One of the ironies of life is that sometimes we hide the truth from ourselves in order to justify unpleasant realities. When this happens, the same mistakes will be repeated because we inadvertently hide our dirty laundry. The fact is, however, that we do have dirty laundry, and it threatens to destroy us if it is not brought to light and cleaned.
With this said, a burning question that Black people everywhere should answer is this: Why is it that everywhere in the world wherever Black people reside, we end up being oppressed, no matter the race of the oppressor? Blacks have had problems in Russia, in South America, Israel, Mexico, everywhere. Moreover, at this time, the Chinese are discriminating against Africans on their own continent. And everyone knows that Blacks have been behind the eight ball in the United States forever! Furthermore, Black people have the worst health outcomes in almost every major disease, so much so that it has been said by observers that if a new disease were discovered, Blacks would end up with the worst outcomes in it. Well, this new disease has appeared and Black people are currently leading the pack in the most COVID-19 fatalities. The basic point is that Black people are oppressed by every single malevolent indicator that exists. So what does this say about us?
Actually, a certain type of Black person has demonstrated excellence in everything they have endeavored. They have outpaced whites in order to achieve greatness in every field, but this is evident among certain individuals. Interestingly, the Blacks who do achieve even in this darkness often end up criticized by other Blacks as being “sellouts.” So, there is a huge Catch 22: if Blacks succeed they are anomalies and are mistrusted, but those who are not able to achieve are constantly in complaint mode allegedly due to racism and oppression.
There are three quotes attributed to the great historian, Carter G. Woodson, that seem to address our situation: “As another has well said, to handicap a student by teaching him that his black face is a curse and that his struggle to change his condition is hopeless is the worst sort of lynching.” Another quote: “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions.” And a third quote: “History shows that it does not matter who is in power or what revolutionary forces take over the government, those who have not learned to do for themselves and have to depend solely on others never obtain any more rights or privileges in the end than they had in the beginning.”
These are powerful ideas. Additionally, if it is true that we create our own reality based on our thoughts, which the world’s spiritual leaders have been saying forever, and science through quantum mechanics seems to be lending support, there is something that we are doing to self-sabotage. The evidence points to the following truth: the world conforms to us and our expectations, and not the other way around. If a group is failing as a group in every socioeconomic, political and health indicator, there is some culpability within that group.
Everyone knows that Black people have been oppressed in America in the cruelest manner possible. It’s no secret that we have been psychologically and emotionally damaged, which is one of the clearest rationales for reparations that exists. But this is in the United States. The issue is that the Black problem is a worldwide problem. Black people are in the same predicament everywhere, and as long as we ignore this truth we will keep ignoring the obvious.
Here is the suggested answer to the question: we will not move out of our debased mode until two things happen: 1. We recognize and understand that there is no inferiority in having Black skin. It has been shown, in fact, that there are evolutionary benefits in having it; and 2. We must overcome our self-hate and unify. This is the common denominator for the failure of Black people everywhere. It has been observed that superior technological development is probably one of the reasons Black people sometimes feel inferior to white people. Technology dominates the physical world, the outer world. Spirituality, on the other hand, is dominant in its own domain, and Black people are no strangers in this realm, which is superior to the physical realm. We, therefore, must understand this truth and unify! In the words of another mighty race warrior, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, “Up you mighty race, accomplish what you will! A Luta Continua.
