Problems (Sept 2016)

"Problems" (Sept 2016)

"Our problems are man-made therefore, they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings."  
-John F. Kennedy
It is time that we as a people—as Black people—take the time to seriously look at the state of our group. We have a severe habit of avoiding the true problems we face, of seriously turning away from them and towards a symptom that mass-society is more comfortable with addressing. But when one is suffering from cancer, the physician does not give them Pepto-Bismol for their vomiting and send them away. They begin a series of treatments aimed at ridding the body of the disease that has infected it. The cancer we face is a system of White Supremacy and it is malignant. We must decide how much longer we will let it fester, spreading itself cell by cell, turning the body against it's own—our children against each other, our law enforcement against the citizens—before we begin an aggressive course of treatment. And aggressive it must be. If history has taught us anything, it has consistently shown that true power concedes nothing without being forced. Police brutality is but a symptom of a much more debilitating disease. Please, my people, how many more lives must we lose before we gain the confront the true problem? Are we so estranged from our history, our glorious cultures of antiquity, that we truly believe this is the best world we can think up? Do we feel ourselves too inferior to create something better than this? Are we so afraid of losing the crumbs that we have been allowed from Massa's table? What is it that is holding us back? What is it that we are afraid of?
I am not a race-baiter or hate monger. I am no demagogue or xenophobe. All of us—black, brown, red, yellow and white; man, woman or any other gender; Christian, Muslim, Jew or other—we would all, all of humanity, benefit from the eradication of White Supremacy. I would like for all of us to join this fight—for it is truly humanity's fight—but first I must speak to my own. I know the struggles of the Black race because I am of it. I experience the reality of being a poor black man in a white man's world each and every day. And as a prisoner now there is more stigma placed upon me. I sincerely believe that Black people, because of our unique relationship with, and proximity to, the heart of the beast, must begin the charge towards a better tomorrow. Artistically, intellectually, culturally, social and politically we must break from the status quo. We cannot continue to perpetuate the same ideas that have been hindering us and expect there to come anything but more of the same. That is the definition of insanity. And from where I sit today, typing this missive, we will fit the diagnosis.
It is not a matter of race-survival. Though talk of genocide may stir more to action, the truth is we, as a race, are not going anywhere soon. If anything, we have proven our ability to endure some of the worst mankind has inflicted upon its own. No, it is not our survival that is at stake; it is our lives. For what is living if one is not living free? What is freedom without equal opportunity? What is equality without justice? The state that we occupy now was not intended for humanity. We live like animals: constantly fearing for our lives, worrying about our next meal, or finding adequate shelter. In such a state what time does one have for love, for culture, for the self-actualization that is the goal of every human being—that transcendental purpose which stirs us to reflect the image and likeness of our Creator? All of us, we strive to live, not simply survive. And we deserve to live. Our children deserve to live.
Let's not get caught up in Kaepernick's stand (or lack thereof) but focus on the issues that caused him to act. and let's not focus on those particular issues but aren't the mentality that breeds them. You must get to the source. If not, we will find ourselves stuck in a constant cycle of cosmetic Reformation that truly gets us nowhere. You fight against slavery then here comes peonage and convict leasing. We fight against them and here comes Jim Crow. We fight against Jim Crow then here comes The war on drugs. Then mass incarceration. Then police shootings. And on and on so forth and so far. As long as we just settle for cutting the heads off this Hydra, more will only continue to rise up; we must stab at the heart of the beast. And we can do it. No problem of man is beyond man's ability. As my brother, Lord Serious, once told me, "Since we are all born with the ability, we all have a responsibility, but where there is no accountability there can be no dependability."

P.E.A.C.E.
POLITICAL ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure... Your playing small does not serve the world."
-Nelson Mandela, adopted from poet Marianne Williamson

Comments

Popular Posts