(ThyBlackMan.com) I want to start by saying that I’m not sure if I like the rapper 50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson). As brilliant as he happens to be, “Fiddy” appears to be plagued by a set of psychological challenges that cause him to seek attention at all costs and to push his “beefs” to the highest levels. I can’t really think of any public friend that 50 has had where the relationship didn’t eventually dissolve into some form of dirty, whiny, mud-slinging chaos.
Maybe 50 Cent is smarter than me and sees these beefs as artificial methods of increasing his exposure. But part of me wonders if he is disturbed by a deep distrust for other human beings that causes him to do everlasting harm toward those who cross him. One example of when 50 Cent embarrassed a former friend in a moment of private vulnerability is when he played a recorded message of the rapper Young Buck crying over his financial problems and begging him to give him an opportunity.
Actions like these might make 50 Cent the ultimate snitch, since he seems to enjoy becoming close with people and later betraying their trust. It’s hard to respect a man who loves to kick another man while he’s down, like
a cop who sees a suspect with his hands up and still shoots him in the top of the head. Either way, I both respect 50 Cent and feel sorry for him. I would define him to be a wealthy, talented genius with a tattered soul and serious personal problems.
The rapper crossed my mind because he was the one who recently revealed to the public that boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. might be illiterate. The rapper made a public challenge to Floyd Mayweather Jr., offering him $750,000 to read one page from a Harry Potter book. If 50 had made the challenge to any of us, we would have a whole lot more money in the bank right now. But Mayweather never collected, hinting that 50 Cent might have hit on a private wound that the public doesn’t know much about.
This led a friend of mine, Charlamagne tha God, to investigate in order to determine whether or not Floyd Mayweather Jr. could actually read. Charlamagne is a cohost on the popular show, “The Breakfast Club” in New York and yet another one of those brilliant people who sometimes enjoys hurting people’s feelings in public. I respect him because he’s always been very nice to me (we crossed paths a lot back when I used to appear regularly on the Wendy Williams Show, and I see him when I visit Power 105.1 in New York), but I would sometimes twist my face after hearing his attacks on some of the other guests.
Charlamagne’s career, whether people like it or not, is built on being the guy who says the things that nobody else will say. He delivers consistent shock value, and people find it entertaining. After seeing Charlamagne go through the ups and downs of his career, I’m happy to see that he’s doing so well right now. He’s actually a good brother….at least in private.
Charlamagne reviewed a series of promotional spots that Floyd Mayweather Jr. did for the station, and noted how Floyd stumbled over the words like an old crazy white woman learning how to break dance. It wasn’t pretty and seemed to show that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is barely literate at best. So, here we have one of the most feared men on the planet being reduced to a child when faced with an opponent he has avoided all of his life: A book.
First, I can say that I’m not a big fan of 50 Cent’s decision to embarrass Mayweather, and I’m also a little disappointed to see my friend Charlamagne add to the embarrassment by ridiculing him. At the same time, it’s tough for me to feel bad for Floyd Mayweather Jr., who once said that he doesn’t feel the need to share his money with anyone other than himself. Floyd also steps into the ring with other celebrities on a regular basis and throws some knock out punches of his own (remember that little situation with TI’s wife?). So, when you ask for that kind of drama, you better be ready to take a punch in public.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s lack of education is tragic because it is so reflective of the value systems that are too prevalent in a world where we applaud ignorance over substance. We somehow believe that being illiterate might be OK, as long as you can dribble a basketball, throw a football, sing, dance, rap, act or find some other creative way to convince white people to give you money.
The problem is that many of our athletes and entertainers are, unfortunately, defacto black leaders. They have the most money, the most power, the most influence and the most exposure of all public figures within the African American community. For a person to have a platform that powerful with so little education is like giving an AK-47 to a blind man who never learned how to shoot.
This power has led to the miseducation of an entire generation. Millions of little black kids have learned to worship Gucci bags, Air Jordans, and “All Gold Everything,” over text books, math, science, wealth building and family. The result is that getting some ratchet-ass video on World Star Hip-Hop is more valuable than making the honor roll 15 times in a row. Sometimes, our community is like the beautiful woman who insists on repeatedly slamming her face into a brick wall because she hates herself and has had too much to drink. It’s very sad to watch.
The second thought I have on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. illiteracy issue is that most of us are unaware of just how much power is being wasted when our most prominent African Americans are not trained with critical thinking skills. If you consider the amazing work by the rapper Killer Mike during the Michael Brown protests, you can see what happens when you give an artist a big microphone and a bigger brain to go with it. When Muhammad Ali had the attention of the world, he made the world a better place because he valued the power of his mind as much as the thunder in his fists.
When Russell Simmons helped me to get 175 celebrities and scholars to co-sign our joint letter to the Obama Administration, we were able to get the Attorney General of the United States to make the biggest announcement on mass incarceration in the last 40 years. If entertainers and athletes were to proactively speak on other serious issues in the black community, we could eliminate educational inequality, close the wealth gap, make a dent in the poverty problem, and reduce black male homicides by at least 30 percent. The problem is that many of our entertainers are being paid to glorify and celebrate the very same poisonous attitudes and actions that are destroying our community in the first place (you hear that 2 Chainz?).
What I encourage Floyd Mayweather Jr. to understand is that education, literacy and critical thinking are the tools that allow you to become more than just a boxer with a lot of money, fame and women in your back pocket. These are the things that truly turn you into the kind of transformative king who can inspire and elevate a generation. Your legendary skills in the ring are what give you your power, and it’s the development of your mind that teaches you how to use it.
As millions of people eavesdrop on the back-and-forth between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and 50 Cent over the literacy issue, I hope that we remember that none of us should cheer, jeer or laugh when a little black boy can’t read. One day, that little boy is going to become a man and other little boys will look up to him. Floyd Mayweather Jr., it’s never too late to learn how to read, and you shouldn’t do it for the money. Instead, do it because you’re a black man, and you can be a source of inspiration to the world.
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.