By Rakeem J. Coleman (March 1, 2015)
There are more guns than books in the black community. There is more crime than fathers in the black community. There is more violence, hate, and discrimination in the black community than love, unity, and strength. We come from a long line of pharaohs, doctors, and architects. We built pyramids, temples, and grand palaces. Now we can build a strong foundation for future generations. We helped shape a country that stole us from our homeland. We made this country of the “free” a home for us. Our people cultivated farms and built schools in spite of those that sought to oppress us.
These points bring me to my point of interest. Why do we as a people subject ourselves to poverty, settling for what is instead of claiming our kingdom? Why do we kill each other and continue to hate on those that leave the “hood” and reach success? Have we been institutionalized so much that we cannot coexist with each other? We have been taught to hate and destroy each other instead of uniting and taking our neighborhoods and families back.
Did you know our ancestors built schools, families, and businesses all while going through racism and persecution? Why can’t our generation do the same? We are accustomed as a nation to assuming the attitude of not caring. The government killed us for coming together so eventually we became silent . We moved to other neighborhoods, stopped protesting – and took our frustrations out on each other.
However, we can do better and change all of that. We can embrace the same ideas from the Black Wall Street of the 1920’s. We have to reclaim our families, encourage black men to step up and be fathers to our young men, and teach our women to be true mothers and stop having children with dudes who aren’t mature enough for commitment and fatherhood. We have to reclaim our businesses and stop giving other races opportunities to profit from our people.
We are a chosen people since the dawn of civilization. I realize that change can’t and won’t happen unless we unite like our ancestors did in the past and say we want our freedom back.