At the barbershop

Dropout came into the barbershop, put down his briefcase, unbuttoned his coat and said, “They say Black History Month is over, but as long as you’re Black and have two drops of Black blood in you Black history can never, will never, be over. Unless you’re like that guy Tiger Woods… a nice guy… who said he’s not Black, he’s Cabalasian… or something like that… By the way, how do you spell Cabalasian?”
“I bet if Tiger went into a department store in downtown Montreal to shop for clothes they would put a gun to his head, thinking that he is a shoplifter. Just like they did to Hall of Fame baseball player Andre Dawson many years ago.”
Just Chillin put up his hand and said, “I have to give an ‘Amen’ to Dropout, and I want everyone in here to do the same thing.“
Everybody said “Amen!”
Just Chillin continued, “I got a good story for you. February 26 was another Black History Month day. Remember now, this is the year 2016 and this is a real story, not a Hollywood or Spike Lee movie. A Black guy, 23-years-old, operates a small maintenance… construction company. He wants to hire an employee, and connects with somebody who’s interested on the Internet. He tells the interested person to meet him at a Tim Hortons in Laval (Quebec). She shows up, she is a 31-year-old white woman. He hires her to do estimates. However, before the interview was over the police showed up – two police cars. Thinking he might be a pimp (recruiting white girls, you’ve been paying attention the news) they interview him and her. Apparently, they were responding to a 911 call. They interview both of them. The police realized it was a mistake; the young Black man was not a pimp, but an entrepreneur. Now all of us in the barbershops and beauty salons love the police; we need them to “Protect and Serve… all of us.” Now if Johnny Cochran were around he would tell the police you’re doing a good job, but let me hear the 911 Call.

Justice raised his hand and said, “Why would you say that?”
Just Chiilin responded, “I say this because I was watching TV a couple years ago. An unarmed Black man was running away from the police… they put 7 or 8 bullets in his back, killed him, then walked back about 10 feet and picked up something that looked like a can of pepper spray and put it right beside the victim. Then another police car arrived on the scene and the officer talked to his “brother” to get his version of what happened. “It’s not what you thought you saw…”
Professor put up his hand and said “Listen very carefully, the 31-year-old white lady that was looking for a job from this 23 year-old Black man could’ve been a doctor/dentist who owns a home and needed maintenance work done at her. She put an ad out and he told her to meet him at Tim Hortons. But that’s not how the authorities saw them. That 911 call is what we need in society and we need the police to “Protect and Serve.” All the police had to do was play the 911 call to the media. Then go knock on the door of the person who made the call and ask why did you make the phone call.”
There was another “Amen!” from everybody in barbershop.
Ole Timer put up his hand and said, “It gets deeper than that. Read that book by Daniel Mannix, called Black Cargoes. Here, let me read an excerpt to you people:

The importation of Negro slaves from Africa to the two Americas was a gigantic commercial operation that cost between thirty and forty million lives, They helped to finance the English and French industrial revolutions, and the Civil War. It inflicted wounds on Africa—and on America—which are still unstanched… If you have time, go up to McGill University and talk to Dr. Charmaine Nelson. She will break it all down to you. Because you’re all busy being busy and still have nothing, so better talk with her.”

Just Chillin raised his hand and said, “Listen, if you saw the front page of the Saturday, February 20, Montreal Gazette, you know there was a two-page story on Blacks in Montreal. Naturally, the writer interviewed all the usual suspects. One guy who is 83-years-old is the president of an association in Cote Des Neiges. Now this guy could be a nice person. So when I read the headline I was wondering if he was bragging or complaining. Because he shouldn’t have gone public with that, it suggests there’s no one in his association to take over. It means he hasn’t schooled anyone to take over–when he retires, there must be qualified people out there. And since he’s 83, he should’ve retired many years ago.”
Then there’s this other guy who used to run a Black Studies Center in downtown Montreal, now it’s none-existent. He sold the building. Remember now, this is 2016 and according to Canada Statistics there are over 155,000 Blacks in Montreal. My point is: ‘What was the purpose of the interview in the largest English newspaper in Montreal? If they want their name in the paper that badly, smoke in bed.’”
Dropout said, “Amen!”
And Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not important unless it has impact on other peoples’ lives.” That 83-year-old in CDN should’ve had impact on other peoples’ lives and retired long ago by passing the torch to younger people in his organization. The other guy who owned the BSC should’ve done the same thing… and pass the torch. Why does this happen with every other ‘ethnic communities and organizations’ but not with us? They should’ve learned from the Catholics: there was an old Pope; now there’s a new Pope with different and ‘revolutionary’ ideas…”
Those guys must have the Robert Mugabe complex (prime minister for life). He said many years ago, “Only God who appointed me will remove me.”
Crystal put up his hand and said, “Let’s make it clear. These gentlemen mean well, but they are legends in their own minds. They thought they were somebody and that they could treat the community like those other city councilors. However, when they ran in municipal elections many years ago they all got wiped out. In fact, one white city councilor who got elected one time said (in reference to one of the Black candidates), “His own people voted for me…”
There was another “Amen!” in the barbershop.
Schoolboy put up his hand and said, “I will be graduating next year from university and my parents told me that the only thing that makes sense in 2016 is this: “It’s Miller time.”
If you read the February 18, 2016 issue of CommunityCONTACT, Marc Miller, M P for Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest-Ile-des-Soeurs said, “Black History Month reminds us of the contribution of the Black community in building this nation. I am proud to represent a community in Montreal that has played a key role in shaping the diverse, free and prosperous country that we enjoy today.”
Why this is important [it’s not only important, it’s very important] is because Marc Miller is our ‘bridge over troubled waters’. Whatever is going to be done for none-whites in Montreal, it will be done by somebody like Marc Miller. Why I say this is because you have never read/heard what Marc Miller said from any other politician at the municipal, provincial or federal government. So Marc Miller is the real deal, a close associate of the world’s greatest Jazz pianist, Oliver Jones, QC, who is also a Canadian treasure like the late Oscar Peterson who everybody thought… and still thinks is an American. Where there’s a statue in Ottawa of Oscar, and none in Montreal where he was born and raised.
Marc Miller loves music and also knows what a piano keyboard looks like. He knows when you play the piano to get beautiful music you need the black keys and the white keys… One of his favorite songs is one of the late, great Sam Cooke’s biggest hits, “A Change is Gonna Come.”