What most people dont understand about poor Black males on inner-city streets: Interesting how the story in Ferguson is shifting to talk about all of the young Black males showing up to protest on the streets day and night. I can tell you now, they will not stay off the streets tonight. But its not just because they are angry and tired of mistreatment by police. Its because they are tired of being ignored. Because of this tragic shooting the media has shown up and cameras are rolling. The world is watching. Brothers in the hood finally get to be noticed. The same brothers who were on those streets before the shooting and nobody gave a damn. Young Black males who needed attention a long time ago. Young men who struggle to survive, fight emotional and psychological battles daily, trying to convince themselves not to give up. These young brothers have been wanting some attention most of their lives. They have wanted people to show up and act like they care BEFORE someone gets killed. But someone did. Although how they are going about it may be wrong. In many of their minds, they are finally getting some attention, people finally see them, a small part of their story is being told. If they go inside now, they know that they will cease to matter. America will go right back to not caring about what happens to them. In their minds they have to stay outside, they will do whatever it takes to keep the cameras rolling. Its almost as if they are saying please dont go away, please stay, because the moment you leave or turn channel, no one will care anymore. They will go back to struggling in silence and irrelevance. If people stop protesting and the cameras go away, the silence of the streets will be deafening for young Black males. The silence will be a sign that its over, our moment is gone, people dont care anymore and once again, we are alone. In a sense, they will be abandoned one more time. If youve never been a kid who was thrown away by everybody who looks at you, judged because youre poor, never told that you matter, never told that youre smart, never told that you are loved, and never told that you have the potential to do great things, then you have no idea what its like to be a young Black male living on the streets of the hood whos been treated like he doesnt matter for a long time. These young brothers that you see on the streets will do whatever it takes to keep the attention going and the cameras rolling, because for now, they matter.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 21:35:20 +0000
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