I know that everybody and their baby’s momma has seen the foolishness goin’ on down at the University of Alabama this week. Many of you were shocked and appalled by Harley Barber’s behavior but it wasn’t surprisin’ to black folks. It’s been this way since the beginnin’ of time in this country.
From 1619 when the first 19 African slaves docked in Jamestown, Virginia to about 1970 racism was overt and in your face. We’ve experienced the slave trade, the Jim Crow Era and the Civil Rights Movement. Over time laws were passed like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voter’s Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 etc. to make it illegal to openingly discriminate against folks based on the color of their skin, race, religion, creed etc.
So folks started actin’ like they actually had good sense on the surface. However, if you’ve been black in America for more than a day you’ve known that racism hadn’t gone anywhere. It’s just been underground festerin’ in the form of institutional racism. For all of you that don’t know what that means, it’s never gone away you’ve just got to be alert enough to see. Folks may not have been bold enough to call someone the N-word but they’ll treat them like one in a minute. It’s just been subtle.
Well playas…that was until this most recent presidential election. Unfortunately, our current Commander in Chief has givin’ those underground racists in America a platform to speak and act a fool now. We’ve seen more blatant racism over the past year than I’ve probably seen my entire life and I’m fifty. Hate groups are explodin’ onto the scene in record numbers.
Sure, it’s always been there but it’s was layin’ in the cut operatin’ in silence. Now it’s got a bull horn and it’s marchin’ all over this country with it’s clothes off. From Charlottesville to Tuscaloosa to every NFL stadium and any place in between.
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Ole Harley Barber felt comfortable enough to not only make one video on MLK Day but she made several with friends in the car with her. She just didn’t wake up the other mornin’ and decide to be a racist that would put her words on video and post them herself.
Think about it, she wasn’t set up by so-called friends. Her phone wasn’t hacked or nothin’ like that. She felt empowered to do this. That’s a problem. She jumped out of the birthday cake butt naked foamin’ at the mouth because she felt comfortable enough in her surroundings to do it.
The University acted quickly by expellin’ her from school and Alpha Phi kicked her out of the sorority and I applaud them both for their actions. However, the bigger problem is that she felt comfortable doin’ what she did on that campus or bein’ a representative of that campus.
This is the same school that has won 5 of the last 9 football national championships with a team that’s darn near 80 percent black. They’ve got players littered all over the NFL with voices that can be heard by millions. We’ve heard from Landon Collins and other former Bama players as they’ve expressed their thoughts.
The university had way too much to lose if they hadn’t acted so quickly because football is their number one source of revenue and it’s bein’ generated on the backs of black athletes. Do you realize that the Crimson Tide generates more than $103 million in revenue second only to the University of Texas’ $121 million. That’s up 95 percent since Nick Saban took over in 2007.
So ole girl had to go ASAP. The last thing Bama needed was a recruit to de-commit because some crazy co-ed felt comfortable enough talkin’ crazy online about black folks.
And please don’t feel sorry for her because she’ll be enrolled in school somewhere next week and in another six or seven years she’ll be somebody’s manager operatin’ with the same mindset she has today keepin’ institutional racism alive and well. It’s sad but it’s true. Stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.
2) Ole girl: noun – the person that I’m currently talkin’ about.
The G is excluded from the endings of all words because the G is near and dear to my heart because I’m from “The G” which is Gary, Indiana. So I only use the G when I’m talkin’ about “The G!”
The caption under the photo isn’t real but its real talk!