"They'll come a time, when the world won't be singing. Flowers won't grow oh no; you know bells won't be ringing. Who really cares? Whose willing to try to save a world that is destined to die............ Oh what a shame such a bad way to live who is to blame when we can't stop living. Live your life, but let live everybody. Live life for the Children for the children... Save the babies."
Marvin Gaye What's Goin On 1971
8/13/14, 12:52 AM
Eastern Standard Time
I'll make my points chronologically; the 60's we were angry, "We shall overcome"; the 70's Black Power, the panthers, Power to the People; the 80's drugs & driveby's hiphop was born; 90's we became mainstream Def Comedy Jam, Tupac & Biggie died Neo-Soul was born; 20's we still angry and dissatisfied. Our community has lost an important characteristic that we held prior to intergration.
Once upon a time we stood for something we actually believed in a cause and community fought for the right to vote people died for that to happen. Fought for equal rights to co-exist in America as a human being and not as second class citizens. So many of our younger generation has no concept of what it was like to live through a period where a dominant race ruled over how you even looked at them. A black boy, or man could lose their life just looking or admiring a white woman and she could lure and conjole that man but he would be in danger if caught even entertaining the thought. States like the commonwealth of Virginia prosecuted you if you married inter-racially. Jobs were Driver, BusBoy, Dishwasher, Cook, Maid, Babysitter and Yardman. If you could sing and dance you might be able to make it out in Hollywood or On or Off Broadway. Sports weren't integrated until mid-60's fully so Negro leagues were formed prior to that that aren't even discussed among many of the great sports files. Baseball gave us Jackie Robinson, Boxing gave us Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sonny Liston, and Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali. We evolved musically from Billie Holiday, Ella, and Dinah Washington ladies who made a name for themselves but have you ever heard of Ruth Brown?
Motown paved the way for moguls like Russell Simmons & PDiddy to be able to make movies and videos and money, Rasin in the Sun portrayed a Negro family who wanted to buy in an all white neighborhood when in reality it happened and white flight was the reaction. We have to separate the accomplishments from our failures over the years and recognize how we have changed toward one another since integration and equal rights were granted to us. We are no longer concerned until a teen is killed or somebody makes a racial remark we get offended. But not enough to get involved and contribute our time and consciousness to continuing onward in the battle for equality.
We as a people deserve reparations for all of the suffering endured by our ancestors but not in terms of money but land, establishing a foundation to lift us up out of the hovel we been in since the civil rights act was signed. Vietnam was convienent and so was Regans Iran Contra because it saturated urban areas with drugs enought to stigmatize and paralyze our community. Kept us in the pits of hell and if you didn't get caught up on the drugs then you got caught up on credit. We have become the biggest consumers on earth spending billions on entertainment, food & services, and clothing and other durable goods far above what many of us can afford. Teenage pregancies are normal and acceptable behavior across all cultures black, white, and hispanic. Communities use to bond sure there were always beefs and bullies but and the end of the day we knew how to treat each other with self dignity and respect it meant something.
Let me end with this,
When we didn't have nothing we had wealth a rich culture who knew how to demonstrate self worth and valued one another; stood together through bombs and lynchings, fed each other when one was down everyone chipped in to pull that brother or sister up by giving rent parties and selling dinners. All of us have skeletons hidden away but we have lost the connection of togetherness we don't hold each other accountable anymore. Our children get rewarded for doing what they're supposed to do and still reflect a don't careish attitude and anger which proves that it isn't changing the situation either buying them lables & cars giving them mobile phones before they even get into middle school.
America will never own up to her role in destroying the African people who were enslaved and brought here mistreated, raped, killed, and traded. Broken families we still haven't healed fully nobody seems to get that except for a few historians of the culture. Our leaders who stood out in front were all cut down in their prime. Brother Malcom spoke of these things although nobody was listening then he predicted this would happen to our people if we integrated instead of giving us the resources needed to educate and teach the Urban and Southern communities about running and owning a business. Establishing a financial institution to give us equal footing before equal rights. We took door number two what you see today is the result of settling for less than what we deserved. I look at the Jewish community whose people suffered and are suffering in some nations still under the hands of hatred and oppression they were given a fresh start and protection to rebuild as a people and still fighting to exist. But that's not what we see here in America what has happened to our Black community can't be blamed on any one thing or one person. We are held accountable should know better. Men use to marry you if you had sex and got pregnant now it's passe' too many single women raising babies alone at an alarming rate. Sons & daughters repeating the cycle generation after generation. It's time to get involved do community service become more civic minded or don't get mad when someone gets shot or called the "N" word or profiled. Why you ask shouldn't I get mad, my answer is because you don't put in nothing you get nothing out. We are becoming extinct it's a major gap now between the rich and the poor. The majority of our community lands on the poor side of the scale and only 1/4 of us are wealthy the 3/4 living way beyond their means on plastic credit cards. Filing bankruptcy. I could go on and on. But bottom line is this when you pointing that forefinger four more are pointing back at you. "Look in the mirror what do you see somebody pretending not to be me" 
Isaiah 41:22New King James Version (NKJV)
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