Football season is approaching. We know that because all of the Cow“girl” memes depicting the Dallas Cowboys in a negative light have started to roll, and football fans are declaring their predictions of who is going to the Super Bowl.
Speaking of the Super Bowl…..
It is alleged that Jay-Z put his partnership with the NFL on the line for the January 2022 Superbowl performance. It is alleged that he communicated to high-ranking NFL Staff—who took issue with elements of the show—that either the performance happened with artist freedom or that he would quit.
I know many of us have opinions about the shoes, the clothes, the hair, and myriad of other things that these artists wear and do.
This, however, is not about the clothes that Snoop Dogg wore, or about Eminem taking a knee, or the beauty of Mary J. Blige.
This is not about whether you liked their performances or not.
This is not about whether rap, hip-hop, or R&B are your thing, or if the clothing was a bit too much for our liking.
This is singularly about the alleged move that nobody saw publicly—a move that was made behind closed doors by someone who had a seat at the table.
That move was one of Solidarity.
Let’s be honest!
Seats at power tables in the area of politics, at Fortune 500 companies, and in multi-million-dollar rooms are more available now than they ever were in 1960.
Yet, fast forward to today, and our community knows all too well that these seats are hard to come by.
We know that because we are still celebrating “FIRSTS” when it comes to winning positions in spaces that people of color never occupied.
To risk a seat for Solidarity is big.
The potential of a serious Twitter clapback, or a loss of money tied to future business deals, is something every person who is standing solid must consider.
The potential to lose is big.
Right now, like never before, we need Solidarity in our homes, in our communities, and in our country.
Solidarity does not waive our right to believe what we believe. It does not require us to relinquish our core values or desires for community or country. It seeks not to talk us out of what Big Mama or Papaw taught us or undo the scriptures we learned in Bible school.
Solidarity does not require agreement in the particulars, but agreement in a right to express, to be, to live, and to decide personally, while collectively moving forward for the common good.
November elections will be upon us before we know it.
Here in Texas, we will be voting Abbott or Beto for Governor. Up and down the ballot we will be asked to vote for the person that best represents our common good in city and local elections.
To be honest, I do not see the needle moving without Solidarity.
Solidarity begs for mobilization. Mobilization requires participation from everyone. Everyone including you, your household, your mama’s house, and every other house in your sphere of influence.
Our community is going to need every vote. We will either get outplayed, outmaneuvered, outvoted, outwitted, or we are going to stand in Solidarity with one another, mobilize, and fight.
I hope you are solid this Election season and prepared to vote in Solidarity with your neighbors concerning the issues that are plaguing our community.