There Is Only One Race… The Human Race
by Denaro Fair
Many people are quick to judge us. We’re ghetto, we are this, and we are that. Well, here are a few perspectives from a black man who was born and raised in a hood that really can’t get much worse than mine in the North End of Detroit. (Shout out to all my Endians 💪🏽🔥)
When you take a race of people, then beat, rape, kill, mutilate, and enslave them in a foreign country, and make them lose all sense of who they truly are as a people, there are psychological traumas of cycles of violence that are passed from generation to generation that have never been addressed. These are deep-seated things that have major impact.
Then, you allow us freedom, but we are a broken people without resources, proper education in financial literacy, grammar, and so many things you take for granted. I was taught we go to the sto, not the store, nothing about a credit score at all, you solve a problem with someone using your fist, and selling drugs is the most common job, so it’s not looked upon as a crime, but as a normal way of life. We end up in the poorest urban area, ostracized from anyone who may know a better way, so we make our way with what we have, right or wrong! The cycle continues.
Now, the people of a different color in our own country pass judgment on us from the behavior that has been instilled in us from their very own ancestors! Of course, it’s not viewed like this.
I’m not saying it’s not possible to break this, cause here I am, a Black man being what some might deem as successful in life. I was blessed and lucky enough to end up in the military, be able to move away, and get a clearer view of the world. My family and friends weren’t so fortunate.
If you give our men and women resources and education, I can guarantee that we will excel to the highest levels because, even now with all of the barriers, some of us still are able to succeed. However, these cases are not the majority. It’s not always so possible for everyone.
Before you go labeling us ghetto and this and that, take a second and think about how many tools you had, and how you grew up always having heat and running water. Think about how you’ve never had to turn the lights on to see roaches scattering everywhere. Think about all the activities you had access to growing up versus us, playing football in abandoned lots, or crate basketball in an alley with glass and trash. Think about all the positive influences in your life.
How about white folks return to rural areas to bring businesses, role models, and a better way for us to live? Allow us the same opportunity as you.
I understand it may be hard for you to comprehend this. Just try. Remember when you’d race when you were younger and sometimes you’d get a head start? Well, let’s all line up and live this life together.
What makes my perspective so broad is that I’ve been in the trenches with my people, but I made it out, started a business, and learned violence doesn’t make you real. I know how the change happens, but we can’t take a whole city of people and put them somewhere else. We have to turn the things I was exposed to into something better! That’s the answer!
There is only one race: The human race.
