I accept that upon watching the brawl on August 5th at the Montgomery dock, many of us felt like a long overdue sweet revenge was exacted upon anti-black white folks in payment for hundreds of years of violence perpetrated against black bodies with impunity. Those white folks who assaulted the black co-captain, Dameion Pickett, for simply doing a job that inconvenienced them were not only beaten down by black spectators who came to his rescue, but they were also arrested and soon charged with third degree assault. It appears that justice is finally being served and I’m very happy about that. And I’m extremely happy that Dameion Pickett survived this particular incident with his life. So many others before him did not. I also want to acknowledge that the viral video of the incident gave birth to incredibly clever memes, t-shirts, songs, poems, reenactments, and a host of other creative and comedic responses.
But I’m not laughing. And I actually worried for my son who is vacationing in Maine with his family. The population of Maine is 98% white. There would be no black calvary to rescue him should he be attacked by anti-black white thugs. While I sympathize with the righteous celebration behind the sentiment that these white folks finally got what they deserved, I’m equally horrified and disheartened that in 2023 some white folks continue to think they have a right to violently attack black people, to call the police on black people for simply existing in certain spaces, and to continuously treat us as inferior human beings who shouldn’t overstep “our place”. The fact that three of these attackers were in their 20s is disturbing because it means that the white supremacist mindset was passed down to yet another generation. And I admit that I’m concerned about it.
Despite our many contributions to the physical and cultural development of this country, black people continue to be targets of insecure white people. If we build something, they try to tear it down. If we succeed, they try to discredit our success. If we gain power, they try to disrupt it. If we speak up, they try to silence us. If we move in, they move out. In truth, it must be exhausting to harbor so much fear and hate towards a group of people because they happen to have darker skin. But I can’t blame them for this destructive mindset. I’m well aware that since the country’s founding, so much time, marketing, and public policy have been devoted to promoting this negative view of blackness to advantage whiteness.
I recognize that there are people who continue to enrich themselves by promoting such nonsense. Shame on them and shame on those gullible individuals who continue to buy into it this low-level ego-manipulation. I’m glad the antics of these haters are being exposed at every turn and that consequences are being served up by employers, the justice system, and the courts. But it is time that we hold the actual purveyors of this fear and hate accountable. This includes certain media outlets, think tanks, wealthy influencers, and political leaders.
For example, we cannot afford to silently allow Governors like Ron DeSantis and his backers to ban books and to distort black history in schools. We also can’t stand by as he arbitrarily suspends a duly elected black female state attorney (Monique Worrell). DeSantis claims she is soft on crime which is code for she isn’t prosecuting enough black and brown people. Despite the fact that crime was actually down in her jurisdiction, he used his power to appoint a conservative judge to replace her. I hope the NAACP and other civil rights organizations stand beside Worrell to challenge this suspension in court, just as they are challenging other attacks on civil liberties designed to curtail the progress of minorities.
As I mentioned before, I’m amazed by the creativity that was on full display following the boat dock brawl. As African Americans and black folks in this country, we should continue to use our creativity, hard work, collective money, and voting power to campaign for respect, fairness, justice, laws, and the common decency we deserve. As a child, I roamed the streets singing James Brown’s song, “Say it Loud, ‘I’m black and I’m proud’.” I gladly donated to and displayed Black Lives Matter stuff. I embraced the concept of being “woke”. I dedicated much of my professional career to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
However, I predicted and was right about the eventual attacks from the right on these noble efforts, even though they make no logical sense and can present no rational argument for their opposition. These folks were going to be moved by emotion, not logic, and I knew it, arguing that they just don’t like any of it because they don’t like us. Americans have been programmed to either fear, despise, or at least consider blackness inferior. And sadly, some of us black folks have internalized that programming. So, here we are.
For years, I have argued that it’s going to take a massive marketing effort to change the hearts and minds of the American psyche. We need to foment the sentiment that we are all fully human, that reparations to repair damage is warranted, that equality under the law is constitutional, and that equal opportunity is the ultimate goal. I believe that we are capable of and must create a new narrative for ourselves that spills over into the greater society.
Until we can successfully re-brand ourselves as African Americans, the time for declaring victory and dancing in the streets is premature. As things stand today, with MAGA and white Christian nationalists having a moment, I’m dreading a white backlash to the incident in Montgomery. So, please be careful out there and steer clear of places like Maine where there are no black calvary to rescue you.