Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Jewish theologian and philosopher, once said, “Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.” Rosa Parks broke it down like this, “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” Then Bobby Seale, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party, put it where the goats could get it when he spit, “You don’t fight racism with racism, the best way to fight racism is with solidarity.”
Well playas…LeBron James did a great job of respondin’ to the foolishness that took place at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Some clown spray painted the N-word cross his front gate and he handled it like a G. However, by the time the police got to his crib the dun had cleaned it up already. That means that he was a racist and a coward. If you’re gonna disrespect ole boy’s house at least have the nerve to leave it there so that the cops could have some clues to run up on you. On some real talk, the cat that called the police more than likely knows who did it. But that’s for another day.
LeBron addressed reporters at the Finals Media Day on this foolishness. This is what he had to say, “As I sit here on the eve of one of the greatest sporting events we have, race and what is going on comes again. On my behalf, family’s behalf, I look at this as if this sheds a light and keeps the conversation going. My family is safe, that’s most important.”
He goes on to say, “Just shows that racism will always be a part of the world, part of America. Hate in America especially for African-Americans is living every day. It is hidden most days. It is alive every single day. I think back to Emmett Till’s mom and the reason she had an open casket, she wanted to show the world what her son went through in terms of a hate crime in America. No matter how much money you have, how famous you are, how much people admire you, being black in America is tough.”
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Folks in the mainstream media were more disturbed by this foolishness than LeBron was. Sure, it was a terrible situation that someone would vandalize my man’s home like that but it’s not surprisin’ or mind blowin’ to black folks. Many of my white brothers and sisters just happened to get a glimpse of what it’s like to be black in America for one day. Try livin’ in this skin for 365 days a year your entire life!!
LeBron wasn’t shook up because that’s not the first time nor the last time he’ll be called that name. Just because he’s rich and famous, like he said, doesn’t exempt him from bein’ black in America.
What’s so crazy is that some of our white counterparts can literally live in a world that is exempt from the issue of race if they chose to. They can move into neighborhoods that are 100 percent caucasian and never look back. They can move into communities where their kids never have to go to school with kids that don’t look like them. They can become members of country clubs or lodges that only cater to people that look like them. So therefore, the issue of race rarely comes up because many times in the world that they live in, there is only one race.
The sad part about bein’ black is that we can’t ever escape the hatred that some people have towards us. There is the systematic racism that exists when it comes to people controllin’ who goes to jail and for how long. Don’t think for one minute that the judicial system is fair bruh when folks of all races commit the same crimes but black folks do more time for those same crimes. That same systemic problem determines who gets hired or not, who gets the small business loan or who gets the promotion on the job etc.
Sadly, those of us that have been able to climb the financial ladder and move into the neighborhoods that duns didn’t want us to live in have experienced the same nonsense. There’s always the case of some clown vandalizin’ black folk’s homes because they don’t want them in the neighborhood.
LeBron just happened to be famous and now it’s all over the news. Do you know how many cats I know that have had their homes vandalized by racists that didn’t want them in the subdivision? It’s countless!!
Just bein’ black, drivin’ a car and seein’ a police officer pull up behind you is a nightmare in America. Every time a policeman pulls up behind me my anxiety is on 10 because I have no idea how this situation is goin’ to end even when I’m cooporatin’ with his or her every command.
I think that it’s get worse the more bread you make. Why? Because now you have the opportunity to move into the neighborhoods that some of our white counterparts have moved into to get away from us. And don’t even try to walk into a high end store to shop. Not unless you want a boy followin’ you around the entire time.
So when someone like LeBron buys a $21 million mansion in Brentwood there are some duns that don’t take kindly to him havin’ the nerve to have as much bread, if not more, than they do. LeBron knows that and that’s why he wasn’t shook. His family was okay so he can handle it. As a matter of fact, he was probably expectin’ it at some point. Why? Because we all expect it when we move into a neighborhood where boyz look at us funny when the movers start unloadin’ the truck.
I just pray that one day the color of my skin won’t be the only reason some people dislike me. I just want to see the day when we don’t have to ask, in my Rodney King voice, “Can we all just get along?” Stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Spit: verb – to say
2) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.
3) Put it where the goats can get it: verb phrase – to make it as elementary as possible. To put it at ground level so everyone can understand it.
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!