Why Winston-Salem State’s Own Stephen A. Smith Is Wrong About Black Lives Matter


Kenn Rashad

Kenn Rashad

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Why Winston-Salem State’s Own Stephen A. Smith Is Wrong About Black Lives Matter

By Kendrick Marshall
July 24, 2015

Former Winston-Salem State basketball player and current national sports pundit Steven A. Smith recklessly suggested on Twitter that African-Americans are unconcerned about so-called black-on-black crime after learning that an audience booed Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley for saying “all lives matter during a recent speech.

http://hbcusports.com/2015/07/24/wh...en-a-smith-is-wrong-about-black-lives-matter/
 
Listen to Stephen A Smith's RADIO RESPONSE.
I don't have a problem with his Twitter nor his Radio response.
Every damn Republican, Tea Party candidate has jumped on this issue by fighting their Democratic opponents and playing to the sympathy of a neutral public while at the same time over here, we have Black Journalist blasting other Black Journalist over the meaning of the movement.
All of this is happening while the MAN (State Violence as you call it) is sitting back laughing in our face.

I didn't read nor hear anything in Mr. Smith's statements to indicate that he disrespected or dismissed the hard work of the grass roots Black on Black crime grassroots leaders in our communities as you accuses him of doing.

What I heard him ask and maybe you can help me out.
When was the last time the "BLACKLIVESMATTER" leaders led a protest when a black gang-member killed another one?
 



If you don't get it after reading an 860-word column, and the wealth of information available to you about the movement elsewhere, I can't help you, buddy.
 
Believe Me. I GET IT.
Having been a Black child in the 1960's and growing up in the 70's around BLACK educated and street/hood brother and sisters I totally GET IT.
This movement is an updated modern academic version of the Black Panther 10 point plan & program manifesto.
Now let me make this clear, I am NOT comparing the "BlackLivesMatter" movement to the Black Panther Party.
I supported the BPP (what was left of it in the 70's) but the group was misunderstood by the masses.

My point is that the WHEEL DIDN'T GET INVENTED YESTERDAY.

Huey Newton cofounder of the Black Panther Party was born in Louisiana. He was named after one of the racist Governors in Louisiana history, Huey P. Long. Another BPP leader and spokesman was H Rap Brown right here from Baton Rouge.

I believe 100% in the "BLACKLIVESMATTER" movement and I commend the young people for finally standing up for something.
 
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The invoking of black on black crime in this conversation is only a means to distract from the true problem and some fall for it every time.
This is no different than the silly argument of pointing at rap music's use of the n word after a white person says it with malice as if that somehow granted them permission.
 
@GRAM4LIFE

To be blunt, the source of black on black crime is systematic racism. Every time somebody bring that up just think about the location of our people and how they are being treated. The housing discrimination in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Houston, etc. Then you have home mortgage application getting rejected based on the color of someone's skin. The schools not providing an adequate education base on the location. Next you have a lack of economic development. When there are no honest jobs, the only way to live is to survive and hustle. Finally, you have mass incarcerations. There are programs that are countering it that doesn't get the shine it deserves. I'm glad someone brought up the BPP. The Blank Panther Party was one of the best systems we had but it was taken away due to the fact that it was progress and became a threat to racist. I digress.
 
I agree putting the black on black crime theory in there wasnt the best thing to do..But being a black man he is coming from a black point of view..and he is right All lives do matter, all crime is unacceptable, we want better equality but get mad when someone doesnt simply recognize us..thats backwards in my opinion and very hypocritical...
 
GRAM4LIFE said:
The invoking of black on black crime in this conversation is only a means to distract from the true problem and some fall for it every time.
This is no different than the silly argument of pointing at rap music's use of the n word after a white person says it with malice as if that somehow granted them permission.
Click to expand...
Educate Me Brother,
With your reasoning, therefore you shouldn't have a problem with a WHITE person using the term in Rap Music. Since you said that people use the "silly argument" of rap music's use of the "N" word.
Once again my question is can a WHITE person use the word period?
 
Clearly you missed the reasoning because you made my exact point. One has nothing to do with the other. Rap music didn't grant permission to use nor introduce white people to the n word. They were already using it which we all know. If you have been following incidents involving the public revealing of the use of the word by whites, some have leaned on that argument. A scapegoat...

Back to the subject...

Using black on black crime as an excuse to minimize the #blacklivesmatter movement is troubling, shortsighted, and misinformed. It is not even the same conversation. A killing by a police officer whose purpose is to protect and serve the same citizen in which he killed for a petty crime if any crime at all is not akin to the so called problem of black on black crime which isn't a problem at all. It is reality that all crime in every subset of society is usually concentrated internally to that subset. Here's some reading for those who keep pushing that narrative: http://fusion.net/story/143613/a-gu...lack-crime-and-all-of-its-rhetorical-cousins/
 
GRAM4LIFE said:
Clearly you missed the reasoning because you made my exact point. One has nothing to do with the other. Rap music didn't grant permission to use nor introduce white people to the n word. They were already using it which we all know. If you have been following incidents involving the public revealing of the use of the word by whites, some have leaned on that argument. A scapegoat...

Back to the subject...

Using black on black crime as an excuse to minimize the #blacklivesmatter movement is troubling, shortsighted, and misinformed. It is not even the same conversation. A killing by a police officer whose purpose is to protect and serve the same citizen in which he killed for a petty crime if any crime at all is not akin to the so called problem of black on black crime which isn't a problem at all. It is reality that all crime in every subset of society is usually concentrated internally to that subset. Here's some reading for those who keep pushing that narrative: http://fusion.net/story/143613/a-guide-to-debunking-black-on-black-crime-and-all-of-its-rhetorical-cousins/
Click to expand...

We call that a symptom of systematic racism....
 
When someone like Stephen A Smith uses the black on black crime line, they are not to be taken seriously. They are also dangerous because they use their public forum to minimize the people that are actually doing something about the crime in areas like Chicago and it gives white people an excuse to continue doing what they are doing because a "black person" cosigned what they are saying.
 



Dr. Phreeze said:
@GRAM4LIFE

To be blunt, the source of black on black crime is systematic racism. Every time somebody bring that up just think about the location of our people and how they are being treated. The housing discrimination in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Houston, etc. Then you have home mortgage application getting rejected based on the color of someone's skin. The schools not providing an adequate education base on the location. Next you have a lack of economic development. When there are no honest jobs, the only way to live is to survive and hustle. Finally, you have mass incarcerations. There are programs that are countering it that doesn't get the shine it deserves. I'm glad someone brought up the BPP. The Blank Panther Party was one of the best systems we had but it was taken away due to the fact that it was progress and became a threat to racist. I digress.
Click to expand...

Are you saying this why we should understand black on black crime ? J/A
 
In_The_662 said:
When someone like Stephen A Smith uses the black on black crime line, they are not to be taken seriously. They are also dangerous because they use their public forum to minimize the people that are actually doing something about the crime in areas like Chicago and it gives white people an excuse to continue doing what they are doing because a "black person" cosigned what they are saying.
Click to expand...

They are actually to be taken very seriously. Black folks need to be all upside ESPN's ass threatening to boycott sponsors over that vitriolic hate speech.
 
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2kool said:
Some of ya'll need to stay on task. This is not about the N-word or whites use of the n-word. This isn't about rap music or any other deflectionary talking points. This is about systematic white supremacy, and black people's role in the continuation of it by way of victim-blaming.
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Dude, in EVERY society where there's poverty and injustice, there's a large crime rate. This didn't just start with Black people so quit blaming Black people.
During the prohibition era of the 1930's and '40's, Whites killed Whites at alarming rates due primarily to poverty, alcohol prohibition, guns and outright gangsterism and gangs.
Folks coming from Europe lived in large ghettoes where poverty existed, had an extremely high crime rate that was higher than Blacks back then before integration.

Then there's the U.S. government's stark admittance that they intentionally brought in hundreds of thousands of guns and hundreds of pounds of drugs specifically in Black communities to literally destroy it.
Then you have the welfare system of the '70's that literally banned the man from the home if the woman wanted to get government help. That helped to break up the Black family as well.
Then we had integration where most middle class Black folks moved out of their communities and moved to the suburbs thus depleting the tax base in those areas and leaving the poor to fend for themselves.
If one combines all of the above and throw them on ANY race of people, the end product of what we have today in the inner city will always be the result regardless of race.

How soon people forget that Black communities around the nation were thriving with low crime rates up until all of the aforementioned came against Blacks in an orchestrated manner few realize.
 
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JayRob said:
Dude, in EVERY society where there's poverty and injustice, there's a large crime rate. This didn't just start with Black people so quit blaming Black people.
During the prohibition era of the 1930's and '40's, Whites killed Whites at alarming rates due primarily to poverty, alcohol probition and outright gangsterism.
Folks coming from Europe lived in large ghettoes where poverty existed had an extremely high crime rate that was higher than Blacks back then before integration.
Click to expand...

Read my whole sentence. I'm not blaming black people for black on black crime. I'm blaming the high-and-mighty black folks who use black on black crime as a deflection.
 
Dr. Phreeze said:
No. What I'm saying is that the people who are quick to point out black on black crime failed to understand the reason of the cause.
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Exactly. Folks like to jump from A to Z instead of realizing that this was a process. Black communities didn't always have high murder rates, except when White people killed Blacks during the lynching period.
The crime rates for Blacks were basically the same or even lower than Whites up until the early '70's when so much happened to help destroy Black communities.
 
2kool said:
They are actually to be taken very seriously. Black folks need to be all upside ESPN's ass threatening to boycott sponsors over that vitriolic hate speech.
Click to expand...

Their opinions are not to be taken seriously is what I should have said. I elaborated on it after posting that message. Him spreading this message across multiple media platforms (TV, radio, over 2 million followers on Twitter) is very dangerous because it allows white people to continue the status quo by using him as an example

 
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