The conscious and erudite Black mind has never accepted the tired, racist stereotypes manufactured by White America. We’ve always known better - known ourselves better - despite centuries of propaganda meant to make us doubt our worth, our intelligence, and our ability to lead, nurture, and build. I raised both my children alone since they were 3 and 4 years old. Today, my daughter is a brilliant scientist—Georgia State undergrad, Emory graduate, Fulbright Scholar, and now PhD-bound at George Mason. My son is blue-collar, grounded, hardworking, doesn’t chase fame or women, and doesn’t live online.
I don’t say this to boast. I say this because we exist. Fathers like me exist. Families like mine exist. We’ve been here... responsible, consistent, loving, and present. You just don’t see us in mainstream narratives because we don’t serve the lie.
Both Malcolm and Martin tried to warn us. They told us the media would never uplift our truth. They warned us how easy it is to be manipulated when we consume the stories others tell about us. And yet, in the 21st century, we’re still battling falsehoods... some even coming from our own. Too many Black women, in pain and frustration, unknowingly reinforce the lie of the absentee Black father. Some, not all, use the system to punish fathers who are present but struggling... demanding child support, then withholding visitation when a man falls behind financially. That is not just unethical; it’s illegal. A man has the right to parent his child whether or not he’s caught up on a bill.
And now here come the liberal white “allies,” sitting behind their cameras, delivering TikTok sermons about injustice... preaching to the choir. Where were your sermons when your fathers, mothers, and grandparents were silent while we were lynched, locked out, and left behind? It’s easy to perform morality now that Trump’s fascism is kicking down your own door. Don’t try to become digital Booker T. Washingtons now, after Frankenstein is on the loose. You created him. You empowered him. So if you’re serious, get off the damn internet, grab your pitchforks, and drag him out of the Oval Office yourselves. Otherwise, sit down. We’ve been fighting this war long before you realized it existed.
Meanwhile, Black America must redirect its own power. Every single month, we tithe and donate billions of dollars to religious institutions that often preach obedience but rarely liberation. We keep financing the very systems that pacify us while the state continues to oppress us. How can we build unity when we’re economically funding our own oppression? That money should be going into Black-owned schools, Black-owned banks, land, technology, health, and political infrastructure. Not into mega-churches that speak in tongues but stay silent about reparations. Not into pews where praise is loud but economic progress is invisible.
Make no mistake, once Trump is gone (if he ever is) White America will retreat to its old comfort zone: anti-Blackness. Don’t get distracted. Don’t get comfortable. Don’t get fooled. We still demand what’s owed. We still demand justice. We still demand reparations. And we must stop expecting others to deliver us from a system they created. Unity is not a hashtag. It’s an economic, cultural, and spiritual revolution... and it begins with us.
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