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Who Told White People To Check In On Me?
I am ashamed to say that I debated writing this but…
Who is telling white people to check on their Black friends, family, coworkers, colleagues, former classmates and such?
I debated writing this because Black truth has always come with reprisals. When we tell white people the truth we are not only looked upon as ungrateful for white “kindness” we are punished in some way. We lose jobs, our reputations and sometimes our lives. However, since so many white people are asking how I am doing let me tell you the truth.
I grew up in America’s system of racial oppression and white supremacy, what the world is witnessing is a reality that most people of African descent in the Americas, from Cleveland to Caracas and from Richmond to Rio are used to. We have been lynched for public spectacle, had our towns and neighborhoods burned to the ground, had our homes shot up and crosses burned on our lawns. We have been convicted of crimes we didn’t commit by racist “kangaroo courts,” denied the right to vote or own property and vilified after being murdered by white vigilantes and police officers. If we happen to dodge all of the above and make it to the suburbs or corporate America we contend with the fact that our white colleagues in the same or similar positions are paid more money than us, that we are regularly passed up for promotions and constantly have our knowledge, qualifications and authority tested. We endure micro aggressions filled with assumptions about our culture, our politics and even our hair. We are excluded from private parties or events that would likely result in our being placed in favorable positions in our careers. And if you’re a Black artist of any sort you will only be considered for jobs during Black History Month, Juneteenth or Martin Luther King’s holiday. If you’re a Black writer or director you will only be considered if the show’s protagonist is Black, it’s set in an urban area or the episode or film is about race.
It’s exhausting and WE BEEN TIRED.
Today is no different for me than yesterday and it may not be any different tomorrow. So white people, ask yourselves what’s so different today than yesterday for you? Are you telling me that up until this moment you didn’t know any of the things I mentioned in the last paragraph? Are you…
