So, the next question. Aunt Jemima, Robert E Lee statues, George Washington, John Wayne, Masters golf tournament, Master bedrooms; are we are seeing racism everywhere? What’s your take?

H: Symbols of Oppression. I went to Woodrow Wilson middle school. There was never any mention of the man in the school. No plaque explaining who he was. No reminder of the great things he did to inspire us to be good students. So, obviously the man wasn’t that important at the time I attended the school. Today, I googled Woodrow Wilson and I found an article entitled “The Worst President Ever, That Title Belongs To Woodrow Wilson”. Now, do you want to send your kid to that school? 

Conversely, I met a kid who attended Paul Robeson high school in Crown Heights and she had no idea who he is. It was infuriating. They must not celebrate black history month at that school.

I never understood why there were Confederate statues in the south. You may be proud of your southern heritage, but the Confederates also lost.  Generally speaking we only erect statues to people who are winners or people who made major contributions to society. For that reason there are no statues of Hitler in Germany. They don’t want to antagonize the people whose ancestors suffered under his leadership. And given the time period that most of these Confederate statues were erected I would say that what they really represent is a state’s desire and or willingness to openly antagonize a segment its own citizenry. Which is crazy because it keeps the South in the context of yesterday where their idea lost a war. To me, it spells out sore losers. No second place team ever got a statue. 

The names of these buildings, military bases and statues can stay or go. Mostly go. But whether or not they stay or go isn’t a big issue for me. What is an issue is that if we bring these historic figures up, we have to put them in full context. Who are these people and what did they do truthfully?  If you like them so much, create something that tells us who these people are in full detail. Not just the stuff you like, but all of it. 

The same thing applies to products, events, inventions. Let’s have full disclosure. For example, Jack Daniels didn’t create the whisky, Uncle Nearest did. Jack Daniels took Uncle Nearest’s recipe and made billions because he had no rights. Uncle Nearest’s family never benefits from his creation. Jack Daniels is an American icon. Black people can tell you story after story like this and white people will claim they never knew. Well, black people aren’t buying your claims of ignorance. 

Black people have been creating bits and pieces of America since we were brought here. However, white people stole the credit and the wealth that comes along with those creations and claimed them as their own, while simultaneously portraying black people as lazy, stupid and mischievous criminals prone to violence and sexual misconduct. I would wager that the average black person doesn’t care about the statues and stuff. They want their ancestor’s money. 

Some of my relatives left the south because they were threatened with violence due to their successful agricultural business and land ownership. Because of those incidents many members of my family actually prefer a more segregated south because it prevents white people from stealing their intellectual property and causing trouble. One of the first things my family in the south will tell you is “You don’t want white folk in your business”. Turn around twice and they’ll own it and you’ll be broke. 

Therein lies the grudge. Forget statues. We want our money.

D: Yeah, it’s about money. From the very beginning, and until the end.

There’s been a lot of nice words from companies and lots of money donated to causes. I hope that money makes it into the pockets of Black Americans, and not pay white people who are running the funds to help. The money needs to make it into the community that needs it.

I see a lot of conversation about the icons of racism that surround us. John Wayne Airport. How could you name an airport after that man after knowing his beliefs? The Masters golf tournament? The Master bedroom? Are we digging down a rabbit hole that leads us nowhere? Is this a distraction to the real issue? Is this political correctness run amok? Many of my social media friends think so.

There are some statues and buildings that obviously should be addressed. I like the idea of plaques that tell the whole story. But what about George Washington? You grow up and he is presented as a hero of the nation. The nation’s capital is named after a slave owner.

Think about that for a second.

The NBA forced the owner of the LA Clippers to sell his team because he was a racist.

We have our country’s defining city named after a slave owner. Now there has been some history written that says Washington was a generally kind slave owner. (Yes, that is how it was described in a book.) It has been documented that he did not feel comfortable owning slaves. But we’re doing a lot of revisionism here, if we don’t confront the reality of owning another human being. How could anyone at any time think that was right?

So what do you do? Do you change the name of the Washington, DC as if it were a package of pancake mix?You need to tell the entire story, honestly and candidly.

All this changes how you view your country, and the moral high road isn’t a place where we’re the only ones with an E-ZPass.That may be ultimately the first step to real and positive change.

Broken. 

Desperate. 

Angry.

Hopeful. 

Willing.

Determined.

Howard and David are two friends talking (and listening).

We’ll see where the conversation takes us.