Black Patriots

“The hypocrisy is all I can see
White cop acquitted for murder
Black cop cop a plea
That type of shit make me stop and think
We in chronic need of a second look of the law books
And the whole race dichotomy
Too many rappers, athletes, and actors
But not enough niggas in NASA
Who give you the latest dances, trends, and fashion
But when it comes to residuals, they look past us
Woven into the fabric, they can’t stand us
Even in white tee’s, blue jeans, and red bandanas
Assassinations
Diplomatic relations
Killed indigenous people
Built a new nation
Involuntary labor
Took a knife split a woman navel
Took her premature baby
Let her man see you rape her
If I could travel to the 1700’s
I’d push a wheelbarrow full of dynamite
Through your covenant
Love to sit in on the Senate
And tell the whole government …”

-Nas, “America”

With Barack Obama bursting through the political landscape like the 2008 Kool Aid Man, a lot has been discussed on television and news media about the level of patriotism in his camp. Most of the claims against him aren’t even worth discussion, but when Rev. Wright got blasted by the media for his “anti-American” sentiments, it provoked a spark in my mind that I haven’t been able to quell yet.

Why should Rev. Wright be patriotic? Why, in fact, should ANY black American be patriotic? This isn’t a loaded question–I expect there can be legitimate answers to that question somewhere. To be honest, I’m a fairly patriotic person by default, as a military brat and a person who is loyal to almost everything I’m associated with. But my loyalty to my race conflicts with my loyalty to the country that molded me, leaving questions lingering in my mind.

The Black American experience is in many ways a unique one because of not only the unprecedented form of slavery that our ancestors experienced, but because are completely disconnected from the land we live on. African slaves were torn from their families, lumped together with slaves from other tribes, shipped to a completely foreign country with a foreign culture, given just enough to stay alive to work harder, discouraged from building family ties, and given a religion used to control them more than enhance their spiritual lives…and when finally freed, their descendants were still prevented from living a completely free life. The entire essence of the historical Black American experience is based on oppression, domination by a White country, and forceful assimilation into White Euro culture.

It has only been in maybe the past 30 years that Blacks have even begun to halfway be treated on level footing with the rest of America, and I’m probably being generous with that estimation. No matter what the laws say, if the people enforcing them still have their prejudices or misconceptions stuck in the back of their minds, domestic “policy” means nothing. So when I heard news show anchors blasting Wright for being unpatriotic, you can imagine the bewilderment I felt in wondering WHY anyone would expect for him to love this country? The surprising thing is that so many of us do have strong feelings for this country, not the other way around.  Many Black men and women, including my parents, have worked in the military and served in wars for the country that has historically done little in return for them…given this fact, Black people have to be the most patriotic race in America despite the fact we have rarely been treated as full-blooded Americans.

Of course, the effects of slavery are now a fact of life for every Black American. It’s a rare few who will attempt to revert to the African culture they identify with, mostly because we know nothing aboutit; we wouldn’t even know what tribe our ancestors originated from. Plus, due to the current state of Africa, we’d have to sacrifice the technological and social advances made in America to mimic a people completely different from ourselves.

So why not love the country you’re bound to? To function in America and succeed, one must buy into the American system. In perspective, America is a better place to live, even during discrimination, than most other countries (at least, that’s what we’ve been led to believe). …but need we be grateful for our circumstance when the fact is we’ve been denied equality in the land we’ve called home since we arrived on this piece of land?

Tuskegee Airmen

As mindsets change, younger Black Americans are getting more of an opportunity to succeed and a level playing field. However, you are lying to yourself if you think that this new, more socially conscious environment has made the country a color blind oasis of freedom and democracy. Is it now possible to be successful and Black without encountering an ominous racist wall in the way of your progress? Yes, I think it is. But Black Americans as a whole still have needs that need to be addressed, and in a democracy where 90% of those in power are White, the country has been slow in making our needs a serious issue. We lag behind every other race in most categories of well being, and it isn’t a product of genetics, nor can it only be explained by a clear cut lack of work ethic or morality. When a Black thinker like myself laments the plight of so many of my people, is it difficult to understand the lack of a profound love for this country and its history? On one hand, yes, I love America…on another hand, I hate almost everything we stand for.

I think it’s a bit arrogant for White Americans to expect patriotism from any of us.  But is our loyalty to the land we’ve been living on for generations a part of the greater good, despite what history has dealt us? But maybe most importantly, will things ever get to a point where the words Black and American never oppose each other?

Last but not least–go cop that Nas album! If you love him, you’ll love it…if you don’t, it’s better than you think =]