Homelessness and the Money It Takes to Survive

Written by Alberta Parish

There is this pervasive attitude in the Black community in which those with a lot of money, good-paying jobs/careers, and are in a much better financial situation than others often turn up their nose at people who don't have similar or equal financial success. Yet, I see many financially successful people get knocked down a peg or two, literally going from having a good-paying job or career to becoming homeless, penniless and unable to recover economically for many years. Many were successful business people, medical professionals, professors, etc. who ended up losing their jobs/careers due to varying reasons. Now homeless, many of these people had to take lesser-paying jobs and, as a result, cannot afford housing in the state wherein they reside. A lot of people work full-time jobs at places such as Wal-Mart or they work security jobs but cannot put down a rent deposit on an apartment because the deposit may be $2,000 to $3,000. Although I lost a good-paying job a couple of years ago and with it a significant income, I still maintained access to affordable housing. Nobody should be experiencing homelessness and hunger in this country!

Many people often speak negative energy on another person's misfortunes or lack of money when they are one (or two paychecks away from being homeless) themselves. The same people you clown for not having a whole lot of money could be you five years from today. The same people you claimed have been failures could be you five, ten or fifteen years from now. As long as the money is good, you have no worries. But when the money runs out, what then? When you're no longer able to pay full rent or that ridiculously expensive mortgage on that four-bedroom home, what then? When you're unable to pay the property taxes, what happens then?

Recently, a homeless woman came into the store where I work. She told her story. She used to have a six-figure salary and had a home. Today, this middle-aged woman is wondering the streets of Atlanta in dirty clothes and shoes. When you talk to her, she seems very intelligent. She is well-educated. The only difference between her and you is she lost a six-figure income and therefore, fell on hard times. She has not been able to fully recover from that loss of income. 

All over this country, there are tens of thousands of stories just like hers. Homelessness can be eradicated within a year in this country. But there are forces that prefer human suffering above happiness and true equality. There are forces that feed off negative human emotions such as fear, anxiety, stress and depression, which being homeless creates. These forces prefer chaos, war, aggression, and hatred as opposed to life, freedom, peace and love.

Homelessness does not discriminate between the races. In every sanctuary state, you will find more homeless Black Americans than White Americans and any other group. In the prison industrial complex will you find more Black Americans than White Americans and any other group. Although White people currently make up the majority of the population, Black people make up nearly half of the homeless population when we’re only 13% of the population.

No black American is really in a position to cast ridicule or harsh criticism upon the homeless, the misfortunate, the jobless or the penniless. The reason why many of you have these good-paying jobs/careers is because integration allowed you to have these jobs. One reason LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabar, etc. could play in the National Basketball Association was due to integration, which included the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Before integration, there was separation. Were it not for integration and the federal government enforcing the civil rights laws, black people would still completely be locked out of society. Prior to integration, all we had were each other. We had our own basketball and baseball teams. Black business owners had to depend on each other and the black community. All those "governments" jobs the Baby Boomers were able to attain during the 1960's would've been unattainable were it not for the federal government enforcing its own laws. 

Today, the American Negro have become spoiled, overindulgent and love for people to feed their ego and enforce their fantasies. They love to use their money and position to control other black people. Many don't have any compassion for their own neighbors, family members or others they personally know who are struggling economically. New money. That's what a lot of these rappers/singers/songwriters have. That's what a lot of these NBA, NFL, and MLB players have. Being a professional athlete pays well. Being a rapper, singer, and songwriter pays well. This new money is good as long as it keeps flowing. But I see quite a few former professional athletes not doing so well. Some have even filed for bankruptcy and have lost their homes. Furthermore, what if the dollar collapse in value overnight? Suddenly, all this new money will become totally worthless. 

Real wealth has never been paper (fiat) currency. The real wealth is in land and resources that we can use right now like oil, minerals, water, etc. We need good land to grow crops and raise animals for food. We need fresh water. We need clothing. We need shelter. Paper money will become obsolete. The average person can't even think this far into the future. Many believe this modern civilization will be here forever. If you think that, then you are truly living in a world of make believe and fantasy. 

Usually, what you do today is a predictor of what your future could be if you don't curb your behaviors or your mentality. One bad choice, one bad move, one bad gamble, and you could end up homeless and penniless and begging for handouts and needing people to have compassion on you. You're not better than others because you have money and they don't. You're just lucky for right now. The same jobs or careers these people gave you, they can take it all away. You don't control your own resources. You have no real wealth. The fiat currency you have can be rendered worthless overnight. Laws are constantly changing and being created, and they're not in your favor.

Your position or career is not who you are. Your money, jewelry, apparel, house, car, kid(s), wife, husband, family, etc. are physical expressions of this so-called reality. One day, your 'physical' expressions will disappear, dissipate or die off. Then, all you have left is character...the real you!

I Saw My Dead Mom Again

Written by Alberta Parish

In the early morning hours of Saturday, I had a series of dreams and saw many things. Some good and others not so good. But one of the dreams I seem to remember well is about my dead mother. I dreamed that we were back in Miami. We arrived at a Miami port upon a cruise ship. Although we didn't have a dime or a place to lay our head, I was glad that my mom and I were back together again. All we had were the clothes on our back and the shoes on our feet. We didn't know what we were going to do for food, but everything seemed okay. It was a sunny day, and everything seemed so real. My mom appeared to be years younger and very healthy. I had the feeling that we reunited after a long time apart. We walked along the streets, and talked about many things. Maybe these dreams mean nothing and this is only the imaginings of a woman who misses her mother. Or perhaps, it mean something on another plane or in another realm of consciousness. I used to believe that all my dreams had meaning. But I'm not so sure anymore. The only thing I can relay to my readers is how each dream makes me feel. Sometimes, I feel sad when I wake up from a dream like the one I had yesterday afternoon.

I woke up from this dream when the alarm on my phone went off at 1:30 pm Saturday. In the dream, I found myself back at Atlanta Technical College where I graduated in real life in 2017. But in this dream, I went to see my college advisor, Keisha Hudson, to ask her if there was a class that I needed for graduation. In the dream, I wasn't sure if I had completed all of my classes in order to graduate on time. While I was walking around looking for Ms. Hudson, I ran across various individuals that I knew at different intervals in my life. But these people that I ran across were individuals that did something to hurt me in the past. Some of these people also undermined me. Some of these people I had never dreamed about until yesterday afternoon. There was one person I saw in my dream who I knew from church. There was an event inside the building, which featured Krispy Kreme doughnuts. There were lots of doughnuts for everyone present. It was there that I ran across the church girl and we talked. This person was also blind in the dream as she is in real life now. We talked for several minutes but she didn't recognize who I was by my voice. And I never told her who I was. In the dream, I never said a nasty word to her. In fact, I never said a nasty word to any of them even though they all hurt me in some way. In the dream, there was another person I saw working in an office at Atlanta Technical College. In real life, I knew her from years ago when we were coworkers in the Property Department at the Salvation Army. I remember how mean she was toward me, and undermined me on various occasions. When I saw her in the dream, I didn't open my mouth to speak to her. In fact, I pretended like I didn't know her. Johnny Leverett, a General Superintendent for Mobility services, was also in my dream. Ms. Hudson never cared much for me. Even while I was her paralegal student, she had this certain attitude toward me. I only recognize these individuals as having done something to hurt me or undermine me in some way. I remember exactly how they treated me. Unlike most, I don't believe in turning the other cheek. I believe people who practice evil against others should be exposed and judged and even punished for their evil works.

After I woke up from this dream, I felt sadness. It was a feeling that did not dissipate even when I went to work on Saturday after 3:30 pm. I don't like having bad dreams especially ones that remind me of just how badly I've failed in life.

For the past year and 11 months, I've been dealing with constant workplace harassment and bullying from store management. Imagine having to deal with constant workplace harassment and bullying on top of dealing with a loved one's death such as a parent or spouse or child? Nevertheless, I won't be intimidated. Neither will I be bullied into resigning my position nor walking off my job. If they want me gone, they will have to fire me. I won't back down, and I won't go down without a fight. 

If this dream means anything, it is a sign that I should never forget and never allow others to mistreat me or make me feel like I'm unworthy of something. I don't care who you are, you'll never handle me the way you want to handle me. I'll never allow another bully to bully me. These people in my dream represent all the bullies in my life who thought they could manhandle me roughly on the playground of life. But what they didn't bet on was that I'd fight back against depression and ALL the other bullshit they projected onto me. People like these don't deserve space in your life. The less you interact with people like these, the better off you'll be. Bullies do not intimidate me. Assholes like these are the worst cowards you'll ever meet. And I no longer live my life in fear of cowards.

May I soon reunite with my mom, and leave all the cares of this world behind me.

The End

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What Would Life Be Like To Not Live in Fear

Written by Alberta Parish

I've spent all my life except for little pockets of my childhood living in fear: fear of death, fear of the unknown, fear of Hell, fear of suffering a horrible fate, fear of sickness or disease, fear of financial difficulties, fear of future events, fear of biblical events, fear of a violent crime happening to me, fear of a dark room, fear of relationships... Have I ever lived one day as an adult without fearing something? My whole life, I have been taught to fear God. But I think I have more fear for everything else except God. Living in my lower vibration has caused me to live in a fear-based consciousness. Elevating my consciousness to catch up with my higher vibrational being can break this fear-based consciousness that I've lived in for many years. Everything around us: the society, television, Social Media, public education, jobs/careers, money/dollar, etc. has been manufactured to appeal to our lower vibrational self or have us living like animals out in the wild when we're supposed to be the higher intelligent species and set apart from the animal kingdom. However, we're not all that much more intelligent than the animals whom we claim are the lesser intelligent. Apart from spending a majority of my life living in some type of fear-based consciousness, have I ever stopped to think something is not right? Sure. I have many times. But my environment and my early childhood helped to shape this fear-based consciousness from which I must now break free. It is rather stressful living in fear. Fear of death, fear of Hell if I didn't do this, that and the other, or just plain fear of the unknown or what could be awaitimg you is enough to put a modestly healthy person in an early grave from heart ache, heart attack, or stroke. You ever wondered why a healthy person in his/her 40s or 50s have a sudden heart attack? Sometimes, it is drug addiction or overdose. But it is also stress at other times. The body violently responds to fear. When you are under a tremendous amount of stress, it can show up later in the form of cancer in addition to your poor diet. Earlier today, I thought about all the things I've feared my whole life. And I have to elevate above it now.

H.R. 40 Reparations Hearing: Actor Danny Glover & CBC Will Cause Black America's Continued Genocide

Written by Alberta Parish

The H.R. 40 reparations hearing was a complete sham and waste of time when we have Black Americanized congressional leaders, authors and actors saying we don't deserve or need reparations like the Jews and Japanese. What planet do these people live on? White people could not have bred more better slaves on the plantations than what we have today in Congress and Hollywood. It is a complete travesty that we have Americanized Blacks still thinking and acting like slaves in 2019. Can you imagine if there was a hearing for reparations to Jews that Cory Booker, Sheila Jackson Lee and Danny Glover would appear before Congress and repeat the nonsense they said the other day about Jews not needing or deserving reparations for the Jewish Holocaust? Foundational Black Americans and our ancestors have been the greatest victims and survivors of another Holocaust, which I call the African Holocaust for 500+ years. Danny Glover's rich black ass has the unmitigated gall and balls to say what the rest of us don't need. Negroes like him and Cory Booker have benefited off the oppression of Black people in this country for far too long. Of course they want to keep the rest of us powerless, stripped of resources, and without access to wealth so they can continue exploiting us!

Every Black economist and historian should know by now that Black Hollywood account for the majority of Black America's wealth. You can't look at a Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey to say there is no significant wealth gap between White and Black America. Even other groups in this country are ahead of Black America in terms of wealth percentages. Where were the Black economists in this reparations hearing? What a complete and utter failure this reparations hearing represented? The Congressional Black Caucus should feel embarrassed that they actually think this hearing would be enough to take the conversation off reparations so that now the country can focus on putting a Democrat in the White House in 2020. What they fail to realize is Donald Trump will be a two-term president due to the Democrats' benign neglect policy against Black Americans since the late 1960's. American Descendants of Slavery are no longer interested in continuing to participate in this sham system called democracy. We recognize that the Democratic party is not interested in what will benefit all of Black America (i.e., Foundational Black Americans). We recognize that America runs off the economic oppression of foundational Black Americans. It is to America's benefit to keep foundational Black Americans as a permanent underclass.

If this is a Christian nation, racism and white supremacy should not still be in existence. If white Christians actually practiced what they preach, then racism and white supremacy would not exist.

Tupac Shakur: 23 Years Later

Written by Alberta Parish

On the day Tupac Shakur died from the result of gunshot wounds, alleged Tupac fans and even those not fans of the late rapper were in the news talking about how great a rapper he was. Black women were seen all over the world crying about the violence in the Black community, and how we need to stop the violence. Twenty-three years later, here we are collectively mourning countless deaths in our community. Not only are we mourning the death of the late entrepreneur and artist Nipsey Hussle but also the unknown faces in our community. A few weeks ago, a Black mother who had 13 children was beaten to death by her boyfriend. Aisha Dixon was murdered in front of some of her children. She also lived about 30 minutes away from where I live. Earlier this week, Demarcus Dragg, 21 years old, was shot and killed in South Fulton Atlanta. These are just the names we know about because their murders were reported by the mainstream media. However, all murders don't get reported. Many murders in Atlanta go unsolved. Many murders around the country are unsolved mysteries. Proximity and lack of resources in the community results in senseless murders. A lack of wealth and resources are major contributing factors to the senseless violence.

The Black Conscious community, the Nation of Islam, the New Panther Party, self-imposed Black leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as well as the new Black Bourgeoisie in Washington like Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and countless others despite all their policies have been ineffective in completely stopping or at least slowing down the destruction of the Black community. At this point, there's a segment of the Black community that doesn't want to be saved. The question is, do you want to save yourself? I just don't think this  generation has enough integrity for the fight ahead. Among the first things we need to do is save ourselves from a racist society in which over 50% of Black men end up in prison before the age of 25. We've been talking about police brutality since the Black Panther Party formed, and we saw Black men openly carrying rifles. The same complaints the Black community had in the 1960s are the same ones we still have today.

The same rhetoric spewed after Tupac's murder is the same exact rhetoric that was spewed after Nipsey's murder on March 31, 2019. Twenty-three years later, Black people still have no answers or solutions for the senseless violence in our community. We are a marginalized people who are far more violent toward each other than against the system of racism and white supremacy. Continuing to chase hopes and dreams are not tangible solutions.

In 2019, we need tangible solutions. One way we need tangible solutions is in the form of reparations. We need reparations for the harm that has been done to foundational Black Americans so that we may survive economically in this country. By 2053, Black wealth has been predicted to be zero. We cannot afford to waste another half century hoping things will be better for foundational Black people. We have to work to get tangible solutions.

Every time a Nipsey Hussle gets murdered, we come out in droves and throw a huge celebration for the life of those individuals. But for every Nipsey Hussle that is murdered, there are a hundred Demarcus Draggs and Aisha Dixons that are killed every day in some corner of our community. These people don't receive the same fanfare as a Nipsey Hussle. But their life was also important. There are people that will miss them, too.

Hearing the same rhetoric after 23 years has caused me to believe Black people aren't that serious about true equality in income and economics so that we can actually compete with the rest of the world. What happens next? That remains to be seen.

We Demand Reparations for #ADOS Now! A Day of Reckoning Is Upon America

Written by Alberta Parish

Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore are right! Reparations for the American Descendants of Slavery is the only thing that will make us whole in terms of the wealth that has been stolen from us for generations due to institutionalized slavery, capitalism, Reconstruction, the Great Migration, Redlining, Gentrification, Jim Crowism, the New Jim Crowism, the destruction of Black Wall Street and other Black towns, discriminatory laws, unjust or unfair labor laws, unfair wages, unequal pay, tax laws, lack of adequate education at the basic levels, genocidal programs, racial terrorism, racial violence, police violence including lynching, and FBI targeting and profiling of Black radicals in the Black Panther Party, the Black Liberation Army, the Nation of Islam, and any others whose agenda it was during the 1950s and 60s to bring complete liberation to our people.

As a result of institutionalized racism, Black people have the highest incarcerations in the nation although most of their crimes are limited to minor drug offenses and non-violent offenses. As part of the reparations package, there should be awarded at least $1 million for each prison and county jail inmate in addition to $2 million being awarded to each member of his or her family. Non-violent offenders who are American Descendants of Slavery should also be released from county jails and prisons as part of the reparations package. We have been economically exploited from the traffic courts to the bankruptcy courts. American Descendants of Slavery have been barred systematically from the American Dream, and the recent college admissions scandal has proven time and time again that we continue to lose to the scheming of wealthy people due to being born in a permanent underclass.

The day of reckoning is upon America, and the dominant society is now scrambling to address the idea of reparations, as Democrat candidates have also politicized it in hope of winning the 2020 presidential office. Democrat candidates such as Kamala Harris has already said that she is not going to do anything just for Black people. Another Democrat candidate, Bernie Sanders has also made it perfectly clear that he is not for reparations to Black people. Recently, he did an interview on the Breakfast Club and asked what are reparations. Bernie, since you don't know what reparations are, then I don't know what voting for you entails.  The American Descendants of Slavery are also not going to turn out in droves to blindly support Democratic candidates who do not put our interests first, especially as our interests relate to reparations. Let's be candid, monetary reparations to the American Descendants of Slavery would mean that many small businesses will no longer be able to economically exploit us within our own communities. Many Black entreprenuers would possibly buy buildings in their community to launch their own small businesses. I know personally that if I received reparations payment(s), I would never work another "dead-end job" a day in my life...a job where I'm often overworked and underpaid. I would instead use my time and energy that I gave toward working on somebody's job for the past 26 years, and redirect my time and energy toward things I love, which include writing books and blogging. I began writing a book in 2017, and I have not finished it. A tragedy did happen to halt that process. However, I have not finished my book because I simply don't have the time to write it.

The dominant society's goal is to force the majority of us into driving for Uber and Lyft. The majority of our children are being prepared for service jobs or prison from kindergarten no matter what they tell the kids. They're teaching lies in the history books, got your kids conducting mock slave auctions such as one private school in Bronxville, New York, and preparing your kids to be future Uber drivers or prison inmates while at the same time promising them equal opportunities if only they work hard. The recent college admissions bribery scandal aren't showing that their children are working hard to achieve their goals.

The game was rigged from the very beginning, which is why reparations are the only logical conclusion to rectifying the wrongs of history and as final restitution for millions of lives destroyed as a result of racism, the Transatlantic slave trade, rape, sodomy, kidnapping, torture, mass murder, chattel slavery, capitalism, genocidal programs including Margaret Sanger's Planned Parenthood and government vaccinations of Black babies that destroyed their cognitive abilities and physical well-being, FBI targeting of Black organizations, racial violence and terrorist acts by Ku Klux Klansmen and other white identity groups, unjust criminal prosecutions and prison sentencing, police violence including lynching, unfair labor laws, court laws, the Black Christian codes, the bankruptcy laws, and for denying slaves access to an adequate education as well as denying slaves the right to freedom and happiness within their persons and homes. Reparations are no longer what we're asking from the Federal government. We demand reparations for the African and Black American holocaust in the New World perpertuated by the colonialist settlers, slave traders, founders of the Constitution, founders of the Continental Congress, and our current U.S. Government.

#ADOS
#reparations2020
#kamalaharriscannotbepresident2020
#berniesanderscannotbepresident2020