Happy Friday!...or should I say Harambee? That gorilla's been all over my FB feed and sparked so much "debate" about race, parenting, personal responsibility, and animal rights you'd think a Nobel Prize winning poet laureate had been killed. Quick! What's the name of the 4-year-old, his parents, or the zoo keepers who saved him? If you had to Google it, I hope you realize now why media-driven stories like this are more about riling you up for website clicks than informing you of something important. Until you can show me there's a trend of American toddlers jumping into gorilla cages due to poor parenting and this incident isn't just an excuse to bash black parents, please step away from the keyboard.
We also saw the premiere of "Roots" this week on the History Channel. It's a remake of the critically acclaimed mini-series from 1977 that depicted, in vivid detail, one African American family's generational struggle for humanity in the face of slavery. The re-make is even more raw than the original, not making any attempt to soften the portrayals of slave masters nor to minimize the psychological impact on the human beings who were literally treated like talking cattle. I had to remind myself I was watching a television show when a teenage Kizzy Kinte (played Emyri Crutchfield) nearly drowned her son. I can't imagine the torture of becoming a mother through rape, nor the superhuman courage it would take to go on, whether you keep the baby or not. I know there is a strong sentiment among my friends and family that we are so over the "we were slaves" narrative but keep in mind that no other group would let America forget the atrocities they've suffered. It's also handy to have a visual record when people start to underestimate, undervalue, and marginalize you. You cannot know where you're going if you don't know where you've been and as unpleasant as it is to watch, it is part of our story. It should motivate you to do better, not revel in shame. Cultural conditioning is real. Now if someone could make a movie about Mansa Musa or Ibn Battuta...
Black Wall Street Anniversary
Speaking of remembering where you came from, this week marks the 95th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history prior to 9/11...the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921. Perhaps the biggest example of black suffering being erased from the history books, an entire generation, both white and black, grew up without ever reading that the Greenwood District of Tulsa, OK had once been burned to the ground resulting in the deaths of up to 300 people and costing $26 million ($316 million in today's dollars) in damage. The attack was so horrific that everyone literally decided it'd be easier to forget it even happened. For 79 years, the only accounts of the massacre were through the memories of its survivors. It wasn't until 2001 that a state-commissioned report documented the full account of damage, casualites, and the events that lead up to that ugly day.
We also saw the premiere of "Roots" this week on the History Channel. It's a remake of the critically acclaimed mini-series from 1977 that depicted, in vivid detail, one African American family's generational struggle for humanity in the face of slavery. The re-make is even more raw than the original, not making any attempt to soften the portrayals of slave masters nor to minimize the psychological impact on the human beings who were literally treated like talking cattle. I had to remind myself I was watching a television show when a teenage Kizzy Kinte (played Emyri Crutchfield) nearly drowned her son. I can't imagine the torture of becoming a mother through rape, nor the superhuman courage it would take to go on, whether you keep the baby or not. I know there is a strong sentiment among my friends and family that we are so over the "we were slaves" narrative but keep in mind that no other group would let America forget the atrocities they've suffered. It's also handy to have a visual record when people start to underestimate, undervalue, and marginalize you. You cannot know where you're going if you don't know where you've been and as unpleasant as it is to watch, it is part of our story. It should motivate you to do better, not revel in shame. Cultural conditioning is real. Now if someone could make a movie about Mansa Musa or Ibn Battuta...
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| Stockholm Syndrome personified. |
Black Wall Street Anniversary
Speaking of remembering where you came from, this week marks the 95th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history prior to 9/11...the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921. Perhaps the biggest example of black suffering being erased from the history books, an entire generation, both white and black, grew up without ever reading that the Greenwood District of Tulsa, OK had once been burned to the ground resulting in the deaths of up to 300 people and costing $26 million ($316 million in today's dollars) in damage. The attack was so horrific that everyone literally decided it'd be easier to forget it even happened. For 79 years, the only accounts of the massacre were through the memories of its survivors. It wasn't until 2001 that a state-commissioned report documented the full account of damage, casualites, and the events that lead up to that ugly day.
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| I could go on and on, the full has never been told... |
Why it matters
You know that fantasy world that black "thought leaders", activists, and motivational speakers are always talking about? A self-sustaining black community with black professionals who understand your culture and your unique needs? That was Greenwood District. Black Wall Street was the utopia black intellectuals salivate for today. Successful financially, black, and completely self-sustaining. Black doctors, lawyers, engineers, business owners, and of course, pastors, all thrived in a segregation enforced community. It was everything you could have asked for in terms of black excellence in a time where the humanity of an African-American was barely acknowledged, let alone their rights as full citizens. It's a remarkable story that deserves to be told if for no other reason than to prove that excellence is not only possible but has already happened.
What can you do about it?
Remember. Remember that it wasn't the first time it happened and wouldn't be the last. Forgiveness and moving on doesn't mean you forget what happened. It's ok not live in the dark corners of our past but don't be so ready to agree when people start talking about the community with sentences that begin with "This is why we can't get ahead-- (insert some negative behavior that's not exclusive to black folks)" We've thrived in the most difficult of circumstances, no matter how many times our legs have been cut out from under us. Never count us out.
Til next week!
What can you do about it?
Remember. Remember that it wasn't the first time it happened and wouldn't be the last. Forgiveness and moving on doesn't mean you forget what happened. It's ok not live in the dark corners of our past but don't be so ready to agree when people start talking about the community with sentences that begin with "This is why we can't get ahead-- (insert some negative behavior that's not exclusive to black folks)" We've thrived in the most difficult of circumstances, no matter how many times our legs have been cut out from under us. Never count us out.
Til next week!
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