Jim Crow Laws By State

This is a compilation of SOME of the information I could find on the internet. With that in mind I did not change the text or grammar much to keep the authenticity of it’s time. Despite what many believe or care to believe these were actual written laws not unwritten laws that a select few decided to follow. Enjoy and feel free to leave comments.

Arizona

1865: Miscegenation [Statute] Marriages between whites with “Negroes, mulattoes, Indians, Mongolians” were declared illegal and void. The word “Descendants” does not appear in the statute.

1901: Miscegenation [Statute] Revision of the 1865 statute which added the word “descendants” to the list of minority groups. The revised statutes also stated that marriages would be valid if legal where they were contracted, but noted that Arizona residents could not evade the law by going to another state to perform the ceremony.

1909: Education [Statute] School district trustees were given the authority to segregate black students from white children only where there were more than eight Negro pupils in the school district. The legislature passed the law over a veto by the governor.

1911-1962: Segregation, miscegenation, voting [Statute] Passed six segregation laws: four against miscegenation and two school segregation statutes, and a voting rights statute that required electors to pass a literacy test. The state’s miscegenation laws prohibited blacks as well as Indians and Asians from marrying whites, and were not repealed until 1962.

1927: Education [Statute] In areas with 25 or more black high school students, an election would be called to determine if these pupils should be segregated in separate but equal facilities.

1928: Miscegenation [State Code] Forbid marriages between persons of the Caucasian, Asian and Malay races.

1956: Miscegenation [Statute] Marriage of person of “Caucasian blood with Negro, Mongolian, Malay, or Hindu void.” Native Americans were originally included in an earlier statute, but were deleted by a 1942 amendment.

Arkansas

1866: Education
No African American or racially mixed citizen would be allowed to attend any public education building aside from the one reserved for “colored persons.”

1866: Miscegenation
Repeals or amendments of common laws concerning interracial marriages between whites and African Americans or racially mixed citizens would be prohibited.

1873: Barred Segregation of Public Carriers and Accommodations
It was unlawful for railroads, steamboats, stage coaches, or other public carriers to refuse to provide same accommodations for those who are paying the same fare, however differing in race. This law also applied to any public housing, entertainment, or restaurants.

1873: Barred School Segregation
It was considered unlawful to refuse to provide similar or equal accommodations in an educational system of any age rank.

1884: Miscegenation
All marriages of white persons with African Americans or racially mixed citizens were declared illegal.

1891: Railroads
Railroad companies and their employees had the power to assign passengers to what they considered the proper seat or proper waiting room for each race. The penalties for the person being assigned to not follow directions are that they would be fined between $10 and $200. Employees who decided not to assign a passenger to the correct waiting room or seat were to be fined $25. Railway companies not following the law would be fined between $100 and $500.

1893: Railroads
All railroad companies are required to provide separate but equal accommodations to people of any race. In addition to providing separate passenger cars for people of a different race, the companies were also required to create separate waiting rooms for people of a differing race at all passenger stations in the state.

1897: Education
It was required that there be separate colleges established for teachers for each race.

1903: Streetcars
All streetcar companies were forced to separate white and black passengers in cars. Failure for the passengers or companies to do so would result in these penalties: Passengers who would not take their assigned seats would be charged with a misdemeanor and fined $25. Companies that failed to enforce the law and assign the passengers seats were also found guilty of a misdemeanor and fined $25.

1921: Miscegenation
This law prohibited cohabitation between whites and African Americans and defines the term “African American” as any person who has any African American blood in his or her veins.

1935: Public accommodations
All race tracks and sports establishments were required to be segregated between whites and any person of a differing race.

1947: Public Accommodation
A series of common laws were passed that made segregation at polling places, on railroad cars, streetcars, buses, and within prisons mandatory.

1947: Public accommodation
This required separate washrooms for whites and workers of a differing race in all mines.

1947: Voting rights
This law required voters to pay poll tax when voting in any election.

1947: Miscegenation
This made sexual relations and/or marriage between whites and blacks illegal. The penalty for breaking this law once was a fine of $20 to $100. A second offense resulted in a $100 minimum fine and up to 12 months of imprisonment. Three or more offenses resulted in one to three years of imprisonment.

1947: Health Care
There were to be separate tuberculosis hospitals for African Americans.

1947: Education
Segregation of races in public schools was required.

1957: Education
No children were required to enroll into a racially segregated school.

1957: Public Carrier
Racial segregation on all public carriers (buses, streetcars, etc.) was required by law.

1958: Education
Governor may close schools by polling with a ballot reading: “In support of racial integration of all schools that are a part of the school district,” or “Not in support of racial integration of all schools that are a part of the school district.”

1959: Public Carriers
All interstate buses were required to have assigned segregated seating to all passengers according to race.^[4]

California

In this state, concern about Asian immigration produced more legislation against Chinese immigrants than against African Americans. From 1879 to 1926, California’s constitution stated that “no native of China” shall ever exercise the privileges of an elector in the state.” Similar provisions appeared in the constitutions of Oregon and Idaho.

1866-1947: Segregation, voting [Statute] Enacted 17 Jim Crow laws between 1866 and 1947 in the areas of miscegenation (6) and education (2), employment (1) and a residential ordinance passed by the city of San Francisco that required all Chinese inhabitants to live in one area of the city. Similarly, a miscegenation law passed in 1901 broadened an 1850 law, adding that it was unlawful for white persons to marry “Mongolians.”

1870: Education [Statute] African and Indian children must attend separate schools. A separate school would be established upon the written request by the parents of ten such children. “A less number may be provided for in separate schools in any other manner.”

1872: Alcohol sales [Statute] Prohibited the sale of liquor to Indians. The act remained legal until its repeal in 1920.

1879: Voter rights [Constitution] “No native of China” would ever have the right to vote in the state of California. Repealed in 1926.

1879: Employment [Constitution] Prohibited public bodies from employing Chinese and called upon the legislature to protect “the state…from the burdens and evils arising from” their presence. A statewide anti-Chinese referendum was passed by 99.4 percent of voters in 1879.

1880: Miscegenation [Statute] Made it illegal for white persons to marry a “Negro, mulatto, or Mongolian.”

1890: Residential [City Ordinance] The city of San Francisco ordered all Chinese inhabitants to move into a certain area of the city within six months or face imprisonment. The Bingham Ordinance was later found to be unconstitutional by a federal court.

1891: Residential [Statute] Required all Chinese to carry with them at all times a “certificate of residence.” Without it, a Chinese immigrant could be arrested and jailed.

1894: Voter rights [Constitution] Any person who could not read the Constitution in English or write his name would be disfranchised. An advisory referendum indicated that nearly 80 percent of voters supported an educational requirement.

1901: Miscegenation [Statute] The 1850 law prohibiting marriage between white persons and Negroes or mulattoes was amended, adding “Mongolian.”

1909: Miscegenation [Statute] Persons of Japanese descent were added to the list of undesirable marriage partners of white Californians as noted in the earlier 1880 statute.

1913: Property [Statute] Known as the “Alien Land Laws,” Asian immigrants were prohibited from owning or leasing property. The California Supreme Court struck down the Alien Land Laws in 1952.

1931: Miscegenation [State Code] Prohibited marriages between persons of the Caucasian and Asian races.

1933: Miscegenation [Statute] Broadened earlier miscegenation statute to also prohibit marriages between whites and Malays.

1945: Miscegenation [Statute] Prohibited marriage between whites and “Negroes, mulattos, Mongolians and Malays.”

1947: Miscegenation [Statute] Subjected U.S. servicemen and Japanese women who wanted to marry to rigorous background checks. Barred the marriage of Japanese women to white servicemen if they were employed in undesirable occupations.

Colorado

1864: Miscegenation [Statute] Marriage between Negroes and mulattoes, and white persons “absolutely void.” Penalty: Fine between $50 and $500, or imprisonment between three months and two years, or both.

1864-1908: [Statute] Passed three Jim Crow laws between 1864 and 1908, all concerning miscegenation. School segregation was barred in 1876, followed by ending segregation of public facilities in 1885. Four laws protecting civil liberties were passed between 1930 and 1957, when the anti-miscegenation statute was repealed.

1908: Miscegenation [Statute] Marriage between Negroes and mulattoes, and whites prohibited. Penalties: Punishable by imprisonment from three months to two years, or a fine of between $50 to $500, or both. Performing a marriage ceremony punishable by a fine of $50 to $500, or three months to two years’ imprisonment, or both.

1930: Miscegenation [Statute] Miscegenation declared a misdemeanor.

Connecticut

1879: Military [Statute] Authorized state to organize four independent companies of infantry of “colored men”. Companies were to receive same pay as other companies, including one company parade in the Spring and one in September.

1908: Miscegenation [Statute] Prohibited intermarriage between white persons and those persons having one-eighth or more Negro blood.

1925: Antidefamation [Statute] Prohibited motion picture theaters from showing any film which ridiculed the Negro race.

1933: Miscegenation [Statute] Miscegenation declared a felony.

1935: Education [Statute] Upheld school segregation as originally authorized by statute of 1869.

Florida

• “All marriages between a white person and a Negro, or between a white person and a person of Negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited.”
• “Any Negro man and white woman, or any white man and Negro woman, who are not married to each other, who shall habitually live in and occupy in the nighttime the same room shall each be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve (12) months, or by fine not exceeding five hundred ($500.00) dollars.”
• “The schools for white children and the schools for Negro children shall be conducted separately.”

Georgia

• “All persons licensed to conduct a restaurant, shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room or serve the two races anywhere under the same license.”
• “It shall be unlawful for any amateur white baseball team to play baseball on any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of a playground devoted to the Negro race, and it shall be unlawful for any amateur colored baseball team to play baseball in any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of any playground devoted to the white race.”

Idaho

Passed four laws prohibiting miscegenation and a statute that prevented Native Americans who had not severed their tribal relations from voting ^[5] An 1889 constitutional amendment barred segregation in Idaho schools. The miscegenation statute was repealed in 1959.

1867: Miscegenation [Statute] Prohibited marriage between white persons and Negroes or mulattoes.

1887: Miscegenation [Statute] A restatement of the law passed in 1867.

1889: Voter rights [Constitution] “Indians not taxed, who have not severed their tribal relations and adopted the habits of civilization” were excluded from voting.

1908: Miscegenation [Statute] Intermarriage prohibited between Negroes and white persons. A marriage valid where consummated outside the state would be valid in Idaho.

1932: Miscegenation [Statute] Prohibited marriages between persons of the Caucasian and Asian races.

Illinois

1927: Housing [Municipal Code]

• Chicago adopted racially restrictive housing covenants beginning in 1927.^[6] In 1948, the United States Supreme Court ruled that enforcement of racial restrictive covenants was unconstitutional.

1953: Housing In August 1953, the first black family moved into Trumbull Park, a formerly all-white project of the Chicago Housing Authority.

Indiana

Enacted seven Jim Crow laws in the areas of education and miscegenation between 1869 and 1952^[7] Persons who violated the miscegenation law could be imprisoned between one and ten years. The state barred school segregation in 1877, followed by a law giving equal access to public facilities in 1885.

1869: Education [Statute] Separate schools to be provided for black children. If not a sufficient number of students to organize a separate school, trustees were to find other means of educating black children.

1905: Miscegenation [Statute] Miscegenation prohibited.

1952: Miscegenation [Statute] Marriage between whites and Negroes void.

1955: Adoption [Statute] Required that due regard be given to race on adoption petitions.

Kansas

1905: Education [Statute] Schools in Kansas City, Kansas, may organize and maintain separate schools for education of white and colored children, including high schools; “but no discrimination on account of color shall be made in high schools, except as provided herein.” ^[8]

Kentucky

1866: Miscegenation
This law prohibited whites from marrying any African American who is more than 12% African American (meaning having a blood relation up to the third generation to an African American). Penalty of not following this law was a felony that was punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary up to five years.

1866: Education
This gave all school district trustees the right to create separate schools for African American children.

1873: Education
It was unlawful for a black child to attend a white school, and vice versa. No separate colored school was allowed to be located within one mile of a separate white school. This law excluded schools in cities and towns but did not allow the schools in those areas within six hundred feet of the other.

1890: Railroads
All railway companies were required to provide separate but equal accommodations for white and colored passengers. Penalty to do so resulted in the passengers or conductors receiving a fine of $25 or imprisonment for 20 days. Any officers and directors of railway companies that fail to follow this law were found guilty of a misdemeanor and could be fined between $100 and $500. This law excluded streetcars.

1892: Railroads
Railroads were to provide separate coaches for white and colored passengers. Signs stating the race for each car must be posted. Penalty to do so was railway companies that failed could be fined from between $500 to $1,500. Any conductors who failed to enforce the law were to be fined from $50 to $100.

1893: Miscegenation
Any marriage between a white person and an African American or mixed citizen was prohibited.

1894: Railroads
Railroad stations must provide separate but equal waiting rooms for the white and colored passengers. A sign posting what race was in what room was to be seeable by everyone. Penalty to do so would end in a fine $25 or imprisoned up to 30 days. Any agents failing to enforce the law were found guilty of misdemeanor that was punishable by a fine of $25 to $50.

1894: Miscegenation
Any marriage between a person of color and a white person was prohibited.

1902: Streetcars
All streetcars must provide separate but equal accommodations to a passenger of any race. The failure to do so ended with such penalties as passengers or conductors could receive a fine of $25 or imprisonment up to 30 days. Any railway company that refused to follow could receive a fine of $100 or imprisonment between two and six months.

1904: Education
It was unlawful to maintain or operate any college, school, or institution where persons of the white and African American races are both allowed to attend. This law did not prohibit private schools or colleges from maintaining a segregated school in a different location for each race no less than 25 miles. The penalty for not following this law resulted in any violators receiving a $1,000 fine.

1908: Public Accommodation
It was unlawful for whites and blacks to purchase and consume alcohol on the same location. Penalty for this act was a misdemeanor punishable by a fine from $50 to $500 or an imprisonment in the parish prison or jail up to two years.

1908: Miscegenation
Cohabitation of a white person and an African American without legal marriage is a felony. Penalty for committing such an act resulted in imprisonment from one month to one year, with or without hard labor.

1909: Health Care
An institution for the education of colored deaf mutes was to be established. But segregation in this school was to still be enforced.

1912: Residential
Building permits for building Negro houses in white communities, or any portion of a community inhabited principally by white people, and vice versa prohibited. Penalty: violators fined from $50 to $2,000, “and the municipality shall have the right to cause said building to be removed and destroyed.”

1914: Public Accommodation
All circuses, shows and tent exhibitions were required to provide two ticket offices with individual ticket sellers and two entrances to the performance for each race.

1915: Education
No white children were allowed to attend any graded common school for colored children and vice versa.

1918: Prisons
This law allowed the segregation of races in all municipal, parish, and state prisons.

1921: Education
This law called for separate public schools for the education of white and black children between the ages of six and eighteen.

1921: Housing
This prohibited African American and white families from living in the same home.

1928: Education
This gave separate textbooks for white and African American school children.

1928: Public Carrier
Separate but equal accommodations were required to be provided on all forms of public transportation.

1932: Residential
No person or businesses were allowed to rent an apartment in an apartment complex or other housing buildings to a person who differs in race from the other occupants.

1932: Miscegenation
All interracial marriages were outlawed. Invalidated interracial marriages if the parties went to another legal power where such marriages were legal. Marriages between African Americans and Native Americans were also prohibited.

1933: Public Accommodations
Establishment of segregated libraries for different races was authorized.

1934: Education
All schools were required to be racially segregated.

1942: Health Care
There were to be separate but equal accommodations for whites and African Americans provided in nursing homes.

1944: Miscegenation
Any marriage between a white person and an African American or racially mixed citizen was prohibited. Penalty to follow this law was a fine of $500 to $5,000. If the people continued to be interracially married the result would be imprisonment in prison from three to twelve months.

1944: Railroads
Separate coaches for white and African American passengers were required.

1948: Barred School Segregation
This law did not allow African American physicians and nurses to take postgraduate courses in public hospitals and Louisville.

1950: Barred School Segregation
African Americans were allowed to attend colleges and universities under two conditions. These conditions are that if comparable courses were not available at Kentucky’s African American College in Frankfort, KY and the school’s governing body had to approve of this act.

1951: Miscegenation
Any intimate relation between whites and African Americans was illegal. Failure to follow this law ended in fines up to $1,000, up to five years in prison, or both.

1951: Adoption
Interracial adoptions were banned.

1952: Miscegenation
Interracial marriages were prohibited. Penalty of failing to follow this law was Up to $1,000 and/or five years in prison.

1953: Health Care
It was required to establish separate tuberculosis hospitals for each race. This law was then repealed in 1954.

1956: Public Carriers
This law revised older laws that required common carriers to provide separate waiting rooms for white intrastate passengers and for African American intrastate passengers.

1956: Employment
Provided that all persons, firms, or corporations create separate bathroom facilities for members of the white and African American races employed by them or allowed to come into the business. In addition, separate rooms to eat in as well as separate eating and drinking utensils were required to be provided for members of the white and African American races. Not following this law gave to offender a misdemeanor, a fine of $100 to $1,000, or 60 days to one year in prison.

1956: Recreation
All businesses were prohibited from permitting any dancing, social functions, entertainments, athletic training, games, sports or contests on their premises in which the participants are members of the white and African American races.

1956: Public Accommodations
All public parks, recreation centers, playgrounds, etc. were required to be segregated.

1956: Public Carrier
All forms of public transportation were to be segregated.

1957: Education
All public schools were required to be racially segregated.

1957: Education
There were to be no state funds to non-segregated schools.

1960: Voting Rights
The races of all candidates were to be written on the ballots.^[9]

Louisiana

• “Any person who shall rent any part of any such building to a Negro person or a Negro family when such building is already in whole or in part in occupancy by a white person or white family, or vice versa when the building is in occupancy by a Negro person or Negro family, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

Maine

1795 law prohibiting intermarriage between whites and blacks repealed.

1893: Voter rights [Constitution] Required the elector to be able to read the Constitution in English and write his name.

1893: Voting [State Code] A Constitutional amendment was passed in 1893 requiring electors to be able to read the Constitution in English and write his name.

Maryland

• “All railroad companies and corporations, and all persons running or operating cars or coaches by steam on any railroad line or track in the State of Maryland, for the transportation of passengers, are hereby required to provide separate cars or coaches for the travel and transportation of the white and colored passengers.”

Mississippi

• “Any person…who shall be guilty of printing, publishing or circulating printed, typewritten or written matter urging or presenting for public acceptance or general information, arguments or suggestions in favor of social equality or of intermarriage between whites and Negroes, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fine not exceeding five thousand (5,000.00) dollars or imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months or both.”

Missouri

• “Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school.”

Montana

Four Jim Crow laws were enacted in Montana between 1871 and 1921. The school segregation act was repealed in 1895. A 1909 miscegenation law prohibited marriage between Caucasians and blacks as well as Chinese and Japanese.

1871: Education [Statute] Children of African descent would be provided separate schools.

1897: Voting rights [Statute] Excluded “any person living on an Indian or military reservation” from residency, unless that person had acquired a residence in a county of the state and is in the employment of the government while living on a reservation. Without residency, a person could not vote.

1897: Residency [Statute] An 1897 statute excluded “any person living on an Indian or military reservation” from residency, unless that person had acquired a residence in a county of MT and is in the employ of the government while living on a reservation.”

1909: Miscegenation [Statute] Prohibited intermarriage between whites and Negroes, Chinese and Japanese. Penalty: Misdemeanor, carrying a fine of $500 or imprisonment of one month, or both.

1921: Miscegenation [State Code] Miscegenation prohibited. Nullified interracial marriages if parties went to another jurisdiction where legal. Also prohibited marriages between persons of the Caucasian and Asian races.

Nebraska

1865: Miscegenation [Statute] Declared marriage between whites and a Negro or mulatto as illegal. Penalty: Misdemeanor, with a fine up to $100, or imprisonment in the county jail up to six months, or both.

1911: Miscegenation [Statute] Marriages between a white and colored person declared illegal. Also noted that marriages between whites and those persons with one-quarter or more Negro blood were void.

1929: Miscegenation [Statute] Forbid marriages between persons of the Caucasian race and those persons with one eighth or more Asian blood.

1943: Miscegenation [Statute] Prohibited marriage of whites with anyone with one-eighth or more Negro, Japanese or Chinese blood.

Nevada’s laws… Enacted four miscegenation laws and a school segregation statute between 1865 and 1957. The education statute declared that blacks, Asians and Indians were prohibited from attending public schools, and that a separate school would be established for them if “deemed advisable.” The state’s miscegenation law offered an extensive list of inappropriate marriage candidates by race and color for Caucasians, including blacks, “Malay or brown race, Mongolian or yellow race, or Indian or red race.” The miscegenation statute was repealed in 1959.

1865: Education [Statute] Negroes, Asians, and Indians prohibited from attending public schools. The Board of Trustees of any district could establish a separate school for educating Negroes, Asians, and Indians, if deemed advisable.

1912: Miscegenation [Statute] Unlawful for a white person to intermarry with any person of “Ethiopian or black race, Malay or brown race, Mongolian or yellow race, or Indian or red race, within the State.” Penalty: Misdemeanor for participants and the minister who performs such a ceremony. White persons found to be living with the above mentioned groups would be fined between $100 and $500, or confined in the county jail from six months to one year, or both.

1929: Miscegenaion [Statute] Miscegenation declared a misdemeanor. Also forbid marriages between persons of the Caucasian, Asian and Malay races.

1955: Miscegenation [Statute] Miscegenation illegal. Penalty: $500 to $1,000 and/or six months to one year imprisonment.

1957: Miscegenation [Statute] Gross misdemeanor for white to marry person of black, brown, or yellow race.

New Mexico

• “Separate rooms [shall] be provided for the teaching of pupils of African descent, and [when] said rooms are so provided, such pupils may not be admitted to the school rooms occupied and used by pupils of Caucasian or other descent.”

North Carolina

• “Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them.”
• “The state librarian is directed to fit up and maintain a separate place for the use of the colored people who may come to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals.”

North Dakota

The state passed three Jim Crow laws. A 1943 statute barring miscegenation was repealed in 1955. An 1899 Constitutional amendment gave the legislature authority to implement educational qualificaitons for electors.

1933: Education [Statute] Law stated that “it would not be expeident to have the Indian children mingle with the white children in our educational institutions by reason of the vastly different temperament and mode of living and other differences and difficulties of the two races.

1943: Miscegenation [State Code] Cohabitation between blacks and whites prohibited. Penalty: 30 days to one year imprisonment, or $100 to $500 fine.

Ohio

Enacted a miscegenation statute in 1877 and a school segregation law in 1878. Segregation of public facilities was barred in 1884, and the earlier miscegenation and school segregation laws were overturned in 1887. However, in 1953, the state enacted a law requiring that race be considered in adoption decisions.

1877: Miscegenation [Statute] Unlawful for a person of “pure white blood, who intermarries, or has illicit carnal intercourse, with any Negro or person having a distinct and visible admixture of African blood.” Penalty: Fined up to $100, or imprisoned up to three months, or both. Any person who knowingly officiates such a marriage charged with misdemeanor and fined up to $100 or imprisoned in three months, or both.

1878: Education [Statute] School districts given discretion to organize separate schools for colored children if “in their judgment it may be for the advantage of the district to do so.”

1953: Adoption [Statute] Race to be taken into account on adoption petitions.

Buses were separated e.g.: One for white and one for Coloured

Oklahoma

1903: Mining-bath facilities [Statute] “The baths and lockers for the Negroes shall be separate from the white race, but may be in the same building.” (Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS)

1904: Education-Teaching [Statute] “Any instructor who shall teach in any school, college or institution where members of the white and colored race are received and enrolled as pupils for instruction shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars for each offense.” (Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS)

1907: Voting [Constitution] In 1907, an amendment passed requiring electors to read and write any section of the state constitution. Exempted were those who were enfranchised on Jan. 1, 1866, and lineal descendants of such persons. (Declared unconstitutional in 1915; however, the provision for literacy was upheld.) NOTE: The Amendment allowed Persons of Indian descent to vote.

1907: Funerals [Statute] Blacks were not allowed to use the same hearse as whites.

1908: Voting [State Code] In 1907, inmates of institutions were excluded from voting. “Any person kept in a poorhouse at public expense, except federal, Confederate, and Spanish-American ex-soldiers or sailors.”

1928: Recreation—Fishing, Boating, and Bathing [Statute] “The [Conservation] Commission shall have the right to make segregation of the white and colored races as to the exercise of rights of fishing, boating and bathing.” (Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS)

1937: Telephone Booths [Statute] “The Corporation Commission is hereby vested with power and authority to require telephone companies…to maintain separate booths for white and colored patrons when there is a demand for such separate booths. That the Corporation Commission shall determine the necessity for said separate booths only upon complaint of the people in the town and vicinity to be served after due hearing as now provided by law in other complaints filed with the Corporation Commission.” (Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS)

Oregon

Enacted two miscegenation laws in 1867 and 1930 prohibiting intermarriage between whites and blacks, Chinese, Kanakas or any person having more than one half Indian blood. A 1953 statute required that adoption petitions note the race of prospective adopting parents. A 1924 statute required electors to read the Constitution in English.

1867: Miscegenation [Statute] Unlawful for any white person to intermarry with any “Negro, Chinese, or any person having one-quarter or more Negro, Chinese or kanaka blood, or any person having more than one-half Indian blood.” Penalty: Imprisonment in the penitentiary or the county jail for between three months and one year. Those who licensed or performed such a ceremony could be jailed for three months to one year, or fined between $100 and $1,000.

1924: Voting rights [State Code] Required electors to read the Constitution in English and write their name.

1924: Voting [Statute] Statute and constitutional amendment passed in 1924 required electors to read the constitution in English and write their name.

1930: Miscegenation [State Code] Miscegenation declared a felony. Also forbid marriages between persons of the Caucasian race and those persons with one fourth or more Chinese or Kanaka blood.

1953: Adoption [Statute] Adoption petition must state race or color of adopting parents.

Pennsylvania

1869: Education [Statute] Black children prohibited from attending Pittsburgh schools.

1956: Adoption [Statute] Petition must state race or color of adopting parents.

Rhode Island

1872: Miscegenation [State Code] Prohibited intermarriage. Penalty: $1,000 fine, or up to six months’ imprisonment.

1960: Voting [Statute] Not until 1928 did Rhode Island permit men and women who did not own property to vote in city elections.

South Carolina

• “No persons, firms, or corporations, who or which furnish meals to passengers at station restaurants or station eating houses, in times limited by common carriers of said passengers, shall furnish said meals to white and colored passengers in the same room, or at the same table, or at the same counter.”
• “It shall be unlawful for any parent, relative, or other white person in this State, having the control or custody of any white child, by right ofguardianship, natural or acquired, or otherwise, to dispose of, give or surrender such white child permanently into the custody, control, maintenance, or support, of a negro.”

South Dakota

Enacted three miscegenation laws between 1809 and 1913, and a 1952 statute that required adoption petitions to state the race of both the petitioner and child. A 1913 miscegenation law broadened the list of races unacceptable as marriage partners for whites to include persons belonging to the “African, Korean, Malayan, or Mongolian race.” This law reflected the nation’s growing tension over the massive waves of immigrants entering the country during the early twentieth century. The miscegenation law was repealed in 1957.

1909: Miscegenation [Statute] Intermarriage or illicit cohabitation forbidden between blacks and whites. Penalty: Felony, punishable by a fine up to $1,000, or by imprisonment up to ten years, or both.

1913: Miscegenation [Statute] Law expanded to prohibit marriage between whites and persons belonging to the “African, Corean, [Korean] Malayan, or Mongolian race.” Penalty: Felony, punishable by a fine up to $1,000, or by imprisonment in state prison up to ten years, or both.

1929: Miscegenation [Statute] Miscegenation declared a felony. Also forbid marriages between persons of the Caucasian, Asian and Malay races.

1952: Adoption [State Code] Adoption petitions must state race of petitioner and child.

Texas

Twenty-seven Jim Crow laws were passed in Texas from 1866 to 1958. In addition to segregation involving blacks, persons of Mexican descent were also subject to segregation laws. Some examples include:

• 1950: Separate facilities required for white and black citizens in state parks
• 1953: Public carriers to be segregated
• 1958: No child compelled to attend schools that are racially mixed. No desegregation unless approved by election. Governor may close schools where troops used on federal authority.

Utah

Four miscegenation laws were passed in Utah between 1888 and 1953, prohibiting intermarriage between whites and those of African or Asian descent. School segregation was barred in 1895. The state’s miscegenation law was repealed in 1963.

1888: Miscegenation [Statute] Intermarriage prohibited between a Negro and a white person, and between a “Mongolian” and a white person.

1907: Miscegenation [Statute] Marriage laws amended, with earlier intermarriage provision remaining the same.

1933: Miscegenation [Statute] Prohibited marriages between persons of the Caucasian and Asian races.

1953: Miscegenation [State Code] Marriage between “white and Negro, Malayan, mulatto, quadroon, or octoroon void.”

Virginia

• “Every person… operating… any public hall, theater, opera house, motion picture show or any place of public entertainment or public assemblage which is attended by both white and colored persons, shall separate the white race and the colored race and shall set apart and designate… certain seats therein to be occupied by white persons and a portion thereof, or certain seats therein, to be occupied by colored persons.”
• “The conductors or managers on all such railroads shall have power, and are hereby required, to assign to each white or colored passenger his or her respective car, coach or compartment. If the passenger fails to disclose his race, the conductor and managers, acting in good faith, shall be the sole judges of his race.”

Washington

Enacted a miscegenation statute in 1866 forbidding marriage between whites and Negroes or Indians. This law was repealed in 1887.

Six civil rights laws barring segregation were passed between 1890 and 1956.

1866: Miscegenation [Statute] Prohibited marriage between white persons and Negroes, Indians, or a person of half or more Negro or Indian blood.

1887: Barred anti-miscegenation [Statute] Repealed anti-miscegenation law.

1896: Voting rights [Constitution] “Indians not taxed shall never be allowed the elective franchise.”

1896: Voting [Constitution] A constitutional amendment passed in 1896 requiring electors to read and speak English. In 1912 a statute was passed noting, “If naturalized, must furnish satisfactory evidence that he is capable of reading and speaking the English language so as to comprehend the meaning of ordinary English prose.”

1920: Restrictive Housing Covenants [Municipal Code] Beginning in the 1920s, Seattle realtors frequently discriminated against minorities. In November 1927 the Capitol Hill development used a covenant that read: “The parties…agree each with the others that no part of the lands owned by them shall ever be used or occupied by or sold, conveyed, leased, rented or given to Negroes or any person of Negro blood.” An April 1928 covenant for the Broadmoor subdivision read: “No part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or any Asiatic race…”

Until 1950, Article 34 of the Code of Ethics for realtors in Seattle included the following clause: “A Realtor should never be instrumental in introducing into a neighborhood a character of property or occupancy, members of any race or nationality, or any individual whose presence will clearly be detrimental to property values in that neighborhood.” Voluntary agreements between realtors and homeowners continued well into the 1960s.

In 1964, Seattle voters rejected a referendum that prohibited housing discrimination. In April 1968, the city council passed an open housing ordinance, making restrictive covenants illegal.

West Virginia

“White and colored persons shall not be taught in the same school.” This point-blank requirement for segregated schools was proclaimed in West Virginia’s State Constitution as Article XII Section 8. In a remarkable show of the persistence of such attitudes extending to the highest levels of state government, numerous attempts to remove this from the constitution were defeated in the state legislature until it was finally repealed in November 1994.

Wyoming

“All marriages of white persons with Negroes, Mulattos, Mongolians, or Malaya hereafter contracted in the State of Wyoming are and shall be illegal and void.”

1887: Education [Statute] Separate schools could be provided for colored children when there were fifteen or more colored children within any school district.

1889: Voting rights [Constitution] Required electors to read the state Constitution.

1908: Intermarriage [Statute] All marriages of white persons with Negroes, Mulattos, Mongolians, or Malaya hereafter contracted in the State of Wyoming are and shall be illegal and void. (Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS)

1931: Education [Statute] Schools to be segregated only when fifteen or more colored children were in a district.

1931: Miscegenation [Statute] Declared miscegenation a misdemeanor. Also prohibited marriages between persons of the Caucasian, Asian and Malay races.

1945: Miscegenation [Statute] Marriage of whites to Negroes, mulattoes, Mongolians, Malayans void. Penalty: $100 to $1,000 and/or one to five years imprisonment.

Stop Online Piracy Act In A Nutshell

After an old friend asked me to speak on the subject I read the actual notes from the bill that is of interest. Now I’m not a political science major, economist, politician or expert on what is right or left. What I do know is a good slight of hand trick when I see one. They all are advertised as the same thing.

When ever you get legistlation that does not define a governing body or a watch dog group that will mitigate between parties, you are left with a bad feeling. Not to speak of the indemnity that is being handed out to the infringed party at the expense of taxpayers. Needless to say the Attorney General already has the authority to do all things that we state below.

Let’s explore it if you will. We all know how piracy works. Some rogue guy decides to stick it to the man for the benefit not of themselves but of the people. It’s not a matter of right and wrong. The concern is for public.

Napster and other P2P providers are always the target on the surface but in the end it is always the public that gets the wrong end of the stick. That poor mother that is not computer savy who has a child that enjoys pirated media will eventually become the target.

According to documentation this is one of the ways it all works. Intellectual property holder is harmed by an “infringement site.” It then talks about promotion sites and those used in any way for infringement purposes. Now the last portion of this really worries me. Most of us have blogs that can be deemed as “infringement sites,” by an intellectual property holder.

Next step is the intellectual property holder provide written notification identifying the site. Now the recipient of the notification could be payment network providers. “Payment network providers,” happens to be a term that can mean one of several different things. I’m assuming they are speaking of PSPs or merchant type services or IP providers. The former being already regulated by The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is a part of the US Dept of Treasury. So that almost assuredly rules out the PSPs.

From here the property holder provides written notification to Internet advertising service provider. So companies like Google, Bing, Yahoo and others at this point get into the fray. At this point upon receipt of the notification these companies are to shut the site down or refuse marketing. At this step the infringement site disappears from search engines all together. Mind you it is left up to sites like Google who has already been found guilty of doing such things to sites they “don’t like.” I will return to this matter later when the plot thickens.

Once the notifications have been sent out to the 3rd party, it is then forwarded to the infringement site.  Where it is up to that person or entity to provide a counter claim.

The rights holder then jumps back into the fray by seeking limited injunctive relief against who ever related to the site they can identify. NOTE:  Generally, injunctive relief is action ordered of a Defendant by a federal District Court Judge. This relief may be ordered either as a term of an order consented to by the parties in a lawsuit (where the parties file a “Consent Decree”) or after a contested trial before the Judge, based on federal definition of INJUNCTIVE RELIEF OR IR.

The rest of the bill talks about all the steps the 3rd party can use to prevent the accuser from using their site. With the goal being the denial of access to the site on both the users and owners ends.

Let me pause now to explain something, none of this is new or abnormal. If this was the end of the matter it would be a good clean piece of legistlation. But as with politics this is where the plot thickens. They bring the smoke and the mirrors out.

The bill “provides immunity from liability…” the 3rd party from any backlash for going after these companies. With a flick of the wrist it goes into prescription drugs, public performances, trade secrets, advertising LOL they lost their minds on the back end of this bill.

Mind you this can all be done by a business entity as well as the Attorney General, who already has this authority.

Okay now the facts have been laid out in a manner to summarize the bill in laymen terms. I have not added anything just taken some things out that was redundant or legal jargon used to distract readers from the true intentions of the bill.

Intellectual property owners are companies like BMG, Disney, CBS, RCA, MCA, Capitol and others. These are mega conglomerates that are in the business of buying intellectual properties in mass quantities. They intern sell temporary rights to smaller vendors such as Pandora, Radio Stations and others for use on their sites. This does not include Youtube and many other peer sharing sites that provide video and audio feeds.

Companies that represent the 3rd party are Google, Bing, Yahoo, Host Gator, Go Daddy and a slew of other internet IP or marketing providers. Not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation and so many other Social Media sites and/or companies.

Sad to say the party infringing on the intellectual property is more than likely the consumer or end user since most P2P sites have disclaimers that say they do not support breaking intellectual property laws. The days of Napster type companies taking the heat are over.

The other things added to this bill were things like broadcasting: information that a company release for internal purposes and intercepted digital transmissions. Expanding penalties for bootleg drugs and misrepresented marketing or advertisements alluding to it being endorsed by an enforcement type agency. Stiffen penalties for share trade secrets.

But what does pharmaceuticals have to do with this. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. This was introduced by Politicians that are being bankrolled by deep pocketed pharmaceutical companies that lose money every time the public buys non-FDA sanctioned drugs online. This may include cheaper alternatives, homeopathic alternative, generic brands or foreign meds that work better than brand named products.

We must ask ourselves the question, do we really want big conglomerates and Fortune 500 countries taking citizens and small businesses on? The 3rd parties have financial interests in the intellectual property, there is definitely a conflict in interest. Americans are innocent till proven guilty, this clearly is not the case here where you are shut down until you prove your innocence. I’m not clear as to why they have mixed pharmaceuticals with intellectual properties, they are regulated by two separate entities in the first place.  Where do blogs that provide consumer reporting services to the public fit into this equations?

This bill is another example of BIG BUSINESS and SMALL GOVERNMENT.

Racially Speaking

So it’s funny to see all these poor (helpless) young Hispanic or Latin women with 2-3 kids waiting on the bus stop. All of the children are under 5 and she looks no older than 20. Trying to get all the babies on the bus with one hand and stroller in the other. It’s never any guy in tow, just mom. Since when did recession equal a baby boom? Diapers are expensive and have to be bought with wipes. Not to mention the formula, bottles, liners and bottled water. All in the name of providing for a little one. Saying welfare is too simple, especially knowing how many companies hire illegals for cheap labor. Oh and did I mention these girls “speakee no english.”

Nobody has jobs but the freeways are packed to capacity every single day. Where are people going during the day from 6am to 7pm, school? They are cutting back too so that’s not the answer. Work, but nobody has jobs. Maybe Home Depot to sit outside and wait for work, but have you noticed it’s less and less of them by the day. This mystery remains unsolved. Next time your on a crowded freeway take a mental picture. Most of the cars are being driven by Hispanics or Latins. Where the heck are they going and/or coming from. Better yet where did they get their licenses from.

So can we use Blackaphobia since no one wants anything to do with Blacks. LOL. I mean seriously, employers shun US, parents have nightmares about US, White woman still clutch their purses in the presence of US, colleges would rather give a seat to non-English speakers than US and the police profile US as criminals no matter what we are wearing or driving. Oh and did I add that Bush hates US.

Do they tell White people they are “articulate” in interviews? Or say “wow you worked their for 4 years, hhmmm.” Why do random White guys come up to me laughing asking if they can bum weed off me. Then look real shocked that I don’t toke. Is smoking marijuana a Black thing. I can see if he asked me if I could pick some. LOL.

So I once applied at a restaurant in Chino Hills as a server or bartender and the guy instantly went into, “No, but I do need a big Black guy to hold things down at night.” I should have told him I was not gay, but I needed the job. LOL.

What’s wrong with Black people? A guy comes in for a membership at Ballys. They ask me to close the sale in order to reel the guy in. He says “I really want to do it my NIGGA…,” WHAT! First I’m at work, second I don’t know you like that, third this is a place of business where white people kept passing by looking at ME like I was crazy. On another occasion I go out to eat and the Blacks are referring to everyone and I mean everyone (all races) as “MY NIGGA.” Who started that dumb trend? Willie Dynamite, LOL for real he did in a Blackploitation movie, but I’m pretty sure they have yet to see it.

Why don’t Orange County Blacks nod back when I give them the nod. LOL. You know OUR NOD. They act like they are ashamed or upset another Brotha walked into the room. Didn’t know they owned territorial rights over that venue. Then they really get pissed when they find out I’M FROM COMPTON. But is baffled when I speak the Kings English just like the White folks.

When are Black people going to stop putting dumb stuff on their bodies. Tattoos should be art not stereotypical. Dead beat baby daddies name with a panther on top looks like dead beat baby daddies name with a panther on top. ROTFLOL. Get your money back the artist lied and robbed you. Who cares who’s cherry it is. Oh yeah your new boy friend. Stop lying to yourself dude your not a killer regardless of how many tears you got. Oh and you got that ink in the pen from being someones B. You ain’t shanked no body.

What’s wrong with all these dudes acting so hard. Like they wear a one letter symbol and tights. Prison is prison and not county. Futhermore, a DUI is not a gangster sentence, stop acting hard. Gun charges is not murder, it just means when you got pulled over a gun was illegally being carried in the car. Public nudity is a sex crime aka pedophile rap and it is not worth it. Wait till you get home to piss or find a Denny’s. Better yet wear a diaper like 2 yr old.

Last but not least, just because a dude is gay don’t mean he’s not a killer. Where the heck do you think he got his first piece of tail from. Just because he look weak doesn’t mean your going to just whoop his tail. Oscar De La Hoya may look pretty but he’ll knock you out! Black man does not mean I’ll whoop a White’s tail. MMA is real and fully of White’s with degrees. LOL.

I will say this 100% of this blog has happened and is are real life scenarios. FYI I can care less what race a person is as long as they have love in their heart, then they are all good with me. That does not mean I won’t get racial on them though.

I’ve Been Wondering

Lol. People have wondered where I’ve been the last year or so. At home taking care of my two kids. Working on my marriage. Being the best man that I can be despite all of my shortcomings and bad life choices. Wondering why almost 20% of the country is unemployed and no ones really hiring. Yet we still find time to call the unemployed slackers or what ever else. In disbelief that employers really on emails and Facebook to determine who to hire but get upset when employees use the same method to quite.

Do people really still believe that gangster rappers are real gangsters, let alone rappers. If you read what other people writes does that constitute you are an rapper. Or maybe a recitest Lol. Or better yet a singer that does not sing should be considered an ACTOR or autotunist.

After all these years do women really think dressing like an whore will get them a ring. Why do dudes marry whores in the first place, then get upset when they cheat. Why do men think that sleeping with whores won’t catch up with them sooner or later.

Trying to figure out why rappers hate bootleggers when they did it to get where they are at now. Can anyone explain to me why rappers still grab their crotches. How many years does it take for them to evolve into real people. Why do celebrities do something get caught by the media then say it didn’t happen. Just to come clean a few months later when the crap hits the fan. Lol.

By the way if I call you stupid or any other bad names on my blog it’s not because I don’t like you. It’s because I believe it. Just the Truth. While I’ve been sitting here wondering what the HELL is wrong with you people I’m not afraid to admit I have problems of my own. Can’t say the same for you though, get with the program.

CORPORATE AMERICAN HATE OF URBAN MARKETS

After working the corporate structure for so many years 20 to be exact, I know one thing for certain.  To think of the urban areas as an uneducated group is to underestimate the level of disrespect that they truly have for their urban supporters.  “Supporters” is a very appropriate word to use seeing that even through recessionary times the “hood” has been a big consumer.

I used to complain about the Asian business owner that took over our favorite eatery or that sells product at the Swap Malls.  After being in retail since ’93 off and on one thing that I am certain of is that the Asians are more respectful than they ever have shown themselves to be.

Who else would come on national TV and say that they did not make their products to be consumed so heavily by urban “Blacks” (Timberland, Cristal, and Tommy Hilfiger).  The saddest fact is that we still wear and consume these products at high rates and have for 20 years or more.  Do we really want respect in the hood or do we just want to wear what they wear (rich whites).

Let’s get this straight I’ve been a buyer’s assistant for high end fashion companies where I was the person dealing with the designers, sales reps, warehouses and retail stores.  The buy just reviewed the product, chose, then handed the spread sheet to me to do the rest.  Then I moved on to helping others open there own retail stores in different area.  I’ve been in meetings where things have been distastefully discussed about the thought of product reaching areas considered “ghetto.”  The thought of working with Blacks initially drew some concerns but after finding out that we were all corporate trained many of the vendors would be at ease.  They found that we actually had a better overall knowledge of the business and no desire to serve the “hood” since we were opening stores in the Inland Empire or West Side of L.A.

Many of them began asking us business related questions on their product asking for feedback.  This was in 2004 and we still get calls from vendors to open another store since we closed the first one due to personal disagreements (watch who you go into business with).

Now let’s address the issue of dealing with business relations in the inner city, let me just say that it has been some of the worst business experiences in my life.  Not to say that many of them I did not see coming but the idea that the owner would take pay roll to Vegas and trick it off was beyond me.  Then you watch the “white people’s ice is colder than blacks” syndrome, I would tell them one thing and they would ask the same question to someone white and go with them.  After time they would call me back to fix a problem that I had warned them about in the beginning and to their surprise the person that they went to had no idea what they were talking about.  Did I help at first but after a few years I learned to say “I’m so sorry but what’s done is done.”

Another problem with the “Urban Retailer” is that many of them open businesses after failing to transition into good employees.  Some feel that their ability to shop will help them forecast trends 6 months in advance.  Just because you think this shirt should be over there with these pants do not mean that your visual presentation is correct.  The floor has to flow like one unit transitioning from section to section.  Then setting up manikins is a whole other dilemma that they have no prior experience dealing with and do not understand the need to layer for visual effects not practicality.  Visual effects often time is the difference between companies getting a vendor or not 90% of the time.

The last issue I want to delve into with this blog (another will follow about some other major issues) addresses, credit checks are a routine determinant in who gets consignment and who does not.  How is this different than getting anything else in life, but what many don’t realize is the rep has the ability to then give you options.  These options will include lines that need products moved or overflow (lates) that the need to sell to meet numbers.  Just because you want Baby Phat does not mean you get Baby Phat today, shortsightedness can kill your business before it starts.  Get a alternative product that visually is appealing with the quality (usually it has a higher grade) that the brand you want has.

The key to starting any business is starting.  Many business owners try too hard to make profit before they actually open their doors.  Basically destroying their business before they even start it, think of it this way, your dept margins will be far higher than the time period you have before your capital reserves are gone.  Don’t forget this is cash in carry even if you use credit now you must consider high interest rates and overhead.

TOURING IS BREAD AND BUTTER

Many artists want to be successful in the entertainment industry.  Making money is the largest part of the equation that most will tell you.  Some where down towards the end is the actual inspiration that made most of us fall in love with this form of art.  To perfect something you must do it over and over again, then listen to the critiques and fans and tweek things accordingly.

This is a part of the Entertainment Industry and grabbing and tugging on your nuts, while screaming into a unresponsive microphone, to sub par quality beats, does not equate to a good experience for both parties.  If your focus is to make money and increase your following, there has to be something there that makes fans feel like your shows are a must see.  Think about it when did you not tune in to a free Michael Jackson concert or video.

People talk about sponsorships every day when I converse with them.  Sponsor only support highly active acts that spend more time performing live than bull jiving in the studio. They want to see if you can reach the people on a one-on-one level.  Is it a big sacrifice, no most artists spend a large amount of time hanging out and drinking anyway, at least get paid to do it.

Now venues understand that you need them more than they need you.  When that happens you have to think of more creative ways to make money.  Why not invite more people to a show and sell physical tickets, it will put more money in your pocket.  Beyond that it will give you tangible evidence that you can produce a following to other venues and prospective sponsors.  You can also bring other items to sell and get more exposure by handing out apparel, CDs, hats or what ever else.  Again this is tangible evidence that you are a marketable commodity and can sell product.

For the seasoned and experienced artists gigs are the place that they make the bread and butter to sustain their lives and careers.  If as a young up and coming act, you can not see this, you will continue to MAJOR IN THE MINORS and will be a bitter has been in no time.

GANGSTA RAPPERS…PAUSE

I know they have been saying it for a while but here it goes again.  After going through some music on the internet sites I noticed a rapper that I’ve known since he was young.  Then realized that he was a gangster rapper… pause.

At this point my heart was kind of hurt since this was a good nice dude one of those that was charming and charismatic.  The type of cat that definitely got it in terms of how to get anything he wanted in life with his wit.  It made me ask myself what happened that made him turn…pause

Remember in the late ‘90’s seeing him and inquiring about one of his church buddies that I saw out in and about affiliating with some lil knuckle headed gangstas.  He began to explain to me how that is why he kind of had to stop messing with the guy.  Okay so he knew that he was heading in the wrong direction and wanted to avoid it himself…pause.

Then I saw the same guy at my church at a youth function we had, he was hanging out with some younger friends that lived near him.  This placed him in an area that I was more than familiar with since I spent my High School years hanging out in the same areas.  They were known for having lightweight gang activity but nothing gully…pause.

Fast-forward to now and he banging hard on some track about bang bang boogie stuff.  At this point I was floored on one hand I was excited to see another little hommie doing his music thing.  On the other hand I was appalled at the content of the hard core lyrics and swag, he talking about killing niggas? (huh)…pause.

20 plus years I’ve been frequenting this neighborhood and I can count the number of dudes that I would certify as a killer on two hands and he isn’t one of them.  But what I do know is that most of the young guys that do not go to college or move away wind up getting caught up with the hood.  With that said they are known more for boxing than shooting even then they are not a hard core gang area with homicidal tendencies…pause

Don’t get me wrong do I know everything that he has been through or done in his life, NO.  The point that I am making is these dudes need to stop putting all these extras into their entertainment profiles.  I still got plenty of love for dude and will do my research on his stripes since I know all his big hommies (LOL and they know me) who will give me the real.  I’m not saying he isn’t from the hood I’m just saying but talking bagging bodies on interviews…pause

LOL AT GANGSTA RAPPERS

The title says it all.  Not saying that I laugh at gangsta life.  Quite contrary I actually respect it since it is all that I knew growing up.  Going to Compton Unified Schools life in the ‘80s was intense and violence was all around us.  Like all the other young boys I did have an infatuation for gang banging.  After reaching high school and meeting so many dudes that would have been my enemies I couldn’t see myself discriminating on someone if they were a Crip.

With that said, riding the bus to school for an hour introduced me to many of the so called gangstas from L.A. to Wilmington.  If they lived in between and rode the bus we had some contact since there was really only one bus that connected the two cities.

After getting older, moving away and coming back home from college a lot of the guys that were undercover were now O Dogs.  I see them at shows, venues, conferences and clubs where they act as if they got weight on the block.  Then they see me or one of my boys and you can see their demeanor change.

Like I said before I didn’t bang but I knew killers and real gangstas and they were not them.  Most of them were actually guys that got jumped or punked daily on the bus or were just trying to get out of the hood.

I can respect another man’s hustle and the fact that I reflect a part of their life that they don’t want to remember.  But don’t try to talk to me when I’m with the hommies then when we solo you act brand new.  Don’t speak at all and we cool I still got you if you get smashed on LOL.  Regardless I’m going to laugh at who you are trying to be, knowing that real actors stop acting when the cameras are off.

Now this is not limited to the rappers but also their entourage and security.  When I was young my mentality was setting dudes straight and there are millions of new young cats that are under the same impression, I hope they don’t get at you LOL.

OPERETIC HIP HOP

One thing for sure about the music that’s coming out now is the quality is definitely equal.   Whether you are major or indie supported in concerns to labels there is very little difference.  What is very reassuring is how so many young producers have shown a appreciation for full tracks that have the top and bottom.

The good thing about having a top and bottom to every track is it actually gives the listening a better experience.  Many don’t understand that the oratory nerve can only process a set amount of notes at the same time.  This is why sometimes you can hear a track over and over again and hear different things each time.  But giving the listeners a full range you increase the enjoyment.

At the same time the production is standing alone, as the actual rap or lyrics are not complimenting the complexity of the track.  It forces the lyricist to be more in tune with the timing and cadence of the track.  Even the slightest miscue is amplified.

I’m not saying that new MCs are not dope, this has nothing to do with the lyrics it has to with their understanding of the need to stay in the pocket of the music when the producer takes a track to the next level.  When you hear an opera the greatest part is how the singer narrates the music with their vocal chords and not lyrics.

Bottom line is Hip Hop music is getting better on the side of the quality in tracks but digressing in the MCing category.  It is something that can be easily fixed so I am confident Hip Hop has received its second wind.

HIP HOP WHERE ARE YOU

When Common did “I Used To Love Her” all the Hip Hop heads were feeling it.  What they did not suspect was that her lovers would continue to mount and change her identity.  The same song that defined our elation speaks today as a prophetic undertone of the unfathomable, “WE USED TO LOVE HER.”

 

Truthfully I still keep my ears open hoping for the next song to take me back to that first moment of awakening.  For me it was “Boyz N Da Hood,” by NWA it was not the first song that I had heard or dubbed.  But it was the first time I found myself rewinding over and over again to get all the lyrics down.  To me that song personified the life that I had grew to accept living on the southeastern tip of L.A., two blocks west of Compton.  The hook was simply addicting.  Beat was hypnotizing.  Eazy E’s voice was brilliantly nonchalant.  Just like the streets that I grew up on.  Like saying we go through this type of stuff everyday, it’s easy for us simply because we love it.

 

Humbly I will now admit that the song was the downfall of many of my childhood friends.  They really did live that song till the day they died or where locked up.  But it was nevertheless real to use growing up.  With all of that said, that was then this is now.

 

Now we contend with tuning our radios into stations that are filled with agendas.  They are more concerned with money than music.  Driven by numbers that do not reach the people that they intend to represent.  Dictating what I want to hear with out any option other than to turn the radio off entirely.  But is the radio really the problem or the solution.

 

When we go out to buy music at the store or internet we tend to find ourselves feeling the same way.  We are not satisfied with what options we have been given.  The suits that run the conglomerates are the same here as they were on the radio.  It is the better of the two evils but there is still no remedy.  But is the industry really the problem or the solution.

 

This is where we get down to the nitty gritty, which is the source? Where is the wrong doer?  Is the Hip Hop truly dead?

 

My analyses, no Hip Hop is not dead, what we failed to realize is what made us love her is what makes us hate her later.  She is the same women that taught us how to curse.  Who taught us what was cool and not cool.  That separated us from the generation before us.  Expressed the feelings that we shared inside.  What we did not realize was we would lose our grip on her once we introduced her to the addicting lights of the big stage we call Pop.

 

Now that she is mainstream we find her to be too divaish.  She traded in her bamboos for Jacobs.  No longer do we tell stories of a hard life, now it’s bling and things.  Ebonics was not accepted, now it’s all you hear even from Corporate America.  It was the environment that we exposed her to that changed around her.  So in a nut shell it was us that changed.

 

So let me reframe the question “URBAN AMERICA WHERE ARE YOU,” THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES