OK I know people hate when you start talking about slavery but in order to fix the problem you have to identify the problem. Slavery, in itself, was a profitable and lucrative system that benefited America.  So let's start at the Emancipation Proclamation. African people were freed and thrown into a country that was mentally trained to hate people that were Black. So not giving my people any time to recover from trauma that came with slavery, America instituted the Jim Crow laws that basically enforced the caste system. So for hundreds of years America benefited off of the death, enslavement, exploitation, and millions of free hours of labor from my people. We have never been given a fair chance in this country; we have always had to play from behind. This country has used and mistreated my race since America's inception. This country allowed my people to treated worst then animals. They hung us in the streets and then laughed as our bodies hung and rotted. We have to do our research and remember how horrible this county treated my people. After slavery ended the government was supposed to give black people 40 acres and a mule. Instead, like Dr. King said, they gave us insufficient checks. Instead they gave us 40 years of work and institutionalized racism. Things are ten times worst then before the civil rights ended. Millions of people are enslaved mentally and don’t even know they are slaves. Two percent of the world is wealthy and the rest of us are fighting for scraps. They changed the plantation to the office and we fell for it. I think Black people forgot the American Dream doesn't have in the fine print that one day they make sure we are all truly equal all across the board. The American Dream in reference to Black people means that you work for other people's dreams until your dreams die and you die right behind them. This dream was never intended for us to be a part of it; they only used us to put the dream together. Now what type of shit is that, we put the dream together and we can’t be a part of it? OK if that's the case then we are going to raise hell until this country gives us the heaven that we built.

     So being that you can only be the change that you want to see then black people we really need to get together. Let's take a closer look at these systems that are now working against our people and our community. For example, there are over 500 churches in NY but poverty is at an all-time high. People are not happy and I would like to know why all these churches are collecting millions of dollars on Sunday. Where is all the money going on Monday? Why does the community still look how it looks? Why are there not more scholarships and after school programs? Why are there not more jobs for people in the community? We have to start asking better questions; let's look at economics in most poverty stricken black communities. Why is my community’s population mostly black but few of the businesses black owned? Please tell me if that makes sense. Why is it that other nationalities of people feel comfortable to come in areas where black people inhabit and create businesses that last for over 20 years? These business owners take care of their families through our support but what do they do for our community? Are they creating programs for the kids, are they creating scholarship funds for the kids in our community, are they rebuilding parks? What exactly are they doing in our community other than profit off our people? Look at how many Chinese restaurant exist within black communities, what do they do for our communities? Look at how many laundry mats exist in our community but that's not owned by black people. Now let's be honest… can you go in the areas of the nationalities, that I just named, if you’re black, and open up businesses in large numbers where you become an economy in their community? Let me answer for you… hell to the no. They will not allow that to happen, so why do we? Look at all these small delis that overcharge us and give us low quality food. My point in this is for black people to wake the fuck up. The only way we can get other nationalities to respect us, we have to respect ourselves. If you’re poor or come from a poverty stricken area, I'm going to give you some tips how to combat oppression. 

            First, you have to love yourself. You can call that self-actualization. Once you love yourself, you can love others. Second, you have empower yourself with knowledge and like-minded thinking people. Third, you have to teach yourself financial literacy, which means you have to save your money because you don't really have money yet. So you should save your money, go grocery shopping, cook more than you eat out, don't spend your money on things that don't appreciate with time. Only support businesses that support your people in a positive manner and give back to your community in some way shape or form. If we want change, if we want to be respected as the beautiful race that we are, then we have to stand the fuck up and do something different to make that dream a reality.

 I assure you this was not Dr. King’s dream. He wanted better for us but we have to want better for ourselves. I understand that living in a poverty stricken community brings an array of different problems that take a lot of resources to solve. Where I am from violence is a major a problem. Violence, to me, is the lowest form of expression but it is the first way people in my community solve their problems. Drugs and addiction is a major problem as well, and leads to people having way more problems than they had in the first place. Other major problems are failing schools, which has turned into a prison pipeline. Where I come from, not having an education is your quickest way to jail. Negative cultural and media influences play a major role in the perception of Black people in the world. The news, the radio, broadcast television are playing a role in maintaining the negative perceptions America has about my people.

            To be honest, the biggest problem in poverty stricken areas is the broken family structure. In order to make it in this world you have to have a very strong sense of self, you have to be loved unconditionally at a very young age, and you need the support and resources to make your dreams come to life. Without the support of your family, it makes it very hard to make it in this world. I’m not saying without a family you can’t make it, instead it is extremely harder to do so. Life has thrown an array of different problems my way. I was born with drugs in my system, my mother left me in the hospital, I don’t know my father, I was diagnosed with skin lupus when I was ten, and I grew up in a poverty stricken area. I went through a lot but my great grandmother, my grandfather, my Aunt, a few good teachers, mentors and friends saved my life. The unconditional love I received gave me the strength to get through those hard days. Now at 29 I’m in my last year of college, my current GPA is a 3.5. I’m about to start my own business and I will help change this world for the better. My pain motivated me to be better and as I evolve into my best self, I will share my love and experiences with the world to help better other people’s lives. I will end this by saying through everything that this country has thrown our way, my people still rise. They tried enslaving us, killing us, putting us in jail, taking away our history and then changing it to benefit the dominant group. America tried Jim Crow laws, they destroyed our communities with drugs and generations of people that still have not recovered from the trauma of slavery. Through all the fire, we are still here. So yes, we have so much work to do but just take a moment and realize how great your people are. We are really God like beings that can do anything we put our minds to. If you don’t believe me then research prehistoric Africa and see who really created civilization. We are descendants of King and Queens, and as the saying goes, heavy is the crown.