Urban Thought Collective

Props to L.A. activist and fellow UTC blogger Najee Ali for pressuring Verizon Wireless to drop that offensive “TechNigga” video.

This foul clip features a white “comedian” named Loren Feldman dressed in hip hop gear, talking in what’s supposed be black slang about a phony web site dedicated to keeping track of “hoes.” We also see Feldman’s blinged-out, doo-rag-wearing character hitting a dope pipe, upending a bottle of Bacardi and making out pornographically with a woman. All of this is preceded by an intro in which Feldman, sans the black-mocking costume and shtick, wonders what a black tech blog would look like.

Najee Ali and fellow protest leader Paul Porter were right to say that this content “espoused racism and bigotry” and Verizon Wireless was right to yank the video. But Loren Feldman isn’t the only one we should be mad at. This fool didn’t create the stereotypes he portrays; he’s acting out the self-hating, community-destroying buffoonery that black thug rappers have forced into the mainstream. The idiotic crap in Loren Feldman’s video is not unlike the idiotic crap in countless hip hop videos.

Feldman’s character will seem familiar to some of our people who accept, even admire, the stereotype of the so-called “nigga.” So, I’m sure some of our people are not offended by “TechNigga.” They probably think it’s hilarious, which is sad. But Feldman, like Don Imus, is using the public, self-degradation by black entertainers as an excuse to express his contempt for black people.

Some of us have become so conditioned to accept the stereotype of black men as arrogant, low-class, criminal-minded, substance-abusing, black-women-abusing clowns that we either don’t realize or don’t care that this image is undermining us on every level. Indeed, for many of our youth, the street thug has become the desired model of manhood.

Make no mistake, losers like Loren Feldman need to get checked. But, ultimately, the glamorization of the “nigga” isn’t about race-bating white bloggers, talk show hosts, etc. It’s about how we view ourselves.

Which brings me to some less-than-thrilling news about two of our very talented black filmmakers…

NO MORE PIMPING, PLEASE!
Albert and Allen Hughes are developing a new drama series for HBO inspired by their 1999 documentary, “American Pimp.”

Give me a moment. Sigh. Okay. I’m ready now.

This scripted series, called Gentlemen of Leisure, will deal with the generational clash between old school pimps who supposedly live by a code of honor and new jacks who, according to Allen Hughes, come into the game “with their guns blazing, mixing prostitution with drugs and thievery.” Allen Hughes went on to say that Gentleman of Leisure will be a “film noir-style urban drama based in rich characters that will explore the human conditions across the board.”

That sounds real lofty. And judging by the Hughes Brothers’ past work, this will probably be very compelling drama. But I’m just not checking for any more pimps in black pop culture. Nor am I intrigued by this good pimp vs. bad pimp concept. They’re all in the same low life category. I’m sorry but, no matter how colorful and fun they appear to be on the surface, pimps are predatory leeches who control and exploit needy women through psychological manipulation and physical intimidation. The way they’ve been glorified and mythologized is a disgrace.

The preoccupation with pimps, gangsters and thugs has almost blinded us to the fact that most people in the ’hood are honest, honorable, hard-working, loving folks. I want to see more TV shows about them.

“EVERYDAY HEROES”
Entrepreneur and philanthropist La’Mont Graves is working on a show like that. Growing up poor in South Philadelphia, Graves’ life consisted of “getting beat up at home by my father and then dodging gang fights at school.” Many cold, winter nights were spent sleeping in the park with his mother and two siblings. But Graves rose above the nightmare to become a successful corporate event planner and founder of the DreamLink Foundation, which supports needy families in four cities (Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles) with clothing, food and educational assistance. DreamLink was the launching pad for “Everyday Heroes”, an uplifting new TV series in which La’Mont Graves honors individuals who have overcome tremendous challenges and who are working selflessly to help others.

“Everyday Heroes” has saluted people like a Miami mother whose son was killed in an unprovoked shooting and who now counsels other grieving moms through a local radio show, and a 28-year-old woman who survived poverty and child rape, earned a Masters in psychology and returned to her old neighborhood to mentor troubled kids. “Celebrity Angels” like Patti LaBelle, Victoria Rowell, Bill Duke and Vivica Fox have appeared on the show to present special gifts to the honorees.

La’Mont Graves hopes to expand “Everyday Heroes” out of the local, Miami market onto the national, network level. I hope it happens. This is a side of the ‘hood we don’t see often enough. Nice people can be entertaining too, ya know.

Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.

THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!

Cameron Turner is graduate of Stanford University whose editorials, entertainment news features and audio documentaries have appeared on national radio networks, online and in print for over 20 years.