The Griot

Earlier this month I went to check out a film called The Griot. Wasn't the first time I learned about the original Rappers, but first time seeing Senegal pay homage to Ayiti. The beautiful West African images were a nice break from mainstream. Sitting there in the dark with all the other indes, I felt a strong sense of pan-African pride. And I was dazzled by the gigantic/majestic trees reaching high above ground/across landscape, like scenes from Avatar. Where Haiti waters back to Benin is when you see carabans turn into tap-taps. To understand griots, you have to understand spiritual matters; to understand Rap music, especially gangsta rap music, you have to understand past and current social ills. And it's not this man who's playing the kora, but many men playing; just like it's not me writing my books, but many speaking for you.

Mother's Day is Every Day

Not every mother acts like a mom; and you, dear one knows this best. And sometimes fathers have to make up for the void. But this doesn't mean you can't still celebrate WOMAN. Cos she comes in so many different tender ways, from grandma to auntie to kind neighbor to Mama Angelou. So you too have a sweet, wonderful Mother's Day. Today and every day...

Message to a Young Lady

Males are not calculus. We treat you the way you allow us to treat you

How long does your weave need to be before you realize you're already lovely just the way you are?

If you think he's a dog, then stop feeding him puppy show

Misery loves company, and your shady friends want your company



If you want advice about males, you ask another male. Not a bitter, angry female who'll only help you stay single

Pretty outside and ugly inside is ugly outside

Your tone of voice is the one accessory you don't pay enough attention to

Pop-poppin your gum in a crowded closed in space doesn't show how cool you are, but just how annoying you can be

Who you associate with doesn't necessarily define you. Hanging around those who help you fall says a lot about you

A diva has her own apartment, pays her own bills and buys her struggling parent a ticket to Tahiti

Going natural is a socio-political statement, not a fashion trend

Love is not OMG he's fine! Love is OMG he came thru for me!

The Terminator

Sometimes I feel like Stanley Crouch. The terminator of Black folk mess and author of The All-American Skin Game, Notes of a Hanging Judge, Reconsidering the Souls of Black Folk and In Defense of Taboos. Cos we both like to 'go there', even when it's not popular to do so. We both see the need for healing which begins with us and the need to step out of formula thinking and move inward and onward which still begins with us.

I asked Crouch why we haven't heard from him lately, especially since so much been happening in and out of the hood. Our expectation to have our Prez raise our children and make good choices for us seems worthy of the literary beatdown we usually get from the hanging judge. But I forgot about his first love which is jazz and writing about jazz. And so I just let the good fortune of running into him at a tribute to a sistas function lead the rest of the convo with a smile...

K Workshops

Besides writing books for and about hard to reach youth, and the parents and teachers/counselors who are trying to reach them, I also teach general life management skills and urban psychology. For those interested in having me come speak to their students or participants, the following is a list of workshops I've either done or are on-going--


Message to a Youngblood - Reaching and Understanding Our Sons
Before You Fly Off - Lessons and Advice for Our Teen Daughters
English Can Be Fun -- Helping Students Fight Their Fear of Writing
Educating Urban Youth - When the Curicculum Doesn't Fit
Counseling the African American Male - The Audacity of Not Judging
Trouble Girls - Working With Female Teen Bullies
Single Parenting - Parent Stress/Peer Pressure
The Marginalized Student - From Identifying to Celebrating
Am I in the Right Major? - Learning and Developing College Skills
Prison Bizness - Why Are So Many Black Men in Jail?
Teaching the Young, Gifted and Incarcerated
You Talkin' to Me? - The 411 on Conflict Resolution
Gay Youth - Counseling Them, Counseling Us
Beyond the Bling - Black Male Self-Awareness
Black Masculinities - Hyper-Masculinity in the Black Community
Love and Happiness - Developing a Relationship With Yourself First!
Creating Your Job and Finding True Purpose
Learning How to Better Manage Your Time
Wholistic Wellness - Creating a Positive Environment For Success
Writing the Autobiography - Leaving Your Written Legacy
The University Male Center - Challenges, Tools, and Leadership
The New Academic Advisor - A Different, More Wholistic Approach
Despierta! - How Culture Can Affect Academic Performance
Toxic People - The Art of Recognizing and Avoiding
Doing It Your Way - How to Self-Publish Your Book
Doing It Another Way - How to Create, Market and Sell Your T-Shirts
No Rage, No Guilt - The Difficult Process of Addressing Race-ism

K Books
Message to a Youngblood - A Conversation with Our Sons
Before You Fly Off - A Father Offers Advice to His Teenage Daughter
Before You Fly Off - Volume Two (Released July, 2009)
The Dredlocks Tree - Prose and Poetry
Throw - Photos and Words (tba)

Recent Essays
From Ground Zero With Love
50 Means Reset
The Color Complex
One Drop of Blood
How the Haitian Government System Works or, The Waiting Game
Dear Oprah
If I Interviewed Obama...
The Writing Process: On Writing For and About Young Black Males
When Doves Cry - The 2010 Haiti Earthquake
Dancehall Music is Not Reggae
When Dumb Wasn't Cool
Bang, Bang. I'm Dead!
Youth Participation in Neighborhood and Community Settings
Letter to My Prez - Wyclef Jean for President
The Other Writing Process
How'You Like Her Now?-- The Makings of An Irish Rasta

Interviews
Naj
If Life is a Dance, Where's the Music?
Akasan: Rap and Hip Hop in the Haitian American Community
Generation Entitlement: Where We Went Wrong With Our Youth
What Are You Doing Here? - A Conversation With a Former Inmate




My current project is on the overall development of young urban males of African descent; how parents can better relate to their troubled sons; their education and spiritual wellness; social identity concerns; hyper-masculinity and buffoonery; and how we can help them define and discover their purpose.

"Most books about us are about teaching us how to fit in. Your book helps us understand our rage and learn how to be ourselves in a world that has a problem with that."‎--22yrld Tariq









For more info on workshops and book orders, feel free to contact me at Lifejak@aol.com

Thank you again for your support!

Book Discussion (Part 1)

Book Discussion (Part 2)