Racism for Dummies

Ok, let’s try this again.

Say it with me:  Black people cannot be racist.

That’s because racism is an all encompassing, global, socio-political system put in place with the intent to elevate the white races of people on the planet while simultaneously destroying the dark races of people on the planet.

You would think this would be a simple thing to grasp but, for some reason, it isn’t.  So, I’ve put together a cheat sheet to help clarify this subject.  I call it racism (white supremacy) for dummies)!

In a nutshell, black people can be racially biased.  This is akin to choosing a blue shirt over a red shirt to wear on any given day.  Even though the blue shirt was preferred, it is important to note that the red shirt was not harmed in any way, shape or form by this preference.

Conversely, with racism (white supremacy), the blue shirt is also preferred, however the red shirt is presented as inferior to the blue shirt by virtue of being red.  The red shirt is unfairly targeted, criticized and damaged using media, radio, books, etc.  The red shirt is not valued or maintained and does receive the care or opportunities allotted to the blue shirt.  In fact, the red shirt is slashed, torn, used as a dust rag, a dish cloth etc., while the blue shirt is treasured, treated kindly, represented in every arena as superior in quality. The result is the deliberate and calculated destruction of the red shirt.

Racism is not simply a negative comment from Rosanne, Meghan Kelly, the manager at Starbucks, etc.  These singular acts of racial superiority, while ugly, are being exploited in order to present racism as an individual or isolated act that can be committed by anyone, even black people.

This is grossly inaccurate and intended to deceive not only white people but blacks as well.

Again, racism requires the financial ability to institute and maintain socio-political systems in place that not only elevate your race but also strategically destroy another race of people in the process.

So you see, there is no real threat of black people being racist (in the reverse or otherwise).  That’s because racism (white supremacy) is a system (not an individual) that affects politics (voting), labor, employment/educational opportunities, fair housing/loans/credit (mortgage/car purchases), religious affiliations, everyday lifestyle (clothing/hairstyle and care choices) and entertainment.

Racism renders all other systems as moot because the laws/statues/rules of society, being created by racists, will inevitably caters to racists, such that even black elected/selected officials have no choice but to carry them out even to the continued peril of their own people.

And, history is filled with the tragic stories of those who have run afoul this well established system.

Can anybody hear me?

Take A Knee

Ok, this needs to be said.

Even though racism/white supremacy is as American as football, let’s face it, the NFL is NOT solely responsible for creating it or combating it in America.  It is unfair to place the burden squarely on the players’ shoulders, however well padded they may be.  It is important to remember that Blacks who are employed by the NFL experience a lot of the same racism and suffer under the same white supremacy that exists in all walks of life in America.

Granted, they are wealthier than others.  But, at the end of the day, they face the same simple truth: Still a ni**er.

As such, Blacks in every field of study from Accountant to Zoologist, not just those in the sports and entertainment fields, are tasked to participate in their own methods of protest towards their collective emancipation.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we know that racism/white supremacy is so much bigger than the sports arena.  Black actors/actresses, entertainers, lawyers, scientist, etc., continue to experience unfair treatment in the workplace, ranging from lower annual salaries to scarce  promotions to questions regarding their very competence and the suggestion that their success is due more to some poorly defined Affirmative Action advantage than their own hard work and tears.  Outside of the workplace is more or less the same.  Without the benefit of a team uniform to mark them as somehow acceptable to society at large, black people pay higher mortgage rates, are given more jail time and experience increased incidences of police brutality compared to their white counterparts.

NFL players are not immune to this treatment; neither are they unaware of it or the cause of it.  They are similarly unfairly paid lower wages than their white counterparts.  At the same time, white quarterbacks of poor quality are allowed time to lose and learn the game while black quarterbacks must perform perfectly at all times in order to receive continuous play.  If they lose a game, they are often benched or permanently replaced.  Meanwhile, Matt Cassel and Ryan Fitzpatrick have been given over a dozen chances collectively.  I’m sure Josh McCown is simply having a bad season.  Jay Cutler has been given another chance.  Tony Romo played ten years in Dallas without winning a Superbowl and barely clinching the NFC East Championship.  And for that lackluster performance, he was rewarded with a job as an Analyst almost before he turned in his jersey!  Where are the black former players?  Former greats?  They are not owners, coaches or analysts.  They are forgotten relics of the game.

But wait!  Doesn’t the NFL boast a 70% or more Black player roster?

Yep.  And, as a result, it’s great starting point in today’s work.

But remember, the quarterback position, the coaching staff and the owners continue to be overwhelmingly and unfairly white.

This is not because blacks do not possess the intellect, the skillset or even the funding needed to compete at the quarterback position, to coach professionally or to own/operate an NFL team.  We can name people who fit any of the three.  This is directly due to racism/white supremacy!

And I get that it would be nice to see people with such broad reach and resources to do more.  I get it that Black NFL players don’t know the amount of power they possess over other areas of industry due to their sheer numbers.  However, after years of enduring racism/white supremacy, they share the same fear of being destroyed for speaking up as other blacks.  They fear returning to the ghetto or losing the homes they just purchased for Mom.  But, it’s important to remember they can’t do it alone even though they have power!  Even with it being present, unknown power is equal to nonexistent power.

But, back to the point, they shouldn’t be asked to hurt themselves if blacks aren’t united.  As mad as we are that they aren’t doing more or risking more, why should they?  Why should they risk all?  So that black folks can live next to, go to school with, date or even marry into the race of the people whose system they are protesting against?  Blacks have to be clear of what the true black agenda is and then participate in any way we can. In this way, no one person carries the burden as per King, Malcolm X, etc.  Be real.  It’s not a Kaepernick thing or an NFL thing.  It’s a black thing.  Calling all Black People!

Can anybody hear me?

Black Women’s Human Rights

It seems as though Women’s Rights have become the latest hotbed issue.  Every time you turn on the TV, women’s groups are popping up everywhere hell bent on getting what they feel is their due.  From clergy to politicians, everyone seems to have an opinion on the role of women in modern day society.

Black Women, White women, Asian women, Hispanic women, Indian women, et al., have come together to demand rights from their oppressors…men.   And why not?  Especially when every committee and senate meeting that focuses on women are comprised of nothing but men.  But, for all the sign making, speech writing and girl talk, there seems to be very little focus on reality!  Thankfully, that’s where I come in.  I promise to be brief but frank.

All disenfranchised groups in America are essentially battling one group of people to obtain their rights—wealthy, white men.  To be completely frank, the white man is the target of all protest in America, because that one group, whether in politics or the business world, makes all the rules/decisions and run the country.  But, while we’re speaking the truth, let’s also admit that African Americans have an even more complex battle with white America than other groups, owing to their arrival not being of their own volition.  No other group in the history of the country was forced to forget their names, gods and identity, or later forced to cohabit with the same people who made that so.  So, it would stand to reason that, although Black females are confronted with the same issues as White women, Asian women, Hispanic women, Indian women et al, the discrimination they face has another dimension to it.

This is because Black Women, even today, experience the type of racism that is a result of and caused by white America denying the basic reality of her humanity (right along with her black male counterpart).  Far from being denied certain rights simply because of her womanhood, the Black Woman is denied certain rights because many feel she isn’t enough of a person to deserve them.  Thus, I have to believe that the issues of racism and being treated as a human being must surely far outweigh her need to be equal to her black man since both of them aren’t even considered fully human yet, even in 2017.  Look no further than the constant barrage of monkey comparisons and Harambe based comments about darker skinned women to see examples of this.  Nevertheless, she is being dragged into a campaign of fighting for Women’s rights, a fight that really does not benefit or involve her at all!

In fact, let’s be honest.  White Women have been the biggest beneficiary of so-called equal rights fight for women.  It is HER counterpart, the white man, who is refusing to include her in the spoils that racism has afforded him, but he still considers HER to be higher than any other woman.  After all, she supported his destruction of an entire race of people; she stood with him at lynchings; she kept the sheets of his robes washed and the eye holes on his torture outfit aligned; etc.

She’s been a faithful partner to her white man.  But, where did it get her?

She, the White female, has a valid point.  Her contribution to racism is totally being ignored by him.  This is unfair to her!  She was tricked, bamboozled . . . had!   She made major contributions to the implementation of racism and, as such, she expected more of a piece of the American Pie.  She didn’t get it.  She has to fight for her cut.  But the rest of us don’t necessarily have to join in that fight.  Let us not forget that, while women make less than men for the same jobs of equal quality, the White woman is still making more than any other race of women and, in many cases, the men of color as well.

But, what does the Black female stand to gain by the acquisition of Women’s rights? After all, she isn’t even viewed as a human being, much less a “REAL” woman.

So, how about channeling this wasted energy into securing human rights for black people as a whole before fragmenting and diluting the issues with issues that aren’t yet of any consequence? If after being fully acknowledged as human beings Black Women are being male dominated, I’ll join the fight.  Til then, there are bigger fish to fry.

Can anybody hear me?

Tubman Tribute

I heard on the news that legislators in Maryland want to honor Harriet Tubman by naming not one, but two parks after her.  Now, history tells us that Harriet Tubman was instrumental in the escape of hundreds of American slaves along a clandestine route to freedom known as the Underground Railroad.  That being the case, can anyone explain to me how a park or two named after Harriet Tubman would honor her?  After all, her quest was for freedom, not for parks and recreation.  Rather than giving a park a name that many young people won’t bother to understand the relevance of, why not honor her with what she was fighting for — the freedom of her people.  Now, some of you might say, “Well, that’s already been attained.  They are free.  They have an African American president and all is well. ”  Truth be told, however, they have merely traded overt bondage for covert bondage.

In the past, African Americans knew where they stood in American society.  They understood where they could live, go to school, work, etc.  Nowadays, however, they are free to move about the country.  Nevertheless, this movement remains closely monitored, as it did in the days of Harriet Tubman via census taking, racial profiling and other means.  Though educated, Blacks remain under-employed or unemployed at an alarming rate.  In entertainment, they continue to make less than their white counter parts regardless of talent.  In housing or credit, they continue to pay higher interests rates than their white neighbors.  In the criminal justice system, they continue to face harsher penalties for the same crimes committed by their white peers.  Even with the freedom of movement mentioned earlier, there are still neighborhoods in the United States that do not welcome African Americans.  If they were truly free, they would enjoy the same amenities afforded to their white counterparts.

To properly build a monument to Harriet Tubman, we must either grant African Americans their full equality and protection under the law or build a metaphysical train to allow them to escape the tyranny.  At this point, I’m not sure which is easier.  Can anybody hear me?