When Tolerance becomes Cowardice
Another week concluded, full of the mistreatment, misrepresentation, and the outright murder of Black people in America. In Texas, we witnessed the repetition of an old story - the unconscionable political assassination of Sandra Bland. Ms. Bland, a young activist supposedly arrested for law breaking, was found murdered in police custody. #BlackTwitter responded with a range of rage, epitomized by #IfIDieinPoliceCustody Hashtags. For the record, #IfIDieinPoliceCustody, make sure that I at LEAST attempted resistance or don’t come for me.
We also witnessed the seemingly traditional mis-journalism, utilized to skew the public in support of White Supremacist terrorist, Dylan Roof. In a poor excuse for journalism, Francis Robles and Nikita Stewart begin their article, “The young man accused of the terrible crime was a bug-eyed boy with a bowl haircut who came from a broken home and attended at least seven schools in nine years. Many afternoons, he would sit silently on the curb in front of his roomy yard and, when he tired of it, move to a different curb. He helped neighbors with their yard work, but they still found him strange.” Why exactly is this relevant? I’ll let you decide.
Elsewhere, Donald Trump, Old-fashioned American business man, emerged as a primary contender for the Republican Party 2016 Election. As blatantly and extremely racist as Trump presents himself, I must admit, I like that he’s honest. I wonder what the elections would be like if every candidate just gave their honest opinion? Unlike Presidential Candidate Hillary who went from saying All Lives Matter to Black Lives Matter in less than a month. Is she serious? Again, I’ll let you decide how serious she is.
This week demonstrates yet again, the merciless nature of our opponents AND the willingness of some of our people to resist. That brings me to our main point: there comes a moment in the (r)evolutionary development of a people, when tolerance becomes cowardice; when silence becomes betrayal; when laziness because treason. We can no longer TOLERATE these conditions; rather, we must actively resist, fight back. Tweeting is appreciated but not sufficient.
The fastest way to destroy White Supremacy is through the excellence of Black Nation Building and Organizational Productivity. We’ve received justice neither under the confederate NOR the American Flag. An alternative approach, may be to unite under a singular flag, independent of both. To acquire land and resources for us, by us. Our liberation will require ALL of us to be united or NONE of us will truly reach the apex of Freedom.
What is my role? Love is the essence of creativity. From our love, we must find new, innovative methods to build sustainable institutions and programmatic thrust for our people. Find a way to make your skill, gift, talent, or education beneficial for the entirety of our people. Then work on it.
Lastly, I’ve decided I’m willing to draw my line in the sand. I’ll be in Washington, D.C. for the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March under the banner #JusticeOrElse. I hope to see us there.
-Salih Muhammad
