At any given point in time, the pressure to love or hate a particular African-American leader is a serious thing. It's gotten to a point of ridiculousness and I just want to go on record, once and for all, and say that I am bowing out of this game and that I hope you will too. At its very best, the root of this "what black leader do you hate today" game is pettiness, but my suspicion is that it's a passive form of racism and white supremacy.
For most of my life, I have weaved in and out of cultures—black and white, rural and urban, conservative and liberal, religious and atheist, radical and mainstream. Except, for me at least, it never quite feels like weaving in and out of cultures because I have legitimate views and relationships that resonate in each and every one of those communities. I don't wake up, look at myself in the mirror, and say "Hello, liberal!" or "Hello, radical!" or "Hello, religious middle-class married dad!" Like you, I just get up and go. I don't consciously think of myself as being in one box or another throughout the day, but I am keenly aware—more than ever because of social media—that thousands of people see me (and you) and immediately label me as being confined to whatever political or ideological box they perceive me to be in.
One subtle, yet consistent form of oppression that I have witnessed and experienced over the past few years is this pressure to disavow yourself from any active love, respect, or admiration of particular black leaders as a litmus test of whether or not you truly belong in a particular community. Allow me to explain myself, below the fold.
Over the past three months I've pretty much thrown my entire life into advocating for justice for Eric Garner, Mike Brown, John Crawford, Darrien Hunt, and other men and women who've been killed by police with only a faint likelihood of justice. Since then, almost daily, in what is meant as a complete diss, I am compared to Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. I've seen complete cartoons and photoshopped graphics created comparing me to these men.
Now, I don't agree with everything that those two men have said or done (just like I don't agree with everything my mother and wife have said or done), but I refuse to allow a comparison to them be a diss. They are both imperfect leaders who've given their lives to fighting for human rights in the United States and abroad.
More than ever, I have found that publicly supporting Rev. Al or Jesse Jackson isn't particularly popular with conservatives, who've pretty much hated their guts for decades, or radicals, who just don't find either one of them to be bold enough or connected enough to real people on the ground fighting for justice in places like Ferguson where T-shirts and hoodies are often preferred over suits and ties.
Before he was elected president, Barack Obama, who had been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, pastored by the Dr. Jeremiah Wright, was put in a position where he was basically asked to completely disavow himself from Dr. Wright and the church if he wanted to move forward in mainstream politics. Even today, I see people comparing me to him, as a form of a diss, but here's the thing—I have major respect for that man. As a student and young minister at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Dr. Wright was always one of my favorite preachers. I refuse to pigeonhole a man who has preached thousands of sermons into a Fox News sound byte. It's a shame that that ever happened with President Obama, because Dr. Wright played a real role in his development as a burgeoning leader in Chicago.
For most of the past few years, it has been nearly impossible to simultaneously be a public supporter of President Obama and Cornel West or Tavis Smiley, both of whome who've been rather constant critics of Obama for most of his presidency. Impressed by his personal dedication to young activists on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri, I've written several public tweets supporting Cornel West over the past month—only to have people write me privately and ask me how I could support someone who is so outspoken against the president. In essence, they were saying I couldn't support them both and maintain any real sense of intellectual honesty, but I disagree. I can love what I choose to love about our president and love what I choose to love about Cornel West without compromising my views in any way.
I couldn't say it better than Talib Kweli Green did last month in his essay defending Lauryn Hill as an artist and as a human being, but I so identified with everything he said there. Now that some people feel like she's taken wrong turns with her life and career, it's almost as if you have to apologize for liking her. I'm just not feeling it. For the little any of us ever gave her, she gave us way more in return.
Oprah Winfrey paid my way through Morehouse. The leadership scholarship that I received from her is why I have a college degree today. Five hundred other brothers have the exact same story. So, when conservative Christians send me random videos questioning her theology or commitment to the church in some lame attempt to get me to speak ill of her, I shrug it off. First off, this woman was an answer to my prayers when I didn't know how I was going to pay for college. In my mind, God used her to get me through a season of life where I needed that help. Secondly, I wish more Christians would be as persistently compassionate as she has been with 500 Morehouse Men and hundreds of young girls in South Africa. Even in the editing phase of my upcoming book, one of the editors questioned whether or not I should use a quote from her since conservative Christians who may buy my book could be turned off by that.
Kanye West is my favorite hip hop artist and has been since he dropped Through the Wire. I had just gone through a brutal car accident at the same time he dropped that track and it just connected with me in a personal way. Beyond being uber talented, the brother has made statements on controversial topics when many remained silent. Sometimes clumsy in his approach, I've always felt like you know exactly how Kanye West feels through his lyrics or his interviews. I'm just not one to jump off of a bandwagon when someone says or doesn't say what you think you'd say if you were them.
Just today I saw people criticizing me online because they think I have some deep connection to Van Jones or the attorney Benjamin Crump. I've never personally met either man, but admire and appreciate them both. Frankly, I don't even get how associating me with them is a diss. I'm just not going to play this game anymore. If people had to be perfect, or even great, to be lovable, none of us would be loved at all. Rarely are whites in power asked or expected to distance themselves from any public figures to prove their own legitimacy or worth in the world.
Flaws and all, I have love for Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, Cornel West, Tavis Smiley, Lauryn Hill, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, President Obama, Van Jones, and Benjamin Crump and you won't find me distancing myself from any of them. Period.