Black folks, we gotta do better...

Black people are the most negative amongst each other out of all the races on this earth.

Disagree if you want but that statement is true. The Academy Awards held this past Sunday is proof of that.

Let me start by saying congratulations to my favorite hairy-legged banshee Mo'Nique for winning the Oscars Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Mary Jones in the film "Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire". It was well deserved. I mean, she was the best. (And congrats to Sandra, although I wanted Meryl to win.)

Now, as I was saying, the Oscars telecast brought out the negativity, jealousy and hateration from black people. They complained because the ceremony used a certain clip from the movie Precious. Y'all know, the chicken run. Guess what? It won Best Adapted Screenplay. It was a very popular scene. Why not show it? Of course, those that still have that slave mentality were offended because it was a big black girl with some fried chicken. Y'all know how us black folk be bout dat fried shikkin!

Then there's the complaint about the Oscars only awarding black actors for playing roles "depicting the black race in the worst way possible." HUH?! Like, really???

Denzel Washington for playing a crooked cop. Halle  Berry for tricking out a white man. Jennifer Hudson for being a big, washed up singer and a single mother hiding her child from the baby daddy. Mo'Nique was an unemployed, neglecting, hateful and abusive single mother that didn't give a shit that her daughter was raped by the man she loved. Jamie Foxx was a blind singer and womanizer. Forrest Whitaker as a brutally animalistic polygamous dictator. All of these award-winning actors portrayed characters which BLACK people nitpicked as the negative roles.

Have we forgotten? Hilary Swank as a transgendered man in Boyz Don't Cry. Glenn Close as a psychotic lover in Fatal Attraction. Charlize Theron as a lesbian serial killer in Monster. Kim Basinger as an neglectful alcoholic mother in 8 Mile. Are these negative roles? I don't hear any WHITE people complaining about anything.

Um, if I'm not mistaken, the roles played by ALL of the actors I've mentioned, both black and white, actually depict REAL LIFE SITUATIONS. Regardless of race - black, white, Asian, middle eastern - all of these characters EXIST on this earth. They're REAL and have been brought to life on the big screen to show the people who don't know how it is to live this way or what real people go through. This world is not all "peaches and cream", and people need to realize that. Real people exists that relates to these stories about real life. Nothing about these characters are typical "black" roles.

All of these actors were recognized for their performances, their range and the emotion they bring to the characters. They broke away from the normal, typical roles they usually play. Look at Training Day and the rest of Denzel's work, Monster's Ball and Halle's resume, or even Precious and Mo'Nique's credits. Notice a difference? These roles are the hardest to portray and those with the extraordinary acting abilities were selected to bring them to life. Any actor, no matter what race, could have played the crooked cop in Training Day but they wouldn't even amount to half the job Denzel did. He owned that role. And who would have thought Mo'nique could be taken seriously and tackle a role that required some real acting chops to get to the deepest and darkest, most screwed up depths of the human soul? Well, guess what? She signed, sealed and delivered it straight to that Oscar win. Mo was Mary Jones.

Does Will Smith deserve an Oscar? Of course he does, based on his roles in Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. The reason he lost both is because Denzel (Training Day) and Forrest (Last King of Scotland) took home the prize. But since "we black folks" love to nitpick the negatives, let's REALLY look at the two films: Ali was a cheater and Gardner was homeless single father with a kid whose mother abandoned. Still think he should have won? *Roll-eyes* Anyway, Will's time is coming but I have to say I feel that he's being typecasted into comedic and good guy roles without realizing it.

I'm sure Asians in Hollywood aren't happy that most of their movies are about karate. Native Americans must be up in arms that they're always being represented by tanned white actors. When was the last time you saw a comedy or a love story, let alone black comedies and love stories, that was Oscar-worthy? Yeah, I thought so.

Check this list of Academy Award-winning African Americans:

•Hattie McDaniel, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Gone With the Wind (1939).
•Sidney Poitier, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lilies of the Field (1963).
•Louis Gossett, Jr., Best Actor in a Supporting Role for An Officer and a Gentleman (1982).
•Denzel Washington, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Glory (1989).
•Whoopi Goldberg, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Ghost (1990).
•Cuba Gooding, Jr., Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jerry Maguire (1996).
•Halle Berry, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Monster’s Ball (2001).
•Denzel Washington, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Training Day (2001).
•Sidney Poitier, Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence.” [awarded at the 2002 Academy Awards Ceremony]
•Jamie Foxx, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Ray (2004).
•Morgan Freeman, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Million Dollar Baby (2004).
•Forest Whitaker, Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Last King of Scotland (2006).
•Jennifer Hudson, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Dreamgirls (2006).

•Mo'Nique, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Precious: Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire (2010).

•Geoffrey Fletcher, Best Adapted Screenplay for Precious: Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire (2010).

I'd say that's a GREAT list. This is better than having films like Friday After Next or Booty Call or Baby Boy being recognized. Those movies damn sure not Oscar-worthy.

I'm getting so sick of my people and this slave mentality B.S. We can't even praise or uplift one another but we're quick to bring each other down with negativity. It's getting old...seriously. We cannot advance living this way. We need to open our eyes and our minds. Are we THAT overly sensitive? If so, it's for all the wrong reasons and the wrong topics.

Racial Profiling happened to me...

The title says it all.

Yesterday afternoon, I left a job interview for a company located in Kingwood, TX. For those that don't know, Kingwood is a smaller community, dubbed as a "city", located on the northeastern border of Houston. I myself don't know the area that well as I hardly ever visit there. Really, there's nothing there. 

Anyway, as a made my way back towards Highway 59 looking for a way to the west side of the highway, or the southbound side, I was pulled over by TWO Houston police officers. One Caucasian and one Hispanic. Mind you, I don't know the area so of course I was driving 30-35 mph and I didn't doing anything suspicious, other than being a little lost. 

The Caucasian officer approached the car and asked for my license, which I provided, then asked if I've ever been arrested, to which I respond of course, "No." Meanwhile, Hispanic officer is on the other side of the car, peering through the window. The Caucasian then asked that I step out of the car, which I did, and he immediately began to search me, asking if I had any weapons on me or anything in the car that shouldn't be there. "No" to both questions. The Hispanic officer asked, which sounded more like a demand, to search the car, which I allowed. The white officer kept asking if I was positive I've never been arrested before, and I'm like I'd know if I've been to jail or not. Seriously, come on. So, while he runs up my information trying to seek whatever it is he feels he could find, the Hispanic officer comes back questioning why a wooden bar is in the car. Y'all know black folks: we always need something to hold the hood open. Then asked about me being a college student and what I was majoring. He was more friendly than the white guy. They questioned where I live too, and they actually knew the area. Not a bad neighborhood but it's no suburbia either. When I asked why I was out in the area, I explained I came from the interview, giving them a description of what the job and company is about at their request. Not finding what he was hoping for, the white officer handed back my license and stated they were letting me go with no tickets. What they were going to ticket me for anyway? Beats me.

The Hispanic guy went on to say that I was a good guy *duh!* told me to finish school and congratulated me on getting hired, even going as far as giving me a high-five. If y'all could have seen the look on my face.

The whole time I was thinking: 

But I kept my cool. Most people would get angry or highly upset in a situation like this that they lose control of their emotions and their mouth. Not me. I cooperated, remained calm and answered every single question with confidence and without hesitation. I know you're probably saying, "Why didn't you get upset? You should be PISSED!" The thing is, I did NOTHING wrong. If I reacted differently, it would show that I'm guilty of something. But they picked the wrong guy...

The better question is: Why were these HPD officers pulling drivers over in the jurisdiction of the city of Kingwood, which has their own officers? Being a part of a family of police officers and sheriff deputies, I know all about the law and how each department/jurisdiction operates, and their rules. These officers broke the rules. I memorized the white officer's badge number while he researched my information. All it took was a phone call to my people...