The Painful Yet Inevitable Transition From An OG to an Orange

Photo: Twitter

Right now, we're in limbo. After the disgusting display of white nationalism and neo-nazism in Charlottesville along with the onset of KKK rallies, there is no certainty on what's next. We thought we'd just about seen it all with Dylann Roof's terror, Trump's campaign constructed on racism, and the blatant disregard for Black and Brown lives, yet here we are. It's 2017, but some would prefer if this were 1717 and minorities and women were on the outskirts of society. Being both a minority and a woman, this affects me on two fronts - the compounding of racism and sexism.

Just a week ago, I was returning to school and flew into Atlanta. As I touched down in the peach state, I saw two things that grabbed my attention - a MAGA hat and an NYPD shirt...together. That was a sight to see, but the wearer was quick to his next destination (probably for fear of backlash). After what happened in Charlottesville, there needs to be some backlash. If you choose to wear that hat, be prepared to deal with the repercussions. Free speech does not exist to protect racists; it is made for us to fight back against racism. For an extended period of time, racism was openly treated like a norm and it will be a cold day in Hell before we let that happen again.

Photo: ABC News.

This picture hits on so many points. We knew we were in for a ride when it was announced that Trump would be the next POTUS. See, the thing with liberation is that it upsets the structure that has been put into place to benefit a small minority rather an overwhelming majority. During Obama's presidency, we saw measurable social changes. For one, there was a rise in (new) Black consciousness. It seems that having a leader who looked like us made us feel like anything was possible. However, it takes more than that.

If anything, Obama was a starting point when it comes to Black liberation. We still have to make conscious efforts to reclaim our time, our buying power, and our worth. Obama wasn't perfect, as no President is, but I feel that we got complacent. We saw a Black man in the White House and maybe thought that was enough for us. It's not. The handful of years we've been technically "free" do little to wipe away the centuries of degradation, which brings us to someone's 45th President (not mine).

As many have pointed out, Donald Trump is the white reaction to Barack Obama. Their fears were heightened when a well-spoken Black man whose mother was white made it to the White House and started trying to give us rights. "How dare he," probably thought Becky in West Virginia who likely benefited from Obamacare as much as the rest of the working population and other social programs.

Photo: Twitter.

I think it's mad how much support Trump got. Like many before him, he manipulated the concept of race to work in his favor, which is just what his donors wanted. Now, he has the opportunity to undo everything Obama did, though it won't be without a fight. This was bound to happen because you don't build a system of oppression that can be deconstructed within 8 years.

Nonetheless, the life cycle of that system is getting slimmer and slimmer as people wake TF up, especially Black people. All credit goes to Sam Cooke when I say a change gon' come and it may been sooner than we think. As cabinet members drop out like flies and confederate statues get removed and white privilege gets checked and Kim K finally exposes herself, I laugh in Black Power because this is the day that the Lord hath made and it's a great day to be melanated.