Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"If it may be said of the slavery era that the white man took the world and gave the Negro Jesus, then it may be said of the Reconstruction era that the southern aristocracy took the world and gave the poor white man Jim Crow,” he declared.

“And when his wrinkled stomach cried out for the food that his empty pockets could not provide, he ate Jim Crow, a psychological bird that told him that no matter how bad off he was, at least he was a white man, better than the Black man. And he ate Jim Crow.

And when his undernourished children cried out for the necessities that his low wages could not provide, he showed them the Jim Crow signs on the buses and in the stores, on the streets and in the public buildings. And his children, too, learned to feed upon Jim Crow, their last outpost of psychological oblivion.”

Comments

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERSUASION AND CONVICTION

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERSUASION AND CONVICTION Decades ago, in my teens, my oldest brother and I had a talk where I said, “Can you believe that they’re having another gay pride parade?” He told me that he participated in a gay pride parade. Then we just stared at one another - and because many don’t know how to communicate without language, I will translate: Me: (But you’re not gay) Him: (True, but our struggle is their struggle and theirs is ours) Me: (Hmmm. Now I have to rethink everything because this is my brother whom I love challenging my core beliefs). I was persuaded that day. Today, my brother is long dead but I’m still reposting. That’s called CONVICTION.

WE DEAL WITH RACISM ON ALL FRONTS

WE DEAL WITH RACISM ON ALL FRONTS We deal with systemic racism on all fronts. We mentor; we start programs to protect our kids; we fire ALL of the white cops from elsewheres patrolling and brutalizing Black spaces who funnel in the drugs and the guns with impunity then lock up our kids for having (or using) them. And where do kids get guns for drive-bys? (Rhetorical) And do an inordinate amount of crimes occur in Black spaces in Baltimore and Detroit and L.A. as opposed to NY because Black folk in our city have more character and higher morals? (Also rhetorical) It’s because cops are not allowed to pump these things in here! We do have CHILD rape rings here which rival Florida, Texas and possibly even California (California is a dense, big state). We need to fire ALL of the white cops from elsewheres patrolling and brutalizing Black spaces! And regarding the white people and the Black folk who worship them who aid systemic racism through complicity, ignorance and arrog...

THE KLAN, THE COPS AND DEAD BLACK BODIES

THE KLAN, THE COPS AND DEAD BLACK BODIES In Richard William’s (Venus and Serena’s dad) book, BLACK AND WHITE: The Way I See It, he talks about how in Louisiana, the Klan would kill young Black people for sport and how one night, he saved another Black boy’s life by dressing up in sheets from head to toe right when they were hauling a kid in their truck. How they invited him along, gave him the shotgun to ‘do the honors’. How he told the kid to run away while he pointed the shotgun at the other sheets, then stole their truck. How when white cops patrolling spotted him in his garb, they gave him a wave on by. And some wonder why our protests get us maced, jailed and killed while theirs receive police protection. Now this is America!

Black Belt Commonsense

Search This Blog