Just Me Magazine - May 2017 Volume 6 | Page 4

Bernard Creamer Jr PRO-fessionally Black . . . “If you’re Black and you’re not thinking Black at this late day, then I’m sorry for you.” – El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) Afro-Centered “Centered or focused on Africa or African peoples, especially in relation to historical or cultural influence.” Pro-Black ” . .having a sense of pride for the black race and having the desire to help the race succeed even though society tries to hold it back . .” Nothing about being centered in Blackness or being pro- Black people indicates an inclination towards being anti- anyone else. As a matter of fact, other races aren’t even considered in the equation. It’s unfortunate, but the individuals who consider themselves Afro-Centered or Pro-Black are relegated to the fringes of this society as some sort of ancient anomalies, antiquated and outdated. The individuals who consider themselves Afro-Centered or Pro-Black are ostracized and alienated by the very Black people to whom they dedicate much of their time, energy, and thoughts. They are often cast as angry, weird, or crazy. They are constantly ignored, debased, or discredited by other Blacks more centered in what presents itself as the dominant culture. The Afro-Centered individual is the minority among his/her own. They are often the loner, alone, or in the company of very few. This isn’t commentary on the nature of African people. It’s commentary on the nature of the effects of America/Western society on African people. The entire world has accepted the general fallacy that “Black is bad”, including many Black people. The dominant default presents Black as inferior to all else, while White rules the top. For too many African-descended, this is a mindset that had to be programmed into us over the course of centuries, through the most oppressive, subjugating, savage, brutal, sinister, and covert methods and messaging. It doesn’t necessarily manifest in us consciously, its more involuntary and subconscious in nature. The centuries of brainwashing for us manifest in our day to day “normalized” activities. It’s in our communication with the world and one another, it’s in our thoughts, actions and inactions, it’s in our routines, rituals, and assimilation-fueled traditions/customs. Over time, our Black has become so diluted by White society, that many of us no longer know what it looks like or what it feels like to be Black. Reality is, most of us have never experienced life in an environment that nurtures the Black mind or spirit. It’s too cumbersome, painful, or arduous. It’s worlds easier to simply gravitate towards and assimilate with what presents itself as the dominant way. It’s a day to day, minute by minute pressure applied to us to accept what’s prominent and prevailing. To love and embrace it, even though it makes us sick. In the desert that is this oppressive society, their ice has become colder to many of us, an oasis for us. The illusion is comforting while the reality is crippling. Their languages, their customs, their clothes, their cultures, their foods, their entertainment, their heroes, their politics, their schools, their rules. Our existence is so saturated with White that our Black presents itself as an irritating itch. It’s a chore to claim, retain, and maintain one’s self in a society that dictates conformity as normalcy. In 2016, being Black and centered in that Blackness is going against the grain, it’s a strain. Its far less strenuous to simply pledge allegiance to the flag of Americanization and to ignore all that “Black stuff” from those “angry” Blacks calling for us to nationalize, begging us to simply open our eyes. Sleep is better. Our families socialize us to embrace and celebrate White religions and traditions. Our schools “educate” us to conform with this system and to seek the “American dream”, work for others ’til retirement, nothing about Black betterment. Pressure from peers, our environments, and media mediums train us to consume to our own detriment while simultaneously enriching others who produce, production rooted in past exploitation that saw us working as peons. We volunteer to fight in wars where White reinforces White through the killings of other Blacks. We participate in elections and a political process as people programmed to purge our power to politicians who pander to us periodically in order to garner our votes, votes dissolved through electoral colleges and superior delegates. All of these things simply evidence that Black has lost faith in Black. Black is no longer credible, and those relative few voices calling for Black to reach within are simply cast out. A brighter future. 4