JAY-Z asked on his record with DJ Khaled I Got the Keys, "...how we still slaves in 2016?". Right before that, he rapped "...'til you own your own you can't be free." We live in an era where individual thought and uniqueness, while applauded I some circles, isn't really accepted by social norms. Some may say that this isn't an accurate depiction of our modern society. But when an artist like Solange drops an album that basically says fuck the social norms and gives a huge middle finger to racism and shaming, people are surprised, even if it is refreshingly so. Why? Because it's unexpected. It's expected that artists go with what's trendy to stay relevant. It's expected that people who aspire to be more than what society says they should be eventually fall in line. It's expected that people who are considered non-elite remain that way. It is expected that the oppressed never get a chance to rise above the oppressor. Slavery was legal during it's time, and therefore, if you were white and wealthy it was expected that you were to have slaves. A lot of them. The more slaves you had, the bigger display of your wealth. If you weren't wealthy and white, you were expected to be a slave. That's how Black men and women who were born free in northern states were able to be abducted, shipped down south and sold into slavery (i.e., the story of Solomon Northup) and no one asked questions. Today, while the physical enslavement of people in this country is no longer allowed and practiced legally, the question arises as to how the slave mentality of both the oppressed and oppressors still exists.
It's funny how JAY-Z works into the narrative here. A few weeks have passed since I first started this post and in that time, Jay released his thirteenth studio album 4:44. While a number of topics are openly addressed in the album, a common thread throughout is his feelings of how Black people can truly succeed in today's society. "Financial freedom" is a phrase repeated several times across different songs. He talks about establishing credit and investing. You get the feeling that he's grateful for not just amassing enough wealth so that his children and family will be well taken care of, but also for the knowledge that he's attained in regards to what this society offers Black people, especially artists and creatives. The opportunities are scarce, and with that comes what is often seen as "a Black clause"; the idea that whatever success you attain, it isn't your accomplishment. You were given access, you were allowed entry into the elite circles. There is a fine line that Black celebrities walk and at any given time, people like JAY-Z knows, the wealth, successes and acceptance can be taken away from you. In his song, The Story of OJ, his opening line is "I'm not Black, I'm OJ...okay", in reference to how OJ once responded to his popularity as a Black athlete. But the chorus to that song sums up what Black people as a whole, successful or otherwise, has known for centuries:
"Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga/ rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga...still nigga...still nigga."
And this is the truth every Black person in our American society lives with. Unarmed Black teen shot by police? Still nigga. Number one golfer in the world? Still nigga. One of the best running backs in NFL history? Still nigga, especially since we let him off for a double murder of two white people. First Black president? Still. Nigga. Young Black man working his way up the corporate ladder to finance his aspirations of financial freedom as a writer, author and potential publisher? You get my point. In a society still ruled by white supremacy, there will always be boundaries that we are only allowed to cross. Once it is deemed that we no longer represent what this society will accept us as, since we are invited guests to the table as it were, they will remind us of what they view us as. Still niggers. And everyone, myself included, either get that nigger wake up call or they navigate their path under that distinction. To us, this is nothing new.
The Daily Show host Trevor Noah says, in the 4:44 short film that accompanies the streaming release of the album, that "success is still in many ways a synonym for white. And so once you attach successful to the black man, there's a little key that has been given to you that may give you access to the white world. The key can be taken away: Cosby, Tiger, etc. The key can be taken away. But at least you have the key for the time being." What struck me here was when he said "...but at least you have the key for the time being." You look at a man like Donald Trump, the (unbelievably?) 45th president of the United States, and you see how this works in white America. Aside from real estate and reality TV, Trump is synonymous with the words scandal, racist and possibly even rapist. Americans, wealthy and the not quite wealthy, have lost millions investing in his properties while he pimped the system to retain his wealth. He's made outright racists statements and has stood by them. He's alluded to his possible assaults on women. He's never known what discrimination feels like and he's never known what it feels like to go without. He lacks compassion and empathy for anyone who isn't like him and he has a despicable view of women in our society. And he's risen to the office of president, the most powerful office in the world! He was given a key, via a million dollars from his father when Trump was just starting out in the real estate business, and he has had it ever since. Barack Obama was given a key as well, by the powers that be. And while he did what is now being openly acknowledged as a remarkable job as president for 8 years, even that is only through the prism of what Trump is doing now. He had to be almost impeccable; and not just for his sake, but for every Black politician that may follow in his steps and every Black citizen that looks like him. Why? Because that key was on loan to him, ready to be snatched away at a moments notice, without explanation, without cause, without reason. He knew how accountability played a role in him being allowed to be president. White society still finds a way to blame him for things happening in our government even now after he has left office. Still nigger. Still. Nigger.
Recent events in my personal life has forced me to look at this reality a little deeper. As an author who still holds a regular job, I've been told that in order to advance I would have to be careful as to what I publicly post on social media sites and who I share my thoughts and opinions with. I've also been fortunate enough to be mentored by someone who understands "the game" and who cares enough not just about my success in the workplace, but otherwise as well. I am also fortunate enough to have a sister who knows all about the politics of corporate advancement when it comes to, well, us. I get that as Black people, we have to recognize that we don't get the passes that white people get. We may get one (we may get one!), but there's a whole lot that goes into us qualifying for even that one time. Which is why I can't stand behind compromising who I am so that I can catch a promotion here and there or even an opportunity to fast track my dreams as a writer by compromising my art and my opinions. Black people have been expected to compromise who they are from the very first day our shackled feet hit the shores of this country. Our struggle has been dramatized and trivialized. Our successes have been marginalized, just as we have been as a people. The advances that we have made have only occurred when society was deemed "ready". Our basic human rights were only allowed to us when society was "ready". Once we were allowed to seemingly coexist within a society that wasn't originally meant for us, but not as equals, those who spoke out were shot and killed. We are still literally viewed as threatening today, to the point where if an officer shoots and kills one of us the go to line is "I feared for my safety/ life" or the safety/ life of others. The usual result of no charges filed or no indictments has become so much the norm that it is expected. You go from broken to emotionless when you see so many people gunned down for nothing then disparaged so that the shooter, whether it be a white police officer or a white citizen, can be painted positively and the shooting justified. It's sickening. And it's the new normal.
So what's left for Black people in America? How can we attain a "freedom" that, essentially, already belongs to us as humans but still seems out of reach for all of us. JAY-Z talks about owning your own and financial freedom being our "only hope". I would like to think that is only just a part of it. I feel like part of what he said in "owning your own" means also owning who you are. In a society dominated by wealth, white wealth at that, not everyone can be wealthy. You don't have to amass a fortune to be able to not accept what society says your place is. Knowing who really are and being unafraid to be him or her, to me, is the start to the path of true freedom. That goes for anyone, no matter their color, race, gender, sexual orientation or whatever. Whatever limitations society throws on us, there are no bounds when we know and then we are who we are. Especially us! Don't suppress it, don't allow others to suppress and don't let anything you may be experiencing in life suppress it. JUST. BE. FREE.
Don't forget to check out my first published release Soul Therapy: a collection of works inspired by the life of Max Lit here on amazon.com and here on createspace.com. Also, check out this powerful book i am from a punch and a kiss by Marlanda Dekine aka Sapient Soul on her site unnamedonline.com .
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