Black History: Where Are We?

I walk through downtown Boston, watching cars noisily bustle through green lights and people scamper to and fro, cycling through life's daily errands, when a group of three black teenage boys catch my eye. They where baggy jeans and XXL jerseys, sporting the number and name of current iconic athletes - Vick, LeBron, LT. Doo-rags, piercings and tattoos are the ornaments they have placed on their bodies, just as the words of Tupac and Biggie, Dre and Nas, Jay-Z and Snoop decorate their minds. One of them starts beatboxing and another joins in, as the third starts rapping, the history of hip-hop - its gangsterism, its social cry, its violence and degradation, its hope - obvious in his words, his style and his flow. When he finishes, the others comment; "That's real man, that's hot, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout." What they mean to say is, "That's black."

And I think to myself, is this where black history has led us?

I order a grande white chocolate macchiato at Starbucks, overjoyed at the prospect of lapping up this little treat I am giving myself, as a black woman bursts through the door, a fusion of energy, fire and determination. She wears a tailor-made dark suit with light pinstripes, cut to loosely fit her body, so that everyone knows she is still an attractive, feminine woman but are also firmly aware that she means business. She walks with strength and purpose, orders a latte with the ease of someone who has been ordering the same drink for years and calls her secretary regarding a conference call. I can not help but imagine what her private or, even unconscious, thoughts may be; I am part of the most handicapped group in American society - black women - and yet most everyone in this room gives me, at the very least, the impression of respect. I have made it to the top. I have achieved my potential both as a woman and as a black person. I don't know if this is really what is running through her mind; but it very well could be.

And I think to myself, is this where black history has led us?