WITHOUT STRUGGLE THERE IS NO PROGRESS
What can I say?? I’m a movie buff! Aside from science fiction, action & adventure and drama, I like movies with catchy titles and story lines with messages that actually stimulate your brain. Its also helpful if the movie contains a few notariable peers.
Higher Learning included Laurence Fishburne (who won Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor), Omar Epps, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Michael Rapaport, Regina King and a very young and attractive first time actress Trya Banks.
Directed by John Singleton, know for Boyz N The Hood and Poetics Justice and other urban inspired films, Higher Learning set stage at Columbus University (UCLA) and examined the personal, political, and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they began their first semester.
My most memorable moment of the movie was when Monet (played by King) tells Fudge (played by Ice Cube) that a white student called her a ‘black b*tch’ and within seconds Fudge rallies the troops (Busta, Epps…etc) and commence to give out free cans of ‘whoop ass’.
While that scene was exciting, I’m pretty sure that was not the intended lesson from John “Baby Boy” Singleton.
The scene that made most sense was when Professor Phipps (Fishburne) and Malik (Epps) were discussing how Malik felt about their teacher student relationship in the classroom.
Professor Phipps said it best:
“No one is going to treat you special because you are Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, a woman…”
“Young man you have to rid yourself of this attitude that the world owes you something. You must strip yourself of that mentality. It breeds laziness. It is, Mr. Williams, that same laziness that has kept Black people down in this country…”
“Your own presence should be motivation enough”.
I think its clear here what the message is. Its time to stop making excuses for being lazy. I hate the terms CPT (color people time) or “its racial”. Yes, sometimes it is “racial” or we are late, but sometimes people just choose to be ignorant or lazy. Our people have been oppressed but that still doesn’t change the fact that we can create a new future for ourselves.
While this blog doesn’t change the struggle…remember “without struggle, their is no progress” – Frederick Douglass
Keep Grinding
