Freedom of Speech and Censorship Part 2
Were I A Black Man/Were I A Black Woman
I am addressing this to all my friends in this thread:
Blackwolf
JohnnyBlaze
Ahavati
Lepperochan
Valeriyabeyond
Layla
DaisyGrace
Sky_dancer
drone
If I have missed a name, no disrespect intended; you may include yourself if you are interested.
Here is a challenge I am putting forward. Its intended purpose is to give all my non-Black colleagues an opportunity to make a mental sojourn into the skin of a Black person, the way John Howard Griffin did and reported in his book, Black Like Me, first published in 1961.
Perhaps the world will change because of this exercise: we may have a better perspective from which to lead change from the bowels (or surrogate bowels) of the extended Black experience.
Feel free to take part or not to take part. You may not see me as often as you are accustomed for a short time and season. Meantime, you have this to pursue, hopefully to the benefits of all.
Here is the challenge:
Were I A Black Man/Were I A Black Woman
A 500-word reflection
Could you write a 500-Word reflection in which you state what life should be like, were you a Black man or a Black woman? Consider, without being necessarily limited to, the following prompts in your reflection:
• White supremacy and Jim crow
• Slavery and reparation
• Black wall street and the economy
• Police targeting and brutality
• Politics and change
• The place of John Howard Griffin
Background reading
• Synopsis or Movie of John Howard Griffin’s “Black Like Me” https://youtu.be/Ww0q4XhxPAA
• Poem by cabcool [ONLY IF YOU DON’T MIND]: “that i am black” http://mydo.cx/ZTVmMDdj
The inclusion of my personal poem is not for self-promotion. Note I have not posted it to this thread. I believe it is pertinent because it addresses a situation in which the persona is speaking from the point of view of being already Black, while you are being asked to imagine yourselves being Black.
Thank you.
I am addressing this to all my friends in this thread:
Blackwolf
JohnnyBlaze
Ahavati
Lepperochan
Valeriyabeyond
Layla
DaisyGrace
Sky_dancer
drone
If I have missed a name, no disrespect intended; you may include yourself if you are interested.
Here is a challenge I am putting forward. Its intended purpose is to give all my non-Black colleagues an opportunity to make a mental sojourn into the skin of a Black person, the way John Howard Griffin did and reported in his book, Black Like Me, first published in 1961.
Perhaps the world will change because of this exercise: we may have a better perspective from which to lead change from the bowels (or surrogate bowels) of the extended Black experience.
Feel free to take part or not to take part. You may not see me as often as you are accustomed for a short time and season. Meantime, you have this to pursue, hopefully to the benefits of all.
Here is the challenge:
Were I A Black Man/Were I A Black Woman
A 500-word reflection
Could you write a 500-Word reflection in which you state what life should be like, were you a Black man or a Black woman? Consider, without being necessarily limited to, the following prompts in your reflection:
• White supremacy and Jim crow
• Slavery and reparation
• Black wall street and the economy
• Police targeting and brutality
• Politics and change
• The place of John Howard Griffin
Background reading
• Synopsis or Movie of John Howard Griffin’s “Black Like Me” https://youtu.be/Ww0q4XhxPAA
• Poem by cabcool [ONLY IF YOU DON’T MIND]: “that i am black” http://mydo.cx/ZTVmMDdj
The inclusion of my personal poem is not for self-promotion. Note I have not posted it to this thread. I believe it is pertinent because it addresses a situation in which the persona is speaking from the point of view of being already Black, while you are being asked to imagine yourselves being Black.
Thank you.
From Portland, OR ( from last night )
I haven’t stood or marched in a formation in 22 years but tonight, I stood shoulder to shoulder with veterans from every service, of varying ages, and backgrounds. One was a Navy Captain who taught at the War College. One was a young Marine Captain who was in Afghanistan six months ago. There was an Army Infantry Major who wore her dress blues jacket. An ex Coast Guard skipper stood to my left. There were close to 75 of us and we formed a platoon sized group in column of threes. My muscle memory snapped to when I heard, “Detail, attenSHUN!!” By that time, right face and forward harch were already cued in my mind and my chest stuck out when we began to march.
When we entered the protest area, cheers erupted, and they made space for us up front, against the fence. When we were called to halt, and then left face, I was staring directly at the door they said the federal agents had been coming through previously when they’ve decided to disperse the crowds. My brothers and sisters and I stood silently at the position of parade rest for 90 minutes.
I had plenty of time to hear the chants, see the protestors, read their signs, see their eyes, hear their words. Union workers, moms, teachers, dads, hospital workers, veterans, press, young, old, every color under the sun and every walk of life were represented in solidarity. Their voices were loud and their message was clear.
I love that I got to be there and participate, even if it was silently. We were not there to speak for anyone. Only to make sure those who needed to be heard were allowed to speak. I love that I got to see firsthand what was going on in this city I’ve adopted as home. And I’m proud to have been part of it, even when the tear gas and explosions began.
They estimated 5000 people in attendance tonight and I’m proud to count myself as one of them. And I’ll be proud to do it again.
~ Josh Fielder ( in the VETS FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER t-shirt )
JohnnyBlaze said:
I'm glad to see veterans taking a stand against this bullshit of so called "Federal Agents" being deployed by the Trump administration to wherever a military presence isn't even requested.
It's across the U.S., from Atlanta to Seattle, Texas to Minneapolis, from California to Virginia. . . this just in an hour ago:
Police and protesters clash in violent weekend across the US
ATLANTA (AP) — Protests took a violent turn in several U.S. cities over the weekend with demonstrators squaring off against federal agents outside a courthouse in Portland, Oregon, forcing police in Seattle to retreat into a station house and setting fire to vehicles in California and Virginia.
A protest against police violence in Austin, Texas, turned deadly when police said a protester was shot and killed by a person who drove through a crowd of marchers. And someone was shot and wounded in Aurora, Colorado, after a car drove through a protest there, authorities said.
The unrest Saturday and early Sunday stemmed from the weeks of protests over racial injustice and the police treatment of people of color that flared up after the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black and handcuffed, died after a white police officer used his knee to pin down Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes while Floyd begged for air.
[ . . . ]
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/police-and-protesters-clash-in-violent-weekend-across-the-us/ar-BB17d9Pr
I'm glad to see veterans taking a stand against this bullshit of so called "Federal Agents" being deployed by the Trump administration to wherever a military presence isn't even requested.
It's across the U.S., from Atlanta to Seattle, Texas to Minneapolis, from California to Virginia. . . this just in an hour ago:
Police and protesters clash in violent weekend across the US
ATLANTA (AP) — Protests took a violent turn in several U.S. cities over the weekend with demonstrators squaring off against federal agents outside a courthouse in Portland, Oregon, forcing police in Seattle to retreat into a station house and setting fire to vehicles in California and Virginia.
A protest against police violence in Austin, Texas, turned deadly when police said a protester was shot and killed by a person who drove through a crowd of marchers. And someone was shot and wounded in Aurora, Colorado, after a car drove through a protest there, authorities said.
The unrest Saturday and early Sunday stemmed from the weeks of protests over racial injustice and the police treatment of people of color that flared up after the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black and handcuffed, died after a white police officer used his knee to pin down Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes while Floyd begged for air.
[ . . . ]
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/police-and-protesters-clash-in-violent-weekend-across-the-us/ar-BB17d9Pr
So there's a new News & Media website called PushBlack that will send you daily black history stories if you're interested in learning more. I am absolutely amazed and yet appalled and what I do not know about American history in regards to our prominent figures in black population.
For example, Lucy Parsons was born into slavery, yet made it her mission to fight for the poor and disenfranchised. Her work started in Texas, but she was forced to flee to Chicago after police shot her husband, threatened to lynch him for registering black voters.
After a worker's protest in 1886, a local newspaper encouraged people to poison homeless beggars, or "tramps". Parsons responded by writing, "Let every dirty, lousy tram arm himself with a revolver or knife and lay in wait on the steps of the palaces of the rich. . ."
Her words resonated with the masses of oppressed workers. Parsons' active resistance to the system prompted law enforcement to say she was more "dangerous" than a thousand rioters." The FBI even forbid her from speaking in public. When she died mysteriously in 1942, federal agents raided her home. They stole 40 years worth of writing. To this day, these works have remained hidden from the public.
https://pushblack.org/
Ahavati said:So there's a new News & Media website called PushBlack that will send you daily black history stories if you're interested in learning more. I am absolutely amazed and yet appalled and what I do not know about American history in regards to our prominent figures in black population.
For example, Lucy Parsons was born into slavery, yet made it her mission to fight for the poor and disenfranchised. Her work started in Texas, but she was forced to flee to Chicago after police shot her husband, threatened to lynch him for registering black voters.
After a worker's protest in 1886, a local newspaper encouraged people to poison homeless beggars, or "tramps". Parsons responded by writing, "Let every dirty, lousy tram arm himself with a revolver or knife and lay in wait on the steps of the palaces of the rich. . ."
Her words resonated with the masses of oppressed workers. Parsons' active resistance to the system prompted law enforcement to say she was more "dangerous" than a thousand rioters." The FBI even forbid her from speaking in public. When she died mysteriously in 1942, federal agents raided her home. They stole 40 years worth of writing. To this day, these works have remained hidden from the public.
https://pushblack.org/
Excellent find!
Had. Not. A. Clue.
Never once heard the name Lucy Parsons mentioned in all my years. She sounds like a force to have been reckoned with.
For example, Lucy Parsons was born into slavery, yet made it her mission to fight for the poor and disenfranchised. Her work started in Texas, but she was forced to flee to Chicago after police shot her husband, threatened to lynch him for registering black voters.
After a worker's protest in 1886, a local newspaper encouraged people to poison homeless beggars, or "tramps". Parsons responded by writing, "Let every dirty, lousy tram arm himself with a revolver or knife and lay in wait on the steps of the palaces of the rich. . ."
Her words resonated with the masses of oppressed workers. Parsons' active resistance to the system prompted law enforcement to say she was more "dangerous" than a thousand rioters." The FBI even forbid her from speaking in public. When she died mysteriously in 1942, federal agents raided her home. They stole 40 years worth of writing. To this day, these works have remained hidden from the public.
https://pushblack.org/
Excellent find!
Had. Not. A. Clue.
Never once heard the name Lucy Parsons mentioned in all my years. She sounds like a force to have been reckoned with.
JohnnyBlaze said:
Excellent find!
Had. Not. A. Clue.
Never once heard the name Lucy Parsons mentioned in all my years. She sounds like a force to have been reckoned with.
She was another Harriet Tubman except with words. Harriet could neither read nor write; but her actions were golden. So many warriors with different weapons.
Excellent find!
Had. Not. A. Clue.
Never once heard the name Lucy Parsons mentioned in all my years. She sounds like a force to have been reckoned with.
She was another Harriet Tubman except with words. Harriet could neither read nor write; but her actions were golden. So many warriors with different weapons.
Related submission no longer exists.
Update on one of the agent provocateurs posted awhile back. “Umbrella Man”. He has been identified by Minneapolis PD. Story from the Minneapolis local newspaper “The Star Tribune”.
Minneapolis police say 'Umbrella Man' was a white supremacist trying to incite George Floyd rioting
A masked man who was seen in a viral video smashing the windows of a south Minneapolis auto parts store during the George Floyd protests, earning him the moniker "Umbrella Man," is suspected of ties with a white supremacist group and sought to incite racial tension, police said.
A Minneapolis police arson investigator said the act of vandalism at the AutoZone on E. Lake Street helped spark a chain reaction that led to days of looting and rioting. The store was among dozens of buildings across the city that burned to the ground in the days that followed.
[ . . . ]
https://m.startribune.com/police-umbrella-man-was-a-white-supremacist-trying-to-incite-floyd-rioting/571932272/
Nothing like having fun at the expense of others. . .
Minneapolis police say 'Umbrella Man' was a white supremacist trying to incite George Floyd rioting
A masked man who was seen in a viral video smashing the windows of a south Minneapolis auto parts store during the George Floyd protests, earning him the moniker "Umbrella Man," is suspected of ties with a white supremacist group and sought to incite racial tension, police said.
A Minneapolis police arson investigator said the act of vandalism at the AutoZone on E. Lake Street helped spark a chain reaction that led to days of looting and rioting. The store was among dozens of buildings across the city that burned to the ground in the days that followed.
[ . . . ]
https://m.startribune.com/police-umbrella-man-was-a-white-supremacist-trying-to-incite-floyd-rioting/571932272/
Nothing like having fun at the expense of others. . .
@ Cabcool
I've never been in a room full of people and felt a colour. was maybe 15 years old when a guy Emanuel came to class.
not gonna lie, on seeing the fellow I was curious about lots of things. what blew my mind at first was he'd a thick Dublin accent.
that's to say, initially he'd sat behind me, so I heard him before I saw him.
I've never felt outnumbered or dominated by another colour, so I don't know what being white feels like. in my world the colour of my skin hasn't gotten me anything but sunburn
for a brief spell in my early teens. I hated protestants. more specifically, Ulster protestants. I felt every good citizen should.
wasn't until my father gave me some books to read (I think animal farm was the first one) I started to realize what an idot I was
I have tried, and cannot put myself in the mind of a colour, so it would be disingenuous of me to post something of that nature
what's relatable to me is people who are proper cunts to other people(s) I've seen and been on the receiving end of police brutality, we probably have one of the most corrupt forces in europe
I can relate to your history. we were colonised , probably one of the first. we rose up like your Maroons did (hope I spelled that right) and eventually gained some pseudo republic after some hundreds of years
I think americans, especially americans suffer at the bottom of its capatist leanings. I think that's one of the main contributions to where it stands now
I think the term "white privilege" is one of the stupidest terms ever to be thrown around. its illogical and not attached to reality
I think any term or phrase with a colour in front of it is racist as fuck.
nothing is ever going to change until people see people as people.
we have a saying here, which corresponds to sayings all around the world
"Ní neart go cur le chéile" – There’s no strength without unity.
on a side note, I thank you for the invitation to self reflect, it's been some time since I've done it. I note (and I'm sorry for the assumption) your poem isn't quite what you asked of me in that you didnt reflect on being a white dude
I hope all is well with you. and thank you again for the kickstart of self reflect
I've never been in a room full of people and felt a colour. was maybe 15 years old when a guy Emanuel came to class.
not gonna lie, on seeing the fellow I was curious about lots of things. what blew my mind at first was he'd a thick Dublin accent.
that's to say, initially he'd sat behind me, so I heard him before I saw him.
I've never felt outnumbered or dominated by another colour, so I don't know what being white feels like. in my world the colour of my skin hasn't gotten me anything but sunburn
for a brief spell in my early teens. I hated protestants. more specifically, Ulster protestants. I felt every good citizen should.
wasn't until my father gave me some books to read (I think animal farm was the first one) I started to realize what an idot I was
I have tried, and cannot put myself in the mind of a colour, so it would be disingenuous of me to post something of that nature
what's relatable to me is people who are proper cunts to other people(s) I've seen and been on the receiving end of police brutality, we probably have one of the most corrupt forces in europe
I can relate to your history. we were colonised , probably one of the first. we rose up like your Maroons did (hope I spelled that right) and eventually gained some pseudo republic after some hundreds of years
I think americans, especially americans suffer at the bottom of its capatist leanings. I think that's one of the main contributions to where it stands now
I think the term "white privilege" is one of the stupidest terms ever to be thrown around. its illogical and not attached to reality
I think any term or phrase with a colour in front of it is racist as fuck.
nothing is ever going to change until people see people as people.
we have a saying here, which corresponds to sayings all around the world
"Ní neart go cur le chéile" – There’s no strength without unity.
on a side note, I thank you for the invitation to self reflect, it's been some time since I've done it. I note (and I'm sorry for the assumption) your poem isn't quite what you asked of me in that you didnt reflect on being a white dude
I hope all is well with you. and thank you again for the kickstart of self reflect
500 word essay from the perspective of being a black woman per requested:
Privileged
I've watched it all my life; starting with my g'ma breastfeed'n them white babies who growed up to be their master, and was mean as ever. Lawd. I seen it firsthand; white privilege means you got to use the front door while we used the back; it meant available water fountains when ours was scarce, if any at all; it mean sit'n in them restaurants where we wasn't allowed. I used colored-entrances to the movies round back that led to their own section inside away from white folk, and back-seating in the buses. I seen it all.
See, privilege means "a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group". So if you was white, you was privileged and got to do the things we couldn't. It don't take rocket scientist to concede that fact. The question is, does it still exist? Perhaps not in the literal sense whereas we get to walk in through the front door and sit wherever we choose on the bus. We gets to eat in any restaurant and water fountains are there for the tak'n. But you can't see a person's thoughts; only the emotion in their eyes, and even then, jes sometimes. I tell you now, it still exists in the minds of some just like it did when they was rules. I seen it.
Someone once said to me, "I don't see color". I called them a liar 'cause we all see color. We see it in the art we view; the clothes we wear, the sunburns on fair-skinned and the deep tans on olive-skinned. We see the leaves in the fall; the colors of Christmas lights, and decorate our own homes accord'n to our favorite color. We also see the color of each other's skin; I see your white skin and I know you see my black skin. They ain't nothing wrong with that; our heritage is something we should all be proud to know.
I want you to see my color and know I am a survivor. I want you to see my color, my blackness, but also the love in my eyes for your white, Latino, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American skin. I want to be who I am: a proud black woman standing among you; and I want you to see that, and be as proud of the heritage and color you are as I want to be. I want us to stand tall, celebrate our differences and grow. I don't want us to stop seeing color; I want us to see beyond the color to the human part inside.
I don't want no reparations; I don't want you to walk in my shoes one day. I simply want every race, color, and nation to be privileged too: Asian, Black, Hispanic, Latino, Native American, White, and so forth. When we're all privileged, we're all equal without losing a thing, but gaining everything: humanity.
I'll Love You, regardless of what you see.
Privileged
I've watched it all my life; starting with my g'ma breastfeed'n them white babies who growed up to be their master, and was mean as ever. Lawd. I seen it firsthand; white privilege means you got to use the front door while we used the back; it meant available water fountains when ours was scarce, if any at all; it mean sit'n in them restaurants where we wasn't allowed. I used colored-entrances to the movies round back that led to their own section inside away from white folk, and back-seating in the buses. I seen it all.
See, privilege means "a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group". So if you was white, you was privileged and got to do the things we couldn't. It don't take rocket scientist to concede that fact. The question is, does it still exist? Perhaps not in the literal sense whereas we get to walk in through the front door and sit wherever we choose on the bus. We gets to eat in any restaurant and water fountains are there for the tak'n. But you can't see a person's thoughts; only the emotion in their eyes, and even then, jes sometimes. I tell you now, it still exists in the minds of some just like it did when they was rules. I seen it.
Someone once said to me, "I don't see color". I called them a liar 'cause we all see color. We see it in the art we view; the clothes we wear, the sunburns on fair-skinned and the deep tans on olive-skinned. We see the leaves in the fall; the colors of Christmas lights, and decorate our own homes accord'n to our favorite color. We also see the color of each other's skin; I see your white skin and I know you see my black skin. They ain't nothing wrong with that; our heritage is something we should all be proud to know.
I want you to see my color and know I am a survivor. I want you to see my color, my blackness, but also the love in my eyes for your white, Latino, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American skin. I want to be who I am: a proud black woman standing among you; and I want you to see that, and be as proud of the heritage and color you are as I want to be. I want us to stand tall, celebrate our differences and grow. I don't want us to stop seeing color; I want us to see beyond the color to the human part inside.
I don't want no reparations; I don't want you to walk in my shoes one day. I simply want every race, color, and nation to be privileged too: Asian, Black, Hispanic, Latino, Native American, White, and so forth. When we're all privileged, we're all equal without losing a thing, but gaining everything: humanity.
I'll Love You, regardless of what you see.
