Why Black People Need To Stop Giving Racists A Pass

From the Clinton Crime Bill to mass-murderer Dylan Roof, we as Black people seem take a blind eye to the never-ending atrocities committed against us. Before the bodies of our loved ones are even taken to the morgue, some insensitive member of the press sticks a mic in our faces asking us if we forgive the killers. After over 450+ years of slavery, Jim Crow, and present-day institutional racism, Black folk are still expected to turn the other cheek. And when we do, they slap us on the other one. 

Trump said it right during his campaign when he pointed out that Black people have no jobs, education, or money. They have no intention of paying Black folks a dime in reparations. No 40 acres or a mule for us. He wanted us to accept our deplorable condition and vote for him. And a few of us did--to the tune of 8%. But, really--what do we have to lose by standing up for ourselves once and for all?

Once we got off the plantation and moved on from sharecropping, Black people were thriving in freedman's towns across America. We had music, culture, refinement, a Black Wall Street, a Harlem Renaissance. We educated our children in our own schools with teachers who looked just like the students. Black people did everything from building their homes and churches to farming and buying land. We made being separate better than equal. According to The Atlanta Black Star, integration reversed that trend and destroyed most of our progress. Did we forget that we now have and have always had everything we need to be a thriving people?

"In the good ol' days..." #13TH pic.twitter.com/2IzF87ODP6

— 13TH (@13THFilm) October 12, 2016

If we learned nothing else during this last election, we were reminded of the things that many White people believe makes America great. According to Donald Trump, the good ol' days didn't require being politically correct. They could count on cops to enforce law and order keeping troublemakers, meaning Black folks, in line. This new administration promises to expose more of alternative right agenda that they have been suppressing for the last eight years. It is their time now, let them tell it. And who's going to stop them?

I have never been more disgusted... Dylan Roof is a monster that deserves a fate worse than death. pic.twitter.com/hmgLRvOOHf

— Shamz (@heebeejabi) January 4, 2017

Black people have wasted so much time holding their tongues, forgiving bastards like Dylan Roof who are not even sorry for slaughtering innocent people because they are Black and, therefore, expendable (even Greta Van Susteren is scratching her head over that one.). Like Daryl Davis of "Accidental Courtesy, " we are still seeking understanding and acceptance from loyal and committed racists who will take a bullet to protect the future of their people at the expense of ours. 

Many of us forgot all about Hillary's hero, Margaret Sanger, whose genocidal plan aimed to destroy Black people through Planned Parenthood. Clinton helped her husband push through the 1994 Crime Bill which is responsible for incarcerating Black men in particular from coast-to-coast. Black people have about a one in three chance of spending time in jail and/or prison while Whites face one in 17 odds.

And yet, she threw some hot sauce in her bag, did photo ops with Mothers of the Movement, and founded the United Negro Concert Fund in an effort to get the black vote. When Charlemagne Tha God called her out on her pandering on "The Breakfast Club", she shamelessly replied, "Is it working?" Many of us drank that Kool Aid in every flavor while the majority of White women didn't even vote for her. As reported by The New York Times, Trump racked in 53% of the White female vote.

In just a few days, the new regime takes over. It will be headed by a man who had Blacks and Muslims tossed out of his campaign rallies, called Mexicans "very bad people" and rapists, plans to re-start DAPL, vows to repeal Obamacare, plans to cut social programs, and grabs women where the sun don't shine. Trump will probably be the very first politician to keep every last one of the promises that he made during the election. Many Americans are afraid of what is to come, but the reality is that Black people will suffer the most.

If there was ever a time in history that racists should be called out, it is now. Our focus and attention should be on what we can do for ourselves. We must rediscover our value, reconnect with our rich heritage, and rebuild our communities. If we are going to sit down at the table every time they call, we must go with not just an agenda, but a list of demands. They must be put on notice that Black folk have a new regime of their own. It's called the liberation of our people.

Keep your pen to the paper! Inspiration is everywhere...

A Few Things That Do Not Belong in 2017, 2018, 2019, etc.

As the first day of the new year comes to a close and the hype leading up to it starts to fizzle, it is high time that we address the elephant in the room. New Year's resolutions. Though well-meaning, many of us have told ourselves some big fat lies about how this year is going to be better than the last. And the one before that. And still, the one before that. This is the year that we become the best version of ourselves. This is the year that we lose the weight. This is the year that we finally write that book, start or grow our businesses, and kick that dreaded smoking habit that everybody keeps nagging us about.

Why haven't we managed to check at least one of these things off our lists thus far? Consider this. Before we can change our conditions and solve our problems, there must be a shift in our thinking which will lead to a change in the folks in our circle. We have to be willing to let go of people and behaviors that do not serve us well. Let's face it. Not everybody is meant to travel with us along every leg of the journey. Their doubts, insecurities, and fears magnify our own and keep us off the path of progress. If we decide that we will only permit positive, forward-thinking thoughts to take up residence in our minds, then we will only permit positive, forward-thinking people to take up space in our lives.

Here are 10 behaviors that we need to change immediately. That's ASAP. Right now. Today. More like yesterday, really. And pronto. The sooner we send these spirit-killing, brain-draining activities packing, the better off we will all be. Here goes nothing.

1) Self-Hatred: If we don't love ourselves, NOBODY else will. We must stop telling ourselves that we are unworthy of our blessings. We have gifts, skills, and talents that we have an obligation to use. We must rid ourselves of people who do not recognize and celebrate our value. Tell them and the little haters inside to kick rocks. Oh, yeah. They need to take those who try to hold our pasts against us with them. None of their BS is welcome here.

2) Fear: We must have faith and just take the leap already. We must be decisive and move out like what we aspire to do is already done. The best part of success is failure. It is better to do our best and learn a lesson than it is to do nothing and have regrets.

3) Jealousy and Envy: We must immediately stop worrying about what other people are saying and doing. What is in front of us requires our full and complete attention. What we have been blessed with is enough to accomplish whatever it is that we set out to do. What is ours nobody else can take and what somebody else has is for them and them alone. Put on the blinders and keep running.

4) Procrastination: No one is promised the next 5 minutes, so I'm not going to waste time explaining this one. Get up off your duff and get moving. We got work to do.

5) Lack of Discipline: We are the boss of ourselves and we must take ownership for our lives. There are certain things that we must do consistently to make progress. It might be studying, writing, training, planning, etc. Having discipline means that we do what we need to do whether anybody is watching or holding us accountable. No babysitters needed.

6) Lack of Focus: This is a common problem that we can tackle if we simply put clear, measurable, goals down on paper and assign deadlines to them. An example might be that we must start writing by 9 am and reach at least 1,000 words by 12 noon every weekday. As a safeguard, there might be a self-imposed ban on social media until the goal is reached. Oh, and that includes anything or anybody else that takes our focus off the tasks at hand.

7) Entitlement: Look, nobody owes anybody anything. Whatever it is that we say we want, we must earn. That is all.

8) Pettiness: Every minute we spend engaging somebody in foolishness is a minute we could have and should have spent doing something positive and productive. Let small people be small. Their diminutive lives are none of our business. Small minds breed small results. If you want the little bit of something that they have, then do the little bit of something that they do.

9) Dishonesty: If our efforts are not yielding the results we desire, we have to be willing to face some hard truths about ourselves. We must also strive to be honest in our dealings with others. Our successes and failures are wrapped up in how we play the game. Being deceptive is a recipe for disaster, likened to a house of cards built on a mound of sand. We all have mirrors. Let us use them, shall we?

10)Indecisiveness: There is nothing more powerful than a made-up mind. Let's make a decision and move out on it to make it a reality. We can have whatever kind of life we want if we just choose it.

I pray that you and yours will have peace and prosperity this year and in the years to come. And remember, keep your pen to the paper! Inspiration is everywhere...