Saturday, January 27, 2018

The gospel of white fascism (Part 30)...What do Love and Hip-Hop's "Amara La Negra" and Marvel's "Black Panther" movie have in common?


Dana Danelys De Los Santos, a.k.a. Amara La Negra, was born on October 4th, 1990 in Miami, Florida. Her Dominican parents separated when she was a child, and Amara was raised by a single mother who purportedly worked 3 to 5 jobs at a time, to make ends meet.

Amara grew up near the Miami offices of “Univision”, which is america's largest “spanish-speaking” TV network, and being that Amara had an innate fondness for performing, her mother enrolled her in several dance, modeling and acting classes. As a result, Amara pretty much grew up in the entertainment industry.

And her resume reads like this: at age 4, Amara won the title of “Miss Chicquita”, and from ages 4 to 10, Amara appeared on the TV show, “Sabado Gigante” in the 90's. The Sabado Gigante gig, helped her win back-up dancer spots with artists like: Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan, and at age 19, she won third place in the “Diva Latina” competition. In 2010 and 2011, she appeared in telenovellas for the “Telemundo” TV network and performed “product presentations” for “Mega TV”.

Now, as of late, Amara's become not only a singing sensation in latin america, but she's a star of the hit TV series, “Love and Hip-Hop”. The latest installment of which takes place in Amara's hometown of Miami. And in the show's latest episodes, she's shown a determination to put “Afro-latinas” on the map of the music industry—and the world.

*Note: In the 1970's, the term “Hispanic” was created by the american government cause “Census Bureau” administrators, found that “latino-americans” were checking the “white” or “caucasian” boxes, when they identified themselves. And I'll tell you why this is crucially important to Amara's story later on in this post.

Marvel Studios movie, “Black Panther”, has a release date of February 16th, 2018 (Black History Month). And Ryan Coogler, who's a brotha, not only directed this film, but wrote it's screenplay as well. Now, I think everyone reading this realizes that Chadwick Bosworth is playing the lead role, and knows this movie is bringing out all the heavy-hitters, as far as dramatic acting is concerned. You have Angela Bassett playing “Ramonda”, who's not only T'Challa's mother, but the “Queen Mother” of Wakanda. There's also Forest Whitaker playing, “Zuri”, who's an elder-statesmen of Wakanda. You have Michael B. Jordan as “Killmonger”, Lupita N'yongo as “Nakia”, who's an international Wakandan spy, etc. And the movie's estimated budget is somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 to 200 million dollars. So Marvel's pulling out all the stops on this one.

And this movie's basically about T'Challa going back to Wakanda after his father (T'Chaka) is killed, to defend his homeland against foes (Killmonger, Klaue), who are plotting it's takeover—and to prevent a world war.

Now, I want you to take note of how this film's narrative (Cinematic Symbolism) has direct roots to white fascism. Whereas, the first initiative enacted by them, once we fell for the trick of integration, was to get Black men out of the home. Additionally, I'll always remember the 70's TV series “Good Times”, and the episode where “James Evans” died. Now, for decades I'd been told that John Amos left the show, due to artistic differences. Turns out, John was fired cause he didn't like the shows demeaning content. Again—take the Black man out of the home.

And after we bit the bait of integration, whitey gave Black women government benefits that would pay for their food, clothing and shelter, under one condition—(again) they couldn't have a man in the house. Now, at least half of Black women didn't take these benefits cause there was still a spirit of unity left in us. And this is the reason why in the “Reagan 80's”, we had the government-funded, three-headed monster of Reganomics, Crack and AIDS to contest with. Now, I've gone over that ad-nauseum, so I won't do it here. But eventually, I'll put out a tome dedicated to breaking these facets of the 80's, and what Black americans went through in that decade, all the way down. So stay tuned.

Moving on...

You should also take note of the fact that brotha Wesley Snipes was going to star in the film adaptation of Marvel's Black Panther in 1992. He was even in talks with Columbia pictures and Stan Lee to produce the film. Now, rumor has it that the film's script wasn't up to par—but what brotha Wesley probably didn't like was being in a flick with a Black male character named “Man-Ape” (Winston Duke, who plays “M'Baku” in Black Panther). Or playing alongside primitive-looking brothas with plates in their lips (above left). So instead, brotha Wesley starred in the movie, “Blade”. And not only was this movie a hit, but it helped him maintain his dignity while doing it. Kudos to brotha Wesley!

Now, you might be sayin', bruh—what's any of this gotta' do with Amara La Negra, or what she and the Black Panther movie have in common?

Here's the answer...

The most valuable social currency in america, or anywhere else on the globe, is “Black street cred”. PERIOD.

And that's exactly what Marvel studios and Amara “LA NEGRA”, which literally translates into Amara “the Black”, are trying to capitalize on.

Now, remember when I said in the 70's, the american government created the term “hispanic” cause so many of america's Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Colombians, etc. were identifying themselves as “white”? Well, let me give you another tid-bit about this regarding “latino” rappers.

The rapper “Fat Joe” was once interviewed about 90's era Hip-Hop and how brothas were wearing “African medallions” (left). In it, he said: “Well, I always wore my gold (jewelry), so I don't know what they were trippin' off.” Mind you, it was rap music and Hip-Hop culture—a culture created by Black americans, that made him rich.

So now in 2018, we see Amara “the Black” claiming that she's “unapologetically Afro-Latino” (and this term was blatantly taken from Dr. Umar Johnson who says he's “Unapologetically African”). So basically, not only do both Joe and Amara understand that Black people create the best genres of music, but they also know that Hip-Hop culture, trumps all others in it's popularity, especially with young people around the world.

In other words, Amara doesn't care about identifying herself as Black, she's just hustlin' our music and culture.

Also, the name Amara “the Black”, is directly insulting to our people—she's mocking us with that ridiculous surname.

Additionally, I'll never forget how a former latino friend of mine, once gave me a shirt that said, “Puerto Rico club” on it's back. And I remember passing a group of young latino men while wearing it. After seeing it, they got into a hot argument—and I remember this one latin guy repeating, “Nah, nah, he ain't Puerto Rican—he's Black.” Mind you, they did this in a way saying, he's not one of us, he's one of them. And trust me, 99.9% of latinos, feel the same way.

Now, with the Black Panther movie, the stakes are even higher. Cause first off, what's being sold to us in Black Panther is a culture of obsessing over comic books, video games and super-hero flicks. Meaning, what's being promoted, especially to young Black men, is why we should adopt the tenets of “negro nerdom”. And at the nucleus of this culture are traits that would have us subscribing to being effeminate and immature males—not MEN. And this absolutely fits with the zeitgeist of mainstreamed homosexuality. Which is what white fascists ultimately want us to adopt.

Bottom line of their agenda is to keep Black men, who have the most genetic power to breed them out of existence, from pro-creating.

Additionally, what Marvel wants is that cultural gold standard of “Black street cred”—cause it would cast a legitimately cool light on the whole of the Marvel universe.

So I've said all that to say this: as a Black person, don't be surprised if you go to Amara La Negra's concert and find out these dark-skinned latinos have a problem with you—a “pure-bred” Black man or woman. Cause like I've said so many times in the past, it seems like every non-Black person in america lives by the same motto, and that's this...

It's OK to love Black culture, but you should hate Black people.

Thus, non-Black folks in america have no problem dressing like us, dancing like us, singing like us, or talking like us, while tryin' to make us hate ourselves.

So remember fam—this credo, along wit' Amara's big “backside”, are the only things this “afro-wigged, pseudo-Black” latin woman, is ultimately out to sell.

Later...

MontUHURU Mimia

P.S.

Here's Dr. John Henrik Clarke's classic lecture on why Black people, “have no friends” in other ethnic groups. Now, this vid is 35 minutes long, but just listen to the first 10. And once you do, I promise, you'll have no choice but to listen to the whole of Dr. Clarke's masterfully motivating, Black Nationalist dissertation.

THIS IS STRAIGHT FIRE Y'ALL!!

5 comments:

  1. I'd have to agree with your take on Ms. Amara La Negra. I could care less about her "qualms" regarding the music industry. If anything she successfully drives home the point that as african americans, descendants of slaves, we truly do not have any friends in both other ethnic groups as well as within our own diaspora.

    We are truly all we got!

    This practice of putting on and taking off blackness seems to be standard operating procedure in the entertainment industry nowadays. Which is why you got Amara La Negra and other pseudo black immigrants claiming to be mixed with everything under the sun in an attempt to distance themselves from the reality of being black here in America and everything that comes with it.

    Her proclamation of being "Afro-Latino" is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to appeal to white media while also wanting to establish street cred by claiming to be every bit off black as the word "Afro" implies.

    I'm not buying it. And neither should any other african american for that matter. There's no escape hatch to blackness here in America. And that's the harsh reality we have to begin to accept in order to weed out those use blackness to gain brownie points amongst our own.

    -Mike C.

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    1. "Mike"...

      Love how you so eloquently state that, "There's no escape hatch to Blackness here in america." And how you say, that's the harsh reality we have to accept in order to root out the culturally appropriating vultures who love our style of dance, dress, music and speech, but hate US. Again, an absolute truth.

      Now, let's dig a bit deeper...

      I not only wanna' expel those who are fakin' our swag, but I wanna' show people why this kinda' cultural theft is a reason we should see our being Black as a blessing, and not a curse.

      Now, when you say that African-Americans, or Black folk from America, are "descendants of slaves", I just need you and everyone reading this to know, that the research I'm doing and have done shows me that 90% of the Transatlantic Slave trade (TST) story is PURE FICTION.

      First off, and I'm gonna' write a post that goes into more detail than I will here, white historians have proven that we, Black people, were in the americas before anyone else. And if that's the case, why would we have to be shipped from anywhere else?

      Second, Black scholars have proven how those schematic drawings of “slave ships”, where our people are "human cargo", that were stacked one on top of another, was just that...drawings. And Black scholars have said that not only were those drawings just propagandized pieces of non-sense, but ancient ships couldn't travel for months and years at a time, with that kind of "cargo" without sinking.

      Third, the reason we don't get taught about the "Barbary Slave Trade", as well as the TST--and for those who don't know, the Barbary Slave Trade entailed a time when Black masters literally enslaved millions of white people, at the same time the TST was happening--is cause we (and every american/world citizen) would know that our people weren't the world's ONLY slaves. Thus, we'd have more pride and love for ourselves.

      Hell, the very word "slave" comes from the white "SLAVS", or the "Slavic" whites of eastern europe.

      So we're NOT the descendants of slaves...WE as indigenous Black people, are the descendants of KINGS AND QUEENS. PERIOD.

      And it's time we put our lives into this context, so we can claim what's rightfully ours...THE ENTIRE WORLD.

      Thanks for commenting Mike.

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  2. Amara La Negra is an Afro Dominican woman. Hispanic/Latino isn't a race but a culture of people residing in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America that speak a Latin based language, namely Spanish(in the case of Brazilians Portguese). And there are Black Hispanics as well as White Hispanics but the majority of Hispanics are of various racial admixtures. Amara happens to be a Dominican of African descent. There are much more people of African descent living in the Caribbean and Latin America than the United States. Only 5% of the slaves landed in America while the rest went to the Caribbean and Latin America particularly Brazil.

    However I understand the premise of the article. Many people from other races and cultures try their best to emulate or even appropriate aspects of African American article yet disrespect the people. With Amara Le Negra, it is too early to tell, she may be of African descent but culturally she isn't African American and it may cause a schism with some in our community. The African American community has already had to deal with the likes of Elvis Presley and Justin Timberlake using our music and culture to get ahead yet fail to give due credit to it's originators. But I understand the apprehension of the narrator of the article about Amara Le Negra's rise to fame and how her self identification as ''Black'' may be another ploy for her to use African American culture to get ahead in the music career.

    Your opinion on Amara Le Negra is valid and I wouldn't try to sway you from thinking otherwise. Personally, I don't really listen to Hip Hop or even watch reality TV shows like Love and Hip Hop but it is quite obvious that she is loyal to her Dominican roots. And I like the fact that she acknowledges her African roots and all but does she really understand the cultural impact that Hip Hop has had on African American community? Or is she using Hip Hop as a way to further her own career and acclaim while distancing herself from African Americans? Only time will tell.

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    1. “Coco”…

      I’m fully aware that “Amara”, or “Dana”, is Black. I also understand that dark-skinned “latinos” are Black. My problem is, the overwhelming majority of them don’t identify themselves as such.

      Moreover, when they’re amongst themselves, or with other non-Black ethnic groups, they go out of their way to call us everything but a child of God. But when it comes to our “culture”, they’re quick to claim how they were living in the same areas we were, when Hip-Hop started. And I say emphatically, that sheer proximity doesn’t give them any kind of pioneering points when it comes to the culture(s) we create.

      And when you say only 5% of (Black) slaves landed in the U.S., we should note that: 1. We were here before any other ethnic group(s), or white “slave traders” arrived. 2. If you do some hard research on the Transatlantic Slave Trade, you’ll find that 90% of what whitey taught us about it, was pure FICTION. It was a lie, taught to us to make us hate ourselves.

      Now, the way I found out about Amara wasn’t by watching “Love and Hip-Hop” (LAH), but I did happen to see a trailer for the show on another of Viacom’s TV networks. And when you say you don’t listen to Hip-Hop, and/or you don’t watch reality TV shows like LAH, understand that shows like “Scandal”, can be even more detrimental than watching LAH, cause Black women, are actually trying to live that non-sense out in real life.

      And I will proudly profess to being a Black man who loves Hip-Hop. The music and the culture. Also, I dare say that anyone, especially a Black man or woman, is cheating themselves out of valuable “life lessons”, if they haven’t listened to artists like KRS-ONE, Rakim, Public Enemy, Dead Prez, Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), Talib Kweli, and even Tupac. Now, I’m a middle-aged man, so any rap music coming out in the post-“Drake” era, I can’t answer for.

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    2. "Coco"...(Cont.)

      So you should make it a point to listen to KRS-ONE’s, “Sound of Da’ Police” or “Love’s Gonna’ Get Ya’” or “You Must Learn”, so you can see (and hear) what I’m talkin’ about.

      And even if you’re not listening to Hip-Hop, trust me, your white friends and white executives are.

      That’s why you see all that Hip-Hop vernacular in commercials for Target, Walmart, H&R Block, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, etc. So my question is this: if our people are told that our culture, especially Hip-Hop culture, is so crass and ignorant, then why would white fascists use it to promote their products?

      Moreover, what whitey REALLY doesn’t want us to know, is that Black people not only create the best genres of music (Blues, Jazz, Soul, Rock and Roll, R&B, etc.), but we created MUSIC, PERIOD.

      Speaking of that, I’ll never forget when I was watching an “Earth, Wind and Fire” (EWF) song on YouTube. And I left a comment talking not only about the spiritual elements of EWF’s music, but the ingenuity of the horn arrangements in one of their songs (And the song was “Serpentine Fire” btw). Then some white person commented, that a white guy did the horn arrangements for them. I replied saying, EWF told those white guys what to play, and they executed their commands. Then when I spoke on how Black people create the best genres of music, some white woman said, that EWF’s classic Soul and Funk is to us, what classic Rock and Roll is to them. Then I had to tell that pallid, recessive-traited woman, that everyone forgets how Black people created Rock and Roll too.

      And some white guy commented: “lol…what?” Then, the inbred female said that Rock and Roll started in europe with the Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Then I had to remind her that in the Beatles song, “I Saw Her Standing There”, the part that goes, “So how could I dance with another…hoooooo…” That the “hoooo-ing” sound they made, they got from “Little Richard”.

      And in the case of the Rolling Stones, that band got their very name from the “Muddy Waters” song, “Mannish Boy”. In that song, you can even hear Muddy say, “I’m a Rolling Stone”.

      My point being, that whitey thought Rock and Roll was crass and ignorant too. So much so, that they called it “Jungle music”, cause we created it and were the only ones playing it. That’s until whitey copied our style 10 years after Rock and Roll was created, and then claimed to create it "30" years later.

      So please don’t let whitey trick you into thinking that only “working” and “lower” class Black folks listen to Hip-Hop music. Cause what whitey will never admit, is that Hip-Hop (its culture and music), is one of the most, if not THE MOST, ingenious art-form to come outta’ the 20th century.

      WORD!

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