Part IV: The Blight on Black History Month

Be as it may, this video is almost a sad conclusion to these Black History Month editorials. Instead of speaking about the trillions of dollars in the Democratic Republic of Congo; how the minority philanthropic dollar has grown or about the growing numbers of employed black people, we’ll just have to go back to the very beginning. The video needs to be analyzed from the perspective that racism is about being different. The two girls in this video are young – yes. However, there is much to learn from everything they say. Watch this video in its entirety and you will see what I am saying.

And this is what I am saying: Until African Americans surmount their current economic status as representatives of those things poor and bad, racism or elements of it will continue to be prevalent in society. As long as Africa is considered a basket case; as long as African American youth keep getting sent to jail and as long as the teenage pregnancy rate is still ‘considered’ higher than the white one, then we are relatively in trouble. We will continue to be treated as the outsider, the other and even, the ostracized. The video above said all that needed to be said. The young ladies were not being racist. No. They were being honest. Of course, they were a little callous and careless with the way they addressed things. They also generalized and upset a great many people. But there was truth to what they said. African Americans have managed to allow all kinds of negative things to be assigned to them. While there is nothing wrong with the way people speak, some people – the majority – consider an accent or the lack of proper pronunciation or diction a matter of concern. The young ladies asked a simple question: Why don’t African Americans speak proper? What is wrong with using correct words? What is wrong with planning and being prepared for situations? The young ladies did not understand what was so wrong with doing the right things at the right time. Again, I am not condoning what they did. They were speaking the truth from their own parochial window. They do not know any better. And as far as they are concerned, the African Americans [and in extrapolation, all black people] are not applying themselves. They, apparently, would rather get pregnant, collect welfare checks, buy designer clothes and fall behind their peers by dropping out of school.

Is there truth to these accusations? Are African Americans dropping out of school and abusing the social welfare system? Of course. Are white people doing exactly the same? Of course. However, like we have argued in the past, there are too many examples of successful white people and too few samples of successful black ones. Yes … The president is black; and his wife is also black. Colin Powell is black and there are a great many other examples. But for every successful black exemplar, there is a whole sea of white faces. We are inundated and surrounded. And at the end of Black History Month, this editorial can only go back to where we were at the beginning of the month, the year before and also, in the middle of the 20th Century. It seems as though progress is made and yet things are ostensibly still the same.

People of African descent are a strong race. The Negroid has as much capacity as the Mongoloid or the Caucasian. The only thing that stands between the races is the ubiquitous air of competition. The Chinese will always want to be superior to the Filipinos; just like the Mexicans will always want to be superior to the Guatemalans. It is an aspect of nature. Just like Ying and Yang, opposites like Blacks and Whites will continue to be in the race for the finish line. As long as blacks, whites, yellows and browns have breath, they will continue to strive for that promised land. That land comes with tiers. The one at the top of the food chain will always be superior. The one at the bottom will continue to remain there. However, the divisions in society are more porous than we think. They are all based on perception. If a race is perceived to be a certain way, there is a chance that this perception will become a reality. To understand how real perception is, look into the stock market. People trade based on whims and gut instincts and especially the perception that something good or bad is happening in a certain sector or industry.

The young ladies in the video were punished for posting an offensive documentary. However, if they had not be caught, they would have still maintained these sentiments. Although they have been expelled from their high schools, one can never tell whether they have changed their minds about the ‘truth’ as they saw it. They will, forever, live with the blight of this video. The point here is for people of color to prove them wrong.

Dennis Matanda,
Editor – [email protected]