: "I am the way and the truth and the life." The Truth. God is The Truth. I've read that before, but this time it really stood out to me.

This year I'm recommitting myself to The Truth, living it, loving it, and speaking it. I wanted something to remind me to live in The Truth everyday. So I came up with the idea of a Truth ring. I bought a sterling silver ring and had "The Truth" etched into it. I wear it everyday as a reminder to get "in the way."

God Bless!

Let's Get, Get, Get it!!

Wow!! Summer break is over and I can hardly believe we're starting a new school year. Unlike the last few years, I am ready to return to teaching. I really can't put my finger on it, but something in my spirit is telling me that this is going to be my school's defining year. We are going to be doing Big Thangs!! I just can't contain my excitement.

At the same time, however, it's kinda scary. It's like starting a new relationship--feeling like this could work out, but having second thoughts because you don't want to be hurt again. Have you ever been there before? You're a little hesitant to enjoy the moment or to have high expectations because, emotionally, you just can't afford another let down, another heartbreak.

At any rate, I'm going to lower my guard and not allow those negative thoughts to keep me from enjoying this feeling while it lasts. I'm committed to making my 5th year my best year.

GO HORNETS!!!

What's worse, lying to others or lying to yourself?

I just finished reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Towards the end, the main character, Ponyboy, lies to himself to avoid the truth of a very tragic situation. He believes himself on the surface; however, subconsciously he knows what really happened. Ponyboy carries on with his family as if his lies are reality, until his eventual awakening at the very end.

This book got me to thinking in a broader sense. What's worse, lying to others or lying to yourself? Does it make it worser (I know, not a real word) when you believe your own lies? I'm curious to know what you think.

Men, if you're thinking about attacking a female today, don't!

So I've had a few random moments that have produced a few random thoughts. I'll start with the random moments first.

I like to run outside. I wouldn't mind going to a park in Raleigh to run, but I can't get my mother out of my head telling me not to go by myself. She watches a lot of news and is always hearing about Raleigh joggers being assaulted.

Then I thought, maybe I could find an indoor track. That would be better for me and my knees anyways. But then my mom warns, "Don't go to a gym by yourself, especially at night!" I am the type of person that if I want to do something, I'm going to do it. And it really bothers me to be told to take someone with me, like I'm a kid.

But during college, I realized that everything my mom told me was true. So nowadays, I try to follow the advice that she gives. I should be able to go wherever I want, whenever I want, but the reality is, sometimes it's just not a good idea.

Second random moment. I had to go pick up my dog from the vet. I was a little early so I decided to go to the Food Lion next door to kill some time. This Food Lion was the kind that looks dark even in the day light. Have you ever been to one of those? There were some suspect people just hanging around. I felt like maybe I shouldn't be going here by myself. Paranoid? Maybe.

And that's when it hit me. What if, instead of telling women to not go places by themselves either at night, while jogging, etc, that we tell men to not attack, harass, kidnap women. That's the real issue. Seriously. I get so tired of news broadcasters and everyone else vehemently encouraging women to take a friend with them when they jog or do xyz. Women jogging alone, going to the grocery store at night, or making a late run to Walmart is not the problem. Let's not blame the victim. The real problem is male attackers (notice I said male attackers, not males in general).

As a society, I feel we focus too much on making women cautious, scared, and dependent. Again, WE are not the problem. Doing something alone shouldn't constitute telling a woman, "She should have known better."

I wish there was a concerted effort in school and throughout the media to teach males, young and old, how to treat a woman, how to not use force to take what they want, how to let a woman walk past you and not feel obliged to make a snide remark--something to combat this current misogynistic world that we live in (I know women could use an etiquette class as well, but this post isn't about us).

If telling women on the news broadcast to not do things alone or at night, is supposed to curtail these habits, why not add an additional statement: Ladies remember, it's not safe to run alone in the park. And men, if you're thinking about attacking a female today, please don't.

What's the harm in that? Why does that statement sound so weird? Why can't we say that?

Shakespeare Worse Than Rap?

Every year as a 9th grade English teacher, I have to teach Romeo and Juliet. Each time I teach it, I get a little more peeved at the way women are portrayed. This has led me to believe that the misogyny in R&J deserves just as much criticism as rap lyrics.
To start off, in Act I, scene i, two Capulet servants are going back and forth cracking jokes about the Montagues and making a pun of the word “maidenhead.” Sampson mocks, “'Tis true, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, /are ever thrust to the wall; therefore I will push /Montague's men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall . . . Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant: when I /have fought with the men, I will be civil with the maids, and cut off their heads . . . Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; / take it in what sense thou wilt.” Basically Sampson argues that because women are weaker than men, once he finishes fighting the Montagues, he will rape their women. This interchange was meant to be funny; however, I haven’t laughed yet.
In addition, throughout the play, Shakespeare throws in these underhanded comments about women. Romeo blames Juliet’s love for making him “effeminate” when he couldn’t stand up to Tybalt’s challenge. His lack of a will to fight caused the death of Mercutio, one of his close friends. The implication here is that a woman’s love takes away one’s manhood. Later on, Friar Lawrence describes Romeo’s emo breakdown as acting like a woman. At the time, Romeo was going on and on about how being banished from Verona was more like a death sentence because he wouldn’t be near Juliet. He starts wailing about how he would rather die than live without her. So Friar tells him, “Hold thy desperate hand:/Art thou a man? thy form cries out thou art:/Thy tears are womanish; thy wild acts denote/The unreasonable fury of a beast:/Unseemly woman in a seeming man!” So women are just a ball of uncontrollable, irrational emotions? I’m glad Shakespeare told me because I didn’t know before.
On top of all this, Shakespeare further aggravates me in Act IV when Juliet runs to Friar for help after finding out her father has arranged for her to marry Paris. Friar concocts this plan in which Juliet has to drink a potion that will make her appear dead for 42 hours. Mind you, this is the 16th century; who wouldn’t be scared to take some herb mixed potion that will make you “die?” But good ole Friar reassures Juliet when he tells her, “And this shall free thee from this present shame;/If no inconstant toy, nor womanish fear,/Abate thy valour in the acting it.” Or in other words, as long as you don’t get all scary like a little "girl," my crazy plan might just work.
Others might argue that R&J is reflective of the time period in which Shakespeare was writing, but if that works for him then it should work for any rapper. Today’s time period is just as patriarchal, misogynistic as any other. And I don’t think we should let Shakespeare off the hook.

STUDENT Athletes! Go Hornets:0)

Click Here.

Teachers Taking Guns to School

Why is a school district in Texas allowing its teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms on campus? See below:

Texas district will let teachers carry guns

A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.

The small community of Harrold in north Texas is a 30-minute drive from the Wilbarger County Sheriff's Office, leaving students and teachers without protection, said David Thweatt, superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District. The lone campus of the 110-student district sits near a heavily traveled highway, which could make it a target, he argued.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in a story published Friday on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Web site.

Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland, Ohio-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.

Trustees approved the policy change last year, and it takes effect when classes begin this month. For employees to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun, must be authorized to carry by the district, must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and must use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricocheting bullets.

Officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change, Thweatt said. The district also has other measures in place to prevent a school shooting, he said.

"The naysayers think [a shooting] won't happen here. If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them," Thweatt said.

Texas law outlaws firearms at schools unless specific institutions allow them.

It isn't clear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall, because Thweatt did not disclose that information, to keep it from students or potential attackers.




The school district, not a single school but the district, only has 110 students and 50 teachers. Can they not afford a school resource officer? How is allowing teachers to carry weapons going to help keep the school safe? Maybe I'm wrong. Someone enlighten me please.

Questions about depression

Why is it that we are conditioned to believe that when we're depressed, we should drink, smoke, have irresponsible sex, or over/under eat? What would happen if we were convinced to workout, to complete an act of community service, or to read a book when we're depressed? How would the world be different? How would people's lives be different? Just something to think about.

Just a lil disappointed . . .

. . . in myself. Normally I use the summer time to write multiple posts, but uh rah, this time I wasn't so productive. I have one weekday left before I have to be back at school and I just don't see myself having a marathon blog moment. I guess this means I will try to write more during the school year. We'll see.

Dig a Hole, Bury Yourself!

Interesting PSA by E. Taylor:

In the wake of the May 6, North Carolina Democratic State Primary, I figured I would do my due diligence to persuade voters to vote for whom I consider the most viable candidate to preside over our country. This is especially targeted to the African American community. To preface this story, I must first describe my political background or lack thereof.

Growing up in the rural south, I never knew much about politics at all. I will lay my ignorance at the hand of my surroundings and my family. The extent of my political knowledge was of the two political parties, Democrats and Republicans, and the roles I assumed they played in the country. Hearing my family converse, I always assumed the Republicans were evil and racist, and the Democrats were good and pro-black. While this may not be far off from the truth, this generalization is a one of ignorance at best. I can remember my mother explained the reason she did not vote was that she did not want jury duty or she believed her vote did not count. This sentiment, I feel, is shared among many African Americans in the south, keeping them away from the polls. A sentiment which is unacceptable and should be frowned upon.

Recently I have done my best to get more involved in politics and become more aware of how the country I live in is being governed. When I heard Senator Barack Obama was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, I instantly became interested in the race. I honestly had little prior knowledge about the senator, but the possiblity of having an African American run the country was a great feeling. Barack instantly had my vote on the basis of being a black man. Was basing my vote solely on the race of a candidate valid? Probably not, but upon further investigation by way of reading ariticles, listening to debates, and watching tv shows that analyze the politcial candidates and their idealogies, I realized my vote was well placed.

Recently in an interview with rapper The Game, he made the comment and I quote,
“If you Black and you don’t vote for Obama you just need to find a revolver spin that bitch and pop ‘til your noodles’ on the fukkin side of the bed man. That’s just a no brainer man.” I hate to admit it, but I will have to side with a rapper for once in my life. The statement could have been said much more intelligently; however, whether you take this argument figuratively or literally, I feel that it does have some validity.
Black leaders in the United States, from the days of slavery, until the Civil Rights era, have fought for African Americans and other minorities to be on an even playing ground with the rest of America. Within those battles, every citizen earned the right to vote for whomever they so choose. I do not want to condemn anyone or make them feel they can not freely choose who they want to run for president, but merely show you the opportunity you have to make history and put the first black male in the white house. I believe if we do not embark on this wonderful opportunity in front of us, we will not have another black person that will be able to contend for the position of Commander in Chief for another 50 years. Do not let this black leader, one who stands for CHANGE and making a better America, pass us by. If you do, maybe you should dig a hole, bury yourself!

Timbaland and One Republic Were Wrong . . .

. . . It's never too late to Apologize.

Today I'm just lounging around the house and I decided to check my school email. In my inbox I have a new message with the subject "Renae Brown" (changed the name). I'm thinking, "What in the world?" Renae used to be one of my friends in high school. We used to ride to school together and hang out with my older sister on the weekends. She came to my house I went to hers. We played sports together our whole life. Then, my junior year, her senior year, she started calling my boyfriend trying to holla at him. And she would talk junk to him about me, my sister, and brother. She even talked about my parents, who were going through a divorce. Real grimy right? So when I found out, I got real mad. I told my mom I was gonna tell her off at school. Ma told me that I betta not get into a fight at school over something stupid. Well first of all, I was not about to fight nobody (I only hit people who are related to me). Second of all, I know better.

I waited till volleyball practice to tell her off. Our team had talked about how we should talk and not hold things in because they would affect the team. So I made everybody sit in circle. I reminded them of how we said we should talk about things to help the team out. Well, I went into this tyriad about how Renae had been talking about me and my family, trying to steal my boyfriend, about how I never asked her or anybody else to be my friend, and blah blah blah. I told them that for the sake of the team, I will be cooperative on the court, but once games and practice were over, I didn't want nothing to do with her.

Ok so it was a little more dramatic than this 5 minute effort to transribe the conversation. The team was shocked and she was too. She didn't say one word. Then I was like, "Iight. Let's practice." I was the main setter and she was our main hitter. I don't think we won a game after that.

So all of this is running through my mind when I see the subject. I've seen her at least twice since she graduated but I haven't spoken to her in about 10 years. I opened the email, and read the message. She was apologizing for what had happened in high school. It was very sincere. She said that she wasn't sick or dying, but that she was growing closer to Jesus Christ, and as a worshiper, she knew that she needed to right her wrongs in order to better serve Him and in order to receive what He had instore for her.

Wow!! That was my first reaction. It takes a lot of courage/faith to do that. I had never forgotten about that incident, but I didn't hold a grudge against her either. I was glad to hear that God was working through her. Its always a blessing to know that people are trying to live better.

I made a nice reply thanking her for the apology. I hope the best for her and her family.

As Easy as Making a Baby!?!

It's been a while since I've written. Please bear with the long post.

A couple of months ago I watched this special on MTV (I think it was MTV) about people trying to find one of their parents. It was about 5 adults, who were 18 and over, trying to find a parent who abandoned them. MTV helped this process by using research, clues, eye witnesses, etc to help them track their parents. It was a very emotional roller coaster ride for these people who were searching for a parent that they had never met or who they partially knew. I found myself on the brink of tears, empathizing with their stories. And I thought, creating a child can be one of the most thoughtless acts ever. I find it so disappointing, but not unrealistic, for a person to have a child and feel absolutely nothing for the offspring.

While viewing the show, I started thinking about the requirements for having a child. And basically it can be as simple as random sperm entering a random uterus. No names, no strings attached. Nothing. Get up and go in different directions. When you think about it, isn't it sad that thats all it takes to create LIFE? Life is amazing. Its beautiful. Its complex, complicated. Mysterious. Unfortunate yet magnificent. It's so emotional, yet emotions are not even necessary for its birth.

After pondering over these thoughts for a while, I grew upset with God and told him so. How could He allow the reproduction of something so vital to be so simple? I know humans abuse sex's original purpose, but still. Creating a human is just too easy.

I started to think of ways to have a more intricate baby making process. People should have a switch that needs to be turned on in order to be able to produce a child. Unlike puberty, this switch would be manual. The only way to get the switch turned on is to pass a test at the doctor's office. The test would contain questions such as:

1.) How well do you know your potential baby momma/daddy?
2.) Do you like/love your potential baby momma/daddy?
3.) Do you have a job?
4.) How much money do you make?
5.) How much do you think it costs to support a newborn child?
6.) What is your philosophy on child rearing?
7.) In your opinion, at what point do you think you are no longer financially responsible for your child?
8.) What role should education play in a child's life?
9.) If you and the maker of this baby decide to no longer be together, how will you support this child emotionally? Financially?
10.) On a scale of 1-10, how important is it to spend time with your child? Explain.

I think you get my point. Baby making should be a thoughtful process rather than a thoughtless process.

After conversing more with God, He convinced me that it wasn't His fault that producing a child had become so senseless. We as humans have abused the sexual experience as merely a pleasure seeking entity without fully acknowledging its procreation aspects. We did this to ourselves. From this lens, we have devalued life. We are the highest beings and we're supposed to know better and do better.

How would the world, or parenting more specifically, be different if people valued life over self seeking pleasure?

I ain't . . .

. . . been up here in so long I bout forgot how to log in.

I Heart My Students

I truly Heart my students. I know I talk a lot about the problems of teaching, of education, and of my school; however, at the end of the day, I keep going back to teach. I love what I do. It makes me happy to have a positive impact on the lives of so many young people. I see so much potential when I look into their eyes. As Lauryn Hill once said, "[They] inspire me to be a higher me." Everyday I try to be a better teacher so that they can become better people/students.

The above picture was drawn by one of my former students. She's a brilliant student and an amazing artist. She's only a sophomore and she plans to attend UNC Chapel Hill. The picture is actually a sign and it hangs on the wall outside of my room, above my door. The other two pictures embody how I feel about my job. If you look close enough, you can see that the different squares (some rectangles) surrounding the Malcolm X poster are actually Me Squared. The students were supposed to put a picture of themselves in the middle and put words, images, and symbols that are significant to them around the outside of their picture. I placed their squares around Malcolm X's poster which features his famous quote: "We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary." I believe that by any means necessary, I will educate my students to believe in themselves, their futures, and their worth. And they are the means, my weapons if you will, which I will use to fight a society which systematically tries to denigrate African Americans in our country.

Again, I Heart My Students:0)

Did Teachers Take Noose Lesson Too Far?

Kindergarten teachers at Alma J. Brown Elementary, a Gramling State University run school, decided to use the Jena Six case as a teachable moment. The lesson involved nooses and link chains. Take a look at the video and decide whether or not the teachers took things too far.

Stop Making Hip-Hop the Scape Goat!!!

In light of the recent attention being paid to hip-hop, stemming from the Don Imus situation way back when, I decided to let people know how I really feel. Honestly, I do have a problem with the misogynistic lyrics and the minstrelsy of hip-hop, but I won't jump on the bandwagon of blaming hip-hop for the problems of the Black community (as if it is the only one).

I believe that today's educational system is more of an acidic force in our community than our music. Our youth are not receiving the education that they need and deserve. I really wish our so called Black leaders would channel some of their energy towards getting qualified teachers in low performing schools, getting supplies to students who can't afford them, getting computers in poor districts, upgrading school buildings that need to be condemned, closing the achievement gap, etc. I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that Jahmal, a 15-year-old gang banger, is committing crime because he heard Yung Joc say "if ya messin' with my money, ya messin' with ya life" or he heard some other violent lyric that I can't think of right now. Jahmal is probably robbing his neighbor because he reads at a third grade level and is bored out his mind in class because he doesn't want his classmates to know he can't understand what the heck is going on in The Odyssey. Our youth are becoming disconnected with school and are filling that void with things such as hip-hop music and crime, and the root of the problem is an educational system which isn't meeting the needs of our students. To take this argument in a different direction, some people may say that parents are the real root of the problems of our youth, which is also true, but I stopped blaming parents when I realized that some people are just bad parents, and we can't control that, but we can work to change our educational system. But I digress.

Hip-hop is a genre and the artists have a right to talk about what they feel and how they feel. They really aren't doing anything any different from any other genre. I think the problem is hip-hop has a stronghold on America, like no other, and it possesses more power than some of us would like for it to have. Also the problem is that we are trying to make these people into suitable role models/leaders. Everybody ain't cut out to be a leader. Being famous should not be equated with role model, and I don't believe that you have to be educated to be a leader (Fannie Lou Hamer is my favorite leader). Besides, its not the musician, its the listeners that we need to be concerned with. Artists produce what the people want to hear. Educate the people, change the artists. Don't try to change the artist to educate the people.