By shelz

The dark history of African-Americans has become an abstract legend worthy of shelving next to Detox. Black leaders of yesteryear are has-beens, unworthy of a new generation’s praise. Rights once fought for are now entitlements tossed in the corner.

The blood-stained strides of the Civil Rights Movement made it possible for Black folks a millennium removed from struggle to tip toe through the tulips planeted by those they now ignore. That insolence has blurred the lines of self-respect and cultural pride. Black has lost itself in perceived acceptance.

You don’t have to use the back door or freight elevators anymore. Racists don’t heckle you as you walk to school. You’ve never cut a dead family member down from a Magnolia tree. Your President is Black. There’s no need for Black cohesion or cultural development; it whispers militancy. The Black burden was broken decades ago. Now it’s all rainbow coalition everything. You have overcome.

There’s no problem on the surface. You are living the life that the downtrodden and discriminated-against dreamed for you. But the buck didn’t stop with them. It’s now your responsibility to carry the torch. You can’t create your future if you don’t know your past is the most clichéd cliché, but it’s true. Rejecting the culture, denying your past, and refusing to stand up in the face of disrespect sets the Black culture on a backwards trajectory. In the midst of post-racial America’s kumbaya moment, the community leaders haven’t been supplanted and Black traditions haven’t been replenished. Really, all you’re doing with your world party is trampling on the tulips with everyone you know in tow. You didn’t even bring seeds.

Acceptance is cool. People are cool, but if you don’t have anything to bring to the table, you might not be. There’s only so much of your predecessors’ blood sweat and tears you can give away. When all you have and all you are is siphoned from you while you smile blissfully, happy for the opportunity to be recognized, understand that sooner or later you will be empty and tossed in that corner in which those overlooked entitlements once resided. You are closer to that then you may believe.

Find yourself.

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