Do you really want to know why we're mad? I'll tell you why, although it should be painfully obvious:
We're mad because in 2007 black folks are still having to explain why we're mad. We're mad because even now some white—and black—folks are telling us we shouldn't be mad. We're mad because America has turned a deaf ear to the blatant racism that still exists in this country. We're mad because we're tired of hearing how much "progress" we've made, when in reality things are pretty much the same. We're mad because some white folks tell us we should be "thankful" for how good we have it. We're mad because despite the Oprah Winfreys, Russell Simmonses, Magic Johnsons and Barak Obamas of the world, we're still looked at as n*ggers and thugs.
We're mad because of Jena, La. We're mad because the white folks there are still ignorant of the bubbling cauldron of bigotry they left unchecked for months. We're mad because that tradition of bigotry has been passed on to their kids. We're mad because that tradition set the climate for three nooses to be hung from a tree. We're mad because "adults" didn't intervene and nip it in the bud.
We're mad at the apparent two-tiered system of justice that exists: one for blacks, one for whites. We're mad because there are six young African American males whose lives will be inexplicably altered because of it. We're mad that their lives have been threatened, numbers and addresses published, and their safety compromised. We're mad that folks don't realize that white supremacist groups are alive and well, and poised to make a big comeback if we don't stomp them out now.
We're mad that Judge Swan Yerger still sits on a bench. We're mad that yet another African American male was shot down like a dog. We're mad because some white folks don't see that as a hate crime. We're mad that they think that four black men walking in a group constitutes "carjackers."
We're mad because Ole Miss' white fraternities continue their racist ways, and Oxford still tolerates it. We're mad because those students' power and prestige will probably get another racial incident swept under the rug. We're mad that Donovan McNabb is right. We're mad Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson were on TV ... again! We're mad because on the eve of a diverse Collective Arts Showcase and a program devoted to racial reconciliation, we know that this is still Mississippi. We're mad because just as sure as we speak these truths, someone like Paul Gallo or Larry Nesbit or Kim Wade will say that we are whining.
Most of all, we're mad because it took this new deluge of events to wake black folks up. But America, we're awake now. We're mad as hell ... and you should be, too!
And that's the truth ... sho-nuff.
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