The Oxymoron of Coonery in "Freaknik"

"Freaknik" (From Wikipedia) - an annual spring break meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, primarily of students from historically black colleges and universities. Begun in 1982 as a small picnic near the Atlanta University Center, it was initially sponsored by the DC Metro Club and was typically held during the third weekend in April to coincide with the schools of the Atlanta University Center's Reading Day. The event increased in size and popularity in the 1990s with dancing, drinking, parties, a basketball tournament, rap sessions, a film festival and a job fair.

But that's just the book definition...

The real question is "do you really know Freaknik?" Have you ever been to Freaknik, have you ever talked to someone who has, have you seen pictures, and what of the plethora of rumors regarding Freaknik have you heard? Let's be honest here, Freaknik was coonery at its finest! Black folks under the influence of alcohol and weed brought to Atlanta under the premise of a good old-fashioned Freak Fest. You and I both know that Freaknik had a lot of "e-r"s "showing their ass!" Now in 2010, we have T-Pain, the ringleader man, the auto-tune king, releasing an animated cartoon entitled "Freaknik: The Musical" which aired on Adult Swim on March 7, 2010 and can been seen here.

Now I have read blog postings, message board postings, and e-mails from people who have expressed a distaste for T-Pain and his newest attempt at expressing his thoughts in the name of Entertainment. I've even heard some go so far as to say that T-Pain is further hurting black people by putting out this fictional work in which such things occur as Lil Wayne doing the voice for "Trap Jesus." But what troubled me the most was a posting when T-Pain was accused of coonery. Coonery in/at Freaknik? ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Isn't that the expected?

The funny part about black folks is how ready we are to throw a word out because we heard it somewhere in an attempt to sound more intelligent than we really are. So I'll help out any reader that I may have who don't really know what coonery is. The unofficial definition for coonery used among Black people is someone who acts like a buffoon or sellout, usually with stereotypical or over-the-top antics, reminiscent of minstrel shows. But the thing about those who portray coonery do so without the intent of being stereotypical i.e. Ray J, Flava Flav, Al Sharpton, and the like. How can we ever portray Freaknik without the coonery that it entailed? I personally found T-Pain's cartoon is very funny, and thought it to be excellent. That satirical portrayal of "Trap Jesus" and his "Hood Commandments" was probably the best part to me. But I am writing this because I wanted to know what others thought. Is "Freaknik" coonery? Or is it an artistic expression of an event which was filled with coonery at its high point?

Coonery...at Essence???

The following blog is based upon a blog post that can be read in its entirety here

So, it seems that the breakout of coonery has spread to the media outlet of Essence Magazine. Now I know that some of you who did not take the time to read the link are probably in disbelief that Essence the magazine that has been empowering Black women for decades would stoop to the level of BET's coonery in an effort to sell magazines. Even as a man I know Essence to be one of the few readily accessible sources of positivity in the black community. The artists that perform at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans are ones who do not reduce themselves to a level of "niggardry" in their art and the Essence Fest also has empowering seminars and a job fair in addition to the concert that is the primary reason for those who come to New Orleans to be in attendance. Essence's blog posting entitled "A Man's World" is no doubt designed to give black women insight into the inner psyche of the black man, a quest that has been going on since the beginning of the human species and far exceeds race, geographical area, and many other socio-economic factors. So in helping the woman on this journey, it would be beneficial to either have an expert on the discussion topic, or just an average guy, right? And that is where I am quick to throw the proverbial red flag and review this being considered coonery. Essence would have us believe that the average black male or expert on the black male in America believes in the "jump-off."

For those of us who aren't privy on what a jump-off is, it is synonymous with what we in New Orleans call a "booty buddy" or a relationship that is entirely based upon sex. While I'm not going to be a hypocrite and pretend that I've never had a jump-off, I am concerned of the message that this post sends out to the general public. Basically Jozen Cummings' point in this whole posting is that women should not take offense to being the jump-off because it takes a lot of work in keeping the jump-off happy. Again I am not going to act like he's not telling the truth, but I'm not sure that this is the right message for Essence to convey. I've read some of Cummings' other blog and have realized that this ignorance probably comes from him being employed by VIBE. In the era where the black man's name has truly become mud, where most women think that he is truly concerned with himself and his insatiable desire to smash any and everything that walks, is it appropriate to have a man co-sign to this? Did BET drive all of our media outlets crazy and now we must perpetuate every negative stereotype that is prevalent in the Black community?