LeRon Barton talks about what he fears—not for himself, but for the boys still coming up.
Someone recently asked me, “With all of the recent shootings of unarmed Black men, are you afraid?”I said, “No.” The person had a confused look on their face and asked “Why?” I then explained to him that I don’t fear death. I am not afraid of the inevitability of dying. I have seen many people die or go to prison, so I know that life comes day by day and that it can be squashed any minute. I am 36 years old, and the media said that I was likely to be dead at 25. Hell, growing up in the 90s in Southside Kansas City, shit was so outrageous and crazy you didn’t know if you would survive and make it to 21, so I am good. I do fear for my nephews, godsons, and little brother however.
I fear that my nephews, godsons, and little brother will grow up in a world that does not value Black life. A world that tells you that you are nothing and to quote David Banner, “If you make White America feel uncomfortable, they will kill you.” I fear that they will see that the police can and will murder them with impunity. I fear that they will walk around scared whenever a cop approaches them or flags down their car. I fear that because of the color of their skin, and no matter how they talk, dress, or act, the boys will be looked at as thugs, animals, or as Darren Wilson referred to Mike Brown, a demon.
I fear that my boys will become bitter and distrustful at the political system, like I did when I realized that our current president is a coward when addressing the problems of race in the country. Because of his, and others’ inept and late responses to police brutality as we are killed off one by one, I fear my boys will be apathetic and not care to vote or act.
I fear that my nephews, godsons, and little brother will become beat down by all of the racist propaganda that comes their way. I fear that hearing they are trash, shiftless, good for nothing, and criminals will wear them down and make them not want to aspire to greatness.
I fear that my boys will become victims of respectability politics, listening to Uncle Toms that tell them “Well if you pull your pants up, stop listening to rap music, and act a certain way, White people will leave you alone.” We all know this is not true, racism has affected the man in the three-piece suit the same way it has the young boy dressed in shorts and T-shirt. If another young man is killed unlawfully by the police, I don’t want them to turn around and say, “What about Black-on-Black crime?’
I fear that my nephews, godsons, and little brother will be become so outraged at the treatment they receive that they will not want to interact with White people. My boys will see them as one monolithic group and distance themselves from White people altogether. Every Black person at one time or another has felt this way. From the historical treatment to casual everyday racism, Black people may have thought, “All White people must be racist!” But if I would have kept this train of thought, then I wouldn’t have bonded with one of my great professors, my spiritual advisor, friends, and my ex-girlfriend.
Most of all, I fear that my boys will find themselves in a situation and become a victim of murder at the hands of the police. That their young lives be snuffed out before they truly begin. I fear that we will lose the next Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Gordon Parks, Steve Jobs, or Albert Einstein. I am scared that I will be having a late night bar conversation with a stranger saying, “He could have been an astronaut, a chemist, an author, an inventor, could have changed the world.” That is what I fear, that is what I am afraid of.
Photo—Mike Licht/Flickr
…. I’m enjoying this discussion. LeRon, you said “But it is challenging to say, “Okay, all these laws, movements, and events have been put in place to make it very hard for the Black man to succeed.” for one thing, I’m curious as to why you feel this way and more specifically what “events, laws” etc you may be referring to.
In my life, I’m exposed to virtually every socioeconomic group that ‘s out there. I struggle with this because I personally know many successful blacks. What is it that separates the successful from the non-successful?
Hi LeRon, thank you for responding. Obviously from my response to you regarding drug treatment, I’d not read the book but will more then likely purchase it some time in the future. I’d love to get into a discussion with you regarding the so called “drug culture.” Now, back to your earlier response. I hope that you don’t think that my reference to the “hippie” days was intended to compare it to racism. My intent was to simply highlight advice that was given to us by our elders as many elders now give to kids so that they can better… Read more »
LeRon, I just read your brief bio and I’m interested in knowing if you’ve been educated as to the changes in drug treatment programs. As I mentioned in my earlier response, some not so good things are happening. As you may already know that “mental health” is being given the same consideration as any other “medical” condition. On the surface this appears great, same life time maximums etc. But here is the catch …. the clients require proof of “medical need.” In the 15 years I’ve been working with adolescents in a residential setting, the “medical need” wasn’t a criteria… Read more »
Tom, I have not been educated in drug treatment. I wrote “Straight Dope: A 360 degree look into American drug culture” because I wanted to ask the question, “Why are drugs so prevalent in America?”
Curious, why do you see these people as “uncle Tom’s?” I fear that my boys will become victims of respectability politics, listening to Uncle Toms that tell them “Well if you pull your pants up, stop listening to rap music, and act a certain way, White people will leave you alone.” And it’s not a matter of “white people” leaving them alone, it’s a matter of all races leaving them alone including their own. I work in a residential treatment center where the majority of the clients are black. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it hundreds of times… Read more »
Tom, thank you for reading the article. When I speak of respectability politics, I mean Black men trying to make themselves less threatening and “weak” to make White people feel comfortable. Many of the older guard feel that in order to fit in or to be looked at as “Not one of them Black people y’all refer to” you have to look, act, and talk a certain way. That when talking about racism, you always talk down to Blacks that are not as economically successful or culturally forward as you are. Respectability politicians will say things such as, “Pull ya… Read more »
White America will never ever understand what Black people, especially Black men, go through! They have no idea what we Black men go through on a daily bases. I’m very observant with people. I watch very careful how whites react when im in their presence. I see how tightly they hold their purses and bags. It’s sometimes funny because last week I was riding the train home from work and I sat in back of this white man. He turned around and looked at me and them looked at his bags like I was going to take them. I see… Read more »
“I fear that my boys will become bitter and distrustful at the political system, like I did when I realized that our current president is a coward when addressing the problems of race in the country.”———– i don’t see any Mayors, City Councilpersons, Governors, State OR U.S. Congressional Leaders addressing these issues either…..
Folks like this author ae JOKE, demanding Obama to whBush and Cheney WERE- Tyrants, and not holdng Others below the Chain of Command Accountable
First off J. Crawford, thank you for reading the article.
Secondly, I feel that President Obama should be more aggressive and honest in talking about race in America. Whenever he talks about racism, he is always careful and not wanting to rock the boat. Well we need someone to rock the boat. And forgive me for wanting our Black president to address some Black issues instead of talking down to us.
Amen, my brother!! I agree with you man! Obama is afraid to address race and Black issues in this country because he’s afraid to rock the boat!
Thank you M.Everett!
Maybe you should reach out to Warren Farrell and other advocates who are trying to convince Obama to create a whitehouse cabinet level position on issues for men and boys just as he did for women and girls.
The way black boys/men and increasingly all boys/men are painted with one brush as dangerous rapists and thugs, and the heavy disdain for boys educational woes would be front and center.
After all, it is black BOYS who overwhelmingly face this role. It’s both anti-black and anti-male sentiment which drives this, or else black girls and women would be similarly afflicted.
Already on it John D and thank you for reading the article.
I enjoyed your article, my friend.
LeRon, This gave me goose bumps my friend and I hear you, you spoke well… with great insight and alarming clarity -thanks xxxxx