THERE’S ONLY ONE WATTREE FAMILY IN AMERICA, AND WE HAVE A GREAT TRADITION, SO IF YOU’RE A MARRIED FEMALE FROM THE WATTREE FAMILY , YOU SHOULD HYPHENATE YOUR NAME. . WE MIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES FROM FRANCE IN THE 1870S. THEREAFTER, RICHARD WATTREE ESTABLISHED THE WATTREE SCHOOL TO EDUCATE OUR PEOPLE, AND MANY OF US HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN EDUCATION EVER SINCE. YOUR CHILDREN SHOULD KNOW, AND BE TAUGHT TO TAKE PRIDE IN THAT.
.
Who Am I, Who Has the Audacity to Criticize the Illustrious Cornel West?
I'm a Simple Black Man, Who Tills the Soil.
A few diehard Cornel West supporters seem to have taken great exception to my article, "A Portrait of Cornel West - The Liberace of Faux Intellectualism." They asked, who am I who has the audacity to criticize the illustrious Dr. Cornel West, and what have I done for the Black community?
.
In response, I can only say, I’m a simple urban farmer who tills the soil. So I must admit, I’ve done very little, at least, that meets the eye.But beneath the surface, everything I do is designed to move my people forward. But like most urban farmers, I have to tend my crop and look at the long game, so I don’t have the time to concern myself with fame, fortune, and adulation. My job is to focus on harvest time, and patiently await my crop to come in.
.
You see, we all have a role to play in this society, and I see mine as helping to educate our people - not at Harvard, or Princeton, because that's not the field where my crop resides. My crop was planted in urban America, so that's the field that I tend.
. I’m the product of a very unique family of farmers. We’re not famous, or world shakers, but we’re, literally, one of a kind in the United States. There's only one Wattree family in America, so anyone one with the last name "Wattree" is related to me. And as a family, we have ALWAYS been involved in educating, and tilling the soil of our people.
.
My Great uncle, Richard Wattree, started the "Wattree School" in Louisiana to teach Black people to read and write back when there was very little education to be had for poor Black people, and we've carried on that tradition over the years in one way or another every since. Some of us teach elementary and secondary school in various cities and states across this country, others, like my daughter and niece, work in administrative positions in various colleges and universities, and still others are artists, who depict our people's journey within this country over the centuries:
"African American artist, Alma Lennear of Minden, will be exhibiting her works as well as selling her paintings Saturday at the Claiborne Jubilee. She comes from a long line of educators who have lived in and around Claiborne Parish since the days her great-grandfather, Richard Wattree, founded the Wattree School using the Bible as the reading book. A self-taught artist, Ms. Lennear's work features both portraits of historic figures as well as Biblical scenes. Come to the Jubilee and visit with a most interesting woman!" . Writing is my forte. I'm also a Jazz musician and a poet, so I help to pass along pride in our Black tradition through those mediums. My good friend, Rita Edmond, is undoubtedly one of the greatest jazz singers in the world today, and as we speak, I'm writing music for her and passing along my knowledge of music theory in order to ensure that she'll be prepared to carry on the tradition of Ella, and Sarah, and Dinah Washington in a fashion that befits their memory, and her own. . When I got married (when I was 21 years old, and my late wife, Valdie, was 19 ), I sacrificed my own ambition to be a professional musician to stay at home and try to become the kind of father that could ensure that my kids and grandchildren would grow up to be better than myself - and they are. So while there are a handful of people who may think I’m formidable, they haven’t seen nothin' yet. My greatest contribution to our people still lies dormant, feeding, growing, and absorbing knowledge within their cocoon. . So when my crop comes in, you’ll no longer have to ask, who am I? You'll know who I am - one hell of a farmer, but a simple farmer, who tills the soil to ensure the viability of his people.
.
LEGACY
TWO OF MY GRANDCHILDREN ERIC WATTREE III, AND TAYLOR WATTREE-JACKSON
.
Neither scholar nor the head of state,
The most common of men seems to be my fate;
A life blistered with struggle and constant need,
As my legacy to man I bequeath my seed.
.
More fertile, more sturdy, these ones than I,
This withered old vine left fallow and dry;
The nectar of their roots lie dormant still,
But through their fruit I'll be revealed.
.
.
Eric L. Wattree Http://wattree.blogspot.com Ewattree@Gmail.com . Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
KUNTA KINTE?NO - I'M THE GREAT GRANDSON OF TOBY, MY MAN
.
I love my people, but sometimes we have a tendency to front-off, flo-show, and become melodramatic on subjects that we know absolutely nothing about. That’s why, with few exceptions, whenever I’m confronted by brothers with those exotic names and African costumes I tend to dismiss them out of hand. It’s not that I resent their image and/or persona - I think it’s wonderful that they take pride in their heritage - but because I see it as an affectation designed to suggest a knowledge, wisdom and pride that, more often than not, they seriously lack.
.
One such brother came up lecturing me on the need for Black people to come together and join with our brothers and sisters in Africa. He was talking like the entire continent of Africa constitutes one group of people. I had to point out to him that there’s more bigotry in Africa than there is here in America, it’s just not racial in nature, it’s based on religion, tribalism, and politics. In fact, the chances are very great that we were sold into slavery by other Africans in the first place.
.
African terrorist groups kidnap or kill Black women and children routinely. The African Islamist group Boko Haram captured more than 300 young girls from a school in northern Nigeria. While some of the girls escaped, the group's leader claimed he planned to sell the rest “at the market place.” There’s also the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Allied Democratic Forces, Ansar al-Sharia (Libya), Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia), Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, Ansar Dine, Ansar ul Islam, and the Ansaru Armed Islamic Group of Algeria - and those are just some of the groups in Africa whose name starts with the letter “A.” So if he took his African-American ass over there trying to lecture true Africans on “brotherhood,” they’d send his head back home in a basket.
.
Certainly not all, but many of these brothers are acting out a role designed primarily to impress rather than to disseminate knowledge. If they truly took pride in what it means to be Black, they’d realize that what makes African-Americans unique is not just our African ancestry, but the knowledge that we’ve obtained through the adversity of trying to survive slavery and Jim Crow right here in America.
.
While it is admirable that these brothers want to identify with Africa, they only tend to speak of the kings and queens of Africa with pride. They completely ignore the African-American slaves who suffered and died to get us to where we are today. Those were the real heroes, and those are the Black people who I most closely identify with. So, “Naw, I ain’t Kunta Kinte, White boy; I’m the great grandson of Toby, and I want you to remember that as you’re diggin’ my virtual foot out your ass.” That’s what inspires me, and I’ve worked every day of my adult life to be able to say that with knowledge, confidence, and conviction - no swagger, no fist in the air, and no exotic name or costume, just the power and knowledge of what it means to be an African-American, a group of people who are completely unique in culture, experience and adversity, and it's that very adversity that has made us MORE rather than less. So my goal, and it should be theirs, is to make Toby swell with pride as he smiles back from the grave at what he has spawned.
.
While it may seem that this is among the worst of times for Black people, it is also a time ripe with opportunity. We’ve been complaining for many years about how we’ve been forced to compete on an uneven playing field. Well, now that the establishment is involved in a class war and determined to dumb-down ALL of the poor and middle class, it presents an opportunity for Black people to make knowledge the new “soul.” We can only be dumbed-down if we allow ourselves to be, because knowledge is free. Thus, if we focus and bring our unique creativity to the task, Black people can very easily become one of the most knowledgeable groups in America. Black women, who have always been at the cutting edge of our culture, have already recognized that fact.
.
TheNational Center for Education Statistics has reported that "black women are now the most educated group in the United States." According to the report, "between 2009 and 2010, black women earned 68 percent of all associate degrees awarded to black students, as well as 66 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 71 percent of master’s degrees and 65 percent of all doctorates awarded to black students." The report goes on to say, "By both race and gender, a higher percentage of black women (9.7 percent) are enrolled in college than any other group, topping Asian women (8.7 percent), white women (7.1 percent) and white men (6.1 percent)."
.
So it’s time for Black men to stop frontin’ and join our sisters in their enlightenment. We must start working toward actually becoming the brothers that far too many of us only pretend to be. So like with Colin Kapernick, it'll become clear when the Black man is truly ready to be liberated, because we too will begin to realize that knowledge is the path to moving forward - not rappin', not saggin', not swaggerin', and not trying to enrich ourselves as individuals by becoming the horse instead of owning the race track - it's knowledge that is power, period.
.
I've been through two riots, and if history repeats itself - and it generally does - when the shit hits the fan the most militant among us will be the first one's to haul ass, with their dashikis fluttering in the wind. There's good reason for that. Because they know better than anyone that we can't out-scream the White establishment, because they control the media, and we can't out-fight them, because they control the police and military. So our only alternative is to out-think them, but all most militants specialize in is talkin' shit. If they were true thinkers they wouldn't have time for that. It was brothers like the ones described who sold out Malcolm during the Civil Rights Movement - and I didn't read that from a book, I was around at the time, so I've been here, and done this before. Brothers like this are not out to liberate Black people, their out to gain personal notoriety, but unfortunately, many young people tend to follow them due to their flamboyance, and their own lack of knowledge.
.
So I'm glad the shit-talkers are the first one's to haul ass, because I wouldn't want to go into battle having to depend on no damn Cornel West to have my back. He talks too damn much, and he's too self-serving to have a backbone. He's a performer, not a warrior, so even when it's only a war of wits, he's afraid that he might be wounded. Just take a minute to ask yourself, where is Cornel now in the fight against Donald Trump? I'll tell you where he is - he's hiding under a rock, along with Tavis Smiley. Now that they don't have a Black man to attack, their dashikis are fluttering in the wind.
.
So regardless to what these performers say, we must always remember that we're only 16% of the population, so the first thing we've got to do as a community is to educate ourselves, and then once that's done, we've got to use our creativity to educate the rest of America on how they're being played. Barack Obama knew that, and that should be our strategy, but in order to do that we're going to have to become more serious, and more sober-minded to get the people's attention. We've got to get away from this "Keeping it Gangster" mentality - and YES WE CAN! If we can teach America to sing, dance, and play basketball, we can also teach them to think - and this time, our way. The establishment has been using our celebrity and creativity to shout to the world that our mothers are "bitches" and "hoes", and that we take pride in being gangsters, murderers, and dope fiends. We've got to turn that around, and use that very same celebrity and creativity to re-educate America - just like Bird, Miles and John Coltrane did - to the fact that we weren't just a bunch of grinnin' and mindless Stepin' Fetchits. So while Kunta Kinte was quite admirable, it's the great grandson of Toby, with all of the knowledge, wisdom, and power of adversity, who now stands before you - and with great pride.
I NOW STAND FIRM
.
ERIC WATTREE, JR.
I now stand firm. My dedication to the power of knowledge is the platform upon which my podium rests. I stand firm, strong, and now free. Free of anger. Free of self-delusion. Free of the folly of empty vanity, and free of the pernicious bane of meaningless pride without substance.
.
I stand free to look upon the eyes of other men, reflecting dignity over sorrow, and accomplishment over pain; I stand with a burning passion, fueled by the very flame that forged ancestral shackles,with a deep sense of pride and a pride that flows deep.
.
I now stand erect. The steel that once degraded my father, that chained him in bondage to this bitter Earth, now reinforce my character, making me more, rather than less; and the blood and sweat that once drenched his brow, now rage with resolve and a sense of purpose within my burning breast.
.
I now stand as a new being - neither simply African, nor simply American, but a hybrid forced to transcend the sum of my parts; no longer simply African, since being torn away from the African motherland to suffer and toil in the fields of America, and more than simply American, after being forced to be more than simply American just to survive within the bowels of this prosperous land.
.
Thus, I stand now armed - armed with the wisdom of deprivation, the courage of my conviction, and a deep conviction of my courage; and fortified - with the confidence of a survivor, the empowerment of knowledge, and a ravishing hunger for greatness.
.
I now stand the product of love, struggle, and sacrifice; a witness to man's inhumanity to man, and a monument to the hopes and dreams of a million slaves.
.
I now stand embraced by my creator, as God now smiles upon my people.
Black People: Don’t Buy Into the Great American Myth
.
One of the biggest problems that we have in the Black community is how we allow ourselves to be portrayed in the media. There tends to be a blanket profiling of Black people by the media as little more than dysfunctional hood rats with a few functional Black people sprinkled in for the sake of appearance, but as aberrations, and the poverty pimps among us have a vested interest in perpetuating that myth in order to feather their own nests.
.
But the fact is, the truth is just the reverse. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the vast majority of Black people in this country are middle class or above. African Americans are the second largest consumer group in America with a combined buying power of over $892 billion currently and likely over $1.1 trillion by 2012. In 2002 African American owned businesses accounted for 1.2 million of the US's 23 million businesses, and 47% of Africans Americans own their own homes. So the kind of dysfunctional Black people commonly being portrayed in the media are a minority of the Black community, but they are a highly vocal, flamboyant, and inordinately publicized minority.
.
If White people were portrayed in the media in the same way as Black people, we'd think that the majority of White folks were barefooted Hillbillies. So if you’re a Black person and reading this article, simply look at your own situation, and that of your family and friends. The chances are overwhelming that you and your close associates are living at a level comparable to the average White middle-class individual. The same is true of myself, my family, and virtually all of my friends.
.
So the Black community is doing itself a huge disservice by just sitting back and allowing ourselves to be portrayed in this distorted and negative fashion. It sends the wrong message to our children. When they sit around for hours on end watching the antics of Lil’ Wayne and others flaunting the very worst of who we are, it sends the message to our young people that they have a moral obligation to be stupid in order to demonstrate their Black pride. They’re, literally, being instructed in what it means to be Black by sources other than ourselves. They’re being taught that being Black means wearing pants saggin’ off their asses, engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior, scarring their bodies with ugly tattoos that can prevent them from obtaining employment, and giving priority to chasing "bling," momentary pleasure, and superficial trinkets over pursuing education, knowledge, and investing in themselves as individuals.
.
If we’re tolerating these things in our homes, we have no right to complain when the rest of society refuse to hire us, and profile us a superficial and irresponsible idiots. But the fact is, we’re not only tolerating it, we’re making people filthy rich by supporting an industry that thrive on producing videos that are nothing short of ten minute commercials being circulated around the world saying that the very womb of our culture are sluts and whoes who are only good for abuse, and that Black men want everything out of life but a job - and will do anything to get it.
.
That’s not who we are as a people, but that’s the way we’re being portrayed. That’s who our young people are looking up to, and that’s the way the rest of the world sees us. So if we allow this to continue, whose fault is it when the rest of the world believes their lying eyes? No wonder unemployment is so high among Black people. I wouldn’t hire anyone like that either - would you?
.
So the Black community needs to come down on the media like a sledgehammer, and stop them from slandering our community. We also have to start letting our children know, in no uncertain terms, that stupidity’s not cute. We can't start to disseminate that message too soon, or too early in a child’s life, and since kids tend to gravitate toward those things that they’re rewarded for as "cool," it’s not enough to simply address this issue as individual parents - we might as well be spittin’ in the wind. We have to address this issue as a COMMUNITY.
.
We’ve got to let BET know that if they want the community’s continued support, they’re going to have to change their call letters to stand for Black Excellence Television, and their programming is going to have to reflect that. We have to make it clear to BET, MTV, and the rest of the media that if they want the support of the Black community that they’re going to have to air programming that’s consistent with our agenda as a community - programming that reflects manhood as having the character to face and defeat adversity, and strength as being tender enough to sooth the wounded feelings of a baby girl.
.
But in order to do that, we need an organized community, and a big obstacle to that is the self-serving poverty pimps among us who benefit from our suffering. We’ve got to eliminate these people. These are the ones who are primarily responsible for the plight that we currently find ourselves. When Martin and Malcolm were alive, the only thing they wanted from the White man was for him to leave us alone and allow us to live our lives in peace. My grandfather had a little verse that reflected their attitude. He used to say, "The only thing I want from this whole damn nation, is a pretty little wife, and a good foundation." I didn’t realize it at the time, but in that one little verse he was teaching me the meaning of life - and he had that, and more.
.
But after the death of Martin and Malcolm, the poverty pimps swopped in to try to take their place, but both their philosophy, and their agenda, were much different. They convinced the Black community that we couldn’t make it on our own. They convinced us that we were incapable of such a monumental feat. They told us that we needed the White man’s help to move forward, so it was incumbent upon us to hire them as our official emissaries to the White man. That was in the late sixties and early seventies. But since that time, the "emissaries" have all profited greatly, while we’ve been sitting on our hands suffering, whining, and begging for the past forty years, and still waiting for the White man’s response. Sure we want our piece of America's pie, but the only way to get that is by organizing and making ourselves a strong enough political force to DEMAND it, not pay poverty pimps $30,000 an hour speaking fees to talk about how unjustly we're being treated. First, we already know that; and secondly, the only one it's benefitting is the poverty pimp. We're actually PAYING him to help spread the word, and profile us, as an hopelessly inept culture.
.
So it’s time to bring the poverty pimp hustle to an end. We don’t need one voice speaking for millions; we need millions speaking with one voice. We also need to re-embrace our self-esteem, and begin to recognize who we are, what we represent, and the dignity of what we’ve managed to overcome. We're not puppies who need to be defended. We are a strong and vibrant people. One of our number has risen from the very bottom to become President of the United States. That's one of the most amazing accomplishments in the history of mankind. It's the equivalent of a captured slave rising to become the emperor of Rome, and it also speaks volumes about the American people's respect for excellence. But the poverty pimps have a vested interest in playing that down. They have a vested interest in playing you down.
.
But our history is clear. In spite of the fact that many of us have been dragged through the pits of Hell, we've managed to come out the other side as well adjusted and relatively well educated individuals. A study was done that shows that a White man with felony conviction has an equal chance of being hired for a job as a Black man with a spotless record (http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/08/09/study-black-man-and-white-felon-same-chances-for-hire/)That alone says it all. While we've been forced to engage in a 100 yard dash where our White counterparts were spotted 25 yards, we've still managed to remained competitive. So the fact is, adversity has made us MORE, rather than less.
.
So don't buy into the great American myth. Yes, there are Black people who are struggling and at the bottom of the heap, but there are also many White people in that very same condition, and, in spite of having every advantage in life. So if you're Black and middle class, you've remained competitive with your White peers in spite of the fact that you were forced to wear lead boots during the competition. So you have much to be proud of - and not just the superficial pride of having Black skin, as James Brown suggested, but a genuine pride in what you’ve accomplished IN SPITE of your Black skin. So let us not allow our detractors have us confuse WHAT we are, or the title on our door, with WHO we are. We should ALWAYS invest in ourselves, because a great man will ALWAYS be a great man, even if he's on Skid Row.
.
Some of the greatest minds I've ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores. So I know who you are and what you're capable of, because I know who I am and what I'm capable of - thanks to you.
WHO USES THE WORD "NIGGA" AND WHY THEY USE IT IS NOT IMPORTANT. LET US NOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO BECOME SO FIXATED ON A WORD THAT WE LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE.
There's Nothing On Earth More Formidable Than A Person Who's Been Dragged through The Pits of Hell, And Then Comes Out the Other Side A Strong, Educated, and Resolute Individual. That's What's Important.
*
I NOW STAND FIRM
.
I now stand firm. My conviction of the power of knowledge is the platform upon which my podium rests. I stand firm, strong, and now free. Free of anger. Free of self-delusion. Free of the folly of empty vanity, and free of the pernicious bane of meaningless pride without substance.
.
I stand free to look upon the eyes of other men, reflecting dignity over sorrow, and accomplishment over pain; I stand with a burning passion, fueled by the very flame that forged ancestral shackles,with a deep sense of pride and a pride that flows deep.
.
I now stand erect. The steel that once degraded my father, that chained him in bondage to this bitter Earth, now reinforce my character, making me more, rather than less; and the blood and sweat that once drenched his brow, now rage with resolve and a sense of purpose within my burning breast.
.
I now stand as a new being - neither simply African, nor simply American, but a hybrid forced to transcend the sum of my parts; no longer simply African, since being torn away from the African motherland to suffer and toil in the fields of America, and more than simply American, after being forced to be more than simply American just to survive within the bowels of this prosperous land.
.
Thus, I stand now armed - armed with the wisdom of deprivation, the courage of my conviction, and a deep conviction of my courage; and fortified - with the confidence of a survivor, the empowerment of knowledge, and a ravishing hunger for greatness.
.
I now stand the product of love, struggle, and sacrifice; a witness to man's inhumanity to man, and a monument to the hopes and dreams of a million slaves.
.
I now stand embraced by my creator, as God now smiles upon my people.
Some people take umbrage with my defining myself as a hood rat. They say that by doing so, I’m not only demeaning myself, but I’m also demeaning other Black people in the process. But people who think like that are violating one of the most important principles in life - that we should always seek to be independent thinkers. That entails being self-defining, never giving the thoughts of others priority over your own, and never allowing others to define your terms.
.
Thus, people who see the phrase "hood rat" as demeaning have been brainwashed. They no longer think for themselves. They've allowed the attitude of others to take priority over their own, and they've also allowed society to define their terms. As a result, they've embraced the belief that people with their background are somehow less than others.
.
I take pride in challenging that contention because the fact is, I grew up in the hood, so that's what makes me who I am, and since God made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man think, in order for anybody to contend that I'm less than human, they're going to have to demonstrate that they can out-think me. You see, it's not enough to merely SAY, "I'm Black and I'm proud." We must put enough work into our intellectual development to say it, and mean it. Therefore, I proudly embrace the phrase hood rat as symbolic of my challenge to society to come SHOW me that I'm inferior, since it's my contention that it's society that's guilty of flawed thinking, not I.
.
A perfect example of the flaw in society's thinking can be found in the fact that attendant to the negativity that society assigns to the term "rat" is the false assumption that a rat is something nasty, and therefore, beneath man. But the fact is, man himself is the nastiest animal on Earth. While a rat may leave droppings in his environment, and one might consider that nasty, man is so prolific with his own droppings - in the ocean, in the air, in space, and within the Earth itself - that he threatens the very survival of everything on the planet. So what’s nastier, a rat, or man?
.
That illustrates why it’s so important to clean man’s droppings from our minds, and become independent thinkers. Because much of what we think of as true, is actually the corruption of truth that we’ve been taught by other men in order to promote their own self-interest.
.
So while others are scrambling among themselves in an attempt to service their corruption and greed, it presents the Black community with the perfect opportunity to spend that same time becoming independent thinkers, and reassessing the mores that we've inherited from this corrupt society. Thereafter, we should replace the meaningless pursuit of the "American Dream" (bling), with the pursuit of character, wisdom, and knowledge. Because since knowledge is power, one invariably leads to the other, and much, much more.
.
I’ve been fortunate enough to obtain a small measure of the American dream, but it was certainly not as a result of any kind of pursuit. I only stumbled upon it while on a mission to educate myself, because along with education comes skills. But also during my educational process, I found that what I was actually looking for was not so much the American dream, but happiness and self-fulfillment. Yes, I wanted to live a comfortable life, but along with a TRUE education, you tend to develop a new definition of what that entails. And one of the things that I learned was that the American dream is only the illusion of happiness, since the mere acquisition of "things" can bring you neither happiness, nor fulfillment. True happiness and fulfillment can only be found in becoming the best that you can be. Our failure to understand that is the primary problem that we have as a nation - we're in much hotter pursuit of riches than we are of character.
.
I wasted literally all of my teenage years - those years between 12 and 19 years of age, when I should have been educating myself - running the street. I spent that time dropping out of school, going in and out of various institutions, and using any kind of drug that I could get my hands on.
.
But fortunately, I was arrested as an adult (at 19 years-old), and an insightful cop and a benevolent judge joined forces to get me to agree to go into the military (the army, I thought) in return for not being sent to prison, and the promise of expunging my record if I came out with an honorable discharge. Naturally, I eagerly agreed. But it was only later, to my complete shock and horror, did I learn that they had also managed to get the Marine Corps to ignore all of its regulations against accepting an illiterate delinquent. But once I got in there I found out why - they needed a warm body to use as a close combat dummy in order to train the "REAL MARINES."
.
But once the marines finished showing me what a gangster REALLY was, they had me take the GED, and to everybody's amazement, I did really well on it. Although I did a lot of guessing, I scored much higher than anyone expected, especially myself (I'm still convinced it was a fluke). So they sent me to the Army/Navy Academy to get an actual diploma and further my educational development (I'll be eternally grateful to them for that).
.
But fluke or not, that's where I learned a couple of very valuable lessons - you are what you think, and that knowledge is power. Instead of being called dummy, I was making a fortune writing love letters for other marines, and later I started working for the battalion commander. I did all of his writing, including the officers' fitness reports, which gave me a tremendous amount of clout ("Come on, Wattree! Why be so formal? There's no one around, so spare me the Captain crap. Just call me Larry."). Later, it was arranged for me to get out 90 days early to attend college - which, by that time, was just a matter of staying awake and filling in the dots.
.
But during that process I fell in love with knowledge, and I also began to realize that since what I loved most was free, it couldn’t be denied me. And as I became increasingly more independent of thought, a couple of other things also began to come into focus. First, contrary to our national values, the only mature and productive form of competition is to compete against the person that you were the day before. And secondly, I learned that the only true road to perfect happiness and fulfillment is to dedicate your life to becoming your own hero.
.
That’s the knowledge that I would like to pass along to my brothers in the hood. Because our failure to understand those two very fundamental facts are not only the source of most of our misery, but to 99% of all of our problems in general. We rightly complain that we’re deprived of a level playing field, so why not dedicate ourselves to the acquisition of knowledge to equalize that situation? And by the way, that's the message that Tavis Smiley and Cornel West should be preaching, instead of helping to elect Republicans by attacking our first Black president.
.
So yes, I’m a hood rat, and I never let myself forget it. But I’m a hood rat with the understanding that the White man's water is no wetter than our own, and his knowledge is no more knowledgeable. In addition, since every experience in life is a source of knowledge, the experience of overcoming the adversity that we’ve endured as hood rats makes us more, rather than less. It's that very knowledge that Obama is killing them with in Washington as we speak. They could probably handle him if he was dealing with them using the knowledge that he pick up at Harvard, because many of them went there too, but he's whippin' 'em with a source of knowledge that they know absolutely nothing about - the knowledge he picked up trying to survive as a Black man in America. That's a knowledge that's unique to us.
.
Thus, the bottom line is this - with very few exceptions, we cannot depend on others to help us, Black or White. We're engaged in a class war, and it's everybody for themselves. So we've got to combine the unique knowledge that we've gained in the hood, with the education and wisdom that we obtain thereafter, to become the masters of our own fate. Thus, knowledge, is the key to our survival. Period.
.
Think about that.
Raising Your Children is the Most Important Thing You Do in This Life
*
A Father's Pride
*
Eric L. Wattree, Jr.
*
HOWLING WINDS
.
As I watched my son, dapper as they come, walk down our walkway and into manhood,
what I remember most was the howling winds. I'd seen such winds before, but never like this - my old foe was pulling up trees by the roots,
.
So I watched, but I watched alone.
.
As the winds raged on and the mighty palms bowed, a single leaf from our Winter-bare ficus tree
held tough against the ferocious storm. It fought valiantly against the angry gale, as though hanging tough Just to witness the changing of the guard,
.
So I stood, but I stood alone.
.
Like that solitary leaf, all my life I've fought the ferocious winds, and now they’ve returned, this mighty foe, poised to seize the hopes and dreams of my only son,
.
So I cringed, but I cringed alone.
.
Then, posterity glanced back, squared its shoulders, and beat back hopelessness as it
trudged through fields of ivy. Then it spread its wings and rode those howling winds
over yonder mountaintop,
.
So I wept, but I wept with a crowd . . .
*
"DADDY, MOMMIE SAID YOU BEAT UP THE BOGEYMAN.
DID YOU REALLY BEAT HIM UP?" .
"YEAH, TWICE. THAT'S WHY HE'S SCARED TO COME
IN OUR HOUSE."
*
23 April 2002
MEMORANDUM FOR OFFICER TRAINING SCHOOL SELECTION COMMITTEE
FROM: 92 SFS/SFO 2 E. ARNOLD STREET FAIRCHILD AFB, WA 99011 SUBJECT: Recommendation for Staff Sergeant Eric L. Wattree 1. I wholeheartedly concur with Staff Sergeant Wattree’s request to attend Officer Training School. He represents the enlisted ranks with the highest standard and will bring that dedication and professionalism to the officer corps.
2. Eric continues to lead a stellar military career; his enlisted performance reports speak for themselves. His leadership and experience, especially in contingency environments, remains a vital asset to our unit and wing. As one of my primary Phoenix Raven team leaders, he’s propelled to the forefront of all major deployments throughout the world. He’s repeatedly secured aircraft and crews, supporting a wide variety of missions, in the most austere and terrorist-ridden environments where security is severely inadequate. The diversity of these missions never limited SSgt Wattree’s capacity to adapt to each situation. For this reason, Eric was selected as our 2000 Outstanding Phoenix Raven Member of the Year and the 2001 Air Force Reserve Component Airman of the Year for the 92d Security Forces Squadron.
3. Whether operating under peacetime or contingency operations, Eric easily assumes control and tackles every situation with meticulous tenacity, a quality highly desired in our Air Force officers. Requested by name, Sergeant Wattree, provided security for presidential Banner missions throughout Greece, Peru and Viet Nam. While deployed to Afghanistan, he flew numerous combat missions in our nation’s pursuit to eradicate terrorism through Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Additionally, he provided round-the-clock force protection for aircraft in other high-threat environments including Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Oman.
4. Sergeant Wattree motivated his personnel during the worst conditions and raised the level of esprit de corps to integrate personnel from other Air Force specialties into a cohesive team. His leadership, integrity and devotion to our Air Force play an integral part in our future leadership. Eric has what it takes to become a commissioned officer and earns my full support to attend Officer Training School.
FRANK HELLSTERN, JR., Captain, USAF
Operations Officer
*
Kai and Eric, Jr.
*
I NOW STAND FIRM
.
I now stand firm. My conviction of the power of knowledge is the platform upon which my podium rests. I stand firm, strong, and now free. Free of anger. Free of self-delusion. Free of the folly of empty vanity, and free of the pernicious bane of meaningless pride without substance.
.
I stand free to look upon the eyes of other men, reflecting dignity over sorrow, and accomplishment over pain; I stand with a burning passion, fueled by the very flame that forged ancestral shackles,with a deep sense of pride and a pride that flows deep.
.
I now stand erect. The steel that once degraded my father, that chained him in bondage to this bitter Earth, now reinforce my character, making me more, rather than less; and the blood and sweat that once drenched his brow, now rage with resolve and a sense of purpose within my burning breast.
.
I now stand as a new being - neither simply African, nor simply American, but a hybrid forced to transcend the sum of my parts; no longer simply African, since being torn away from the African motherland to suffer and toil in the fields of America, and more than simply American, after being forced to be more than simply American just to survive within the bowels of this prosperous land.
.
Thus, I stand now armed - armed with the wisdom of deprivation, the courage of my conviction, and a deep conviction of my courage; and fortified - with the confidence of a survivor, the empowerment of knowledge, and a ravishing hunger for greatness.
.
I now stand the product of love, struggle, and sacrifice; a witness to man's inhumanity to man, and a monument to the hopes and dreams of a million slaves.
.
I now stand embraced by my creator, as God now smiles upon my people.
.
Yes, I Now Stand Firm.
Firm, Black, and Free.
*
The Grandbabies
*
POPPI'S DREAM
*
.
Well, Taylor,
Well, Trey,
You’re on your way,
To add to the Wattree Clan;
It’s my conviction, not hope, you will surely
both,
Add a page to the sojourn of man.
.
You’ll be loved and nurtured to take your
place,
In this world that you now belong;
And when we’re through, we trust both of
you,
Will help make our people be strong.
.
You’ll be taught that knowledge is the key to
life,
And to harvest its essence you’ll strive;
Then combine that knowledge with the wisdom of
Solomon,
To help see our people survive.
.
Think not of what is politically correct,
Seek to be independent of thought;
For group-think, indeed, is not thought at
all,
But that of which fools are wrought.
.
Embrace truth over all as your clarion call,
Make integrity your moral code;
And when life’s so tough you think it’s too
much,
Allow God to relieve your load.
.
Make the God you trust the God of your
heart,
And not the God of man;
For the God of man is man himself,
And only just when it suits his plan.
.
And look to the note that your poppi once
wrote,
A withered vine ignored as benign;
Make my words come true, what I said of you,
And make my legacy whisper through time:
.
“Neither scholar nor the head of state,
The most common of men seems to be my fate;
A life blistered with struggle and constant
need,
As my legacy to man I present my seed.
.
More fertile, more sturdy, they both than I,
This withered old vine left fallow and dry;
The nectar of their roots lie dormant still,
But through their fruit I’ll be revealed.”
.
Love,
Poppi
*
TAYLOR WATTREE-JACKSON THE BILL CLINTON AWARD FOR SCHOLARSHIP OUTSTANDING STUDENT OF THE YEAR KIWANIS CLUB OF RIALTO
She is a wonderful, god given blessing to my life. Without this woman I probably wouldn't be the successful young lady I am to this day. She is one of the main people who motivates me to do my absolute best at everything I do. I think about her every second of the day and she will never leave my memory. I must thank her for the endless love she's given me, and for watching over me all these years... Rest In Paradise Nani and Happy Mother's Day ♥
Your Grandaughter,
TayTay ♥
*
ERIC L. WATTREE III
I recently graduated from Oklahoma City University with a BBA - Economics (Minor in Marketing).
While at OCU I obtained many certifications, an example being the Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) Certification. I've also been a member of the Investment Club where we managed a portfolio of actual securities initially worth $100,000 - profits going towards OCU scholarships. Throughout my 4 years, my ability to establish and maintain relationships has been my biggest asset. Being able to think critically, analyze data and relay information effectively have been critical to my success.
I also had the pleasure of being a 4-year student-athlete, spending two years as Team Captain. As a captain, the importance of taking necessary sacrifices for overall team success as well as effective time management as it relates to workload efficiencies are vital. I served 4 years as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in which we created a vehicle for student-athlete representation, organized community service efforts and promoted a positive student-athlete image on campus. I was selected on numerous occasions to speak publicly at various high schools, as well as at OCU's Sports Spectacular, the end-of-year sports banquet.
I love to learn, build relationships and WIN!
Eric L. Wattree III
. ERIC L. WATTREE III
TAYLOR WATTREE-JACKSON
*
ELIJAH WATTREE
SAILOR OF THE QUARTER
UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
, “Sailor of the Quarter” is an honor voted on by the personnel at the station and recognizes the contributions of individual service members for outstanding performance and support of the Coast Guard and its missions at the station level. The first “Sailor of the Quarter” for fiscal year 2019 is Fireman Elijah L. Wattree — high praise for a newly arrived station member with just over a year in the Coast Guard. A native of Bremerton, Washington, Fireman Wattree is the first in his family to join the Coast Guard and he’s finding it a good fit. . The “Sailor of the Quarter” citation reads in summation, “Your compassion, hard work, and extreme commitment to the U. S. Coast Guard and Station Boothbay Harbor is evident and exemplifies the Coast Guard’s Core Values of Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty. I greatly appreciate your dedication to duty and continued fine performance.” Signed: Adam P. Smart, Officer in Charge, Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor. , ELI IS NOW INVOLVED IN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
* GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER
AUBRI
*
THE CREW
Look what we did, baby!
*
Eric and Valdie Wattree
UNTIL DEATH DO US PART - AND BEYOND.
WE DID IT, BABY!
*
Rita - My very dear friend.
Val would have loved you, and I'm sure she's smiling upon you now. Thank you for all the beauty and happiness you've brought
Strive To Become Your Own Hero... Then Let No One Remove Your Cape.
BIO
Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet, and musician, born in Los Angeles. He’s been a columnist for The Los Angeles Sentinel, Black Star News, The Atlanta Post, and is a member of the Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org/). He’s also the author of "A Message From the Hood."
Some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores, while some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia in pursuit of credentials over knowledge.
Am I a hater, you ask? You're damn right I'm a hater. I hate injustice. I hate hypocrisy. I also hate demagoguery, apathy, and the stupidity that allows it to exist. Hater? Absolutely. I'm a big time hater. I hate what I see happening to this country, and I hate watching the development of a culture that embraces ignorance with a stupid sense of pride. So yes, I am indeed a hater, but not only that - I'm a hater with a very low threshold for bullshit, so step off.
I’m the product of a very unique family of farmers. We’re not famous, or world shakers, but we’re, literally, one of a kind in the United States. There's only one Wattree family in America, so anyone one with the last name "Wattree" is related to me. And as a family, we have ALWAYS been involved in educating, and tilling the soil of our people.
Posts
