Anger in the house.

"So whenever that house Negro identified himself, he always identified himself in the same sense that his master identified himself. When his master said, "We have good food," the house Negro would say, "Yes, we have plenty of good food." "We" have plenty of good food. When the master said that "we have a fine home here," the house Negro said, "Yes, we have a fine home here." When the master would be sick, the house Negro identified himself so much with his master he'd say, "What's the matter boss, we sick?" His master's pain was his pain. And it hurt him more for his master to be sick than for him to be sick himself. When the house started burning down, that type of Negro would fight harder to put the master's house out than the master himself would." ~Malcolm X~

I was thinking of this portion of Malcolm X's famous speech (from where the name of this blog comes)  while reading an article sent to me by a friend today. (h/t Greg)

The article was written by a republican brother bemoaning the fact that republicans are not showing black republicans any love.

The more I read the more sorry I felt for the brother. Imagine viewing your entire self- worth and self-esteem through the lens of how others view you.

To be fair, there are brothers (and sisters) like this on the dumbocratic side as well. Their entire life is built around the politics of their party. Nothing comes before the party. Not community, not family, nothing. It's all about the party staying in power and getting whatever rewards those in power decide to throw their way.

But back to Raynard Jackson, because his rant is the most pathetic of all.

"I am fond of saying that many times Republicans try to do the right thing, but do it the wrong way. 

Branch Rickey, former president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, scoured the Negro Leagues in 1943 to find the best and brightest baseball players who he could sign to integrate baseball.  He wasn’t just looking for raw talent; he was also looking for the “right” person(s).

 

Jackie Robinson was not the only good ball player in the league back then; for sure he was definitely one of the elite.  But he also had the other skillsets that would allow him to endure the racist taunts he was about to encounter as the first Black to play professional baseball with white folks.

 

Rickey chose Robinson not only because of his skill, but also because of his personality which would allow him to keep his composure under the strain of hostility he was about to face.  Rickey constantly validated Robinson specifically and constantly discussed publically the need for diversity within baseball and ultimately America.

 

Where are the Branch Rickey’s of the Republican Party today?  There are none.  The last one was former N.F.L. quarterback and former congressman Jack Kemp who died in 2009.

 

I was plucked out of obscurity by the Bush family in St. Louis when I was fresh out of college from Oral Roberts University.  They had no prior relationship with me, but they, like Rickey, scoured Missouri politics to find the best person(s) with the right political background; but also with the right temperament to proudly represent the Bush family’s name as the then vice president was about to launch his presidential campaign in 1988.  According to them, “they had been following my career and noticing my work in the Republican Party in Missouri.” 

 

My work got me noticed, but my relationships got me opportunity.  I didn’t have to run to be a delegate to our party’s national convention, I was told I would be a delegate; and thus it was so.

 

My point is very simple, I grew up in a Republican Party when relationships mattered and the party took care of their own.  This is no longer the case.

 

Republicans today spend more time rewarding their enemies versus rewarding their friends. 

 

Why would Rand Paul have lunch with Al Sharpton last November in the Senate dining room?  By doing it in the Senate dining room, he meant for the media and other members of the U.S. Senate to see them together; thus validating Sharpton as someone to be sought out for private counsel.  I wonder why there is no account of Paul making a similar validation of a Black Republican with relevant party credentials.

 

Why would Jeb Bush meet with members of the Black Lives Matter group when he has never met with any relevant Black Republicans?  Are you kidding me?  When you have no Blacks in your inner circle you tend to make foolish decisions like this.

 

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is the most recent example of validating Black Democrats and ignoring Black Republicans.  She was in town last week to speak before the National Press Club.  I thought the section of her speech about her accomplishments as governor was very good; but the speech was horrible when she began to talk about race relations and the Black community.  I also found it to be very offensive." [Source]

 

My lord this Negro is sad. What does he think they owe him? Yes the Bushes hand picked him to be their Negro of the moment, but surely he understand that he ---and others like him---are not going to get a seat at that table.   

 

"I didn’t have to run to be a delegate to our party’s national convention, I was told I would be a delegate; and thus it was so."

 

Translated: I never had to work. I always had a place in the house.

 

The problem is, my misguided friend, your place in the house is just a room. You will never have a say in how the house should be run. Maybe it's time you tried to own your own.