In Response To An Anonymous Comment On The Site

By Brandon Whitney

I’m writing this under the assumption that you read what I have written honestly, and while you may have bias’s as we all do, you are open minded and genuinely want to understand my mindset. I believe that to be the case, even though I was taken aback by your interpretation of my writings.

The African American community has a disproportionally large number of impoverished, murdered, and high school failure rates. Rather than ask for charity I act and encourage others to do so as well that is where the resolutions came from. It is not out of a sense of Black separatism or superiority, but rather a belief that one should fix one’s own problems to the extent that one is able. This is, keep in mind, me viewing the African American community as a culture unique to the United States rather than as just a “race” which I think cheapens the community that developed within the United States as a result of being separated by Jim Crow and slavery. Now one could argue that African Americans should aggressively assimilate so that differences between them and mainstream society evaporate, but as both the majority culture of the United States and African American culture evolved simultaneously, to automatically try and eliminate African American culture for expediency would be admitting that I thought the culture of my parents and grandparents is inferior, which I do not.

Secondly, the aggressive deregulation of our economy did not begin with Bush, but it was intensified under his administration. The current economic crisis is the result of the change in bankruptcy laws which were passed by a Republican congress and Bush. Alan Greenspan’s hand off policy towards the economy was embraced by Bush which is a part of the current crisis. Bush chose to place industry insiders over the SEC whose job it was to regulate the industry. Bush, and the Republican congress, cut funding to environmental and regulating agencies. Bush regularly passed executive orders that assisted him in deregulation. These are just a few of the problems with his approach to the economy. I won’t even bother going into Guantanamo, Iraq, and Bush’s foreign policy as it would be redundant considering how much material exists on his failings, that even his party admits to.

As for being a racist, I don’t hate White people. Most humans are good people, regardless of race. I’m as proud to be African American as an Irish-American is of his heritage, and a Italian-American is of their heritage, and I won’t apologize for that. I see problems in my community, and I see many positive aspects as well. I think the problem is that you may be seeing this as a zero-sum game, either African Americans do well or Whites do, this is not the case. The improvement of the African American community is good for all Americans regardless of race and ethnicity. If African American businesses do well, than the American economy does well. In addition, as an African American, it bothers me when the false choice between success and culture presents itself. The existence of African American culture is not a detriment to the nation, it is a benefit. The music of our nation, including country music, is rooted in the African American community. Much of the language that is used is rooted in the community as well. Many inventions and innovations originate in the African American community and we are over represented in the nation’s military. We are a net benefit to the nation, and our success is the success of America. So no, I am not racist. I am not a Black supremacist either, we aren’t better than any other group of humans. We are human however, and I won’t’ apologize for working towards greater success in the community.

Brandon Whitney is the creator of Homelandcolors.blogspot.com a blog that focuses on issues that affect the African American community. He is also a frequent guest on News and Notes’ Blogger Roundtable. Brandon has political experience as an Outreach Director for the Democratic party and is passionate about being a positive force in his community regarding African American issues.  He is also a frequent guest on News and Notes’ Blogger Roundtable. You can read more of Brandon’s work at Homeland Colors.