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A few weeks ago, I had hip surgery. As with every surgical procedure there is a process for recovery and rehabilitation. The week following my surgery it became clear that my nephew, Joshua Fedd, would need to visit several universities to determine where he would attend college. Josh also has the highest-grade point average in his senior class. This is a significant fact, but Josh is also exceptional in that he plays defensive end for Dunbar HS in Baltimore and was about to play for the division one state championship. He’s had a monster senior year and leads the state in sacks and his team in tackles per game. Interest in him as a football recruit increased exponentially in the lead up to the championship game. He was being pursued by the Naval Academy, West Point Military Academy (Army) and Brown University for the past two months. Now suddenly, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Georgetown University and Princeton were actively recruiting him and requesting that he schedule an official visit.  My family is not unique in our collective desire to attain the “American Dream”. Many of us have relocated from Baltimore and the northeast to other regions of the country to pursue education, training and professional advancement. We keep in touch and support each other as best we can. I had been in touch with Josh and had discussions with him about what he wanted in life and how he planned to accomplish his goals. One thing is clear to me, Josh is one of those young people who can truly accomplish anything that he sets his mind on. The ability of his nuclear family (him and his mother) to navigate the recruitment process and facilitate visits to several universities prior to the national signing date of December 21 would be a monumental challenge. They needed help. Josh called me and asked if I could help him visit West Point, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Harvard and possibly Princeton following the state championship game on December 3. I was two weeks post-surgery and still on a walker. Family comes first so my wife and I decided to swing into action and coordinate the trip along with his mother. This was a chance of a lifetime to help a deserving young person make one of the most important decisions in his life. Family comes first. Since he had already visited the Naval Academy, we set out on December 6 with the intention to visit West Point, U Penn, and Brown unofficially along with an official visit to Harvard within the next seven days. The hope was to visit as many as we could back-to-back and allow Josh to get a real feel for the comparison of the campus environment at each school. I was not allowed to fly until 3 weeks after surgery, so my wife (friend and partner) and I traveled by train to Baltimore and picked up a rental car. She was the designated driver. When we picked up Josh, we all discussed the fact that U Penn would not be able to accommodate an unofficial visit that day, so we headed to West Point Military Academy. It’s located 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River. It was rainy and foggy the entire drive from Baltimore to New York. It is a mountainous area demonstrating why New York is called the granite state. The folks at West Point rolled out the red carpet for Josh, allowing us to meet the entire coaching staff and all their athletic and academic facilities. We met with Head Coach Monken who was very gracious since they were just 4 days away from their biggest game of the season against Navy. I had my doubts about the idea of and commitment needed to attend a military academy when we arrived. By the time I left I understood the level of leadership and academic excellence that any person fortunate enough to attend the academy would receive and carry with them the rest of their life. When we left late that afternoon, we drove three and a half hours to Providence, Rhode Island, again in the fog and rain. Brown University is a permanent fixture in the city of Providence. It is truly an urban university. Josh and I were greeted warmly by the defensive coach. This visit was all about personal connections, so Josh spent most of his day with members of the team. He was able to get to know them, see the facilities and talk about campus life as they experienced it. My wife and I spent the day immersed in the city, visiting various shops and eateries to get a sense of the place. Our impression was very positive, and we felt a welcoming spirit from everyone we encountered. Next, we headed to Boston for the official visit to Harvard University that would start tomorrow. The short trip was welcomed, only about ninety minutes. We saw a few of the sites around the campus. Boston is a large, busy metropolis and is home to several universities. The Harvard campus is a city immersed within the city. Shops and restaurants are steps away from lecture halls and student housing. Fast paced and a truly remarkable place to live and get a world class education. The next day we dropped Josh off at the Harvard field house for his official visit with the coaching staff and other football recruits. He was able to spend two days on campus. We met briefly with the defensive coordinator and head coach Murphy. It is obvious that the atmosphere at Harvard was a polar opposite to that at West Point. Harvard is sophisticated, wealthy, and everything one might imagine one of the top Ivy League schools would be. As we headed to the airport it was clear that the weight of the decision that Josh was tasked with making was taking its toll on him. I think he finally realized how important and how difficult this was going to be. He was impressed with each situation at each campus. Also, Georgetown and Princeton were still requesting an official visit. It was time for Josh to contemplate what he actually wanted. Not just football, but what he wanted for his life. We had discussed the fact that no matter what happens with his football career, there was an entire lifetime after football and his time spent in school would shape the opportunities afforded him professionally. He prayed and meditated on what he believed was best for him and his mother. On Monday, December 19, 2022, Joshua Fedd announced his decision to his teammates and the City of Baltimore. 
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The internet and the so-called social media sites are ablaze with hateful posts and hateful performative Mimes. Apparently ugly language and aggressive positions is what gets people energized. The algorithms behind the social media sites glorifies these posts so that those on the extreme politically and those who are hateful bullies have their posts featured and people respond with “likes” or opposing hateful rhetoric. The majority of the people in the middle, almost 85% according to some estimates, are left to respond or stay silent. It's as if those in the middle cannot turn away from the horrific car crash, so they slow down but do not stop to help. The result is that the social media sites are accelerating the popularity and pervasiveness of hate in all its forms. Why? Because their only currency is attention. Our attention is being turned into cash, and I mean billions of dollars. Those that benefit from the divisive culture generated could care less what actually happens in real life. Life on the streets of our neighborhoods and cities become more tense and conflicts tend to pop up seemingly out of nowhere. The power of the “big lie” has been demonstrated most recently in national politics. But it doesn’t only exist in the political arena. The bullying that takes place in middle schools and high schools is a carbon copy model of what we now see in larger society. One person in a clique tells a lie about someone else who may not be popular with the clique or their opposing faction. The rhetoric escalates on social media until there is a violent confrontation or someone commits suicide. These situations have become normalized throughout society. Those in the middle who are not directly effected stay silent and glued to the scene to see what will happen. Sure, they will condemn the outcome and wring their hands about the absurdity of the events but will not have the courage to step in and break up the calamity before any lasting harm is done. This is how and why the haters are winning. One day the haters will come for you and there will be no one to help you or stand with you. I love this country and the principles it aspires to. Problem is, it's getting more and more difficult to reach these lofty goals when it feels like everyone is at each other’s throat. No one is talking and discussing how we get to a beautiful, loving place – we’re just screaming into the ether of social media at each other. Keep silent and the haters will ensure there is no society left in which to be social.  I continue to sound the alarm for Black Americans – there is an active race war ongoing. It is the collective reaction from a large part (~45%) of white America to the election of Barack Obama and the ascension of Black men and women to positions of power within all professions. I have personally witnessed an increase in white men openly carrying firearms performing everyday errands and chores in North Carolina, Florida, and Michigan over the past year. The intent appears to be intimidation of others and a statement of their anger at the current state of the culture. Black Americans – family, friends and colleagues that I talk with are oblivious to this behavior. They continue to believe that our system of laws and federal institutions will continue to work as it has throughout the civil rights era and now over the first two decades of this century. We have seen the escalation of violent rhetoric and the storming of US Congress in 2020. Now we have scores of Republican candidates openly stating that they will not respect the outcome of the 2022 election if they don’t win. All government institutions are being undermined and the real possibility that they will be coopted by elected officials that do not believe in the mission of government to work positively for all Americans. People, this is not new. This is a recurring theme in the history of the American republic since the civil war. Consider the failure of Reconstruction, the legacy of Jim Crow, and numerous race riot massacres (Tulsa, OK, Wilmington, NC, Chicago, Atlanta, etc.). These racial eruptions have all occurred due to resentment in white America for Black progress and advancement.  The word on the street following the storming of Congress was – if those people rioting and occupying the Capitol had been Black, we would still be cleaning up blood from inside and outside the building. The reaction from law enforcement would have been swift and brutal. Now we have a situation where angry whites have been emboldened, empowered, and validated by politicians and leaders at every level of government. Don’t be fooled by the hearings on Capitol Hill or even the prosecution and conviction of scores of those involved on January 6th. The organization and mobilization of these armed individuals and groups continues to grow. They are acquiring and stockpiling weapons and ammunition to fight for what they believe is their birthright as “true Americans”. The long held believe by many – and the constitution and history bears this out – is that this country was founded as a white Anglo-Saxon hegemony by and for white Anglo-Saxons. White supremacy is baked into American culture, and it will not be rescinded without a blood bath. Black people will be attacked in their homes, once again, by whites who believe it is their right to do so. We have seen this scene before in this country. Are we, Black Americans, going to wait until they are at our front and back doors before, we prepare for the fight. I can tell you; it’ll be far too late. We need to get our AR-12 and AR-15 assault rifles and handguns along with plenty of ammunition. The opportunity to prepare is now. Black folk have had a tradition of being prepared for opportunities for advancement even when all the signs tell us it will never happen or some of us simply do not believe it will happen. The current climate has created a similar state of affairs. This time our lives and the lives of our families will be on the line. Be ready. No one can predict when or where it will kick off. Me and mine will be prepared for the opportunity to survive and thrive after this race war episode is over. Once the institutions of government have been compromised, there will be no effective barriers to attacking all the demonized ethnic groups in this country. Don’t get me wrong, we have white allies that will stand with us. But let's face it, the majority of liberal whites will condemn the violence or wring their hands in silence while they watch us fall in battle on the television news or look across the street at us. There is a thin veneer that separates civilization from barbaric behavior.   There has been a lot of effort over the past nineteen months to get the country back to “normal”. The Covid pandemic has had a devastating impact on America and the world. With over 707,000 deaths and over 44 million confirmed cases, it is time to recognize that what we think of as normal is a distant memory and will not return. That said, what has emerged as the new normal? While its not entirely clear, there are a few indications that the culture that we will have is going to be vastly different.
In traveling to several cities over the past few months, I have observed a desolate landscape – in terms of people. Cities appear to be deserted. You just don’t see people outside their houses. No one is milling about in the neighborhoods. Sure, you can see people visiting stores and restaurants picking up goods and food. Very few people are utilizing services – mechanics, laundromats, cobbler’s, tailers, dry cleaners, etc. This is an indication that there is much confusion and fear surrounding our interactions and communications with friends, neighbors, and businesses. Americans are in the process of reassessing relationships. Relationships to jobs, businesses, and their services. As a result, relationships are being dissolved, reprioritized, and/or reshaped. There are a number of examples – large and small. Dry cleaners are struggling. Some of the large operations have closed a number of outlets and consolidated operations. I used to visit the dry cleaners on a weekly basis without fail. I’m not sure if I have gone to the dry cleaners twice in the past twelve months. Almost everyone I know is reassessing their career goals and current job. A lot of it involves determining if the pay is worth the sacrifice. That sacrifice may involve:
People are learning new skills. Why not Do It Yourself instead of paying for a service call plus the cost of the repair. Use a YouTube video to teach yourself to do a repair or adjustment. Do I really need that five-dollar coffee, expresso, frappe, latte? A lot of people I talk to express dismay at the incompetence encountered when trying to re-engage services. From hotels to fast food outlets, the new team is poorly trained and doing a lousy job. They express a desire to not spend what is increasingly hard-earned money on poor service or poorly prepared food. Violent crime has increased significantly over the past year. More people are stressed out and many are suicidal. All the signs are pointing to an American society that is broken and disillusioned. Dreams are being shattered and getting farther out of reach. Imagine an America without 24 hour fast food, no one to wash your car, make your coffee, or park your car at the restaurant. Speaking of restaurants – how about restaurants where there are only ten tables and you need to spend a minimum amount to ensure all the support staff are compensated appropriately. No more $13 meals. Think $80 to $100 per person to be seated. This is the result of years of pay inequity that will need to be reckoned with at every level. People are refusing to work for pay that does not sustain them or their families. While America may not be entirely broken, the lifestyles that have been sold to us for years will be discarded for the one that each of us knows and acknowledges he/she can afford. This will reshape the cities and towns into vastly different societies and resulting cultures. This society may have many conflicts based on old and new dividing lines – money, race, music, sex, sexual orientation, and class. The conflicts and clashes will likely be more intense and pointed. It is equally likely that the common ground we find ourselves occupying will provide a harmony we have rarely seen. Black Americans have been left to defend themselves against White extremist while the Black 1% continue to promote peaceful protests. The average Black American is being hit, literally, from all sides in this post-racial justice protest America. Yes, since the racial justice protests in 2020 there has been a steady increase in violence and verbal attacks against Black men and women. The news outlets continue to come down on the side of peaceful protests and nonviolent approaches. Interestingly enough, the drum majors for this almost passive approach are primarily the Black elite. The Black 1% who are not being evicted, made homeless and find it almost impossible to get a job let alone a better job in the economic recovery, continue to preach patience. Easy to do when the police guns are not pointed at you or your children, the landlord is not moving ahead with evicting you despite a moratorium, and you don’t find it difficult to impossible to navigate the online job application process because you don’t look good on paper. An employment world in which no one actually talks to you to determine how great you are or can be. Let’s face it, the Black 1% are embedded in every level of local government, police departments, managerial levels of corporate businesses and the healthcare system. Yet we continue to see, apartheid levels of incarceration, unemployment, and health disparities among those in the African American communities across the United States. Why? Because these folks do not represent the average working-class Black family. The Black 1% represent the machinery of a system that has thrived on grinding up Black men, alongside Black women and their children in the course of business and culture. You see, there is no upside to fighting inside the system for poor, uneducated, struggling Black folks. You are seen as an extremist on a mission if you dare to present or support an effort targeted to specifically help Black Americans. Your career advancement is cutoff, and you are destined to languish in the company or governmental bureaucracy when you’re a champion for working class Blacks. These career climbers see others crushed by the system and therefore have no incentive to fight for Black people, their people. This is not about blaming and shaming. Its just the cold reality of the culture of America. When Black people join the upwardly mobile echelons of American business and government, they are acculturated to a system of white supremacy that is almost imperceptible to them on a daily basis. They are trained into and by a structure that sees the Black population as a threat or a resource to be exploited. The future of Black America, as a whole, is the Black working class. From this population there must come a group of leaders that are not afraid to use all means necessary to prevail over the white supremacists and the racists power structure of this country. Both violent and non-violent means must be used to make progress. There is no hope of progress with only non-violent protests as a strategy. There must be the counterbalance and threat of violent actions if we expect to be successful in our struggle. This is clear when we analyze the results of the nation-wide protests of 2020. Despite the grassroot effort of Black, Brown, and White Americans to expose racial injustice to Black people across the country, there has been no laws enacted – nationally – to protect Black Americans from police departments or militia groups who see themselves as the protectors of the white power structure of America. This is because the overwhelming basis of protests is a non-violent approach. Power recognizes Power. Real recognizes Real. Right now, despite what the Black 1% is saying about being positive and non-violent, we are getting our ass kicked up and down the block because we pose no real threat to the money-making apparatus of America. Tell you what, if Black people were able to disrupt or even shut down the logistics of American business – trucking fleets, airlines, UPS, FedEx, and USPS we would see summit meetings and laws being negotiated by politicians and corporate leaders. There would also be a large increase in the oppressive tactics of government and law enforcement directed at Black folks simultaneously. This is the price to be paid. This is why I say - the future of Black America, as a whole, is the Black working class – because they are the ones who will pay the price but will ultimately benefit from these actions.
Make no mistake, the Black working-class leaders must be at the negotiating table or risks being sold out by the Black 1%. When you put your body on the line, you earn the right to shape your future and the future of your children. Florida leads the nation in Covid cases and hospitalizations. No surprise here. The state governor, Ron DeSantis, is the walking personification of Donald Trump's ego. He has outlawed mask mandates in schools statewide. He has bullied every county by threatening to withdraw state funding if they enact mask mandates in the counties and cities. Its worked. Everyone has cowed to his directives even when they know the science has definitively shown that vaccines and mask wearing will slow the spread of the Delta variant of the virus.  It has gotten so bad in Hillsborough County, my county, that all elected surgeries have been cancelled in all the hospitals. That's right. There are so many new cases (1570/day) and hospitalizations (924 patients) that the hospitals have turned away patients that need life preserving surgery, including cancer surgeries and pediatric corrective surgeries. Only emergency surgeries are being performed. The healthcare system of Tampa is virtually paralyzed due to Covid but Ron DeSantis and his cronies refuse to even ask folks to wear masks. The party is nonstop in Florida. From Tampa/St. Pete to Miami the beaches are full, and the liquor is flowing as we roll through the end of the summer. Young people are getting sick and dying but that has not stopped the insanity of no mask wearing, no vaccine taking in the state of Florida. I write this post as a witness to this phase of the pandemic where logic and science has no place in the entire State of Florida.  I have traveled the country including Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC, Virginia Beach, Raleigh NC, Mrytle Beach SC, Savannah GA, and Jacksonville FL this summer to understand the state of the pandemic and how people are coping. I come home to find the worse situation and the most poorly managed region is my state – Florida. What death toll is necessary before Governor DeSantis changes. Well, I for one am not waiting around for the insane to become enlightened. I am getting out of Florida until the wave is over or everyone that has not been vaccinated dies. Sounds ugly when you say it out loud, but when you are required to walk the streets of Tampa/St Pete with a mask on and risk being confronted by the Covid deniers and ardent no mask wearers who are willing to risk your life, it's easy to be the Angry Man every dam day.
Is it really true that America is now open for business? I am out on the road and traveling the country. I was in Detroit, Michigan last week. I love the city of Detroit. What I found was that the doors were open but there were virtually no customers anywhere. Now granted, Detroit has had an exodus of people over the last 20 years and is by most accounts the poster child for urban decay. The population of the city decreased by four hundred thousand people during that time and remains the largest cities in American history to declare bankruptcy (filed in 2013). The streets of downtown Detroit felt empty of people for the size of the city. Even the famed GM Renaissance Center, despite its website information, was essentially closed. The doors were locked to the Renaissance Center and only two restaurants where serving customers out of twenty-seven. We are still experiencing closures due to the Covid pandemic but every news report touts the fact that America is now open for business.  This is my word from the street… Even if America is open for business, like Detroit, we are not ready to patronize the businesses. My hotel stay was a good example. I stayed at a Marriott property and the staff were inexperienced and unprepared to serve customers. Just observing the interactions between hotel staff and guests was entertaining. The staff tried to answer simple questions from guests that did all they could to be polite and understanding, The problem was, the answers the staff gave were nonsense and the customers knew it. The rooms were not being serviced daily and the facilities were not completely functional – air conditioning, food service, plumbing had minor issues depending on the day and time. The staff had no idea what to do. This situation was observed repeatedly at multiple businesses all over town. Very few customers and relatively poor service. Stay away from the corporate owned and historically prominent restaurants and shops - lousy service and lonely places. The propaganda from the business sector talks about “revenge travel” at the “end of the Covid pandemic”. I am out here traveling in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan and the scene is repeated over and over again – very few customers with very poor service and accommodations.  There were a few bright spots. Detroit museums were easily accessed and navigated. The Motown Museum was in full swing and was an oasis of fun. They were sold out the day I attended. The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation was also open and full of eager, knowledgeable staff. Unfortunately the Wright Museum of African American History was about as empty as I have ever seen a museum. The interesting thing I found in Detroit was that the small businesses in the less than upscale areas of the city – Market Center – were open and bustling. Black owned spots seemed to operate as if there was no pandemic in the recent past. Great food, great attitudes, and friendly patrons. Bert’s Market Place Jazz Club was serving up hot soul food and straight ahead jazz stylings. This was the most fun and entertaining spot of the entire visit. Look for the folks that still need to hustle for their daily bread. That’s where business is being done.
Is America open for business? The words I hear say “yes, we are open” but the actions I see are a big NO, NOT YET. George Floyd was murdered over one year ago. We are one year beyond massive protests throughout the country. We have declared that the police should be defunded in multiple communities. We have declared that choke holds should be banned. We have declared that no knock warrants – resulting in the death of Breonna Taylor - should be banned. Protestors demanded that policing be “reimagined” and not simply reformed and retrained. Where are we as a country on the topic of racial justice? There is a brewing backlash across the southeastern US directed at the Black community. I have personally witnessed an increase in the number of white men, not associated with law enforcement, openly wearing holsters and carrying handguns. I have lived in the south for the past twenty years and I have never seen so many white men openly carrying guns. To be clear, it is legal in these states, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, to openly carry a hand gun. No license is required. I have seen individuals in supermarkets, farmers markets, and walking in the downtown areas of towns in these states carrying guns. This is the local manifestation of the backlash against the protestors for racial justice across the country last year. Before someone says that “you can’t know if a person is law enforcement or not” – if I see white men from fifty to seventy years old in tee shirts with tattoos from their neck to their bellies with gun holsters – guns in place plus extra clips walking down the street or in stores – I know they are not officers. The message is clear that they intend to exert their power and control over Black people as they believe it is their birthright and duty. This is what the attack on the Congress was all about on January 6th. The intention of white men to hold on to and exert their white supremacy powers in America.  There is an aggressive, belligerent, and deadly disposition coming from white men at this moment. The Black community has cast their faith and our power in the election, in the legislative system, in the system of democracy to no avail. How many times will we be played, how many times will we be suckered by the Democrat Party to continue to vote for their candidates and get nothing in return but death, hell and destruction.
My advice to you is to be aware, be prepared, be ready. In an instant you can find yourself in mortal danger of white men who have declared themselves to be in charge when they are no more than ordinary citizens like yourselves. Be aware, be prepared, be ready because I do not see any other steps that can be taken utilizing the system that we currently have. Today Derek Chauvin will be sentenced today. This seems to be a good time to review where we are in our fight for racial justice. George Floyd was murdered over one year ago. We are one year beyond massive protests throughout the country. We have declared that the police should be defunded in multiple communities. We have declared that choke holds should be banned. We have declared that no knock warrants – resulting in the death of Breonna Taylor - should be banned. Protestors demanded that policing be “reimagined” and not simply reformed and retrained. Where are we as a country on the topic of racial justice? In my opinion there is little that has changed – legislatively. Particularly at the national level. Scholars have documented systemic racism is the result of national policy and processes in the execution of federal programs in almost all cabinet level departments. In fact, one could argue that there has been regression. That we are in the middle of a cultural backlash against protestors and the Black community in general. We have had laws passed in the state of Florida that makes it virtually impossible to participate in protests. If you happen to participate in a protest that even one person destroys property or assaults a law enforcement officer, you will be charged with a felony. Even if you organized and help fund this protest but did not participate, you will be charged with a felony. The many will be charged based on the behavior of the even a single individual. All individuals arrested must be held in jail until their first appearance in court and officially charged. All indications are, based on President Biden’s directives, more money is being allocated to the police based on recent crime statistics indicating an increase in violent crime in communities across America. Police still enjoy the protection of “qualified immunity” in the face of illegal and improper conduct regardless of the jurisdiction. Black lives in fact do not matter to the new Biden administration. Joe Biden is exactly the president that everyone on the left feared he would be prior to the South Carolina primary. Recall that James Clyburn rallied the Black vote in South Carolina to coalesce around the campaign of Joe Biden. Joe Biden’s chances were fading until his victory, only due to the Black vote, in South Carolina. Now President Biden is proving to be a 78 year old white man who has always respected the norms of congress and has never done anything bold to advance the cause of Black working families in America. He is exactly who we thought he was. He is now declaring that his legislation must be bi-partisan. He is a moderate, go along – get along president who would have never been elected without the Black vote. Progressive leaning members of the Democrat party knew that Joe Biden would never do anything bold to advance the cause of racial justice. He will never twist the arm of any senator or representative to advance the cause of Black working class people. I seldom use the word “never” because never is a long time and situations always change. In this case, I am confident that Joe Biden will never do anything bold and controversial on the behalf of Black folks who voted him into office.
Once again the Black voter is playing the role of sucker. Being played by the Democrat party is a position that the Black voter is happy to occupy. We’ve done it so many times and we tend to forget the so called Black leader that paves the way for us to be played. In this case its James Clyburn, a respected leader in South Carolina. Unfortunately we have not seen or heard Mr. Clyburn rebuke or pressure Joe Biden to deliver on his commitment to the Black voter. The Democrat Party has empathized, supported, aligned with, marched with, and rallied the African American community for the past year. The promise from liberals and progressives alike was a racial reckoning. Over a year later, we have seen much talk but little, if any, legislative action and policy changes from Washington DC with regard to police reform, voting access/rights or reparations. The Democrat Party has not and cannot deliver on any of promises made pre-presidential election. What I have repeatedly presented on this blog the true face of America. All the facts are known. The brutality and immorality of chattel slavery and the structural racism designed to keep Blacks in perpetual servitude is a documented fact. The Native American genocide committed by the colonist and white “settlers” in North American is a documented fact that is indisputable. There is effectively no recognition of responsibility or accountability by the US federal government for the heinous acts post emancipation during Reconstruction, Jim Crow, or since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The wealth, health, education, employment, and incarceration disparities between African Americans and White Americans has been scholarly reviewed and confirmed. The only objective conclusion to draw from the historical facts since the founding of this country is that America wants to see Black Americans, particularly Black men, dead and gone.  Consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or passively, belligerently or psychologically manipulative, the goal is the same – to maintain wealth and power exclusively in the hands of White Americans by any means necessary and to do it under the law. Unfortunately for White America, the country was built on a lies and greed. A foundation of lies and greed will always, in time, crumble and fail unless a fundamental correction is made. Lie #1: Blacks are not people, they are property. Lie #2: Slaves were happy with their condition and were not brutalized enmasse. Lie #3: America would have been successful without the free (forced) labor of Black people. Lie #4: The wealth amassed by forced and under compensated labor is the inheritance of a superior people/race. Greed: The depth of the unmitigated greed of the founders (all 13 original colonies) is demonstrated by the pervasive brutalization of the enslaved and the resulting fear of retribution that was voiced in writings at the time. The entire white population was mobilized to instill fear and commit heinous brutality on all those enslaved – children included. Black people have several significant advantages in this fight.
The African American community – regardless of socioeconomic status - must determine if we are willing to burn the house down to build a better one on a solid foundation of truth and reconciliation. This is an important point. We have been using advantages 2 & 3 since 1964 to make collective gains in this country. Every one on all sides knows that everything accomplished to wield power is done out of the barrel of a gun (or some other offensive weapon). Now is the time to activate the African American citizenry to purchase and carry firearms at all times. Make no mistake, this is a high risk – high reward strategy. The pressure will build as more and more ordinary, law abiding Black people purchase firearms. The pressure from guilt and fear will continually rise until a decision is made to attack the Black community or make peace with the lies and greed of the past by demonstrating responsibility and accountability at the US federal government level.
Give me liberty or give me death!
When these words are proclaimed by an Black American, we are branded as criminals and treated as such. Do you want to die with dignity or a slow death over centuries. We don’t need to look far to see the slow death. Our Native American brothers and sisters are a living testament to the future of the Black community if we don’t take our future into our hands. |
The Angry ManWe all know an angry man. It seems he always speaks with passion even when the words appear Archives
October 2021
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