The walls are coming down.

The spat between Reverend Sharpton and Dr. Cornel West, while disappointing may be
indicative of a bigger change taking place. Most of us question if we are
really in a post-racial America simply because we now have an African-American
president. If only that were so, I would certainly welcome it.  However, I don’t think we can dismiss changes
taking place around us and within us.

The public airing of laundry between the good rev and the professor mirrored a
series of other public brawls within our community (i.e. Spike Lee vs Tyler
Perry, Donovan McNabb vs Bernard Hopkins, NeNe vs Star Jones, etc…) demonstrate
a willingness to openly criticize one another in front of company (mass
media).  And while there are many negative things about this of which I could write, I also see it as a part
walls coming down on an America divided by race. In the birthing of a post-racial
America, the dismantling of monolithic thought among a people is collateral
damage. And not that we ever all thought alike, but we knew that being a minority;
we had to present a united front, regardless of how we fussed at each other
behind closed doors.

And while I don’t condone this eagerness to clown one another in public, it does
tell me that the involved parties don’t feel the need to place the need of the
race ahead of their own agenda. I don’t know that the rest of Black America
feels the same way. I know that, in the workplace I am still reluctant to put a
brother or sister on blast in mixed company (ok, I don’t blast anyone, but you
see my point).  But it seems the famous and those seeking to be so, do not feel the same constraint.

The walls are coming down, that’s for darn sure. So, this discussion is certainly warrented. But without questioning anyone’s motivation, I have to ask the question; are we really close enough to the post-racial shore to quit rowing together? I think only time will reveal if we truly are, but it appears that some feel that are. I sure hope they are right.  

My novel, To Wrestle With Darkness, is on sale now for $2.99 on Amazon.com.

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