Fri, 06.02.2017
Back To Some Basics In African America
It is 2016 and in the contested racial relationship between black and white Americans, there are three basics for blacks that need to be reestablished in the 21st century.
- America is not in a post-civil rights era
American civil rights bills and affirmative action from the last century serve as iconic accomplishments of the Dr. Kings, Malcolm X’s, Bakers, Parks, etc. eras. Yet as binding, as these laws are they are constantly threatened by remaining and growing segregationist, and often are broken as often as a speed limit. This may always happen in education, employment, housing criminal justice, and other segments of daily life.
2. We still allow white Americans intelligent enough platforms to define race relations without adequate critique or challenge.
The lynching method to murder black Americans 100 years ago has been outlawed while other methods have taken their place. Incarceration, ongoing police sanctioned killing, and our thug violence through black-on-black homicides are weekly (daily) occurrences.
We still hear whites tell us ‘go back where you came from as well as code words and phrases like ‘take our country back,’ have replaced Nigger. Sadly, the black community as a whole doesn’t debate this loud or convincing enough and the progressive white (liberal) community has remained silent.
- Black America still lacks unity in direction ideas and planning and when to celebrate progress
Stokley Carmichael once said to expect our non-violence protest to convert the values of the white conscience for better humanity we must never forget that the white man has no conscience. We were brought here as free labor and white America will accept nothing less than assimilation from blacks. To do that allows white control of our destiny.
Finally, as black America competes for equity in all aspects of American life, I notice that we still measure most accomplishments in what feels like premature celebrations. The first this, the first that as shut out or segregated societal, business, and political barriers are broken by black men and women young and old are important parts of our journey. I would feel more comfortable without losing any luster of accomplishment if we unified to affirm these accomplishments instead and keep our eyes on the prize. Published in March 2016
by B. Mchie
