Open Letter to Black America

As a group, we tend to come together quickly when we hear of an instance where racism raises its ugly head but we stand silent when it is us who are perpetuating it.  When it’s others who are offensive we yell it from the highest mountain but we stand silent when it’s us who adds the fuel to the fire.  Is it because we feel like Tiger Woods, that somehow the color of our skin affords us the privileged?  This is not nor will it ever be a God-given right and every time we become as those we despise, we must be the first to stand and condemn it.

We get all upset when those not of our skin color uses the “N” word yet we say nothing when our kids hear it in their songs.  Representatives marched on Selma to provide us an opportunity to move past that characterization yet it is this same community that keeps bringing us right back to it.  We have the audacity to yell foul and claim racism when the playing field becomes unleveled but we become hypocritical when it’s those who look like us that is making it uneven.

Racism is not bound by skin color, intelligence, or social status.  It is a disease that affects those who fail to see that any label beyond the label of a person’s “given name” is a sign of disrespect.  Some say that the “N” word is just that a word and the use of it demise its effectiveness.  If that is the case then why does the use of it cause the hairs to rise on the back of the neck for many?  This word has not been willed to Black America and it is our job to wipe it away from our daily lives.  We wish the elimination of this word in other’s vocabulary, yet we are not willing to first erase it out of ours.  A smoker will only quit when they want to and not before.  Raising the price of cigarettes only allows those that can afford the habit the means to continue but for those who do not have the means, if the will persist, they will still find a way to obtain them.

I am of the opinion that only those who have experienced the feeling of a real noose be allowed to use the “N” word.  I personally do not know many who have that experience who would welcome its use.  We wish Muslim Americans to stand up and condemn terrorist attacks by those claiming their religion and ethnicity but we sit silent when those in our own community pass around a word with life and death implications like candy on Halloween.  How hypocritical is that?  We demand equal protection under the law and are offended when our rights to life appears to be violated but we sit silent when those in our own community pass around a word with life and death implications like cheers when our team quarterback throws a touchdown.  How hypocritical is that? 

Before we can begin to pass on appropriate interior decorating tips to another, we must first be willing to appropriately decorate our own home.  We must begin to demand that our community clean up its act before trying to advise another how to clean up theirs.  If you attempt to help your neighbor put out a fire at his house by using gasoline, do not be surprised or upset if your neighbor returns the favor when your house is ablaze.  Its time for us to demand more from our community because if we do not, we can not expect anyone else to.