Todays Black Activist!

It’s no secret that Black people in America have had a tremulous relationship with the Government and “Authority” figures altogether. From being beaten for speaking our native languages, being stripped from our original cultures and religions, to Black women being raped by slave masters to produce more slaves and separating us from our family and children, we have constantly been under attack and hunted by slave catchers- which now translates to the police. 

We have always needed  speakers and allies. Even before the Jim Crow Era, we had people like Ida B. Wells writing about the illegality of lynchings. Although it’s a fact that we will never have a leader like Malcolm X again or the original principles, codes, and togetherness like the Black Panthers, we still have a number of activists today. Some of them have even been elected into Congress and have forced policy changes. The rest are keeping their ears to the street and making sure we stay aware of injustices everywhere.

Tamika D. Mallory is a major player in the Activist forums. If you didn’t know who she was before George Floyd’s murder, you found out who she was after she famously addressed America and stated “You (America) are the looters, we learned violent behavior from you all! We are not responsible for the mental illness that America has inflicted upon Black people!” That was a powerful and true statement. I think she shocked tons of people with that statement because she said what we all think, feel, and know is true!

Recently, Tamika Mallory appeared on The Grammy Awards show and Love and Hip Hop- both in the name of the cause. However, everyone wasn’t pleased with these forms of publicity. Samaria Rice, the Mother of Tamir Rice (whom was murdered by a Police Officer in Ohio), took to Facebook to discuss her disdain of Mallory’s actions. In fact, Samaria was disgusted with both Ben Crump and Tamika Mallory’s “help” during the time of her son’s murder. She accused them both of high jacking her son’s name for their own benefit and doing little to nothing for her and the actual case at hand. Although Samaria wasn’t the only Mother with a slain son who felt that both Mallory and Crump were leading under false pretenses, Shaun King decided to add his two cents in support of Tamika Mallory, stating she allocated all funds appropriately etc. Samaria wrote under his post by simply saying “Call me.”

It appears that Shaun King never called Ms. Rice because a few days later, Tamika Mallory made a post explaining herself and her actions and stated that she was open for dialogue with Samaria Rice. Here is the problem: As a prominent leader in the movement, why is Tamika bickering via social media when she can call or have a meeting with Samaria Rice? Instead of taking this opportunity to listen and understand how she can better serve her (our) people, she’s making the situation messy and impersonal. Listening to the people that have actually been victimized via their sons being murdered by the police would help with creating processes. It would provide a vivid picture of what kind of support is needed for the families from our leaders and our communities. 

To say that this is disappointing would be an absolute understatement. It doesn’t help that I’ve listened to an audio recording from someone that worked with higher ups in the case of Breonna Taylor that literally stated all Tamika Mallory and Ben Crump did was stay in media meetings. In fact, Samaria Rice said “The people of Louisville said Tamika Mallory aint shit!”

Have Tamika Mallory and Ben Crump been bought for fame, notoriety, and money? If so, they probably don’t have the best interest of the people as a whole at heart. I have yet to hear of a case that Ben Crump has won regarding our plight. We’ve had leaders before that delivered eloquent and powerful speeches about the dismantling of racism on all levels and later turned into what we consider to be “sell outs.”   

There is no doubt that Mallory and Crump have handled the situation poorly with Samaria Rice. Does Ms. Rice have a point about the Grammy show when she said “Fuck a Grammy when my son is dead!”?

Are our leaders selling out or are they just working all avenues?