I hope I’ve contributed to your civility.
-- Rev. Jesse Jackson to Bill O’Reilly at the end of an interview on “The O’Reilly Factor”

Hey, Bill O’Reilly! Guess what?! All Black people don’t like chitterlings and watermelon, and all of us can’t dance!

Surprise!

And guess what else? A large number of Black folks are college educated and middle class, and most of us who came from or run female-headed households are not dangling below the poverty line or leaving our children behind!

Another big surprise, eh?

Oh, and check this out! We put our pants and shirts on just like you. We put gas in our cars and complain about the high prices of oil just like you. We’re baffled by the war, our choice of presidential candidates, taxes, and the depletion of the ozone layer just like you. And we’re as appalled by selected sound bites as you are.

Still surprised?

Get over it!

While some our perspectives about life in America may differ, when it comes down to an evening at home, loving our families, educating our children, earning our living, and worshipping a God we believe in, we all do it. And, we usually do it in the same way – civilly, respectfully, and in ways that successfully sustain our livelihood.

Seriously, we’ve lived in America together for quite some time now, and while you believe yourself economically and socially superior, we still live together and often mimic one another so much, who actually knows where you begin and we end?

Really though, get to know us – the way we know you – not by what you’ve seen on television (it has all Black folks depicted as gang bangers, poverty-stricken, or supporters of substandard lifestyles and habits) and not by the few you’ve passed on the street who make you nervous and declare you’re all afraid of us. And, please, not by the loud-mouthed of us who show up for the photo-ops and speaking engagements. Discern us from them. Please.

The next time you visit Sylvia’s, Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, or Joe’s Barbecue on the other side of the railroad tracks, instead of looking for differences then talking about them in ways you believe will sooth your paternalistic soul and make you feel comfortable, shut up and eat your damned food!

Sadiqqa © 2007