Because black people now have to exist within a culture that tries to invalidate their greatness, their ” God Essence,”we have to rewire and literally rewrite so much of our brains coding (history) so that we can see ourselves for who we truly are, and then move through the world the right way. If black people believed in ourselves, and not what people say about us, we would be leading the discussion on race relations rather than reacting to it. In fact, we could make the world realize how ridiculous racism is. For example, when I participated in civil rights marches, many times whites would attack us with dogs and fire hoses. At some point later, I had to laugh about the situation. Think about it: those folks were so stoned-cold crazy—frothing at the mouth, chasing blacks with dogs, spitting on us. And angry about what?Racism makes no sense. Whites hate blacks just because of the color of our skin. Any rational person knows we can’t control the color of our skin.But it’s not our skin, it’s what we are that makes them lose their minds. Or maybe it’s seeing in our faces the atrocities they committed in our shared past?
DICK GREGORY: “Defining Moments in History: Reading Between the Lies”Dick Gregory was a comedian, civil rights activist and cultural icon. Amistad Publishers isbn:978-0-06-244871-2