One way to really get a Conservative White person mad.. tell them that you’re going to teach Critical Race Theory in history classrooms across this country. I mean that will “chap their ass” faster than anything. See from everything that I keep reading, and seeing on this topic, so many parents are outraged that schools want to teach real American history, and not this hyper Patriotic bull shit they taught for so many years. They make the Civil War seem so Black and White, when it wasn’t. They love to make it seem like it was a choice for us to be in this country. And conversely, they make it seem to so easy for us to just leave the country and go back to our motherland. Knowing that the resources have been depleted heavily and the access to good and quality healthcare isn’t the same. Maybe if you give us back all the gold and minerals and resources back that were taken when we were enslaved we can leave this country is peace.

I am always tickled when the discussion comes to teaching real American History just how much White folks get mad at that idea. They love to say that the way history has been taught for decades is just fine, why do we want to further divide our kids and this nation. It is my opinion that this fucking country has always been vastly divided because of the poor and distrustful way that American history has been taught in classroom through history books in this country. The fact that White people get credited with so many inventions, yet they love to tell the stories of how they had they slaves, Black people, making and building everything. If that is the case then how the fuck can they be responsible for all of these inventions? Yes, I think there is a big fuckin omission in history, as presently told, for the full contributions of Black people in this country. I also think that history is slightly distorted when discussing the Civil War. Yes, in part the war was over the North and South trying to “free” the slaves, but to be clear many of those in power in the North owned slaves as well as. There were and still are portions of the North that weren’t very friendly to Black people. Yet that doesn’t really get covered much in the telling of American history in classrooms across this nation either.

I get very annoyed when I hear so many of the supposed to be outraged parents spewing ignorance because they don’t want their children to be taught equality. They just want them to be brainwashed to thinking that how history has been told is the only way. That their people had a moral struggle to determine what was the right thing to do and in the end only they made the decision to free Black people during that Civil War. Then they casually gloss over the fact that even after being “freed” we still had to deal with Jim Crow and Segregation. We still had to deal with “separate but equal”. Which we know full damn well won’t shit equal about that time period equal. They’re satisfied with there being only that weak ass month in February for Black History. That is enough in their minds. They don’t really want the true trails and challenges put before Black people to become known. Because if we do that, then they have to accept that they were racist and prejudice. They have to answer questions from their children as to why they treated us unfairly. They would have to come to grips with the wrong doings of their Grandfathers or Grandmothers. Great grandparents that may still be living and they can’t do that.

They want to preserve their history and the place that their families have in the rich story that is America. They don’t want to look at the facts that they took the land from the Native Americans and forced them to retreat to smaller plots of land throughout the country. They don’t want to accept the fact that they brought and traded people for use and to pay off debts. Indentured Servants was something that was very pervasive and popular during and through slavery. Human Trafficking, the crime as it is today, was legal and practiced without prejudice then. Imagine having to explain to your child why their grandparents or great grandparents were selling people to each other to be used for labor and to rape in order for them to have their babies. They don’t want to discuss how because of the slave trade and the raping of the resources from Africa, how America became an even stronger power and dominant nation. Telling the full arc of American history requires busting through that façade that American has always been a place for the displaced and down trodden. That may have been the case for some ethnicities, but for Black people, this was the place where we were forced to live and be prisoners. The place where we made and developed so many things, but weren’t allowed to have ownership or possession of them. This is place where when we figured out how to run their system better than them they burned our shit to the ground. Making sure that we would have a much harder time trying establish and maintain generational wealth for our families and communities.

The thing about history is if you don’t know it and learn it, then you are doomed to repeat it. But what happens when they erase your history from the books. What happens when they take your stories and make them into their own because they control the machine. They run the system so they can always make the narrative fit into the imagination that they have planned out in their minds. Only recently has there been a movement to become more real with the history of this nation. Telling stories as the facts really bare them out. Acknowledging that race is, was and always will be a divisive force in this country until it is sufficiently acknowledged and atoned for by those who put us in this position. The day may come where we have to address these dark underbellies of American history and I hope instead of running from it or getting defensive and wanting to destroy facts and truth of history, we give the kids a chance to know the truth. We give the nation a chance to learn the truth and come together. Maybe then we can heal some of what has always ailed this nation. Accept the truth, put truth to power and then maybe American history won’t be so toxic to discuss in all it’s glory and all it’s failure.

As this country continues to open back up and companies look to rehire and staff up as a result, it’s funny to me how many companies are having a hard time filling the job openings they have. It’s almost like they’ve forgotten just how pathetic the money they were paying people prior to the pandemic. I think something that was lost in the this pandemic was that when people were receiving their unemployment benefits, plus the federal matching dollars, it allowed many people to get a taste of what real middle class living is like and they don’t want to give that up. Now yes, to some extent we all understand that those benefits won’t last forever, and as a result people will have to go back to work. The thing is though, this pandemic has pulled the scab off another one of America’s hemorrhaging social and financial issues.. the living wage in America isn’t being paid by a majority of these companies. You can start with whatever industry that you choose to and you will see that what companies pay most workers is bull shit. It’s like they’ve been stuck in 2000 for the past twenty years and every day folks are getting tired of not being paid a salary that lets them live in peace.

Do you realize that most people in this country either have a second, or third job just to make ends meet in their lives. Just so they can pay bills and have a little something left over to treat themselves. People are out here scamming and using their bodies sexually to make money or extra money because the “normal system” really isn’t paying them shit. So why not turn to something that doesn’t take taxes out and you can monetize yourself far quicker. I was watching one morning show and I found it laughable that one of the small business owners was upset that he had to raise the pay and offer signing bonuses to get employees in the door. He said that it was going to be harder for them to make profit doing that as well. I sat and I wondered to myself, how long have you been fucking people out of a real salary before this pandemic. People had no choice but to accept those jobs pre-pandemic because they didn’t have easier access to assistance that allowed them to pay their bills while obtaining a higher paying job. Think about that, you want to make more money, but the job you have uses job classification loop holes and phony “cost of labor” numbers to dictate pay, rather than the real cost of living to determine what to pay someone.

I just really wonder how long companies thought that they were going to continue to get away with just paying people low middle class to high barely above poverty wages? And let’s not forget Congress. You know them “Conservative” ass Republicans who don’t even want to let wages be standardized at $15.00 an hour. I mean that’s not even a living wage, but damn, it’s much better than the current minimum wages across most all states in this country. Quite honestly, with the current prices of food, gas, clothing and housing, paying $20.00 an hour isn’t enough to live with comfort in most places. I can literally remember when I started working seriously and I was making salaries similar to what they’re still paying today and it makes no sense at all to me. Like where do these people get their numbers from when it comes to salaries? It just feels like all these corporations have done is made record profits quarter after quarter, year after year and haven’t reinvested that money into their people. They’ve kept it in their pockets. Meanwhile, everything has continued to increase. The things we need to survive have gone up in price, why can’t our salaries match that? Why are so many Republicans afraid to let people make a baseline wage? They claim to be so American and being the party for the American people, but all their policies are geared towards rich ass people who don’t need the shit.

You know I really don’t understand the argument made against paying people salaries that lets them not need to rely on the Federal and State social/financial assistance programs. I wonder if enough of us think about just how much more beneficial it would be if we made enough money to only need one job and not two. That means it’s even more jobs out there to be had. It means that younger folks, like teenagers and college students can have jobs that aren’t being taken by someone who needs the extra pay check. If we actually changed the tax code so that rich people paid actual taxes. Not some bull shit amount that barely amounts to a tenth of their earnings. But they pay actual income taxes like regular folks do, and give tax breaks to middle class people so that we’re not losing a third of our checks to taxes then the another third to health insurance. Why the fuck do we have the most expensive health care premiums in the world? We can pay upwards of 300 to 500 dollars a month for insurance premiums and still have to pay co-pays and deductibles for services. Why the fuck don’t the premiums cover the co-pays? Talk about a monopoly on the system. The shit is rigged for you to go broke taking care of yourself if you get any type of illness.

This pandemic is waking Americans up to the need and desire to make more, while not constantly over-extending yourself. Make a living and not be so tired that you can’t have a life. No one is saying that they’re opposed to hard work, but we are opposed to hard work with nothing to show for it. So I say keep pushing, keep holding out and force these companies to have to increase their wages in order for us to work for them. Make them compete for our services. Clearly, Congress ain’t gone do shit to help us get the salaries we deserve, so we have to take it upon ourselves to get what we deserve. Secure your bag the way you want and live the best way you can in the process.

So, I’ve been watching the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin and I have to tell you that this case to me is very simply a case of humanity versus brutality. It is a test of the human spirit and shows why so many feel this country is broken and the spirit of this nation is not intact as it should be. If you have watched the trail the first three days and have seen the video footage of the heinous and inexplicable murder of George Floyd, there is no way that can’t come away moved and emotional. To watch a man have his life taken away from him in front of you. To hear him calling out for his mother and officer Chauvin show no type of remorse or care for the Mr. Floyd. For him to continually say that he can’t breathe, that he was in pain, that his body was hurting and for the officer to dig his knee even deeper into his neck. If you watch the body position of the officer it is clearly an aggressive and intentional posture. He had his hands in pockets or at his waist, which indicates he had no intention of getting off Mr. Floyd until he was dead, not moving and unresponsive. For nine minutes and twenty nine seconds, that man had his knee deeply implanted into the back of George Floyds neck. Despite cries from witnesses that he was having a hard time breathing, despite them saying they saw his face turn purple. People saying they saw his nose bleed, they saw his life being pressed out of him, until he eventually gave way to the force and died.

That was inhumane, that was barbaric, that was intentional, that was cruel and unusual punishment, that was excessive force. What ever legal terminology you want to use to describe the actions of this former officer, he committed murder. He killed that man in cold blood and had no reason to do so, and it has nothing to do with Blue Lives Matter or the Thin Blue Line or any of that bullshit. Derek Chauvin was not in any imminent danger from George Floyd at any point in time. There was zero need for the amount of force that he used to subdue and ultimately kill George Floyd. I don’t want to hear any excuses for his behavior. Can we please as a nation and as a people call this particular incident what it was, Murder! You can hear George Floyd begging and pleading for his life. Saying that he will do whatever the officers want him to do. You hear witnesses begging Derek Chauvin to take his knee off Mr. Floyd’s neck. They pleaded for them to check on his welfare to make sure he was breathing. The store clerk was shaken and disturbed. All the people who saw this scene were shocked, shaken and dismayed that they were witnessing a murder in front of their eyes, and none of the officers who were on the scene seemed to give a damn about whether or not Mr. Floyd lived.

As a black man in America we already know that there is a target on our back as big as the Hollywood sign in LA. We know that we are always assumed guilty and we’re always assumed to be aggressive and potentially violent, even if we are not. No matter what, once the police were called on George Floyd he was going to be subject to profiling and prejudice because in most cases that is the automatic assertion from law enforcement. Let’s understand this situation plainly so everyone can understand. We had a man go to multiple business establishments in Atlanta, Georgia and kill eight people! He walked out of that situation with his life and well being. A man walked into a grocery store and fired off numerous rounds, killing ten people! He was superficially wounded, but he walked away from the scene whole! George Floyd used a fake twenty dollar bill to by a pack of cigarettes! A pack of damn cigs! And he lost his life. What are the factors here between these three crimes. Two of them are Felony Murder! One was a misdemeanor. Two were heinous, resulted in numerous lives lost, one resulted in no harm being done at all to the establishment, but one man lost his life. Oh, that’s right.. the two murder suspects were fair skinned, White men. George Floyd was a black man. Case closed. The Black community is watching intensely as this trial progresses. When this jury delivers its verdict, it will really tell you if the spirit of this nation is broken, or on the mend to repair. Stay tuned. It’s emotional to watch and hard to stomach, but we must see injustice to fix injustice.

Black Lives Matter

I have really sat back and thought about this and it is my conclusion. I think that what really needs to happen to the system is it needs to be torn down and rebuilt. For hundreds of years now it has been skewed towards the White people in this country and I really don’t see anything coming that will reset the balance to be equal. I know some may think that the incremental changes made are steps in the right direction, and on the one hand they are. However, I also feel that it’s not enough because it can’t really help to do what’s needed. That is to reconstruct the mind and souls of the Black community. My community is torn and struggling because the fabric and foundation of who were are was ripped from us by the White community and we haven’t recovered since.

Here is my honest truth about all of this. First of all, being Black in this country is a dominant trait. When genealogy has been done, it has been determined that the African American race is the dominant trait, and because White Americans weren’t able to simulate to that, they had to become the oppressive race because they are the recessive trait. If you aren’t sure what word recessive means, it means that it is not the predominant trait. It means that when White people and Black people create a baby together, that child is melaninated. It means that contrary to what some would have us believe, the White race is not superior to Black people. Truth is that Black people have the dominant gene and in most cases the superior race. We have created so many of the inventions attributed to White people, but the victors get to write history.

The facts are when people want entertainment, they turn to the Black community for athletes and musicians to be their relaxation and enjoyment. When they need things repaired correctly, they turn to Black people. When they need their children raised and their food cooked, they turn to Black people. When they want their hair done stylishly and healthy they come to Black people. It seems to be that the system is willing to admit that Black people are talented and in most cases, superior to their White counterparts, but we’re not talented enough to be widespread business leaders, to be owners of professional franchises, to be heads of state and leaders of government. Similarly the legal system doesn’t take even handed to us either.

I wonder why it is that the same crimes can be committed by a Black man and a White man, yet the Black man is infinitely times more likely to get a severe punishment, while the White man might not even get any jail time at all. I wonder why it is that money can buy you anything in the legal system. That definitely disproportionately affects Black people because we weren’t given the same opportunities to acquire wealth, nor have generational wealth to pass down from one generation to the next. You wonder why it is that when we were brought here as slaves we were oppressed and kept uneducated so we could not realize that we were being robbed of our culture and wealth. That’s the reason that the young were typically separated and kept without education, because it was known that if you educate the young it passes down and then we aren’t able to kept ignorant and in the dark.

Fast forward to all the marches, protests, sit-ins, boycotts and fights for us to get a measure of equality in this country. They were all for the right to have the same seat at the table as the White man who controlled the levers of power in this nation. From King to Malcolm to Lewis to Young to Obama and all those before, during and after that helped to organize those marches and protests to conquer the systemic inequalities of hundreds of years of captivity. The reality is that no matter how much we march and protest, we will not achieve the goal. There will never be nationwide reparations for Black people to fairly restore the financial balance of power. There will never be a true reset of principles taught to underscore the importance of family, togetherness, wealth, education and equality.

What Slavery did was permanently separate the races. It defined Black people as inherently inferior to Whites. It also created a permanent stigma that we must fight against each other for who should be given opportunity, instead of fighting alongside each other to attain power together. What White people correctly gaged that if you split people up and throw nominal amounts of money at them that they will lose sight of the power of togetherness they possess. That has been prevalent for us as a people for hundreds of years. Whenever Black America comes together and uses its power to effect change, change happens. Whenever Black American decides that we want to show what our collective might can do, we do it. It’s just that far too often, White people do enough to make us stay in the lanes they made for us.

Here is my solution.. blow this damn system up. Take away all that we know and write a system that is truly equal. A system that doesn’t have systemic racism and prejudice built into its founding. A Constitution that really treats all people as equals. Laws that are equally enforced on both sides and a justice system that doles out punishment, but also has mercy built in as it’s supposed to do. Build the levers of finance so that Black people have opportunity to be business owners and have the capital necessary to sustain business and obtain loans as needed. A system that allows for us to really have our history taught in schools and throughout civilization. Then and only then will this system be fair and equal. Then and only then will we have a system that appreciates the prowess, power, intellect, and collective strength of the Black community.

As long as we are bound to a system of inherit inequality, we will always be subjected to racist and prejudicial situations. Radical thought I know, but truth to power it is. Blow this damn system up and start again. Maybe then, we will be able to say that the system isn’t rigged. That law enforcement isn’t practicing discriminatory practices against my people. Tell me what you think.

When you hear that phrase what do you think of? You think of things like a noose hanging from a tree or a cross being burned in the yard of a church or in front of someone’s house. You think of seeing the kkk garments that White people wore. See in general you think of things that are unmistakably racist or prejudiced and all things included. But you wouldnt’ necessarily attach that to having the Black Lives Matter signage painted or displayed on your street or on a billboard. Unless, you happen to be this president or some other conservatives who are looking at things beyond what people are specifically saying the cause is for.

I have a question to Conservative White America. Is this really what you all believe? Are you really that single minded and stuck on power and hierarchy that you don’t care about the lives of the people who you work with, live next to, watch play your favorite sports, care for and raise your children, help build your buildings and cars, who will till your land, who will design your office space or home. How can you really sit and tell me that seeing the racial inequality, the judicial inequality, the financial inequality doesn’t bother you? I think if that’s the case then all the bull shit that you blabber about the flag being sacred and this country being the best ever is just that.. bull shit. How can we live in this society with those thoughts?

Yes I know that that’s exactly the world that we have lived in for thousands of years. For hundreds of years, yes we have had this mentality and you wonder why so many over the years have protested against this country. You wonder why so many black people say that there is no fairness or there is no great American promise for all, because we have been and still are the most marginalized people in the country. I have written about this point many times and I will continue to reinforce it, black people are the only ethnic group that was forced to come to this country. We are the only people who came as a mass into slavery. We are the only people who didn’t get educational and financial assistance upon coming to further our people. I guess for some of you, you think that’s fair because your ancestors down the line benefitted from having black servants. You benefited from having slaves build the railroads and houses and bridges that you used and occupied.

The question that I have for some of you white people, is when you go through Black neighborhoods and you double check to make sure your doors are locked or you make sure to speed up just a little so you get through a little faster, why is that done? Are you really scared of us? Because when you pay us to wash your cars, or we take your orders at a fast food establishment, or you pay us to manicure your lawns, or you pay us to be a mechanic and fix your vehicle? Because, a good number of those individuals live in those exact same neighborhoods that you are so seemingly frightened to go through.

It is a sad commentary that as we are embarking on the next phase of the Black Civil Rights Movement, we’re still left to talk about people who see symbolisms of the movement has hatred or less than. How long do you really want a people to be held down and suffocated? Is there ever a time that you believe that the preamble of the constitution should be applied to all of it’s citizens? Is there such a time where you feel that all people should be entitled to the same opportunities as you and family that came before you? Maybe you will never reach that point. Maybe it will be up to your children and the generations after to see that equality should be for all, on all fronts and that will be the only time when you can say that American lived up to her lofty goals.