Opinion
Women Giving up on Black Men?
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
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The Skanner Newspaper, established
in October 1975, is a weekly publica-
tion, published each Wednesday by
IMM Publications Inc.,
I
n the latest urban movies,
“Best Man Holiday” and “A
Madea’s Christmas,” I thought
it was interesting that each fea-
tured a Black woman in a
relationship with a White man. In
today’s climate we are used to suc-
cessful Black men dating White
women but the introduction of the
successful Black woman and
White men is a new twist in
movies. Since the appointment of
President Obama and his lovely
wife Michelle, I’ve recognized the
relatively new influx of looks I get
from Caucasian professionals giv-
ing me that ‘I think Michelle is hot
and you are too,’ look.
In “Best Man Holiday,” Nia
Long’s character Sydney brings
her new flame to the gathering
with longtime friends. Not only
were they accepting, they wel-
comed B-MAC as Taye Diggs
jokingly referred to him. In “A
Madea’s Christmas, “ the “Have
and Have Nots” star Tika Sumpter
is secretly married to a NYU agri-
culture graduate who also happens
to be White.
The implications are far more
than just characters in film. When
you take attractive women such as
Nia Long and Tika Sumpter and
pair them with good looking
White men, you’re not just selling
movies, you’re being suggestive.
Even in “Act Like a Woman,
Think Like A Man,” Gabrielle
Union’s character dates Turtle
from the popular HBO series
turned movie “Entourage.”
In most of our minds, the image
of the Black Man is tarnishing, but
the Black woman has always
H IP H OP
U NION
Jineea
Butler
stayed by the Black man – up until
now. Look at the pit bull in a skirt,
Rapper Eve who recently accepted
a marriage proposal from British
Fashion Designer Maximillion
Cooper. Eve is a perfect indica-
tion that even the toughest home
girl is changing her tune. Why
would the former girlfriend of
“Love and Hip Hop” star Stevie J
leave America for the American
not planning for families; it also
suggests that we don’t think it’s an
important goal, and we are not
making very wise decisions.
We can always argue all of the
obstacles in the way of Black men
hinder them from being complete-
ly focused and successful
husbands, fathers and sons, but
what are they doing about it? Are
we as Black women supposed to
stick around and wait until these
men turn 70 and realize they
should have treated the women in
their life better? Or should we
begin to think about catching up
with the rest of the society we live
in and demand sustainable rela-
tionships and marriages.
A UC Berkeley Sociologist Ger-
ald Mendelson said Blacks are
Black men are not breaking their
necks to make sure we stay within the
comforts of their midst. In fact, it’s the
opposite
Dream?
One has to wonder has the Black
woman begun to throw in the
towel along with the rest of Amer-
ica. Why shouldn’t we? Black
men are not breaking their necks
to make sure we stay within the
comforts of their midst. In fact,
it’s the opposite: 72 percent of
Black children are being raised in
single family homes, according to
the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development.
That’s a statistic that says we are
interested in moving up the power
structure and one way you do is
through intermarriage with a dom-
inant group.
Look at Janet
Jackson’s marriage to billionaire
Wissam Al Mana following a rela-
tionship with So-So Def’s
Jermaine Dupri. It is almost like
Black women are beginning to
reject the unnecessary madness we
seem to get when we relentlessly
dedicate ourselves to that life. The
whole world would like to see the
Black man overcome his obstacles
and be all that he is destined to be.
But it’s nothing compared to the
heart of the Black woman who
knows the soul of a Black man.
Who knows that the Black man is
more powerful than any creature
on this earth, that he possesses the
ability to be king over everything
and then some. His own fear of
success hinders his movements
and his decisions, his insecurities
overpower his will to venture into
the unknown while his friends in
misery love his company.
And where does that leave the
Black woman? Desolate, out of
place, unprotected and searching
for her missing piece. For years,
we have carried the weight; prison
sentences, infidelity, verbal and
physical abuse, thinking one day
that he will see that we have sacri-
ficed, see that we understand and
have held the torch without fail.
But no. The pain is too deep for
him to bear, he is not comfortable
being naked in his vulnerability,
he wants to be the man, he wants
what they took from him. It occu-
pies his every move and we
become objects in his quest to find
what he doesn’t know he is look-
ing for.
Alas, the perfect
opportunity to send us back into a
slavery mindset. Killing ourselves
because no one taught us how to
care about ourselves. SMH, I
expect more out of you Black
man, more accountability, more
responsibility, more effort, more
love. Thank you in advance.
Jineea Butler is founder of the
Social Services of Hip Hop and the
Hip Hop Union
415 N. Killingsworth St.,
P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228.
Telephone (503) 285-5555.
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Seattle ‘Misfits’ Win the Super Bowl
P
rior to Sunday’s Super Bowl,
I told anyone who would lis-
ten that I like both the
Denver Broncos and the Seattle
Seahawks, so I wouldn’t be terri-
bly disappointed regardless of
who won the game. But…I was
hoping Seattle would emerge the
victor and I will tell you why.
First, because as a former high
school and college quarterback, I
am partial to teams with a Black
starting QB. In Seattle’s case, their
first and second team quarterbacks
are African American. To under-
stand the significance of this
breakthrough, for years, Blacks
were not allowed to play quarter-
back or middle linebacker at major
universities or in the pros. Quar-
terback in particular was the
glamour position and any African
American coming up through the
ranks as a quarterback was usually
converted to a defensive back or a
wide receiver, if they made it to
the NFL
Regardless of how great a Black
quarterback was at an HBCU, for
example, he didn’t get a chance to
showcase his quarterbacking skill
at the pro level. It was as if the
scouts thought Black teams played
football with 10 men instead of 11.
Even a, shall we say, passing look
at history would have dispelled
that notion.
“Fritz” Pollard was professional
football’s first Black quarterback
in 1920, leading the Akron Pros to
victory in the NFL’s first champi-
Page 4 The Portland Skanner February 5, 2014
T HE C URRY
R EPORT
George E.
Curry
onship game. In the modern era,
James Harris, the Grambling
great, became the first regular
starter for the Buffalo Bills in
1969. Nearly 20 years later, in
LA Times columnist Kurt
Streeter would later write: “Few
know that about twice a month
Carroll leaves his comfy digs at
USC, hops in the back of a beaten
Camry driven by a former gang
member and heads to South L.A.
neighborhoods where the snap of
gunfire and the anguish of death
occur with the steady regularity of
a metronome.
“Most often, he arrives near
midnight and walks shadowy
streets with that familiar, electric
strut, surrounded by little boys,
grandparents, crack heads and
gang toughs. He empathizes, lis-
For years, Blacks were not allowed to
play quarterback or middle linebacker
at major universities or in the pros
1988, another ex-Grambling QB,
Doug Williams, became the first
Black to start and win a Super
Bowl. This season was hailed as
the Year of the Black Quarterback
in the NFL, with nine starting on
the third weekend of the season.
The second reason I was pulling
for Seattle was their coach, Pete
Carroll. I always enjoyed his
brand of football when he was
head coach of the University of
Southern California. But my
respect for him deepened when I
learned he regularly made mid-
night trips to the ‘hood in an effort
to curb gang violence.
tens, encourages, laughs. He talks
about jobs and kids and marriage,
about perspective and courage,
about how difficult it must be to be
caught in the madness of the
streets.”
My third reason for cheering for
Seattle is that they’ve often been
called misfits, with many so-called
experts questioning their ability to
play in the NFL. However, one-
by-one, the players, many of
whom were drafted in the low
rounds, if at all, have proven their
critics wrong.
Case in point: Seahawks line-
backer Malcolm Smith, the game’s
Most Valuable Player, wasn’t
picked until 242nd in the 2011
NFL draft. Yet on Sunday, he was
the star among stars, making nine
tackles, recovering a Demaryius
Thomas fumble early in the third
quarter, and with less than four
minutes remaining in the game,
intercepting a Peyton Manning
pass and returning it 69 yards for a
touchdown.
And there was that quarterback
who, at 5’11” would never make it
in the NFL. At least, that’s what
they told Russell Wilson. All he
did Sunday was lead his team to a
Super Bowl victory in his second
year as a pro. When he was
younger, he attended a football
camp organized by Peyton Man-
ning. But on Sunday, Wilson was
playing as though he were the
instructor and Manning was his
pupil.
Richard Sherman again proved
he is NFL’s best cornerback. After
Seattle’s division playoff game
against San Francisco, he was
depicted as a loudmouth defender
lacking class. What the talking
heads didn’t say was that he had
extended a hand to Michael Crab-
tree, a gesture that was rejected,
before he boasted that the 49’ers
should have known better than try-
ing to complete a pass on his side
of the field.
Read the rest online at
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