From time to time, there comes along a certain crop of Black entertainers, athletes, musicians, and celebrities that manage to rise up out of the muck of the ghettos they once resided in and make it big in the world. They amass wealth and popularity that sometimes allow them to forget about the “little people” from whence they came. In certain cases, these celebrities rise so high that they look down upon their own people. Names like O.J. Simpson, Bill Cosby, and Clarence Thomas come to mind.
Remember Bill Cosby thought he had risen above his people and went on a nationwide rant about what Black people should be doing? He was haughty in his approach as he rained fire and brimstone from stages across the nation. According to him, in so many words, white people wouldn’t treat Black people so bad if they just behaved. What happened to Bill Cosby? He received a Negro Wake Up Call as he has been reduced to a sad caricature of a powerful Hollywood player as he hobbles in and out of court to face rape charges levied against him by a slew of white women. Hey, maybe if we wouldn’t have sagged his pants, then he wouldn’t be in so much trouble.
Just a few months ago, rapper Kevin Gates held the opinion that Black Lives didn’t matter because ALLLLL lives matter. He said that the BLM movement was hypocritical because no one complains about Black-on-Black crime. (Ironically, according to the latest stats, White-on-White crime is higher than Black-on-Black crime.) According to him, when he treated officers (the system) with respect, they in turn, treated him with respect. Last week, the same system that Kevin Gates respects so much just handed him six months in jail for (allegedly) defending himself by kicking a concertgoer that touched his genitals while he was performing. By contrast, Brock Turner, the white swimmer from Stanford who raped an unconscious woman, only served 3 months in jail for his rape. I wonder if Kevin Gates still think ALL lives matter, or does he understand what the intent of the BLM campaign is now that he got his Negro Wake Up Call?
This week, Lil Wayne continued his campaign of hypocritical ignorance when video surfaced of him on Nightline expressing his thoughts on the BLM movement. According to him, he is a young, Black, rich Muth****** so that’s proof that Black Lives Matter – especially to his b******. No one ever accused Weezy of being the most conscious crayon in the box, but this level of blissful ignorance of today’s social climate reeks on a whole ‘nother level. Is he serious, or is he coonin’? Only time will tell. Apparently, his negro wake up call that sent him to Rikers wasn’t strong enough. Stay tuned, history has a way of repeating itself if you don’t learn the lesson the first time.
History has shown Black people that caped for other races at the expense of their own that sooner than later an event will occur in their lives that will remind them that the establishment lumps Blacks in the same category – regardless of status. That incident is called the Negro Wake Up Call. With an election just around the corner – and neither candidate promising any substantive improvement for Blacks – we must understand that we all are one. If we get confused and forget that, don’t worry, a negro wake up call is just around the corner.
Read about Kevin Gates’ sentencing here.
