Audrey Hepburn once said, “Since the world has existed there has been injustice. But it is one world, the more so as it becomes smaller, more accessible. There is just no question that there is more obligation that those who have should give to those who have nothing.” John D. Rockefeller kept it simple with, “Every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation, every possession, a duty.” Then the big homie John F. Kennedy broke it down so that it would forever be broken by sayin’, “To state facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust.”
Listen up playas, when cats like D. Rose and LeBron put on the “I Can’t Breathe” joints this week they were only fulfillin’ their obligation to the world as black men. It’s freakin’ impossible to see the amount of injustice goin’ on around you when it comes to police officers killin’ unarmed black men and gettin’ away with it. I applaud these cats for doin’ what they have been obligated as human beings to do. “Care about someone other than themselves.”
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Like I told you boyz after the five St. Louis Rams came out durin’ player introductions with their hands up that these cats are just like any other black men in America. Just because they are rich and famous athletes doesn’t mean that they don’t feel the pain of everyone else in the community. They’ve still got Big Momma’s, uncles, aunts, cousins and friends that deal with the same issues daily. And on some real talk, they’re still susceptible to bein’ pulled over, harassed and taken advantage of by the police too.
Let me put it where the goats can get it playboy. There were a lot of cats rockin’ the “I Can’t Breathe” joints before that Cavs/Nets game! Kevin Garnett, Kyrie Irving, Deron Williams, Jarrett Jack just to name a few. However, it wasn’t until LeBron put the joint on that it got the attention of the world. That’s called leadership and understandin’ your power of influence. It’s important for a boy to realize that his platform is not just for sellin’ sneakers and Nike gear. Sometimes you’ve got give a voice to the voiceless by simply actin’ like you care about people outside of your home.
I’ve got TALL respect for LeBron because he’s so rich and powerful that he could easily have pulled a freakin’ Jordan on boyz. Mike has been stickin’ his head in the sand on social and political issues for 30 years bruh! It’s impossible with all of the things that have gone on in this world since 1984 that a boy has never had an opinion about anything. Mike has more power than any professional sports figure in the history of mankind but he’s gonna leave a boy hangin’ every time. If it ain’t makin’ money for Mike, then Mike ain’t with it.
When Jamie Foxx won the Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles he said that Sydney Poitier once told him that he had to make his work count for something. He gave him “Responsibility” which in old school black folks terms is to uplift those around you.
See what LeBron and these other cats have done over the past couple of weeks is to understand the responsibility and act on it. They’ve realized that they’re standin’ on the shoulders of the cats that made it possible for them to be the superstars they are today. That’s why I’ve got absolutely no respect for Michael Jordan.
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| “We got you dawg!” |
In June of 1967, the most oustandin’ black pro athletes of that time came together in Cleveland, of all places, to support Muhammad Ali’s decision not to be inducted into the U.S. Army after bein’ drafted into the Vietnam War. Ali refused to fight for religious reasons. Now on some real talk, that was Ali’s deal not the other cats but they wanted to make a political statement because they had to the power to do so. Why should Ali have to fiight for a country that mistreats his people? So boyz like Jim Brown, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bobby Mitchell and Bill Russell, just to name a few, stood with him.
Think about it bruh, they could have ended their careers in 1967 but it was important enough for them give a voice to the voiceless. These are all-time greats were talkin’ about not some duns that just played pro sports. People hated Muhammad Ali at the time because he was man enough to stand up for what he believed. Now they love him and call him the “Greatest” because he’s not talkin’! Ain’t that a blip!
Can you imagine the power movement that would occur if our greatest sports figures today stood up for those that don’t have a voice? If duns like Kobe, Tiger, Floyd, Deion, LeBron, Tim, Magic, Mike etc. collectively said enough is enough out here.
Here’s the naïve white guy and Charles Barkley that thinks that boyz are just makin’ all of the problems up in their heads. Now keep in mind that not all white guys are naive. “Man the police aren’t harassin’ people out here. They aren’t oversteppin’ their bounds. They never bother me! So why is everybody up in arms about this foolishness? Michael Brown stole some cigars, Eric Garner was sellin’ loose untaxed cigarettes and Tamir Rice had what looked like a real gun so the police were justified in killin’ them.”
Look here playa you don’t get the death penalty for stealin’ cigars and cigarettes and the cops aren’t supposed to ride up on a 12 year old and shoot first without tellin’ him to put the gun down.
Since you think that boyz are simply makin’ up the harassment in their heads CNN’s Soledad O’Brian did you a solid. She pulled the data in her recent documentary “Black in America: Black and Blue” where she found that 90 percent of the 5 million “stop-and-frisk” stops in New York City alone never resulted in arrests. For all of you simple minded individuals that means that the police were just pullin’ boyz over and givin’ them the business for no reason.
So when you see LeBron and others rockin’ the “I Can’t Breathe” joints it’s not just a protest of the Eric Garner killin’ but it’s a protest of the injustice in America towards its black brethren. And you don’t have to be black to be disgusted by this foolishness. Stop me when I start lyin’!
