Everyone is sad that President Obama is leaving the White House. We, as Black people, have too many other things that need our immediate attention. We can not spend four years crying over spilled milk.
Trump won, he will be sworn in. Get over it.
Here are 5 things more detrimental to the Black community than Trump being sworn into office. If you’re concerned about what Trump will do to the Black community, you have four years to do your part.
Soulja Boy and Chris Brown’s boxing match
I don’t follow stupid drama so I have no idea what really started this mess with Chris Brown and Soulja Boy. Since the nonsense surrounding these two entertainers started, people have been choosing sides and bet options are being weighed. Who knows if it’s true or not but there are social media posts talking about who will sing the National Anthem, Mike Tyson is said to have released a diss track against Soulja Boy. Vlad TV reports that if this fight is to happen, it will probably be overseas because the entertainers want to avoid a drug test.
There are so many things wrong with the paragraph I just typed. Chris Brown and Soulja Boy both are very successful artists in their own rights. They are young, rich and obviously bored with life. These young men who have access to almost anything they’d like are choosing to spend their time on the internet beefing (whether real of for entertainment) which causes a divide between their fans, drama with their respective groups of friends and supporters and more dissent in the Black community.
We have too many young men who idolize these entertainers and the way they are behaving falls just short of the savagery that is continuously associated with Black men. Their actions are not only ridiculous, but the sheer delight in the prospect of this fight displayed by many in the Black community is disheartening. It’s a new year, we must stop encouraging such shenanigans and do better as a whole. We must stop wanting to see people harm each other, we must stop sharing videos of fights on social media and if two fools want to get violent for no apparent reason, we need to turn our heads in shame.
Flint, Michigan water crisis
Just today I read an article stating that residents in Flint, Michigan have been banned from attending a local water quality meeting between Governor Rick Snyder and other local officials. Residents traveled from Flint to Chicago for the Water Quality Summit, when entry was barred, they protested outside. With all that has been going on in Flint for the last two years, with residents still using bottled water to cook, eat and bathe daily, it’s ridiculous to shut residents out. What’s even more appalling is how many people have let the situation in Flint slip to the back of their minds. Understand that there are children that will suffer forever from the damage this contaminated water caused them, people died, residents were ordered to pay water bills though they had no access to clean water. Too many people around the country are watching in silence, not outraged enough, only speaking up when a celebrity mentions it. What so many don’t get is like Detroit going bankrupt, this is another pilot program If they can do it in Flint and get away with it, they can do it in your urban community next. We’ve already proven as a nation we are willing to sit silently and allow it to happen.
Tension between police and the community
The media is very cunning, it highlights the most controversial stories and we need to recognize that. In addition, many of the popular media outlets are all owned by the same corporations and people. There is a public agenda to distract the everyday person from the real problems in America and have you focused on the wrong thing. We do not have a racial problem in America, we have a class problem. There may be some cops who don’t like Blacks or minorities but the reality is more often, the cop is afraid of a Black person not racist. Just as the media highlights any story of a cop shooting a Black suspect, not just the ones where the cop is in the wrong, the media spends a tremendous amount of time and resources perpetrating the image of Black men as animals, thugs, and threats to society.
Let’s be real, in an atmosphere where there is more animosity coming at the police from the Black community than the other way around, why wouldn’t cops fear for their lives in certain high crime areas? Any hood is bigger than the police force sworn to protect it. These cops know, one wrong move or blinking too long can get them ambushed or attacked. While I’m one who says they signed up for it, I’m also one who acknowledges that the level of respect and gratefulness towards neighborhood officers is lacking.
We must work hard to break the cycle we have allowed ourselves to fall into of hate and animosity between the community and people who are to protect it. Black or white, they signed up to put their lives on the line every day to protect you, no matter your color. We keep telling people that the Black people committing crimes and acting like animals, such as the Chicago kidnappers, do not represent all Black people. It’s time for us to concede that the police officers who stereotype, shoot or kill minorities, do not represent all police officers.
Lack of adequate education and skills for jobs that pay more than minimal wage
Around the country, we are watching workers fight for higher minimum wage. Let’s face it, you can’t make minimal wage and support a family. People wonder why so many adults are still living at home with their parents, it’s hard to even get adequate housing on minimal wage. I need my people to stop fighting for better pay on the bottom and aspire to get better jobs. No one should be satisfied with minimal wage, especially if you have children. If you don’t have a high school diploma, it’s time to get one or a GED and then enroll is community college or a trade school. It’s time to work towards better skills to be applied to better jobs. They are automating as much as possible these days and soon, many minimal wage jobs will die out. Get prepared.
Dependency on entitlement programs
This is something both Black people in urban communities will not want to hear. We as a community have become too dependent on certain government programs such as food stamps, section 8 and other forms of public housing, Like being satisfied with the government raising the minimum wage, we have to get back to what these programs were intended for, stepping stones. Too many people think these programs are just a normal part of life, for many it’s generational. I personally know a girl I met 19 years ago in school who lived in a 2 bedroom project apartment with her mom and today, she is still there.
The mom is gone, she kept the apartment and raised her daughter there the last 17 years. Over the last 17 years, she has moved multiple people in there as they date. It’s crazy. I doubt she plans to move out until she can pass the apartment to her daughter. This is madness. Wanting better is the first step to DOING better.
All in all, we have more important things to be worried about AS a Black community to focus on what we think someone else will do TO the Black community. We are watching it be destroyed from the inside. Why would Trump have to do anything to us? If anything, you need to prepare to give up some of these social services programs, take advantage of any opportunities that are available to help you gain an advantage in life career wise.
If you think Donald Trump is going to be horrible for the Black community my question to you is, will you spend four years afraid and complaining or will you take this chance to go hard, and show that we as a Black community are too strong to be destroyed?
