Whenever I hear the phrase 'I want' with 'black' in the same sentence, the hairs on my neck stand up. But then I relax and think for a minute what is really meant. I have concluded that most of the time what they really want is Proof. They want proof that black people can do this or do that. Generally speaking, the more proof they need, the more skeptical they are that it can be done - the lower their actual regard for black people. I can generally scope this out by mentioning one or two black examples. The good answer is 'Oh I didn't realize'. The bad answer is 'but what about the millions of black people who...'. I'm not here to chastize anyone for their low regard of black people. I'm here to question any reference to black people as Proof.

I don't give college-educated people a second chance to prove their education was worth it, although I understand that Woodson is still relevant from time to time. So I tend to deliver the smackdown when an educated person starts demanding proof. See, it doesn't matter any longer if someone is the 'first black' this or the 'first black' that. 98.6% of all the 'first black' spots are taken. There's not much left to prove - except for those people who hold no hope out for blacks. See that's how racist bigotry works. Nothing any single black person does is valid if you can show counter-examples in the racial masses. Colin Powell is not 'really black'. Phyllis Wheatley was not 'really black'. They are brilliant exceptions to the rule of racial reality.

Obviously, leftists and socialists are using this racial logic against black Republicans and black supporters of the President. The 'racial reality' of America says black = Left. Black = Right doesn't compute according to these racial rules, so therefore those African Americans on the Right are 'self-hating' or somehow false. In a way, this is correct. Because of the racial rules in effect by the political Left, one cannot express conservative ideas and racial solidarity at the same time. But isn't that how a free life should be? Shouldn't all citizens of a democracy hold ideas in higher esteem than racial solidarity? Shouldn't rational self-interest trump racial self-interest? The correct answer is, yes, always. The answer you'll get from the Left is "That depends upon whether you are white or black."

I'm not sure what to think about those people who answer the second way. Maybe they just haven't reached the level of comprehension of humanity that allows them to see how everyone should live by the same rules. Maybe they're sheltered and so obviously so that when they get out in the world, people don't bother to correct them. In either case, they stand in the way of progess and truth, so we should minimize their influence. As soon as you start down the path of answering questions about The Significance of Black... you begin to make errors.

But let's get back to the first example. What if a black kid says to me, I really want to see sophisticated blackfolks living in harmony in a righteous community. I would basically point my finger towards Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta. My old buddy Gary who runs one of the departments at Georgia Tech lives out that way. And I have to admit, his BBQ smoker is a lot nicer than mine. Now Gary is top dog in a number of communities, and he lives in a primarily black residential community in a tradition that goes back a generation or two. Most everyone out Atlanta way knows about the 'nice part' of Cascade Road, and his is one of several communities that are pointed out to be evidence of Atlanta as the 'Black Mecca' of the US. But all that is really there is a collection of black middle class and upper middle class property owners and their families plus the occasional superstar athlete, entertainer or like Gary, academic. Depending on who you are, this is Proof. So you can check out this link and say, 'Oh I didn't know' or you can talk about the lowlife on the other side of Cascade Road, which most everyone out Atlanta way also knows about. Your choice.

When I lived in Atlanta from 95 to 97, I came by way of Harlem, another place shrouded in black myth and mystery. Not long before that, I lived in Brooklyn. So I have a bit of first-hand experience living in these places that are supposed to have magical significance to blackfolks. They do, but only in a way every small town does. It's tribal. Where you come from is the place of 'The People' and everybody else is 'The Others'. So when I came to NY, my LA credit wasn't accepted. When I came to Atlanta, I was just another Yankee to them. When I came back to LA from the East and the South, people said 'So. What took you so long?' The point is that every place is NOT just like Compton except in one way. To the Americans who live there, *they* define blackness. So you will hear people lamenting the losses of New Orleans as the destruction of blackness. Or you will hear people lamenting that the outmigration of the ghettoes to the suburbs as the destruction of blackness. Or you will hear that 350 thousand black men in prison will be the destruction of blackness. Or you will hear that some rap group on stage at the Oscars will destroy blackness. These are two sides to the same coin. Who defines blackness and who destroys blackness is all about Proof. Somebody is always trying to prove something about blackfolks. Somebody is always trying to account for the Millions. Somebody is always trying to explain the One. Some monkey is always trying to signify.

As far as I'm concerned the First Black and the Millions Marching are all about the same thing: Proof. The need for this proof is always about the same thing: disbelief. And disbelief is always about the same things ignorance and racial stereotypes. We all have our levels of ignorance and stereotypes which all require their commensurate levels of proof. But the blackfolks who are everyday living their lives are the proof one way or another. They are already out there, yet somehow politically their existence becomes the burden of proof. It actually doesn't matter what they're doing or not doing, somebody is trying to use them to make a point, to sell an idea, to challenge a notion. But doesn't it always point back to self? Yes it does.

I believe every American has to ask himself, what does the existence of this or that black thing mean to me? How it is making me uneasy? How is it holding me back? How is it keeping my head up? How is it making me strong? How does your sense of destiny or desire get wrapped up in the existence or non-existence of people you don't really even know or comprehend? How long are you going to have to travel to get your proof? How many times are you going to beg people to 'wake up' to hear your proof? How many times are you going to talk about some historical, mythical, mysterious black lives to justify your position? I say to you today, let it go. Give it up. Cast the black demon out of your mind. You're wasting everybody's time.

Posted By Michael Bowen of Cobb

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