Tuesday, November 24, 2009

459 years later

I write this with a heavy heart and before I leave for Memphis to bury my last grandmother. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “how soon ‘not now’ becomes never.” If anytime these words ring truer today than in times past. It has been 459 years since the first inhabitants of Africa were brought to these shores and just 41 years ago the descendents of these individuals were granted the right to vote.

In this age of swag and want to be goons, gangsters and thugs and women who admire supper head, something has gone amiss. Albeit not a sooth sayer as written in Oedipus Rex, I do know that as a whole we are oblivious to most if not all that is around us with the exception of what is going on with Chris Brown and Rhiana or the latest video labeled number one on 106 and Park. You ask someone what they think of the economic recovery act and they will say they dont know, or haven't read it as if we expect others to do for us, what we should do for ourselves. Even worse when confronted of such, we get offended, get defensive and feel degraded by what I write, type or say.

The truth of the matter is that we degrade ourselves when we do not objectively attempt accept or acknowledge our intellectual prowess is different, ill-informed and unequipped to solve or deal with the problems our community faces. We even feel better by making excuses. Because for a lot of us, if the shoe fits, do not want to wear or accept it without being distorted by any process of defensiveness. We know little of history let alone the world around us. I made a statement as such on twitter and was told that I was degrading black people. The truth is that i did not feel degraded and I am black. I can query about floating interest rates and get no response, but ask about Drake's latest song then everyone chimes in.

Now I aint searching or seeking glory I learned that such was Napoleon’s dénouement. Nor do I write this to make friends but rather to try and take care of mines. But to speak of such makes some folks mad and sensitive like Ralph Tresvant. We should in my mind be able to accept the truth no matter how painful, for until we do we will continue to enslave ourselves while at the same time complain yet feel no need to work for what we desire. Our folks did not fight slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation for us to just do nothing except watch TV, listen to music and think we free.

This is real and strange, especially in a time in which we have seen history made with the election of our 44th president. Yet many of us do not have a clue and don’t tend to nourish ourselves mentally and intellectually. Instead we attend to the mundane – celebrity and materialism. The real materialism in the world is family and what we can do with out minds, but we continue to lag behind in this understanding and focus on shopping malls and what is feed to us on television. Yep, it has been 459 years since we were brought here in the form of slaves, now we remain slaves, seem to be negro comfortable and even worse – enslave our selves through our apathy.

14 comments:

nicki nicki tembo said...

Truth: many don’t tend to nourish themselves mentally and intellectually. Instead they attend to the mundane

Conclusion: they have been given a large brain by mistake since a spinal cord would suffice

*have a safe trip

ChocolateOrchid said...

As usual, well said. Thanks for sharing.

My prayers and thoughts go out to you and your family. Be safe.

Peace,
ChocolateOrchid

Anonymous said...

My grandpa died today at 3 pm.
Hit close to home,
thanks for sharing with us.
Granny is going to be missed.
Glad we've gotten to know her a little bit through you.

Anonymous said...

Wow.

Be careful and my love to you and yours.

Amenta said...

Respect T, Deepest sympathy for you and your fam. It is a blessing to have had your Granny for so long. I can see she branded your soul with truth.

Pertaining to this post; how do you answer someone that says "I don't follow such information about our world because there's nothing they can do about it so why bogg your mind down with it?"

Peace to you and the fam.

Ensayn

Brown English Muffin said...

If church was like this I'd go every Sunday...no truer word has ever been spoken.

neshia said...

i learn so much from you and glad

E.M.H. said...

Sorry for your loss.....my prayers go out to you and your family. Peace and blessing.

Sandra said...

Sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. God Bless.

Demetrius said...

Torrance,
May your grandmother rest in eternal peace... Hopefully her wisdom and grace will continue to reside in your heart as you strive to uphold her profound legacy. I encourage you to remain steadfast as you battle against all the odds brought about by this troubled generation. Please don't ever shy away from spreading the truth to all those who are willing to embrace it. Your good service is not in vain and it will not go unnoticed for much longer...You can believe that!

(Bible Verse) For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.(2 Timothy 4: 2-4)

P_LOCA said...

I'M SORRY ABOUT YOUR LOST HUN!
BUT ------>4] "if you wanna hide something from a nigga put it in a book, read all and every thing, they could be talking about me and you wouldnt know if u dont read everything".............granny"
IS TRUE!!
GOD BLESS HER SOUL :)

Judy / IslandBroad said...

I extend my condolences.

Your post once again rings true. Makes one sad to realize that you're part of the "don't tend to nourish themselves..."

Tyhitia Green said...

Well said, T. That's true. Couldn't have stated it better. ;-)

Sorry for your loss and I'm sure it'll get easier. I lost my last grandma a couple months ago as well.

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