Campbell's Commentary - BLACK LIVES AND CARIBBEAN HERITAGE REIMAGINED

By Aubrey Campbell,

NEW YORK, NY. Tuesday, June 16, 2020 – Folks, I’m constantly reminded that every day above ground is another day in paradise. How nice!

And so, from that vantage point, I must single out the many organizations, associations, and individuals who are taking the time to remember and to salute the wonderful gains and the many trailblazing initiatives by Caribbean nationals to the social, economic and political goodwill of these United States.

Dr. Claire Nelson must be given her due for risking everything in bringing the plight of peoples from the Caribbean region, including her native Jamaica, into the corridors of power, in the nation’s capital, and forcing lawmakers to stop and take due notice.

There are those who were too quick to brush her off, saying that she was not playing with the right marbles or that the ‘elevator was not going all the way to the eleventh floor’.

SMH.

But alas, she has the last laugh, as evidenced by her calm, collected, and very poised demeanor via zoom, during the virtual launch for the month-long celebrations, last week. And a colorful head wrap, to boot!

Madam, your tireless advocacy and lobbying are properly and permanently framed in the United States of America House of Representatives (HR) Bill 425, with signatures of three, count them, three, presidents. So, celebrate on, lady!

June is turning out to be not just another month. COVID 19 is still raging, the Atlantic hurricane season is churning, mango season is ‘a-ripe-ing’ and you must pay attention to those who come bearing gifts and calling for your vote, without wanting to hear your voice.

Take the stimulus money. Done dem and run dem!

Their message is hidden in the acronym MAGA, but thanks to the pandemic, their evil intent, that of keeping their knees pressed against our necks, has now been exposed for the world to see!

Our lives matter and we will breathe again!

Here’s hoping that the event of May 25, in Minneapolis and the groundswell of support, will move us two steps forward in the fight for racial equality.

Goodness me, folks have been marching from before my time, but heaven knows, this time feels different, a difference that is pregnant with possibilities for success beyond defunding police departments!

To think that police officers continue to fire indiscriminately on young black men and women is beyond absurdity! Georgia again comes to mind!

I can’t help but conclude that the police have declared ‘mango season’ on America’s young black population, the ones jogging in the ‘hood, falling asleep at the wheel at the fast-food joint, hustling some loosies, hugging the street corner by the bodega, exposing their ass in public, living from the trunk of their designer-sports car!

Our young black men need to re.imagine and re.shape their purpose in this new dispensation. They need to understand that their lives matter, and not for others to now be risking everything, in doing so for them!

In other words, let’s turn the crises of insensitive policing and law enforcement into meaningful opportunities for equal rights and justice, not just for some but for everyone.

We welcome ground-breaking judicial appointments in Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey, involving two Jamaicans and a Haitian.

Here in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared victory for the protesting masses and is now urging discussion on reform, starting with the signing into law of a number of measures for greater law enforcement transparency.

At the same time and in the same token, we must be alert and vigilant of those leaders who feign ignorance while making a mockery of our history and culture.

Again folks, let’s not be fooled by the noise. Civil society needs law and order. The police are important and I will go as far as to say it, in this forum, in this space, that our young, black men need to turn from their wayward ways!

Speaking of mango season, a number of Jamaicans here in the city who know that I make other peoples’ business, my business, called to say that the mango market was nothing but a scam, as they were at the advertised location, at the crack of dawn, hoping to be the first online, only to be told that the mangoes were sold out, done!

I’m still investigating, something I hardly do!

In the meantime, you have the floor.

--oo—