So, as I'm perusing through Facebook last night, I come across a status that, well, was a bit unexpected. It was a man who said that he was being stopped by the police, and if anyone didn't hear from him, to call his mom. At first, I think that all of his FB friends thought that the post was made in jest because of the "hold it down" hashtag. Unfortunately, he was very serious. He admitted that he was speeding. He also questioned them. (And we all know that you're not supposed to question "authority"...smh) Speeding, however, did not justify the attitude of the officer, the police handcuffing him, "searching" (tearing up) his car for drugs (of course), only to find out that he had nothing. The officer just should have given him a ticket and sent him on his way. This man would have been pissed about the ticket...who wouldn't be....but he wouldn't be as pissed as he is right now.
I bet you're thinking, "she's about to make a "driving while black" post.
You're wrong.
...follow me.
This post made me think back to a conversation that I had with a man when everything with Michael Brown's shooting in Ferguson happened. We're discussing the shooting. Something made us change subjects. Then, five minutes later, he asks me this:
"Why are they so scared of us?"
"Us" meaning black men.
YOUNG black men.
I heard something in his voice. It was concern. He was concerned because he is raising young black men. And he has every right to be concerned.
I revisited that question when I woke up this morning and read the posts on that Facebook status. Here's my answer. I'm not saying that I'm right, but hey, it's MY blog and it's MY opinion. So here goes...
Let's be honest: as soon as a birth certificate is made and the sex says "MALE" and the race says "BLACK", they're considered dangerous. This newborn boy, who can't focus yet, who doesn't know how to talk, who can only communicate by crying, is considered "dangerous". He can't walk, but he's dangerous. That birth certificate alone strikes fear into people...all because he's a black male.
OVERstand this: don't ever for ONE second think that they don't know our history! THEY KNOW OUR HISTORY BETTER THAN WE DO!!!! Why? Because they've been trying to hide our history from us forever!! They KNOW that we're the first man to walk this earth. They KNOW that we're inventors. They KNOW that we are intelligent. They KNOW that no matter how much they try to break us down, we continue to stand taller with our heads held high. They KNOW that our black man is wanted...
....and hated at the same damn time.
They hate them, but want to be them. They want their style, their look, their demeanor. They want their women.
I want for my black men to understand that you were a king then, and you're a king now. Stand up and take your rightful place as the head of this world! The world that was created by the sweat of your brow, and the pain in your backs. The world that has attempted to turn your black woman against you. My men, WE STILL LOVE YOU!!! We love you and will stand with you. Raise your sons to be men. Teach them that some people in this world don't want them to succeed, but that they WILL succeed because they are inheriting the world that their elders created.
To all of you raising black young men, I applaud your efforts. I pray for your strength...I pray for their success. God knows it's hard to raise a child PERIOD...but to raise a black boy when certain people automatically assume that they're "dangerous" is a whole different realm in itself.
Come to think of it, our young black men are VERY dangerous...
...their POTENTIAL makes them that way!
