“Is every person with dreads for the cause? Is every person with gold for the fall? Naw!! So don’t get caught up in appearance. It’s OUTKAST, Aquemini, Another Black experience.” Outkast, “Aquemini”, Aquemini. 1998.

RIGHTEOUSNESS. We’ve all heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”  Many of us even say it from time-to-time.  But how many of us actually practice it?  How many of us have truly mastered the art of not pre-judging a person based on how they dress, how they talk, what car they drive, how they wear their hair, even the color of their skin?  Guys with dreadlocks and a white-tee smoke a lot of weed, and are out to rob somebody. Women with a sew-in lack confidence and have low self-esteem. A man that is clean-cut must be on the DL.  A woman with blond hair is a dingbat.  White men can’t jump. Career women don’t want a man. A man wearing a dashiki must be conscious, right?  Because the person with a gold-grill isn’t?  And if the person is White, then they must be for the continued oppression of disadvantaged populations, yes? No!! I could go on and on with these stereotypes.  But I won’t because you get the picture. Stereotypes are created because the smidget of truth in them gets glorified in a myriad of ways – mostly by us human beings and the words and thoughts we put out into the cosmos. I think we sometimes forget about the “MC” in us.

“The MC” In You: The Class Lesson from HipHop2020/DJTV on Vimeo.

The DDR: I know some really special White people and Black people. I also know some really mean White people and some really mean Black people. I know “straight A” kids who wear dreadlocks and white tee-shirts.  Some of my most challenging students looked like nerds. Some of my closest friends – both Black and White women – wear a sew-in.  And it was the dude that preached “Fight the Power” who turned on all the Black people at his place of employment. So two things we must do: (1) Watch what we say because there’s an MC in all of us, and (2) be cautious to judge and quick to stand on the side of values. Create alignments with people who share the same values. People who practice and speak good kick it with other good people – regardless of the artificial. Enjoy your weekend! Stay cool.