52 years ago today, one of the greatest men to ever grace the planet, was assassinated.
America teaches you, if you are going to love a black man, it has to be one who’s message is that of inclusivity. He has to be all smiles, and preach patriotic, wholesomeness. Play it safe. Don’t rock the boat.
Anyone who conveys a message of self preservation, self sufficiency, or thinking for ones self, is vilified — and bound for historical exile.
Brotha Malcolm doesn’t have a day.
Not a single Panther has a day.
Angela Davis doesn’t have a day.
We have to tell people who Marcus Garvey is.
I could go on and on.
To put it plainly, anyone who can make the negro think, must be hidden deep in history, like a mystery an individual must unearth, themselves.
Like Malcolm I was once asleep. I was meandering around, hanging around the wrong crowd, believing that the “keeping it real” lifestyle, was what being black was.
When you live in the hood, and you come outside, there are no doctors, lawyers, or any other prestigious titles hanging on the corner.
Guess who your sources of influences are?
In 2010, I was at a crossroads in life. I knew no one of influence, and everyone around me was doing the same things they were in high school — Getting high, being unemployed, and running around aimlessly in the streets. No plans for advancement. I had an ever growing feeling of wanting change.
I bought a plethora of self help, and how-to books, but nothing resonated.
I’m sure you can guess what happened next…
Yes, that is the book that changed my life 7 years ago. The book of transformation.
I stumbled across this book, and it awoke something in me. It was as if a seed was planted, and every word watered the seedling, and the very core of my being was blossoming with each page I turned.
Not many things can help shape a persons thinking like the words from someone who relates to you in such a manner, you’re practically begging for the blueprint for the fix. Hanging on every word, like the secrets of life were in one of these sentences.
Instead Brotha X became the father figure I always needed. He became my hero.
I’m looking at the jig. That shit is up. That’s right, the damn jig is up!
In my travels through life, I realize the need to wake up sleeping Brothas & Sistas who are preoccupied by the wrong messages. It’s a battle that has to be fought strategically, because the ingraining of bullshit is so deeply rooted, the truth sounds like blasphemy.
Have we learned nothing from history? MLK is celebrated ’til this day, with his all-inclusive speeches. Yet Malcolm tried to make your parents and grandparents self sufficient.
Now think about what was passed down to you. And the message being fed to you today.
These popular coons are here to pacify you. Keep you entertained, distracted.
While real messengers are silenced and marketed as hoteps. Boring. Uncle Toms.
Much like Malcolm, I just want you to think. I try to motivate the people, but the people have to be receptive of the message. It’s easy to scream white supremacy and talk about what They won’t let you do. But if you know me by now, I’ve been consistent with one answer: Ok, so now what?
No disrespect, but I’m not cut from the MLK cloth. I don’t want to march in the streets, and beg the majority for equality.
Tie up your damn shoes, and roll up your sleeves.
It’s difficult for me to sit back and listen to whining about what somebody won’t give or do.
If you don’t like Facebook, create your own. If you don’t think someone will give you a job, go create one. With the ever growing tech field, you can invent your own job, from a single idea.
I don’t care who didn’t teach you something, adapt! In addition to that, there are 37 million black people in America. And an estimated 1.3 Billion in the African Dispora around the world. It’s time we start supporting each other, and barter amongst each other again.
If you want something bad enough you will figure out how to attain it. Before I studied Brotha X, I found every excuse why something couldn’t be done. Why, because my circle of influence taught me, that’s what you did. Blame others.
In other words, so now what?✌🏿
Thanx Dave! 
Preach
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Love…love…love this!!! What now?
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Thank you! And exactly!
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Long live Malcolm. That Who Taught You to Hate Yourself is one of the best speeches he ever made. That and “The Ballot or the Bullet”.
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He was dropping fire on a regular! What up Brotha Walker everything good?
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I am good Brotha Dave. Thanks for asking. How have you been?
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I’m great bro, thanks. Working diligently as usual lol
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Bravo Brother Dave! Keep talking about this! It is so important.
I made my son read “The Autobiography..” in the 3rd grade! I had already studied it years earlier while I was in college.
Anyway, my son, who is about to be 23, rereads this book every now and then. He took it with him when he left for college.
And, like you, he considers it to be the MOST influential book that he has ever read.
Brother, I am going somewhere with this…basically, our best hope is to begin working with younger children because they are still malleable.
Though I haven’t checked for any recent research, I do know that past research has concluded that in order to be most effective, you must catch a child before/during 3rd grade– before/around age 8.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to forget working with older children or adults so keep doing that but we should think about ways to reach out to young children through their mothers (if that’s applicable) because the mother is the child’s first and most influential teacher.
Again, BRAVO!
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I’m glad you had him read it, and I’m happy to hear, he still carries it around. That book is a life saver if one is receptive. It’s so many layers to the man, so no matter the life style or stage, it’s relatable.
Yes! I read a while ago a child’s brain is molded (as far as the way they think) by age 8. I think that’s a great time to get to them and help mold them. The cycle had to be broken somewhere
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Yessir! WE gotta break that cycle or we’ll be extinct! Seriously!
You keep grinding and educating others 🙂
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You better preach! This post is such an inspirational one. Thank you for sharing :D. I love that your approach to the restoration and healing of the Black community is a proactive one. And I agree with you a thousand times over that AmeriKKKa will attempt to provide you with images of what they want your Black hero to look like. MLK was an amazing leader but he was also the “safest” one. But in the end, they protected him and his legacy no more than Malcolm’s or any other Black revolutionary. Excellent post! You’ll like the YouTuber that I just blogged about today – Goddess Aayanna. If time permits, I definitely recommend you check out the second video I provided of her in the post. Peace and love!
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If parents teach their kids from home what they are supposed to know about our history, the outside world can’t wrap their tentacles of warped logic around them. I’ll check out Sista Aayanna pronto. Thank you Sista Josie
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Too true! Something tells me that there will be a shift in this with our generation. I can’t imagine too many Black millennials not educating their kids on our history with our current racial climate. Can you? What do you think?
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Personally I think things will change with the generation under us, and probably the generation under them. It’s too much opportunity out here now, to continue the downward spiral. I truly don’t believe we’ll leave the earth with out some real change and hope
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Black people kill me with that Facebook and Social media crap! They cry all day on the platform of the same people who oppresses them. Facebook is ran by a “jew”. But then when you or I build a website uplifting us in which we have done, they don’t support. Man GTFOOMF! Somehow someway all the real ones need to unite. We can’t take everybody with us.A lot of us are too far gone beyond repair or return.
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Right. We can only save the ones who really want the help. Boost they confidence up, and they themselves will reach out. Human positivity assembly line. It can be done!
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Agreed
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