Muhammad Ali
Now that some time has passed since the passing of the great Muhammad Ali I wanted to take a moment and put into words what he meant to myself, my community & a whole generation of young black men like myself. He was know as the greatest. But he was the greatest not because of just his elite boxing skills he displayed inside the ring but the confidence, cockyness & self-love he displayed outside the ring. I am to young to even have seen Ali box live. So other than video footage of old fights the only Ali I know is the man outside the ring. A truly great man indeed. He taught us that it was ok to have a voice and stand up to injustice against our people and our community. With some of the injustices our communities are facing today his words and what he stood for rings true more now than ever. Speaking of the issues of today, I hear a lot of people acknowledge that there is a problem but they dont have the answers. If you don't have the answers at least be open to others suggestions. Here are some of my thoughts....
1. We as a black community have to stop calling the police on each other for things that dont warrent them being called and then something tragic ends up happening.
2. We as a country must acknowledge as a whole that there is a problem with police officers killing black men then the issue can be addressed and a resolution worked on.
3. When the police are called to black/urban communities why not send two officers with at least one that looks like the people of that community he is called to police.
I would hope a cop would be less likely to shoot a suspect with a partner that looks just like the suspect right beside him unless the situation warranted it. But I could be wrong.
4. The athletes,actors,politicians, & "people of power" with a voice and the resources who acknowledge a problem and want to make a difference have to realize change wont happen over night. Come together use these resources to invoke change at the grass roots level. Start programs in the community that education & fund our kids to become judges, lawyers, DAs, prosecutors, politicians and law enforcement officers so we can have people that are being accused that look like them on the other side if the law.
Muhammad Ali taught us self-love but we must realize self-love isn't just love for ourselves but love for everyone that looks like us and are victims of the same struggle.
Now that some time has passed since the passing of the great Muhammad Ali I wanted to take a moment and put into words what he meant to myself, my community & a whole generation of young black men like myself. He was know as the greatest. But he was the greatest not because of just his elite boxing skills he displayed inside the ring but the confidence, cockyness & self-love he displayed outside the ring. I am to young to even have seen Ali box live. So other than video footage of old fights the only Ali I know is the man outside the ring. A truly great man indeed. He taught us that it was ok to have a voice and stand up to injustice against our people and our community. With some of the injustices our communities are facing today his words and what he stood for rings true more now than ever. Speaking of the issues of today, I hear a lot of people acknowledge that there is a problem but they dont have the answers. If you don't have the answers at least be open to others suggestions. Here are some of my thoughts....
1. We as a black community have to stop calling the police on each other for things that dont warrent them being called and then something tragic ends up happening.
2. We as a country must acknowledge as a whole that there is a problem with police officers killing black men then the issue can be addressed and a resolution worked on.
3. When the police are called to black/urban communities why not send two officers with at least one that looks like the people of that community he is called to police.
I would hope a cop would be less likely to shoot a suspect with a partner that looks just like the suspect right beside him unless the situation warranted it. But I could be wrong.
4. The athletes,actors,politicians, & "people of power" with a voice and the resources who acknowledge a problem and want to make a difference have to realize change wont happen over night. Come together use these resources to invoke change at the grass roots level. Start programs in the community that education & fund our kids to become judges, lawyers, DAs, prosecutors, politicians and law enforcement officers so we can have people that are being accused that look like them on the other side if the law.
Muhammad Ali taught us self-love but we must realize self-love isn't just love for ourselves but love for everyone that looks like us and are victims of the same struggle.
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