Does This Answer Your Question, Mr. Steiner?
(BALTIMORE - December 28, 2009) - At last, the truth must be told.
I was recently invited by Mark Steiner and Anthony McCarthy to appear on their radio show. The other guest was local media icon Richard Sher. Formerly of WJZ TV 13, Sher is now the host of a resurrected “Square Off” on ABC in Baltimore, thanks to Billy and Hassan Murphy. I should mention that one of my mentees, Ms. Catalina Byrd, has been holding her own on the show (Great job, Sister!). A remake which tantalized television audiences for years, the show featured intense political discussions featuring some of the most intriguing people of the day, including Georgia Goslee, Billy Murphy, and Madeline Murphy.
Anyway, I found Steiner seemingly trying to get a rise out of me this particular night. While I have been on his show before, this line of questioning left me bedazzled.
Before I go on, let me say that I have served WEAA to the best of my ability in the past as the two-time host of ‘One Mic’ – a show where I delved into a lot of politics and black business advocacy.
Let me also add that while I enjoyed hosting and participating in a number of shows on the station, including one that was award-winning with some pretty provocative guests, management told a number of us about 2 years ago that we were no longer needed in that capacity.
Among the hosts who got bumped with me was legendary historian Gosee Hudson. So, when my pink slip came (Well, actually it was a volunteer position; It’s not like a paycheck was coming.) – I was ultimately okay with the decision.
I am not bitter, nor disgruntled; I assure you. As I noted on my final show, that is, however, exactly why I have www.BMORENEWS.com: So, when the man tells you your services are no longer needed, you can say, “Fine. That’s why I have my own.”
Nonetheless, the show was a bitter-sweet reminder of the need for unapologetically black programming, particularly in a majority black city, particularly on the campus of a Historically Black University.
Mind you, people like Kweisi Mfume helped found the station over a quarter-century ago to give voice to an otherwise-forsaken population: Namingly, black folks!
The Point
Morgan State University’s WEAA 88.9 FM’s Marc Steiner recently asked me, in a LIVE! on-air and on-line radio show, if I was the voice for all black people. In a rather heated discussion (Apparently, he wasn’t feeling me), he also asked me to characterize black manhood - strong black manhood, that is.
Not having a tape of the show, I can only go on memory. I can only try to accurately reflect, because I really and truly do want to be fair. Steiner has done some good on the radio and in the community. Maybe, I think, he was having a bad day.
One of my favorite stories is his interview of the black men on Rose Street in East Baltimore – men insistent on taking back their community from drug dealers – men who are adamant about preserving the future of our youth. Hence, he has done more than most white radio show hosts in, at least, adding some understanding to the whole white-black dilemma in America.
However, as he spewed what I felt at the time was nothing more than venomous queries on the verge of disaster, including not acknowledging a call-in by WEAA’s own David Brown, I could also feel an innate disrespect or, at least, lack of understanding and a sense of the historical struggle of black people in America.
I hope I don’t lose my white friends. Yet, there are some things that need to be made known to both races. For instance, I am of the belief that white men – strong white men – do not respect step-n-fetch-it Negroes. I am of the school of thought that insists that real recognizes real, and that Darren Muhammad, despite some of his antics, is a bona fide voice of black America. For this strength, I will not apologize.
As a black man born and raised in Baltimore in a home with a black mother and a black father – unapologetically proud of their blackness, I might add – Steiner’s very presence at WEAA simply baffles me. The question comes to mind: Why not support your own?
The management at WEAA told me that Steiner’s presence was because they wanted to expand the listener-ship to better include non-blacks. And when I attempted to explain to the current WEAA management that the station was built by blacks for blacks, I was then informed that all black people don’t feel that way. The issue of race in America was not as important as it once was, I was told. As a matter of fact, I left the meeting – after being offered some vignettes as opposed to continuing to host ‘One Mic’ – feeling like I was from another planet.
Here I am … on a campus of a Historically Black University … at a radio station that has hosted the likes of Jesse McDade-Bey and Charlie Dugger … founded by people like Kweisi Mfume … in a majority black city … which has no black businesses on the Inner Harbor, the top tourist attraction … articulating the realities of the historical black experience in America and yet getting no love at all. In short, I was flabbergasted, speechless, and baffled at the audacity of Steiner to even raise such questions.
How dare you, Mr. Steiner?
Have you no love for the efforts and boldness of a Dr. Tyrone Powers? Have you no remembrance of the people who have sat here before you? Have you no understanding of the seat in which you sit?
I have been asked since that experience how come a white guy is asking me on WEAA to defend my commitment to blackness. After all, since the age of 15, WEAA has always been home to me (And it will be again). Every time I step into the Mary Carter Smith studio, I am reminded of the greatness and excellence that came before me. I am instantly tazered into a mindset of the tradition set down by real revolutionaries who truly understood that black people in America deserve a whole place at the table and that anything less is simply unacceptable.
Yes, Mr. Steiner, I am a voice for black Baltimore (at least, more than you) … and quite the same, a voice for black America and the black Diaspora … beginning in Africa. Ethiopia, I might add, home of the oldest black airline in the world and the only African nation not colonized by a European nation and defended to the absolute end, in part, by Ethiopian women – is a strong point of reference, FYI.
So, to get to your queries, Mr. Steiner – here it is. Considering my personal familiarity with the black experience in America, I can’t say that I am the voice of black America. However, I can honestly say that I am much more qualified than you. And, as for the ‘what is a strong black man’ question, I first look to the man that raised me. He was a strong black man. Despite his shortcomings, he did a lot more good than bad. Actually, if it weren’t for him, I may not know how to properly respond to your otherwise limited advances.
Black manhood, according to Doni Glover, is characterized by a faith in a God almighty – the same God that made you and Countee Cullen. Black manhood – strong black manhood – is not characterized so much as to how many women we can catch, but how well we can lead a family in the Godliest of ways. Black manhood is also aware of our connection to Africa and the Diaspora, has a historical sense of the 250 million or so black people who were a part of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the countless dog bights during the 60’s – as well as the whole Iran-Contra-Highway Rick conspiracy to destroy our community with crack cocaine. Black manhood, Mr. Steiner, is also informed and educated that white people can rarely tell our story, for there is too often this dedication or propensity to leave out too much critical mass.
Until white people decide to do the research as an English Professor Bob Cataliotti at Coppin State University, then white people will continue – as a whole – to only expect mediocrity and a sense of subservience by black folks. The truth of the matter is that blacks in America – for the most part – are descendants of greatness – plain and simple. And for white folks to expect anything else is simply unfathomable … to the mind, spirit and countenance of a strong black man.
For you, Mr. Steiner, to truly understand me, you would have to walk a day in my shoes. And that means reading and living the Autobiography of Malcolm X, Souls of Black Folks by W.E.B. DuBois, The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams, and The Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Friere.
To understand me, you would have to listen to the Legendary Last Poets no less than 300 times, eat dinner in Aqaba while staring at Egypt across the water, and know something about the significance of Toussaint L’Overture.
Mr. Steiner, you would have to be able to articulate to me why Marcus Garvey and Isaac Myers were so important, and why black people find it facetious when white folks explain with pinpoint accuracy why the pyramids consisted of technology brought to them by aliens.
Unfortunately, it’s as if you have no idea of how black folks feel about Napoleon and his erasing the nose of the Sphinx.
You can't harmonize with the dark people of the world who out number you eleven to one, if you're going to stand in the mind of white supremacy. White supremacy has to die in order for humanity to live. White folk try to rewrite history and write us out. White supremacy caused Napoleon to blow the nose off of the Sphinx because it reminded you too much of the Black man's majesty.
Louis Farrakhan addressing the Million Man March
Mr. Steiner, do you have any idea of what the Million Man March truly meant to us? Do you truly understand that after all of the lynchings of black women in front of our faces that we have forgotten how white men raped black women in front of black men? Do you have any idea of the modern day lynchings that go on and destroy black families today?
Do you have any idea of what it is like on L Section at the City Jail? Can you possibly understand how it feels to know that people lie in your face on a daily about that job, that contract, that loan – when it would actually make all of the difference in one’s personal life? Do you really and truly understand what God might have been really trying to teach you as WYPR asked you to leave … even though you represented them so well?
Again, Mr. Steiner, us black folks know the scenario all too well. We know how it is to train our replacement. We understand divide and conquer. We understand light skin, dark skin, the perceptions, the distinctions, the enunciations, the favors. We understand that at the end of the day, us black men – well, all we have is our testicular fortitude and determination to make a positive difference in this world.
In closing, Mr. Steiner, I could fall back to when Fred Douglass beat up Mr. Covey, or I could invoke the name of Nat Turner, or I could tell you about the countless escapades of Harriet Tubman.
Instead, I will tell you that you went barking up the wrong tree. If you don’t know, then let me share: Black folks have a lot more going on than you might imagine. We are strong, resilient, but nonetheless mindful of our place in the destiny of mankind.
Sure, we love Martin. We love Malcolm. We know that we cannot shoot our way out of this. At the same time, we love Floyd Mayweather. We love Jay Z. We love Barack. They, in fact, are part of the continuum carried forth by the likes of Jack Johnson, Miles Davis, and Jesse Jackson whose efforts continually remind us of who we really are.
We are more than rappers and dancers. We are more than the 44% of America’s prison population. We are more than the ones befallen to the Rockefeller Laws and the 3-Strikes & You’re Out mindset that has permeated the thinking of too many otherwise brilliant white people for far too long.
We are America. From the rooter to the tooter, we, black folks, understand that without us there would be no you and unless you recognize and respect that fact, we will not ever respect your efforts to paint the world with your parochial brush. You, my friend, don’t have that right to speak on behalf of black America … and never did.
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What do you think?
17 comment(s) on this page. Add your own comment below.
Thanks Doni for speaking truth to power and the powerless. We can not allow others to continue to trick and train us. This part of Dr. Earl Richardson's legacy will prove true the words and works of Dr. Ralph Ellison in Invisible Man. Recall that the duty of the College President in that movie was to give white people what they thought Black people "needed." Dr. Richardson and those that run WEAA have done Black people a grave injustice. They are what they have been made to be and unfortunately they are a weapon formed against. We must continue the fight. God Bless!!!
Tyrone Powers, Ph.D., Chairperson:Children 1st Movement Chairperson: People's Plan to Dramatically Reduce Crime in Baltimore City Author: Eyes to My Soul: The Rise or Decline of a Black FBI Agent.
Mr. Glover,
Historically, Mr. Steiner needs to understand a few things. Primarily, as a white man (which I am also) I've seen him promote a veiled attempt to empathize with something for the sake of media grandstanding and in reality he's clueless in terms of following through in a realistic way. In short? If you're gonna talk about it, be about it.
I was present at the "Growing Up Baltimore" Town Meeting held on 02DEC2009 at the Enoch Pratt Library on Cathedral Street. I understand Mr. Steiner was involved to some degree in that event. Shortly thereafter, I reviewed his website wherein he states he allegedly gives a voice to those who don't have one. Summarily, I shot off a quick letter to the station concerning our church's ongoing outreach for the homeless veterans. No response whatsoever. Nothing. He can't even back up his own words.
Mr. Glover, I will not pretend to know what it is like to walk in your shoes nor you in mine.
As a former homeless veteran myself, few can walk in my shoes. That being said, there is a voice out there somewhere. Someone who understands and can empathize with the fact that as a small church on E. Lombard St., we are doing all we can for the homeless. Yet, as a 501(c)3 Non-Profit we've had to back up our own action since 1998 as we get no help from the city, state nor federal government. Who wants to walk in our shoes? Nobody. They're too busy attending self-serving meetings and gratuitously waving the flag to actually help anyone who is actually doing what they talk about.
Deliverance. With over 1,800 registered churches in this city, less than 5% network for any common vision and yet they sit back on their anointed and highly favored backsides and talk about how "Christ-Like" they are. Hmm. . . looks like maybe Paul needs to revisit Corinth.
Your Humble Servant
James A. Peterson - Founder Unchained Grace Ministries, LLC email: jpeterson@holytruthveteranshousingprogram.com Website: http://www.holytruthveteranshousingprogram.com/UnchainedGrace
What can I say...powerful...eloquent...masterful...heartfelt...courageous! Doni, you are among the most dedicated and talented men of integrity we have anywhere, and I am honored to know you and call you my friend.
It takes real courage to stand up and share your beliefs, regardless of the consequences. You do this, day after day...week after week ... year after year....you live it, breath it, are it! And, the thing is that it is always from love. Love of your people, love of humanity, love of life, love of freedom and truth, love of the ancestors, love of our children and future generations to come.
You are a true warrior and leader. Thank you for keeping my faith and hope alive. Thank you for being you and for your love and friendship! Love You! ~e
Doni - I know I told you this earlier but this is a monumental piece that I am sure will get wider coverage. Very very well done. I love it! Avon
Happy Holidays Doni. I feel your angst. I remember when WEAA let me go some years back- despite the fact that they acknowledged that my show, The NAACP Report, was their highest rated program at the time - featuring top shelf guests like Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, former President Carter, Bob Beamon, etc. Not even a thank you. I rarely listen anymore. I'll tune into CSPAN instead. My impression (at least in my situation) was that the station's decision was based on enhancing revenue over loyalty to quality programming. Whatever.
Best Wishes in the New Year -
Neil -
Unfortunately, I did not hear the show. However, I did enjoy reading your response.
I am so proud of you my Brother. I cannot place a value on what you have written because it is invaluable. Well said.
I heard show. And for a moment I Thought Richard Sher was going to invite you to be on "Square Off". You represented well. You enlightened a supposed educated journalist about why 11 year old girls should not be educated in the same building as 17 year old boys. Keep doing what you're doing. You might as well. They will keep doing what they are doing.
Doni, Very well written. I am so proud of you, and clearly appreciate your expertise in knowing your history, while yet, not afraid to express such. It has always bothered me to see whites' top leadership in a predominately black situation. I am so glad that you have risen above the "grinning" syndrome when one says derogatory things, coupled with negativisms. I felt compelled to call the show last week, when you and Anthony were on Mark's show discussing the black male. Like I said on the air, I want to hear resolutions, instead of the continuation of airing all the negative concepts of black males. Sorry, I was in my car when I called, and my car phone was interrupted, and I did not hear the feedback. Moreover, keep up the great and outstanding work. It's no harm to speak out, and let the people know! God Bless You!
Donnie, I don't know what transpired between you and Marc but I like this piece. Don't mistake my current low key under the radar approach for acceptance of the status quo. I will continue to shake things up and speak truth to power and you do the same. Leverage the power of the pen! Do what you do. I'm proud of you!
Doni Darling...... Well Said!
Doni: Wow. I've tried in vain to listen to a podcast of your show with Marc and Anthony, which doesn't appear to be up yet. This is a powerful response. I hope that you will accept my candid and loving response. I wished you'd waited until the tape was available before responding in public. It would help me figure out what's going on certainly. Your response here seems so out of context, that readers I fear will put their own (erroneous) spin on what they think happened. There's so much here that gets caught up. Marc is not to blame for the decisions made by WEAA management, so it seems unfair to lump them all together. Instead, the decision by the station to change on air personalities is part of a larger, more disturbing trend among black media owners. One that should be addressed, but not laid at the doorstep of Marc or any other white host.
As for the questions asked of Marc, I think it's perfectly right for you to take issue with the question, "do you speak for all black people?" Obviously you don't. Marc's question strikes me as not unlike Obama's response upon learning that actor Danny Glover had spoken out against the President's Afghanistan war efforts and domestic policies. The President said, "well if you line up the black actors that support me on one side, and the few that are grumbling against me on the other, I'm willing to do that." It was a stupid and crass response for the President to make. It was essentially saying, "Danny Glover doesn't speak for all black people." This is a standard effort to put black people who speak uncomfortable truths in their place. I don't like when Obama does it or Marc does it. It's a cheap stunt. But I don't think it warrants pointing out the obvious -- that Marc is not black and never will be. I can't imagine that Marc would presume to suggest that he can walk in a black man's shoes. I would have preferred that you challenged the premise of the question. You don't have to speak for "all" black people, to offer a legitimate and trenchant critique of black political or social realities. But without the context, it's hard for the reader of your post to really even understand that Marc's reaction was troubling not just because he said it, but because it is part of a larger response directed at blacks (sometimes deployed by blacks -- see my Obama comments) to try and stifle legitimate criticism.
Doni, it's clear that you are still steaming. I understand that feeling that you've got to get something off your chest. I've been there. And you know what occurred on the show. I don't. But in love, I have to tell you that I don't think your commentary here advances the discussion in the way that I think it could. The points especially about WEAA and it's obligation to serve our community are really important and deserving of independent discussion and analysis. In any case, I'm still an admirer of yours and hope at least that there will be opportunities to deepen and open this discussion to extend beyond what I think comes off as overly personal. Perhaps I can join that dialogue if it goes further. Feel free to call me or respond by e-mail.
Mr. Glover That Ashkenazi seems to have vexed you to the point that you have publicly extended to Brother Darren Muhammad, a strong black man, honor where honor is due.
Blackness is linked to drug crime as Zionism is linked to Palestinian Genocide, and maybe when we all grow up politically we will be able to despense with civility and make uncomfortable poltical policy comparisons to those who do not see the relevancy between the two.
Blackness is linked to drug crime as Zionism which is German Jewish National Socialism is linked to the German Christian National Socialism and the relevancy that taxpayers dollars from drug crime infested black Baltimore are used by the US to help fund the Palestinian Genocide rather than to spend that money here developing economic justice in Baltimore.
These issues are not considered civil but they are relevant seeing that the Heroine trade is the principal export of Afghanistan and Baltimore is the Heroine capitol of the US, and the CIA and MOSSAD have funded counter Islamic insurgencies using drug money and mercenaries(contractors).
Make it relevant, you don't have to reach back to Malcolm or Martin, just reply with comparative politics and watch the Ashkenazi face turn red as he searches for that word...not the n word either.
Selling body parts and war crimes are relevant when Baltimore tax dollars are used to subsidize the Jewish State's brand of Jewish National Socialism of free health care from cradle to grave, free health care, free schools and homes built on land stolen from Palestinians, while denying the same to the people of the US...not the land stealing part leave that to white settlers from Brooklyn that convert to Judaism.
Make it relevant that it is common knowledge that the judicial system is broken and historically racist and never let him forget it when they throw 44% of the prison population statistics at you.
Make it relevant that black crime stats did not start to increase in the US until after the 1968 Omnibus Crime Bill and Safe Streets Act, National Handgun Registry Act, and Nixon's War on Drugs.
Make it relevant that crime is anything that the stupid and mostly racist filled Maryland General Assembly agrees that it is with a pretense of full public awareness and or disclosure.
Let there be a unity forum between Brothers like yourself, Dr. Powers, Brother Muhammad, et al, since the media powers in Baltimore have treated you all greasy and each of you can speak as strong black men for the segments of Baltimore's black majority that you represent."
Let them know that CoIntelPro can't work today in Baltimore, and never ever let that Ashkenazi place you in the position of defending your commitment to blackness ever again".
Aluta Continua
Mr. Glover, greetings.
I would suggest that a historical parallel may exist between the paternalism of Steiner generally (and possible in this case though, in fairness, we don't a transcript or tape yet) and the largely white leadership of the NAACP in its early years. I do not regularly listen to Steiner and don't doubt his "good intentions" but this "white guy" undersigned has grown weary of giving "stupid" a break when "stupid" pleads "good intentions."
I look forward to the day when white liberals like me get more honest about cultural differences between blacks and whites in this country, including self-congratulatory liberal whites. Among the differences:
black Americans know a whole lot more about white liberals than the other way around, from formal history to cultural artifacts such as what "jumping the broom" means. (Most black Americans have heard of Jerry Seinfeld and the Grateful Dead.)
black Americans are much more religious than white liberals; atheism/agnositcism runs about 18-20% among white Americans, significantly more among white liberals but about 1-2% of black Americans are atheists.
white liberals have largely never known a week where their white identity/caste was not a help to them - consciously or not - whereas essentially all adult black Americans have developed a racism management skill set for daily living and integrating the cognitive dissonance of "America the Good and Free" with "America the Incubator of White Supremacy."
white liberals are not too likely to perceive their own cultural values as white liberals explicitly and self-consciously, whereas there is no shortage of black identity and values self-examination, whether it gets a lot of press or not.
white liberals are unlikely to identify explicitly and proudly as "white" in most contexts whereas pride in black identity is generally not hard to elicit from black people.
I could go on, but I won't. I hope that my words are useful rather than a waste of 90 seconds of your life. Peace be with you. Bruce Godfrey, attorney at law.
Mr. Glover,
I am white and Marc had a valid point. You are a disgrace and these fanboys on your so called web site are as well.
Marc is a friend of you folks for years and then you throw him under the bus? I don't speak for him, but a lot of whites are glad you don't have a radio show and keep this crappy web site. Good rid dens to you and your so called crew.
Peace & Blessings! You are an intelligent Black man, believe it is impossible for Mr. Stiener to understand Black people and correspond with you professionally because He lacks the personal experiences and spiritual capacity to bear witness who we are!
Peace & Blessings! Doni your response was profound and empowering keep doing want your doing! Teach Black Man!
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