(ThyBlackMan.com) It is amazing how many of our people have forgotten their history, or maybe they no longer think it applies. It’s understandable that many of us are probably still in a state of shock and even anger after the election of Donald Trump. Some of us didn’t see this outcome coming. There are even those of us that have already encountered racist Trump supporters in ways that would lead us to believe this country has fallen back into a previous era. It looks like overt, in your face, racism is back. Due to this there are black people asking themselves how are we going to survive the era of Trump. Take heart in knowing that we will do as our ancestors and elders once did…live.
Election night was hard, and for some the days following have been worse. However, this is the part whereby we allow history to inspire us to further greatness. People, truth be told the governing establishment has NEVER been in our favor as it was never meant to include us. If we let that fact sit in we may have to come to terms
with the fact that it’s not so much the system that has changed…we have. Too many of us brought into the “post racial America” ideal while watching racism play out on a grand scale. The current president is arguably the most disrespected president in history. Race may have a factor to play in that reality. Seriously, if we allow our emotions to slow down we will realize we know how to survive this era because as a people we’ve not only survived blatant adversity but we’ve thrived.
Since the first slave ship arrived when has the system of government ever supported us? That is the primary question we must keep in mind. Going here mentally will force us to admit we have allowed ourselves to become complacent as a whole. Our activism is spotty, our investment in education is not as consistent outside of ourselves, and we might have focused too much on what government can do for us. If we became disillusioned that would explain why we haven’t supported our own much as of late, and why we’ve turned to the it’s all about me mentality.
All of these things can be rectified once we are honest about what we could be facing over the next four years. Many of us are ready to make sure we are armed to protect our family, and we are serious about what we will not tolerate. One of the recurring themes on social media is “we aren’t our ancestors”. Well, I understand the sentiment, but I hope we smart enough to truly learn from them. Blazing guns will not be enough to survive. We must put true focus on our community and invest in it.
Our people are resilient, and we are strong despite how we see ourselves. We are the descendants of those that survived slavery, reconstruction, the great depression, Jim Crow, and we are still here despite mass incarceration. During those hard times HBCUs were build, we were innovative, the Harlem Renaissance was born, Black Wall Street existed, and regardless of opposition we continued to thrive. Yes, there have been setbacks, challenges and short coming. Of course we have a ton of things to work on…so did our elders. There is still greatness in us, and regardless of who is president we must continue to march forward.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitter; http://twitter.com/MrzZeta.