Everyday is Black History

Here at Brothers, we've been slacking.  I have been meaning to post something about the month of February and its significance but there's one problem.  The reality is that we should be celebrating black history every day.  If you're a person who is truly black and proud, Black History permeates each and every single second of every day of your life.

Black History is something you have to live and understand your importance and position in culture.  In a country where black men are murdered and imprisoned at alarming rates, we must all remember our ancestors that were enslaved, tortured, persecuted, and humiliated in order to improve our own lives.  While shopping at Barnes & Noble, I discovered this gem of a book with hundreds of quotations from Black people.  I read from it every day.

The video below shares some enlightening sentiments from Detroit Red aka Malcolm X.  I leave you with some words of advice via the great El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz!

"In the ghettoes the white man has built for us, he has forced us not to aspire to greater things, but to view life as survival."

Peace and Love

K. Plattinum

A Day in the Life

Intro
Amidst the Eric Garners, Trayvon Martins, Mike Browns, and countless others, America still has no idea what the life of a black male consists of.  White supremacy has pervaded every level of society all over the world and it has systematically made us enemies in the subconscious of everyone, including our own people.  That being said, black males must learn and understand how the world views them in each and every possible situation that can occur in a given day.  Read on and I will detail the daily interactions I experience as a young, educated black male living in America.

Growing up with four older brothers, I have been conscious of how society views me for as long as I can remember.  I credit my parents, home life, personal experiences, and propensity for reading black literature, for helping me to see the world the way it is. Unfortunately, the bulk of young black men don't have a strong support system of brothers AND/OR a father figure to teach them how to navigate the proverbial cloud of white supremacy.  This causes a lack of knowledge that is essential to the SURVIVAL of black males in this country.

The Package
These days, I wear whatever clothes I want because I enjoy comfort while out running errands and whatnot.  Whether it's a tee shirt, polo shirt, jeans, khakis, or shorts, I make sure that my clothes fit properly and my pants aren't sagging. Why? Because if you look unkempt as a black male, people think you're a criminal.  Each day I have to be careful about the package that I present in public because otherwise, people will assume I'm just another "robbing, stealing, killing nigger."

I walk with a purpose, keep my head held high and I speak to all people using proper english because that's how I was raised.  I walk with my head up because I enjoy seeing the reactions of white folks and others when this skinny black guy is walking down the street.  Rarely do I see another black man during my ventures and if I do, they always get a hello or nod of recognition.  Others however, stare at the ground, clutch their purses tighter, walk faster, and my personal favorite, refuse to acknowledge your presence.  I see the looks and I know what they're thinking based on their facial and physical demeanor.  And these are just the cases of strangers whom I don't know and will never get to know.

These are just the little things that happen everyday that I notice.  There are always the store associates that follow me around the store, policeman shining their flashlights in my face whilst riding my bike home at night, the elementary school teacher that told me I'd never amount to anything, getting arrested and the cops letting my white friend go home free while me and two black dudes are sent off to jail, and the list goes on. . .

This is America
I don't let these things affect me anymore, because I expect it to happen.  This is America, a country founded on the backs of free labor and white supremacy.  They brought our ancestors here against their will, and now they don't want us here and will continue to kill and imprison us at every chance they get.  So black men, know that white supremacy exists and we are at the bottom of their hierarchy.

It's our job to survive and support our families, so don't even give them the opportunity to say they were "defending themselves" because as we know, it always ends with an acquittal or lack of indictment, and a dead black man.

Brothers
In order to get a better understanding of self, I urge my brothers to read the books of the past by black male authors.  Their stories are just as relevant today, if not more so.  We have to get an appreciation for what they went through in order to find your path and figure out how you can make a positive impact.  Some must reads include: Native Son by Richard Wright, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver, and The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X & Alex Haley just to name a few.

It's not about hating white people, it's about loving yourself and your people.  We define the culture.  Know that you have worth!!  Black is Beautiful!!

"The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less." - Eldridge Cleaver, Soul on Ice

Peace
K. Plattinum

Summer Reading List: Song of Solomon

After Fall, Summer is my favorite season for a variety of reasons. The beer tastes fresher, the days are longer..and of course, beautiful brown bodies are decorated in sundresses.  The long days are great for kicking back with a book and a young woman recently recommended I dive into Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

The book mostly follows Macon Dead, known in his neighborhood as Milkman, for reasons that make me uncomfortable to think about. Milkman's pops is a well to-do negro who sees money and ownership of property as the great equalizer. Throughout the book Milkman struggles with this concept, even though he perpetuates his father's behavior which ultimately alienates him from his community and even his own sisters at one point.

The general insanity and jaw dropping scenarios (necrophiliac incest, hidden bodies..) make this a pretty fun book to read however, there were also some pretty interesting themes that can definitely be relevant to a lot of black lives out there...Below I touch on what I gained most from this book, which was the importance of oral tradition.

Regardless of what mainstream white america will have you believe the effects of The Trans-Atlantic slave trade still, yes in 2014, have blasted jarring holes in our culture, in our history. This book really highlights the importance of oral tradition.  Because the history books are always written from the perspective of the conquerors, conversation with our elders is the only way we can know where we truly come from. Just like Milkman, a conversation with my mom, dad or granddad really gives me a sense of pride. My history begins, as told by my mother in Georgia and South Carolina with slave great-grandparents and sharecropper grandparents. These are people who had no rights and ultimately chose to flee the hold of the south for a better chance at life in Philadelphia and New Jersey. It's up to me to give these stories to my future seeds. Milkman only got to hear mythical stories about his great grandfather who may have been a runaway slave, but the little he heard definitely inspired him. It made me wonder about what my sense of self would be had my great grandparents been able to pass stories down to my grandparents...which could have ultimately trickled down to me. The moral of the story...get those oral histories while you still can! And hold on to them like gold!

Deuces...