Garvey's Ghost: Black Talk

The Wire

Black Drug Dealer
you hafffi wise up!
Organize your business so that we can rise up!

-KRS1

Though I don't agree with drug dealing, the logic in the song was pretty much plain to see. If the reason one gets into drug sales is to create cash flow, then if such "dealing" profits were transfered to "legitimate" busineses then the dealer (and presumably his entourage) could then exit the illegal business and the pitfalls of jail and death that lay on that path. Last night on The Wire, a show I initialy dismissed as a minstrel show with high production value, has placed such an ideology front and center. The Barksdales are at a critical point in their development. The business minded one, understands that the street corner hustle game is bad for long term life. He's manuevered himself to position where he doesn't have to worry about corners and is rushing headlong into real estate where he can make long term, relatively stress free bank.

His brother/counterpart however "just want's his corners." Now when he made that comment I was thinkin' his brother should have came at him with the 'you on some dumb ni**a sh*t" BUt instead he attempted to explain the real game to his counterpart who could only respond " I guess i'm just gangsta." So of course the rest of the season will be how the "gangsta" messes up the game for everyone.

Nothing since KRS -1's seminal "Black Drug Dealer," has had a message that has the potential to reach "gangstas." And I wonder how many of them are watching The Wire ,how many will "get it" or get sidetracked and distracted by the bloodletting.

And let's not be narrow minded with this episode, this message applies equally to those of us not engaged in criminal activities for a living. Many of us are equally small minded in out pursuit of "our blocks," But those blocks are Benzes, Corner Offices and other things that distract us as a people from the bigger picture, the bigger game. If you look at history The NAACP wanetd it's corners and so orchestrated with the Fed's to do a "drive by" on the UNIA. Those that argued the Brown V Board were interested in "corners." WEB Dubois was interested in corners for the "talented tenth" Those that killed Malcolm X were only thinking about their corners.

So before we turn our eyes down our noses at the characters on The Wire we should realize that truth be told, most of us are no different from them, we have the same mentality as observed from those who are in the know.

If you