WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLACK

Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree

EXCELLENCE IS THE KEY TO BLACK EQUALITY

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLACK

I was fortunate enough to learn what it meant to be Black as a child.  Look at the video below of Miles Davis and John Coltrane and learn what I did at 12 years old, not just about music, but about demeanor, and the importance of taking myself seriously. That’s the key to life - self-esteem, having the common sense to define yourself, and not allowing anyone else to do it for you. Black conservatives have yet to learned that simple lesson.
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Notice how dead serious every member of this group is in representing their culture. There’s no struttin’ around, bouncin’ their heads, or acting like damn fools for the benefit of the television audience. They simply put on, without any fanfare, an incredible display of pure artistic genius - and without bustin' one sweat bubble. This wasn’t “Hee Haw”, or “Can we all get along?” This was simply pure, unadulterated Blackness in all its glory, allowing America to either take it or leave it.
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Unlike today, Miles, Coltrane and the group, simply represented the dignity of their people. They didn’t try to tell the White man who we are – they weren’t interested in what he thought. They simply demonstrated what it meant to be Black, and in a very matter-of-fact way. That’s identical to how I view life. I neither love White folks nor hate them. They just happen to be around, and that’s fine with me, as long as they don’t step on my groove.
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This video was recorded in 1959 when you rarely even saw Black people on television. Yet, they weren't fazed a bit. None of them even bothered to look into the camera - in fact, at one point you can see Coltrane even turn away from it. They were so solemn, dedicated, and dead-serious about what they were doing, in fact, that Robert Herridge, the White man who introduces them, whispers their introduction in complete awe, and the White musicians who were fortunate enough to be on stage with them obviously considered it a great honor - and check out their effortless groove! They were laid-back and completely in their zone - their Black zone.
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So young people, don’t buy into the bullshit. In the introduction Robert Herridge points out that "There are many ways of telling a story." Well, Miles is telling you yours. He's telling you who you really are, so listen and take heed. You’re not the product of idiots and clowns who have to tap dance, denigrate your culture, and put on a minstrel show for the White man. You’re the product of masters and true intellectual giants. I grew up understanding that fact. That’s why today, I’m a proud Black man, and no one can ever take that away from me.
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Eric L. Wattree

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THIS IS WHO YOU ARE:
MILES DAVIS
(SO WHAT)

Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
BLACK WRITERS, INTELLECTUALS, AND INDEPENDENT THINKERS
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Religion: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.