Black Love … For America

February has traditionally been a month that celebrates Black history and love. Black history, in my opinion, isn't just for African Americans, but for all people – just as love is felt and expressed by anyone, no matter their race, creed, or religion. Yet a particular kind of love is exclusive to one race, and that is Black love.

Within the African American community, the term Black love often refers to two (or more) African Americans in a romantic, committed relationship. The beauty and depth of Black love within that context is indescribable. Yet, there is another type of Black love that I will attempt to articulate in this article, and that is Black love that has been displayed in and for America for centuries. The purpose of this article is to share a glimpse of the weight of Black love in order to garner a deeper appreciation from white people to value the love shared by Black folks.

Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The late great James Baldwin, one of America’s most notable novelists and freedom fighters, was a unique figure in the Black struggle for liberation. Unlike Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Baldwin was detached from a peculiar sect within the Black community as he participated in the cause for Black liberation. For Baldwin, he divorced himself from Islam and Christianity because he wanted to tell the story of the Black struggle as a free man. As Baldwin touched the soul of white Americans with his many words, one of the most potent depictions that captures the essence of being Black in America was when Baldwin said, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in rage almost all the time.” Why is this important for white people to understand? If white people are going to empathize with their Black brothers and sisters, they must sit with – not particularly fix – the idea that Black people live with an enormous amount of weight in America. A weight that white Americans cannot fathom, but are invited to help carry.

From slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarceration, police brutality, economic disparities, political negligence, and all forms of racial discrimination displayed against Black people, Black love has had to exist within the context of racial trauma. From the streets of daily life to corporate, academic institutions, religious spaces, and political platforms, Black people have had to live and manage their inner rage. White Americans, from the racist to the co-fighters in the racial equality struggle, must know that for most conscious Black folks, there is often a tingling feeling on the inside whenever Black people are in their presence. Black people live with racial trauma, from both past and present, and that trauma often surfaces internally in unique ways while in the presence of white folks. Black people have learned the art of extending a handshake, painting a smile on their faces, and being kind to white people while having to manage their inner conflict. Black people know how to sit in white academic, religious, political, and other social spaces and express peace while being at war internally. Fundamentally, Black people neither trust nor feel comfortable around white people.

What is it about Black folks that enables them to present peace outwardly to white America while managing the war on the inside? It is called Black love. In the face of 400-plus years of American terrorism against Black people, Black people have always demonstrated a radical love toward their enemies. Can one fathom what could happen if Black love for America was eradicated and Black rage was liberated? Yet, from the rhythm and blues to prolific orators to our mothers and fathers, Black people have always been taught to love even in the face of hate. Black people are the quintessential demonstration of love. According to Dr. Cornel West,

Those who have never despaired have neither lived nor loved. Hope is inseparable from despair. Those of us who truly hope make despair a constant companion whom we out-wrestle everyday owing to our commitment to justice, love, and hope.

So, happy Black History Month and happy love month, America. Black people love you so much, that we will not allow you to suffocate in your hatred for Black people. We will continue to guide you patiently in the freedom of all women and men. One day, we will all be able to sing the old Negro spiritual:

Lift ev’ry voice and sing,
‘Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on ’til victory is won.