From Hood to Good

By Dwight Allen

From Hood to Good will make you laugh, and youll want to tell a friend about it, because it will be hard for you to put it down. People from all walks of life will enjoy reading it, because no matter what country, culture, or language group you come from, you will relate to the experiences expressed through poetry. You will learn about urban relationships, ratchet thinking and solutions, linguistics, and urban behavior.

Through it all, there is always a cause and effect for everything you may encounter, good or bad, throughout life. Words are powerful, and Allens words will speak greatness into your life, help you stay spiritual, meditate, and keep God first. They will also help you remember where you come from and never go around thinking that you are better than anyone.

We as people must stay humble and embrace humility, so only success can stay ever present in our life.

This book will be sold worldwide through AuthorHouse.com, Amazon.com, airport bookstores, mall bookstores, book fairs, local bookstores, a variety of events, and Barnes and Noble.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524611491

Dwight Allen

Dwight Allen was born in Newark, New Jersey. As an English major while attending Delaware State University, he was inspired to write an urban book based on his life, street observations, education, and urban experiences. This book will excite you and might even knock your socks off. Its theme is “Just because you are from the hood, does not mean you can’t succeed.” This book will challenge your thinking, move your thoughts forward, matriculate your opportunities to succeed, improve your relationships, build your friendships, and assist you in surviving being from a city as well as providing techniques for becoming a strong leader. If you can believe, you can achieve. If you have a plan of action, in time you will be successful. If you keep powerful people in your circle, without a doubt you will be ambitious. Remember, common sense is free, and life is about making great choices. Through his experiences in the US Marine Corps Reserves and Delaware State University in the late eighties and early nineties, Allen realized that discipline is needed in order to be successful. In return, he has given to many urban communities across the state of New Jersey. Allen is a motivational speaker, academician, and percussion clinician who inspires youth and adults to better their lives through education, music, sports, academics, and leadership. These efforts from 1994 to the present include giving back to urban communities through college fairs, classroom presentations, and work as a clinician both in high schools and in historically Black colleges and universities.

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2016 Dwight Allen. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/01/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1151-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1150-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1149-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016908904

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Certified Thug

The Race Against the Clock

Hoochie Mama

Urban Dime Diva

Street Smart

Our Children Matter in All Cities

Hustle Man, Hustle Woman

Material vs. Matter

Pray for Wisdom, Guidance, and Understanding

Hood Struggle

Urban Unity

No Chains on Your Brains

Black History

Education Defeats Poverty

I Will Think to That!

Pay Back and Pay Black

Ghetto Girl

The Source of Achievement Is Yours

Child Support

Banging Sex

He’s in Love with a Hoe?

Hella Ass

Cootchie Fresh

You Done Started Something You Can’t Finish

Mind Your Business

Voting Matters

Weavalicious

The First of Each Month

Gangster Boo in the Hood

The Hoop in the Hood

Get Your Drink on the Spot in the Club

Silver Spoon, Silver Cup

Morning Sex

Keep It Real

Fashion Is Paramount in the African-American Community

You Are Just Mad

Books Bring Knowledge

Ratchet on the Job

Feel the Vibe

This, That, and the Third

Turn This Party All the Way Out

Turn Me on Until the Break of Dawn

Man Up with a Woman’s Touch

Motivation Right, Haters Left

She Keeps It on Lock

There’s a Solution When Negativity Attacks

Connect the Dots to All Your Valid Points

Stop Blocking

Family First

Girl, You Got It Going On

The Hustle on the Block

You Met Your Match

Once Upon a Time Where I Grew Up

No More Excuses

Realizing Your Strength

Doing Wrong Will Not Make You Right

Getting the Draws

Hood Recipe

Read Success in the Book of Opportunity

Unisex Shop

Bad Black Sister

Woke Up in Something Good

A Realization of Who Is Truly Real

An Ebony Triple Threat

Salute to the Hood

On the Bus

No Disease, Please

Sex Appeal

Checkoff

Morning Rush

Bulletproof Plan

Bring Back the Neighborhood

Liquid Consciousness

Wireless Up

Ignorant to the Third Power

Be About Your Own Business

Timetable

Grown-Ass Woman

Turned All the Way Out

A Day at the Park

Act Wrong

Your Boo

Passion for Power

Baby Mama Hood Drama

Women of Color, Have Self-Respect

Increase on the Come Up

Time Travel

Balance

Hood Hair Care

Represent Your Hood

Full-Time Lover Part Time

Pick Up the Pieces

The Hourglass

Delicious Diva

Caution

Count Down to Motivation

Power for Our People of Color

Certified Thug

What is a certified thug? Or what is a real man? These are questions people think about

when growing up in cities across America: Newark, Chicago, Detroit, LA,

DC, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Richmond, Norfolk City, Raleigh, Charlotte,

Memphis, New Orleans, Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, New York City,

Philadelphia, Cleveland, etc.

A thug of the streets, no matter where in the world, will have a heart, tattoos,

leadership qualities, and intensity. Not all thugs are illiterate in the same way. There is a

variety of types: gang, fraternity, street, intellectuals, and the most well known: corporate thugs.

There are guys that are suspected of being thugs; but a real man takes responsibility

for his actions and supports and protects his family. Thug thinking might be appropriate at

times when people disrespect you as a man, but do not thug it out to the point

where you are constantly in and out of jail.

Remember, your street credits should be how much of a positive impact you

have in building your community and not destroying your community,

brick by brick.

A certified thug is one who knows when to use his thug card and when not to

use his thug card. He understands when he is too old to hang in the streets.

At this point, it’s time for a change, and that change is to do something constructively

powerful for your family, such as start your own business or work diligently in the

workforce.

The Race Against the Clock

There is a race against time in the Black community. Slave thinking is over.

Moreover, we do not have to be in jail, in shackles and chains. Black people, wake up

and realize that you are powerful. We have a president who won in 2008 and 2012,

and we are continuing to build our families and communities, and to attain education. Staying in and

out of jail is not the answer; changing our thinking is our solution. And the white man is not

our problem; perhaps sometimes we can be