Ni%$as and Black people

Why is it that whenever somebody Black messes up, we all take the blame? Are we lawyers or something, all representing the Black community in the court of public opinion? Well, quite frankly, yes, we are. Black Americans are seen as a monolithic force, a huge monster with one mind, one opinion, one set of beliefs. When one of us succeeds, we all do. When one of us fails miserably, we all do. Whether we like it or not, we're in this (this struggle for success as a race) together. There tend to be a range of responses to that suggestion. There's acceptance of the fact that regardless of differences in personal feelings, financial wealth, social status or complexion the rest of the world sees us as a monolith, and treats us as such. Then, there's my personal favorite: "I'm not like them! I'm nothing like them! (Continues to rant about being raised well, going to the best schools, knowing how to act, not being from the "ghetto", etc.) Well as much as I hate to burst the bourgie bubble, you can feel however you want to about it but don't forget to note how much your friends and colleagues from other races and cultures ask you about Black culture as if you're a walking talking copy of Encarta Africana. You are Black people and until the world becomes sophisticated enough to stop lumping people together in confined stereotypical groups, each of you is connected to ALL Black people. So there are two choices: one, whine about it and make your own money but never really achieve the levels of success you desire, based on all that "dead weight" (read: your people). Or, two, accept this fact and contribute to the success of Black people in whatever reasonable ways you can (no one is asking you to bend into a pretzel or give up all your worldly goods). You can blame everything on this thereoretical "them" (read: Black people who make mistakes) or you can view the problem critically and assess where you can make contributions. When I say contributions, I don't mean giving 10 dollars to a local Boys and Girls Club (though that is a good way to use money and a pretty legit tax break). I mean that you can see how you can use whatever position you're in to move as an agent for Black people on the larger scale so that we can continue to progress (however incrementally). Because as much as you may want to separate yourself from "them", in the eyes of the world we're all Black people and we're all ni#%as. We might as well move with solidarity, or else we'll never prove them wrong.