BlackJacked

For some reason, middle to upper class Black folks believe they're special. 

Jesse Jackson's passing provides an opportunity to look at the past and evaluate the present. Hopefully we have a better future. The Target Boycott is central to the discussion. 

John Newton is famous for writing the hymn, "Amazing Grace." That grace, however, didn't extend to my people. That them-- a Christianity laced with racism --still shapes our world in every way. 

Black people will never have control without a focused effort in the realm of economics. However, attempts along those lines are always met with critiques of "Black Capitalism."

The US recently stepped foot on Venezuelan soil and took the country's president. This is about power and Negroes better take note. 

No, really, Europe isn't a continent. Rejecting that flawed belief is a small step in challenging white dominance. But be careful: folks get really sensitive about that. 

30,000 Black doctors are missing today. The culprit? A 1910 report by Abraham Flexner, backed by the American Medical Association and the Carnegie Foundation. Black medical schools were targeted and closed, with consequences that still linger today. 

Boycotts have devolved into "The voice of the lazy." It makes us feel good, maybe, but most of these have no clear targets, goals, or hope of delivering a future in which Black people have control of our lives. 

MAGA showed up to Tennessee State University, an HBCU. So...why argue? Don't. 

Tom Brady or Bill Belichick? We can ask the same about Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was undeniably brilliant but without a platform to stand on, maybe we never hear his name. 

Charlie Kirk, whom I'd never heard of before last week, was apparently Jesus Christ come again. But yeah, he was indeed a racist and I'm allowed to be apathetic. 

We're far too sensitive about our history, and that's really not helping us. History should be approached critically, allowing us to grow and develop beyond our elders. 

We love to talk about Pan Africanism but it's mostly myth. It sounds good, but it's largely a one way street. If we really believed in it, we'd practice it where it made the most sense. 

Essence Festival was criticized this year a great deal. Attendance has been trending down for a while, the economy is in the tank, DEI is dead, and now there's yet another impediment: the Target Boycott. It's complicated. 

We have a new Pope. Some are rushing to ask about his blackness, but I think a better question might be where he stands on the church's role on the Transatlantic Slave Trade. 

X-Men movies all have the same plot: the humans hate mutants and wish to wipe them out, the mutants have the power to crush the humans...but Professor X is determined to get the humans to love and accept the mutants. The Professor is nuts, not Magneto.

Civil rights marches are dead. Seriously, don't do that no more. At one point marches were considered bold, cutting edge, and absolutely dangerous. That appeals to young people. They aren't any of those things now, so no, young people don't care. 

Were Africans here before Columbus? Possibly, but some of the ahistorical, crazy BS just needs to stop. It's a distraction and just plain dangerous. 

Caleb Wilson, 20, of Kenner, La., was a junior at Southern University majoring in mechanical engineering and a proud member of the Human Jukebox, the school’s marching band. He's now dead, allegedly a result of fraternity hazing. Let's talk about that Greek life...