Black Like This

What does it mean to be black in America?

Wow, the sanguine side of me wants to answer that question with the opportunistic, sky-is-the-limit, financial freedom endorsement that is echoed throughout this 9-11 pep rally. Now then, what can black people grumble about? The richest basketball player in the country, Kevin Garnett, he is black. The richest football player in the country is Michael Vick, he is Black. The richest baseball player is damn-near black, Alex Rodriquez. The most powerful woman in the world, Condoleezza Rice is damn-near black.., wait, is that her hair? Yep, she’s black. One of the richest women in the country is Oprah, she is black. One of the largest entertainment companies in the world, is Time-Warner-AOL-Turner and that chairman, Richard Parsons, is black. Three of top ten grossing persons in the critically-coveted Hollywood A-list are black (Will, Denzel, and Halle). Tinsel Town’s executives would have to reach deep in their accounting ashtrays for the “second tier,” big screen services of Cuba, Whoopi or Morgan too. Man, I already miss you, Ozzie. May you rest in peace. One of the biggest small-screen entertainers in the world is, Bill Cosby, and to his distain, he’s black. The U.N. Secretary, Kofi Anna, is (thankfully) black. For all of their steppin’ & fetchin’ primpin’ ain’t easy, that hoe is mine video; the rap music Mongols Sean & Shawn (Combs & Carter) are both black. Michael Jackson, for now is still black. And, should he go to prison, like trail of the yellow brick road seems to be leading, he’ll find out what many white women uncover---It’s not just a myth. But, I digress.



As you can plainly see, in this capitalist society, African Americans have strongly represented sports, politics (domestic and international), and the world of entertainment. So why am I so damn appalled?



Well, for starters, the mere fact that I can count the number of so-called influential black people (without the aid of the now white-owned Essence magazine) is sad enough. The fact that the Rothschild family and the Rockefeller family members far out-number the members on this “black list” is distressing. Speaking of depressed, does your TV get UPN?

The fact that we celebrate hollow victories like: “Will Jammie Foxx win an Oscar?” is simply miserable. Add the fact that there is not one single black person on this list or in Hollywood that could green light a commercially released film is disgusting. The tears get heavier when you swallow the fact that the only black NBA (majority owner) is Bob Johnson. And, that dumb mother------- thought BET was such a good idea that he sold it to the bastards that own UPN. Condoleezza thought it was such a good idea to take over Iraq that Bush gave her a promotion. I heard that Supreme Court House Negro, Clarence Thomas sent her roses. He’s black too. When Condoleezza’s term is over and she is done playing with her bushes (I have a countdown calendar Xing off the days) she wants to run the NFL—and you see how many happy black owners are in that club. Finally, I don’t care how much money Tiger’s bitch-ass has in the Rockefeller-owned banks, let him try to catch a cab heading to Harlem after dusk.

Taxi.



1 love,

Ray Lewis