Roland Martin vs. Dr. Umar Johnson

[Kwan Dai]

We're not African. I disagree with that. We are African American. No amount of denial will change that. African isn't even a country or a nation. It's a continent, so saying that is silly. We all know our heritage is in Africa, but most of us have families that have been in this country for hundreds of years. You can't just ignore that. I don't see how anyone who has travelled to Africa or even sat down and kicked it with Africans for a little bit can argue that. Hell, the is noticeable difference between blacks depending on what region of the US you're from, so it's a bit ridiculous to claim that African Americans are Africans. Like it or not, we've been tainted.

The more I learn about Africa the less African I feel. "African" is a catch-all term that Africans don't even use. They denote nation, tribe, culture, language, religion etc. Each country has their own flag, government, cultural and social issues...its a unique identity.

Its the Americanized view of race that makes folks think that all Africans are the same and interchangeable.

You even start to notice people mixing African cultures under the umbrella that "Well Black skin means everyone is the same." That shit is faulty logic.

Speaking Swahili, Kinte or mudcloth clothes and cowry shells, voodoo, all this shit is different cultures.

We're family, for sure, but a distant cousin. If we showed up to the family reunion we get the "whose kid are you?" treatment. Most wouldn't even feel comfortable sitting at the table with actual Africans.

Its the insecurity of blacks in America where they just want to feel apart of something they perceive to be "bigger and better."

Its this insecurity that niggas like Umar feed on. He's a pimp that spews a lot of easily digestible rhetoric for the aggravated masses. What does he actually do though? Nothing...he gives speeches and makes promises.

Its been like 10 years and dude ain't put a door knob on a school. He judges folks for marrying white people and he's not married and never has been. He's got more nicknames than a pro wrestler "Prince of Pan Africanism" "Popa" all that bullshit. It all feels like a gimmick to me.

All in all, he would just be another hotep nigga for me to ignore but he asks for money. That's the one issue I have here. Say whatever you want. There's over a dozen false prophets in the community, armchair revolutionaries etc so he's unoriginal in that regard but anyone who asks for money with an intended purpose needs to be held responsible for where that money is.

Back to my statement though...

There's always going to be kinship with Africans but we kin to Jamaicans and Haitians too, we all cousins.But outside of skin color we vastly different all over the world. Trying to deny the differences is to deny reality.

Nah, being around Africans made me realize that 400 year gap wasn't enough to destroy that lineage and ancestry. There are definitely differences and differences are great, but there is so many similarities that isn't funny. Voodun, ifa and many other traditional African belief systems show a lot of what I was missing outside of the traditional belief systems. So in many ways some black people in America will notice a bigger divide and some will notice how similar. It is what it is.

Well, we can't destroy DNA. People find commonality wherever they choose. I see commonalities in not just being a spiritual people but, they way I move to music, the foods I enjoy over others, the clothes I prefer to wear, and of course the Black women I put above all others.

 

[blackrain]

I'm just making notes of this dude on the show, and what jumps out:

First off - You mean to tell me that guys like Harry Bellafonte, Richard Pryor, Quincy Jones, and Sidney Poiter get no respect because they have non-black wives, even though they broke barriers in the entertainment industry while maintaining their black ancestry? FOH, Umar.

2nd - Him calling dude a coon was petty and childish as a muhfuck. "He called me a liar." Stop acting like a bitch, Umar.

Umar does have a point about white folks not doing much to anything at all about the systematic setup of white privilege.

This dude is hit or miss. He makes great points, but he goes full Hotep too many times for my taste.

why does it matter if hes hit or miss if hes in the game trying to win for us?

this is one of my biggest gripes.

US black people dont need singular leaders but we will attack those who take charge when so many others stand back or stand around.

since we are so diverse...we need people in all areas to be as great as they can be. then you take those people create a group that can speak to everyone.

just because 1 person will never be right 100% and we are not a unit...even tho alot of times on this site it is said but then contradicted. but thats another thing.

mlk was 100

malcolm wasnt 100

dick gregory aint 100 hhmph

no one is...can we stop pointing that out

as if coons and white people wont do that already.

an yes, i woulda called dude a coon too.....how you gonna call a grown man a liar when hes respecting you? chicks and bitch niggas do that shit. niggas might say you lying,,,but "liar" is for bitches.

the man already tense for having to answer for his degrees...thats fukked up.

hes tense to defend his point.

all can be understood and he handled himself good..even calling the guy a coon.

none of yall woulda took that shit in that situation all well and good. stop it

It matters when you claim to be an educator and knowledgable about the shit you're talking about. You can't just be spouting off any ol bullshit under the guise of "I'm doing it for us". Just giving a free pass to say anything under that logic is dumb. People need to be checked when they are wrong. That's what actually helps...not just letting everything slide

heres where me and alot of people differ.

i take what i need from anyone to build on and leave the rest if its no use to me.

why use energy to prove what you know is wrong?

do i give him a pass....dont really care either way....but we need to go after everyone with the same energy.

i will attack like i defend....here its not really needed.

do i agree with everything....nope

who does anything without thinking they getting something back?

Because someone taking it upon themselves to "educate" people shouldn't be spitting bullshit. If your goal is to give people information then you should give correct information...and also not be angry when people ask for sources to support said information.

 

[blackrain]

I'm just making notes of this dude on the show, and what jumps out:

First off - You mean to tell me that guys like Harry Bellafonte, Richard Pryor, Quincy Jones, and Sidney Poiter get no respect because they have non-black wives, even though they broke barriers in the entertainment industry while maintaining their black ancestry? FOH, Umar.

2nd - Him calling dude a coon was petty and childish as a muhfuck. "He called me a liar." Stop acting like a bitch, Umar.

Umar does have a point about white folks not doing much to anything at all about the systematic setup of white privilege.

This dude is hit or miss. He makes great points, but he goes full Hotep too many times for my taste.

why does it matter if hes hit or miss if hes in the game trying to win for us?

this is one of my biggest gripes.

US black people dont need singular leaders but we will attack those who take charge when so many others stand back or stand around.

since we are so diverse...we need people in all areas to be as great as they can be. then you take those people create a group that can speak to everyone.

just because 1 person will never be right 100% and we are not a unit...even tho alot of times on this site it is said but then contradicted. but thats another thing.

mlk was 100

malcolm wasnt 100

dick gregory aint 100 hhmph

no one is...can we stop pointing that out

as if coons and white people wont do that already.

an yes, i woulda called dude a coon too.....how you gonna call a grown man a liar when hes respecting you? chicks and bitch niggas do that shit. niggas might say you lying,,,but "liar" is for bitches.

the man already tense for having to answer for his degrees...thats fukked up.

hes tense to defend his point.

all can be understood and he handled himself good..even calling the guy a coon.

none of yall woulda took that shit in that situation all well and good. stop it

It matters when you claim to be an educator and knowledgable about the shit you're talking about. You can't just be spouting off any ol bullshit under the guise of "I'm doing it for us". Just giving a free pass to say anything under that logic is dumb. People need to be checked when they are wrong. That's what actually helps...not just letting everything slide

heres where me and alot of people differ.

i take what i need from anyone to build on and leave the rest if its no use to me.

why use energy to prove what you know is wrong?

do i give him a pass....dont really care either way....but we need to go after everyone with the same energy.

i will attack like i defend....here its not really needed.

do i agree with everything....nope

who does anything without thinking they getting something back?

Because a person in a position of power operating based on false information is a danger to themselves and others.

But I have not seen anyone cite Umar's false information. It's all hyperbole and opinion. Umar has been speaking for years now and for people to keep bringing up the same lame argument about credentials and ancestry is, nothing but a diversionary tactic to not deal with Umar's observations, analysis, solutions, and opinions.

So, for people to keep parroting the same things whenever Umar is mentioned says more about them then Umar.

Its not diversionary because those things are what he uses to seem himself as credible. If the foundation of what hes using is faulty you cant blame people for questioning it

 

[blackrain]

Ok fuck Umar right now...

I gotta stop this shit before more people try to jump on this.

You may not feel particularly close to any specific country in Africa but for whatever you don't know about Africa, take a good hard look at what you know about the United States of America. What have your people, right here in this country, dealt with since 1776? Slavery, share cropping, Jim crow, rape, murder, church bombings, lynchings, citywide riots, police brutality, intentional systemic oppression in every single industry, field of study, and economic opportunity EVER.

You may not feel all that familiar to Africa but you damn well better wake up and smell the coffee cause this USA shit ain't for you.

Africa is an extremely diverse continent, even more including the islands. What you, as a black person in America, have in common with them is I definitely greater than your differences.

I'm not really sure what point you're trying to make. Shit's been bad for blacks in America, so despite being here and conditioned by this culture and history for hundreds of years, we're much closer to cultures that are completely foreign to us? That doesn't make any sense.

And people really need to stop with this revisionist history that Africa was always all good for Africans. It wasn't. Yes, African Americans were slaves in America. Guess what? Africans were slaves in Africa too. That's how a great deal of black people got over here in the first place, African slave owners selling their property to European slave traders. And right now in Africa, you have genocides, religious wars, and tribal beef going on regularly. That's shit that we African Americans know nothing about, so this idea that America is fucked up and we'd all be better off in Africa is ridiculous. Tell that to all the Africans doing everything they can to get the fuck out of Africa every year.

Now don't get me wrong, Europe and America are, in large part, to blame for many of Africa's problems too. I'm just saying that African Americans are different than Africans. Our differences aren't as trivial as you're implying, and our shitty experiences in America are a large part of why we are so different from Africans. You can't just dismiss them because you don't like them.

Brothers and sisters who make or are attempting to make the connection with their ancestry in Africa are well aware of it's history. So, making Africa's low points the basis of your whack ass argument is, seeing the glass half full.

The idea with most if not all with connecting with their Ancestry is to highlight the success, and to carry on traditions that will strengthen them today. Which, for every blight you place on Africa there's 10x's more achievements for the greater good, and humanity as a whole.

Again, I have no problem with people connecting to their African roots and I think making that efforts would benefit all African Americans, so apparently you don't even understand my "whack ass argument." I didn't bring up the low points in Africa to shit on Africa. I brought up the low points to show that blacks face challenges everywhere, and it's invalid to claim that African Americans have some closeness to modern Africans solely because we've had it rough in America. Again, the challenges we've faced in America have shaped us into what we are now for better or worse and have separated us culturally from modern Africans who have had to deal with their own completely separate and different challenges.

Stop lying. You then took it a step further and typed. "That's shit that we African Americans know nothing about". Who's we? You? Stop trying to belittle people that seek out something other then your idea of Blacks integrating into as you put it. "The American Process"

There's things going down in some of these countries in Africa that black Americans have no clue about and would have their minds blown to actually delve into. Don't act like the average black American is up here reading up on child soldiers...massive rapes...wars and the poverty affecting different countries in Africa outside of a twittwr hashtag about bringing our girls back.

 

[black caesar]

I never rocked with Roland, but when that nigga danced for Hilary, that was it for me. Also you see how they tried to ambush Dr. Umar. He only serves his own agenda, not black people.

Also did ya'll see Roland Martin when he interviewed Richard Spencer and he asked Roland are you black? This nigga said "I'm a man. I'm a Christian man". That tells you everything you need to know about him.

 

[black caesar]

What happened to the $700k for the school - him probably nam it

He stated that he's going to start another initiative next year. Take that for what you will.

 

[blackrain]

What happened to the $700k for the school - him probably nam it

He stated that he's going to start another initiative next year. Take that for what you will.

So...the money from the first one went where?

 

[black caesar]

Umar handled that well. They bought out the coonsquad for this one, the gay one was unbelievable in his form nh.

Never trust a woman with a S-curl. Did you see when Dr. Umar tried to defend black women, she's going to sit there and argue with him about it. SMH Plus she keep bringing up Tim Wise who is a suspected white supremacist.

 

[So ILL]

Coon squad was annoying, he wanted to call them out of their names so bad. Especially fake Erick Sermon with the fucked up hairline smh.

 

[Olorun22]

I never rocked with Roland, but when that nigga danced for Hilary, that was it for me. Also you see how they tried to ambush Dr. Umar. He only serves his own agenda, not black people.

Also did ya'll see Roland Martin when he interviewed Richard Spencer and he asked Roland are you black? This nigga said "I'm a man. I'm a Christian man". That tells you everything you need to know about him.

You listen too that Jason black broadcast huh? Lol

 

[black caesar]

Coon squad was annoying, he wanted to call them out of their names so bad. Especially fake Erick Sermon with the fucked up hairline smh.

He called Roland a coon on air, after he called Dr. Umar a liar.

 

[black caesar]

What happened to the $700k for the school - him probably nam it

He stated that he's going to start another initiative next year. Take that for what you will.

So...the money from the first one went where?

To some far away magical place. LOL That shit is gone man.

 

[kzzl]

Umar, and folks like him, have spent decades giving the message that your favorite rapper is just now starting to put in their music.

Why is one able to make millions off it, but the other is reduced to a "pimp"? Theyre both giving the same message.

Whose favorite rapper? Hip Hop has always been littered with knowledge for the betterment of our people.

I wasnt trying to imply Hip Hop culture never had knowledge. So I repeat, why does your favorite rapper get props for kicking knowledge, but a fella like Umar doesnt?

Serious question, cause i have no reason to believe yall would of treated X any different. Reflects poorly on the shoe it fits, but id at least hope such a person was consistent with it.

The cache that Umar's name has speaks to the acclaim that his words have garnered. Just because some people don't acknowledge him doesn't mean he's not being acknowledged.

Umar definitely needs to exercise more self-control. His message is on point most of the time but he doesn't respond to negative criticism well. Like, at all. One "liar" and he's ready to go back and forth name calling. I look to Malcolm X, who never stooped to the level of his detractors. His poise alone made racists and uncle Toms look foolish.

If that's your only gripe, you're not who my original question was aimed at. I'm trying to hear from the niggas that cut these conscious cat's at the knee's.

Like hearing that pro-black shit makes them go, "He's pimping the black community".

I'm like with what? Knowledge, game, facts. Like a book? Like these niggas enjoy getting FBI visits, death threats, and risking they livelihood. They compare the conscious to preachers, preachers ain't gotta worry bout being targeted. The money is in cooning, so what sense does it make for them to not go where the money is? What sense does it make to stand up and risk getting shot, for teaching powerless negroes, if one wanted to pimp black folks? It makes none, which is why I don't believe that surface shit when niggas make that claim.

 

[So ILL]

Coon squad was annoying, he wanted to call them out of their names so bad. Especially fake Erick Sermon with the fucked up hairline smh.

He called Roland a coon on air, after he called Dr. Umar a liar.

I'm talking about after that when Roland shut down the name-calling. You could see it in his face lol.

 

[wilberdmillz]

Coon squad was annoying, he wanted to call them out of their names so bad. Especially fake Erick Sermon with the fucked up hairline smh.

He called Roland a coon on air, after he called Dr. Umar a liar.

He wasn't talking to Roland.

 

[SneakDZA]

Same niggas that are quick to disparage people like Umar and Nasheed were the same ones giving Bill Maher passes for saying nigger.

Are they?

 

[blackrain]

What happened to the $700k for the school - him probably nam it

He stated that he's going to start another initiative next year. Take that for what you will.

So...the money from the first one went where?

To some far away magical place. LOL That shit is gone man.

And people say its wrong to ask questions...lol. Those the exact folks he preys on

 

[black caesar]

I never rocked with Roland, but when that nigga danced for Hilary, that was it for me. Also you see how they tried to ambush Dr. Umar. He only serves his own agenda, not black people.

Also did ya'll see Roland Martin when he interviewed Richard Spencer and he asked Roland are you black? This nigga said "I'm a man. I'm a Christian man". That tells you everything you need to know about him.

You listen too that Jason black broadcast huh? Lol

Yeah, started listening to him last year.

 

[black caesar]

Coon squad was annoying, he wanted to call them out of their names so bad. Especially fake Erick Sermon with the fucked up hairline smh.

He called Roland a coon on air, after he called Dr. Umar a liar.

He wasn't talking to Roland.

Yes he was, and that's why Roland got mad.

 

[blackrain]

Umar, and folks like him, have spent decades giving the message that your favorite rapper is just now starting to put in their music.

Why is one able to make millions off it, but the other is reduced to a "pimp"? Theyre both giving the same message.

Whose favorite rapper? Hip Hop has always been littered with knowledge for the betterment of our people.

I wasnt trying to imply Hip Hop culture never had knowledge. So I repeat, why does your favorite rapper get props for kicking knowledge, but a fella like Umar doesnt?

Serious question, cause i have no reason to believe yall would of treated X any different. Reflects poorly on the shoe it fits, but id at least hope such a person was consistent with it.

The cache that Umar's name has speaks to the acclaim that his words have garnered. Just because some people don't acknowledge him doesn't mean he's not being acknowledged.

Umar definitely needs to exercise more self-control. His message is on point most of the time but he doesn't respond to negative criticism well. Like, at all. One "liar" and he's ready to go back and forth name calling. I look to Malcolm X, who never stooped to the level of his detractors. His poise alone made racists and uncle Toms look foolish.

If that's your only gripe, you're not who my original question was aimed at. I'm trying to hear from the niggas that cut these conscious cat's at the knee's.

Like hearing that pro-black shit makes them go, "He's pimping the black community".

I'm like with what? Knowledge, game, facts. Like a book? Like these niggas enjoy getting FBI visits, death threats, and risking they livelihood. They compare the conscious to preachers, preachers ain't gotta worry bout being targeted. The money is in cooning, so what sense does it make for them to not go where the money is? What sense does it make to stand up and risk getting shot, for teaching powerless negroes, if one wanted to pimp black folks? It makes none, which is why I don't believe that surface shit when niggas make that claim.

A good number of these niggas ain't giving facts...theyre giving their opinion. I saw a video of one of these conscious dudes talking about women having a menstrual cycle is unnatural and that changing your diet to a non European diet would eliminate it....really my nigga? These the folks you want to prop up?