CULTURE + RACE
Stop Depending On Rappers & Entertainers To Save the Black Community
We need to cut this narrative out of our mindsets for us to move forward
It’s getting to a point where this narrative where we think that the Black community can only prosper is when rappers and other Black entertainers put on the cape and “save” us from oppression.
So today, I saw a post from Dr. Boyce Watkins, who is a highly educated financial expert and college professor for more than 20 years, where he talks about a post from Dr. George C. Fraser, who is an author, successful entrepreneur, and public speaker, about the “lack of community and institution building” from Black entertainers.
To be honest, I used to believe this type of thinking as well. I used to believe that because we have so many Black millionaires and a few Black billionaires, the responsibility of building up Black society and putting us at the hierarchy among other groups now rests upon their shoulders.
It’s sort of a “savior complex” that a lot of Black folks have – and again it’s something I had – where we feel the need to rely on one or a few Black people to do all of the heavy liftings while we just sit back and wait for an abundance of prosperity.
I didn’t realize until I got older and more educated that this was part of the reason why we are in the position we’re in now.
I had to stop pointing the finger at other people and asking them, “What are doing for our community?” and started pointing the finger at myself and ask myself, “What am I doing for the my community?”
It’s all about self-accountability people. We all have to play a part in putting ourselves on top of the podium.
We can look at guys like Floyd Mayweather, Moneybagg Yo, Rick Ross, 50 Cent, Lebron James, Steph Curry, and other successful entertainers and question them on what they do what their money, but if we’re going to do that, we also have to look at us as a whole and discuss that $1.5 trillion spending power that we got going on.
How much money did you spend at that Asian nail salon? How much did you give those Hispanics to put new tires on your car? Didn’t you just leave the gas station that’s owned by Arabs – who are most likely calling a “nigga” in their foreign language – to get some gas, a pack of cigarettes, a case of Budweiser, and some fried chicken? Aren’t you the same person that shops at Walmart every week for your groceries?
We spend so much on other groups every day without even thinking.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Black entertainers and athletes shouldn’t do anything for the community — they still live in a system of white supremacy just as much as the rest of us — and some of them are. Some of them are doing what they can to support our communities and we can’t overlook that or belittle it like it means nothing. But we have a responsibility as well to make the necessary changes to pull ourselves out of the struggle, which a lot of us our.
Because to me, I don’t care how big or how small of a contribution someone makes, as my mom always told me, every little bit helps.
Jaron Mays. 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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