Do White People Respect Us?

Years ago, I went in search of someone to blame for our predicaments. I was convinced, you see, that somebody somewhere was responsible for our woes. Years of searching led me to the White-man’s door. Once there, I didn’t bother to knock--I just entered. In the White-man’s room, I saw the ancient map of the continent--which we now call Africa. Next to the map were several books. Each one of these books contained information on how the African continent was won. The books touched on slavery, colonialism, apartheid, religion, exploitation, and coups d’etat. Also, in the White-man's room, I saw a can of gun-powder standing next to a loaded gun. There were other objects like whips and shackles in the room as well. In the midst of all these objects and things, I saw a portrait of Black-men and women being loaded aboard a ship. There were being taken away against their will. In the portrait, a White-man appears to be blessing them with a Bible in hand. He wore such an innocent smile on his face.

Right there and then, I knew that I had found the one. I mean, the one who I could blame for our woes--the White man. Blaming the White-man for our sufferings came with such delight. It became, more or less, my favorite sport. Hatred for the White-man quickly ensued. The White-man, according to me, was a no good thief and a murderer. The man responsible for keeping us down. Then again, I had seen the evidence in his room with my own two eyes. From then on, I became utterly convinced of the White-man’s guilt. I saw him as the enemy of all Black people. But then, one day, I had an epiphany--which got me thinking. I said to myself, wait a minute; slavery and colonialism, albeit tragic, happened ages ago. Of course, the effects of these two evils have yet to fade. However, must we, as Black people, continue to play the blame game? And, for how long?

Just about two weeks ago, Ghana’s presidential aspirant, Nana Akuffo Addo, called Atta Mills professor do little. According to Nana, Atta Mills isn’t doing anything at all. To tell the truth, I was very much infuriated when Nana said this. My reason; what Atta Mills needs right now isn’t cheap remarks, but rather assistance in the form of ideas. If Nana feels that Atta Mills isn’t doing anything, why doesn’t he reach out to him? I mean, this is what brothers are supposed to do, isn't it? Or is he waiting for Atta Mills to fail so that he could use the failure to advance his political success? Nana is, in my view, displaying exactly what is keeping us Black people down--self-interest. Instead of us seeing ourselves as each other’s allies, we are rather in competition with each other. Instead of us working with each other, we are rather working against each other. Europeans could easily unite. Asians could easily unite. Indians could easily unite. Sadly, when it comes to Black people, unity is yet to be found. And the question is; why?

In the United States, for instance, African-Americans are constantly bickering about White people this--White people that. Mind you, the United States have produced more Black millionaires than anywhere else in the world. Sadly, these Black millionaires cannot seem to unite their wealth to uplift the condition of their people. It’s estimated that more than one trillion dollars pass through the hands of Black Americans annually. Still, when it comes to employment, Africa-Americans need affirmative action. One would think that with all these monies passing through the hands of African-Americans, they would use some of these monies to create jobs and institutions for themselves, but no. African-Americans are still begging White people to do for them what they could do for themselves. It seems that everywhere you go, the story with Black people is the same. If you put a Black-man in America, he would beg. If you put a Black-man in Ghana, he would beg. Folks, as Black people, do we think that White people respect us?

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Source:

The Royal Enoch