What Defines The Black Intelligentsia Blog?

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Admittedly, the blogosphere is an extremely crowded space.  Why, would someone in their right mind endeavor to create a new blog?  Especially, one with a long name such as the "Black Intelligentsia Blog" that constitutes a mouthful for the average person to say?  In this post my intent and goal is to provide a meager explanation for why I created the Black Intelligentsia Blog, and moreover why I think it is necessary in a time of social, political, and economic turbulence and upheaval.

Over the years, I've grown rather disillusioned about the type and content of news and opinions delivered by the media to the African-American community (my community).  In earlier years, when I wanted to hear timely and relevant news about social, political, economic, artistic, and literary happenings in the Black community, and the opinions of thought leaders and intellectuals, I often turned to BET.  After BET was sold to Viacom (a huge multinational corporation) the programming and content of BET changed remarkably in my humble opinion.  Instead of interviews, commentaries, and insights by journalists like Ed Gordon and others, the content of BET was watered down and diluted.  I remember distinctly after the Viacom merger, BET started to air a series entitled "American Gangster" which provided depictions and biographical coverage and glorification of African-American criminals.  In a world where we are killing each other on an astronomical order, the white/black wealth gap is steadily increasing, educational opportunities have shrunk as the Supreme Court and state and federal public policy makers have waged a war to dismantle affirmative action programs to increase diversity, unemployment and meaningful job opportunities have decreased for the masses, rural and urban poverty persists, police brutality and lethality have quickened, and healthcare disparities exist, our community (the African-American community) has so many fish to fry to sort out our issues holistically and internally within our family.  We (Black folks) need to be revealing, unraveling, discussing, and solving problems that threaten the mere existence, fabric, and vitality of our community.  Media portrayals of gangsterism and criminality will not lead us to a cultural, moral, metaphysical, intellectual, economic, political, or social promised land.  We can frame, guide, lead the discussions and find the solutions to issues at the crux of our collective suffering in America.  No one defines us-not the media, politicians, institutions, systems, groups, conditions, or other people-we define ourselves and orientate the world in which we exist. 

As a law professor and lawyer, on a macro-level, I've sat on the sideline as Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, and now recently Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and countless others who go unnamed, have lost their lives.  The time to act is now to uplift and elevate our community to the place in society that has been paid for and secured by the wages and labors of our ancestors who have bought our birthright in blood, sweat, and tears.  The time to demand our social, political, and economic inheritance has arrived! We shall not be turned back from the gates of full citizenship in the United States-the land of our birth!  I have a voice to frame and conceptualize the issues we discuss and the solutions we can bring forward.  From here forward, I'm going to use my voice loudly-the inside voice is gone.  That is why I've endeavored to create the Black Intelligentsia Blog.  This will be my vehicle to share with you news, content, essays, and opinions that critically impact the African-American community in terms of our social, political, economic, artistic, literary, and cultural movement to the highest ground possible.     

Words matter in our lives.  In order to accomplish anything that is worth obtaining you must first think it, speak it into conception, and take action steps to achieve it.  What is in a name?  I've conceived, birth, and delivered this blog, the Black Intelligentsia Blog, into life with words and a name that have meaning and significance.  Webster's Dictionary defines the word intelligentsia as follows: "a group of intelligent and well-educated people who guide or try to guide the political, artistic, or social development of their society."  The intelligentsia are the intellectuals who are at the vanguard of a social, political, or artistic movement or revolution. 

I humbly invite you to follow the Black Intelligentsia Blog in order to be a foot soldier in the movement to make our lives better and more prosperous.  As time passes, I, and contributors I invite to this space will be posting news, content, and opinion to expose and tackle issues that impact our community on a multitude of levels.  Join the movement-follow this blog!!!  Read, comment, and share your thoughts and reactions with me and others who use this portal as time passes.  However, remember one thing and keep it supreme in your mind and heart, we are all brothers and sisters let's respect each others opinions, reactions, experiences, and perspectives on what sometimes will be difficult and uneasy discussions to engage each other.  Thank you in advance for supporting this endeavor and being a participant!  God bless you!