What Donald Trumps' "We'll Take Care Of Our African Americans" Comment Made Me Think Of

Edited by Azizi Powell

There he goes again. Businessman & presumptive 2016 Republican nominee for President of the United States said something else racist.

From http://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/07/trump-smears-african-americans-racist-attack-save-campaign.html
"Trump Smears African-Americans With Racist Attack While Trying To Save His Campaign" By Jason Easley on Tue, Jun 7th, 2016 at 10:04 pm
"As he tried to save his campaign, Donald Trump smeared African-Americans with a new racist attack.

Trump said, “We’re going to take care of our inner cities which are absolutely a shame and so sad. We’re going to take care of our African-American people which have been mistreated for so long.”

Donald Trump was reading from a teleprompter, and he still couldn’t resist slipping in a bit of racism towards African-Americans. Republicans told themselves that the problem with Trump was that he was unscripted, so they scripted him, and their nominee was still a racist.

Trump’s line about African-Americans echoed his behavior recently on the campaign trail when he blurted out in the middle of a rally, “Look at my African-American.”

What Trump doesn’t understand is that African-Americans aren’t property. The United States doesn’t own African-Americans. African-Americans are not “ours,” and somebody may want to let the racist presumptive nominee that all African-Americans don’t live in inner cities"...
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There's lots of commentary about Trumps' latest racist comment. Here are two things I thought of when I first read those remarks:

1. Donald Trump's "OUR" African Americans indicates that he still thinks of Black people as belonging to someone else. In that sentence, the word "our" means non-African Americans. And Trump probably thinks that "non-African American" means White people.

"Our African Americans" sounds like slavery to me. And Trump's June 7, 2016 comment reminded me of the Black acting school scene in the 1987 movie Hollywood Shuffle, a scene in which Black actors are shown portraying slaves who are running away. In that scene one enslaved Black man has second thoughts about trying to escape slavery because he's grown used to being taken care of. He says "I don't why we leavin massa. he feed us sataday , cloth us on sunday & then beat us on monday".

Here's a video of that scene:

[Warning: The beginning of this video includes profanity.]

Hollywood Shuffle (1987): Black Acting School Scene



trademarktaz, Published on Jan 11, 2013

Scene from the 1987 film Hollywood Shuffle starring Robert Townsend
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093200
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/hollywood-shuffles-black-acting-school.html for a pancocojams post about this scene. That post includes the video embedded above and a video of a subsequent scene in which a Black man shares how he learned to play the part of a slave and a "jive talking" man from White instructors at "Black Acting School".

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2. Donald Trump's latest racist comment about "taking care of our African Americans" reminded me of James Brown's 1969 song "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing".

Here the repeated verse from that song:
"I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself"
-snip-
Here's a video of that song:
James Brown I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing MDS 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYNJK5sHHeo

Embedding disabled by request

1993pug405mi16 Uploaded on Jan 7, 2007

June 30, 1969: JB doin' the tune "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself)"
-snip-
UPDATE: June 9, 2016: The lyrics to this song are found in the Addendum to this post.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
(These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.)

2010
1. bishop88fingers
"Growing up during this time and Actually seeing this performance on the Mike Douglas Show in the afternoon after school, I'm always perplexed that of all of JB message songs, this one seemed to get swept under the table.........Truer words never said or sung.... JB inspired Black Pride and just a chance to get an opportunity to do my thing(1969 okay !) It's a shame we still as a people haven't got over the threshold....."

**
2. The1962Misslady
"this a song that children today need to hear maybe we could decrease violence self hatred and learn that we are a beautiful strong people thank u JB for the knowledge we need it still today even with a black prez"

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2011
3. Paul Gleave
"When U consider the time and who the guy singing is, this song is immense. Respect. :)"

**
4. Savvynlady
"JB did this song after Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud so that folks will understand that we can do for self."

**
soulburst
5. "I preach this to my kids all the time. Thanks JB for the"Funky" parenting lesson.
"You got to carry the ball""

**
6. heresynco
"i always thought the message was more about allowing civil rights and political access, rather than merely a criticism of the welfare state."

perhaps i'm wrong, but if you listen to it, that's what he's demanding."

**
2012
7. sherry doolin
"James brown words are power!"

**
8. bordersj
"Preach Godfather Preach! Happy Friday"

**
10. pdddddp1
"Say it again bro/sis, i been sayin it for years. Glad to hear everybody ain't 'sleep'. :D"

**
2014
11. browndude12
"what is so interesting is, this is a message not just a brilliant piece of music..you really have to listen.He doesn't just sing and holler."

**
12. Eliza Queen
"This song has always been a favorite. Not only is the beat funky, but the band is tight and on point. Most of all, James Brown is speaking universal truth about self empowerment. It don't get no better. "

**
13. Reginald Powell
"Seven months after King's Assassination"
-snip-
I believe this commenter meant that James Brown performed this song seven months after Martin Luther King, Jr's assasination.

**
14. Christopher Alsobrook
"Did this many times in an front of audiences that were mostly white, with supreme confidence at a time when no one else was. That is COURAGE!!!!"

**
15. Christopher Alsobrook
"True Dat. How about the time he performed on Laugh-in many years ago, by himself no band, performing "Say it loud" in front of an all white audience except for Teresa Graves (Get Christie Love). They loved him."

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ADDENDUM - Lyrics To I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open up the Door I'll Get It Myself)
(James Brown)

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

Don't give me degeneration
Give me true communication
Don't give me sorrow
I want equal opportunity
To live tomorrow

Give me schools
And give me better books
So I can read about myself
And gain my truly looks*

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me now, now?

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

Some of us try
As hard as we can
We don't want no sympathy
We just wanna be a man

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

We got talents we can use
On our side of town
Let's get our heads together
And get it up from the ground

When some of us make money
People hear about our people
Gotta grab out a honey
Forget about honey
Do you now, let me hear, hey

Come on, I got to have it
Come on, I need it
I got to have it, come on
I got to have it, oh, ha

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy

Play with your bad self
Come on, baby
Come here
Gotta get it

Got to get myself together
So many things I got to do
So many things I got to do
I don't need no help from you

Tell everybody, everybody else
All of these things, baby
I got to do it myself
Come on, hey

I got to have it
I, said I, said I
Said I, said I, I

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

With you I'll sweat and blood
To put out any fire and block off every plug

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

I'm not gonna tell
You what to do
I'm not gonna raise a fuss
But before you make another move
Let's start by taking care of us

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Do you hear me?

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

Kids get that education
And don't you take no more
'Cause if we gonna get
This thing together
Then you got to carry the ball

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
Open up the door

Open up the door
Open up the door
Open up the door
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

Can you dig the groove?
Can you make the move?
Can you dig the say?
Can you make the pay?

Dig the groove?
Can you dig it?
Tell me, can you dig it?
Tell me, can you?

Come on now, come on now
Come on, come on, come on
Come on

Come on, all right
Come on fly
Hey, hey, hey

Lord have mercy
I got to have it
Got to have it
I got to have it

Don't need no cupid
Don't be no stupid
Come on

We, we don't have time to hate
We need all the time we got
To try to communicate

Come on
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, Lordy
Baby, baby, baby, baby

How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag ?
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?

How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?
How can I get myself together
When you keep on packing your bag?

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself
Oh, no, no, no, no

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

I'm not gonna tell you what to do
I'm not gonna raise a fuss
But before you make another move
Let's start by taking care of us

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door
I'll get it myself

Kids get that education
And don't you take no more
'Cause if we gonna get
This thing together
Then you got to carry the ball

I don't want nobody
To give me nothing
Open up the door, open
Open up the door

Open up the door, hit it
Open up, here I come
Open up and let a man come in
Open up, let a man come in
Open up, let a man come in

Here I come, here I come
I'm comin' in any type of weather
Comin' 'cause I got myself together
Open up, open up, open up, up


Source: http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-dont-want-nobody-to-give-me-nothing-open-up-the-door-ill-get-it-myself-lyrics-james-brown.html for the complete lyrics to this song.
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Several commenters in the discussion thread for the video given above wrote that their interpretation of the phrase ""truly looks", a phrase which wasn't and isn't used in everyday conversation. Those commenters wrote that "truly looks" meant Black people wearing their hair in an afro (and probably other natural hair styles- i.e. not chemically treating their hair or using heat such as a "straightening comb' (also called a "hot comb") to try to replicate the hair textures and hair styles of most non-Black people. Those comments were part of or sparked a larger discussion about Black people wearing their hair in afros and other natural hair styles.

In the embedded video, James Brown seems to gesture toward his naturally worn hair when he sings that line. But the phrase "truly looks" is included in the lines "so I can read about myself and gain my truly looks", I think that "truly looks" might also refer to the dashikis and other traditional West African (actually adapted West African*) clothing styles that some African Americans (such as his band in that video?) began to wear in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/dashikis-adaptation-of-yoruba-dansiki.html for a pancocojams post about the history of the dashiki which is an African American adaptation of the Nigerian (Yoruba) dansiki.

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The content of this post is presented for political and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all persons who are quoted about Donald Trump's comment and all persons who are quoted about James Brown's song. Thanks also to Robert Townsend, producer & writer of Hollywood Shuffle and all those who are featured in that movie clip. Thanks also to James Brown for his musical legacy. And thanks to the publishers of those videos on YouTube.

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