Jerry Mondesire
Philadelphia NAACP President J. Whyatt Mondesire is the host of “Sunday Morning Freedom Quest” on WDAS FM and “Black Men at Penn” (at the University of Pennsylvania School of social Policy & Practice). President Chad Dion has most recently gotten way too many people screaming, "What the hell? What did this guy say?"
If you’re wondering why the phrase "What the hell?" comes to people’s minds when chatting online and on twitter about Mondesire and Lassiter, it’s because the word "hell" has never ever been connected with any good value word known to positive folks who are either white and black.
It’s a mind blower to even the open-minded person to accidentally discover that Lassiter has managed to get published in the Phila. Daily News on Tuesday, July, 2011, an opinion article (“A cry from the heart on black youth violence”) that does nothing but destroy every credible thing about black-youth heart and character. What’s worse is, Sunday morning, July 10, 2011, Mondesire, used his empowerment as the host of a radio public affairs program on WDAS to praise Lassiter’s ridiculous understanding of black youth violence. And, if you follow any of my writings from the newspapers you probably already know that my email and phone was once again blowing up to bits because this is what happens when people who are both black and white find out that some sort of incident, that is not fair to any human being, has happened in Philadelphia County or Delaware County. Again it looks like no one is willing to do or say anything about it. Find Van Stone they say. We don’t know what, but he’ll do something. Then I've got to go to war with the guy who needs to apologize.
Please allow me to say this to the moms and pops who are so hurt about what has happened with both Mondesire and Lassiter: neither of them represents the voice of radio station WDAS FM or black-youth that become violent getting involved with mob crimes committed in Philly or any city. As we all know, many times people who are very popular have access to media that the every day neighborhood guy like you and I will not be permitted to have access to. Now, I learned this point from a gentleman who just so happened to be the very opposite of black youth – he's black old. His name is Mr. Murry. And I know Mr. Murry because Mr. Murry not only volunteered with black youth who practiced “the spate of youth-mob violence,” as Lassiter called it in his letter submitted to the Phila. Daily News, he had one of the most difficult jobs with black youth in Philly. Murry, worked along with me in the Phila. Youth Study Center as a Counselor. In there you will meet just about every kind of violent youth there will come to be. Oh, talking is power in the Youth Study Center. And “Hate one another” is a youth’s best friend there too.
It’s so clear to me that Mondesire or Lassiter wouldn't wish landing a job as a Youth Study Center Counselor. That's clear just by the fact that they are both supposed to be representing what it means to hate prejudice, bias, judging, and supporting a civil rights organization for ethnic minorities. But all the while when black youth needs folks like our Mr. Murry’s the most – Mondesire and Lassiter agree with each other that when it comes to black children, (the kids who attack you in public or in doors) “they are morally and spiritually bankrupt”. “The poison,” says Lassiter “is too deeply rooted”.
I recall Mr. Murry teaching me a thing or two about the cry from the heart on black youth violence. He explained to me that if you want to survive in here you first must want to volunteer. What I got from Mr. Murry’s view about black youth is that no one can possibly know WHAT IS IN THE HEARTS OR MINDS of black youth because you can’t even know WHAT’S ON YOUR OWN DAMN HEART OR MIND.
Mr. Murry worked the unit, and there was no way out for him. He attended to approximately 30 black youth at a time. He and I had 3 to 4 sixteen hours a day shifts with youth whose unfortunate lives were never viewed as being a part of “openly airing the dirty-laundry” of the Black American experience. So, I say to both Mondesire and Lassiter, when it comes to the kids, our black youth, before you start talking about leaving our black youth alone to be dirty laundry,perhaps you should face up to it, and spend a few days without pay with Mr. Murry in the Youth Study Center. I’m not giving up on black-youth who are violent anymore than Mr. Murry didn’t give up on me.
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