My friends and I had dinner last night at Il Forno, an Italian eatery near my apartment. This was our second visit. The first of which happened about 3 weeks ago, while the upheaval in Egypt was taking place. During our initial visit, we found our Egyptian waiter to be very friendly and accommodating. He was even more so when he discovered we were American.
He, a young Egyptian man, was very proud of the citizens in his country who stood up to a political regime that had ruled for 30 years. He talked about President Obama and how the President had been a bit shifty in whether or not Mubarak should finish his term or step down immediately and while he did not like our politics, he loved our country and what he believed it stood for.
So, when we returned on yesterday, he eagerly made his way to our table to greet us with smiles and warm words. However, his smile this time, was much brighter than before. He smiled as though he had no other choice. It was almost contagious and it didn't take us long to discover why. He was proud of those who had protested and stood up for their beliefs. He was proud of his country, but more discernible than not, he was proud to be Egyptian.
I too felt proud with him. Since the beginning of this revolt, I have firmly stood behind the Egyptian people and their quest for dignity, respect and reform. Figuring that if even one person believes in the fight, then he must fight, even if he fights alone. The Egyptian people remind me of my African-American sisters and brothers back home who face high rates of homelessness, joblessness and poverty. The only difference is that the Egyptian people were sick and tired of being sick and tired, while my sisters and brothers back home sit on a nail that still doesn't hurt bad enough for them to get up.
Although I am proud to be American and wouldn't want to be anything else, I must say that I am not very proud of the discrimination and the unjust treatment of African-Americans in my country. Equally so, I am not always proud of how content African-Americans have become even when there is substantial proof that they are worse off than Non-Hispanics, Whites, Asians and Hispanics in areas of income, homelessness, education and over all poverty.
According to the 2008 and 2009 US Census, the median income of Blacks fell below that of all other ethnic groups and between 2008 and 2009 the real median household income declined for non-Hispanic Whites and Blacks, while the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. In addition, the uninsured rate and number of uninsured increased for non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics.
When you couple these statistics with drug infested neighborhoods, ill-equipped and dilapidated schools, as well as police brutality towards Black men and teens, I believe that it's long overdue that African-Americans stand up for their families and their communities. It's time for Black men and women to take back their streets so that their children can play on the sidewalks that they pay taxes for. It's time for African-Americans to take back the schools that gangs and drug dealers have declared as their own. It's time for Black people to stop begging for jobs and waiting in lines for hand outs and to create opportunities for themselves as they once did after slavery, during the Reconstruction Era, as well as the Civil Rights Movement. It's time to stand up and be the fighting and resilient children and grandchildren of those Civil Rights leaders that came before them.
Surprise, but the fight is not over and the only thing that has changed is the enemy. Our government is not our enemy. Sure, they have created conditions that don't fully contribute to the uplifting of Black people, but Black people have also done the same things to themselves. When teenage delinquents and drug dealers run your communities it's time for a revolt. When there are high bouts of violence and low rates in graduation and academic achievement, it is time for a revolt. When there are liquor stores on every corner, but no libraries, conveience stores or gas stations, then it's time for a revolt. What will it take for African-Americans to realize that their complacency has become the new enemy?
I truly believe that across America, African-Americans need to become more conscientious of the conditions that are contributing to the demise of the race. Yes, the government has and continues to play a role, but the truth of the matter is, no one will care more for you than you. No one loves your children the way that you do and no one will be more concerned about you and your families well-being than you should be. Are we sick and tired yet, or do things need to get worse before they can get better?
The time has come and gone for us to hold our politicians accountable and to ensure that they serve the people, but the time has also run out for us to hold ourselves accountable. The difference between the Egyptians and the African-Americans in the US, is that the Egyptians knew that they weren't getting what they deserved and they demanded more. We don't know that we deserve more. As long as we have our degrees, our house notes, our car notes and a little money in the bank, then we believe that we have arrived, but as King said, "injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere".
The conditions of Black folks in the US is unjust and on some levels inhumane. We saw it during the Civil Rights Movement and it repeated itself with Rodney King in 1992. It happened yet again with the Crown Heights uprise of 1991 and with Amadou Diallo in 1999 and with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but if these events don't prove that it's time for change, then go to the US Census for any given year and read for yourself.
Afterall, the numbers don't lie, even when the people are so comfortable in their discomfort and pretending that the conditions of their sisters and brothers don't effect them or their bottom line. However, the last time I checked, CEO's and high school dropouts stood in the same unemployment lines.
Before venturing off to the Middle East, I had a lot of opinions about people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. Growing up a poor, black woman in America helped to shape those beliefs; good or bad. It is said, you don't see the world as it is, you see the world as you are and before coming to Abu Dhabi, I may have believed that most white Americans didn't have respect, understanding or appreciation for many black Americans. My world as it was, was simply black and white, as is everything in America.
Indeed, it has been exciting times and trying times, but no matter what, I have always felt safe, respected and sometimes envied by those whom most Americans would think were our enemies. It has been anything but hostile here and for the first time as a black woman, I feel empowered, not as a black woman, but as an American woman. I finally feel as though my ancestors blood, sweat and tears were not in vain and that I am living my American dream; free to be me, free to be free.
