How many White men do you know worry about forty-one
bullets puncturing their body as they reach for their wallet? How many White
men do you know starring in a Broadway show are falsely arrested in the lobby
of their residence and held in custody for five hours? How
many white men do you know worry about being arrested simply because of their
skin color? e.g., DWW (Driving While White)? How many white men do you know
were scared to death when the policemen broke down his door alleging a drug
bust? How many White Policeman do you know were shot to death by fellow officers
they attended the police academy with because they mistook them for a criminal?
How many white Grandmothers do you know were beaten
to death by White policeman because they considered an elderly white woman to
be a physical threat? How many White men do you know that
have been dragged through the streets and decapitated or had a plunger shoved
up their rectum? How many middle class white families do you know require their
teenagers to never run down the street for fear they may be shot by some policemen
who mistake them as a criminal? How many White Mothers
do you know kiss their sons' good-bye in the morning and check to see that they
have the card of the family attorney in their wallet or lunch pail?
This is the daily reality of African Americans.
The American Court system can convict and sentence a Black fourteen-year-old
Nathaniel Abraham to life in a prison or death row, but exonerate four New York
City officers in the cold-blooded murder of the African immigrant Diallo.
This verdict sends a chilling message to all African
Americans of what is in store for the Black community. Black life, the humanity
and dignity of African people are being attacked on every front and those in
the Black community with access to the Electronic media remain silent. Michael
Jordan remains the highest paid gigolo for product promotions, Oprah devoted
countless hours to exploring the human spirit but rarely speaks to the escalated
attack on Black people, culture and life. We could all afford to re read the
great Black poet Claude McKay:
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