The Rise and Fall of the African American: Part 7 The Occupation

Issues Under Fire: The Rise and Fall of the African American Part 7 

The Fall: The Occupation

Sick and tired of hiding behind drawn curtains, laying on the floor at night, avoiding stray bullets and praying in church basements for relief, what was left of decent hardworking African-Americans still believing in America, were at their wits end. Perhaps if there were more strong Black men left in the community to organize a resistance though armed neighbor watch (if necessary), while providing mentoring, some serious ass-kicking tough love and alternatives, maybe the fall could have been broken.  

Unfortunately for the African-American, the strong Black men were also the smart Black men and they were smart enough to see what was coming and smart enough to know where it was coming from. Unwilling to sacrifice their families for the sake of African-Americans too stupid to figure out; they weren't playing "The Game", they were being played. Hoping to never see them again, the smart brothers bid their dumb brothers a fast farewell, boarded up their broken windows and that was that. (Or so the smart brothers thought.) 

Out of options, all hope and even prayers, leaders in African-American communities had to finally admit, they couldn't take care of or protect themselves anymore. Unwittingly, they were forced to rely on the very government who was at the root cause of the crack epidemic to protect them from the violence it produced. Like lambs being led to the slaughter, they were forced to Call the Police. When the phone rang, for once, the Police responded and they responded with overwhelming force.  

Of course, law enforcement was expecting that call all along. Policing agencies were prepared. Having had years to plan and develop policies and procedures to put the Crack genie back in the bottle, they were able to breach the relatively weak defenses of Nigga Nation and occupy it like any foreign rouge state would be. For those who know anything about living under a military occupation, they'll quickly see the ugly similarities between how Palestinians in Gaza and many Africans-American communities in the United States are monitored and managed. The worst part is, when living under a military occupation, you have no rights. You don't even have the right to complain. 

African Americans may think they have rights, but they lost them the minute they made that fateful call. They gave away their right to privacy, as an African American could be stopped, questioned and searched, purely at the discretion of law enforcement. They gave away the right to remain silent, as African-Americans could get their asses kicked and kicked soundly, if they didn't answer an officer's question quickly and with a smile.

Some of the beating African Americans have suffered at the hands of cops in interrogations rooms of Chicago, Boston, L.A. and NYPD Police stations are legendary. And the right to resist oppressive acts of police brutality was always out of the question.  

As politicians called for tougher drug laws and an all out war on crime, policing agencies were calling for more tools and toys to get the job done and they got them. With taxpaying voters stoked by the years of nothing but negative portrayals of the African-American experience, they were ready to sign-off on anything just to get the problem under control before it spread. The public had been convinced, the average African-American male was a threat, a danger and must be dealt with severely.  

When one is stopped and questioned, it was for a valid reason, if one is arrested for any reason, he is presumed guilty, if one is shot and killed, it was justified. Law enforcement rarely had to answer for any wrong doing, because most of the time there were no questions. Law enforcement officers had a license to kill and they used it. 

With more than two generations of African-American youth being demonized and vilified by America's news media, the job of the Police was made easy. After all, when you're called to battle a beast, few are going to care if you break the rules every now and then. And the rules were made simple for simple cops; kill or capture African American males in the commission of a crime. Considering African American lives didn't really matter and never really did, any crime or violation, no matter how small, would be met with lethal force.  

Still, as fast as life was deteriorating for the African-American, strong and smart Black people were able to weather the storm. Well, at least for a little while. Remember, this is America. America is a racist state and always has been and always will be. Even President Barack Obama admitted racism is in America's DNA.

That being the case, no one should have been surprised when all people of color were being put in the same box. It was no longer about who was Red and who was Blue. It just came down to who was Black and who was White. If you were a Black Guy, you were the Bad Guy. And that's when Black Men and African-Americans males met again.