28 November 2006

Blacks for progression

I am highly impressed by the recent wave of events. It seems everywhere I look someone is trying to improve the plight of the negroid race in general. From facebook groups to my high school alumni network, from those trying to improve black americans to those wanting to give back to Africa, it seems like the talented tenth is coming forward and trying to do something about the remaining 90%.
As I was driving to the post office, I remember thinking to myself: "To whom much is given, much is expected and to whom much more is given, much more is expected" I was thinking back to a game I played at a retreat in the fall quarter where a group of us were in a race and our advancement were based on certain questions. For instance if you had over 50 books in your house growing up you moved forward, if not you stayed in the same spot; if you were likely to have more professors the same sex as you, you moved forward and vice versa. As the game progressed, I discovered that me and 2 other white guys were the ones in front. At the end of the game, I ended up winning, but it made me think about my upbringing and how much I'm different from those who I'm friends with and who have the same color of skin as I do. Race had never been an issue to me before arriving in the States and while I was an undergraduate. Now it seems to stare me in the face and I am forced to grapple with issues that until about a year ago I never really cared about.
I won't bother bringing up Michael Richard's tirade because that issue has already been beaten to death, however I am impressed by people like Paul Mooney saying they will never use the word nigger in their acts again. Paul Mooney was the guy in Dave Chappelle's "Ask a Black Guy" and "Negrodamus" skits. As they say, a ripple in an ocean, but a ripple nonetheless.

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