But where would I go?
Africa?
I have been reading recent opinions about how Nigerians applaud Trump because they admire his strong man tactics, and they are willing to set aside his reference to s**t-hole countries in Africa. Why?
As it turns out, many of them are jumping ship (literally) to get into Europe, and/or coming to America-visas permitting. Seems like things are not worth saving in their own country; those who can are leaving.
And what is happening on the rest of the continent?
China has offered the highest bid for a large swath of African territory (natural resources and human labor are plentiful, and still relatively cheap). In the meantime, Ghana is welcoming ‘us’ home with the lure of citizenship. Promising?
Over in this hemisphere, the Caribbean Islands are being rearranged from earthquakes, hurricanes and floods.
In the meantime, Puerto Ricans are being encouraged to identify as Afrodescended and not choose white on the census, while more Afro-Mexicans are celebrating their culture and heritage.
Where can I go where there is no turmoil and existential upheavals?
Just in the past few weeks, in the good old USA, Gayle King (and Oprah Winfrey by association) has been ‘cancelled’ by a very vocal group because, by their judgment she was out of line when she interviewed Kobe Bryant’s friend, Lisa Leslie, about a rape charge he was accused of in 2003!
By all accounts, Mr. Bryant, who tragically died last month in a helicopter accident, went on to live an exemplary life after settling that charge in civil court. We admired him for being a philanthropist/humanitarian. “Too soon”, some said about Gayle King’s question. His body had not yet been buried.
For many, it should be “never.”
For her transgression, some cried out for Gayle’s head. Death threats were issued. Mainstream news and social media outlets were ablaze with opinions- from all points of view.
I think Michael Eric Dyson made the best plea for reason about the Gayle King/Kobe Bryant controversy. He ended his long appeal with a quote from TUPAC’s Keep Ya Head Up: to love and protect our women. I urge you to look up Prof. Dyson’s speech. But what do these string of observations have in common?
Well, for me up is now down. There are no more facts. Measuring truth has been re-calibrated.
It’s all making my head spin.
Something awful has happened to us. For centuries, our courts of judgement were guided by the principle of magnanimity. We have been generous to a fault in overlooking our collective, piled-on injuries.
We have been the people who endured. We turned the other cheek. We prayed and lifted our hands up in supplication. We marched. We sang! No more. Being black in America de. mands a new calculus.
This is an election year, and once again, the Democrats are scrambling to figure out how to keep the overwhelming majority of us under their tent. Do you still fit?
Trump has been spreading money around- actual cash as well as promises and programs. Yes, our HBCUs stand to greatly benefit if all his pledges are delivered, and the sound of Opportunity Zones is like music to some ears. Will you take the pittances?
Progressives are giving away everything-for free! Are you skeptical? But we have proven to be fickle folk. Will we keep putting our fingers in the wind to see the direction it’s blowing, or will we attempt to actually change the weather pattern? Can we create our own tsunami?
Yes, when we turn out to vote- in large numbers, then we can, literally, turn a tide. We have done it before. About the rest of the colored worldthose blacks and browns who constantly look at what is happening in the USA- we must give them better examples. How?
We must gird ourselves against political changes that don’t benefit us; we must choose leaders who represent our interests; we must protest injustices everywhere; we must always speak truth to power; we must protect the “ladies who make the babies”; we must continue to thrive in a hostile environment, right here in America.
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