Why do they live in poverty? Because for nearly 200 years, racism was the way. You act like Black people have been free in this country since day one when that's not the case and you know it. Then from emancipation through the end of segregation, are you under the impression that Black men were working as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies? They weren't, I assure you. My grandfather, a Black man, has been teaching me about the history of his side of the family. His father owned a farm in Kentucky in the 1930s and 40s until he died. The fact that he owned a farm in Kentucky caused an uproar as it was virtually impossible for a Black man to own property in that time period. Not even a hundred years ago.
These men and women weren't going to schools or colleges that truly wanted them to be the best version. Those who were born in the 1960s are truly the first wave of Black men and women who are able to do something with themselves. My father, a Black man, is one of them. That is literally the first generation of Black men and women who are able to truly make something of their own lives, free from the shackles of slavery and segregation. It's easy not to understand because for so many people who are on this forum, they've had a massive headstart against the very set of people you are determined to rail against.
50 years. And we wonder why 40% of them are in poverty.
If you don't think that racism is the issue, that the system was built against them from day one and it is a tremendous struggle to overcome poverty as a result of being Black, then I don't know what else to tell you.
It's a struggle to overcome poverty if you are white, too, and if you read anything I wrote, you will see I do not rail against the black community or those in poverty. Poverty is soul-crushing. If we are playing the oppression Olympics, I'll play, too. My dad was one of twelve kids born to a single mother in the 40s. I have no idea who my grandfather is. He and his siblings dealt with a tremendous amount of abuse to the point that he refused to even speak of his childhood as an adult. He struck out on his own when he was twelve. My mom was one of eight whose father died when she was a young teenager. She married my dad when she was sixteen. Neither one finished middle school, much less high school. My dad worked his tail off to provide and eventually owned a small home an land free and clear - a house that had no insulation or heating and cooling systems until I was much older. Before living in that house, my family of five lived in a camper. We lived in poverty for most of my life even though things got better eventually - we were working poor, not impoverished. As I mentioned earlier, my saving grace was God and having parents who never actively tried to sabotage my efforts to get an education. I remember being overwhelmed trying to apply for college on my own because no one in my family had every gone to college before me. It is hard trying to navigate life when you feel ill-equipped and there is no one to teach you. It is even harder when the community around you actively brings you down and ridicules you for trying to do better. I saw this happen to a lot of kids both black and white. Their dreams were crushed by the people around them.
Poverty is a cloak of shame that you wear no matter what race you are. I am an adult now with a good job, a college degree, a nice family, and a nice home, and I still carry that burden. When people talk about their childhood toys or happy memories, I can't relate at all. I remember hardship and hand-me-downs. One of the reasons that I have always loved WDW so much was because I felt like it allowed me to reclaim a piece of my past - I finally got to go to that awesome place that I had heard about for years.
Which gets us back to the NBA. There are millions of ways that they can help those in poverty, but instead, they choose to take a knee, celebrate a rapist, and put an empty slogan on their back. That is sure to make things better.
