I'm not really sure who the Jesse Williams guy is and I really don't watch BET or the awards. But they got me. Social media posts, some tweets and shit. I was like Damm-what is this dude talking about? Who is this dude? So I read the post.

It is an old virus that operates in the Black. Those who imagine themselves searching for freedom; those who are dedicated to some idea of African American Activism; often find themselves drawn to the current conversation on the predicament.

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I rarely watch Grey's Anatomy; though I'll put my son out there. He used to watch it with his ex-girlfriend. I thought that was cool. It seems like T.V., at best, should be a collective activity for families, couples, whomever. Oh, but let me confess. I used to watch it many years ago, but the habit just fell off.

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Needless to say, I am a bit suspect of the activist award given by a strange incarnation of African American consumer and corporate culture.

But this is the age of awards, and it is especially good that Black Institutions give them. For the power to award is the power to endorse.

But I'm a bit suspect of the freedom talk.

Not sure what people is saying when they say freedom.

I mean really what is freedom at the BET awards?

The day is late. I am in mid-life. Some of the music, I ain't feeling. I see the stars that I know in the audience bobbing their head. The stage is huge. The costumes are fantastic. The hosts change clothes every ten minutes. Performance after performance after performance some jokes in the middle. It's all good. I have to be ready for it. Ready to pay attention. At its best it is theatre.

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In Jesse's defense, I would say the talk of history and culture, the poetic quality of the speech was fascinating. To paraphrase,"Just cuz we magic, don't mean we ain't real." For the record, that's a cool as line. I'm really into poetry.

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And I'm really into activism too. I used to own a Black Bookstore. As we speak, I am doing some work with a Black Bookstore and have been heading in their everyday. Shit, I'm about to go right now. I see the owners carving out a daily existence with the world of Black Books in the density of our culture. Folks got locks. Folks drinking vegetable shakes and eating healthy food. Folks dressed in Dashikis and looking fly, and the literature on the shelves has pictures of little black children in them. The books on the shelves are CLR James, Hidden Colors, the Isis Papers, The Beautiful Struggle, and Angela Davis. There's something uncompromising and overlooked about the literature in the store. The literature speaks to freedom.

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I heard my man say something about black folks need to learn our history and culture. For the record, I am down with that. The challenge of creating institutions capable of doing such could very well be poised to BET at a boardroom meeting. In other words, activism and talk of freedom need not be a category when you have an institution.

Question: Is it possible to form an institution dedicated to only that?

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Things get murky. It is hard for me to understand an actor activist. Are they acting like an activist or are they just acting? The skill sets intersect. The activist faces danger for speaking truth to power. The actor receives rewards for playing the role.

I'm not questioning homies authenticity, but rather suggesting that the only way we can judge the authenticity is by what is said in the moment, the view of the camera, the range of applause, the reading of the bio. It's the predicament of awards.

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But its Free Black Space-all opinions, all ideas, the true Black intellectual conversation. Nobody gets cast out or silenced. Everybody gets to come to the party. Jesse Williams, BET, Black Arts, Academic types, Barbershop and Salon patrons, street corner high tale tellers, Black Preachers.

It's the last I prefer for my high end rhetoric and talk of freedom, getting over, or changing the world. I think they do it best; and I also like the practicality of what they say. No doubt they say what they say, but somebody will die, somebody will be born, somebody will get locked up, somebody will get sick, and they will be praying and taking care of business. For me, more than the other groups, whatever they say is balanced by places they operate without witness. The significance of their acts is spiritual. It is real, true, yes, important, in real time.

Which brings me back to homeboy, or the whole of the BET Awards. Iconic Prince, Iconic Muhammad Ali. The tributes to the folks are more than beautiful. Yet, both are powerful for creating success in environments hostile to the Black. And by black here we mean bottom of the binary, alternative, ultimate radicalism that when juxtaposed to commercial success and popularity seems godlike. But the real point is, they both get the we can't destroy you, so we endorse you award from the larger society. Greatness is honored by all, but blackness is like a immigration requirement on greatness. It is as though you can get to America if you black, but there are only but so many people who can get citizenship.

My feeling today after watching that is like activism is a form of of immigration. The black riot over a year ago sent everybody looking for freedom. The black riot made it a matter of urgency. Everybody applied for a passport; but it seems only a few got theirs.


And now we will hear of the talk of freedom and change, social justice, and all that for a long while.

But look out on your street: Does it look any different?

No need to watch the awards to figure out what's going on. Talk to the people you know? What has changed? What is changing?

Free Black Space