It’s known there has been an effort to dummy down the proletariat in the information age, and it’s reflected in the low academic scores in America. So in the Black community that’s devastating. That’s why I respond to misnomers, especially those concerning Black History. The term Black has been hijacked and used for nefarious purposes. When the term Black was adopted by the Black Power Movement of the 60’s it was considered an insult, the Movement transformed it into a pledge of love and loyalty to ones people. Either you love and are loyal to your people or you’re not.

Now that it’s been hijacked you’re saying it’s a challenge, being that it’s become a blanket term, and people don’t know what it is to be Black. Debating over trivial matters of whose Black? How does that help the Black Movement move forward? America has been passed up in the Black Power Movement by Brazil, which never suffered the effects of the Willie Lynch Papers during slavery, and there is no divide between Black men and women. They also have the largest Black population outside of Nigeria and the fastest growing. America has lost its way and fallen behind and it seems no one here is aware of it. That’s the real issue.

This was more tongue-in-cheek at those individuals who feel it is their obligation to decide who gets to be considered ‘Black Enough’. I have read most of the books that you listed, and enjoyed gaining perspective from them…however, that still does not qualify anyone, regardless of how ‘Black’ they are to determine who does not get to be considered as such.

This is really about how we interact as an ethnic organization. Its about how we continue to perpetrate the same acts against one another that were installed (and instilled) in us through ‘The Willie Lynch’ mentality. It is about how we still make comments like, ‘Oh, she’s cute for a dark skinned girl’, or ‘Oh, she has good hair’, in reference to a light skinned woman. It’s about how we look at Black people who have ‘made it’ and assumed they’ve forgotten their roots, where they came from or just ‘sold out’.

I could go on, but a lot of these thoughts and others will be addressed in future articles as I mentioned earlier…so please keep an eye out for them…again, thank you for your feedback as it definitely makes me consider the content of my article.

The perfect example is this article. If we as a people are not willing to love, support, and protect one another, then no, we are not Black enough. This is what our ancestors did in order for us to get this far, which as a people we’ve seem to have forgotten, which is the reason for the problems we have in our community today. I guess most of us really believe in the American dream, which has unfortunately become a nightmare for a lot of us.

Black Unity means financial independence and happiness

Prior to The MOVEMENT if one person of color called another person of color black, there would be a throw-down drag-out fight on the spot! The reason being there was no pride in blackness. After the Black Panthers formed and started teaching people of color of their rich Black heritage, and open primary schools offering free breakfasts to encourage intercity children to attend. Guarding the neighborhoods against violent crimes and drugs, with armed guards. People began to view these men with pride as strong Black Men. Soon after people began to greet one another with a Black Power salute. And when James Brown put out the record “I’m Black and I’m Proud” everyone jumped on board. That was a unique time in history for Black People.

Now let’s look at Black today, You have the Black People that consider themselves the prodigy of the Black Movement, these are the Black People, not a skin color but a state of mind. Then we have the generic Black person who is the recipient of the benefits of the Black Struggle but feels no allegiance to it. Then we have the Bourgois colored man who never really accepted the Black Power Movement and choose to be a second class citizen and emulate the upper class even at the expense of his fellow brothers.

You see there are many that use the term Black and know nothing about Black. You want to know if you’re Black enough? You’ll have to make that decision. And you wanted to know about a book on being Black, well they’re many. The Autobiography of Jack Johnson, Paul Robeson, Soul On Ice, Malcolm X, Hurricane, by Rubin Carter. After you read those books get back with me and I’ll give you a reading list. When someone says, you aren’t Black enough, they’re questioning whether you are Black or generic. Only you can answer that question.