The Come UP April 2013
Understanding Temptation
Inside The Most Racist Thing That Ever Happened
2 We All Need A Mentor
3 Give to Get
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The Lord’s Prayer, as it is called, contains some words that should not have been written there, such as: “Lead us not into temptation.” God will not lead us into temptation. It is the devils that tempt us to sin. The above words show a lack of confidence in God to lead us aright, that He must be reminded just how to lead us. Excerpt from Elijah Muhammad, Message to the Blackman in America
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The Men of the Tenth Inc.
April 2013
Henry Louis Gates
The Most Racist Thing That Ever Happened… In 1964, in West Virginia a fourteen-year – old Henry Louis Gates Jr. broke his hip and went to a doctor who x-rayed his knee, which was also in pain. The doctor saw nothing wrong with his knee and deemed his pain psychosomatic. “He said that I had a nervous breakdown because I was an overachiever, “ Gates said. “He said colored people weren’t supposed to do as well as I had done. I had been stressed out and there was nothing wrong with my knee. White guy thought I was imagining things. And that’s why I walk with a cane and I’ve had a dozen operations since I was fourteen.” Gates remains bitter about the whole thing. “I hope that motherfuckers burning in hell.” It seems like the doctor thought too little of Gates’s body and his intellectual potential to take him seriously enough to do his job thoroughly – instead landing on a bizarre explanation for his searing pain. This is an example of disrespecting both a 2
Black mind and a Black body and Gates has suffered the consequences his entire life. One of his legs is an inch and a half shorter than the other and has required medical attention on numerous occasions. He was scarred by it literally and figuratively and remains as angry as if it were a fresh wound, but he refused to internalize any sense of inferiority or demoralization. “ I was just like, this asshole’s stupid!” he spat. “I can talk about somebody calling me nigger but that is nothing compared to this!” Excerpt from Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means to Be Black Now
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The Men of the Tenth Inc.
April 2013
We All Need a Mentor By: LaVon Williams
Hip-Hop Quote of the Month If you’re cool being taken down and giving up Your lifestyle’s a blowjob, the way you’re living sucks! Fabolous from Pain
As a young boy I was once told that learning is something special and in order to learn you must possess special skills that will allow you to focus, listen, and pay attention to your surroundings. After you acquire these skills and connect them to lessons you encounter in life, you are becoming a learner. However, one thing that is missing from the learning process is the influence and power of having a mentor. In our society I am not aware of any successful individuals who achieved success without the influence of a mentor. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr., Steve Jobs, Kanye West, and Michael Jordan all had mentors. In fact, the influence of a mentor is what led Malcolm X to become more intelligent while in prison. In Malcolm X’s autobiography he states: Many who today hear me somewhere in person, or on television, or those who read something I’ve said, will think I went to school far beyond the eighth grade. This impression is due entirely to my prison studies… It had really begun back in the Charlestown Prison, when Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversation he was in, and I had tried to emulate him. But every book I picked up had few sentences which didn’t contain anywhere from one to nearly all of the words that might as well have been in Chinese. When I just skipped those words, of course, I really ended up with little idea of what the book said. So I had come to the Norfolk Prison Colony still going through only book-reading motions. Pretty soon, I would have quit even these motions, unless I had received the motivation that I did. Because Malcolm X was able to watch Bimbi in action he became motivated enough to study the entire dictionary to become a more knowledgeable man. Today, there are many scholars that suggest having a mentor is a necessity for success. The following are guidelines for you to follow in order to achieve success. 3
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The Men of the Tenth Inc.
April 2013
Continued from page 3
1. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. To find a mentor does not mean you have to physically follow down that person’s path. Often times if you see an individual that is competent in an area of your interest, there is nothing wrong with asking, “Hey, where did you learn that” or “Can you show me how to do that?” 2. Seek help from all angles. When seeking a mentor do not settle on one person, a specific gender, or ethnicity. Often time’s people believe a mentor is going to be a person that is similar to them, which is not the case. When looking for a mentor you must understand that this not a person you have to follow forever. You should only seek a mentor to advance your professional and personal development. Your goal as a mentee is to build career capital, which means to learn as much as possible to advance your competence. Because humans have a long lifespan, this also means that it will take more than one person to assist in your development.
Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960- 1988) was an obscure graffiti artist in New York City. He was born in Brooklyn, New York to a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother. His artwork has influenced many of today’s biggest hip-hop stars. Currently, you may hear his name in plenty of rap songs but to see his work in person is something else.
1 3. When all fails, you always have books. Have you heard the phrase that “Dogs are a mans best friend.” That phrase is completely wrong. Books are mans best friend. Often times when I present I ask students what does MMG stand for and 100 percent of the time they respond saying Maybach Music Group. Maybach Music Group refers to rapper, Rick Ross’ record label. Every time I hear their response I laugh and teach them that MMG stands for Master Mind Group. A Master Mind Group consists of people that you read about to gain wisdom from without ever meeting. For example, my Master Mind Group consists of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Steve Jobs and Reginald Lewis. Although all of these individuals are deceased, I constantly read their words for inspiration and insight to create change in my surroundings and self. Therefore, if you are looking to become more competent at what you do, finding a book or mentor to help is always a great answer. 4
“Red on the wall, Basquiat when I paint” Rick Ross from John
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“Basquiats, Warhols serving as my muses” Jay Z from Illest Motherfucker Alive
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“She said I care more about them Baquiones/ Basquiats, she learning/ the new word is yacht” Kanye West from That’s My B*tch
Give To Get It’s not just our responsibility to give back to the community, it’s over privilege. Rich or poor, DO SOMETHING, whether it’s just writing a check or giving up your time to teach and help others. You are never too good to serve. Excerpt from Kevin Liles, Make it Happen: The Hip-Hop Generation Guide to Success
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April 2013