 here 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.
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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.  There’s been a lot of talk about racial reckoning while there’s little evidence of any reckoning taking place. There is a media campaign to tell Black folks that there are large sections of America that are allies and the racial reckoning is underway. The media propaganda is in overdrive as we approach the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Meanwhile, there is palpable hate in America. Hate directed at those that are “not like me”; anyone deemed to be different. The reality of the reckoning falls far short of propaganda campaign. Fact: The killer of George Floyd was convicted and is awaiting sentencing. This fact is an anomaly in the long list of unarmed Blacks killed at the hands of police. It’s a breath of fresh air in the midst of mostly hot air from liberal politicians and so called Black leaders from across the country. Last time I checked the use of choke holds and no knock warrants has not been addressed on the national level. Sure, the House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act back on March 3rd but there is no support by Senate Republicans to get it passed into law. There are bills that have languished for decades because both houses of congress could not agree on the final language. Blacks lives do not matter in this environment. No racial reckoning. Reparations to Black Americans is being discussed in a number of cities and towns. A few of passed various versions specific to local situations. The ugly truth is that no conversations of substance including national corporations and national lawmakers has taken place. Until there is a national movement supported by American multinational corporations for reparations to descendants of slaves, there is no acknowledgement and accountability to support healing. The fundamental stain on America cannot be washed clean without recognition of the wrong done and compensation for the stolen labor and harm inflicted. Decisions institutionalizing slavery and apartheid in America were made, supported and implemented at the national level. Policies and laws were national and therefore the solution must be a national one. No racial reckoning.  Positions on race in America are hardening. People are using other topics as a proxy for their racial hatred – denial of racial inequity in healthcare, housing, employment, and education are just a few examples. There’s a lot of talk, quite a bit of it is ugly talk. There is little positive change over the past year that will impact the lives of Black people. The time for Black Americans to be satisfied with nice attitudes and smiling faces has passed. Folks want real world change. The propaganda campaign may have some victories but the fight will spill into the streets if laws are not passed and changes in national policies are not codified into the institutions that govern life in the United States of America.
Men, women, and children have been betrayed by their own prejudice since the dawn of time. Those with wisdom, patience, spiritual awareness have benefited in most encounters. Judging the package means that your initial impression of the person’s “look” is the foundation from which you determine what your relationship will be. I have had conversations with Black men, women, and children for years that recount the way in which they have been judged by appearance alone. Here are a few notable examples. Emmitt is the Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at a midlevel medical school. He recounted a time when he went into an exam room, with his first year resident, where a family was awaiting his consultation on the mother of the family. She was a forty something year old, with her husband, two sons – in their twenties, daughter, sister, and grandchild. They were all from a rural family of farmers. From his review of her medical records and recent testing it was clear that she had what was suspected to be large pelvic tumors that would need to be surgically removed. He had never met any of them previously. He entered the room and introduced himself, his doctor colleague (resident) and the nurse. After getting permission, he began to discuss her situation and lay out the possible options and potential consequences. When he was finished and asked if there were any questions, she and her husband turned to the resident and said, “We just want to make sure that he doesn’t touch me. He’s Black. He’s not going to do anything to me, I mean when we decide what we want to have done?” To the credit of the resident, he explained that Dr. Emmitt was the a nationally recognized expert in the diagnosis and treatment of cases such as theirs. The nurse also, added that he had been with the hospital working with her for over ten years. Dr. Emmitt then added, “We work here as a team. There is no patient or family member that gets to decided who is part of the clinical team. If you are uncomfortable with me as your doctor and team leader you can seek treatment at another facility.” The family was about to risk their future and her life based on their racist assumptions. Chantel was the lead mechanical engineer at the Chicago Sun Times. She talked about an encounter with the service and sales team for a new press unit, Goliath - that was being considered for purchase. Her and her team were waiting in the office for the meeting. The security person ushered the Goliath team into the office whereby each person introduced themselves – no titles were used as was the normal custom to create a more casual atmosphere. Chantel opened the meeting by asking the Goliath team to proceed with their presentation. David, Chantel’s chief mechanic sat by her side. As the meeting progressed it was clear that all the dialog was directed to David, as they assumed he was in charge. When the Goliath team completed their formal presentation and asked David if he had any questions, he turned to look at Chantel and said “Well boss, what do you think?” While the astonishment and recognition of the fatal mistake they had made registered on the Goliath team, Chantel said she proceeded to present her short list of “Pros” and a decidedly long list of “Cons”. She followed up with, Can you address these short comings?” Needless to say, they didn’t get the contract.  Anyone heard of Stephen Curry? He’s on track to be the greatest three point shooter in NBA history. Yet he was not recruited by any of the major colleges in North Carolina where he lived. Duke and University of North Carolina looked him over and never called him once. His dad explained that he didn’t pass the “eye test”. They all complimented him of course, “His shooting was there, he was intelligent, but he didn't have the stature they wanted. How would he be able to defend against guards bigger than him in the ACC?” Well the rest is well known history, the only person to be unanimously voted the NBA MVP and is credited with changing the game by revolutionizing the 3-point shot which now dominates the game. Everyone missed his greatness early on because they judged the package and not what was inside.
While this is a cautionary message to those that make judgements based on little to no information, it is also a message of perseverance to those that would be judged. While most people overlook the genius of those among us, the wise will take time to open the package and look inside before deciding its usefulness. For all of us that would be judged, continue to work, get better, and be ready. When the moment comes for you to meet your destiny, you got to be ready. Black men, women, and children continue to be misjudged every day of our lives. Always be ready for the wise people that know that what’s important lies beneath the surface. Over the course of this year there has been an awakening in America. The country has culturally acknowledged its history of slavery and racial injustice of African-Americans. There have been protests in hundreds of cities across the nation. At the local level symbols of slavery and policies that perpetuate racial injustice have been removed. On the national level, we have seen little or no change. One could argue that there has been a doubling down on the justification for continuing to keep the polices and symbols as simply a part of history. This entrenchment of symbols and policies of white supremacy is a signal that a large portion of the American political and power structure has no intention of changing the current conditions that result racial injustice for the African-American population. A recent interview with a descendent of the captain of the last slave ship to deposit enslaved people in the United States makes the point. The Clotilda was commanded by Captain William Foster who illegally brought 110 slaves to Mobile, Alabama in 1860. His descendent, Mike Foster, a retired Air Force officer recently discovered that he was related to Captain Foster and the story of the last slave ship. When asked by Anderson Cooper “Do you feel any guilt about what happened?” Mr. Foster quickly responded “No. I didn’t feel any guilt. I didn’t do it.”  Mike Foster - Ancestor of William Foster, Captain of the last slave ship to America. The attitude, disposition and response of Mr. Foster summarizes what the vast majority of whites in America believe. While white Americans have pride in their history and continue to benefit from the foundational wealth built from slavery, there is no recognition of responsibility for what was done by their predecessors. They embrace the history and wealth but divorce themselves from any ownership of the family accountability.
American, this inability to accept the true history of your past dooms your future. Accepting the truth of your racist past and present will set you free from hatred and conflict. This in turn will set America free to be one of the greatest nations in the history of the planet. The global pandemic has exposed the inherent weakness of our nation in a way that nothing else has. Many of my friends and family members have expressed how the conditions of the global pandemic has caused them to reevaluate relationships and personal decisions. The global pandemic has given our nation an opportunity to reevaluate the policies and practices of our society and make changes for long term success. There can be no “Racial Reckoning” with acceptance of America’s racist past and present. The African-American community knows the painful history of our past. We accept it and most of us move on beyond it to reach new heights based on our God given talents and gifts. Moving past slavery and the horrors our ancestors experienced does not mean that we are required to forgive or forget. On the contrary, I believe it means that we are required to achieve justice. That justice must, at a minimum, include payment for the lives of free labor taken by force. Direct payment reparations is required even if there is no recognition of accountability. This requires that we organize and implement an offensive strategy to compel America as a nation and a society to pay the African-American descendants of slaves. Reparations will likely cost Americans (Black and White Americans) more blood and lives before we achieve success. |
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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