nataliegwishiri's blog

I was in my dorm last night downstairs in the RA office and one of the RAs was watching something on youtube. All I heard was "Nappy headed hos, unattractive Rutgers girls and pretty Ten. girls." I thought that it was someone on youtube just joking around. But ten minutes before I'm writing this, I saw on Fox News that it was true.  Read More »

'Black Culture' Blamed for Hurricane Katrina Woes
By Alison Espach
CNSNews.com Correspondent
July 13, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - Nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city of New Orleans, some prominent black conservatives and religious leaders blame cultural problems among African Americans, not the government, for "the great breakdown witnessed during and following" the natural disaster.

The conservative leaders will meet in Washington, D.C., on July 26 to discuss how best to transform the "human spirit," the destruction of which they say "is at the heart" of the still evolving crisis in New Orleans.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Tuesday awarded $4.2 billion -- up to $150,000 for each Louisiana homeowner seeking to rebuild or sell their houses that were destroyed or damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year.

But, many African Americans who were living in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent catastrophic flooding of the city believe the Bush administration's slow response to the disaster was racially motivated.  Unlike what Kanye West and the rest of the black diaspora is thinking, I don't think that this was racially motivated; I think it was economically motivated.  When you can do so much for people in other countries like freeing Iraq, sending food to poor children, and other stuff, but you can't take care of home, you kind of lose your credibility. 

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, the African American founder and president of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND) is not willing to blame the Bush administration. Instead, he faults what he calls the "black culture."

"It's not President Bush's responsibility to make us get up and take care of ourselves. That was a political ploy in order to make blacks believe the Republican Party was against them and that they really don't care," Peterson said.   It's not neccessarily Bush's responsibility to take care of us, we have to want to do that for ourselves, but it doesn't make sense that all of those people were left out to fend for themselves for days on end.

Peterson will moderate the July 26 conference at the Heritage Foundation.

Rev. Grant Storm, who is the Caucasian minister and president of Conservative Christians for Reform, echoed Peterson's view. "The mentality of 'government's going to bail me out. Where's the government?'" is "in the black culture," Storm said. "The mentality is instilled within their churches and in their homes -- of 'the government owes you, the government is your solution, and the government will come and help you.'  That is the mentality that's instilled in blacks, but where did it come from?  During and after slavery when whites made it their mission to make blacks feel like they couldn't live without the influence of the European culture.  i.e.  Missionaries, and it still goes on today. 

"When the government doesn't come and help them, frankly all they do is yap and complain," said Storm, instead of "saying 'Hey, I better go get a job, I better go on my own, I better go find an apartment, I better go take care of myself and my family.

"They are waiting for more FEMA money, they are waiting for more relief money and it ain't coming, or it's coming slow; meanwhile, the surrounding parishes -- the predominantly white parishes -- they are rebuilding on their own, and the same way in the Gulf of Mississippi," said Storm. "Orleans -- they still don't have their flooded cars off the streets." Where are they to get the money to rebuild if they were poor in the first place?  What are you doing to help.  There are many college students who went down to the Gulf Coast, into those parishes and they people who were down there said that the students were the only black people who came down to help them. 

Storm also noted that people living in project housing prior to its destruction from Hurricane Katrina are now demanding that the government quickly rebuild and return them to their old homes. One woman, Storm noted, is a 30-year resident of the projects who is threatening to sue the government.

"Now what in the heck is she doing in the housing projects for 30 years? It's like they own them, but they don't own them," he said. "The government owns them, and that's the mentality."  Now that doesn't make any damn sense for her to be in the project for 30 years, but then that goes back to the government saying, "you'll never get out.  This is all you're worth."  We live in a world where only the strong survive.

Peterson places most of the blame for the lackluster hurricane response on New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

"[H]e did nothing. He had the buses sitting there for days -- over 200 buses. He made no attempt to use those buses in order to get the people out. He is a black Democrat mayor of the city; how come they didn't blame him?" Peterson asked.  If this is true, which this is the only time I've heard of buses, then he should be blamed. 

Storm and Peterson believe the federal government is also to blame for enabling the cultural problems because it fears being branded racist unless it acts.

"In general, you have a federal government very sensitive to that -- the race issue -- and very intimidated and they cater to that," said Storm, who cited the example of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's assistance to Hurricane Katrina evacuees. This is true also.  Everybody's so afraid of stepping on each other's toes.  They're the ones in a position to say something meaningfull and they don't take the opportunity, so you have Bill Cosby saying what needs to be said and then the black community wants to pounce on him.  Everyone was thinking it, but didn't have the guts to say it. 

"Not to say these people don't need help," Storm said, "but it went way, way beyond catering to some of this."

Peterson said the black culture problem has also been fueled by "false black leaders."

"Over the last 50 years, they have heard: 'You need government' from these false black leaders like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the NAACP. They have told black people 'You need affirmative action, you need more welfare programs' and that's not what black folk need. They need less of that and more family," Peterson said.  When Affirmative Action first came into existence, it was deeply needed, we still need it today, but it just needs to be reorganized into a better working system.  We do need to return to the family structure that was once before slavery, but it has been sabatoged by the Willie Lynch Curse; read "The Curse of Willie Lynch."  Jesse Jackson, although he's an alumni from my school, NC A&T!!!, and Al Sharpton are so out of touch with the black community and what we need now.  We need leaders who are still in touch with what's going down in the "hood."  We need leaders who didn't just make it out and feel complacent in what's going on; we need someone who's willing to change the system and to incourage and influence black people to help themselves. 

"They need to get married instead of having 70 percent of children out of wedlock. They need to teach their children to work by being an example of that," he added.  This is so true!!!  There are too many young black people who claim they're grown and when the responsibilty of children come into play, they're so irresponsible.  It's too many of our black men making babies and not taking care of them and too many or our black women who depend on welfare and the section eight housing.  We need to learn to love ourselves and break this ongoing cycle. 
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Ok, I just finished my first year as a college student.  What were my plans for this summer?  Well, when I was a journalism major, I wanted an internship because it's hard to get a job in mass communications and the person with the most experience is the one who usually gets the job.  Well, I changed my major two days before the end of final exams to History; teaching.  Anybody who knows me, REALLY knows me, knows that I can't be a teacher.  I want to help our youth, but patience is not my strong point.  So, that doesn't seem practical...  Read More »

The first season of College Hill premiered in 2004 and starred eight students from Southern University in Lousisiana, The second season was filmed at Langston University, and the third at Virginia State University.  Lots of people were so excited about this series because it was the first all black reality show.  It would show stories that weren't shown on other shows like The Real World or Road Rules.   Read More »

Last summer some friends and I wanted to eat before we went to the movies.  We decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese's because it was right next door.  My friend Chaniqua and I were able to get in because we were 18, but my friend Sean, who was 17 was not able to get in.  Without adult supervision, you can't get in if you're under the age of 18.  I questioned the worker because I didn't understand.  I asked, "If he's going to buy something to eat, you're still not going to let him in?"  She said no.  So we ordered our food, and paid for Sean's as well, as we were about to walk out the door she said that he could come inside.   Read More »

Want Twins? Don't Go Vegan!

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Women who consume animal products -- specifically dairy -- are five-times more likely to have twins than vegan woman, according to study findings of Gary Steinman, M.D., Ph.D., of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York.  Read More »

NC A&T's Chancellor Renick stepped down earlier this year to take a position in Washiton, DC. 

A bunch of people didn't want him to leave because he's been here since 1999 and has brought the status of A&T up to the status it once had.  He recieved many billions of dollars to the school for new buildings and rennovations of the old ones.  He has brought in doctorate programs and accredidation to the journalism department all under his administration.   Read More »

Hampton University is a private HBCU in Hampton, Virginia. 

Recently the Dean of the business school has announced that all of the students who are in the school who are sporting dreadlocks or braids have to cut off their hair in order to stay in the school because in corporate america it wouldn't be acceptable.

I was going to attend Hampton before I enrolled in A&T and I was thinking that the school was right to tell the students this, but then I thought about it a little more and I had to say NO, they were wrong.  Ok, corporate america may not allow dreads and braids, but some may.  Why being a HBCU, would you advise your students to compromise their HERITAGE to become a corporate robot?  Why can't you tell them the consequences of having the hairstyles and encourage them if they can't get in with their hair, to become entrepreneurs?  Read More »