(FreshAsFrankie) From one Black Republican Presidential candidate to another, 2012 GOP primary contender Herman Cain called on the swath of American‘s who’ve been referred to as “house negros” to own the title and block out their haters, in an open letter he wrote in defense of 2016 GOP primary candidate Ben Carson, this week.
Carson was recently blasted by his hometown Michigan Chronicle, which called him the “shame of Detroit” and nominated him for the running of the rhetorical “House Negro of the Year Award,” for bucking the current movement to remove Confederate statues from public grounds across the U.S. In Cain’s letter, posted to his personal website, the businessman and Tea Party activist confides in Carson that he too has had the house negro characterization attached to him for what he says is his unwillingness “to embrace the backward thinking of today’s black identity politics.”
Cain went on in the letter to proudly claim the title if it connotes that he is successful. He also imparts his personal feelings on the Confederate statues discourse, aligning his position with Carsons and referring to calls to remove the Civil War relics as a “waste of time and distraction.”
In its entirety the letter reads as follows:
They say it to me too, Dr. Ben Carson, because just like you, I refuse to embrace the backward thinking of today’s black identity politics.
Since the Michigan Chronicle, a historically black Detroit-based newspaper, thinks Dr. Ben Carson is a “house Negro”, then I must be one also. Because that’s one of the names you get called by other black people when you are a success at something, and you do not buy into “black group think”, or act and say what they want you to say.
Maybe the Michigan Chronicle has not noticed that there are a lot of successful black people in prominent positions in America, because some of us have chosen to focus on performance and productive opportunities, rather than on the past. This is especially true of the current waste of time and distractions about statues, and who owned slaves 200 years ago.
Gentle Dr. Ben Carson is too nice to respond to that garbage article and name-calling by the Michigan Chronicle, but I’m not!
Let’s start with the fact that he prayed hard about even accepting the HUD job. Personally, I was glad he accepted it, because he will bring “outside the box” ideas and thinking to HUD. Many of the old ways of doing things have left many of our urban areas unchanged for 50 years, and too many of our young people have been trapped in cycles of poverty, crime and weak educations.
Secondly, Dr. Carson didn’t become a world-renowned brain surgeon by being a “house Negro”. He achieved this distinction because of his intellect and the results he produced in his profession.
Dr. Carson had plenty of other better paying and less stressful opportunities to choose from before he accepted the HUD position, but he chose to serve his country and a president who is truly trying to create a better America.
The Michigan Chronicle thanks Dr. Carson for his sacrifice and dedication by calling him a nasty insulting name. It’s the usual attempt to try to discredit his patriotism and to discourage him. Knowing Dr. Carson, that old tactic ain’t going to work.
The good news is that millions of black people are not drinking the name-calling brand of Kool-Aid. We are thinking for ourselves, telling people the truth, serving our country and pursuing the greatness of America and the richness of our futures.
Being called a “house Negro” is just one of the insulting names I have been called as an ABC (American Black Conservative), simply because I do not subscribe to the black liberal backward-looking narrative of black identity politics. Maybe that’s why I have had multiple successful careers over the last 50 years, and name-calling has not stopped or slowed me down yet!
If being called a “house Negro” is what some of us must endure for succeeding in this nation and thinking for ourselves, then let all of the “house Negroes” stand up and be counted.
Wow! There are too many to count, but there’s Dr. Ben Carson standing tall among millions, and doing something great again.
Thank you, Dr. Ben Carson, for being an achiever and a patriot.
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Dee Beasley is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of FreshAsFrankie.com. After starting out as a musician-producer he went on to study the music business and work in Urban Promotions, followed by artist management. Mr. Beasley entrepreneurial spirit has led him to launch numerous businesses in music and fashion marketing. He’s a huge fan of the ’80s and ’90s Hip Hop and R&B, and he’s a firm believer that Hip Hop Music will never die.