"Fellow great Americans, hello
This is heritage for my medicine" - Kendrick Lamar
The greatest tragedy of human existence is the illusion of separateness. - Albert Einstein
Like many of you, over the past few days, I've been a myriad of emotions; shocked, flummoxed and yet peculiarly both encouraged and discouraged simultaneously. Transfixed by this human tragedy, of "man's inhumanity to man" through the lens of #blacklivesmatter vs. #bluelivesmatter via 24/7 cable news coverage, with reporters asking black sheriffs and surgeons questions including "How did you get over your fear of cops?" and "Can you describe "the talk" you have with your children about interacting with law enforcement." Are these discussions a true opportunity for healing and understanding?
I remember growing up in the 80's, knowing the intricacies of race and class from a very young age. I woke up singing "Im Black and I'm Proud" while eating Raisin Bran and The Revolution Will Not Be Televised while sorting laundry. The soundtrack of my childhood was unapologetically black and urgent, syncopating the soul of black pain and triumph. Our Brooklyn apartment, four stories above gang turfwars and crack dealers and abusers was a sanctuary for my budding idealism. Bob Marley's reminder to "Get Up Stand Up wafted through the stench of oppression like Lysol, killing the virus of self-doubt and self-hate.
My parents called tv "the idiot box" with the exception of PBS and perhaps the news, which I was always warned to only believe half of- which always left me confused, which half? So when "Black Entertainment Television (B.E.T.) launched, I was confounded. I thought #TheRevolutionWouldNotBeTelevised, so what was the purpose of having a station devoted to black viewers 24 hours a day?.
Quick off the success of Yo MTV Raps, which at that time was indeed revolutionary, B.E.T. stood as a demigod and homage to aspirational, Affirmative Action receiving and perhaps assimilated blacks who were hungry for melaninated pop culture and syndicated sitcoms. I remember watching and wondering, somewhere between "What's Happenin?" and Marvin Gaye's "What Going On?" is the purpose of B.E.T., it was entertainment alright, but far from revolutionary. I suppose BE.T., headquartered in D.C. was an extension of the taxation without representation movement, i.e. if black people were paying for cable, we should be represented in our full glory.
Then on 6/27/16, a gapping cosmic black hole appeared where a vacuum of insignificance once prevailed. The dynamic duo of Beyonce, the blond bombshell turned recent usual suspect vying for public enemy number one status due to her Africanized aesthetic and Formation proclamations and Kendrick Lamar, no stranger to reparations rapping, literally baptized "Freedom" by kicking up water while wailing "I'ma wade, I'ma wave through the waters Tell the tide, "Don't move". No doubt a riveting pitch perfect performance for the discord of injustice.
But then, like a thief in the night, Tracee Ellis Ross, ran away with the most precious jewels in the room - black consciousness when she exclaimed that single women are the largest voting block and hence can sway this election to Hillary! Really? In her efforts to ensure we #StayWoke, she whitewashed or more aptly blackwashed, the sordid legacy of Hillary, giving her uncritical free reign to continue to pander without reprobation. What would - Ashley Williams say? She was the brave masters student who interrupted a Clinton fundraiser questioning Hillary's ominous and broad-sweeping "superpredator" declaration referring to black youth during the 90's drug war. What would the survivors of the Rwandan genocide say to the then silent First Lady? What about the survivors of the Haitian Earthquake who've yet to be helped by the Clinton Global Initiative who raised millions on their behalf? Again, let's be reminded Beyonce' belted -
"Running blind in truth, I'ma rain, I'ma rain on this bitter love, Tell the sweet I'm new".
Perhaps Tracee was making it rain lies. And this is nothing new, in fact political operatives are paid a pretty penny to pull our heartstrings and levers for a particular candidate, perhaps none other than LaDavia Drane, Hillary Clinton's "Black Liaison". Perhaps as a cause for caution, Tracee and by extension the BET Awards was in part dedicated to voter turn out which in this election of two evils will go to Clinton by default. But I'm more troubled, that Tracee, by design, handed million of viewers to Hillary, embodying, Jesse Williams' quote-
"...black women... who have spent their lifetimes dedicated to nurturing everyone before themselves,"
literally nurturing the idea of putting Hillary before our own black community, without fully vetting her "black agenda" beyond getting our vote.
"All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume."
- Noam Chomsky
From the #BETawards2016 to the recent events in Dallas, we are reminded that "the more things change, the more things stay the same". Black pain whether it's displayed in a song or truth telling, protesting or demanding justice is controversial, bound to get retweets and higher ratings, but the margins for justice remain anemically thin. In the interim, Hillary won, because it's easier to vote than to demand actual freedom as her recent appearance at the AME Church Convention. Jesse Williams continues to win hearts, minds and Twitter wars with his soothsaying, which is ever more relevant two weeks later. Also Post-Dallas, conscious rappers won, because post-Jesse, perhaps Future and others who create misogynistic and materialistic music will be a thing of the past, birthing a 21st Century Black Arts Renaissance with Nina Simone as it's patron saint whispering "The role of the artist is to reflect the times. "
As we enter another iteration of liberation or as Jesse put it,
"... freedom is always coming in the hereafter... the hereafter is a hustle"
#postObama what are we going to do? The #BETawards2016 awards started with MLK proclaiming
"....we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice"
What does that look like? That's what I want to see on BET and MTV, VH1, MSNBC, CNN and other media outlets for that matter. What is the purpose of mainstream media in the 21st century?; to stir up controversy or to show us and lead us towards more beautiful expressions of humanity. In order for black lives to actually matter, we must make visible, not just our pain, but our stories of past glories and roadmaps for a brighter future.
Meet me at the finish line
40 acres, gimme mine
Revolution televised
Hopin' that you see the signs- Kendrick Lamar
Cause a winner don't quit on themselves- Beyonce