By Erick S. Gray
What the “Eff” is going on? Let’s talk about it. The continuous extermination of Black wealth throughout history and the attack on Black excellence. And in my singing voice, “America, why do you treat us so bad?” We built this country from the ground up, for free (no arguments). But throughout America’s history, Black folks have always been treated like the ugly or wicked step-child. I always said this about Black folks or African Americans; pick which one, even that has divided us. But our struggles and plight have been continuous and more strenuous than any other ethnic group in the world. Yes, I said it, and I believe it too. Black folks have suffered tremendously throughout time, not just here in America but in Africa and other continents worldwide. So much has been taken from us, our identity and traditions stripped away, our dignity perpetually snuffed like someone putting out a cigarette. So many institutions, laws, and generations have either massacred and marginalized us or placed us into colossal debt. But let’s start with slavery. I will explain how the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade ruined a continent while it helped build several superpowers, including America, and why America doesn’t want Black people to find their footing in life.
Before the slave trade, the people of Africa had rich and diverse histories and cultures centuries before Europeans arrived. But I remembered growing up believing that Africa had always been a poor, uneducated, and deprived country, that there wasn’t any rich history there except for Egypt. And yet, history wants to white-wash that. However, Africa had stunning kingdoms and city-states, each with its own language and culture. Kingdoms like Mali, Kongo, Benin, and Ethiopia were huge and powerful monarchs commanding complex political structures governing hundreds of thousands of people. I mean, there was learning, technology, and art; and life for Africans flourished. They were skilled in medicine, mathematics, and astronomy.
Read the full article in this month's issue of Intellectual Ink Magazine: April 2022 - Kindle edition by Grace, Allison, Young Foye, Charlotte, Stokes, Haikeem. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Follow Erick S. Gray https://www.facebook.com/authorerick.gray
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The devil asked her how she knew her way around the halls of hell, she told him, she didn’t need a map, for the darkness she knew so well. They call her Sad Girl and she believes in monsters. “Oh, Sweetie, monsters are real, and they look like people,” she was told. Her mother died while giving birth to her, and her father abandoned her. She became a product of group homes and foster care. She didn’t just fall through the cracks of neglect, abuse, poverty, and rape. No, she was pushed through. What she wanted was family and affection. She wanted someone to love her despite the hellish and monstrous world she came from. Around the time of her fifteenth birthday, she was placed in a foster home in Brooklyn, and the family that’s supposed to care for her become the ultimate nightmare and she believes that her foster father is something demonic in human form. With contempt for her life, her foster father, and the continued abuse, she develops self-hatred for the skin she was born in. She soon believes that it takes a monster to destroy a monster. Sad Girl takes to the streets and falls in love with a dangerous hustler named Gallo. Gallo takes her under his wings, and together, they become a force to be reckoned with. For, once upon a time, an angel and a devil pressed their hands to their hearts and started the apocalypse.
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