An Open Letter to Will Smith

[nattyreb]

via: Bro. Osayande!
Undaground RR X Press
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An Open Letter to Will Smith
by Ewuare X. Osayande

Recently, in response to the election of Barack Obama as
President of the United States, you were quoted in London'•˙s
Daily Express as stating, "It was as if some part of me was validated. It
was something that I've known for a long time that I couldn't really say: 'You
know guys, I really don't think America is a racist nation.' I know that I feel like that sometimes but I just don't
believe that. There are racist people who live there but I don't think America as a
whole is a racist nation. Before Obama won the presidency I wasn't allowed to
say that out loud because people would say: 'Oh yeah, of course for you, Mr
Hollywood!'"

As someone who is often referred to as the most famous actor
in the world, you must be aware of the power of your opinion and the influence
it can wield on the world stage. We live in a time when facts hold less weight
in the court of public opinion than unqualified, off-the-cuff remarks made by
celebrities.

Yes, we were all overcome with joy and utter jubilation as
we witnessed the election and inauguration of the first Black president of the United States of America.
It was truly the most historic event in our generation. But for us to now
profess that this one act was so compelling as to turn a country that owned and
sold Africans as slaves for almost one hundred years since it declared itself a
nation, that fought a Civil War to determine if it would keep them enslaved,
that then rendered them second-class citizens and sanctioned segregation and
the terrorism that came with it for another hundred years, and that spent the
last forty years fighting against their advancement through every sphere of
American life, into a nation that is not racist is a thing of fantasy â•„ like your
films. These historic and current events were not the actions of isolated white
supremacists. They were the government-sanctioned policy of the United States of America.
Why would you make such an irresponsible statement that only adds confusion to
an already frustrating issue that most people of color must contend with on a
daily basis?

The fact is that you could only make such remarks because
you have removed yourself both physically and psychologically from the everyday
reality faced by Black people and other people of color in this nation. World-famous
Black actors before you, such as Paul Robeson, Sidney Poitier, and Harry
Belafonte, couldn'•˙t separate themselves as easily due to the legislative and
social constraints of Jim Crow. But now, because of their struggle and the
blood sacrifice of Black people, you can and have separated yourself from the
very Black community that nurtured you and supported you, only to turn around
and make a statement that only works to soothe the guilt-ridden conscience of a
nation that continues to downplay its legacy of oppression and the toll that
legacy has taken on those of us who are Black, Brown and poor. To use the
platform bequeathed to you by the Civil Rights Movement to deny the legacy of
racism and its continued persistence amounts to a slap in the face to each and
every Black person that died and continues to die due to the reality of racism.
Your comments add insult to the injury of racism that most of us experience
each and every day.

When was the last time you visited your hometown of Philly?
We have a Black mayor here, our third in fact. Yet, racism is no less real now
than when white Gov. Rendell was sitting in city hall. Our cities are no less
segregated today than when George Wallace declared ╲segregation forever╡ from
the steps of the Alabama state house in 1963. The remedies for this social ill will take more than the
single act of electing a Black man to the nation'•˙s highest political office. It
will take a generation of acts to repair the more than a centuryâ•˙s worth of social
damage and degradation that the Black community has reaped in these United States.

What about the cop-killing of Oscar Grant in Oakland this past New
Yearâ•˙s Day? What about the kidnapping and torture of Megan Williams? What about
the acquittal of the officers that shot and killed Sean Bell? Jena 6? Katrina? These are just some of the
racist events that made national headlines. The list could easily go on. And
while we'•˙re at it, Will, last I checked, most Native Americans still reside on
reservations. Mexican immigrants are still being targeted for deportation while
the red carpet is laid out for European immigrants. Arabs and Muslims are still
being profiled at airports and stereotyped in the media.

Do you not realize that there are those of us still fighting
the racism of a country that continues to treat most of us as second-class
citizens, and that discriminates against us on the job, in the neighborhood, at
the banks, in the hospital, in the courts, in the schools? Do you not realize
that this is a country that continues to deny so many of us equal protection
under the law when we are lynched, terrorized, tortured, murdered and otherwise
mistreated or misrepresented? The election of Barack Obama hasnâ•˙t fundamentally
changed any of this. And as great a man as he now is, invested with the power
of his office, he, alone, canâ•˙t change it either. In fact, he is no less
threatened by that same reality himself! Why do you think he has the tightest security
detail of any president in U.S. history?

Your comments make a mockery of the self-determination of
our community against a nation that has throughout its history denied our very
citizenship and humanity. By denying the reality of racism, you also deny the
strength of character, the persistence of will, and the power of Black people
who have fought against it. Coincidentally, your comments also deny the very
audacity of hope that lit the match of Obamaâ•˙s own determination to be the president
in a United States that didnâ•˙t believe that a Black man could win.

Furthermore, your comments only work to falsely confirm the
conservative attitude that continues to hold sway in this nation. Your denial
of this country'•˙s racism doesn'•˙t challenge the status quo desires of certain
whites and wealthy people of color who are quite comfortable with things as
they are. Taken at face value, your remarks defend the racist proposition that any
problem Black people experience in this nation must be of our own making and
doing. America remains in denial as to the actual state of racial progress. Your comments only
work to rock this nation into a deeper slumber. If America is to be freed from its
racism, it must wake up to the work that is yet to be done. Otherwise, we all might
be in for a rude awakening.

No, Will, unlike the characters you portray in your films,
people of color in this country do not have the privilege or luxury to exist
without a walking awareness of race and what that means in a country that at any
given moment and without any warning can remind us of racism'•˙s truth in all its
cruelty and brutality. No, we cannot afford to pretend or play make-believe. In
our world the bullets are real as is the racism.

Just as racism still existed after slavery ended, and racism
still existed after Black people won the right to vote, so too racism still
exists, even after the election of the first Black president. You don'•˙t measure
progress by the exceptions. Rather, progress is measured by the rule. And the
rule for most Black people and other people of color in this nation and around
the world is that racism is all too real. The sooner this nation breaks out of
its denial and comes to terms with this truth, the sooner we will be able to
address it and do what it takes to eradicate it for good.

Ewuare X. Osayande (Home) is a political activist
and author of several books including Commemorating King: Speeches Honoring
the Civil Rights Movementand Misogyny
& the Emcee: Sex, Race & Hip Hop.
He is co-founder and director of POWER (People Organized Working to Eradicate
Racism). He can be reached at OsayandeSpeaks@hotmail.com.

[GoodTimes]

Nobody should take Will Smith seriously anyway.

[Sourakhata]

Each time I read or hear a prominent black entertainer giving his/her opinion or ill-analysis of the situation of our people, I say to myself we've reach an apex of stupidity & irresponsibility, no one can do better than this or that one.

But another one comes around and dumps even more aberrations than the previous enlightened celebrity, minimizing & insulting the sufferings of our people.

So why?

Sadly because they simply do not care about us, they don't give a f about us, they care about their status, as a matter of fact if they've been permitted by zionists to have acces to such a place in Amerikkkan oligarchy it's because they are harmless to them but harmful to us. It's also true in Europe.
'It takes an Indian to catch an Indian', the same goes for the Black Man.

We'd better stop looking up to entertainer since most of them are nothing but egocentric-megalomaniac-sellouts & massa bootlickers who 'trade their souls for riches' Will Smith included.

[SoularFlarez]

Originally Posted by GoodTimes

Nobody should take Will Smith seriously anyway.

EXACTLY !!!

most of the negroes 'they' push in front of a camera or microphone are Entertainers anyway. its all mind control anyway though. just look at commercials, they use ACTORS for most of them. aka people who make a living by lying, pretending to be people they're not. they dont know shit about the products they promoting. we just like their face and their make-believe 'character' to are pretending to be for alot of money. theres a few here n there who may have something relevant to say but for the most part im like sing, dance, bounce the ball and STFU. i was flipping thru the channels the other day and 106 & Pork on BET was haviing a 'black' history moment, about some athlete. i mean damn its bad enough they tell our story beginning with POW-status, slavery, genocide and oppression as if we just popped outta thin air 500 years ago with ol' boy Colombus. like our people arent the OLDEST and MOST ANCIENT people on this earth and we dont have people on the entire GLOBE. noooooooooo they only talk bout North America starting from the 1500's and on top of THAT they mostly biggin' up Entertainers instead of those teaching us to THINK (for ourselves). i mean i understand it, i just dont like the shit U feel me.

when these hollywood niggas(neCroes) use some of their collective MILLIONS if not BILLIONS of dollars to make their OWN movies, their OWN scripts, OWN directors OWN casts of their choosing and really flex some muscles then ill probly feel different. i prefer the straight 2 dvd people, at least they have more creative control and arent just high priced circus-lions drinking milk outta bottle with no fangs.

so to sum up my rant......i dont expect (most) ENTERTAINERS to say anything worth taking too seriously.....at least not in a positive way. but if/when they proove me wrong, THATS WASSUP !

[nattyreb]

i love a good rant, keep 'em coming!

Originally Posted by SoularFlarez

EXACTLY !!!

most of the negroes 'they' push in front of a camera or microphone are Entertainers anyway. its all mind control anyway though. just look at commercials, they use ACTORS for most of them. aka people who make a living by lying, pretending to be people they're not. they dont know shit about the products they promoting. we just like their face and their make-believe 'character' to are pretending to be for alot of money. theres a few here n there who may have something relevant to say but for the most part im like sing, dance, bounce the ball and STFU. i was flipping thru the channels the other day and 106 & Pork on BET was haviing a 'black' history moment, about some athlete. i mean damn its bad enough they tell our story beginning with POW-status, slavery, genocide and oppression as if we just popped outta thin air 500 years ago with ol' boy Colombus. like our people arent the OLDEST and MOST ANCIENT people on this earth and we dont have people on the entire GLOBE. noooooooooo they only talk bout North America starting from the 1500's and on top of THAT they mostly biggin' up Entertainers instead of those teaching us to THINK (for ourselves). i mean i understand it, i just dont like the shit U feel me.

when these hollywood niggas(neCroes) use some of their collective MILLIONS if not BILLIONS of dollars to make their OWN movies, their OWN scripts, OWN directors OWN casts of their choosing and really flex some muscles then ill probly feel different. i prefer the straight 2 dvd people, at least they have more creative control and arent just high priced circus-lions drinking milk outta bottle with no fangs.

so to sum up my rant......i dont expect (most) ENTERTAINERS to say anything worth taking too seriously.....at least not in a positive way. but if/when they proove me wrong, THATS WASSUP !