“This only happens to black men . . .” That shit keeps on echoing in my head. In the aftermath of the acquittal of three NYPD officers for the fatal shooting of Sean Bell black people who woud usually just give each other a polite head nod in passing actually talk to each other. I got on the elevator at the lobby of the building I work in with a look af despair and anger in my face. I was left reeling by the verdicts. A brother held the elevator for me. He and I used to work on the same floor but we never talked much. I broke the pregnant silence to say “yo, you heard?” Of course he knew what I was talkin’ about. He explained that he was “going to reserve judgment” because he wasn’t at the trial and didn’t hear the testimony. In my head, a little disgusted/disappointed I thought to myself, “niggas . . .” A black woman pushing a mail cart enters at the next floor and over hears the tail-end of our conversation as he exits. Automatically she knows what’s up,
Me: This fucked up . . . Shit is crazy.
Her: “This only happens to black men . . .”
So it’s official y’all: a negro could possibly be the president of the United States, there are more wealthy African-Americans in the U.S. than ever before and hip-hop is popular culture yet still New York Pricks and Dicks can kill an unarmed man and shoot his friends and face no serious repercussions.
Related: Nas, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Speak on Sean Bell Verdict
How much have things really changed? If you’re a black man living in NYC you should definitely feel like shit today. Your life is worth less than others.
If you have black homeboys you should feel like shit too; your friend can get his life taken by a cop and it won’t mean anything.
I wonder which, if any, hardcore, shit-talkin’. thugged-out, gangsta rap negroes will say anything about this. I have a theory that most rappers are mad pussy when it comes to real shit. Someone prove me wrong.