When it came out that Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested for massive corruption, my first reaction was to check a photo and confirm that he is, in fact, not black.
I know it's shallow of me, but I'm a shallow guy. Any time I hear about someone doing something really dumb, I think "please don't let him be black." This happens when I hear about a string of murders, or an athlete making a fool of himself, or some idiot politician. I feel like we black folks get more than our fair share of self-inflicted negative press.
Let's try a short list of the infamous: Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Plaxico Burress, Mike Tyson, Bobby Brown, Marion Barry, William Jefferson, Kwame Kilpatrick, Michael McGee. I could go on and on and on.
Unfortunately, Jesse Jackson, Jr. (who is quite black) is now entangled in the mess. I know it's petty of me, but I hope that few black politicians get pulled into this mess.
2 comments:
My hope is that present and future (black) politicians are cognizant of that old concept that minorities have to be twice as good, twice as clean, and twice as alert as their counterparts. I take the lesson of Dr. Percy Julian who understood the need to take on risks and push the envelope to challenge established perceptions held in his day. Those politicians, entertainers, and athletes mentioned earlier have lost sight of this lesson.
You make good points. Dr. Julian is an inspiration, but even he had his dramas. Unlike those on my list (and many others like them), he learned from his mistakes.
Post a Comment