The Gantt Report
By Lucius Gantt
       Our people love to talk about their rights. They say, âIâm an American and I have the rights of an American.
Most of us think we, like white Americans, have human rights, equal rights, voting rights, gay rights, worker rights, legal rights, and other rights.
In my opinion, the rights Black people have today are equal, in many ways, to the rights our ancestors enjoyed during slavery days: little rights, fewer rights or zero rights!
Let me explain. I tell people all the time, âYou canât do what white people do!â Blacks canât talk to whites in the ways that whites talk to Blacks. You canât hang whites like people of color are hanged.
We canât file for bankruptcy one day and three days later walk into a local bank and borrow a million dollars on a signature loan, and you canât tie someone to a truck and drag them down a dusty road near the trailer park.
What we can do is try to treat each other like other people treat us. Black people are quick to tell another Black person, âI donât like what you said to meâ or âDonât pray or say grace in my presence, your prayers and grace are an insult to me!â
Tell me, if you have freedom of speech and freedom of religion, who has the right to tell you what to say or what you can write?
When Iâm told I should do whatever Iâm told to do by someone who has more money than I do, I ignore them, but in my mind, Iâm saying âFâ you!
Are you following me? We will stand up and speak up to embrace rights that are promised to us but we insist on denying ârightsâ to each other.
Some Black people are quick to tell another Black, âDonât talk like thatâ or âDonât pray or say grace like thatâ. In other words, Blacks who have more money than you believe they can deny you like they are denied.
I try to limit TGR posts about religion because anything said or written about religion will be disagreed with. Believe it or not, I studied for years and had training to be a Yoruba Babalow. I never sought the title but Iâve always been interested in religions. I have a religious library and I, like Jesus, enjoy talking to religious elders of all faiths. My philosophical studies in Ethics and Theology probably motivated me, I imagine, in that regard.
If you enjoy certain social media sites, you inevitably see video posts of street fights, cat fights, gang fights, or other conflicts.
When rights are at stake, we are reluctant to fight! We are âhappyâ to be told we have rights. When we are denied rights that others enjoy we tend to keep it moving.
Shame on us! There is a long list of Black men and women who were beaten for standing up and speaking out for your rights. Too many of your heroes, freedom fighters, slavery rebels, civil rights leaders, and community activists took their final journeys because they were brave enough to fight for you.
Power never takes a step back!
People in power remain in power when they are not pushed back and pushed out.
If you canât say certain things to your exploiters and oppressors, you shouldnât say terrible things to friends, loved ones, and good neighbors.
If you want ârightsâ like the rights others enjoy, such as âaccess to capitalâ, ârights to opportunitiesâ, âreligious rightsâ, âsexual rightsâ and other rights, those rights must be fought for.
Stop marching and praying for ârightsâ. Stop singing and start swinging.
A fight for rights is the right fight!
