On CNN’s, Being Black in America, I was surprised by the lack of excuses put forth by many of the contributing Black Folk. It’s even better because they are all rich, accomplished, and made it to the spotlight.
Russell Simmons caught my attention. He said you can’t blame the rappers for the music. You can’t blame an artist for painting a picture of what he sees. Instead, we have to take the problems showcased in Hip Hop, and solve them. So let’s start there.
- The breakdown of the Black Family.
When you were growing up, did you have that woman in your neighborhood that would beat other people’s kids? Yeah, that was my Mother. I was hated because she would whip your ass. My mother believed, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
How do you develop a suitable village to raise your child? See most of you are thinking it comes with a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, with nice schools. That’s not it. It comes when Uncles spend time with Nephews because their father isn’t around. It’s a grandmother telling her history, because you make your child sit down and listen. It’s not about economics, its about time spent.
A Home should be a sanctuary. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the middle of a ghetto or in the Hollywood hills. It should be a place where morals are established, goals are set, and a plan is hatched to succeed in those goals.
I’m a strong woman, so you won’t hear me say “Women need a man,” but I will say life is better when you have a real one. It’s important because your daughters are watching. If you bring an unacceptable man home, your daughter looks up to that, especially if she doesn’t have contact with her father. She’ll look for the things that make you happy, and if you only care how much money a man makes, that’s all she’ll care about.
Men. My black men. I just don’t understand some of you. Now, for my brother’s that didn’t plan to have that kid, but are taking care of your responsibilities, you got the message. You hated the fact your father wasn’t there, so you decide to break the cycle. Thank You. But all you brother’s with so much hate in your heart because your father wasn’t around, why are you the ones that walk away Someone close to me doesn’t know his father and cries about it constantly, but doesn’t put any effort into his son, because his new girlfriend doesn’t like it. He’s a big boy, literally. I could imagine if his real father came and told him he wasn’t there because of a girlfriend, he be ready to fight.
2. We love excuses
This is the worst. The breakdown of the family comes first because that’s where a lot of these excuses come from. It’s hard not to believe there is racism around every corner when it comes from your family. My family asked me what my perfect job would be. I said, I would love to write for a living. They told me you can’t make any money being a writer. My first response was J.K. Rawling, the author of Harry Potter. I choose her as an example because she is the richest author ever. I shot high with my aspirations. They told me I wasn’t white like her, so I couldn’t succeed. I’ve written a couple novels, a few screen plays, even came up with some ideas for reality shows. I know better than to listen to haters.
But what about the kids that don’t know any better? What about the kids that have dreams of becoming a doctor or lawyer, but are surrounded by people with no dreams or aspirations because they listened to the hater speech? Where is the accountability of our elected officials that should be saying “I made it and you can to”, instead we only see them when bad stuff happens? The message is simple. I made it. You can’t. Continue to vote for me. And it works.
Are there racist people in America, Sure. You’re probably one of them. Whether you hate Muslims for 9/11, Mexicans for immigration, or white people for slavery. Everyone carries some sort of Racism, but does that make America a Racist country. No. White and black people marry and raise families. Mexicans add their flavor to hip hop and the music sounds good. This is a melting pot. If you chose to make excuses instead of applying yourself, one day you will have to look back and realize racism didn’t steal your dreams, your undeniable belief in Racism did.
3. We don’t want to integrate
I was out with my daughter and see saw this really fancy store, so she wanted to go in. I was apprehensive taking a three year old into a store with crystal every where. So when the sales associate approached me upon entering the store, I wasn’t surprised. She asked me to keep a good eye on my daughter. I said O.K. My sister lost it. She went off. “I bet she don’t tell white people to watch their kids.” Everyone in the store started looking at her. Then she had to add “Racist Bitch.”
I was about to start my tirade, when the white sales associate came over. This white lady let the ghetto out. ” Nobody is Racist, your ass is just loud as fuck.” Then like some message from God, the lady’s husband walks in, Black as Tar. I couldn’t help but laugh. I didn’t think the lady was being racist. My daughter like to touch everything and I’m sure other kids do too. I’ve seen bad ass white kids is a store. I knew she was concerned about the merchandise, not because I was black, she was concerned about my daughter destroying it, and so was I.
We can take the previous two problems and add them in here. Black Family breakdown+ Excuses Excuses Excuses+ not wanting to integrate= the black situation of today. It’s no getting around it.
Why should we have to integrate into white society? You don’t, but you have to be respectful of it. You can’t demand respect, if you don’t command respect. Meaning, if you don’t want to be treated like a Nigger, don’t act like one. If you walk in a store with your pants falling down, talking loud on a cell phone about how much you liked jail, with a mouthful of Gold, as a black woman, I think nigger. No different than you seeing a man on a horse, wearing a cowboy hat, and spurs on his boots, I’d say cowboy.
We want to be treated as equals without acting equal. We want the ability to tell the cops when and where they can arrest us. We want to tell the government they have to pay for us, because we can’t work for ourselves. We want the entire world to think America is a racist country, without taking one step to improve our own situation.
Integration doesn’t only mean white people accept us and our culture. It also means we have to all other people and their cultures.
When we put all these things together, we have the solutions to the problems that plague us. The only question is if we want it solved
