I used to be ambivalent about Black History Month, but the more that I live and experience, the more certain I am that I feel the same distaste towards Black History Month that I feel for Affirmative Action in all its forms. Both things are an oppressive attempt to keep one set of people in their place as an “other” allowed to live adjacent to whiteness.

Just leaving these hopefully incisive thoughts for readers’ personal consideration.

Afrocentric people are here with the same range of emotions, abilities, and experiences as Caucasians. EQUAL not adjacent.

Caucasians, marinated in the idea that they are the superior and dominant people continue to consciously and unconsciously view Afrocentric people through transactional lenses, as people whose being is to be used for Caucasian profit and entertainment.

Those people whom you allow close to you you still see as house slaves, as adjacent to you as you can comfortably allow, be it that they match you in colour, or speak and live to pacify you by soothing your half deadened consciences in denial of the unconscious racism that you have yet to consciously uproot.

Because make no mistake, racism not directly addressed and uprooted is slow and painful poison to you and to the Afrocentric people with whom you interact.

Both the uppity niggers who directly challenge your latent spirit of oppression, and the field slaves who live in the made up lower socio-economic caste continue to live to transgress. We will make every opportunity to live as our true selves, and those whose agency has been so battered that they forget their ability to create opportunity only need one of us to remind them of their inherent right to freedom and equality. And that terrifies you, still unconsciously.

I would suggest that you awake to and face your fears, because “what you resist will persist”.

We resolve to stand face to face with the God in us. We have already overcome and will continue to rise.

Seriously, I am no longer co-signing and giving any energy to any days and months of awareness of oppression. We know what we did. We know that it was wrong. If we haven’t stopped to look at ourselves and change for the better that is a choice.

Every day in my life is human day, and my resolve is to continue to show up as myself every day for humans.

However, I am here for any and all celebrations of living life. Let’s dance.

Barefoot, wild, and free.

Asé