Further musings on my 2nd viewing of 'BLACKkKLANSMAN'...

Further musings on my 2nd viewing of BLACKkKLANSMAN:

In this film, Members of the Black Student Union and other black/ African-American activists state, on more than one occasion, “All power to ALL the people”... at the core of my heart, I love this mantra & appreciate its presence in this film, it being a period piece of sorts.

But I do also feel that our nation, and perhaps the human race as a whole, is past this period of idealism. Because I’ll tell ya, there are certain people and groups that I feel possess way too much undeserving (and/or corrupted) power & directly stifle the equitable distribution of power and assets to the majority of our nation. The difference between 99 and 1 is a hell of a lot, if we’re talking %’s. Because the dominant culture, the playwrights of our nation’s history, have been steering US for far too long. I wish, in part, for their power to be taken from them, forcibly & then redistributed. I also, sure as sh**, don’t want any more power provided to organized hate groups, and their members. Got nothing better to do with your life but to hate, other, hold down, and even harm/ kill those who don’t aesthetically/ spiritually match you?... then I hope with all my heart that the universe (or someone within it) sorts you out & humbles the Eff out of your racist bigotry BS. This does not mean that I feel dialogue & deep listening should not be the foundation of how we move proactively forward... cause I think it should be. We ALL have an inherent right to express & be heard. Be we also, on the same side of the coin, have a foundational responsibility to listen to & serve one another, regardless of “where” we come from. And if your way of life lives by the inverse of that universal law or aims to shatter it, then you deserve the smallest cell to selfishly rot in, all by your lonesome.

I don’t wish for us Peace more than I wish for us Growth.

Another glaring piece of this sophomore viewing was how the framed painting of Robert E Lee was digitally removed from behind David Duke (“grand wizard” of the KKK, ugh Jesus Christ) during his phone call scenes. This was prominent for me, as I am a descendent of Mr. E Lee, and I remember almost crying the first time I saw his mug framed behind this character (or, depiction of a real-life person) whom I revile so deeply. It brought my white guilt, my inherent complicity in the inhumanity of our forefathers’ pattern of governance, right to the surface — all at once & unexpectedly. This time, I was looking for it. Especially after being in dialogue with some of these oppressive ghosts from my Christmases past throughout the process of building the play REDWOOD, which recently closed. But no... no confederate general likeness to be seen on the HBO second run of this film; only white supremacist symbols on fabric banners. I guess the conflict over confederate monuments hit too close to home for some of our “proud” US citizens. Do better, HBO.

Thus continues our ‘Merikan pattern of playing it safe at the expense of moving proactively forward, of avoiding the dialogue out of convenience and fear, of keeping within the white picket fence of our comfort zone, which truly keeps we in the dominant culture from transcending the shallow path our forefathers tread for us. True accountability means getting uncomfortable with the rest of our brethren, beaten for centuries into the margins & and then agreeing to live in that discomfort alongside them, that we might legitimately unlock a cellular sense of Empathy. We must acknowledge and then take some sort of responsibility for where we’ve been as a purely honest tactic for moving forward— starting with ourSELVES and what we’ve inherited from our people, which of those selfish and degrading patterns we are complicit in— that we might be truly open to humanistic learning and being in service to ALL people. But if the truth continues to be skewed, candy-coated, ignored, brushed aside, or white-washed for political/ commercial gain, then the uphill battle we have before us continues to stay ever so steep. And we are locked in battle, my people, make no mistake. The days of playing nice and smiling through the inequities are prologue. Choosing the middle ground is = to siding with the enemy of the People of our nation. Growth must precede Peace...

by God, even though I do believe we must come from a place of Love always, I also believe that some love must be tough, and the time for “nice” is past. Allies & advocates for racial equity, we must be Fierce in our pursuit of a brighter & more equitable future for ALL our people.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Get it right.

And now, I’ll let PRINCE tell it:

https://youtu.be/e5-HEBGPzFM