Black In America, What Does it Mean to You

I have been running a video clip of CNN’s upcoming two-part series “Black in America” on my blog and I had to ponder for a moment what being black in America really meant. I must admit, that my life’s journey did not start in much the same way as many blacks in America. I was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica and I spent most of my formative years there. The way of life was somewhat different. You see, it was not about the color of my skin in Jamaica. I was limited only by my capabilities and not the “system.” Jamaica was, and still is, a melting pot, though the country is confounded with high crime and unemployment rates. Jamaica back in the years of my youth was a wonderful place to be. The quality of education was second to none. When I started my undergraduate years at Ohio University, I breezed through the first two years with relative ease of having done most of the work at Mt. Alvernia High School in Montego Bay. Jamaica taught me how to be a person and to reach for the stars, but America taught me to fight for what I want and believe in. Being black in America gave me a strong sense of determination and a drive to succeed against all the odds, because I saw freedom fighters like Johnnie Carr, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Madame C. J. Walker, Harriet Tubman and others, fight for a cause they believed in with a fierce determination that was virtually matchless.

As a child I had friends of all ethnicities and was never made to feel that I was somehow inferior to anyone. My first encounter with racism came one night while slightly inebriated after a night at a student hang-out of the campus of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. A white male student, obviously drunk also, called me a nigger. I was taken aback because I was never called that in all my life. I ran up to him and asked him to repeat what he had just said. He, obviously realizing that he was grossly outnumbered, started saying that he was from Queens, New York and had a lot of black friends. One of my male friends slapped him up a little and we left feeling that exhilarated, in some way. Though that was the only openly racist name I have ever been called, I have been discriminated subtly in the work place in at least two companies I worked for. My husband and I were discriminated against when we were seeking to rent an apartment in a tony section of Queens. I’ll never forget the realtor’s name–Rabani. The first one I can say discriminated against us because we were black seeking to move into a predominantly white neighborhood. Suddenly the rent skyrocketed and the deposit and security payments tripled.

In all honesty, being black in America is a lot different from the 1930s or even 1960s. We are able to achieve a lot more and we are not barred from going and living where we choose in most instances. We are able to live the American Dream in a sense. But what does being black in America really mean? For some, it means a heavy burden and the continued discrimination, though very subtle in most instances. For others, it means the culmination of dreams. Many blacks have transcended race and today we stand on the threshold of greatness–Barack Obama, the first African American to be a serious contender for the presidency. We have made great strides towards equality for all, but we are still a long way off. For many of us, being black in America means living in with the burden of mistrust by many, inferior health care, rundown neighborhoods, high crime rates, high school drop out rates and being automatically suspected of crimes and even being falsely imprisoned for crimes we did not commit. So, when Michelle Obama uttered those words that she was proud of her country for the first time in her adult life, I understood and appreciated what she meant. Unless you are black in America, you will not fully understand her position, but you can appreciate her candor. You see, America was not always kind to blacks and still isn’t in many regards. So, from a historical context, being black in America was living hell for so many of our ancestors.

I open the forum to my readers who are of African descent and living in America. What does being black in America mean to you? Please share your thoughts.

Filed under: Black in America, Frederick Douglass, Jamaica, Johnnie Carr, Madame C. J. Walker, Martin Luther King Jr., Ohio University

A Tribute to Freedom Fighter the Honorable and Esteemed Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela released from prison February 11, 1990

I am always completely speechless when I see the visionary and powerful Nelson Mandela on television. I am always reminded what the word sacrifice truly means when I see him. He is to me, of the same ilk as Mother Teresa, Gandhi and all the visionaries we have been blessed to have had in our lives at different times. He is the closest thing to a saint in our lives. I was equally amazed at the fact that Mandela was on the U.S. terror list as recent as this week. This man was no more of a threat to the U.S. than a little child. We are in the presence of greatness and a man that has shown unselfish love and devotion to his people and ending the scourge of apartheid in his country. Nelson Mandela’s fame eclipses that of presidents, but the hero of the South African apartheid struggle also has a moral authority unmatched by any religious or political leader. Mandela can arrive in the chambers of any head of state with the absolute certainty he will be the most famous person in that room and the most RESPECTED. He is, by far, one of the rarest and most precious person we have ever had in our midst.

Nelson Mandela in his cell at Robben Island

Mandela, who turns 90 on July 18, is eternally cloaked in a cloud of adulation which refuses to evaporate. He has made remarkable achievements through his life and he is one of the first political figures to truly understand the power of celebrity–a tool he turned into a weapon in the fight against apartheid. He succeeded in reaching a global audience with his vision of a post-apartheid South Africa before his 27-year imprisonment commenced. He transformed his trial into a stark demonstration of an oppressive state seeking to stifle a dream of justice – not just a confrontation between prosecutors and the leader of a sabotage campaign. Mandela famously declared at this time: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination…It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” South Africa’s white elite failed to label him as a communist terrorist and the propaganda victories of the ANC led to sanctions which threatened to cripple the state.

Mandela, not only helped break down the walls of apartheid, but he spearheaded one of the greatest transformations of the past 100 years–the emergence of scores of nation states which were once European colonies. Mandela has played down his brilliance as a tactician with charming modesty, saying: “I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances. Mandela is an “intellectual giant” who proved that a systematic process of “truth and reconciliation” can bring healing to a shattered country.

Mandela is seen as a global grandfather, devoted to fighting Aids and poverty across his home continent. No leader of a liberation movement has enjoyed such a happy ending. He was imprisoned for 27 years and I don’t think that God would have taken him away from us so quickly after his release from prison. He had more work for him to do.

In recent times critics of Mandela wish he had done more to stop Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe slipping into outright tyranny. But it is not true that in his retirement he has avoided political controversy. He was alarmed by the US’s rush to war in Iraq, saying: “It is clearly a decision that is motivated by George W. Bush’s desire to please the arms and oil industries in the United States of America.” A sentiment many people here in the U.S. share fervently. It is a testament to the strength of his legacy that he is criticized for moments of inaction, rather than any decision taken in a moment of fear or fury.

So, naturally I was very surprised to learn a few months ago that Mandela was still on the U.S. terror list and I was angered by that discovery. On Friday, lawmakers quietly erased references to him as a terrorist from national databases. The legislation was unanimously passed in both the House and the Senate. I could not believe that Mandela was faced with travel restrictions to the United States because he fought to free his people from apartheid. It is ironic that America prides itself on racial inclusion and sensitivity, though it has had its own apartheid and its government has been guilty of some of the very same activities that occurred in South Africa towards blacks and American Indians. It is ironic that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and so many other civil rights leaders were subjected to similar treatment as the leaders in apartheid South Africa and this government had to nerve to have this man on a terror list.

Nelson Mandela, when he leaves the public stage for the last time, will indeed remain an icon of hope and freedom for the whole world. This was my tribute to a man who continues to evoke such feelings of awe, profound gratitude and deep respect through every fiber of my being. This is who, though I am sure he has faults as we all do, we should strive to emulate, though we can never duplicate. I wish Zimbabwe’s despot Robert Mugabe and cronies would take a page from Mandela’s book and do the right thing instead of stealing an election in plain view. Just my thoughts, you be the judge…..

Filed under: Gandhi, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, President George Bush

Barack Obama Clinches Democratic Nomination, Hillary Clinton Plays Dirty

I cannot express the emotions that welled up into my being when I witnessed history being made in America–a black man clinches clinches the nomination for the Democratic candidate for President. This is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. talked about in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Barack Obama did not accomplish this enormous and awesome feat by the black vote only. Millions of whites and other ethnicities supported him. I must admit that I teared up a little. His accomplishment tonight is nothing short of amazing and long-overdue. He has shown, though the naysayers would say otherwise, that you can transcend race in America today.

It was 146 years ago that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, which changed a lot for blacks in America, but this moment will undoubtedly go down in history. Barack Obama has climbed on the shoulders of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Ralph Abernathy, Shirley Chisholm, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, John Lewis, Tom Houck, Johnnie Carr, Joseph Lowery, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks and so many great, great leaders and unsung heroes of our time. This is a defining moment for all our black men in America. It says that you can be anything you want to be by doing the right things, getting an education, working hard, surrounding yourself with the right people and daring to dream.

Hillary Clinton did not concede tonight and I really did not expect her to. She was as defiant as ever and she, in essence, literally made her case for the vice presidency. She could have endorsed Barack, but decided to take the low road. For what it is worth, Hillary Clinton did make history and she did fight with a great deal of determination and tenacity. I applaud her for her accomplishments in this campaign, but it is time for her to bow out. It is time for all the supporters on both sides to come together and fight for the White House this Fall. Hillary Clinton could have come out in support a little more than she did tonight. It is a moment for her to ponder his speech and decide to work for the common goal of the party.

Though I don’t agree with all Barack Obama’s positions, I am very happy that he has accomplished this great feat and I am optimistic that he will prevail in the Fall. Hillary Clinton needed to be more conciliatory and again, I think she has nixed any chances of her being his running mate. Hillary, the Fat Lady is rapping to you girl. It is time to get out of the race! Barack Obama, congratulations. This night was coming for a long time. I think one of the commentators on CNN said it best–Hillary and Bill Clinton are the Ike and Tina Turner of the campaign. They don’t do it nice and easy, they do it rough. So, I guess nobody really expected Hillary Clinton to bow out gracefully. Hillary Clinton represents the very thing Barack Obama spoke about–doing away with the Old Washington D.C. I guess the Clintons did not expect the dream of a black person getting the nomination to happen on their watch. Hillary Clinton never said that she was proud that a black person had finally made history in America by clinching the nomination for president.

Here’s the text of Barack Obama’s speech tonight. As a mother of two wonderful boys, as an immigrant and as a black woman, I am proud to say that we have overcome many of the things that held blacks back in America, though racism still exists, as this electoral process has shown, but we have come a long way from the days when we were lynched and treated like trash. When we did not have the right to vote. When we had to use separate entrances, use separate bathrooms. When we couldn’t eat at many lunch counters across the United States. When we were denied an education. When we had to sit at the back of the bus. Yes, we have come far, but Barack Obama and the millions of people who supported him have shown that YES WE CAN!

Filed under: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Johnnie Carr, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks