Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 4-27-18

Editorials/Columns
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To Some White Water Is Still Sweetest
et me start by saying
that I believe in boy- cotts. Refusing to spend your money with establishments that are unethical in the way they operate is a powerful strategy that, typically, moti- vates most businesses to tighten up their affairs.
The first time I partici- pated in a boycott was my sophomore year in high school. My friend Gus Jor- dan and I stopped purchasing music from the Peaches music store in the old East Lake Mall after a clerk at the store falsely accused us of attempting to steal an Eric B. & Rakim record we were waiting in line to buy.
Not long after that I joined in on the movement to discon- tinue wearing British Knights shoes and Troop outfits be- cause it was rumored that both of those companies were owned by members of the Ku Klux Klan, an allegation that I don’t ever recall being sub- stantiated.
From that point, over the next decade, it seemed like I was constantly making a stand against some brand, business or eatery because of their shady practices towards peo- ple of color.
I didn’t eat at Denny’s be- cause of their notorious repu- tation for treating Black customers poorly. I discontin- ued wearing a closet full of Tommy Hilfiger clothing once his statement about “not making his clothes for Black people” went public. And I even stopped using Texaco gas after it was disclosed that a top executive at the company com-
pared Black people to the black jelly beans that seemed to be always stuck at the bot- tom of the bag.
Each time I left one company alone I found myself taking my money someplace else where I prayed that the owner or work- ers weren’t discovered to be just as racist. That is when it occurred to me that my efforts to avoid financing individuals or institutions, who had strong biases against people who looked like me, may have been futile.
What I was doing amounted to simply transfer- ring funds from the pockets of one exposed bigot and placing them into the coffers of an- other, who at least had enough sense to keep his foot out of his mouth. So, in the end, what was I really accomplishing?
I thought about those expe- riences the other day while reading about the controversy surrounding an incident at a Starbucks franchise in Philadelphia where two Black men were arrested for tres- passing, after not ordering any food or beverages, while wait- ing on their acquaintance to arrive. The decision by the Starbucks manager to call the police on the two men sparked nationwide protests.
Even though I believe in holding Starbucks accountable for what occurred at one of its stores, I couldn’t help but won- der why we were still dealing with this type of issue in 2018?
By now, after all of the ex- amples of discrimination we’ve seen since the end of segrega- tion 50 years ago, you would think that the average Black
person would already know what to expect when he or she places him or herself into one of these situations. I mean we can’t continue to be surprised and dismayed by white people who, in a predominately white part of town, rebuff our pres- ence the minute we walk in the door can we?
At this point it should be well understood by all parties involved that, simply because a business is open to the pub- lic, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the business welcomes Black patronage. And, if they don’t want Black dollars, I can’t see where it benefits us to force our cash into their hands?
To me the energy used to embarrass a coffee chain like Starbucks into being, in essence, nicer to Black folk, would be better served pro- moting Black-owned busi- nesses. If it’s a problem for them to have us inside of their buildings, let’s go down the street and order a cafe latte from a Black-owned coffee shop where the music playing is even better.
We are well past the days when we believed we had to pander for acceptance. With Black spending power at an all time high, our business is the prize everyone else should be chasing.
Of course, I understand that there will always be some Black people who, regardless of how many Black-owned businesses provide excellent service inside their own com- munity, will forever find the water that flows from white- owned faucets a whole lot sweeter. I just hope for their sake that, by the time they get the reciprocated love they’ve always longed for, it’s worth all the pain they needlessly en- dured.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Trump Considers Pardoning Jack
Johnson: Another Trojan Horse?
t didn’t make the front page of Sun-
day’s paper, but it was close. Hid- den on page 3A was a larger-than-life black-and-white likeness and accompa- nying article on the world’s first Black heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson.
The boxer, singer and Shake-
spearean actor was stripped of his
world title for supposedly taking an un-
derage white woman across a state line
for “immoral purposes;” was hounded by the FBI; and tracked by the U. S. State Department halfway around the world. Johnson later served a year’s time in prison and died in a gruesome car crash.
But just the other day, one hundred years later, a rumor surfaced that America’s 45th president – the same Chief Ex- ecutive, who has made no secret in the past as to his am- bivalence about Black folks – is said to be considering whether he should grant the late Jack Johnson a posthu- mous pardon.
Will wonders never cease?
Not around election time or when the incumbent Chief Executive’s support rating is colder than a summer day in Antarctica, they won’t.
But, suppose the worm has indeed, turned. We’re told the idea for Trump’s reaching back favorably into the past comes as a suggestion from his close buddy, Sylvester “Rocky Balboa” Stallone, who introduced Trump to the Johnson story, and it obviously touched Trump’s heart . . . perhaps, like the story of Lewis “Scooter” Libby touched Trump’s heart also (which is why he pardoned Libby to the hoots and howls of most people in Washington).
Be that as it might: one thing doesn’t necessarily have to have anything to do with the other thing . . . Ahem!
So, the possibility presents itself. Is Trump thinking about posthumously freeing Jack Johnson because it’s the right thing to do, or because it is the political (Trojan Horse) move where nothing gets done without “quid-pro- quo” (one hand washes the other).
We say: if indeed, you do decide to pardon Jack John- son, we thank you. But know that our thanks and our polit- ical loyalty are two different issues. And, we believe, Jack Johnson would smile to hear us make that statement.
JACK JOHNSON
Kanye Loses 9M Twitter Followers Within Minutes Of Tweeting Support For Donald Trump’
Kanye West appears to have lost 9 million Twitter followers in just one day.
And it could have something to do with his supportive tweets about President Donald Trump. The decline in his following was noticed by one fan, who tweeted screenshots to back up his the-
ory.“Kanye losing 9 million followers because of the Trump tweet,” the fan wrote alongside the im- ages.
The first shows Kanye’s following on the social media site standing at 27.8 million.
It’s then followed up by one of Kanye’s tweets.
The rapper shared a snap of his ‘Make America Great Again’ cap - the slogan used by Trump
throughout his Presidential campaign - and wrote: “my MAGA hat is signed”.
He followed it up with a string of fire emojis.
The final screenshot shows Kanye’s following at a rapidly-depleted 18.6 million. Kendrick Lamar, Katy Perry, and other stars immediately unfollowed the rapper.
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