Isn’t it interesting that whenever we, as a people, Black people are given the opportunity, the space and the places to show what we are capable of doing, the dominant society will ALWAYS move the goal post; change the language or just straight up kick over the table? They will do anything to try and diminish our accomplishments, overlook our capabilities and, in some cases, just straight out slam the door in our faces! The good thing is this isn’t new to us. When they raise the bar, we just jump higher! I was talking with my friend Dr. Keith Norris about VP Harris and all this conversation about DEI and he said, “She’s like me, Done Earned It.”
Some of you may be too young to remember the late great Robert (Bob) Gibson who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Bob was a man’s man and everyone that knew him knew—he didn’t laugh when nothing was funny, and he didn’t scratch where he didn’t itch. In 1968, Gibson dominated the pitcher’s mound by completing 28 of his 34 starts (304 2/3 innings), he went 22-9 with a 15-game winning streak. That same year, he won the strikeout title with 268 strikeouts and went on to win the Cy Young Award which honors the best pitcher in the National and American leagues. Guest what baseball did following Bob’s magnificent performance? You guessed it, later that December in 1968, the MLB Playing Rules Committee voted to reduce the strike zone from knees to shoulders to top of knees to armpits and lower the pitcher’s mound from 15 to 10 inches—they moved the goal post.
I’m sure most of you remember a guy by the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who was for me, the greatest basketball player of all time (sorry Mike). I only say this because he began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments when he was in high school, where he led his high school team to three straight New York City Catholic Championships with a 71–game winning streak, and a 79–2 overall record. Kareem made his first public performance in UCLA’s annual varsity–freshman exhibition game, which was attended by 12,051 fans. The 1965–66 varsity team was the two-time defending national champions and the top-ranked team in preseason, that is until they ran into freshman Kareem Abdul-Jabbar whose rookie team won 75–60 behind Kareem’s 31 points and 21 rebounds. Guest what the NCAA did after knowing that this young Black man was going to be a problem, and he may just totally dominate college basketball, so what did the NCAA do—that’s right, they moved the goal post. The NCAA outlawed dunking all the while Kareem was in college. What they didn’t know was that moving the goal post would only give birth to what we know now as the skyhook! What did I say; we only jump higher!
So, where am I going with this? I’m so glad you asked. American society says go to school, get a good education because here in America, you can do and be anything your heart’s desire; hell you might even get yourself one of those good “White Jobs” isn’t that right as per the Tangerine Queen, maybe that’s why he’s so frightened by our dear sister.
So let me see if I got this right, Vice President Kamala Devi Harris, a graduate of Howard University, with a JD from the University of California, College of Law. While at Howard, she interned as a mailroom clerk for California Senator Alan Cranston, did an internship at the Federal Trade Commission, and participated in anti-apartheid protests at the South African Embassy and National Mall; I wonder was she Black then? You do know this sister also comes from good stock. Her DEI (Done Earned It) mother was a biologist whose work on the progesterone receptor gene stimulated advances in breast cancer research and she received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Our Black VP Harris’ farther, another DEI hire, Donald J. Harris, PhD, is a Stanford University professor of economics (emeritus) at UC Berkeley, you know damn well he Done Earned It, a Black man coming from Jamaica becoming a Stanford University professor … please, he’s the epitome of DEI. But as usual, I digress let’s get back to our dear sister.
Our sister the Black Vice President’s Curriculum Vitae (CV) shows that she served as deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, California Medical Assistance Commission, San Francisco Assistant District Attorney, Chief of the Career Criminal Division, and became District Attorney of San Francisco. VP Harris was the first woman, the first African American, and the first South Asian American to hold the office of Attorney General in the state’s history—there we go, jumping higher!
In 2016, after more than 20 years as a U.S. Senator from California, Senator Barbara Boxer announced that she would not run for reelection in 2016 and our sister Harris announced her candidacy for the Senate seat. She went on to win the seat capturing over 60% of the vote, carrying all but four counties. In 2021, Harris assumed office as Vice President of the United States, serving as the first female vice president, the highest-ranking female elected official in U.S. history, and the first African American and first Asian-American vice president. Now that’s a CV for your Ass!!
We cannot allow the dominant society’s views and values be our reality in terms of how we look at and view self, society and the world. As Dr. Maulana Karenga always says, “Your oppressor cannot be your teacher”. When they say DEI, we say—you damn right we ALL Done Earned It!
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