To be able to truly define "Black Success," a one cannot merely look in a dictionary. A deep understanding of what "Black" is, is needed; along with how success has been, is, and will be reached in order to fully see the path in which we have been on. I will explain its true meaning through music, sports, fame, critical action, the church, and failure.
You must begin where black people started; there are different opinions on that, but I will say slavery. Slaves where uprooted from their homeland and dragged to the Americas . Their later relatives were freed from bondage like the wild animals they were thought to be. The introduction of the Jim Crow laws constricted the liberty of blacks in the south inspite of their rights insured by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. In 1896, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the schools in the South could be segregated as along as the facilities were equal. The schools were obviously not following the verdict of the Supreme Court. This was evident through the poor conditions of the books they use, out of date and torn. Not until 1954 did in the case Brown vs. Board of Education did the Supreme Court declare that state laws establishing these separate schools denied black children unequal educational opportunities; Ruby Bridges was the first to prove its legitimacy. Crop-liens and later the prison system became the tools used to suppress the black man. In the 1920s and 30s, the Harlem Renaissance and from 1955-68, the Civil Rights Movement, the world saw an artistic rebellion against white tyranny.
Music has been a major aspect in black history. When mentioning Myles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Patty Labelle and Sam Cooke I think of people with so much passion. Blacks who lyrically told the pain of blacks in America . Pioneers like Jimmy Hendrix, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Rick James, and Michael Jackson who set the bar for musical greatness in their eras. Public enemy were the first to out right embrace who they were through music when they said “Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud.” There music said, we are oppressed, but we refuse to be depressed; you cannot, you will not stop us from truly living. Artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac who paved the way for others. Only people who have gone through so much heartache and sorrow can evoke all of that emotion, like Aretha Franklin and Al Green. Music has been the voice of black suffering through which black people have endured.
Black people will be forever entwined with sports. They were in my opinion the first leveled playing field on which my ancestors were able to compete. Sports were not white people’s only egg in their basket; they did not need it like black people. I think that this window of opportunity; creating the best athletes in history. Jackie Robinson-who was not just a runner, but a football and basketball player-, Hank Aaron, Jim Brown, Warren Moon, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabber, Michael Jordan, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee are just a few who took their profession to another level. A great defining moment in black history was the 1968 Olympics. In the 200 meter dash, Tommie Smith and John Carlos took 1st and 3rd place; both broke the previous world record. During the playing of the American National Anthem, they defiantly raised a black gloved fist with their heads down. It was a symbolic protest to the racial oppression going on in the US . Unfortunately, the International Olympic Committee thought their action was unfit for the apolitical stage and as a result banned them from the games.
Acting critically has been at the epicenter of a lot of black success. It is the tool of judgment that allows people to discern not only between what is right and wrong, but what will help us reach the mountain top. A critical moment in black history was the open casket funeral of Emmett Till, a 14 year old black boy, who was murdered on August 28, 1955 by two white men for whistling at a white woman. At the funeral his mother, Mamie Till stud over his body with his head four times the normal size of his regular head. Instead of responding with vengeance she said to the crowd, “I don’t have a minute to hate, I will pursue justice for the rest of my life.” Thinking critically is what had Frederick Douglas lobbying for the immediate abolition of slavery and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marching for equality.
The church (particularly the Baptist church) will forever be one of the foundations for black success. The Aretha Franklin came out of the church, singing praises to the almighty. The church produced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man who America should be forever thankful for. The church is where people were instilled with the faith to keep going when there seemed to be no hope for us. It is that, “With Jesus I can make it. With him I know I can stand. No matter what may come my way, my life is in his hands.” that allowed people to get through those late nights when the KKK came busting through the door and lynched their kin and is what kept Dr. King pushing. It had Maya Angelo write the poem Still I Rise. The church cultivates great, honest men and women who are founded in love and service.
In the last 40 years, there has been a serge in prominent black figures. There are great actors like Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Tyler Perry, and Will Smith and beautiful actresses like Gabrielle Union, Halle Barry, Tariji P. Henson and Queen Latifah. Comedians like Chris Rock, Steve Harvey, and Katt Williams who shine a humorous light on life. Scholars like Cornell West, Tavis Smiley, and Michael Eric Dyson are prophetic intellectuals who show people the way for America . These people are all examples of how far we have come as a people. They are not symbols of potential reached but set some of the gold standards for fame in the US .
No journey is traveled without tribulation. It is the same but strange with black people because we have struggled in success whether it be in selling/using drugs, money, or gambling. Drug dealing has been the worst of it. People like Frank Lucas and Nick Barnes (Mr. Untouchable) marketed off black people at their expense. Midget Molley even gave crack to his own brothers and sisters. Materialism has blinded people from seeing what they really need. Unnecessary bling, expensive jewelry, and over the top spending is apart of the glamorous life style portrayed on television. It is like we (as a whole) were shooting a basketball in the dark, unaware of where there hoop was, but then started making it. Then the lights are on and we found out we were shooting at the wrong basket. Now we need to aim for the right basket so we can begin working in are own favor.
With everything that is has happened in America’s history, black success is not being the phoenix that rises from the ashes, or the fighter who gets back up after being knocked down, but the fighter who refuses to go down. It is running in the 10th lane in the 400 meter dash, without the start being staggered and not finishing in last. It is being resilient when it seems useless. It is true we are down but we are never out. It seems impossible that something as horrific as slavery can produce people of such high character.
