I previously announced my big move to the Great White North after Trump won the 2016 election. However, I didn’t delve much into one of the main drivers behind my move — my experience as a person of color in the United States and the general state of race relations in the country. In this diary, I will explain why I made the extraordinary decision to move to Canada. The diary is a bit long; I apologize in advance. However, I hope you read to the end to get my full perspective. Thanks…
Before I dive into my argument, let me just say that the United States — probably more than anywhere else in the world — offers some of the best opportunities to become wildly successful if you are black. It's a country that has made possible phenomenal black success stories like Oprah Winfrey and the Obamas, not to mention Michael Jordan who now ranks on Forbes' "World Billionaires" list; plus myriad super rich black celebrities in the sports and entertainment arena: from Sean "P. Diddy" Combs to power couples like Jay-Z and Beyoncé in the music business, to the talented actor/director/play-write/producer Tyler Perry, to the gifted basketballer Lebron James, to the seemingly unbeatable boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather — each boasting a net worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars respectively.
It's incontrovertible that America has a lot to offer if you are black and gifted in one way or another. It's truly a country of opportunity and possibilities in that regard. But what about the plight of the average black man/woman in America? Unfortunately, the reality is far less rosy, because whereas America showers its black superstars with fame and riches it can be a harsh society for the everyday person of color on the street. This is due, in large part, to an entrenched culture of racism that America has yet to come to terms with. Now I know some people will gripe as soon as they see the 'r' word, but it's not something that I use lightly. As a critical thinker, I prefer to focus on the facts on any given issue. In the case of race relations in America, the facts speak loudly and clearly:
The recent incident at the Starbucks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where the white store manager called the police on two black guys for doing what regular people do in Starbucks every day all over the world is just one of many incidents in recent memory where black people have been criminalized in America for simply just living. Fortunately, the cops did not automatically shoot these two gentlemen on arrival at the scene this time which would have added them to a long list of unarmed black men unjustly killed by law enforcement officers over the years.
Invariably, many within America's white majority find excuses to justify the mistreatment of black people. Even where the black victim is at no apparent fault, they come up with a rational as to why they think the black victim deserved to be mistreated... or worse yet killed. Another recent incident that made me upset was the attempted murder of a black teenage student in Michigan who missed the bus to school, got lost along the way, and stopped to ask for directions in a white neighborhood. Instead of trying to help the child, the white homeowner whom he asked for directions immediately opened fire at him with a shotgun. The incident itself was bad enough, but it was seeing the hateful and openly racist comments directed at this innocent student by white Americans online (on "mainstream" sites like Fox News and Yahoo News) that truly made me sick to my stomach. In these people’s minds there is no presumption of innocence or constitutional protections for you if you are black - you deserve to be executed on the spot, no questions asked, no matter how harmless you are. This is America's racist underbelly on full display at its very worst.
At the heart of this racist hatred is an irrational fear of black bodies among many in White America. This fosters an environment where people of color are often denied their constitutional rights and presumed to be guilty until proven innocent. Consequently, black lives have become disposable to a certain degree in America - which is why it's been nearly impossible to hold anyone accountable in many of these unjust killings of people of color.
A recurring rationalization that I've seen some whites use online (I guess people tend to be more honest on the internet due to the sense of anonymity) to justify their racist beliefs or practices is the idea that black people in America commit a disproportionate number of crime relative to their size in the US population, hence white America has good reason to be fearful of them.
There are some big logical flaws with that rationalization. Firstly, while there is a valid argument to be made concerning crime and violence in some parts of the black community, it is mostly concentrated in certain areas of the inner cities and almost exclusively black-on-black crime. The average black person, who stays out of trouble, is rarely exposed to this much less the average white who tends to live a different world altogether in America's still highly segregated society. Secondly, while white Americans love to point to "black-on-black" crime when they want to deflect from arguments on racism and police brutality, they conveniently omit the fact that there is a phenomenon called white-on-white crime as well. According to crime statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the overwhelming majority of white homicides in the United States are perpetrated by other whites. In fact, over the last two decades, white-on-white homicides have averaged well over 80% each year in the US, peaking at around 84% on a number of occasions. The simple fact of the matter is, homicide victims tend to be killed by people of their own race. White Americans have far more to fear from their own kind than the mythical black boogeyman that they've dreamed up. I won't even touch on the fact that the vast majority of serial killings and mass shootings in America have been carried out by white males.
The most devastating aspect of racism in America for people of color is the fact that it robs us of our individuality and our humanity. Essentially, what this means is that the very worst is often assumed about us based solely on our skin color, and we are seldom given the benefit of a doubt based on our uniqueness as individuals. This is why the cops are so quick to shoot to kill unarmed black men, even when they have complied with their orders or pose no realistic threat to them; and why white America is so quick to absolve the cops of any wrongdoing in these incidents. This is why 17 year old Trayvon Martin was stalked and murdered in Sanford, Florida after going to the store to buy a bag of Skittles and Arizona iced tea because a neighborhood watch volunteer and wanna be cop, George Zimmerman, thought his blackness and the fact that he was wearing a hoodie precluded him from been in that area and presumed that he was a thug about to commit a crime; and why white America bought into that and acquitted Zimmerman for the murder. This is why 12 year old Tamir Rice was immediately shot and killed by the police at a park in Cleveland, Ohio because a white bystander thought a black child playing with a toy gun was a threat to the public; this is why another black man, John Crawford III, was shot and killed by the cops inside a Walmart near Dayton, Ohio because he had picked up a toy BB gun inside the store to buy and a white shopper felt threatened seeing a black man with a toy BB gun. In both cases, the predominantly white grand juries declined to indict the cops for the killings because, in their view, black lives are disposable and not deserving of full constitutional protections.
Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, John Crawford and so many others were summarily denied their individuality and immediately judged to be a threat on the basis of their skin color; this ultimately cost them their lives. This is the reality that black people have to live with in America. There is an ever present burden on our shoulders to prove to society that we are not a threat, or we run the risk of been killed unjustly due to the irrational fears of some white Americans. We are not even allowed to ask for help as humans when tragedy strikes as some whites find even that to be threatening. Such was the case of 19-year-old Renisha McBride, who after crashing her car and was bloodied and disoriented, stumbled to a house and knocked on the door for help, but was shot point blank in the face by the white homeowner who answered the door. So the accident may not have killed her, but American style racism completed the job.
White people in America, especially white males, are capable of unbelievable violence but they are never judged on that; they are always treated as individuals by society. This is how many of these mass shootings happen in the US because white males are generally given the benefit of a doubt by society and they can often put themselves into position to cause the most harm. The Las Vegas shooter, Stephen Paddock, somehow managed to amass an arsenal of 23 guns in his hotel suite, without raising any suspicion, before executing the deadliest mass shooting in US history. Even when white males are caught after committing horrific crimes they are still treated as humans. Dylann Roof, after massacring 9 black church goers in Charleston, South Carolina was treated with kid gloves upon his arrest and even taken to Burger King because the white cops choose to respect him as an individual and a human unlike the long list of unarmed black men who are summarily executed at the scene for not even committing a crime.
When people ask me why I would choose to move to Canada when America has so much to offer, the way I respond is the following: "If white people can move to the suburbs to avoid what they believe are dangerous black people in the inner cities, then I certainly can move to Canada to avoid dangerous and irrational white people who threaten my life in America. As an educated black man, I have a choice."
If there is ever a country that gets race relations right, it's Canada. With one of the most multicultural societies in the world, anyone of any background is made to feel at home here in the Great White North. There is no hardened anti-black, anti-immigrant, or anti-Muslim sentiment here like you find across the US. I'm not saying racism is nonexistent in Canada, but I've been living in Toronto for almost a year now and I've never once experienced any of the overt or covert instances of racism that I've personally experienced in the United States.
No matter your background, you are generally treated as an individual and a human in Canada. That's one of the reasons why you never see black people protesting police brutality in Canada, because it just never happens. Also, mass shootings are pretty much non-existent here because it's a country that has sensible gun laws - but that's a topic I'd rather delve into with another post.
Canada embraces its diversity as a strength, as opposed to resisting it as a weakness and liability as is the case in many parts of the US. In fact, preserving its diversity through a 'cultural mosaic' is part of official government policy here. Embracing multiculturalism has had no detrimental effects on Canada. It remains one of the most peaceful and stable democracies in the world; and as a highly developed country, it consistently outranks the US in quality of life metrics across the board.
Yes you can become wildly successful as a black man or woman in America, but that usually requires you to be extraordinary in some way or another. The plight of the average black man on the street is more concerning to me. The true test of a society is how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable members - usually those who are minorities within its population. I do not feel safe as an average black man in America because the color of my skin, coupled with the irrational fear that many whites have of black people can easily get me killed with no justice. Why do I have to be extraordinary like Oprah Winfrey to have my individuality or humanity respected as a person of color in America? Sometimes even when you are extraordinary, you still don't get any respect as a black person in America as we saw with the racist vitriol directed towards the highly educated Obamas that went well beyond regular politics.
I don't need anything special from America. All I'm asking for is to be respected as an individual and a human. Don't assume the worst about me because of my skin color. I don't want to have to walk around everyday with the burden of having to prove that I'm not a threat while hoping that someone's irrational fear of black people doesn't cause me harm or get me killed. It's draining and debilitating.
America's constitution is predicated upon the concept that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with unalienable rights including: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Ironically, Canada is the place where I have come to truly enjoy those freedoms as a black man. I do love the idea of the United States as presented in the constitution; and I believe America has one of the most beautiful constitutions of any country in the world. However, too many people in America do not believe in or respect the values and principles presented in the US constitution. Ultimately, this poses a threat to me as a minority.
As an educated black man, I know my worth. I have to do what's in my best interest. This is why I have decided to make the Great White North my permanent home. I don't care how many hoops I have to jump through, I won't stop until I become a Canadian 🇨🇦
Thanks for your time and attention in reading this long post.
Kind regards,
Liberated Black Man
P.s. originally posted on my Facebook wall.
