One Small Step for Equality, No Giant Leap for Black People

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The battle to overturn systemic racism and end police brutality is going to be the fight of all our lives. Just having the world wake up to the real issue of racist oppression and the havoc it has, and is wreaking on Black people is a major win. However, it is not the only battleground we have to show up at, and fight hard to make  gains on. Whatever gains we make in overthrowing the oppressive system cannot be consolidated unless we Black people actually uplift and enlighten ourselves. If we don’t become better as individuals, and a people then it will all be for nothing.

How many Black people have felt stigmatised in their communities for focusing on their education, careers or health? It is typical for Black people dismiss other Black people as squares or wannabes for wanting to get an education. Building a career and getting a regular office job is often considered selling out. Adopting a healthy lifestyle for anything other than aesthetics is seen as just an incomprehensibly lame thing to do.

During this covid-19 pandemic Black people have not always shown the best judgement or awareness of personal or public safety. And this is despite the fact that we have been one of the groups most vulnerable to infection and serious illness. Too often Black people have been some of the first to show up at illegal raves, and some of the last to socially distance or wear a face covering. We need to understand the difference between being a smartass and actually being smart. The reckless behaviour has not been atypical of the behaviour of a lot of Britons; who have preferred to wear their masks on their chins, off their noses, on their necks, over an eye, on their belts, and in their hands. But Black people cant afford to just follow the prevailing wind. They need to know when to be better. 

We need more people in families and the local communities to be role models to the rest of our people. It is fine to admire celebrities and the wealthy but their lives do not reflect the reality most of us have to contend with. We need people to set the right examples in getting the most from education, how to work hard, being responsible, and giving back to the community. People can lose their way or fall foul of the law and become rehabilitated. We want to be able to laud them for their resilience and redemption rather than hold them in thrall as outlaws or rebels. We can’t afford to give up on ourselves. 

Good parenting needs to be restored to it’s rightful place; front and centre of the Black community. Whatever the make up of the family, the upbringing of children must be given the priority it needs. That isn’t to say that it will be easy or without considerable challenges but it is central to how we as Black people make a better future for ourselves. In order to be better parents and role models to young people Black people need to reflect on what their values are; and how they deal with the personal and social challenges facing them. If people cannot show resilience and fortitude then it is unlikely they will inspire the youth to walk a path of integrity and selfless service. 

The hope we have is that we as a people enlighten ourselves and find the strength to stand tall in the face of inequality and oppression. In making better choices we can encourage the youth to become aspirational and personally fulfilled. The danger we face isn’t missing our way but in never having a better path to follow. 

Troublingly Different

We can be of different gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, faith, ideology, ability and yet still find things to unite us. We all want love, safety, security, health, shelter, and the best for those we care about. We have no right to deprive anyone of any of these things; and no one should feel entitled to deprive us of it. Unfortunately, individual mindsets and society itself are being conditioned to believe inequality is the just dessert of the underclass.

There are so many contradictions in modern day American society; and too few Americans are doing enough to confront them. America wants to be strong but it can’t abide the idea of free or universal healthcare. America wants to be wealthy but it continues to sow the seeds of disunity and conflict across its communities. America wants to be safe but it holds fast to the idea that unfettered access to guns is at the heart of being American.

Law enforcement in America claims that its many killings and shootings of Black people is in response to the threat they pose, and are perceived to pose to law enforcement officers. However, the one thing that would drastically reduce that threat would be gun control. There is no doubt that a reduction of personal gun ownership would significantly reduce the cases of law enforcement officers being confronted by armed assailants. Unfortunately, history has shown that this would probably not equivalently result in a reduction of police brutality on Black people. The incidence of unarmed Black people being violently confronted or killed by the police speaks for itself.

Since after World War 2 when people from Africa and the Caribbean were ushered into Britain to help with the rebuilding of the shattered nation; they have been confronted with being told to go back to where they came from. This is still a common occurrence across the United Kingdom. There is a core of British people who just hate the presence of foreigners. They just won’t ever be British enough for them. There is another section of society that sees diversity as a threat. They continue to stereotype people of colour even when the objects of their vitriol were born in the UK and are actually British citizens.

Prejudice and discrimination are learned traits. As much as individuals and groups are the perpetrators of the rough and harsh justice being dealt out to minorities; it is society and its institutions that have normalised and reinforced the oppression that minorities have had to endure and live with. There has to be some recognition that there will be no real change in people until social institutions themselves are reconditioned. Any calls to defund the police, reform education, restructure healthcare, refocus the justice system, or address institutional racism are not about shutting down the institutions. Rather it’s about redirecting policy and retraining organisations to better meet the needs of a changing society. Improvements are needed and it will take a lot of work to make them happen. However, everyone will need to trouble themselves to make the difference that is needed for things to get better for all people. I believe this is what the late John Lewis, the American civil rights pioneer called; making “good trouble”.

Black on the 4th of July

Source: NewsOne

A section of African Americans are acutely aware of the close connection between America's independence and the history of slavery. They are thus very indignant about any attempts to celebrate the 4th of July by Black people. And they have every reason to be embittered. Not only were Black people enslaved and brutalised but three centuries later they are still being oppressed and marginalised.

Source: chocolatehighhhh.tumblr.com

America's history is a tale of conflicts and hypocrisies. America claims to be the land of the free yet at various times it has enslaved or oppressed Native Americans, Africans, Latin Americans, Polynesians and various minorities. Americans are fiercely nationalistic but suffer from a strangely enduring desire to be British. The American love of sport is legendary yet it suffers from the worst incidence of obesity in the developed world. Americans swear by the second amendment but America is plagued by the highest levels of gun crime and violent deaths anywhere in the world. America is the foremost developed country in the world but it has shown year on year increases in poverty, deprivation, ill health and social marginalisation. 

It is important that African Americans not forget their history. That history is integral to the history of America. While past wounds may not be healed there are future battles to be fought. It is reasonably acceptable not to celebrate the 4th of July but Black Americans have earned their place in modern America and they have a role to play in its continuing evolution and transformation. It is important that African Americans don't become infested with the hypocrisy that inhabits American history and pervades the American psyche. It was ironic that Bill Clinton; a man responsible for drugs and penal policies that have ravaged Black American communities gave the eulogy at Muhammad Ali's funeral. 

There is still a huge amount of work to be done on building up Black enlightenment and self esteem. African America can't keep pointing the finger in one direction and yet turn its back on the poverty, crime, deprivation, under education, ill health, and lack of aspiration that has infested its neighbourhoods. It needs to learn about history while educating itself about the demands of advancing its interests locally and globally in harsh and oppressive modern times. Complacency and settling will only serve to dishonour the sacrifices of the Black people who fought for survival in an independent America.