The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter’

[brer cat]

6. I am old enough to remember

those days, Number23, and you are absolutely right. It is mind-blowing to me to hear some of my older relatives and acquaintances speak of MLK respectfully when I remember very well how they spoke of him then: "agitator" when they were being polite, but usually more bluntly "riling up the n******". He did not know his "place" and that, at least in the South, was a mortal sin.

Overall, I see it as another example of co-opting by whites. Surely a man so revered cannot belong just to Blacks, but must become a shared asset; thus the need to reformat his movement as one of class not race. Moreover, it is a way to rehabilitate his image (shared by many whites) from an angry Black man agitating for rights we were too willing to deny into a softer, gentler man-of-all-people who was simply trying to lift all boats, thereby making him acceptable as a modern day hero for whites. The denial of his mission, of his life's work, as being about racism permits us to cleanse our souls of our racist past without admitting our guilt.

Which leads us to #BLM who dare to put our racism front and center once again. When I hear the criticism of their tone or disrespect I swear I can hear the echo from ages past "they don't know their place."