“Man, who are you writing these articles for? People are happy and African Americans don’t want to hear what you are talking about.” This question and statement has been put to me several times over the past decades or so in some form or fashion. This usually happens after someone has read an article or when I did the television show Being Frank with Frank after watching the show. The question came up again during the last few days of Black History Month. This time I actually listened to the inquiry and had to ask myself,
“Why do I write and seek to awaken black people who have become African Americans?” Hmm. Why do I write these pro-black, often viewed by many as negative, articles? Is it for the fame? Is it for the money? Is it for my enormous ego? Am I just an angry black man who is mad because everyone else has found a niche in the USA and I haven’t? Well let’s dissect my rationale and see where it leads us.
Do African Americans want to hear some of the things that come out of my laptop? Probably not. In honesty, many African Americans know many of the things I write are true. Why then don’t they grasp the concepts and become black? It is easier to roll with the flow in 2020. African Americans have always rolled with the flow, even though the tide has washed them over the side of the boat. My goal is to generate thought. I guess African Americans still remember how to think. Many African Americans are so inured and insinuated into the system they can’t stop oiling up the guillotine that is racing towards their necks. My goal is to let them know that the blade coming towards them is not a simple Bic shaver. Fame and money? Back when I was doing Being Frank with Frank I probably could have parleyed my talents into a job on television. It was never about the money or fame. What good is money if there is nothing worth buying? What good is fame if the people idolizing you are morons or sub-basic at best? I never could see myself charging black people for information that is theirs. Maybe one day I’ll put all the Being Frank articles into a book and publish it. Who knows? I still would be faced with the question, “Who would buy and read it?”
Is it my enormous ego? Yes, I have an ego. What intelligent person who is confident doesn’t? When it comes to pro-black topics and knowledge I put ego aside in pursuit of information. Yet, maybe the ego is the reason I bang out these articles and post on Instagram every once in awhile. I’d like to believe the ego kicks in because I know I have information that may help black people in some fashion.
Now why would I be an angry black man? Is it possible that I’m upset because I didn’t play pro sports? Or am I upset because I didn’t get the opportunity to lay face down on a casting couch? Not. Could it be that I am angry because I know black people are so much more than what they have allowed themselves to become? Maybe I’m angry that in 2020 African Americans still turn their children over to a racist education system to be programmed and the programmers are now black in skin tone? What about the fact that African Americans are still trying to integrate and assimilate with the people who have shown nothing but hatred for them?
The reason I write. I’m Black. I’m a black man who still has an inkling of what it is to be free in between the ears. I write because there is someone who may not agree with me in public but does in their heads. I write because I don’t want negroes to miss the better day they have been praying for. I AM therefore I write. Can you dig it?
Frank James IV © 2020 beingfrankwithfrank@gmail.com
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer and not of the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper or NCON Communication, its staff or management. “Being Frank” is a bi-weekly column exclusive to the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper.