Maturation of a Black Pen - The Congressional Black Caucus: Waste or Worth Somethin?

It is Congressional Black Caucus week in Washington. That means all of the black people elected to Congress throw themselves parties with celebrities and friends (and the public can attend some things too - if they must) to show how broad-based and popular they are. 'Come constituents and see why you donated to my campaign. Let me wine and dine you, kindly sponsored by my corporate friends.' Panels are held during the day, vendors display wares and info is shared. That part sounds okay, right? Then there are the panels with angry black - but rhyming - educators like Michael Erick Dyson (what does he teach people exactly? The Black Experience 101? Someone please share with me the syllabus) who cry out: "We NEED to unite as a people and...and we NEED to STOP being so....and THEY need to..."

You know, I have to stop here and say when people on panels say "We need to..." they are always pointing out what work "others" should be doing to combat oppression. Yet, they never have a "for instance" that begins with "I have just..." DONE anything or "what I am DOING is..." pretty much nothing but trying to sell my books. Worthless vanity. But they come, they talk, they wander around the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Washington - photo, photo - and they party. What an amazing use of resources. How is the school book count back in the rough side of your district, Mr. Lawmaker?

By the way, has anyone bailed that JENA6 boy out of jail yet? I read that none of the marching "Enough is Enough" t-shirt sellers have offered any money to his legal defense or bail. 8,000 blacks riled up nationwide and not a cent? But...it's party time in Washington!! "That is a bad suit you got on, Jack." Said Rollo from Sanford and Son to Congressman So-and-So. The "Rollo's" (see photo), flock to town for CBC week. Pah-TAYs and free food and drink make it irresistible.


Okay, corporations wishing to demonstrate their support of the African-American members of Congress who have worked sacrificially, to strive for a better nation and rights to liberty and advancing the plight - while putting money in their freezer like Congressman Jefferson - ...uh, I mean...excuse me.. while advancing and preserving... GIVE ME A BREAK@! Brotha, $90,000? In the freezer. And you are the former CBC Chairman? Corporate America knows this CBC week is a joke. Despite the many SHAKEDOWN checks they write.

So in honor of this spectacle, I attended a hearing on Capitol Hill this week entitled: "From Imus to Industry: ...and blacks degrading blacks in public and over the airwaves is bad." Or something. Actually, the post colon language went something like: "looking at the media and lyrics that are foul and derogatory." It was, in my humble view, a silly and fruitless waste of taxpayer dollars if I've ever seen one.

Congressman Bobby Rush, Chairman of this Commerce sub-committee, is a former Black Panther - or so they say - who is now as kind, tame and foggy as your neighborhood mailman. I like him. Does he have fire in his belly? Um, I doubt it. I once saw him walking around Hecht's (now Macy's) with his wife. I thought to myself: Is that her purse he's holding? But, I digress. He called this hearing after Imus made the infamous "Nappy Ho's" comment. If I am a black woman and was mildly amused (quietly in a place where no one dares to laugh) by the comment, am I wrong? Of course I am! Even though black women lovingly joke about each other needing perms, this is a public outrage! Not a Howard Stern-esque joke. You should never find these things tolerable, you politically incorrect slavery deny-er! Shame on me! But c'mon. Nappy is a funny word. To me. Because I've been colonized by the white man, of course.

Okay, now I find myself funny.

The purpose of the hearing was to call record companies and media conglomerates to account and to have them explain themselves for the authorizing and "co-signing," as we say in the hood (neighborhoods of suburbia as well) of all raunchy misogynistic rap lyrics which degrade women, are an affront to society and various menacey, crimey, delinquenty, negativey. oppressivey, sculdugery, harlotriousness...

The whole spectacle is fascinating. The world will come to an end soon you know. So, this is a priority.

If you have never been to a Congressional hearing, the members of Congress, representing their various states, sit behind this large elevated panel looking down over their glasses at the audience and the table of lowly witnesses. Hill staff members sit behind each elected official and, at times, whisper something of great importance - or not - into the ear of the member. Anyway, I could go on about these people and their pseudo-important paper-pushing business. I admit they sometimes get stuff done. But generally it is all a bunch of posturing. Fawn over people for what? Because they can -only when they can rarely decide to agree on something, which is never - pass a law that makes some big company rich -- or not? I'll pass on that. I just have not known members to really do anything. But then, I'm not "connected" enough to really know who is getting revenue (paid) from various ventures (hook-ups) which allow their businesses (bank accounts) to grow and prosper.

I digress again.

Okay, so the Presidents of Viacom (this french guy named Philippe Daumane - or something- who kind of looked like he thinks minorities might have at one time been closer to primates than any of his superior francaise ancestors. And yes, I am judging him sheerly superficially. So?) and Warner Music (Edgar Bronfman, who used to be married to a sistah! woo-hoo for Edgar! -Left photo) I was trying to catch his eye (should I admit that? I am a pretty black girl and we don't have shots at millionaire handsome psoul-passioned Caucasians too often. Bronfman Ex-Sherry - photo right) and Universal Music Group, Doug Morris all arrived to answer question sput to them by the members of Congress sitting high above them in judges chairs. Debra Lee was there from BET and Alfred Liggins whose mom owns TV and Radio One (the newest black cable channel and many radio stations). And Hilary Rosen who left her RIAA job to launch a gay woman's meet-up website. I am totally not lying about that. It is called Ourchart. Gay is fine. She has just been a bit obnoxious in her career trying to bully people is all. So...I learned of her website. Explains nothing. I am just mentioning it. But she was there sitting next to RIAA president Cary Sherman like she was still working there. And there were a bunch of lobbyists.

The questions were as inane as the witnesses for the first panel. Do they expect anyone making money off of hard core rap, to ask any artist to start rapping clean, James Taylor lyrics because it is good for society? Will never, EVER happen. Then they had rappers come up to the witness table. Why Master P (Percy Sutton) from "Dancing With the Stars" as the spokesperson for rap music? Could they not have asked an articulate brother with an original thought like the guy from Tribe Called Qwest, Q-Tip, who used to date Nicole Kidman (irrelevant fact that I just threw in)? Master P's English is sooooo bad, as my grandmother would say, cringing. Who is he master of? Not language, surely. But couldn't they? Find someone else to truly debate the issue?THEN this...person named David Banner from rap group 'The Firm" defended his lyrics by saying: if you change the things that go on in my hood, I'll change what I rap about. Oh, well then. Of course! That's the solution! We'll just clean up your hood and Eureka! Problem solved.

Nobody cared.

Yes. I am angry today. Once again, because of the black girls.

I went to a cookout at the home of an affluent relative. Young black boys in high school were standing around talking about how they INTEND to marry a white girl "or maybe an Asian" when they grew up they said - with other ones nodding in agreement. Why? I asked. Didn't they come from a black woman? Weren't they raised around great black women? Yes, they said. But black girls are ghetto - not the ones in our family - they went on to say. The OTHER ones. (On TV?). They are just NOT GOOD ENOUGH one of the boys said.

The black girls at the table, who are otherwise confident and outgoing sat - to my surprise - in silence. Esteem melting away like the polar ice caps.

This is why I think the lyrics are in fact shameful. Because for those kids with no filter, it does impact behavior and impressions, decisions, self-respect, how they treat themselves and each other. It makes a HUGE difference and white executives would not like white artists do this to white women. It would not happen. Alfred Liggins dates white women almost exclusively. SO - sisters were not spoken for defended or accounted for in the hearing.

The one good thing about this hearing is that maybe somebody somewhere will think about the "impact" before writing a rhyme. Or even better, somebody might think twice about playing. But, based on their "I stand behind the products of my company" position, it will likely never, EVER happen.

In the end, everyone touted their first amendment flag waving (or burning) rights and went home. Nothing accomplished. Rap playing on the black radios. Classical in the chauffeur-driven executive ones.

I saw it all. So, you did too.

But sisters we know that we are better than any rap lyric, and better than any confused little boy who wants to call us an H or a B or says we are not good enough. Get degrees. Get money. Get married. Get on around whatever the world tries to put in your way and do it with a smile.