Last week, I asked for support of Black-Owned Businesses in a campaign that runs from June 19, 2020 (today) through July 6, 2020. I added that those who RSVP to join the campaign, called My Black Receipt, will be in the running to win a free signed copy of one of my books.
I got no support and no email with an RSVP screenshot for a free book.
What I Got:
- 6 email unsubscribes
- 2 Abuse Complaints
- 1 Nasty Email Reply
I was told I was discriminating against other races and religions and that I had gone “too far,” for asking people to support black-owned businesses.
Instead of talk about that, I thought I’d re-introduce myself. I realize some of you are new to me, so you may not fully understand the extent of my work.
My passion for the state of my people isn’t something that sprang up while watching protests on the news. I am not a “jump on the bandwagon,” kind of person. Supporting black people and black businesses is something I have done for many years. For me, it’s not about “white vs. black.” It has never been. It is about good vs. evil and right vs. wrong.
I write Black Historical Fiction and Poetry. My work targets black readers and aims to raise the consciousness of all people interested in understanding the plight of Black America.
The reason I say “Black America” is because Israelites/Blacks/African Americans have lived a different experience than the rest of the World, and for years that experience has been virtually unknown to non-black people. My goal is to expose those unknowns and free the mind of the black man, woman, and child.
I strive to manifest the restoration of the forgotten past to a forgotten people through book publishing and education.
In doing so, I hope my books can provide a roadmap for all people who find it difficult to be liberated in their own lives. I understand this isn’t easy to do considering the level of misinformation, deception, and religious ideologies that have enslaved us for so long.
I believe that faith without works is dead, so being actively involved is fundamental to me. Black readers are those I target and have targeted long before the Black Lives Matter movement. We are the people for whom my books are written, and these are our stories.
Those familiar with my work understand this statement by no means alienates other nationalities of people.
In the words of the Messiah Yahoshua, who I believe was a black man, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel .” (Matt. 15:24) It is to the lost sheep first and then to the nations. I believe black people are those lost sheep, and before I can liberate the minds of non-black people, I must work to free the black mind first.
I won’t apologize for this.
I have promoted people of all races, belief systems, and countries on this blog and social media, but I have also spoken about my love for black people. Anyone surprised about this either has not been paying attention or doesn’t know me very well and, therefore, are not members of my targeted audience.
And that’s okay.
I am not worried about those who leave because I would rather “die on my feet than live on my knees.” I would rather lose support standing for what I believe in than to sell myself short for a pat on the back. In the words of MLK, who so many non-black people are so apt to quote, “there comes a time when silence is betrayal.”
For anyone to say my request for support of black businesses is abusive and discriminatory is proof of the very abuse and racial discrimination blacks face every day from people who do not understand what it’s like and what it means to be “black” in America.
My Book Sale is Live!
The PBS Blog 
Beautifully written and Lord willing I will purchase a copy of your book by next Friday.
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Thank you!
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My blog is going award free effective 06/30/2020; however, I am completing the remaining few awards received before my decision. I will add your blog link with no expectation for you participate, just to bring awareness to your site. Have a wonderful day.
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Thank you! I appreciate the support.
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This right here…
“I was told I was discriminating against other races and religions and that I had gone “too far,” for asking people to support black-owned businesses.”
… I will never understand.
Blog and post anything you want, but the minute you put “black” in front of it then you’re discriminating. You’re an Isolationist. A Separatist. A Racist.
If all things were equal and the playing field level, there would be no NEED for requests/campaigns for black business support, yet 155 years after the first Juneteenth, here we are.
Perhaps blog visitors should do more than simply like posts. Perhaps they should read them and take them to heart. Might be revolutionary… or at least thought-provoking.
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I couldn’t have said it better myself. And the thing is, I don’t mind isolation. I personally think blacks were better off economically during segregation than integration because we supported our own. Unpopular opinion but I don’t write to be liked sooo 🤷🏾♀️
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You are absolutely 100% right, Felicia. People should not just click ‘like’ without reading a post. It’s a lie and helps nobody.
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I think you are doing a great job, Yecheilyah. In my opinion, the classifying of people, by any criteria, is wrong. Why was Barak Obama a black man? His mother is white. Why are some ‘white’ people darker than some ‘black people? Skin colour ranges from almost pure white to an ebony colour, with all shades in between. The whole racist thing is crazy and illogical.
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That’s because the concept of race wasn’t something established by the Creator. Every person is part of a nation of people, not a race.
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I agree wholeheartedly. We are one race, the species Homo Sapiens (although I often think the ‘Sapiens’ part is something of a misnomer). We would think it weird if one breed of dog refused to interact with another breed. Cats are cats, regardless of colour or breed. A black and white cow doesn’t refuse to have anything to do with brown and white ones etc. there is no discrimination on the grounds of colour in the animal kingdom, so why have we, the ‘wise men’, (sapiens means wise for those not Latin scholars) decided that people with a different skin tone are somehow ‘lesser’? It doesn’t make sense.
As to your comment of Jesus being black, there is something in that. After all, Solomon had a child with the black Queen of Sheba. There was probably a lot more of interbreeding between the African nations and the Middle Eastern ones than we have accepted.
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I don’t really get into the whole Homosapien thing and I don’t think of humans as animals because it ultimately comes from Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, which is steeped in racism.
But, when I say that “Jesus” was black I don’t mean it in the sense that those of the Middle East mixed with Africans. I am saying those of the so-called Middle East are Black or so-called African. The Messiah wasn’t black because of intermixing. The Messiah was black because the Israelites were/are black.
In 70 C.E., after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Israelites fled into East Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan). We then began a 1,400-year migration across Africa into its western shores followed by the transatlantic slave trade. This prophetic event transported millions of Hebrews from Africa to The Americas. Tribal nations in West Africa such as the Yoruba, Ashanti, Ibgo, etc., are Israelites.
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I’ve been reading you for a while now and always appreciate your point of view. I get your emails. Yet, until recently, I didn’t understand as a white 60-year old woman what it means to be black in America. I tried. I really thought I understood it. I read Baraka and Malcolm X in my 20s. I wrote passionately and spoke against racism. Dr. King has been my hero since I my teacher taught us a song about him in 5th grade, two years after he was killed. Yet, for all my head knowledge I still did not understand fully in my heart until I saw the brutal murder of George Floyd. I felt assaulted with grief. I felt rage. I felt hopeless and ashamed to have never seen this before. But I see it now. And I will spend the rest of my life doing my part to shine a light on this. Every time someone says, “All lives matter,” now I know what to say. When I first saw the show “Dear White People” I got angry. Now I watch it and love it. My heart changed. I think a lot of hearts changed and I pray it keeps happening. I’m sorry you got those emails, Yecheilyah. They are in the dark still. May they see the light. May we all. With respect and gratitude, ♥. Niki
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Thank you, Niki. I appreciate your honest feedback ❤
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Thank you, Yecheilyah. I appreciate yours too. Thanks for listening and for what your life teaches since I “met” you. You lead with compassion and love. ♥.
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❤
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