Time For Black Pride
By Timothy Dwight Smith
13 January, 2014
Countercurrents.org
Nigga:
1
noun. A reconceptualization of the word ‘nigger’ by members of a socially disadvantaged class of persons; a term of endearment. ex. “That’s my nigga.”2
noun. A person engaged in criminal activity or part of a criminal enterprise.3
adj. A mindset or set of principles, largely formulated within the hip-hop subculture, especially rap music, which governs how one will behave in any given circumstance. Usually negative. ex. “Stop Snitchin” doctrine, gang retaliation code, a nigga mentality, etc.4.
noun. Any person who desires to exploit another for their own personal gain, whether it be monetary, political, religious, or otherwise.
A long fifty-plus years after begging in the streets for racial equality, black people are still struggling to piece together any semblance of an action plan to overcome racial oppression and poverty. Those who were once relied upon for leadership have either been murdered or bought. Operating aimlessly with selfish motivations, subsequent generations have decided to shed the blood of their brothers in hopes of gaining access to privileges only the privileged enjoyed. Countless black youths have become the niggers, pardon me, niggas, we always feared was inevitable if racism was internalized.
Black children have been abandoned to fend for themselves as their parents succumb to the bottle, needle and the pipe; even their own knees, engaging in blind religious ritualism rather than active problem solving and critical thinking. The predictable result of such moral resignation and religious fatalism is three straight generations of street people, replete with street instincts and street sensibilities; finicky and fearful; cold and restless; suspicious of faith and ambivalent to education; fixated on death and dying young; niggas; full-grown, completely evolved niggas. The only real question left is who’s brave enough to tell the niggas they have to go?
In the not-so-distant past black churches represented an important pillar of progressive thought. The momentum of the Civil Rights movement was generated from black ministers, pastors and congregants who were willing to sacrifice everything, even their lives, to organize against Jim Crow segregation. It’d be hard to imagine Dr. King successfully organizing the likes of today’s pastors and ministers in a similar effort. The love of money has not only destroyed black youths who spill blood over valuable drug turf in cities like Chicago and Detroit, it has corrupted the pulpit. Money dominates the message of black ministers. Pastors preach “prosperity” doctrines, and rake in billions of dollars a year from the pockets of the poor and uneducated. The black preacher is surely the nigga too, and an enemy to black upward mobility. Church members place their hard-earned dollars in the collection plate Sunday after Sunday, but what do these members get for their loyalty and obedience? Nothing of course. Just like the drug dealer who sales poison children, the high is temporary, and when it is gone, only an addict has been created.
The collective silence among black clergy concerning the life-and-death issues disproportionately affecting those they’re exploiting is likewise devastating. HIV and AIDS is killing black women at higher rates than all other racial groups while black pastors forego counseling concerning contraceptives, and nurture a climate of homophobia which pushes homosexual men into the closet. Murder is the leading cause of death for black males under 40 years of age, but are black ministers with national platforms organizing to bring awareness to this issue or simply waiting for the next Trayvon Martin? This robbery of the poor and silence regarding death contributes to the creation and survival of the black community’s most pervasive threat – the nigga.
Why are there no sermons instructing black residents about their spiritual obligation to turn over the criminals destroying their neighborhoods to law enforcement? The “Stop Snitchin’” doctrine is alive and well in most poor black communities. This counterproductive and nonsensical cultural code guarantees the nigga is insulated from punishment for his acts of crime, and free to further corrupt minds with his ideology of self-hatred. Blacks who envision a safer environment for themselves and their children cannot fight institutional racism while justifying criminal acts and irresponsible parenting because it has a black face. Those who destroy the limitless potential of our children, and then murder them, deserve to be prosecuted and convicted for their crimes.
The black preacher, in general, is a willing accomplice to the nigga’s survival, and a purveyor of the nigga mentality. The black community must immediately begin defunding money-hungry preachers. For too long these enemies have robbed blacks of billions of dollars, monies that could be put to work purchasing and restoring abandoned properties and commercial real estate to fulfill the needs of black residents for quality housing and state-of-the-art schools. Acres of land could be acquired for future industry. The establishment of black banks and credit unions could fulfill a growing void. These acquisitions would not only serve but employ black residents. Blacks have pleaded with white institutions for resources for years, we cannot wait on white allies to solve economic dilemmas within our power to change.
Since arriving as slaves, blacks have endured the worst of what America has had to offer, some have risen from the ashes and achieved incredible contributions that have served to enhance society. If black people are to collectively transcend their present position, religious myths have to be disposed. It must be resolved that god does not need money. Black people do not need a savior, we need only ourselves, but we must shed the myths that have haunted us since the slave ship.
Timothy Dwight Smith is a nationally published journalist. He may be reached at [email protected]
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