That's sadly not even the topic of this post. Getting straight to the point, as people, we are living in fucked up times. As Black people, we are contributing to our own fucked up times, considering our history in this country, about which, as a Black person, you should at LEAST know a tiny fact. Thinking critically about where we've come from, things are not perfect by a long shot, but shit is MUCH better for us as Black people than it was 60 years ago. I mean, we can vote (though we don't), we can ride in the front of the bus (though we don't do that, either), hell, we can even drink out of the same water fountain as white people now. I mean, on the surface Dr. Martin Luther King's dream has come true. Digging deeper, if King were alive today, he'd still have a lot to fight for, only this time, the fight would be WITH Black people and not FOR Black people.
I say this to say, Black people, we are fuckin' up.
A friend and coworker of mine, as well as fellow Emerging Black Male Leader (shouts to Public Allies!!) put me up on a profile picture someone posted to their Facebook profile on June 19, 2010. It was a picture of what looks to be a Facebook status or note containing the text of a letter placed on the bed of a young Black male incarcerated in a Chicago jail. Check it out here:
Now, as a Black male myself, one would probably expect me to be upset at the over usage of the word "nigger" or the repeated threats of raping Black women, or some other nonsense that we as people should expect from someone identifying themselves as a Ku Klux Klan follower or member. But quite frankly, I was more upset at the responses the picture got from other Black people. One read: "this is sum bullshit! wtf kinda ish is this? just ignorant for no damn reason at all....". Another read : " hell mtf naw that shit is not even were it at foe real man i would be they ass".
Has history not taught us anything, Black people? Have Dr. King's practices (of which I'm seriously beginning to question if most Black people in this day and age are even aware) not taught us anything? Such responses, of outrage and retaliating threats, are just what the powers that be want from us. I mean, where are we in life when our first response is to beat somebody's ass when we get mad, despite the fact we can't even spell beat without giving it real thought? Dr. King practices were ALWAYS, under any and all circumstances nonviolent, and with shit like this happening in today's society, I for one feel that his road is the way to go. Now is not the time to be niggas, Black people. It is not the time to act like the mindless, vicious savages we are far too often portrayed as in today's society. Now is the time to act like we got some sense.
The first step in overcoming a problem is admitting you have one. Black people, there is absolutely nothing to be mad about in that letter. It's all true. We ARE killing future Black doctors, lawyers, and businessmen that "They" won't have to compete with. We ARE doing a great job at eliminating our own race. You can be petty and fret about them using the word nigger, but let's be real, that's a word that, whether we're aware of it or not, is STILL being used today, and will NEVER stop being used to degrade us as a people. There will always be ignorant and evil people in this world as long as there are people. Get the fuck over it. What we need to do is admit that we are fuckin' up, if we ever plan on being serious about overcoming. I fully understand that accepting accountability is something a lot of people, no matter the race, struggle with, but as I said, now is not the time to be niggas and continue blaming others for things being the way they are. It is the time to look in the mirror and decide whether or not you're comfortable with who you see. It is the time to look on your block and decide whether or not you're comfortable with what you see happening.
Since King was killed, I think we as a people have spent too much time waiting for another leader to come and save us. We all thought President Obama was going to be the be all, end all to our problems, totally neglecting the fact that he first had to clean up the mess that the last idiot left. Right now, I feel it's time for us as a people to admit that things are the way they are because of us, and realize that only WE can change them. Unless that happens, we will continue on this downward spiral that we're on now, until the future predicted in that letter becomes reality. Wake up, Black folk. Please.
~Trufe
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