As an African-American man that has spent his life just a few hours away from where Trayvon Martin was killed and George Zimmerman was subsequently acquitted, I am saddened by the verdict, but I am not surprised. I am angry, but not amazed.
At age six, I was overtly shown that my value had limits in this society. I was man-handled and handcuffed, thrown into the back of a police car, and told "shut your little black ass up." That incident, along with countless others over my decades of living, leaves me cynical regarding the ideal notion of true equality in this country.
Yes, the klan isn't lynching black men for the egregious act of looking at a white woman, anymore? And that's a good thing. But how far is that practice of yesteryear from happenings surrounding Trayvon Martin's murder? Not very far. How far is that practice from the outrageous "stop and frisk" practice implemented by the NYPD? Not very far, at all.
And while these overt, unconscionable incidents occur far too often, much of the country's racial problem is of the implicit, subconscious variety. These implicit racial biases permeate America and result in countless incidents of horror. Should we be ANGRY? Yes. Should we want to be HEARD? Yes. But the real question is, "NOW WHAT?"
Whether Zimmerman's acquittal reinforced or shattered your belief in justice or the system, what are you going to do about it, now? And tomorrow? And next month, two years from now?
Are you going to become a informed voter? Are you going to follow what's going on in your community, city, state, AND the nation? Will you seek out information to make knowledgeable decisions? Will you make wiser decisions with YOUR life to make sure your RIGHT to vote isn't taken away by doing some dumb shit?
YOU MUST!
That is where the change will take place.
Will you vow to be a father to your children? Will you sign up to be a mentor to any of the young people who are in dire need of some direction? Will you be an active member of the educational community to ensure the success of our children? Will you put as much time into the possibility of your son becoming a Supreme Court Justice (Thurgood Marshall) as you put into the idea of him becoming the a supreme athlete (LeBron James/RGIII)?
YOU MUST!
That is where the change will take place.
And remember, this is a capitalist country. Your money has a voice. If you do not like the stereotypes many people have of your cultural group, then stop watching the shows that perpetuate those stereotypes. Stop watching those channels: they cannot survive without the advertising dollars. Stop supporting the artists that rap/sing these stereotypes into the ears of EVERYONE.
And what about the athletes, entertainers, moguls out there? Will you use your voice to inspire a movement? Will you use your dollars to demand a change? Will you use your platform, influence, status and contribute more than an Instagram photo donning a hoodie? Or are you more concerned about your brand or your bottom line?
You've tweeted about it; now what?
This is a deeply emotional time, but it is not a time for aggression. However, it is a time for AGGRESSIVE ACTION. Be diligent in your work to make improvements.
So I ask you...NOW WHAT?
4 comments:
As someone who wasn't born in this country and also not a Black male, I always seem to have a different take on race relations than is expected, so I typically refrain from getting involved in any such discussions. I've taken a similar stance regarding the case and subsequent trail. Therefore the only thing I will say w/ specificity regarding the case is, as much as it hurts that a young life was lost unnecessarily, as much as it didn't have to and shouldn't have happened, we can't expect juries to start ignoring the current laws and statutes in decisions and make judgements on feelings instead. When that starts to be the expectation we'll move from having a system that needs fixing, to one that flat out doesn't work.
I appreciate the fact that here, you've challenged us to take a break at blaming all the outside factors that contribute to the continued perpetuation of the same issues in our culture and instead put feet to our words in addressing them. I've frequently said I wish those who had a platform that allows their voice to be heard by a wide cross section of America would spend as much, if not more of their time, demanding that we invest our time, talent, and treasure, in actually showing our youth how to over come adversary and not inflicting selfdamaging actions. It seems though, that this viewpoint, not accompanied by an innate mistrust, if not dislike, for people of other races/cultures is an unpopular stance.
Clearly, there are countless amounts of Black men who, like you, have similar attrocities to recall from their childhoods but like you, through good parenting, involvement in positive activites, and no doubt, good memtorship are living proof that you can "make it": where are they though?
Mishka - thanks for your comment. The fact that you're not from this country nor a Black male may make your experience different, but it shouldn't prevent you from understanding the reality of race relations in America.
And those positive men are out there. I pray they take a 'real' stand and are active.
*Just so I don't look like a big idiot my above comment should've had the word adversity...that being said:
I believe I have an understanding of the current state of race relations in our country. I do though, contend, that Black Americans of the 30s-70s and early 80s GIFTED us an American in which we totally had the power to take back our imagine and re-write the story of, and picture of, what it means to be Black but as a collective people, we have NOT honored their sacrifice. I am not in denial that racism still exists here and is more prevelent in some areas than others. I do think though, that the rate at which we inject racism as the cause for our woes is crippling and counter productive. I'm still stuck on the fact that it took the death of a Black boy at the hands of someone of another race to get Black America up in arms when in a city like Chicago there's for all intents and purposes, genocide taking place there but the nation, Black, White, and in between, from the president down to Rom Immanuel aren't taking that on!? How does that work? I just think it comes back to what you were saying about being proactive versus reactive. It's like we only get excited when someone Black is involved. There's a Black guy running for president so we mobilize but what happens when there's no Black candidate? And people just don't react rationally I think. We're upset about stand your ground laws-which weren't even used as a defense in the case- but there was a time when they were being introduced but noone was protesting them with this veracity! And not to mention the fact that the majority of Floridians aren't Black! So why is that law being proported like it was written to annihilate Blacks? Now people are advocating boycotting the entire state; how is that going to help? My point is that some times it's about race; often times it's not. If we don't distinguish, when it really is a valid time for out cry it will end up being "here we go again"...
Amen. Well-thought out and intelligent response. Thank you for your view. And your call to action. :)
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