The Barbershop Reconvenes
The barbershop was crowded. Everybody was looking fresh, upbeat, ready to start the New Year on the good foot, like James Brown. They were still talking about the NYE Party hosted by Smitty City, Todd Smith and his mother Brenda. It all went down at Caribbean Paradise on Newman Blv’d in LaSalle. Anybody who is somebody was there. It was the event bringing in the New Year to be at. People came from all over Canada.
Professor was sitting there just itching to go. He got up and was walking back and forth, then said, “This is a New Year, 2016. What’s happening?”
Just Chillin’ put up his hand and said, “The party that Todd Smith and his mother Brenda hosted is once a year, but what’s happening now is what’s happening everyday…”
Schoolboy interrupted and said, “Let’s get to the point.”
Professor said, “My point is about something I read in the New York Post, December 27. If you don’t believe me stop texting your baby mother and read what happened in Chicago…”
Big Mouth said, “Tell us what happened.”
Professor said, “Just read the New York Post about a Chicago cop who fatally shot two people ‘early Saturday’ while responding to a domestic disturbance, angering many in a city already roiled by recently released video of a white officer shooting a Black 17-year-old. Police did not immediately identify or reveal the race of the cop in the latest shooting…”
Schoolboy said, “I didn’t know all that…”
Crystal said, “Now it’s all clear.”
Tom, aka, Uncle Tom changed the subject. “I heard Dr. Frances Cress Welsing passed away. I understand all the regulars of the Ways and Means Committee were at the lecture many years ago and came back enlightened. One of the feature points of her lecture was that white folks are less than 10 percent of the world’s population and shrinking…”
“Say that again,” School Boy interrupted.
Uncle Tom continued, “White folks are 10 percent of the world’s population and shrinking… Now who is really the visible minority?”
Money’s hand shot up like a rocket, and he said, “It comes down to the Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rule…”
The Genius put up his hand and said, “What Montreal needs is a Black Studies Center [BSC], owned and operated by the right people, not like the ones we had before. Someone who has vision, not like Dr. Quackenbush who was… is Black but want to be white…”
Just Chillin’ said, “Gimme an example of a BSC. Check The Schomburg Center in Harlem, NY. It’s about to start a new chapter. The New York Public Library-run center, one of the world’s leading research institutions devoted to Black culture, kicked off a $22 million facelift with a ceremonial groundbreaking Friday…”
Big Mouth interrupted, “You don’t believe him? Read the article, Harlem library fix in the DAILY NEWS (NYDailyNews.com) Saturday, December 19, 2015, P. 21. And get informed.”
Tom said, “You talk like there’s no hope…”
“Well let me tell you something about Hope,” Big Mouth interrupted. “Tell that to the First Nations people about all this hope. Do you know anything about the history of Canada? The new PM, Justin Trudeau, apologized to the FN people about the abuse that was inflicted on them… who inflicted the abuse and why… A lot of the children ran away and they found them frozen to death. They took them from their homes, put them in residential schools and they did the natural thing: try and run away rather than suffer abuse…”
Genius put up his hand and started talking. “Over the years you acquire knowledge and with knowledge comes wisdom. And when you look in the dictionary for the word NEVER or unorganized, you’ll see why all the Black churches can’t get together and flourish by owning their own property. God Bless the child that has his own… STRUCTURE, ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZE… We have none of those fundamental things. We have too many Pete’s and Judases running those outfits. If you don’t believe me it’s all in the BOOK, aka, the Bible, the #1 selling book in the western world…”
Professor interrupted, “Always remember when you’re confronted by authority that racism is like cancer; perpetrators don’t always know they have it. And when a person says, ‘Joy To The World’ just look at the 6 O’clock news… If there were peace in the world the Stock Market would crash. Because the #1 commodity in the world is drugs #2 is weapons, #3 human cargo. When you’re legit it’s about food, clothing and shelter… the basics.”
Everybody in the barbershop shouted, “Amen!”
Go down to City Hall sometime and see that [one] city councillor who’s Black. You can do that later this month when the mayor puts out a call to come down to City Hall for the Black History Month kick-off event. People will be flocking down there instead of getting inoculated against all the racism and kissing the mayor’s ring, playing like he’s a political pope.
And Just Chillin’ said, “All the Uncle Toms who go down there should be ashamed of themselves… They’re all morally bankrupt. Especially those heads of Black organizations who know nothing about Blacks in Montreal and the rest of Canada… Did you know Blacks and whites in Nova Scotia had to go to separate schools, something called “segregation”. This is Canada, not America.
Everybody in the barbershop again said, “Amen!”
Money finally broke his silence and said, “All the Blacks in America should be very happy with Donald Trump because he has 30 per cent of the people with him. And he’s exposing (the people of) America for what it really is – racism. Donald Trump calls an agency, which sends the people to hype the crowd.”
“It’s unfortunate. However, that’s the way it is. If Trump came to the Bell Center it would sell out. The place wouldn’t be big enough for him.”
Meanwhile it’s 2016, still Miller Time… But remember, four years will be over fast. But the South-West Montreal finally has a bridge…
