Do Wealthy Blacks Feel Too Protected? Is Black Still the Presumed Poor?
"We are failing because we are willing to do anything for money, but not willing to do anything for OUR PEOPLE." – AKON
Over and over again, I have heard of Black celebrities who felt SURPRISED that people could actually dare to discriminate against them based on the color of their skins… LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL… REALLY? What planets are they living on? PLANET HOLLYWOOD?
COME ON NOW… Give me a darn break!
OPRAH – (a Black multi-billionaire) forgot that she was Black in Europe when a store clerk assumed that she couldn’t afford a highly expensive purse, and was so reminded… she felt the need to tell them who she was as to validate her financial prowess despite her skin inequity due to being a child of former slaves, and realizing that even being the richest Black woman in the World couldn’t save her from the inequity that her Blackness secured for her.
WYCLEF JEAN – forgot that he was Black when he was profiled and handcuffed or arrested, and felt the need to get on TV and shed tears of such a realization. He did self-identify as “WYCLEF” as if to liberate himself from his Blackness as well… or allow his stardom to mask his lack of skin privilege.
LEBRON (KING) JAMES – was rather rattled when an idiot posted the word “NIGGER” on his mansion’s fence. I also felt that he couldn’t believe that even his basketball-and-philanthropy-based stardom couldn’t stop a “racist loser” from reminding him that he is “STILL A NIGGER” in America. I could tell that he was rattled, confused and unsure of what might have induced somehow to still think like this in 2017.
THE GREAT MICHAEL JACKSON – seemed to have remembered how BLACK he was when he was being sued for pedophilia. The amazing thing is that he had chosen to FATHER two WHITE KIDS who were BY WHITE-SKIN-PRIVILEGE ALONE more privileged than any other non-White kids in America, when he could have chosen THOUSANDS OF FATHERLESS and even MOTHERLESS or ORPHANED BLACK CHILDREN from a plethora of ghettoes that exist on the LAND OF THE FREE. I saw so many White Celebrities adopt Black kids with that thinking in mind, yet MJ from Gary, Indiana (I have been there many times), one of the poorest Black areas in the US if not the World, proceeded to Fake Father two White kids to inherit all his wealth when there are millions of orphaned Black kids around the World. That to me is UNCONSCIONABLE and STUPID!
The above are three examples, but there are plenty others that I have observed over the past 30 years.
The PATTERN is the same… aside from a few people like LEBRON JAMES, AKON and MAGIC JOHNSON who remained cleverly philanthropic towards the Black community, most Black celebrities who used to be Black move far away from the Black communities, do nearly nothing for the Black Youth and essentially became NON-BLACK to become NON-POOR, ONLY to magically remember that they are BLACK when a WHITE PERSON or ENTITY discriminates against them.
The REALITY is that they have been doing the same to other Blacks by constructively saying that they are no longer good enough to be dealt with, hung out with, socialized with, and in a nutshell, they don’t deserve to RISE UP with them. And partly because of the latter, I wrote relevant article TITLED:
The fact of the matter is that far too WEALTHY BLACKS have for the most part been just as UNEMPATHETIC towards POOR BLACKS as far too many Whites have been UNTIL they, themselves, get reminded that they are Black.
I have no problem with associating with Whites… I’d be a hypocrite if I were to so say. I have White friends that are closer to me than any member of my family could ever be. Many would put their lives in jeopardy to save mine. Thus, this is not so much about race as it is about social status.
THE ISSUE IS THAT BLACK HAD BECOME AND IS STILL OFTEN THE “PRESUMED” POOR…
Accordingly, many Blacks feel that the more they moved to White areas, and the richer they got, the LESS BLACK THEY GOT… again… LOL LOL LOL LOL…
The reality is, unless a WHITE PERSON is ENTIRELY IN LOVE WITH YOU, society has programmed us to the point that even when the WHITE person will admit that you are A MILLION TIMES more intelligent than he or she is, in 2017, S/HE would STILL PREFER TO BE A STUPID WHITE PERSON than to be a GENIUS BLACK PERSON.
Blacks know it and so do Whites, yet they pretend that it is not the case. The reason is the previously PATENTLY RACIST WHITE SOCIETY had done such a magnificent job degrading the ORIGINAL RACE of HUMANITY that Blacks had to EARN the right to be call HUMAN in America…
Can you believe it? Black had to QUALIFY as “HUMANS” here… This is rather comical, but absolutely true and sad concurrently.
Accordingly, remnants of degrading terms remain in the psyche of far too many Blacks. Yup, far too many of us still can’t expect great things of each other or of our communities. And those that become successful are afraid of the fact that those that didn’t make it would be envious of them enough to either make demands or rob or even kill them. It is a RATHER SAD SITUATION. I have seen it happen with the relatives of many celebrities (e.g., Serena Williams’, and some others.)
But let us, for some strange reason, assume that I am ENTIRELY WRONG… not the case at all, because I am SPOT ON with this issue and I can prove anyone wrong about it… YES… it’s arguable that RICH PEOPLE tend to move away from poor people, and that “WHITE TRASH” exists as well… But, even in such neighborhoods there seems to be a more heightened sense of community in many Black neighborhoods… LATELY, I have seen some elements of progress in many parts of the country (e.g., Brooklyn, Atlanta, and parts of Chicago), however it is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Again, let us assume that it is not about RACE… then it should at least be about the following:
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
According to the American Psychological Association, civic engagement or civic participation, according to the is "individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern". It can be defined as citizens working together to make a change or difference in the community. Civic engagement includes communities working together in both political and non-political actions. The goal of civic engagement is to address public concerns and promote the quality of the community.
Obviously, Black celebrities or wealthy Blacks like Oprah, Jordan and others have more CONNECTIONS to ensure that “LACK CIVIC ENGAGEMENT” would be a non-issue. While I applaud them for interacting with WHITES seamlessly, which I do as well, I WILL CONDEMN THEM for NOT DOING ENOUGH with WHAT THEY HAVE.
TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN MUCH IS REQUIRED…
WEALTHY BLACKS (with the exceptions of people like Lebron James and a few others) are not doing enough. And UNTIL WE DO ENOUGH FOR OUR OWN, we don’t deserve to ask others to do anything for our communities. PERIOD!
I created “THE TRILLION BlaMMA” to further extend my reach to BLACK MALES who should be the leaders of our Black families and communities. I hope that some of these celebrities will come along to communicate with me as this MOVEMENT progresses. Thus far, the LOVE that has been exchanged is beyond words. I give all glory to ALMIGHTY GOD!
WE and certainly THEY (Wealthy Blacks) need to do a lot more… because until WE RISE UP together, we will have had NO RACE/COLOR EQUITY to stand on, and trust me, NO MONEY can ERASE such a perception… We have to RISE UP together else the PERCEPTION of BLACK being synonymous to POVERTY perpetuated by years of poor Black faces and from Africa, the Caribbean and the US will PERSIST… You can’t only remember that you’re BLACK when WHITE AMERICA chooses to reject you in one way, shape or form. Blacks are the most forgiving people in the World, but trust me, they are NOT STUPID. PERIOD!
I did mention the term “social class or status” because many have tried to make themselves believe that Black discrimination is ONLY about POVERTY… Yes, Black has been made synonymous to poverty, but it has also been made synonymous to presumed INFERIORITY even in the presence of incredible wealth.
The definition of stupidity is “DOING THE SAME THING while expecting a DIFFERENT RESULT”… Let us not be STUPID my RICH BLACK FOLKS!
OUR FOCUS has been on acquiring WEALTH to stay away from POVERTY and from our BLACKNESS and not on STRENGTHENING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS and our BROKEN BLACK BOYS to, in turn, create strong families and communities. Please see my article on the Broken Black Boy (BBB) Syndrome
"We are failing because we are willing to do anything for money, but not willing to do anything for OUR PEOPLE." – AKON
Many of us have felt the need to OVERCOMPENSATE on the SELF-ENRICHMENT (monetarily and academically) front as to join the elites of societies only to the DETRIMENT of our BLACK COMMUNITIES. In the end, all we have to do is LOVE, and many of us are not even PRESENT enough to do just that because we are too busy trying to get more money or education.
A lot of people talk a good "game", but they won't even talk to a Black homeless man/woman on the streets or even drive or walk through a Black neighborhood because they are so BOURGEOISIE... I have some Haitian relatives who are like that... LOL... don't worry, you'll be REMINDED soon ENOUGH! (smile)
That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
Dr. Pete Lorins is the Chief Editor of LorinsPOST.com. This article was sponsored by LORINS.biz, a multi-industry consulting firm that provides the following types of services… Management of Law Firms, Medical Clinics, Businesses...Project Management, Sales, Marketing, & Leads Generation...Research & Engineering... It can be reached via www.LORINS.biz