Black By Popular Demand: Is the American Black Living on Borrowed Time?

By Jamal Okoye

A black man's candid look into American mainstream black society. Have African-Americans made any progress at all in the last fifty years, or are we just spinning our wheels and headed towards total extinction? Blunt and honest looks are taken at where blacks are, where they are going and what black people need to do to survive. Also, there may be a new breed of black man in America's future - the black "breaker." Have black people had enough to the point where there is a rift forming within our own communities, and more blacks are breaking away to start all over again? White Flight exists, but there is evidence we are now seeing Black Flight - but where do these blacks go in America when they leave black communities, and should we applaud or condemn them for their actions? For the blacks that the breakers leave behind, what will become of them? All these questions are answered and more, along with real world approaches for a black that is absolutely sick of the system and wants to start a better life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamal Okoye
• Release date: Jul 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310465147

Book preview

Black By Popular Demand - Is the American Black Living on Borrowed Time?

Jamal Okoye

Copyright 2014 by Jamal Okoye

Smashwords Edition

Chapter 1

Suddenly Inhuman

There are times when I don’t even feel like a human being. I know I am human (or so I’ve been told), but sometimes I can’t help feel that I’m seen as nothing more than an animal.

You might think that I am talking about how white people see me, and that’s partially true. While true there are plenty of whites who see blacks as nothing more than animals, I happen to live in an area that is quite diverse; you will routinely see those of Hispanic, Asian and Middle Eastern descent around these parts.

One would think that living in a diverse area would make it easier for a black man to not only survive but also thrive, but that’s not the way things are.

What is the way of things, exactly?

Said bluntly, blacks are seen as subhuman filth. No matter how much progress blacks make, or how much blacks advance, or how well blacks speak the language or how much knowledge blacks gain from being educated, when non-blacks see black, they either become afraid, angry or a combination of both. Non-blacks simply want nothing to do with black people.

At an early age I was taught to not see color. I was told that as long as I work hard, become intelligent, work well with others and be a trustworthy person, I would not be a black man, but just a man, meaning an equal.

I am a black man, as you might have guessed, and not just a man. I am a black man, because that’s what non-blacks see, and it is something I cannot change. I was born black and will be that way until the day I die.

What does it mean to be a black man? That is a question I’ve asked other black men who I thought could answer that question intelligently. But all I get are answers that don’t make sense. Some say that being a black man means to make a difference, to which I reply with, Difference to what? Or to whom? Others say that being a black man means to take back what is yours, to which I reply with, Take back what? Land? Rights? Music? Aunt Jenny’s secret marmalade recipe? And then there are others who say that being a black man means to love your brother. My reply to that is, And who is my brother? Do you mean only blacks? Or do you mean those who agree that we should all live in peace? I simply never get a straight answer to my questions.

Why is the question of what it means to be a black man so difficult to answer? One would think by now that someone would know, but nobody does.

It is a very difficult thing for any black man to establish any sort of identity that is not defined by the color of his skin. After thousands of years, it is still true that the only thing that identifies a black man is his color. Where he comes from makes no difference, nor what he knows nor whom he knows. Just color, and only color. That’s sad.

There are those that believe that one cannot trust another unless he gets to know someone first. I suppose that is true to a point, but when it comes to black people, we simply aren’t trusted even after we get to know a non-black first. The non-black will put on the appearance that they trust us, but they really don’t. In the back of the non-black’s mind, they think they should always be watchful whenever a black is around because oh-my-God he might just snap and assault or rob them. I could be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company with hundred dollar bills falling out of my pockets, and any new non-black I get to know would still think I was going to rob them; it’s enough to drive any black mad.

Do I get mad and loud when I detect the distrust of a non-black? I used to, but not anymore. In the past, I would get loud whenever I detected a non-black’s automatic distrust of me because of my color, but in the end, that gains me nothing but more ire from the non-blacks.

I don’t want you to think I accept the automatic distrust, because I don’t. But I’ve learned that getting loud isn’t the solution.

Is there a solution? Yes. The solution is something English poet George Herbert penned; Living well is the best revenge.

Living well as far as I’m concerned means to live independently, meaning to not be dependent on anyone but you. Part of the reason black people struggle so much is because we are so dependent on the white man for our very existence. We follow the white man’s laws, speak the white man’s language, and do our best to live in a white man’s world. But it seems no matter how good we are at doing that; we’re still seen as nothing but subhuman filth.

I do want to make clear that it is not entirely the white man’s fault that black people are treated as they are. Blacks get that automatic distrust I spoke about from anyone who isn’t black. Whites have genuinely put forth a good effort to teach everyone to be tolerant of black people and to accept them, but that message has obviously not been heard.

A big reason why non-blacks see black as filth is because that’s the image given to them before they ever meet us. How can I, an educated, well-spoken and honorable black man, combat a lifetime of prejudice that’s been taught to the non-black? The answer is that it takes time to convince a non-black that a black man can be trusted.

Contrary to what you have been told, it is possible to earn the trust of a non-black. Is it worth a black’s time to do this? In my experience, yes it is. Every time I can convince a non-black to see a black as trustworthy, that is a job well done and puts me one step closer to being just a man instead of just another black.

Another reason I do take the time to earn the trust of non-blacks is because of what God said. Love thy neighbor. But there is a condition to that. You can’t love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself first. Loving oneself simply means to respect yourself; it means to be proud of who you are and show to others your pride in the form of good deeds. These good deeds I speak of can be simple things, such as holding the door open for a lady, helping a child across the street, or even remembering simply courtesies, such as saying Good morning to help people start off their day better. Performing good deeds gives of yourself to someone else, and by doing that, you love yourself while loving your neighbor at the same time.

A black has to do many good deeds before he is trusted. But in the end, it is a noble thing to do because it makes you a better person. Blacks have heard time and time again that we need to turn our lives around. That’s good advice, but nobody ever says how to go about doing it. Consider what I just said to be the way to becoming that better person. Listen to God, perform good deeds often and prove yourself to be trustworthy.

There are other ways in which a black can become a better person, and one of them is to stop talking about slavery. Whenever I mention this to other blacks I know, I usually get a look of disgust, as if I’m betraying my own people. I’m not.

Constantly reminding non-blacks of how blacks used to be slaves in America does nothing but make us look weak and give off the impression we’re subhuman when we aren’t. Any black that claims to still be a slave today is outright admitting he is a weak-willed individual who is commanded by the white man. American black people are not slaves and haven’t been for a very long time, yet we still bring it up over and over again, even though it serves us no advantage to do so. Think about it. What possible good does mentioning slavery do for a black? Nothing. And yet, even the smarter of us will throw out the slavery argument whenever it suits the occasion. If blacks ever expect to make any real progress in America, we need to stop talking about slavery.

Some of you after reading that might think, But isn’t it important for black people to know their history? Yes, it is important. But when you use slavery as a crutch for whatever you’re trying to say, that’s the act of a desperate, weak-minded black that has lost the argument. Black American slavery should only be spoken about for historical purposes only, and not to further any agenda.

I’ll put it a different way. Every time a black mentions slavery in any discussion outside of historical context, that sets American black people back a hundred years. As a black man, it insults me whenever another black mentions slavery, because in effect, he is saying that blacks have not made any progress whatsoever in the last century, even though we have.

What progress have we made? We have seen black mayors, black governors, black senators, black Supreme Court Justices, and we have even seen a black President of the United States of America. Do you honestly think that if blacks were still slaves that we would even have a black President?

A problem with black America that continues to give the false image of us being subhuman to non-blacks is the fact we complain so much about everything.

Answer me this: When is the last time you heard a black offer a solution to a problem instead of just complaining about it? Probably never, and that’s a problem. Blacks complain and expect other people to fix whatever problems blacks find. Not only that, but we also expect other people to pay for the cost to fix whatever problems we find.

This is the black America of today? This is what we struggled so much for? Evidently, it is.

The only people who can fix black America is black America. Every time non-blacks, specifically whites, try to help us, we instantly label them as racist, and toss around that word like it’s candy. We say racist so much that blacks don’t even know what the word means anymore.

Here is a scary thought for you. Imagine for a moment that the whites stopped helping us. Imagine that every act, every law and every program they passed to help us out wasn’t there anymore. Now imagine white America saying, It seems to us that you blacks are not putting our money to good use. You destroy everything you touch, and then come back to us, beg us to clean up the messes you made while calling us all racists at the same time. We’ve decided to stop financially supporting you, and our wallets are officially closed. If that ever happened, and I pray that it doesn’t, I have no doubt that black America would be gone in less than twenty-five years. Killed by whites? No. We’d kill ourselves due to our own stupidity because we were too dependent and never learned to become truly independent.

So how does black America fix itself? Well, therein lies another problem, because nobody ever told us how to go about doing that.

Some blacks believe that the only way to fix everything is to kill every non-black. I can’t even begin to describe how wrong that idea is. Any black that promotes genocide is a danger to all black people everywhere, because ultimately, all he wants is power. And don’t think he would share that power with anyone, because he won’t. In an all-black society, whoever rules keeps his power through threats, intimidation, and if necessary, murder; this has been known to happen in