Black fatigue appears to be the order of the day
Black intellectual persuasion seems to have gone away
And at the height of a time when we are running a nation
It would seem that intellectualism would be the place to come and see
Examples of themselves and how far they have gone each day
But black intellectuals seem to pass something that has gone astray
The value that African American put on education today
Is the value of what we sued to think of ourselves
Not much it seems to be
For the last few decades
Very few colleges have been started by the African American community
Not anymore it was too much of a chore
And now we hang out at the refrigerator
Next to the cool, cool door.
So here we go as a community waiting for a peek inside each day.
And wonder why we no longer want to be intellectual in an educated way
The people that we prize and celebrate are entertainers, although accomplished in their own particular way
It seems as though we have lost our way
There is no reason that we can’t be like Drake
But is he the epitome of power for us
Should our twenty-somethings revere him the way they do
And more than the guy that founded Facebook
Is this person the example of power
Research how many people follow Facebook in a meaningful way.
The institution that the hip-hop generation has seen produced by other intellectuals
We see Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo, all are men who tried to see the intellectual value
Of what they did each day.
And how they would change society in a meaningful way.
In it the songs that Puffy made on
The Biggie Smalls songs
Is it the reality of HIV rising each day
And what can we say about Nicki Minaj
And what she might have to say
What can we say about those who do not understand
That Nicki Minaj, Drake and others don’t control the power in this land
Why is it they are so outrageous that 50 percent each day
Doesn’t anyone understand it is the failure of those who will lead us tomorrow
But they spend no time getting ready for that task today.
Is there a reason that we can’t find, Nicki Minaj and Puffy and others
Inside stadiums too
Telling us where to intellectually study and what we should do.
Could it be that we don’t really want this generation to succeed
Do we just want them to consume products and live superficial lives in a superficial land?
Or maybe it’s the tennis shoes and the designers that we wear
That give us the feeling that we have arrived somewhere
But once we finish paying for them our pockets are in despair
Maybe intellectually we are not as smart as we used to be.
Maybe it’s the Puff daddy, the Nick Minaj, Drake and Trey Songz
Getting a Pulitzer Prize instead of a Grammy
Most people don’t understand what the Noble Prize of economics will be
Or why an African American person gets the prize instead of Drake
So now we understand exactly what it is
Who may be the other assassins of intellectualism today
Maybe it’s Drake, and maybe it’s you
The people who have turned away.
The value of intelligence and what it means to be
An American genius like the man who invented the USB.
People who have patents on YouTube TV.
There are those who control the world
And all we do is consume and talk about girls, money and clothes
And the New York Stock Exchange
Does it have a meaningful place for us today
You ask me and I ask you
As an intellectual that we all choose to be
Or are we all clowns and entertainers
And just sports figures for history books you see
Or do we just not want to recognize how great we really could be
Intellectual fatigue in the African American community
Why is it there, who will try the repair?
Or do we even choose to dare?
Not sure of what the answer will be
Give me some feedback,
I’d like to hear where you are
And who you choose to be?
Peace.
Munson Steed
