As they say in New York, “Fa-get about it!”
It’s sad to see some of our brothers and sisters making every attempt to deny who and what they are. We hear it in their statements, we see it in their actions, and we feel it in our relationships with one another. Plain and simple, some Black folks are trying to run away from their Blackness. They do it in all sorts of ways, but it’s mainly to appease white people in the hope that they will see a “different kind of Black person.” That’s how O.J. Simpson used to be characterized before they showed him the doorway back to his Blackness – even though he still has not taken the hint. Now it’s being said about Barack Obama: “He is not Black in the usual way.”
We have some serious psychological problems, obvious vestiges of our conditioning and maintenance over several generations, but trying to run away from who we are is the height of madness for Black people; besides, it’s rife with futility. It is also shameful considering the legacy left to us by our forbearers. Are they lying cold in their graves now, having sacrificed themselves for our true freedom, for a cause from which we are now trying to distance ourselves?
Obama’s statement, “There is no Black America,” is indicative of a fear that we will be alienated from white people if we do not give deference to them by suggesting that we are really not Black, but rather we are “neutral.” It seems to me they would prefer us to be who we are rather than pretend and play silly games. When it’s all said and done, they will make decisions about us based on their respective social paradigms and parameters anyway. So why are we scared? Why try to run away from your Blackness?
Obama tells Blacks not to vote for him because he is Black, which I am sure is highly appreciated by his corporate donors and the Washington status quo. It is also a very condescending statement to make and suggests Black people aren’t sophisticated enough to decide based on qualifications. On second thought, that may indeed be the case. We gave into Clarence Thomas because he was Black, didn’t we? But have you ever heard white candidates tell white folks not to vote for them simply because they are white? We always have to make other people feel comfortable, don’t we? Obama knows full well that millions of Blacks will vote for him simply because he is Black, but to tell us not to do so brings credence to the contention that he really isn’t “Black in the usual way.”
If being Black doesn’t mean anything, if there is no Black America, why do Black folks get excited about Bob Johnson, Tiger Woods, Serena and Venus, Oprah, Shani Davis (Olympic speed skater), Dominique Dawes, and Debbie Thomas? Why are we constantly discussing the possibility that Obama could be the first Black president (John Hanson notwithstanding) if Blackness means nothing in this country, or if it does not even exist? Why do we have an annual “State of Black America” report and forum?
Yes Barack, there is a Black America, and other America’s too, just as there are 50 separate states rather than one country with no internal borders. Our problem is that we are merely emotional about it, which is why we still place so much value on “the first Black.”
Some Black people are just too busy embracing “diversity” rather than embracing their Blackness first. Who, other than Black folks, do you hear promoting ‘diversity’ and allowing themselves to be called “minorities"? When is the last time you heard an Italian person denounce the “Little Italy” communities across this country? When have you seen Chinese people decry Chinatowns? When have you heard Hispanics say: “Down with La Raza, we are one America!”? Trying to run away from who we are is embarrassing, unconscionable, and cowardly. It also speaks volumes about our self-hate.
Newsflash! You cannot run away from being Black! You can’t get promoted from being Black; you can’t move away from being Black; and you can’t get enough money to change your Blackness (sorry, Michael). Wherever you go, there your Blackness will be also. Whatever you do, your Blackness will do it with you. So you may as well settle in and get down to business for your people, just as others are doing in this country – just as we used to do in this country, prior to “integration”.
America comprises a tapestry of nations; it’s not just one nation as the politicians would have you believe. That’s utopian rhetoric, Pablum for Black people, because we are the only ones who buy the hype. White folks are circling their wagons right now at the specter of being outnumbered by so-called “minorities.” Hispanics are carving out their piece of the economic pie by unapologetically working in support of one another.
So-called American Indians, after having raked in billions from their hotels, casinos, and golf courses, are now branching out to other business ventures, off the reservation. Koreans, Vietnamese, and Chinese are making moves to control more industries in America. Pakistanis and Indians are buying all the businesses they can find. What are Black people doing, collectively, to improve and solidify our position in this nation of nations? We are trying to run away from our Blackness, which, if we succeed, will only cause us to disappear.
Why is nationalistic action bad only when it is promoted by Black people? The groups I mentioned, as well as Jewish people here and abroad, are all nationalistic. Joel Kotkin calls them “tribes.” So what’s it going to be, Black America? Nationalism or nihilism?
