For anyone who was alive last week and watched or heard about the potent speech delivered by Jesse Williams at the BET awards, we're still taking bites and mental nibbles from all the greatness, relevance and direction from all that he said. And he said a lot.
I don't want his speech to go down as some thoughtful and emotionally powerful speech he delivered in the midst of an entertainment awards show for a network that delivers mostly crappy programming compared to its early days. Like so many people who care about the social changes that are happening and the awakening within black America, I'm still left with the question: what exactly do we do? Do we tackle criminal justice reform first or start creating an economic infrastructure? Where do we start? I see us hemorraghing but I don't know exactly where all the blood is coming from.
Last week, Charlie Rangel's long held Harlem congressional seat was won by a man who reportedly used voter suppression as his election strategy. And as someone who went to the polls and spoke to poll workers, there was some funny business going on. American cities are losing black elected officials at lightening speed and as we adjust or collect ourselves from one set back, we are side swiped by more reminders that our lives, our culture and collective presence in this land we've bled and died for is receding to the furthest fringes.
And still I ask: What do we do right now?
