 I don't think it's that deep. I don't think it's that deep. Sometimes, sometimes I don't think it's that deep. But some people, especially the way they try to make the joke sometimes, it's like, sometimes I don't know if there's a part of you that actually believes it or something like that. Not a man here who can sense me. I'm on the pier, Elohim with the energy. Black boy, tell me how you really feel? I just want to be with you. It's just annoying, to be honest, it's just annoying. Like, I'm just walking and you're just like, what's up my, you try to make a joke and you stop at the end, like, okay, bro, really? I'm just trying to walk to my next class. But problem, it's not really causing any harm to me. Doesn't really affect my mental, but it's just a nuisance, I guess, personally. Like no one's gonna shoot me because I'm black. Well, at least that's, I feel like that's a lot. That's how my generation thinks personally. I don't think we really think that we're gonna get harmed because of racism, but we know it's still there. We know it's still there. Like we know if we walk into a dollar general with our hood on, people could look at us like, wear a hoodlum or whatever, but. So let's unpack that. I think that's a good place to be. What, why does that, why is that a thing slash what needs to happen? Or does something need to happen? Just mind your business. Just chill out, really. I mean, I don't really think anything needs to happen. I mean, like everyone, I feel like everyone's fine. Personally, I just think just chill out mind your business personally, that's the best way to go about it. But, yeah. Let me ask you the question in a different way. What are some potential consequences of the, what's that mean? And the people, when you walk into the dollar general or the piggly wiggly or whatever, what, like looking for, like when you're doing the hypotheticals, right? What are some potential consequences, positive or negative, that could come out of those things that are like jokes or just like mind your business? It's when they get too comfortable. I think, because I'm not gonna lie, I almost, I almost fought one kid cause it was Black History Month and he always made these like type of jokes and like, I would tell him like, yo, just chill out sometimes. But like, I never did anything about it. And then like, it was Black History Month and we're watching this movie and class and like, I forgot what the movie was. But it was something, it was something about like, it was like about Black people and whatever. But he made some type of joke and then I was just like, yo, like, what are you doing? Like, what are you talking about right now? I literally said that in front of the whole class. I was like, what are you talking about right now? Like, why are you talking? Just listen to the movie. And then I was like, and then, yeah, I went on, he's just, was quiet for the rest of the movie. We'll watch the movie. And the teacher knew, he always made those type of jokes. So like, she didn't make me go out of class for anything because I feel like she was getting tired of it too. So yeah, I think about a certain point, people will start getting tired of the jokes and then maybe there could be violets in it. So yeah, that's what could happen, but. So to provide a little bit of context, jokes, I think it was a J. Cole line said, all good jokes contain real shit or some shit like that. And in jokes, I think it was a comedian who made the point that a joke in a lot of ways is a dog whistle. And a dog whistle is something that, it's literally a whistle that only dogs can hear because it's such a high frequency, right? So when you say something as a dog whistle, it means that certain people get it and other people might not. So when, for instance, Trump said, make America great again, it was a dog whistle to certain people in certain groups because they understood a great America is an America that looks like us, right? So with that being said, like there was a movie back in the day, I think early 20s, like way, way, way back in the day by a DW Griffith and it was called Birth of a Nation. And the only reason I'm bringing this movie up, the only reason it was significant is at the time, it was like, it was the damn superhero movie at of the time. Like they pulled out all the stops with the movie, it won a bunch of awards, they use all kinds of technology. But the movie highlighted the Ku Klux Klan and it almost painted them like the Avengers. And what were they avenging? They were avenging white dudes in blackface, stealing and harping white women or stealing from stores or doing all kinds of criminal stuff, right? And what they later realized or what intelligent black people later realized was movies are powerful. In that particular movie, established the idea of the black man in the imagination of America. And the idea of a black man is an idea of somebody who is inherently criminal. That means you're born criminal. And who is inherently and is predisposed to do the wrong thing and is a danger to society. Now, why I bring that movie up, even though it was way, way, way, way back is that unfortunately, white people, they chugged that Kool-Aid, the proverbial Kool-Aid where black people drank it too. And now in 2022, not only do black people look at a black boy and see a criminal, not only do white people, but black people also look at a black boy and see a criminal. So a lot of those jokes are actually code for how they see you. And what's interesting is because of different things that happened historically, because people only talk about slavery because that happened way, way, way, way, way back. But they don't talk about Jim Crow. It wasn't that long ago. They don't talk about mass incarceration. It also wasn't that long ago, still happening today. They don't talk about redlining. And redlining was when they literally drew lines on maps and they said, black people can only live here and white people can only live here. What that created is a situation now that only 80% of white people only live around other white people. 80% of black people only live around other black people. And if the popular depiction of the black person is the criminal, what do you think white people's imagination starts with when they look at you? It's a criminal. The reason that's dangerous, and the reason it's important you understand that is because those jokes come from a place that's older than the person saying it. Those jokes can also be weaponized. Those jokes also result in the fact that our prisons are full of boys who look like you because they were either at the wrong place at the wrong time, they did something or they got a cop who wasn't fair and his bias skewed racist, right? Or a judge who's bias skewed racist and something that a white boy would have done and got away with, the black boy gets his life ruined for. So what's been your experience with white boys? When you're going through the world, noticing how they move versus black boys? They definitely move a lot more confident. They don't have to worry about much. Or this is just how I'm like, this is how I look at it. I feel like even in a lot of TV shows, that's how they portray it too. Like in this one show, All American, this light, he was a light-skinned guy, but he was in Beverly like all the other white people and all that. He didn't really have to go through any stuff people in the hood had to do with or whatever, blah, blah. And this one black guy, Spencer James, he was in the hood. He went to Beverly for football and he stayed with them and they were out at night and they were driving and he got pulled over by the cops and he was, when I say he, the light-skinned, yeah. He was all aggressive and all that. He thought he was white. Yeah, right. And that's not how the cop looked at him because he was light-skinned. So like, but then Spencer, he knew the situation. He knew what the cop was thinking. So he just complied. He just didn't say much, just complied and did what he had to do. But he just kept pushing it until he had to face the realism of what was actually going on until he literally put his head in his car for no reason and was about to go to jail. But then, yeah, the situation got handled and all that. So I think that's kind of like how white people go through life, kind of naive. I feel like if that was a white person in that situation and the black kid wasn't even in there, like the cop would have probably like said, yeah, you're good. You can go on your day, probably give them a ticket, maybe. But if it was a black guy, it probably would have escalated for hours for no reason. So white people do have to go through less. But I feel like black people feel like they're always having to have their guard up, though. Sometimes I've gotten pulled over. I just did what I had to do. I even joke with the cop. I feel like even black people, when they're getting pulled over, they're so offensive, they're so scared. That's interesting. So how do you feel about the whole conversation around, have you heard of critical race theory? Yeah, so critical race theory is they want to teach kids, they want to introduce to certain schools the real history, because a lot of our history is whitewashed, right? So really what happened, right? Particularly when it comes to race relations, Jim Crow, the whole nine. So part of the conversation is like a lot of people, people who tend to be white and Republican, are saying that it's gonna divide kids, right? And we don't want the white kids feeling bad because of what grandpa and grandma did. And then some of the black people are saying, just teach them the truth. So we don't repeat the same mistakes. So what do you understand by that? And what are your thoughts? As somebody who's in school? I think what they teach us is just like the bare minimum. I feel like we need to take more initiative and look at what actually happened more out of school. But most people aren't gonna do that. So that's why it's kind of the way that's how, that's why people know what they know because they don't really care. Honestly, they just don't really care. And a lot of black people don't really care too because they're like, as long as it's not affecting me, as long as I'm not really getting hurt by anything. And a lot of black people around my area at least aren't really getting hurt by it. So they don't really care. For schools though, for people feeling bad, I'm not gonna lie, they do. Sometimes they do feel bad, but it's always just in class. They always feel bad in class. And then once they're out of class, it's like, they just forgot. It's like, they don't care anymore. And then they make the same jokes again. Just back to square one. But once we go through black history month again and they start, they have that one month of feeling bad and then it's back to normal. And sometimes they don't even feel bad. They just like, yeah, it happened. I didn't do it. I'm children. I'm good. So but you don't think it's a big enough problem to address. So like when you see people marching and when you see people protesting and all that stuff, what are your thoughts on that as it relates to some of, because what you're describing is called a microaggression. It is not aggressive, but it's the small little stuff. You know what I mean? So like what are your thoughts? Do you think it's OD? People are just too sensitive? Or is there something there? Oh no, we definitely need to talk about it. Like the protests, they're definitely like good. They're definitely there for a reason. Some people that are joining the protests, I don't really like know. I feel like the protests are there. Like people are starting those cause they've definitely went through stuff. They've seen it and all that. So they're like, we have to speak on this cause enough people haven't seen this and all that blah. And some people are just joining it cause they're like, oh, I'm on your side. They don't really know what's actually going on. They're not really listening, but they're there to like support. Like swag. Yeah, yeah. So that's, I do think protests are definitely necessary. I mean, at least as long as you're doing it the right way and... Okay, so let's talk about that. Necessary for what and what is the right way? Right way without violence. I don't really think you need a protest with violence. I think violence usually comes in when it's other people that are against the protest come in and they try to harass the people. And then it's like, once you push people at a certain point they're gonna retaliate. So then you get that on footage and then it's like, oh, protests are bad, but like who started it? But I mean, what was the other question? Necessary for what? Necessary. I think it's necessary to understand. Like I feel like they're there to like show people like to try to make other people understand like this is still an issue. It's been a couple of years, but it's still an issue. And we need to try to address it because I don't feel like we're actually trying to like do anything about it. We're just like going along with like... So what are your understanding of the... What is your understanding of the issues? My understanding of the issues? Personally, I don't really know much about the issues. I'm not gonna lie. Do you think you should? I definitely should. I definitely should, it's just the where I am. I don't really have to deal with much of that. So it's kind of just doing what I need to do and go to school, work, but I definitely go on social media and I see what's happening. So, you know, I see that it's not okay. Like I see there's still problems in the world, but I didn't take the initiative to actually look up what is going on for real. Do you think that's dangerous? Because it sounds like, it almost sounds like the kid you described in the show who's kind of oblivious, maybe not to the level of not knowing how to talk the cops, but oblivious as to what people are so pissed off about. Well, okay, I don't know why people are pissed off like so much, but like I understand like what's going on. Like the comprehension I have is like, I feel like it's enough to where I can move on with society. Like, why? Because you're saying two things. You're saying that I don't know why people are really upset, but I understand why they're upset. It doesn't make sense. You can't not know why they're upset and claim to understand it. Can you? Can you understand something you don't know? No, but I can see, like if you're watching the protests, like they're definitely, you see like the emotion in it and like it's serious and like what they're saying. So like, you know. So what are they saying? See, that's one of the critiques of your generation is that you're not plugged in. And I think it's more about the pageantry of protests than the real reason. And I think it's interesting, Martin Luther King's birthday pass recently. One of the things he said, he said, riots are the voice of the unheard. Meaning that when people have been deprived of a voice for so long, inevitably it leads to violence. Now this is a man who made his old brand about non-violence. But that's one of the things he said. When you take that initiative that you talked about to learn about the history, not only will it make you angry, right? But those things that you think are microaggressions, the, what's up my, it allows you to see it in a light that you might not have seen it before. So the question ends up being, do I prefer blissful ignorance or powerful consciousness? Because blissful ignorance, you could just go on and just, no, that is just jokes. Versus when you do your due diligence, you realize that it's deeper than that. It's a lot deeper than that. And not only is it deeper than that, but it's actually, it affects me directly. Because especially right now, one of the leading causes of death for people your age, people my age is homicide. And not necessarily homicide by cop, but also homicide by us. So like in certain places you might go to, you need to be conscious enough to understand you gotta take that flag off. Because you might, you know what I'm saying? You might start a problem that you don't actually want. Now the Gen Z issue is that a lot of y'all don't have the consciousness to understand the world around you. And particularly how you fit into that world around you. Because you can't take off your maleness. You can't take off your blackness. And the first thing the world is going to see when you walk into 7-Eleven and Piggly Wiggly is black male, black scully, black shirt, black pants. You fit the description off top. Now, that could be very dangerous. That could be life-threatening. And as a black boy, it's important for you to understand how to move in that, how to swim with sharks. But if you don't know what a shark looks like, if you don't know how to swim, then you're gonna get eaten. And I think that's the reason why a lot of us are so critical of Gen Z because that goes back to your first point. Too many of you are oblivious, and dangerously oblivious. But what do you think is the reason that white people act towards you the way that they do when they first meet you? And you could be specific to white boys, white girls, white men, white women, white old men, white old women. You could be as specific as you want. So you said, why? Why do they act? Because you said that they act away with you because you're a black boy. Why do you think that is? Because they know the stereotypes. They know what people categorize black people as, you know what I'm saying? So they already have a little image in their head, but they're not gonna let that cloud them. So they come in a certain way, but they don't fully go like that. They don't fully like close themselves off. What do you mean? Like they know the stereotypes isn't like black people are dangerous. They shoot gangs, blah, blah, blah. So they come in as in like scared, not scared even. I don't even know. So you kind of got me slipping. Because honestly, when I'm like meeting with white people, honestly, they're really chilled, to be honest. They're actually not like that. They really don't come a certain way. They just, they're like, maybe you don't see it. Like if they did, you wouldn't see it. I really don't. I really don't think they come a certain way. They just are friendly, to be honest. They treat me like how they do with white people. Maybe that's not what every white person, but majority that I've met. Have you ever met a white person? And I'm in the South. Yeah, and you're in the South. If you haven't met a white person, cause so the point I'm making is that there's certain things that you wouldn't notice until you have a certain consciousness. So for instance, if you ever met a certain white person and they say, you talk very well. No. See, I've never heard those like, all those like stuff that you've heard, you said you've heard or stuff like that. I've never really heard those like people. Cause I feel like they know, like that's stupid to say. That's interesting. I don't know. I've never heard. That's interesting. Yeah, I mean, stuff like you talk very well, which means that you expect me not to. Stuff that like you don't act like I thought you would. I've never heard that. You know what I'm saying? That's very interesting. Now what is your experience with black people, other black people? The ones who might be angry? They're more of like the people that come in with like a certain image, to be honest. But my experience with them is, they're always like, they're always like friendly with other black people. Of course, like they're never like a certain way. Like, oh, they actually feel more comfortable. Definitely feel more comfortable with other black people. With white people, they act a certain way. Like you kind of see it switch a little bit. Like when you're hanging out with them, like by yourself. And then like when they're with other white people, they're like kind of more like, try to be a little more proper, but like still try to like keep their comfortableness, but whatever. But... Why do you think they do that? Cause they know, like we're not, we don't, we know like what's happened. So they... Do you? Cause you just said you didn't. Yeah, okay. Okay, they, I'm not gonna lie. I'm kind of oblivious to it, but a lot of people that I know that are like, that go to white people like in a certain way, they know like they've done their research and all that. So they are conscious of the fact that they may look at them a certain way. So they try to like act how they may want them to act. So that's kind of my experience with white people. So with the white boys who make the jokes, do you think it's a big problem or it's not a big problem or it's not that deep? Is it that deep or it's not that deep pretty much? I wish it would stop, but I don't think it's that deep. I don't, I don't think it's that deep. Sometimes, sometimes I don't think it's that deep. But some people, and it's like, especially like the way like they try to like make the joke sometimes, it's like sometimes I don't know if you're like, if there's a part of you that actually like believes it or something like that. Cause like some, some, this one kid at my school like took a picture with like, it was at a basketball game with like the two black kids on our basketball team with the ski mask on. Well, just just trying to like, I don't know. It was like, why though? But then again, they also would do that with their white friends. So then I'm just like, are you doing it cause they're black or are you just doing it cause that's just the way you are. It's both. To a lot of black kids, especially the young ones, blackness is a joke. Blackness is something to be played with. It's a costume, right? And that is one of the issues I'm trying to get you to understand it's a, it's a joke to them. And it's a joke that in a way insinuates that your life is a joke. Y'all are just characters that we can play. And cause one of the big things that happens is in colleges, some fraternities and sororities do like blackface parties, right? So white kids, just like you said, didn't own slaves. Didn't, you know, necessarily lynch anybody, but they not only benefit from a benefit from a legacy of that. Like their great grandfather did lynch somebody, right? But their grandfather sometimes, they are also playing with that. Like imagine you saw Jimmy, right? And you know that Jimmy's grandfather killed your grandfather. And you've heard the story of how it happened. And then Jimmy walks up to you and says, what's up my, might that hit a little different? Or is it not that deep? No, it definitely wouldn't. It is that deep is the point I'm making. Because a lot of these things we're talking about weren't that long ago. Slavery was a long time ago, but the fallout of slavery and everything that came out of it was not that long ago, right? You know, people, people you've heard of Emmett Till, right? Emmett Till? Yeah. Emmett Till could have still been alive today. He was just, he'd been an old guy, but he'd been alive, right? When you see a lot of the pictures, like the black and white pictures of protesters and being hosed by, hosed and the dog sicked on them. And with the people in the cafeteria spitting on them and stuff like that. If you do the math, those people are like in their 60s, 70s, 80s, they're alive. So the point I'm trying to get you to understand is, it is that deep. They know those people. We live in South Carolina. Some of these kids, the wassummon kid, his uncle's in the KKK. And he goes with them to the meetings for them to strategize about how to, you know, reestablish the Aryan race and, you know, resegregate black people and kill black people and things like that. So it is that deep. And I know it's easy sometimes to think, oh, he's just naive. He just, you know, just watching TV and that's why he is like that. But it's informed by centuries of history. And to not know that history but claim to understand it is dangerous. Very, very dangerous for you, especially as a black boy. Because there's a lot of context you miss. There's a lot of stuff that if you knew better, you could identify all this shit is about to go left. That if you don't know better, it's just, So, because, you know, when you study history and the thing that I appreciate about history so much is that you realize that time is cyclical to cycle. And that's why it's so important. If you don't learn from your mistakes, you're bound to repeat them, right? And as a country, America hasn't learned from its mistakes. And they're breeding the same personality in these white kids that leads to supremacy. So what I'm asking you to do as a black boy, as a black young person is think further, what can that, what's up my become? What if that kid becomes a judge? What if that kid becomes a police officer? What if that kid is the school teacher for your kid? That was something my kid could become your kid's school teacher. It's deep. It's really deep.