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“You my opposer when I want freedom.” Words uttered by the late great boxing legend and social justice hero, Muhammad Ali, during an exit from a Supreme courtroom hearing in 1971. These sentiments remain ingrained in the fabric of Black America, “Opposer.” Blacks in this country still bare the sour taste of fruits force-fed by past oppressors, and our voice has been silenced and muted for generations thereafter.
Economic, judicial, and inhumane freedom discrepancies, replay over and over. Families and communities left broken and dysfunctional, the residual pain, fogs pathways for clear solutions and answers.
Now in 2020, a 5-year-old black girl stops her father before he leaves their Bronx home and hands her Father a dollar, that he gave to her earlier that day. She tells him, take this dollar for if and when the police stop you. Maybe you can use this dollar to buy a policeman an ice cream so that he will like you…
You My Opposer.
Thee opposer stands before you like a massive brick wall. Impending progress at will. Before it was slaves and chains transitioning to cotton fields and enforced self-hate to police dogs and segregation. Many moons later we feel and face displacement, mistrust, incarceration, and still self-hate. Your opposer is the banker who denies you again for the business loan or that administrator who won’t accept your child in the better private school where you live. Simply you want the opposition to treat you fair. Treat you as an equal; we look and watch other groups and communities have forged themselves ahead. When a judge hits the gavel for others it’s a slap on the wrist, for us it may be the biggest mistake of ones life, and generations involved may never recover.
My opposer makes the air feel thick soliciting trying times. Could my American Dream be others nightmares? Your opposer will hand you a fixed deck asking you to play the game, daring you to win. Thee opposer begins applying pressure. You now scream for help, fairness, justices, compassion, respect, love. But the air is thick now, it slowly becomes thicker more and more. How so you may ask? My opposer’s knee is on my neck.
You My Opposer.
“You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won’t even stand up for me in America, you won’t even stand up for me here at home.” -Muhammad Ali
Similar Read: Black Man in America
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The Muhammad Ali reference during this time is powerful. Our country is certainly at a pivotal point. We’ll look at back years from now, and I hope we can say we got it right.