AMENDED MINDS
PREVENTIVE MENTORING INITIATIVE MOVEMENT MINISTRY
HIP-HOP EVOLUTION
On Netflix. Trailers:
click on links below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFas9cd8ZZ8&authuser=1
If you love Hip-hop
This documentary goes back to the origins and shows the depressed economic conditions that birthed hip-hop
and follows thtransformation and cross over to all ethnic groups and most importantly...every generation since.
AMENDED MINDS
PREVENTIVE MENTORING INITIATIVE MOVEMENT MINISTRY
Our movement is of the body of Iesous Christos (Jesus) (The true church (Ekklesia). The name of our movement was inspired by a verse in the (Interlinear) Hebrew text..."for as he thinks in his heart, so is he (Prov. 23:7). The Amended Minds movement is based on this verse. The mind/how you think is the base of all actions . You can be "woke" but still in the dark, conscience and yet deceived, aware and not convicted....to act.
Also the passion for our youth comes from Prov.22:6 "train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it".
We must show them a better way. We must provide them with the necessary (righteous) resources through love and works /Agape. Bring back vocational/trade schools with an upgrade. Schools of business and real estate development, civics and economics, finance and business administration, construction management, and civil engineering, so they can become the builders of their own communities and beyond.
The founder of our movement is a former felon and his own early incarceration gives him a special insight into the challenges that many youth face in society. His experience in that environment was instrumental in helping him to develop the Preventive Mentoring Model, unlike many traditional programs that focus on activities or resources that in the long run prove to not be long term solutions. This model focuses on changing the "thought process" of our youth. To learn more about the Preventive Mentoring Model please refer to our "About Us" page.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THE PRESENT CONDITION OF OUR NATION.
The communities and the police, no trust between the two. How do we solve the problem when in some communities there is the "no snitch rule" and in some law enforcement ranks they have their version of the "no snitch rule" the "Fraternal brotherhood"/ blue wall of silence. We have got to bring the two together.
We can no longer leave this tragedy solely up to others to solve for us. There are no more penitentiaries (repentance) for reform nor any more departments of corrections (rehabilitation) now, this system is solely about detention and recidivism for the inmate leasing system.
Many politicians are advocating for the building of more prisons and simultaneously pushing to cut funding for various programs that are in place to help our youth. The prison industrial complex is real! (private/for-profit prisons) are being built as you are reading this, I am also aware that there are some in positions of power who just want to eliminate all social programs in spite of the efforts by many activists who have put forth a lot of hard work to help our youth. It seems to be a losing battle and many groups have thrown in the towel. All of the resources, recreation, and programs that are presently being provided will not help our youth unless we first change our thinking as to how to deal with youth violence. These young men and women are literally suffering! they don’t know where or who to turn to for help, this is one of the main reasons why they join gangs. Generational systemic poverty is the reason/cause of blue collar and youth crime. We have to get our elected officials to push for the needed resources. Our children are not failing us, we are failing them. If we stand on the things of God, obey by works. Acts 9:6 and he (Apostle Paul) trembling and astounded said, Lord, what will thou have me do?...
Q:How do we stop the homicides perpetrated by our youth....
A: Provide preventive resources.
THE NEUTRAL ZONE PUBLIC SQUARE
A FORUM WHERE EVERYONE CAN SPEAK FREELY
Public forum
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT:
· No complaints.
· No arguing.
· No cutting in or off when someone else is speaking,
· No mudslinging or rock throwing.
· No offensive language.
· No disrespect at all.
Open discussion on current events
FIRST SUBJECT:
Law enforcement and the communities of color. How can we bridge the divide, can we bring CMPD and our youth in the communities together on an ongoing bases and forge a true lasting relationship?
Discussion:
1. Black on black crime, blue on black, black on blue and blue on all people in the communities.
2. The history of crime and detention and the creation of the police force and how well does CMPD meet the protect and serve expectation.
3. Give CMPD the opportunity to share with the group at any forum the programs CMPD have up and running for the communities and their commitment to the communities.
4. Encourage youth to join the force to better represent their community.
IS GOD USING SOME ARTISTS IN HIP-HOP TO GET HIS WORD TO
THOSE HE HAS CHOSEN OF THESE GENERATIONS ?
God says…His Word will be here for every generation (Psalm 12:6-7)
In the gospels Jesus often spoke to his Disciples in parables, in the Greek that word means: to put one’s self in danger, the common use today is as allegories and metaphors in which : a character, place or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. When He spoke in parables it was for His disciples only. (Mark 4:10-12) Anyone other than His disciples who did hear would hear but could not understand.
Today, I pay attention to this generation the millennial's and gen Z, Hip-hop is the dominant factor and force of our youth in society today. It is song/music, sports, dress/style and social/media, but the base is Rap/logos. When I saw the BET cypher series a few years back, I was like “wow”.
Since I believe God and His word “in truth” from the original text before translation, as God said. His Word will be here for every generation; therefore I have to give some artist an ear. Kendrick Lamar , Drake, J. Cole, Marlon Craft and H.E.R...are a few that I have checked out. Conscience rappers have existed since the beginning of rap/logos and even back then they spoke about injustices in society. Jesus also spoke against injustice perpetrated by a sect of religious leaders of that time, the Pharisees and Sadducees.
It appears that this generation listens to rappers not preachers. Recent statistics show that there is a sharp decline in youth church attendance and also younger adults. The push back seems to be geared towards organized religion and all the different denominations basically preaching for $. and not showing love (agape) for the community.
I think we should start to build something for the youth, something of substance. Traditional libraries and recreation centers are no longer attractive to young people with the advancements in technology, the smart phones, tablets and pads used for social media have taken over their interest.
THE NEUTRAL ZONE PUBLIC SQUARE
A FORUM WHERE EVERYONE CAN SPEAK FREELY
Future community centers
Build state of the art modern day community center(s) for the youth, multi-use facilities composed of class rooms, music and video studios where they can learn to read and write music, learn to write and direct music videos which have taken over traditional theatrical plays, the videos will be streamed through social media and performed live for the public.
· There will be open forums where the youth can speak freely, class rooms set up for teaching and showing documentaries, relevant movies, news clips and uploads from social media.
Ex: Netflix doc 13, Hip-hop Evolution, Killer Mike’s Trigger Warning, rare MLK Jr. Speeches, HBO’s “The Wire” and most important, viewing and discussing material the youth agree to put on the table.
· Also we will start a reading program entitled “who wants to be a millionaire” (youth edition), it will be modeled after the once popular show. Participants would be given material to read based on the level of their next grade so that they won’t fall behind in reading over the summers. For those who are already behind there will be classes to teach them how to read with comprehension and purpose, back to the basics of grammar and vocabulary/defining words. This will give them what they want $ and what they need. Funding should not be a problem, instead of using tax $ the NC education lottery can support this initiative by implementing a new scratch-off with the heading on the cards “WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE (YE)” reading and comprehension is the base of learning. This program will do that while providing a means for them to (earn) some$ over the summers and simultaneously provide a summer camp having them to learn, have fun and earn $, most importantly, providing a safe place to be and not out possibly getting into trouble.
HBO's The Wire in my opinion is
the most revealing series of Urban life in America of all time.
click on links below:
It Shows the total scope of the drug game from the street corners of Baltimore Maryland to the high rise projects, the police precincts, the failed schools, the political halls and the union docks and shows the causes of the street drugs industrial complex and the political platform....
The War On Drugs
click on: https://youtu.be/tlYDCuJ-c8s
Above: Micheal B. Jordan plays one of the dealers in the low rises in the character of Wallace
Above: President Obama invited the wire's creator David Simon to the white house to discuss the Wire, President Obama said the wire was one of his favorites of all time
INCOME INEQUALITY IN THE BLUE COLLAR WORK FORCE
Temp, staffing or employment agencies.
There is only one solution to this employment practice of using Temp Agencies and this will also push back against gentrification
We must push for vocational/trade, hi-tech and business schools for the youth of this city and engage youth who live in areas where there is massive commercial/retail, residential and recreational gentrification taking place.
Amended minds believe entrepreneurship /owning a business and forming Corporations is the way of the future for the youth.
The old way of thought, “go to college so you can get a good job” is not working. Starting a business is a first step in moving out of poverty, it also gives them the ability to compete against greed in the markets to bring down prices and charges.(inflation) across the board.
In low income areas where gentrification is taking place, earning a higher wage through self-employment will enable the youth of those communities to afford the cost of keeping their families homes up to code and remodeling without having to borrow or rely on programs, and they will be able to pay the property tax increases.
Also more business ownership in their communities will result in bringing down unemployment as they will be in a position to do the hiring directly and eliminating the middle man (temps).
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men"
Frederick Douglass
(704) 264-7225 kdavis@amendedminds.org
Amended Minds is a non-profit movement recognized under section 501(c) (03) of the Internal Revenue Code