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@butterfliesblue There is nothing wrong with celebrating one's ethnicity, but it comes a problem when you let it define you as a person. I weep for generations ahead because like Alice Walker wrote in The Color Purple, "The more things change the more they stay the same". Part of Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech says, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". This sounds good and all, but I feel like blacks are killing the dream. One good example of how this dream is being killed is BET which is supposed to represent "blackness".
BET which stands for Black Entertainment Television was started in 1980 as a network for blacks. It started out as a network that was dignified as well as addressed issues in the black community. Now that BET has been taken over by someone other than the founders, it has gone under much criticism because of the quality that has been lost over the years. Co-founder Sheila Jackson has even said, "I don't watch it. I suggest to my kids that they don't watch it". Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder has had an episode about BET which can be seen on Youtube. Even the few times that I watch BET, I've watched it go from Cita's World to Uncut to these circus of award shows.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Civil Rights advocate of equality. We have a holiday dedicated to him where blacks brag about not having to go to work, and yet there was a time when blacks couldn't even work for pay. If we as people not only promote but also believe what he was for, the why are we separating ourselves? You can't have your cake and eat it too. This is one of the reasons that I can't support things such as HBCU's, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the NAACP. Also with immigration reform being the way it is, I'm tired of blacks making comments about other ethnicities as if they were never mistreated. Also how can we as people continue to support things such as BET without at least trying to voice our opinion to make it a positive image? Trust me if there is a lack of support then the execs will listen. Judge not lest ye be judged. Have we forgotten what our ancestors have fought for? At what point will we stop being referred as the "black community" and just be Americans? We can't want to be treated as equals as long as we continue to separate ourselves based on race.
