"The Butler and People of Color"
"Be quiet when you are serving, the house should feel empty when you are in it".
This quote comes from the movie the butler. This is a movie that is based on a true story of the plight of Blacks from the vantage point of a man who as a child watched his master kill his father by shooting him on the forehead and eventually became what in tose days was called "a house nigger". Soon after this little boy is an adulte and is looking to become a butler. He says to the Black gentleman who is a butler for a rich family that he knew how to e a good "house nigger". The mentor slaps him and says to him "Don't ever use that word. That word is for the white man and is full of hate".
I am uncertain as to how much progress we have made as men of color as evidenced by the larger number of men or color in our jails and the fact that white men can commit incredibly horrid crimes and get out of jail in five years or not spend any time in jail. I am not sure that there has been the amount of progress there should have been when Black girls are being pulled by the hair by police officers. I am not sure that we have been completely freed of the white supremacy and the power and privilege of anglo males.
Today we have a different form of holding men of color down including racist people who are still under the delusional impression that they are smarter than the rest of us. We are still fighting a battle even though some of us have fallen for the myth that racism and racist no longer exist. The people who would like us to believe this are the same ones who are plotting and planning, steaming about the success of men of color and the guts that women of color have been forced to take on.
Today is Father's day. I organized an event where my brother and I and our families would be together where he was playing in his band. I wanted to honor him and at the same time we would have our children all in one place. It was a beautiful time and even a few friends joined us. My heart soared with joy and it became so clear to me that our family and friends represent a number of different cultures. I was delighted inside that unlike other people we have a clear and open heart to every person and that we embraced everyone equally. It is not that we are not aware of color or culture but that we see it and respect each one. Not only do we respect it but we celebrate it. I was so proud of us today and at the same time sad that others cannot achieve what we have without a lot of effort.
The Butler eventually became a story about a man who worked as a butler in the White house for a president. It is not just a story but our story, all of our stories. The irony is that the actor who plays the president eventually takes his own life, Robin Williams. It seems like an irony to me because he played a man who had all this power who felt powerless in real life. It is my contention that many white men are powerless. They are not what they depict themselves to be but rather men who feel inferior and need to cash in on their superior status in our society. A status that is as much an illusion as it is an untruth.
We as men of color must break the cycle and not just be bigger and better and more of who we are but not play the game that racist play with us. We must take ourself out of the equation. We must stand on our own and love who we are not digesting the ugliness of people who are self-hating. We must not settle for the scraps of life but rather continue to make our own wealth. And love ourselves more each day.
This quote comes from the movie the butler. This is a movie that is based on a true story of the plight of Blacks from the vantage point of a man who as a child watched his master kill his father by shooting him on the forehead and eventually became what in tose days was called "a house nigger". Soon after this little boy is an adulte and is looking to become a butler. He says to the Black gentleman who is a butler for a rich family that he knew how to e a good "house nigger". The mentor slaps him and says to him "Don't ever use that word. That word is for the white man and is full of hate".
I am uncertain as to how much progress we have made as men of color as evidenced by the larger number of men or color in our jails and the fact that white men can commit incredibly horrid crimes and get out of jail in five years or not spend any time in jail. I am not sure that there has been the amount of progress there should have been when Black girls are being pulled by the hair by police officers. I am not sure that we have been completely freed of the white supremacy and the power and privilege of anglo males.
Today we have a different form of holding men of color down including racist people who are still under the delusional impression that they are smarter than the rest of us. We are still fighting a battle even though some of us have fallen for the myth that racism and racist no longer exist. The people who would like us to believe this are the same ones who are plotting and planning, steaming about the success of men of color and the guts that women of color have been forced to take on.
Today is Father's day. I organized an event where my brother and I and our families would be together where he was playing in his band. I wanted to honor him and at the same time we would have our children all in one place. It was a beautiful time and even a few friends joined us. My heart soared with joy and it became so clear to me that our family and friends represent a number of different cultures. I was delighted inside that unlike other people we have a clear and open heart to every person and that we embraced everyone equally. It is not that we are not aware of color or culture but that we see it and respect each one. Not only do we respect it but we celebrate it. I was so proud of us today and at the same time sad that others cannot achieve what we have without a lot of effort.
The Butler eventually became a story about a man who worked as a butler in the White house for a president. It is not just a story but our story, all of our stories. The irony is that the actor who plays the president eventually takes his own life, Robin Williams. It seems like an irony to me because he played a man who had all this power who felt powerless in real life. It is my contention that many white men are powerless. They are not what they depict themselves to be but rather men who feel inferior and need to cash in on their superior status in our society. A status that is as much an illusion as it is an untruth.
We as men of color must break the cycle and not just be bigger and better and more of who we are but not play the game that racist play with us. We must take ourself out of the equation. We must stand on our own and love who we are not digesting the ugliness of people who are self-hating. We must not settle for the scraps of life but rather continue to make our own wealth. And love ourselves more each day.
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