Reflection… When Trolling Backfires

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Two weeks ago, a New Jersey high school decided to travel to Washington DC to tour our Nation’s capital. Lunch at Howard University’s Bethune Annex Cafeteria was on their schedule, and two of their female students decided to wear Trump tee shirts and Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats during their visit. Needless to say, or I wouldn’t be writing about this, their experience did not go as smoothly as planned. The two girls would later post a lengthy tweet detailing the “harassment and racism” they experienced while on campus. Howard University’s social media accounts were in an uproar and many alt-right and Trump supporters responded posting negative comments on every post mentioning Howard University.

This incident is nothing more than trolling gone bad.

Founded in 1867, Howard University, is a private research university comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Most importantly, Howard University is a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). HBCUs were created in the post civil-war era as institutions of higher learning where African Americans were welcome to attend, at a time when most Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) banned Blacks from stepping foot on campus. For years, HBCUs have provided African Americans a safe space to learn and grow without the constant second-guessing because of the color of our skin. As an alumnus of an HBCU, I will say an added benefit is learning more about Black American and African history that is not traditionally taught in school. Learning this history establishes pride and teaches you to love your Blackness, though the world tries to convince you it’s a negative.

Knowing this history of Howard University – what made these girls, White girls at that, think parading around an HBCU in Trump and MAGA paraphernalia was a good idea… a week after Trump refused to immediately denounce white supremacists in a press conference following the Charlottesville incident? Maybe that’s the problem, they didn’t know the history of HBCUs, which is indeed a part of American history. It has been noted that black students on the tour advised them not to go on Howard’s campus wearing that particular shirt and hat. Also, some upperclassmen who saw the girls walking towards the Annex cafeteria told them it’s best not to wear that shirt and hat on campus simply because Howard University is an HBCU. The two girls, unfortunately, chose not to heed the multiple warnings, which makes many people believe their true intentions were to bait a reaction out of the Howard students (in true troll fashion).

I am sick of hearing the freedom of speech/expression excuse when a person is blatantly disrespectful. Just because you can say and do what you want does not mean you are free of consequences and get to play the victim. If you choose to not pay your taxes, that is perfectly fine as it is your choice. However, there is a high probability that you are eventually going to jail. If you walk down the street in an area where there is a lot of gang activity wearing the opposing gang members’ colors, be prepared for the backlash. These girls were warned yet they chose to be disrespectful and offensive in someone’s house, disturbing their peace. Just as it is viewed as disrespectable for an American woman to walk around in a Muslim country wearing booty shorts and a low-cut shirt, it is just as offensive to walk around an HBCU wearing paraphernalia of a man who refuses to denounce white supremacists, but wants to bring back Stop and Frisk (a tactic which disproportionately targets African Americans). I blame their chaperones, the supposed adults, on the trip as well. Why did they not say anything to these girls? Why were they not inclined to have a conversation about etiquette and courtesy in someone else’s space? Why did they not do research on the history of Howard University if they planned to visit the campus? Were these teachers not trained in cultural sensitivity? I have so many questions for these so-called adults. Overall, there is too much political correctness in letting the oppressor continue his oppression, and Howard University students weren’t about to sit around and be trolled in their safe space without speaking up for themselves.

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Black Families Under Attack?

by with 5 Comments CultureFeatured

Once again, the one and only Dr. Umar Johnson has made headlines; this time is for the exchange he had during an interview on the Roland Martin show. Overall, I felt the interview portion by Roland Martin was the typical question and answer session one would expect of a host and their guest. Roland asked Dr. Johnson a range of tough questions to break down all the backlash Dr. Johnson was receiving from an earlier interview he did with The Breakfast Club. Unfortunately, the Roland Martin interview took a turn for the worse and became more of an attack session on Dr. Johnson when the panelists were brought in. Only A. Scott Bolden was composed and actually tried to listen to Dr. Johnson for understanding, and not just listen to respond. Also, despite Roland questioning Dr. Johnson on a variety of topics, the panelists did not want to talk about anything other than Dr. Johnson’s stance on inter-racial marriage. Dr. Johnson strongly believes in order to save the Black family, Black men must choose to commit to and marry a Black woman.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe a person should love who they want and who makes them feel as if they are the only person that matters on the planet. There is no greater feeling than to find that special someone who you connect with mentally, spiritually, and physically, no matter what ethnic background they come from. However, I also see truth in what Dr. Johnson says. How can you create a Black family if both parents are not Black? Simple, you can’t. Dr. Johnson was not saying anything was wrong with inter-racial couples and families, he was just stating the increased trend of Black men marrying non-Black women is detrimental to the preservation and strengthening of the Black family unit as a whole.

Other ethnic groups marry within their ethnic group all the time without receiving backlash. As for me, I am Black. My mom is Black. My dad is Black. My sister is Black. My aunties, uncles, and cousins are Black. In the words of James Brown, I’m Black and I’m Proud! I have dreams of marrying a nice chocolate Black man and having Black children who we will teach to love the skin they’re in because unfortunately there will be times society will make our future children feel like being Black is a bad thing, when in actuality being Black is truly nothing to be ashamed of. I do not think loving who I am and wanting to marry someone who has similar cultural roots should be viewed as a problem, but I digress.

My main issue with Dr. Johnson is not what he says, but how he says it. Many times I do not like the extremist delivery Dr. Johnson chooses to take in his speeches and videos. Also, when called out for inconsistencies (i.e. lack of financial transparency for the school he’s trying to build), Dr. Johnson tends to become rude and dismissive, which rubs me the wrong way. However, I do believe every movement needs an extremist or someone to be labeled as radical who viciously shakes you out of your comfort zone. Dr. Umar Johnson takes on that role for Pan-Afrikanism. Now as much I am not the biggest fan of Dr. Umar Johnson’s message delivery, I must say I always learn at least one thing from him whenever he speaks. During his interview, Dr. Johnson clarified that Mandarin is taught as a secondary language in the South African School Systems. Knowing that China has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and also has one of the world’s largest military, I thought South Africa is on to something. South Africa is being forward thinking and preparing their students, who will be their future leaders, to conduct business with the Chinese. We in America love to excessively dwell in our greatness as “leaders of the free world.” We expect others to adapt and accommodate us when we work and travel overseas, and not put in the effort to figure out the country’s proper customaries and language. For example, how many times have you been on vacation abroad and witnessed arrogance mixed with frustration of fellow Americans who are mad no one around speaks English or does things the ‘American way”? I’ll wait…

Overall, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, even a ‘radial’ thinker like Dr. Johnson. Interviews that are considered good journalism seek to understand the interviewee’s stance rather than attacking and trying to get the interviewee to change their opinion on the subject being discussed. In this regard, Roland Martin and his panelists failed.

Video: Roland Martin Dr. Umar Johnson Interview

Not Guilty, Again

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Not guilty. Two words that in the past years send a chill down my spine, make my stomach turn, and cause tears to roll down my cheeks. Not guilty.  Two words that seem to be said repeatedly when a Black person is killed due to the actions of a police officer.  Not guilty. So what number is this now? 17? 20? I am starting to lose track.

When the verdict of not guilty was announced for the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile a wave of sadness came over me. I end up falling into my same routine… Googling articles on the case, talking to friends and family, and replaying the information I have gathered on the case in my head over and over again.  Though this process causes my soul to cry, I cannot stop researching.  How and why could a jury believe this officer was not guilty?  Is this really happening again?  I watched the live-streamed video posted by Philando Castile’s girlfriend last year.  Where was the gun on Philando’s lap according to the Blue Lives Matter following? Where was the threat of imminent danger the officer claimed he was in?

This fear of imminent danger officers keep using as their defense has become a tired excuse to mask the officer’s lack of training on how to deescalate confrontational situations and how to deal with their own personal biases against people of color.  As a person who has worn uniform the majority of my life and has always been a rule-follower, I have the utmost respect for authority and authority systems.  However, it is becoming painstakingly clear that the system is not made to benefit or protect people of color.  Even if you comply with the law enforcements’ requests you still are at risk of being killed in cold blood if the officer is fearful for his/her life.  I am Black.  I was raised around Black people, in particular Black men, who love their family and community.  I am a proud daddy’s girl who sees my dad, uncles, and male cousins as nothing more than gentle giants.  I come from a married two-parent household, as do most of my cousins and closest friends. So when I constantly hear this narrative that Black people, in particular Black men, are angry, aggressive and uncontrollable monsters in which deadly force is the only way to subdue them, I scream that’s a lie.  When an officer approaches a situation thinking the person they’re encountering is an adversary, not a human, their minds will play tricks on them.  Suddenly the officer’s biased internal thoughts turn into outward fear and we have yet another death of an unarmed Black person on our hands.

Normally society has a soft spot for women and children. Philando Castile was in the car with his long-time girlfriend and preschool aged daughter.  The fact that the officer shot 7 shots into the car with a child in the backseat; yet didn’t at least get charged with ‘endangering safety by discharging a firearm,’ though the child was in the bullets’ trajectory, is absolutely unbelievable.  This case says to me America’s soft spot doesn’t apply to Black women and children.  This case says that it is ok to kill a significant other and father in front of their loved ones. This case says that the danger a supposedly trained officer feels he is in is of more significance than the danger he is putting the community he is supposed to be serving in.  Overall, when the people who have taken an oath to protect and serve a community cause routine havoc in our lives to the point where Philando Castile’s daughter at the tender age of 4 has to console her mother telling her everything is going to be ok, we are living in scary times.

I fear for the future of my people.  The constant images and videos of Black men and women taking their last breaths is going to have long-lasting effects on Black peoples’ mental status.  Having to go to work/school and function like nothing is wrong and you did not witness another murder has become the norm.

 When you have to engage in the sympathetic conversations after the attacks on Paris occur, or the attack at Ariana Grande’s concert; yet, no classmate/coworker asks if you are okay after another Black person is murdered by law enforcement and their killer walks free, the mental anguish is suffocating.

When the family of a dog shot and killed by police in Maryland can be awarded $1.26 million in wrongful dog death lawsuit, why can’t one officer be held responsible in the death of an unarmed Black person? Are dogs held in higher regard than a Black human? Overall, you start to wonder are we being exterminated as a people?  In my opinion, it feels like we are and unfortunately no one seems to care.