u/Wiseguy4252

I don’t really fully understand what’s going on but the transmuted hostility amongst members seems very real.

I personally say 35 years because it was manslaughter and a copycat crime technically.

They manifested as a vehicle for the Talented Tenth ideology. A foolish notion that prestige for a few blacks will better the race and that most blacks are inferior.

It’s completely antithetical to the notions that actually progress the community. It often leads to gatekeeping, colorism, supporting of black harm, and social intimidation in the few spaces where black ppl should be free to critically engage with inequity.

They’ve done a lot to obstruct their own members from protesting.

The D9 doesn’t have to be inherently sinister. It’s just strange and a bit unbiblical. Which on its own is whatever. There are way worse groups in the U.S towards black ppl.

The issue is why the D9 feels the need as an institution to lie and feel entitled to harming black ppl while using a community ethic aesthetic to obscure this violent possessiveness.

Black ppl already deal with this entitlement from the Police, medical institutions, and society at large.

“We do _ for you so we’re allowed to harm you in _ways”

The truth is not only is there NO amount of homecomings or step shows that make up for a black student’s life, it’s a red flag that it’s being hidden.

No public institution, especially at a learning institution as expensive for entire families as college, is entitled to harm students then lie about it to the public and hide their true nature through community service PR masking

It doesn’t even make sense to want to represent Service AND Exclusivity in the black community. They’re antithetical. Using service as a SHIELD for behavior deep down they know is unacceptable is even more sinister.

And it reveals a genuinely predatory character.

Hi everyone, this post is not about me but rather my father. We have been looking for answers for years without any success, now I am looking for anyone similar experiences.

Long story short, my father (at the time early 30s, 6ft, non smoker, quite fit) had a workplace accident where he fell, it his head hard enough that he overextended his neck both foward and backward which damaged the cartilage in his neck, causing pinched nerves. He was also rendered unconscious for approximately 45 minutes after the accident.

Ever since, he has struggled with chronic (all day every day) migraines, vertigo, hyperacusis, tinnitus, double vision, lowered sensitivity to pain, and sensitivity to light. He also struggles signifigantly with concentration and activities as he tires out mentally very fast which worsens his migraines.

Doctors have drawn various conclusions, from pinched or damaged nerves in his neck and head causing these issues, to a purely psychological cause to which he was predisposed, and even potential Functional Neurological Disorder. The doctor that suggested a psychological disorder stated that he had experienced migraines previously which indicated this, however my father had not experienced migraines prior to the head injury.

Something else that has been suggested is that he simply has a poor pain tolerance, however I know this not to be true as I have watched him tear toenails off and not notice until his foot felt wet and pull a nail out of his foot with no reaction. I am hoping someone will have experienced something similar to my father and have some sort of answer, or even to feel less alone.

Many black college students, especially first time students are searching for a sense of purpose. Community, ethic, fun, etc. The D9 is searching for money. Mainly through paid memberships. 70% of this money towards “administrative” expenses at headquarters.

It’s inherently predatory to not only exploit a desire for community engagement, abuse the memory of the ancestors, and lie incessantly to the public but to jeopardize the norms and habits that make a non-hostile place for black academics to achieve is grotesque considering the sacrifices made for students to even get to a campus.

It’s more than natural for a young promising student to both naively assume the sincerity of their peers as well as be desperately seeking a purpose. It’s inherently predatory to get teenagers to pay large sums to their own humiliation with a community engagement that feels hollow.

A hollowness stemming from the inadequacies of the Talented Tenth design. If you look down on the community you can’t link arms with the community. And if you can’t link arms with the community you’ll never organically lead the community.

Mostly want to see what church advocacy looks like without ego and weird rituals. I’ve heard many D9 members when questioned on the character of their organization that they do more service than the church. Boldly stating that they’re better than the church. Weirdest argument for having Christian beliefs but I digress.

I want service without talking down to the people you’re serving. Linking arms to stand up stronger not treating people like a charity case.

When you’re above average gifted it’s not a license to look down on people. It’s a license to become a better version of yourself and uplift the parts of the community you love as well as get the best out of life for yourself.

If you had a younger sibling who wasn’t as talented as you would you truly just punch down on them the whole time instead of holding yourself and your sibling to the highest standard? If you have to punch down or do ego plays are you truly that talented? It’s bogus.

People want to like the D9. They often say “if it weren’t for hazing…”. Everyone loves the parties and the dances but they hate being talked down to, pushed around, hearing about brutal secretive rituals that kill people, etc.

But the truth is it’s one and the same. Black ppl want to like the D9 because they want community, purpose, and validation like anyone else. Black people deserve an opportunity to have dance, song, organization and purposeful work without violence and intimidation.

It’s the God given right of a people who as a collective, found ways to not only survive but thrive with a vibrant culture. The D9 was founded at a time where most black ppl were sharecroppers who couldn’t go to college. And it exploded at a time where the black middle class expanded and they’d adjust the messaging every now and again. Remove a paper bag test. Let Darker skin men become Alphas.

But the underlying paternalistic prejudice remains the same. And the result of that prejudice is an increasingly tragic death. Black people are not only capable of more, but deserving of better.

What many black people in academic spaces want is purpose and meaning in serving the community that isn’t based on a brand prioritization but actually uplifting the masses. Not talking down to them.
If it were genuine people would feel it but it’s not.

With the D9 the word “service” is thrown around a lot. Often in a way that suggests you owe them something. But asking other college kids to vote or doing a step demo and photo op at a Boys and Girls Club isn’t uplifting the community so much as it is uplifting the brand even where it can be helpful.

It’s the difference having a mentorship program which is really grooming future members vs genuinely trying to improve the literacy rate of the black community at large and watching the targeted statistics in urban cities.

It’s really obstructive by deceiving people with a false image of progression or “work”.