Content Harvesting and Gossip Era Groupies

In my 2022 article Intellectual Property: How Protected Are We? I shared that, "This society is drastically changing with the exponential growth of technology. Those changes are not favorable for those of us who have little to no control over any legal assets/intellectual property. As black people, we cannot allow those changes to happen around us." With the expansion of technology, we went from an Internet Era to a Social Media Era. Since publishing that article, society has begun to move through an IP [Intellectual Property] Era and devolve into an Era of Content Harvesting and Gossip Groupies.

  Step back and look at the content being shared online today. Whether it's skits, LIVE videos, reaction videos, music, social commentary, or podcasts, most of that content is based on negatively talking about others. Everyone has something to say, about everybody. As much as some people claim to hate "Lying Donald Trunk" -as my six-year-old calls him, he is generating millions of dollars of content revenue for people talking about everything he does/doesn't do and anyone remotely associated with him. This does not mean that I support him. I am simply pointing out the same contradiction of Northerners running textile companies making a claim that they were against slavery while enriching themselves from the cotton picked by enslaved people and shipped by Southerners. Trump is content gold and his remarks/tweets provide job security for some of his most vocal content-creating critics. It is a sick symbiotic relationship. Knowing this, I strive to step outside of this cycle of abuse by not allowing myself to be used as a content tool. It is not often, but sometimes I have still fallen short of that. More recently, I publicly addressed a male with an obvious man-crush who has consistently trolled me privately and publicly over the last several years. In hindsight, it started after I gave them an interview for YouTube, yet never gave them direct access to me. Over time, I was accused of "thinking I was better" and they became an outright contrarian to whatever they would see me share online, and recruit others who secretly felt the same way. Because they are not in my personal or professional circle, I would receive this information from those who wanted to inform me about some things that were going on in the periphery of my life. Anyway, I humorously responded to some recent low budget content they made that included me. My response was all EGO and ultimately fed the attention seeking behavior that content harvesting gossip groupies like them monetize. As the old saying goes, if someone walks in on a wise person and a fool having a disagreement, they won't be able to tell the difference. In this instance, I was definitely a fool for even entertaining this.

Universal Parliament, P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman Elementary School 
[November 28th, 1982]

Speaking of foolishness, there has recently been a lot of discussion, particularly among members of our Five Percent Nation, about public commentary shared by Golden Era Hip Hop Pioneer and Brand Nubian group member Lord Jamar. Lord Jamar recently appeared on the In Godfrey We Trust Podcast to debate Professor Dave Farina about the Flat Earth; a concept supported by Lord Jamar yet disproved by the scientific community before the 6th Century BC and not advocated by our Five Percent Nation. As a professed member of our Five Percent Nation, Lord Jamar has been publicly and privately criticized for his pro-Flat Earth stance by some Nation members and people within the general public about how he handled this public debate. Many have shared that it was an embarrassing display by Lord Jamar, and he even issued a public apology stating that, "I was not myself." I received many requests from viewers to share my perspective on this and I honored those requests with the below video:

Commentary on Lord Jamar and The Flat Earth Discussion

     As you can see in the above video, my position is clear. Some of us Five Percenters are too fixated on conversations that do not actually impact the larger community. This is also reflective of this Content Harvesting and Era of Gossip Groupies. We should be directing our focus and finances on things that will aid in our growth and development. Some Five Percenters have argued that it is not about Lord Jamar and the Flat Earth. The issue is he is misrepresenting the teachings of our Five Percent Nation to a wide audience. Ironically, two years ago I put forth the unsuccessful effort to guard against incidents like this by trademarking the elements of our Universal Flag and seeking a body of Five Percent Nation members who would manage it. In this instance, they could have easily sent him a cease-and-desist letter for trademark infringement and the unlicensed use of our Universal Flag with his content, including its removal from the cover of his The 5% Album and any related merchandise. If this cease-and-desist warning was ignored, we (the trademark owner) could have escalated the situation by filing a lawsuit against him, leading to legal repercussions like court orders, financial damages for any profits made from the infringement, and attorney fees. It seemed simple enough to me, yet some Five Percenters just didn't get it. This idea was eventually sabotaged by some of the same folks who have criticized Lord Jamar about his public representation of our Nation. In replacement of our trademark, I've seen Five Percenters choose to make long-form videos about Lord Jamar, go on Podcasts and make social media posts talking about him; none of which are an effective call to action to address their so-called issue. Maybe now folks will start to better understand the power of controlling our identity/representation in the public domain by owning our IP [Intellectual Property]. Maybe. If someone is really that concerned about Lord Jamar's public representation, I would encourage them to just be better representations in their communities, municipalities, and online. Unfortunately, that is all you can really do at this point. 

     As this society continues to move through an IP [Intellectual Property] Era and devolve into a Content Harvesting and Gossip Groupie Era, it is important to not lose sight of the tangible everyday work we need to do that positively impacts the lives of others. We also must not minimize or overlook the importance of owning our IP. The folks who are chasing ambulances to have something or someone to talk about, and/or not owning their IP, will not always be around. They have "a said birth record" and will eventually run their course. Think about the big celebrity gossip that you heard last week and if folks are even talking about it today. They are not, unless more information has been leaked in the media that is connected to the original story in order to keep it alive. There is something or someone else being talked about today and people are making a living off of it, like parasites. What we ultimately need to ask ourselves is, are we going to ride these shallow waves or be an ocean of ideas and proactivity? I have always chosen the later, and that is why I am here today. Not because I am a so-called "content creator." It is because I am a creator, who is personally and professionally content, with what I consistently share to inspire, empower, and educate others.

Peace,

Saladin

Yeah, put the Bible in school but...

Christ, Domitila Rome Catacombs (Second Century AD)

 

     In Austin, Texas this past November, the Texas State Board of Education approved a new K-5 Bible-infused Christian curriculum across the state. Although it is not mandatory for Texas School Districts to use it, there is a financial incentive; they receive $60.00 per student if they do. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) alone has more than 189,000 students and this translates into more than 11.3 million dollars. The second largest state in the U.S., Texas is the most populous in its region and is home of the often-untold history of the Texas Rangers. According to NPR, "Eight of the 15 board members voted to approve Bluebonnet Learning, the elementary school curriculum proposed by the Texas Education Agency earlier this year. The curriculum will become available in the spring, with schools that choose to adopt the materials expected to begin using them at the start of the 2025-26 school year." The NPR article goes on to state, "The curriculum was designed with a cross-disciplinary approach that uses reading and language arts lessons to advance or cement concepts in other disciplines, such as history and social studies. Critics, which included religious studies scholars, say the curriculum's lessons allude to Christianity more than any other religion, which they say could lead to the bullying and isolation of non-Christian students, undermine church-state separation and grant the state far-reaching control over how children learn about religion. They also questioned the accuracy of some lessons. The curriculum’s defenders say that references to Christianity will provide students with a better understanding of the country’s history." While many Christian Nationalists see no problem with this, there are others criticizing this move as, "using Texas schoolchildren as 'experiments'." 

     Let me start by saying that I am a scientist of life. As a scientist of life, I study everything, including religions. While I do think that religion has served a great purpose for some people in the past, present, and will in the future, I do not personally subscribe to any one organized religion. This does not mean that I am an atheist, I simply do not advocate religious hierarchies, prejudice, indoctrination, and the historical tyranny and fanaticism that often comes along with belief systems. When you look at the history of humanity you will find that the most heinous acts and destructive events are rooted in religiosity. On the flip side, and from my studies, I have also found many great principles and values that people can learn from religion. Principles and values that fosters a greater sense of self, a better relationship with our human family, and cultivates respect for our planet Earth. Unfortunately, many overlook this. So, I say yeah, put the Bible in school but only under these conditions.

Whenever the mainstream society make decisions in the so-called best interest of children (or women, and others), those decisions are primarily for white men and everyone else is expected to go along with it. That is the way that this country was founded, and this is the White Androcentric status quo that many expect to maintain, even to their own detriment. Just look at how BiPOC people and women have historically been outliers on this country's legal landscape since its 1776 inception. This means that HOW rollouts are historically done, in every industry, is questionable, inequitable, and non-inclusive. Let's start there. Next, the rhetorical questions we need to ask are things like, how are BiPOC people and women going to be framed in this religious curriculum? Will they be centered and under what circumstances? Will there be mandatory cultural competence and anti-bias education training by experts for district administrators and teachers who choose to use this curriculum? From seeing the talking points of public officials like Houston Republican Will Hickman saying, "In my view, these [bible] stories are on the education side and are establishing cultural literacy" I know what kind of culture he is talking about, and it is not Eastern, African, or Indigenous. I think children should learn about the Bible, in order to better understand the origin of their own beliefs if they are Christian or the Christian beliefs of others if they are not. Many biblical stories are powerful learning tools, yet it should not be taught as a history book because it is not. There are many people, places, and things in the bible where there is no evidence that they ever existed. People simply believe that they did, which is fine, it just needs to be communicated that it is a belief and not actual facts. Along with these stories, children also need to learn about historical atrocities committed in the name of Christianity, such as Indigenous Genocide, the Spanish Inquisition, Slavery, Witch Hunts, the birth of the KKK and Christian Nationalism, and etc. Children also need to learn about Arius, the African (Libyan) Priest who was kicked out of the Council of Nicaea and excommunicated for disagreeing with the council changing the Biblical narrative. What about teaching how even though the Bible is an African text, and its stories took place in Africa (pre-invention of the Middle East), Europeans co-opted it, and made God, Jesus, the angels, and all of its characters white? It's a lot. Yet the value in learning this actual history is to show children that they have a great opportunity to be better than many of their Christian predecessors who failed, and are currently failing, to live up to Christian values and being Christ-like, in America.    

Next, we need to ask, what other religious texts are going to be equally included and represented in school districts? They need to be! It is unfair for people in a municipality to pay school taxes to support a religious curriculum that they 1.) may not believe in, 2.) they may be opposed to, or 3.) that excludes/underrepresents their own religious beliefs as other Christian denominations and non-Christians. If school children are expected to learn biblical stories like The Good Samaritan as a parable about loving everyone, including your enemies, as an example of what it means to follow the Golden Rule, they also need to learn the Golden Rule from an Islamic perspective when the Prophet Muhammad said, "None of you has faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." There are powerful stories in religious texts like the Quran, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching, Apocrypha, and others just like the Bible. I would also include the Satanic Bible, metaphysical and gnostic texts because they should be studied also. I was happy to see that in response to Christian Evangelical lobbyists pushing public officials to legislate biblical curriculums, groups such as the Satanists, Hebrew Israelites, Muslims and others are pushing back by developing their own religious text-based curriculum to introduce it into school districts. The same thing applies to prayer in school. If you are going to do that, have a different prayer every day in its original language, led by a member of that religion, that reflects their belief in a Deity or Deities. Also, have a day with no prayer to accommodate non-religious folks also.  

"God Bless America" by Lee Greenwood

     What I've shared is just the start of a long windy road that I know these folks who are pushing this biblical agenda don't want to go down. They believe that America is a White Christian nation that we all need to be proud of and thankful for being here. I will tell you, I never felt patriotic about this country my entire life. I never looked at the American flag with tears welling up in my eyes with my hand over my heart while someone sang the national anthem. I never felt included, even as a kindergartener. I have never had an experience that has made me feel beyond a shadow of a doubt that when I hear the word "American" that this includes me. I am sure some of you, perhaps many of you, felt the same as I. This does not mean that I am anti-American or that I hate America. There are many great things about America like Black creations such as bean pies, Jazz music, Hip Hop, Maya Angelou, and countless inventions that I love. It just means that when I see political rallies and holiday celebrations and people put on Lee Greenwood's God Bless America, nothing about that song or the video (see above), moves me, at all. My parents, grandparents, and great grandparents felt the same way. Once you consider my ancestors who were enslaved and/or resisting and escaping America via the Underground Railroad, I would bet that they felt the same way also.

     In closing, I think at the heart of this campaign to put biblical curriculum in schools is the realization that there are many folks just like me who are not Christian Patriots. And some folks want to make sure that children are indoctrinated into a Christian Patriot belief system in our public schools as early as possible. A belief system that we will be paying for, in more ways than one. Have you ever seen a Bentley car commercial? I am sure you rarely have seen one, if ever. That is because Bentleys sell themselves and don't need to be advertised or rolled-out with some elaborate marketing agenda. Although some folks are trying to convince people otherwise, state sanctioned Bible-infused Christian curriculum is not a Bentley. Schools should only expose, reinforce, or redirect children to positive principles and values that they are, or may not be, learning at home and in their communities. State and Local governments undermine the First Amendment of the United States Constitution when they don't equally protect religious freedom in public schools and balance the rights of students with the principle of separation of church and state. What we are seeing and have been seeing since the founding of America is people in power doing whatever they want, when they want to, until they are stopped. Laws are only as strong as the science, sensibility, and fairness of those who have the backbone to uphold them. The way that this biblical curriculum agenda is being presented, minus all of my considerations, is leading this country down a familiar path of White Christian Fascism (Christofascism). It is what some people believe they want. With the support of uninformed Americans, this cabal has elected a commander-in-chief, a cabinet, supreme court justices, congressmembers, senators, and state legislators to do their bidding. What is my solution? Keep teaching our children, regardless to whom or what. Give them the resources and help them develop the critical thinking skills to figure things out for themselves, and support those of us who do. See: Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters

Peace,

Saladin

2025: How You Can Succeed!

Tanzania, Africa

 

     First and foremost, I want to acknowledge those whom we lost last year. It is my will that we honor them by walking with the best part that they shared with us. Reflecting upon 2024, I just wanted to take a moment to share some of my thoughts with all of you regarding being successful in our undertakings. Whether we make New Year Resolutions or not, striving to be resolute in all that we say and do is important, regardless of when we choose to make that decision. In part, this is what “word is bond, bond is life and I will give my life before my word shall fail” means to those of us who are Five Percenters. This phrase is not simply something to recite. It is a declaration of being committed and it highlights the integrity, fortitude, and consistency to follow through with our word. In fact, when our word is truly a bond, we will not be broke, or broken.

  There were several things that I accomplished; from helping coordinate more amazing Niagara Falls National Heritage Area and Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center projects to again being the featured representative for the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent. Our PBS syndicated film Two Wars: The Road to Integration received two Emmy Awards, and I celebrated the two-year anniversary of opening our Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters in November! One of the most impactful was my third journey to Tanzania and Zanzibar Africa in August and bringing 24 people along with me from across the United States. As a cultural ambassador, I take great pride in knowing that contributions such as these continue to expand a positive global footprint. This means nothing if I am unwilling and unable to show others how to also be successful in their undertakings. There are certain things that I have done, and continue to do, that have enabled me to take my ideals from knowledge to born, from inception to conception. In this article here are 9 things that you can do to help you succeed in 2025:

1. When you are setting a goal, make sure that your idea is something that improves your quality of life with the intent/consideration of making you a greater resource to others and the world that we share. Life is interdependent and there is a constant process of giving and receiving. This intent/consideration ensures that your idea is in tune with the universal order and is something sustainable -because we are actively providing a service (and/or products) that others, and the world, actually need. If the only thing that we are thinking about is what we can get (keep), and not what we can consistently give, what we get (keep) will eventually run out. Why? We are just taking and not putting anything back. If you don't believe this, try it with your breath. Keep it to yourself and see how long it takes for your oxygen to run out... It is all about reciprocity and just that simple.

2. Make sure that your idea is real and obtainable. It is less likely that we are going to change EVERYTHING at once so it is important to work on what we can change, one goal at a time. Also, take things one day at a time. It took a while to create habits/routines, and it is going to take time to change them. The smaller goals we accomplish serve as steppingstones; helping us build confidence and gain the tools and experience that are necessary to reach our larger goals. And with any goal, one of the most important steps we need to take, and habits we need to create, is to “get our day underway with a positive, productive attitude.” Use positive affirmations, read positive writings, listen to positive podcasts, and post positive messages where you can visually see them. All of these things help orientate you with higher-order thinking and enable you to get your day underway with a positive, productive attitude. Whatever your cultural worldview or religion is, start your day considering the positive principles that your worldview and religion share. Our attitude sets the foundation of our altitude.

3. Make your goals specific. Instead of saying something ambiguous like, “I’m going to read more” say something more specific like, “I am going to read one book every month.” This is called Specificity. Specificity helps you better focus on your goals and encourages you to be more responsible and committed to those goals. If you were to say, “I want to be healthier in 2025” there is no sense of importance, ambition, or plan of action to take that idea from knowledge to born. Now if you said, “I am going to only eat baked chicken once a week and go to the gym three times a week for 1 ½ hours after work” that has a sense of importance, ambition and provides part of a plan of action to achieve your goal of being healthier in 2025. You clearly put more thought in that! If it is not clear, your path will not be cleared. When we learn about being ‘right and exact’, Specificity is what ‘exact’ means.

4. Set a projected time/date for your goals. Setting a time/date creates a sense of urgency, responsibility, and accountability to meet your goals. If you don’t meet your time/date then set another one. Without setting a time/date, what we are saying is that our goals are not really a priority (important). Why? Because under these circumstances they can happen any time and any day; that is not resolute. If you don't have a time/date, you are creating the possibility that there will never be a time/date. Keep in mind that “one day”, “any day” “someday” are not days on a calendar. Set a reasonable time/date when you want to reach a goal and don’t procrastinate. 

5. Write down your ideas. I have known people who had challenges with organizing their day, appropriating their time, and focusing on achieving their goals. One of the solutions I shared with them was writing down their goals on index cards or signs and posting them in visible places around their home. Not necessarily for everyone to see, it is for you to see; they're your goals! This helped reinforce and remind them of their goals so they would not allow themselves to get lost in the hustle & bustle of each day. Committing your ideas to paper is the understanding of knowledge and wisdom. How? Because it is outside evidence that allows you to physically see what you thought [knowledge] and spoke [wisdom] about. Understanding is often referred to as a child or the best part. This is one reason that Creatives often refer to their projects, such as their paintings, literature, or music as ‘their baby.’ And just like any baby, that must be nurtured and requires attention, our goals require the same in order to grow healthy and strong. Writing down your ideas is also a contractual obligation to yourself.

6. Only share your ideas with those who have shown themselves to be supportive of you fulfilling them. If they are not there to help you, they are only going to hinder you. If they are not an asset, they are a liability. If they are not in your life to build, they will destroy. This also includes the nice folks with pleasant attitudes. Just because they have a happy disposition, it does not mean that they can automatically help. Again, our idea is likened to a baby, and a baby must be nurtured, respected, loved, protected, and educated. That baby must build its immunity to repel the bacteria and viruses that could compromise its health, growth, and development. It is unwise to let any and everybody touch your baby. It is equally unwise to expose your idea to any and everybody. Now, some people may not intentionally strive to hinder you or be a liability. They simply don't have the means to support you. Whether that support is positive conversation or encouragement, experienced expertise, a listening ear, or sharing actual resources. This includes your own family. Just because someone is in proximity to you, or may even share a bed with you, it does not mean that they can automatically see your vision. It also possible that someone you talk to online who lives in a different hemisphere, or that you recently met, can see your vision and support you. Lastly, and most importantly, be this support that you seek! It is unfair to ask for something from others that we are unwilling and unable to give.  

7. Look into networking with people/organizations that will help you fulfill your physical and mental health goals. That is why our social equality is important and the reason some keep us apart from their own social equality. Our network is a prime indicator of our net worth. Take care of yourself and connect with those who are invested in doing the same. There are no ideas when we don't have your health. There is no health if you don't have the energy. Get an appropriate amount of rest. Eat healthy foods and don't eat often. Fast. Make sure that you have daily physical activity whether that is exercise, going to the gym, choosing to walk, etc. Figure out what works best for you and stick to it!

8. Speaking of health; strive to maintain a positive outlook! Some days it will be easy to maintain a level of positivity and other days you need fellowship with others who share the same goals and are just as resolute about achieving their goals. This means investing the time to build with others and being present to learn as much as you can about the positive principles/values they are sharing with you. This is a key to sustainability and not burning yourself out.

9. Your idea is not the end all be all. Some people live to have a wedding while others strive to be married, have a family, etc.  While the wedding is a place, being married is a state. So, although your ideas may help you arrive at a place, the ultimate goal should be to achieve a state of existence. And this state of existence should set the stage to help you achieve even higher and greater goals! It is all about constant growth and elevation, not stagnation. Life is constantly changing and evolving and so should the living.

Zanzibar, Africa

PLUS DEGREES: 

*Just say “NO.” Sometimes we put too much on our plate because we don't know how to tell people “NO” and we feel guilty about it when we do. Here's the thing: if you don't have the time, or the finances, don't have to agree to do it. Let time and finances be the reason that you cannot commit to something. It is unreasonable for someone to expect you to create more than twenty-four hours in a day or magically increase your bank account, for them. Just. Say. NO.

*"Be a shark, not a peacock." When a peacock walks into a room with its feathers fanned out everyone can see it. It is not necessary to be a show-off or strive to get attention. You also attract predators that way. Sharks move in silence and by the time you see their dorsal fin, it is too late. In many cases staying below the radar and not revealing what you're doing until it's actually done is a sure way to be successful in your undertaking. Be a fine mist that the naked eye can hardly detect. When we talk a lot, we are also subject to the expectations of others, which are usually unrealistic. If you tell people that you are writing a book and you know that you don't even have a manuscript yet, people may assume that you are going to be publishing a four-hundred-page book next week and expect it. Now when you obviously don't deliver, people will begin to look at you like the boy/girl who cried wolf. Always remember that light travels 186,000 miles per second and sound only travels 1,200 feet per second. People will see what you are doing before they can hear what you are saying so your reputation always precedes you. So, "Say Less" in 2025 and let your work speak for you.

   In closing, I will that every one of you and your families have a positive and productive 2025 and that it adds more beauty to our families, community, and environment. 

Peace,

Saladin