Roland Martin Goes One-On-One With Dr. Umar Johnson

[JahFocus CS]

That's your opinion, but I don't need your pity or feel rootlesness.

Like I said, my family heritage is well known back hundreds of years. Sure it's disheartening end to find it end on a plantation in SC where the records weren't kept, but that's fine.

I have a great family and we're happy. We celebrate our heritage all the way back on all sides. 4 total that are close. Still have that Bible with the family tree.

There's a ton of us. There's no feeling of regret.

Maybe you don't have that.

But trying to make a black man feel sad because they view their blackness different than you, but still black is .

You can take whatever stance you want, but I'm going to critique it because I feel that it promotes a defeatist disposition.

You're in this thread talking about how we should identify and be Americans and you're caping for bedbucks and bedwenches.

The implication of your positions is that all we can hope and aim for is assimilation and hope that cacs do right by us. Therefore, your bankrupt Black liberalism has nothing more to offer than what we're already experiencing: systematic oppression on every front and a slow genocide. Black liberalism, like all variants of liberalism, misunderstands the origins and function of racism in society (hint: it is related to capitalism) and therefore can never give a solution for it, or even fight it effectively. Meanwhile it advocates that we bind ever more closely with the descendants of our enslavers, institutionally and even on a familial level.

It's a dead end. That dead end is what you're arguing for and is what Roland and his lackeys on the show were as well.

I've said it elsewhere in HL but as far as I'm concerned, the only respectable politics for someone of African descent to have is either revolutionary nationalism or revolutionary socialism. The former for the separatists who have no interest in seeing if cacs will ever change and the latter for those who retain some faith in the possibility of the human family. I advocate for the latter but embrace the former as an intermediate step, under current conditions, until the latter comes into view.

I don't think Black liberals are in a position to be calling Black conservatives and Trump supporters c00ns, and these types of discussions bring the reasons why to the surface.

 

[JahFocus CS]

To me it seems that Black liberals only aspire to be, essentially, melanated cacs. Equality before the law in the American system as proud and true Americans (including on a cultural level).

 

[tru_m.a.c]

While we didn’t look into some of the more defamatory accusations that have emerged in the last weeks—the “conscious stripper” fiasco or that weird screaming video against another Hotepticon, during which he answered the phone while it was still ringing—we decided to focus on the claims that have emerged from Johnson’s own unmustachioed mouth.

He says he is a certified school psychologist. Is he?
In a word: Yes.

Millersville University 1997 Touchstone Yearbook
The Root did as Johnson suggested to Martin and called Millersville University. We talked to the admissions office, which sent us to the registrar’s office, which told us that all verification of degrees, enrollment and credentials is handled by the National Student Clearinghouse—which contracts with many colleges and universities.



The National Student Clearinghouse verified Johnson’s graduation from Millersville University, but because there has been speculation that the Umar Abdullah-Johnson in those records is a different guy, we searched the archives and found this picture of Johnson as a senior at Millersville University.

We also found evidence that Johnson is certified as a school psychologist in the state of Pennsylvania.

So what happened to all that money he raised?
For more than five years, Johnson has traveled the country raising money to open the Frederick Douglass Marcus Garvey Leadership Academy for Black Boys, or FDMG, receiving donations from thousands of his supporters. In 2014 he informed the public that he was looking to buy the now-defunct St. Paul’s College in Virginia and turn it into a boarding school. When confronted about the specifics, he has refused to answer, as he did in this video:


Two weeks after that video was uploaded in January 2015, Johnson told a crowd that because people didn’t want to take their “lazy ass to the post office and get a stamp,” he had opened an account with PayPal. However, in the same video, Johnson informed his followers that PayPal had frozen more than $100,000 in donations because he didn’t have the 501(c)(3) status required for tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations. He then stated that he had applied for the tax-exempt status.


On March 3, 2015, Johnson created a GoFundMe page with the express purpose “to acquire and rehabilitate either the Historically Black St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville Virginia or the Chamberlain-Hunt Academy in Port Gibson Mississippi.”

To date, GoFundMe says that he has raised $375,989 in the 28 months since he began his campaign. This does not include the cash he has raised through in-person solicitations at speaking engagements or the money that has been mailed to him by supporters outside of his online campaign. On Monday’s NewsOne Now show, Johnson told Martin that he has raised $700,000.

To date, no one has seen financial documentation showing how much money he has collected, or how he has used any of the funds. No one has seen a business plan, an application for accreditation or anything tangible that indicates he is making strides toward this so-far mythical school.


According to IRS rules, all nonprofit organizations are required to “make available for public inspection certain annual returns and applications for exemption, and must provide copies of such returns and applications to individuals who request them.” Plus, the IRS mandates that “no part of a section 501(c)(3) organization’s net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.”

This solves everything, right? Since Johnson said that he applied for tax-exempt status in 2015, anyone who asks for financial records for the FDMG school gets them, right? Anything else wouldn’t just be unscrupulous; it is illegal for a nonprofit to hide its finances, and there is video of Johnson saying that he applied two-and-a-half years ago for 501(c)(3) status.


But when The Root searched the IRS database for the Frederick Douglass Marcus Garvey school, we could find no record of Johnson’s application, under either his name, the name of the school (there is a “Frederick Douglas Mastery Charter School” listed in Pennsylvania, but that’s not it) or any variation of the name. We even searched for the address he lists for donations—nothing.


As it stands, there are thousands of people who have donated between half a million and three-quarters of a million dollars for black empowerment and uplift, but no one knows what happened to their money.

Is he a descendant of Frederick Douglass?
Since his rise to prominence, Johnson has been accused of lying about his familial relationship to civil rights hero Frederick Douglass, forcing the family to issue a statement that reads in part:

The family of Frederick Douglass has received numerous inquiries about Umar Johnson questioning his relationship to Frederick Douglass. There have also been questions about the legitimacy of his PhD and handling of the donations he’s received for a school he is promoting. We can tell you with 100% certainty that he is not a descendant of Frederick Douglass.

With that being said, Mr. Johnson is very careful not to bill himself as a “descendant”, but he doesn’t correct people when they refer to him in this way.

Johnson told Martin that he has never claimed to be a direct descendant of Douglass. Instead, Johnson asserts that his great-great-great-great-grandfather was Douglass’ first cousin.



Yet, Johnson has often claimed, as he does in this clip, to be a “direct ancestor” of Douglass, even though almost every genealogical researcher agrees that the term “ancestor” applies to “someone from whom you descend in a direct line, parent to child, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc.

Also, the Douglass family’s claims that he doesn’t correct people when he is referred to as a “direct descendant” is supported in this short video.

To be clear: None of Frederick Douglass’ blood flows through Umar Johnson’s veins. The closest he will admit regarding this is that maybe he shares a lineage with Douglass, which is akin to thinking you end up in Snoop Dogg’s will because he calls you “cousin.” This research foiled my plans to inherit a great booty-shake fortune from “my” Uncle Luke.

But is he a doctor?
This is the million-dollar question. It is impossible to prove a negative. Just as you can’t prove that I am not a Jedi and an X-Man who possesses the ability to fly, even if you’ve seen no evidence of it—I can’t prove Umar Johnson is not a doctor of psychology.



However, The Root searched every level of Johnson’s education but could find no proof that he holds a doctorate in psychology. But what started off as simple educational research has turned into a mystery.

The school Johnson claims he attended for his doctorate—the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine—also participates in the National Student Clearinghouse. It could not verify a degree under any variation of the name Umar Abdullah-Johnson or under Johnson’s birth name, Jermaine Shoemake.

Every doctoral candidate must submit a dissertation, and PCOM makes its students’ dissertations available online. When we looked through the university’s archives, we found a link to Umar Johnson’s dissertation, “The Relationship Between Self-Concept and Academic Achievement in African American Middle School Students: A Correlational Study,” which indicates that Johnson indeed submitted a thesis in PCOM’s doctor of psychology program. But unlike the other dissertations, Johnson’s was not available for download.


We then looked at the graduation-ceremony program for 2010—the year Johnson’s dissertation was submitted. He was not listed on the commencement program, even though he appears in the 2009 program as a doctoral candidate. In fact, we could not find any evidence that Johnson graduated from PCOM.

Mysteriously, a .pdf file of the program from every commencement exercise at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine is available online, except for the year Johnson supposedly graduated. In addition, 99 percent of students who received a doctorate from PCOM have their dissertation available online, but Johnson’s is not.


PCOM also posts videos of its graduation ceremonies online—the school has cataloged them on YouTube in a playlist—except someone has submitted a copyright-infringement claim only for the graduation ceremony that took place in the year Umar Johnson supposedly graduated.


The fact that Johnson’s dissertation, commencement program, graduation ceremony and every other piece of documentation that would prove he graduated from PCOM with a doctorate have apparently disappeared from the internet is either the biggest coincidence in the history of histories or he just may not have a doctoral degree.

When The Root reached out to Johnson by email and Twitter for comment on this issue and others, we received no response by the time of publication.

http://www.theroot.com/we-fact-checked-umar-johnsons-hotep-tantrum-with-roland-1796798532

 

[Pressure]

To me it seems that Black liberals only aspire to be, essentially, melanated cacs. Equality before the law in the American system as proud and true Americans (including on a cultural level).

You don't support capitalism. i do. I don't feel working make good money at a job I enjoy, investing in a company where Im able to generate wealth and provide jobs as being a cac or a melanated cac.

My priority is black advancement in this country and I'm able to do that 1 as my self, 2.)as an investor in a business that does this, 3.)as a mentor, 4.)by buying and developing my families property, and 5.)when I die pass that on to other blacks.


I enjoy the discussions. I respect the position.

But Umar's preaching a life he didnt live and holding money for a cause he isn't actually developing.

But he's a psychologist.

 

[tru_m.a.c]

I mean, seriously, anyone defending this cat clearly doesn't know a single person with a doctorate.

shyt, even if you follow politics a little, you understand that anyone with a doctorate is questioned about their dissertation. You can lose elections and government appointments over what you write in your dissertation.

Secondly, the obstacles he sets up to describe a real black man and a white man are quite ridiculous:
- Black men who fight to break the chains of systematic oppression are judged as individuals. Once they marry or procreate white, they lose the right to argue that they've fought systematic oppression. They've lost his respect.
- White men however, who fight to break the chains of systematic oppression ARE JUDGED by their ability and efforts to break the chains of systematic oppression. Notice, even though he never establishes the same critique of a white man who lays with a white woman, as he does with a black man who lays with a white woman. If black men lose respect for sleeping with white woman, the same rule should apply to white men. So why are you giving the white man an out and not explicitly stating they can never be partners in the struggle (notice I never said equals).

Which leads to my next point:
- White's are judged as systems, but what defines the system aren't white groups that funded the naacp, or white groups that funded the civil rights movement, or white groups that pushed for black rights bills since 1776. When it comes to whites, the system IS the whole. There is no benchmark for individual contribution. No group, no segment of the population that contributes positively for black rights is allowed to be distinguished from the whole.

nikka so who do you respect? You? fukk out of here. You still haven't shown us receipts for the money you pocketed.

Stop accepting these black colored men who lie to you and play with your sensibilities through the exhaustive use of the word black as an adjective or adverb.

 

[Uncle Hotep]

I mean, seriously, anyone defending this cat clearly doesn't know a single person with a doctorate.

shyt, even if you follow politics a little, you understand that anyone with a doctorate is questioned about their dissertation. You can lose elections and government appointments over what you write in your dissertation.

Secondly, the obstacles he sets up to describe a real black man and a white man are quite ridiculous:
- Black men who fight to break the chains of systematic oppression are judged as individuals. Once they marry or procreate white, they lose the right to argue that they've fought systematic oppression. They've lost his respect.
- White men however, who fight to break the chains of systematic oppression ARE JUDGED by their ability and efforts to break the chains of systematic oppression. Notice, even though he never establishes the same critique of a white man who lays with a white woman, as he does with a black man who lays with a white woman. If black men lose respect for sleeping with white woman, the same rule should apply to white men. So why are you giving the white man an out and not explicitly stating they can never be partners in the struggle (notice I never said equals).

is Umar running for office? The only people that care about this are people like yourself that dont like his narrative and are trying to stop him.

why would you judge another man the same as yourself?

 

[Pressure]

is Umar running for office? The only people that care about this are people like yourself that dont like his narrative and are trying to stop him.

why would you judge another man the same as yourself?

What has he actually done?

 

[Tom Foolery]

To me it seems that Black liberals only aspire to be, essentially, melanated cacs. Equality before the law in the American system as proud and true Americans (including on a cultural level).

Being accepted by whites is their main goal. Anything that goes against this gets attacked, which is why you see these bumrush style debate, (Did they even go at Richard Spencer like this?).

Dangerous people because they get passes within black circle, just because they are not the other side.

 

[Uncle Hotep]

Being accepted by whites is their main goal. Anything that goes against this gets attacked, which is why you see these bumrush style debate, (Did they even go at Richard Spencer like this?).

 

[JahFocus CS]

You don't support capitalism. i do. I don't feel working make good money at a job I enjoy, investing in a company where Im able to generate wealth and provide jobs as being a cac or a melanated cac.

My priority is black advancement in this country and I'm able to do that 1 as my self, 2.)as an investor in a business that does this, 3.)as a mentor, 4.)by buying and developing my families property, and 5.)when I die pass that on to other blacks.


I enjoy the discussions. I respect the position.

But Umar's preaching a life he didnt live and holding money for a cause he isn't actually developing.

But he's a psychologist.

By supporting capitalism, you are supporting the divisions in society it needs to maintain to continue to function for the benefit of the ruling class, including racism.

I agree with the criticisms against Umar regarding the school. But he's right on bedbucking/bedwenching and that we need to move away from binding ourselves to cacs. Those points, more than anything, are why people are mad at him right now. Note that it was these comments, not his homophobic or misogynistic comments in the past or even in this interview with Roland, that caused this controversy.

 

[I_Got_Da_Burna]

:Lukesure:

http://www.theroot.com/we-fact-checked-umar-johnsons-hotep-tantrum-with-roland-1796798532

lol at posting garbage from a white-owned publication trying to act like it's black owned

FOH liberal c00n

 

[mr.africa]

sorry, i am 9 minutes in and dr. umar is handling this very well.

 

[I_Got_Da_Burna]

Being accepted by whites is their main goal. Anything that goes against this gets attacked, which is why you see these bumrush style debate, (Did they even go at Richard Spencer like this?).

Dangerous people because they get passes within black circle, just because they are not the other side.

Exactly...people like Roland Martin will attack Umar Johnson, but is LITERALLY DANCING FOR HILLARY CLINTON, who incarcerated millions of black males.

Black Democrats are just as dangerous, stupid, c00nish and misguided as Black Republicans.

 

[theworldismine13]

Lol @ @Call Me James and @tru_m.a.c exposing themselves as liberal c00ns

I don't even cosign Johnson on everything but these attacks on him are exposing a lot of clowns

 

[Micky Mikey]

You can take whatever stance you want, but I'm going to critique it because I feel that it promotes a defeatist disposition.

You're in this thread talking about how we should identify and be Americans and you're caping for bedbucks and bedwenches.

The implication of your positions is that all we can hope and aim for is assimilation and hope that cacs do right by us. Therefore, your bankrupt Black liberalism has nothing more to offer than what we're already experiencing: systematic oppression on every front and a slow genocide. Black liberalism, like all variants of liberalism, misunderstands the origins and function of racism in society (hint: it is related to capitalism) and therefore can never give a solution for it, or even fight it effectively. Meanwhile it advocates that we bind ever more closely with the descendants of our enslavers, institutionally and even on a familial level.

It's a dead end. That dead end is what you're arguing for and is what Roland and his lackeys on the show were as well.

I've said it elsewhere in HL but as far as I'm concerned, the only respectable politics for someone of African descent to have is either revolutionary nationalism or revolutionary socialism. The former for the separatists who have no interest in seeing if cacs will ever change and the latter for those who retain some faith in the possibility of the human family. I advocate for the latter but embrace the former as an intermediate step, under current conditions, until the latter comes into view.

I don't think Black liberals are in a position to be calling Black conservatives and Trump supporters c00ns, and these types of discussions bring the reasons why to the surface.