czvasser Afroticity

Black Men Rise

Dear Humanity,

Black Men Rise. We continue to rise. Through trials, tribulations, though hampered, hung and unjustly jailed, We Rise.

We honor Barack Obama and we feel his pain. We know his pain. We hear the arguments about the Obama Legacy and recognize the refusal to admit he should be in the pantheon of Great American Presidents as we, Black men, are often refused human rights.

Black men suffer indignities every day. People love the way we play. Lord knows, folks love how we act, sing and dance. Everyone applauds our spear chucking. We are more than that. We have and will always be men, husbands, fathers, friends, lovers, and lightning in and out of the bottle.

All Americans are entitled to the rights and privileges this country promises. Black men cannot continue to be stepping stones to the American dream and pushed, face down, into Georgia red clay, Mississippi mud, Texas dust, New Jersey marsh and killed by cops and other Black men on streets across America.

You do not have to denigrate, incarcerate or murder black men to feel better about what you want and who you are. As a country, we have become more factional not less. Every group demanding, and often getting greater inclusion, ignoring it was the lynching and murder of Black men that instigated civil rights.

Black Men Rise

We, as a people will get there. We as a group, Black men, will get there through hard work, dedication and recognition. BLACK MEN RISE!

Warm regards,
Charles Vasser
Black Man

czvasser Afroticity

Acceptance and Change

“I have stopped accepting the things I cannot change. I will change the things I cannot accept.” – Angela Davis

cropped-obama-crowd.jpg

Barack Obama has reached the end of his term in office and I can’t change that. The past 8 years have be a glorious ride with a great American and I am pleased he shared it and his family with us.

You should feel this way too, but you may not because of your “politics”. What we call politics often gets in the way of better judgement just as emotions sometimes affect our ability to make clear, level-headed decisions.

We don’t think “what’s best for the country” when we begin arguments. We think “What’s best for me” even though that’s not what we are saying. Life goes on. Consider what type of life will go on for you and ultimately all of us.

The word “Fake” and “News” shouldn’t be used in the same sentence. We shouldn’t need an army of fact checkers to watch a debate or the nightly news. We shouldn’t have to argue about whether we are watching a news program or some new sort of Reality TV. But that’s what America has come to.

We continue to deny people the ability to earn a living and take care of their families because of the color of their skin, gender, personal preferences or the protests they make. We don’t deny there are injustices but we deny their right to livelihood because of how they said it. We have sold our selves to ratings over reason.

You decide whether the next four years will be Dark or Light. You should decide before it’s too late and begin to work toward the change you want to see. I sent my name to Obama.org and, when they come up for air, I hope they start a chapter in New York. If and when they do, I’m there!

czvasser Afroticity

Emmett Till Revisited in Art

There is a lot of controversy about a white woman’s painting of Emmett Till now on display at the Whitney. MY NICKEL IN THAT QUARTER: The cruel, brutal, torture and lynching of a young black boy because of lies and racism in America needs to be told as often and as loudly as possible so it won’t happen again. You know the expression, “Never Again”. When is the Black community going to embrace that slogan. We need to stop marginalizing ourselves by saying only we can feel the pain and then thinking the inflictors will apologize. They need to understand pain. They need to show us they do. I get the arguments about privilege and access but someone needs to tell the story. We need to make sure everyone gets it right.

Emmitt Till Video