The Massive Protests Against Institutional Police Racism And the Too Minimal Protest Response From Black men

by Kenray Sunyaru

Recently I was having a discussion with a Brother, a ‘Solid’ grassroots leader in Detroit who was giving his perspective on the massive George Floyd protests against institutional police racism; that the marches he’s been involved in there were not a lot of Black men protesting.

One point he raised to explain our absence is too many Black men are overwhelmed by personal survival; many drugging and drinking their wounds away, trying to fuck their wounds away, ego-tripping their wounds away; and shooting other wounded Black men to cathartically release their wounds away.

Regularly when I meet a cross-section of Black men greeting them by saying what’s going on with you, a common response is a sense of resignation “I’m just trying to stay out the way.” How are you going to stay out of the way of racism in America?

Also I hear a lot of so-called conscious Black men say protests are ineffective, yet these same Brothers aint engaging in self-determination to build institutions in our communities. 

These brothers must don't know that the Black Panther Party protested against police racist murdering of Black men. Moreover Malcolm X led a protest outside a New York City police station when a Black man was brutally beaten by racist police.

These Brothers say protesting aint about nothing spouting-off George Soros is controlling Blacks Lives Matter and the protests, yet they spend countless hours ineffectively debating religion that aint stopping racist police murders!

These are the same type of Brothers will tell you wearing masks to protect against COVID-19 is a conspiracy theory. As Black men what are we saying to our children, to our communities, to rest of the world, and to ourselves when we are sparsely participating in protests we should be leading.

I say Fuck George Soros, we should be protesting against racist police murders because it’s personal! Racist police have killed our Paternal Ancestors, killed our Black male Leaders, killed our Grandfathers, killed our Fathers, killed Our Brothers, killed our Black Boys, killed our male Cousins, and killed our male Friends – the BOTTOM LINE!!!!!!!!