The most used phrase from the black community in the last couple of days is: “What the black community needs to do is…”
At what point is enough, enough? We have surpassed enough being “enough”, decades ago. Yet still, here we are. In the United States of America there exists a two tiered Justice System: one for Blacks and one for whites (oh and people with money).
I was shocked at those who were shocked at the outcome of the George Zimmerman verdict. From the all-white jury’s perspective, Zimmerman was defending himself and had a right to kill Trayvon. As a non-black man with a white father, Zimmerman had a right to stalk and follow Trayvon because “they” always get away (as he stated to the 911 operator ) even when no crime had been committed. In the mind of the jury, Zimmerman had the god given right, privilege and entitlement to go where ever he pleased, without curious or judgmental glances. The crime here is the audacity of a black boy having the nerve to walk down a sidewalk in a neighborhood…just who does he think he is? To the jury, Trayvon (whose instincts and actions were swaying between fight and flight due to a stranger following him) did not have a right to defend himself from a would be attacker. Zimmerman: not guilty…and for me the introspection begins.
Stating the obvious, there are cultural differences that exist between white and black people. The black and brown cultural differences, concerning the way we speak, the texture of our hair, our names, down to the way we walk and the foods we eat can be oddities for many whites. Your know, like televangelist Pat Robinson being perplexed that black people eat macaroni and cheese on Thanksgiving and not green bean casserole.
Blacks have always been under the microscope by the larger white society. These cultural differences and lack of understanding, leads to prejudgments based off of prejudices. These prejudices lead to many inequalities. From employment and hiring practices, to institutions like our Justice System where it has been repeatedly documented that blacks receive harsher punishments than whites who commit the same or similar crimes. No one is more aware and endures the harshness from these unwritten guiding principles more than black males in America. In our society, our Justice System begins in the public and on our streets, where black men are guilty until proven innocent. No court, no lawyers, or jury is needed because everyone is already an appointed judge.
OckyDub
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Preach Mr. Williams! If we keep doing the same things we will get the same results. Hopefully your words don’t fall on deaf ears.
Ocky I hear your point . Maybe you have an explanation why our race don’t hear the same song playing. Why are there so many “plantation negroes” still on the plantation? Racism was created thinking that the white man and his kind is superior and so over generations despite emancipation and all that good stuff , he has certainly maintained racism in other forms to disguise and fool those that claimed to be emancipated. So the new form of racism and slavery is mental – what we think we do. He has succeed to make sure the black people remain separated and disjointed. Until we are united in one belief that we came from and out of slavery, that we as a race has always struggled to achieve our freedom and it wasn’t granted to us without a fight, that at no time in our history as a race that we have not had mathrys to defend our cause , until we understand that like the white man we must be united despite our differences, then we shall remain forever in slavery and on the plantation.
I Guess economics is more the dictate of Americans of African descent then anything else. no $ no love. keeping black men locked up is an on going industry. the U.S. is willing to spend billions on warehousing a black man and not a dime to put him threw collage, truth be told if trayvon came from a very upwardly mobile family he would have been in a car and not come in contact with zimmerman in the first place.rich black folk give their children cars at 16. We can only go as fast as the least of our brotha. business that make things, cars , clothing, shoes, and employ our own, uplifting one another and not that keeping up with the Joneses thing, change starts from within not without. buy only black produce products like asians do keep $ in the community and you will see the change but that is just my take peace.
All the above plus some more. We are BLACK first, even before being gay. We came out the womb as BLACK boys/men. Before we had one sexual encounter we were BLACK. We need to internalize this inherent fact. Nothing will ever change as long as we continue to be clueless as to this basic reality. WE ARE BLACK FIRST, AND GAY SECOND – and that’s even with all of your education – Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and Princeton degrees.
I agree with what has been said….Did anyone see Don Lemons “No Talking Points” on CNN this pass weekend? He made some very good points. At the end of the day, we need to understand we are black frist and gay second. What is so wrong with speaking correct English, pulling your pants up, giving a damn about your neighborhoods and showing intersting in our kids. We need to do better…we must do better. Black folks don’t have nobody but each other and Jesus…wake up people.
Great article. I just discovered your website last week. Finally a voice for masc gay men like myself.