The United States of America is NOT a Free Country

Visualize freedom. What does that look like to you? Freedom would allow men to walk down a street without suspicion or harassment from agents of the state. Freedom would allow a middle aged woman to be in the nude in her own apartment without armed government employees bursting through the door.

Freedom wouldn’t mistake eccentric behavior for criminal behavior and inject citizen’s with sedatives. Freedom would not tolerate armed bureaucrats breaking into a couple’s apartment and killing in the middle of the night. A free country would not allow municipal representatives to spray a nine year old girl in the face with mace.

None of this would happen or be tolerated in a free country. Yet it has been tolerated in America since the end of the Civil War. The United States of America is NOT a free country. The freedom of Black citizens is what is typically compromised by law enforcement and that is why it is allowed to happen at the officers’ discretion. However, no one is really free when police officers are given the power and grace that police officers have.

I am African American and I have never been manhandled or falsely arrested by a police officer. Most of my interactions with the police have been relatively polite. But all it takes is crossing paths with the wrong officer. If I’m pulled over by an officer I’m at their mercy and I’m expected to submit to whatever treatment they decide to dole out. They can easily create a tense situation and escalate the scene and give themselves and excuse to put me under arrest or kill me. An agent of the state such not be given such a wide margin.

Despite the wide margins police officers are given to work they aren’t very efficient in preventing or solving crime. City streets are still dangerous, people are missing and we have a drug war that’s been going on for forty years. Yet jaywalkers end up getting arrested and people end up getting killed when they are pulled over for a bad tail light.

There is absolutely no benefit in giving police officers so much space, grace and praise. They aren’t doing anything with it accept terrorizing Black citizens and feeding their egos. Police departments in America diminish our freedom.

The police officers are one part of a dysfunctional system. But they are the part that apprehends, intimidates, beats, tortures and kills. They are the foot soldiers and flunkies of the racist American justice system. American can not call itself a free country under the circumstances of the last one hundred fifty six years. America isn’t displaying bravery either.

Americans Are Not Mature Enough for a Conversation About Race

“We need to have a conversation about race” has become a common cliche in this country in regards to race relations. This phrase is commonly heard when listening to talking heads discuss current events surrounding race in America. America has shown me that a conversation about race is a complete waste of time and energy.

Anyone with an objective point of view understands that White supremacy and racism is a one way street. Black Americans have done all they can to live in this country peacefully yet we are constantly condescended, vilified and degraded. That’s the real reason that people want to have “conversations on race”. They use it as an opportunity to tell Black people what they really think under the guise of peacemaking. Black people continue to try and make peace and compromise in order to go along to get along and be accepted.

Black Americans need to talk to each other about how to improve their lives in America and other voices need to be ignored. Black people need to have a more positive inner dialogue. When non Black people defend their opinion in regards to race it is usually an unflattering opinion of Black people. As far as I’m concerned they are welcome to it. They are also welcome to stay out of my space.

Positive interactions with non Black people are possible but if you need to sit down with them and conversation about racist opinions they probably are not worth the trouble. I have not interest in talking someone out of their racism. As long as the are not affecting my life they are they are welcome to it.

I have no interest in helping anyone understand my point of view nor am I interested in coming to a understanding as far as race. What is hard to understand about me wanting to be valued as a human being and a woman. I don’t think I benefit from a conversation with that starting point.

If America wants to have a conversation on race it needs to apologize to descendants of African slaves and vow to do better. So far America continues to make excuses and be self righteous. The concerns and complaints of Black people are not heard. I choose not to participate in conversations where the other party refuses to listen because of perceived superiority.

Painful conversations require maturity and America does not have it. There is no real desire to do better because racism works out well for most Americans. The majority of Americans have shown Black people for centuries that they are not interested in justice or opening their minds to new ways of thinking that don’t center White comfort.

Even in this age of BLM most Americans continue to minimize the extent and affect of racism. There have been protests, riots and conversations on race yet racism prevails. Black people need to pay attention to the deliberate attempts to drown our voices in disingenuous conversations. America will never be without racism. The best Black Americans can do is to use the opportunities made possible by those that came before us and improve ourselves, our families and our communities. Do better on your own. Don’t wait for anyone else to do better.

Black on the Fourth of July: 2020

Fourth of July weekend 2020 has come and gone. It was a very somber day for me this year. Generally I don’t do a lot for holidays but they usually put me in a good mood. This year Fourth of July was depressing. Independence DAy was melancholy due to the state of America and the uncertainty of our future. Our nation’s leadership is corrupt, there is economic uncertainty, a plague is filling hospital emergency rooms to capacity and racial tensions has emotions on edge.

This Fourth of July, like in past years many Black people made social media posts letting the world know that they have no plans to observe the holiday due to past and present racial oppression. That’s their choice and I appreciate and understand their opinions but I see things differently. I’m a proud Black American and I’m proud of our history in this country.

I have two Black parents and four Black grandparents. I studied my family tree on both sides and I can document that we’ve been in this country for at least four generations. My identity is not tied to any other race or country. I’m Black American and completely comfortable with that and I take pride in my place in human history.

I have no desire to think of myself as a Moor, or a Hebrew Israelite nor do I believe that Black people are indigenous to North America. All of those are theories that Black people that want to disassociate themselves from the history of Africans in America share on You Tube. I believe that those people are ashamed of their heritage and envy White people.

I am one generation removed from a southern sharecropping family. My mother is one of nine children from rural Arkansas. She grew up in poverty and began working as a young child picking cotton with her family. They were paid for their labor by the pound. The cotton they picked was weighed and they were paid mere cents by the pound.

My mom left Arkansas after high school moved to Detroit, Michigan got a job at the phone company and married my dad who was an auto worker from Detroit. His parents were from Mississippi. The too left the agricultural South for the Industrial North for greater opportunities and freedom.

My folks divorced when I was young but I had a happy childhood where my needs and many of my wants were met. I went to college after high school graduated and later on earned two more degrees. After many years I got my foot in the door of the career I wanted. Both of my parents are enjoying retirement.

My family’s story is one of hard work and achievement. I’m proud of it. I’m glad to be an American. A high price was paid for me to have a stake in this country and I’m grateful to everyone that came before me that gave me the opportunities that I have today as a Black woman in America.

America has the biggest economy in the world and to be born here is a blessing. There is always an opportunity to make money in America. It may not be a lot and life is hard everywhere but survival is not precarious here as it is in other nations.

I’m a working class woman but I have a nice car, diamond rings, designer purses, a closet full of clothes and shoes and a full refrigerator. I’ve been on great vacations and have dined in hip restaurants. Life is pretty good and I won’t complain.

America has a fascinating history and is a beautiful country. There is a lot to do, see and experience. Many think it’s unhealthy but I enjoy the go getter culture. I also enjoy America’s materialistic, flashy nature. It’s what makes our economy great.

But America is far from perfect. There are glaring injustices. Overall this is indeed a racist, White supremacist country. I’ve been overlooked for opportunities and discriminated against because of my race. The saying that Black people have to work twice as hard to get half as far is true and I’ve been in the American workforce long enough that I’ve seen that principle in action.

I’m a tax paying, law abiding, citizen but I do not see police as friends or protectors. I prefer to keep them as far away from me as possible because an interaction with them could be unpredictable. I could end up hurt or dead. A simple misunderstanding can be fatal for Black people and their actions would most likely be excused by other Americans and the court system.

But I believe that Black Americans need to stand up for what is right in this country like we have done historically. We need to continue to hold the United States to its promise of liberty and justice for all. We need to continue to support the Constitution and Bill of Rights as citizens that have a right to pursue happiness. Our ancestor pour blood, sweat and tears into this country. Stand up for what is yours and remember that no one has given us anything. This is my country too.

America’s has a lot of great things going for it. But we have a lot of work to do in order to create a more perfect union to be enjoyed by all. I’m not going to give up on what America could be because of what it currently is and was.

The Legacy of Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King is being honored today across the US. MLK is a trending topic on social media, news outlets are rehashing stories about the Civil Rights movement and publicizing community events to honor the fallen leader. Martin Luther King’s story is amazing and absolutely heroic. But I feel like his legacy is being tarnished and Whitewashed.

Martin Luther King was a man that was beaten and imprisoned because of his protests against a tyrannical White supremacist government. He was a Black man that fought for the rights of Black people and was surely motivated by concerns about the future of his own Black family. He put everything on the line and died for his people. His movement was successful and created real and positive changes for Black Americans.

But we in America still live in a White supremacist, European centered culture. Everything has to be not only accessible to Whites but centered around them. That is made very clear by the historical retelling of MLK’s life. He is said to be a man that wanted to bring the races together and bring about harmony in America. He is also portrayed as a Confucius like figure. I think that narrative is a lie to get White Americans to buy into his legacy.

First of all when you talk about race relations in America you need to think of hammers and nails. Whites are the hammers. Blacks are the nails. The hammers like to act as though there is an ongoing disagreement between two parties on equal footing. That has not been the case. Blacks have been getting hammered since the origins of this country and the Civil Rights movement just asked to give Blacks a break. Give them a shot at the chance to pursue happiness.

When mainstream media talks the accomplishments and goals of Dr. King they act as if he simply wanted Black and White people to hold hands and sing kumbaya together. He was not the simpleton that history and the mainstream media make him out to be. He was a freedom fighter for Black American people that had suffered centuries of oppression in the US.

He fought for displaced people that did not truly have a country of their own. He fought for descendants of African slaves that were prisoners of this country. Dr. King did not fight and die simply so Blacks could have White friends or land a date with a non Black person which is the story that is being sold across the world today through the American media and American public schools.

The same thing has happened to Nelson Mandela. He was a brave freedom fighter that fought for Black people in South Africa and won basic rights. Mandela is also being marketed as a Black man that dreamed of a rainbow nation and wanted to bring about so called racial reconciliation. This version of history is a lot easier for White people to digest because they are not confronted with their own past.

Since Donald Trump was elected as president in the US I have observed that the media sympathizes with racist notions that affirm White supremacy. The media typically portrays Whites as heroes or victims. The stories of the Civil Rights movement can not be accurately told and still portray Whites as heroes or victims. So the truth is being rewritten.

This disingenuous retelling of history is damaging to all Americans. There is no way that White supremacist ideas will ever change if they are not confronted. White Americans refuse to do the soul searching necessary to bring about the cultural changes necessary to bring about the racial reconciliation that they pay lip service to every year.

It’s also dangerous to Black people because it gives them the message that your prosperity lies in other communities. Most African Americans do not really want to be independent from White tyranny and they don’t believe that Black communities can be self sufficient. The bogus retelling of history reinforces the notion that Black people need other communities, especially Whites to survive.

I’m very unsure of what is being taught in American schools today. But I urge everyone to seek out information on the American Civil Rights movement. Remember to focus your attention of the Black community because those are primarily the people that stood up to American authoritarianism and made modest gains in order to improve their lives, communities and the futures of their children. As a Black American woman I am grateful for their struggle.

Black on the Fourth of July

This week America celebrated the Fourth of July. I don’t do a lot to observe the holiday because I do not have a lot of family in the area and I don’t have much experience cooking on the grill. I don’t have children so I don’t buy fireworks. But I did enjoy the day off and even when I have had to work on the Fourth of July I enjoyed the holiday pay.

This year on social media I saw numerous posts and tweets being circulated encouraging Black people not to celebrate the Fourth. Some of the social media messages even criticized Black people that do observe the Fourth of July. I found these memes to be annoying and arrogant. “Woke” people on social media often come across that way.

Look. I get it. I totally understand why so many Black people feel the way they do about the Fourth of July. Blacks were enslaved in 1776 and the freedoms that this country is supposed to offer her citizens were never intended to be enjoyed by Blacks. When you consider the culture of America when the Bill of Rights and the Constitution exposed how hypocritical and callous this country is towards Africans.

But despite what Blacks have faced throughout American history we are the greatest patriots of all. America as we know it would not exist without Blacks. The U.S. has the biggest economy the world has ever seen and it was built by Black labor. In history class American students learn the phrase “Cotton is King” which refers to the juggernaut which was the cotton industry in the 1800s. It wasn’t savvy business decision that made cotton king it was slave labor and brutal, savage force that made cotton king.

The cotton industry of the 1800s supported the textile industry of the early 1900s which was closely related to the northern Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution gave opportunities to European immigrants in the North East. Without Blacks immigrants never would have had an America for which to come.

African Americans are only about 12% of this country and we only live in a few areas but we have influenced the culture in many ways even though we often don’t receive recognition for our contributions. Blacks have influenced American music, cuisine, sports, fashion, politics, fine arts and sciences. Without us American culture would be bland an utterly unrecognizable.

I’m not sure that the world had ever or has ever seen anything quite like the American Civil Rights fight of the 1960s. A group of people that have been reviled and thought of as farm animals in the land where they were born stood up to the U.S. federal and state governments and won in mostly peaceful demonstrations. People that have had their features mocked and ridiculed proclaimed that Black is beautiful and the said loudly that they were Black and proud. That took bravery.

Since the 1960s other groups have mimicked the Black civil rights movement. I don’t believe the feminist, LGBT or immigrant civil rights movements would have ever taken shape without the Black movement first. Once again we provided inspiration for others in this country. As far as immigration is concerned Blacks once again paved the way for the way for the next wave of newcomers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Most of these immigrants come from brown countries and they would not have stood a chance if African Americans hadn’t stood up to White racism first.

We’ve been here trying to make America great all along. No one really has tried to hold America accountable for her actions they way Blacks have. We believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights more than anyone. Because we actually support all Americans having the same rights. So if you don’t want to celebrate the Fourth of July then don’t. But if you see other African Americans enjoying fireworks, a cookout or a day at the lake don’t judge and spare us the self righteous “woke” routine.

My family has probably been in this country about seven generations now and they sacrificed greatly for me to have the opportunities that I have in this country. I’m proud to be an African American and the Fourth of July can be seen as a day to salute patriots and freedom fighters such as Harriet Tubman, Malcom X and Angela Davis.

We deserve to be protected by police instead of targeted by them. We deserve equal opportunities and access to quality jobs and education. And se deserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in this country that those that came before us suffered greatly for.

#$%^& is Dangerous for America

I am so sick of hearing the name #$%^&. Every time you turn on the TV, radio or computer you learn more about this man’s rants. And they are just rants; no plans, no solutions. I am so disappointed that the media is giving him so much attention. This man is dangerous and bad for America and democracy.

I think it’s a safe be to say that #$%^& is not going to win. I have enough faith in my fellow Americans that I can confidently go into 2016 without the fear of an absolute idiot who is hideous to look at being elected. But he is still a danger and his actions are destructive to the American political system.

It has often struck me as unfair that Americans are only given two choices when it comes to choosing political leadership. America is a nation that thrives on choice and competition. If you want to go out for a cheeseburger you are offered numerous choices. If you want jogging shoes there are limitless sellers and shoes to consider. If you need a new lipstick you can spend and hour at the drug store trying to choose one because the options seem limitless. There is even an ice cream chain called 31 Flavors.

The competition for consumer dollars is a good thing. It gives us more and better choices at better prices. If I have a favorite product or retailer I will support their competitor from time to time just to keep the competition going. Once there is one choice there is no need to remain competitive and pleasing to consumers. Businesses will stop working for their customers and soon customers will be working for them.

But when it comes to choosing a president our choices are this or that. In other democratic countries voters are given numerous choices. You can find the right candidate that speaks to your needs. Often times we vote based on who we want to keep out of office more than who we believe is a great candidate.

I have never been tempted to vote for a Republican candidate. I am a working class, border line poor, unmarried Black woman from America’s rust belt. Republicans don’t have much to offer my demographic. In fact people like me are used as the butt of their jokes or as a fear factor.

I think that Barack Obama is a great man and a wonderful and heroic leader for this country. He could have beaten any candidate that the Republicans nominated. But I feel like the Republicans handed Barack Obama his victories twice. In 2008 and 2012 the Republican party nominated absolutely laughable candidates that no level headed American could vote for.

But the Republicans having taken the cake with their new candidate. He is wildly popular among gun rights fanatics, pro life terrorists and White supremacists. And that is enough to make him the front runner in every Republican popularity poll that is published. The runner up to #$%^& is Ben Carson who is the Republican favorite among religious fanatics and people who want a candidate that will keep the Blacks in their place.

The problem with that is that #$%^& will never, ever win. Ben Carson will never, ever win. And that makes running for president on the Democratic ticket too easy. For now the politicians vying to be the Democratic nominee for President are trying because they have to compete against one another. But once the nomination is made all they have to do is be more appealing to the American voting public that D. #$%^&. Anyone can do that.

If the Republicans continue down the road they are on they will leave sensible Americans, which are the majority only one choice. Once that one choice is comfortable with that they will stop trying to serve us and We the People we end up serving them. I’m starting to wonder if some of these political campaigns are a ruse that is designed to destroy democracy in America. I’m not a conspiracy theorist but these campaigns just can’t be serious.

The United States has so many problems. But I really do love this country. As a Black American person I don’t have any significant ties to any other nation. It’s a beautiful place with lots of resources and an interesting history. We could have such a nice country if we would just stop all of the hillbilly madness. If you are an American voter please say no to hillbilly madness in 2016.