Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
I know we avoid talking about Kanye as much as possible, but in the days before he became what he is now, he put out some good music and had some good quotes.
One of those quotes came from his song “All Falls Down,” which featured Syleena Johnson and appeared on his first album “The College Dropout.”
The quote says, “Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coupe,” and I always found that quote to be a perfect encapsulation of how (some) white people see us.
There are so many people who believe respectability politics will save us from the negative opinions of (some) white people, and I like to remind those people that Martin Luther King Jr. wore a suit and tie every single day, and they still hated him, and they still killed him.
No matter our achievements, no matter the amount of money we have, no matter the friends we keep, there are (some) white people who will always feel like they are “better” than us and who will believe it’s their job to put us in our place.
Let me tell you a story about how white people unnecessarily policing the actions of Black people has led to a lawsuit that I hope the white people lose.
In September 2022, Dr. Yves Duroseau — who is the chair of the Department of Medicine at Forest Hills Hospital in Manhattan and also the first physician in the U.S. to take the COVID vaccine — and his wife Claude, who is a designer, hosted a surprise party for Duroseau’s…
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