For too many years to count there has been an attempt by African Americans to be treated as equal to white Americans. Over the years violence and other means have been used by both white and black Americans to avoid or achieve this equality. In 2024 equality is still a dream, but there is one reality that the USA has achieved between the two major races. African Americans and white Americans may not have achieved equality, but they have achieved sameness.
Some years ago I was at a gym working out and was talking to an attorney who was working out also. The attorney talked about how when he went to see his extended family in a rural area, they talked and acted like people in the inner city. I scoffed at the idea because as you may have guessed this attorney was white. Yet, in the last few years I have observed what this white man was talking about. The two races may not be identical twins, but they are definitely alike. No, I will say it plain and leave. The youth, and even middle-aged white and African American people in the USA are the same.
“You haven’t made everybody equal, you made them the same, and there’s a big difference.” That quote is from the movie Harrison Bergeron. If you take the time to look around the USA you will see this quote in full effect. If you happen to work in a school, you will definitely see this – the clothing, the way the students interact with each other. You will see similar mental health issues, even thought the skin tones of the people are drastically different. America was once known as the land of the free where the individual could prosper and be unique. Nowadays that concept has to be adjusted to the land of the same where the goal is to be like everyone else.
Sameness between the races, white and black, would not be so laughable if racism didn’t exist. If white people embraced African American people like African American people attempt to do them, this would truly be a perverse Utopia. The sameness that the US youth are indulging in would probably benefit the country and move the US forward. Instead, racism still permeates the minds of both races. African Americans are racist toward themselves and white people just do what has become natural for them while keeping the system going. It is like two people with similar features and origins denying what everyone around them can see. The white people and African Americans are ignoring the fact that they are the same. How can you be racist toward your mirror image?
Sameness has bled into every facet of society, especially music. The music that African Americans listen to is often listened to by all levels of white people. I was walking past a club that had a white crowd and the music coming out of the club was rap music more commonly known as trap music. The crowd consisted of early 20’s white people who looked and dressed like African Americans of the same age. If you looked past the white skin there was no difference in this crowd and an African American crowd. Well, there was one. The whites were not overly aggressive towards each other.
Look around you. Look at the youth that you see heading off to school. Look at TV and see how many of the shows have white and black actors that look, dress, and sound alike. Everyone wears hoodies, gym shoes, leggings, jeans or sleep pants. Slides, Crocs or some form of open shoe is a regular staple of white and African Americans. There is no difference in the appearance and even the mentality of African Americans and white Americans. There may never be equality in the USA, but there is sameness.
Frank James IV © 2024
beingfrankwithfrank@gmail.com
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer and not of the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper or HT Group, LLC, its staff or management. “Being Frank” is a bi-weekly column exclusive to the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper.
