Let's Correct The History Books...

Outside of immediate influences, our amazing contributions range from the potato chip to the curling iron, from the stoplight to the heart transplant, and from the number one talk show in syndication to the Presidency of the United States of America.  Why, then, are we still looked upon as secondary? As non contributors?  Is this a position to be graciously accepted? Or, is it time that we begin to re-write the history that has been taught in our schools?

In the past four decades, I have silently watched and unwittingly become part of the silent majority known as the minority in America. This has caused great turmoil, inner guilt, and cause for reflection as I have also become more than my surroundings had ever predicted I would ever be.  Mystified, I look at the many people around me who call themselves my brethren; my fellow warriors, Kings and Queens. Yet, these same heroes within my culture continually find themselves in homeless shelters and as faceless names in the unemployment lines; all begging for place in a world that was built by their ancestor's sweat, their forefather's strength, and knowledge that was once their own.

 

My middle aged revelations are not shocking, to say the least. They are the same conversations that we all have heard in our local barbershops and hair salons, around the water cooler, at the bus stops,  and yes, even in the local bar. But, these are the conversations that need to be aired in a public forum, broadcast on our radio stations, and talked about on our talk shows.

 

Decades ago, we were a stronger people. We were once joined by adversity, linked together through cause, and existed as one community hell-bent on survival. With the onset of technology, the integration of schools, and the surreal feeling of “finally getting our piece of the American dream," the African American culture as my mother knew it - as her mother knew it - has fallen apart. We no longer rely on our neighbors, our friends, or even our families to help us raise own community, our children, or even our own expectations of one another.

It is my firm belief that we no longer have to be subservient in a society that has given us a second (or third) class citizen status. Knowledge has always equated to power. It is time now to educate the uneducated, to teach the unlearned, and to finally correct the history books.  I implore you to tell the stories that has never been properly documented in the one-sided history books that populate our schools.

Yes, I long for the days when my mother would tell me stories of her childhood. Although they were simpler times, those were the times when families stood as one.   Those were the days when elders were respected, children were seen but not heard, and families had a central character known as the father.  Somewhere between the civil rights movement and the civil disobedience of gang violence, we have done nothing more than lost our civil minds.  Although we may not see the chains that continue to keep us bound in the position of mental enslavement, the teachings of Willie Lynch are still in effect today; keeping many of our Kings and Queens from ever reaching their thrones.

By taking a moment to look at our society, our culture, our people, ourselves, we are forced to see a distorted reflection of truth. As I opt to break the looking glass, I refuse to join in the laughter. I refuse to dance a jig. I refuse To be the well-spoken, well-educated, well-dressed pink elephant in the room. I believe that the only way that our culture can begin to be seen equally is to first reshape, then redefine the definition of being black in America.  

We have always had the ability to control our the perception of our race. In the 1960s, we were denied by a unified voice.  In the 1970s, we lent that voice to exploitation films and infused music the gave birth to new genres of sound.  In the 1980s, we allowed a television family to speak to our intellectual existence; reminding us of the echoes of a .  It was shortly thereafter when the desires for a greater economic share of the American dream began to turn that voice into screams as we waged war in coastal gangs.  The next two decades showed us a deterioration in family values as fathers became a threat to the thought of receiving a monthly stipend.  This new voice broke away from the message of the 1960s and now, in the 2010s, we must find the strength to recall upon the familiar vibrations of the past and whisper truth in our ears again.

By demanding better programming on television and radio stations like BET, Bounce, and TV ONE, we can begin to recreate our own persona.  By petitioning major players like Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey to produce films that applaud our heroes and show us in an accomplished light rather than always being poor, beaten, abused and abusive, we can begin to show America as well as our children that there is more to life than tom-foolery and continual mis-education.  If they are unwilling to serve as responsible mentors, then ask that they partner with writers and other producers more willing to shed a different light on our unsung heroes.  I applaud their accomplishments, but for every comical or abused character that they impress upon our minds, shouldn't there be just as many positive impressions left to balance our perceptions of self-worth?  We are now the stewards of our worth; it is time to be more responsible.

With access to the internet, our publications, news channels and mass media should be capable of expanding as worldwide leaders as we re-invigorate industrial growth based on the needs of our subculture.  No longer is Willie Lynch capable of shackling our minds.  We should demand a nightly news broadcast that will teach our children of our ongoing accomplishments and make them aware of our failures. Destiny is no longer in the hands of another, but it is now our turn to weal fate and continue the movement of civility that was started in the 1960s.  

If you are not teaching your children about the past, then you are part of the problem.  At least, get out of the way and allow them to move forward with pride. Stop perpetuating stagnant ideas, self-hatred, and civil discord.  

Who lied to my people?  No one. Ill-written history books and traditional beliefs have simply imprisoned their minds...  But, then again - this is just ONE Man's Opinion... What is yours?