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BLACK AND ILLITERATE: WE CAN'T READ, BUT WE SURE CAN WATCH TV (1051 hits)

By Torrance Stephens
March 16, 2012

Hypothetically, let us assume there is a young man who has just finished school, and he is attempting to decide where he will move on to for his personal professional development. In this process, he meets with several interesting entities, of which many offer him incentives to select their organization, for they see great talent and how he could add to their bottom line in being profitable. In some cases he is wined and dined and set up in expensive hotels with access to host who are female. In others he is given envelopes with money and in one case a backpack or briefcase filled with stacks of money. My question is what is this persons occupation and is it illegal?

A while back I wrote a piece describing the manner in which many African Americans do not take full advantage of social media. In addition I am frequently speaking out to bring attention to the fact that reading is slowly falling off among members in our community. Each time, I obtained vehement ridicule and slander for my assertions, especially when I assert that African Americans watch more television than they read; or that they use cell phones more than any other ethnic/racial population in the United States.
Now a new report has just been released confirming that Blacks watch and spend entirely too much time watching television. Nielsen’s latest State of the Media fact documents that in the second quarter of 2010, the amount of television viewing in the U.S. remains high suggesting that the average person watched more than 143 hours of television per month. African Americans indicated the highest rate of total TV usage, according to study released this past Wednesday.

Based on data collected In November 2010, African Americans used their TVs an average of 7 hours, 12 minutes each day — above the U.S. average of 5 hours, 11 minutes. In addition, African Americans reported using their DVD players and video game consoles more than average. In contrast, Asians watched TV the least, at just 3 hours and 14 minutes a day on average.

This in concert with African Americans being be among the most active users of the mobile web and . On average more than 1,300 a month, may eventually become a problem behavior. Many health problems are the direct result of lack of regular physical activity which African Americans report more than other ethnic racial groups including, Heart Attack, Stroke, Diabetes and High Blood pressure. Do not been mention obesity, for which we know the largest racial/ethnic disparity in obesity is between US-born black women and other ethnic population in America.

Reading is definitely a major concern. A recent study in Wisconsin noted that 91% of Black students are not reading proficiently by 4th grade. These were comparable to findings across the nation. According to the Schott Foundation for Public Education, only 41 percent of African American male youth graduate from high school in the United States and acording to the National Association of Educational Progress, nationally 69 percent of African American children canot read at grade level in the 4th grade compared to 29 percent among whites.

Maybe this is why Africa Americans (including women), albeit just 12% of the U.S. population comprise only 3.2% of lawyers, 3% of doctors, and less than 1% of architects. A strange phenomena when Africans Americans make up 85 percent of the NBA, 68 percent of the NFL and 98 percent of all rappers. This may be an additional sign that we as a community watch too much television and need to read more, for I am certain when they do see African American males, if they are young boys, they are not scientist or people reading books.

Reading as well as regular physical activity is essential for the development of a health mind, body and spirit. Let us move away from the televisions, go outside and pick up a book before it is too late.

Torrance Stephens is a contributing writer for VIBE magazine.

Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Saturday, March 17th 2012 at 6:54PM
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BLACK PEOPLE, PLEASE, READ & HEED. POIGNANT!!!

The sad thing about this article is that the essence of it is true. The
truth hurts. I just hope this sets more Black people in motion towards
making real progress. Chris Rock, a Black comedian,
even joked that
Blacks don't read.

Help prove them wrong! Read and pass on.

Please Note:

For those of you who heard it, this is the article Dee Lee was reading
this morning on a New York radio station. For those of you who didn't
hear it, this is very deep. This is a heavy piece and a Caucasian wrote it.
Dee Lee, CFP
Harvard Financial Educators

Dee Lee

THEY ARE STILL OUR SLAVES We can continue to reap profits from the
Blacks without the effort of physical slavery. Look at the current
methods of containment that they use on
themselves: IGNORANCE, GREED,
and SELFISHNESS.

Their IGNORANCE is the primary weapon of containment. A great man once
said, "The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in
a book." We now live in the Information Age. They have gained the
opportunity to read any book on any subject through the efforts of their
fight for freedom, yet they refuse to read. There are numerous books
readily available at Borders, Barnes &Noble, and Amazon.com, not to
mention their own Black Bookstores that provide solid blueprints to
reach economic equal ity (which should have been their fight all along),
but few read consistently, if at all.

GREED is another powerful weapon of containment. Blacks, since the
abolition of slavery, have had large amounts of money at their disposal.
Last year they spent 10 billion dollars during Christmas, out of their
450 billion dollars in total yearly income (2.22%).

Any of us can use
them as our target market, for any business venture
we care to dream up, no matter how outlandish, they will buy into it.
Being primarily a consumer people, they function totally by greed. They
continually want more, with little thought for saving or investing.

They would rather buy some new sneaker than invest in starting a
business. Some even neglect their children to have the latest Tommy or FUBU, And
they still think that having a Mercedes, and a big house gives them
"Status" or that they have achieved their Dream.

They are fools! The vast majority of their people are still in poverty
because their greed holds them back from collectively making better
communities.

With the help of BET, and the rest of their black media that often
broadcasts destructive images into their own homes, we will continue to
see huge profits like those of Tommy and Nike. (Tommy Hilfiger has even jeered them, saying he doesn't want their money,
and look at how the fools spend more with him than ever before!). They'll continue to show off to each other while we build solid communities with the profits from our businesses that we market to them.

SELFISHNESS, ingrained in their minds through slavery, is one of the
major ways we can continue to contain them. One of their own, Dubois
said that there was an innate division in their culture. A "Talented
Tenth" he called it. He was correct in his deduction that there are
segments of their culture that has achieved some "form" of success.
However, that segment misse d the fullness of his work. They didn't read
that the "Talented Tenth" was then responsible to aid The Non-Talented
Ninety Percent in achieving a better life. Instead, that segment has
created another class, a Buppie class that looks down on their people
or aids them in a condescending manner. They will never achieve what we have. Their selfishness does not allow them to be
able to work together
on any project or endeavor of substance. When they do get together,
their selfishness lets their egos get in the way of their goal Their
so-called help organizations seem to only want to promote their name
without making any real change in their community.

They are content to sit in conferences and conventions in our hotels,
and talk about what they will do, while they award plaques to the best
speakers, not to the best doers. Is there no end to their selfishness?
They steadfastly refuse to see that TOGETHER EACH ACHIEVES MORE (TEAM)

They do not understand that they are no better than each other because of what they own, as a matter of fact, most of those Buppies are but one or two pay checks away from poverty. All of which is under the control of our pens in our offices and our rooms.

Yes, we will continue to contain them as long as they refuse to read,
continue to buy anything they want, and keep
thinking they are "helping"
their communities by paying dues to organizations which do little other
than hold lavish conventions in our hotels. By the way, don't worry
about any of them reading this letter, remember, 'THEY DON'T READ!!!!

(Prove them wrong. Please pass this on! After Reading it.)
Saturday, March 17th 2012 at 6:58PM
Siebra Muhammad

Much needed reminder Siebra! I reflect on this slogan;

"Reading is Fundamental"
Sunday, March 18th 2012 at 10:37AM
MIISRAEL Bride

"I" take the fifth. LOL (smile)
Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM
ROBINSON IRMA