Guns & Your Black-Ass Life
Welcome to the second installment of your fave Black Identity Extremist newsletter: This Black-Ass Life! This week, we’re delving into guns, gun control and Black gun ownership. We are solidly
#TeamNobodyGetAGunPleaseEspeciallyWhiteMen, but we want to hip y’all to the facts and the history. Also, please peep our special shout out to Gabrielle Union, and Jumoke’s mama is a tattle-tale.
Don’t forget: Send us topics, texts from your parents, Kanye updates and any Black-Ass anything from around the world and the web. Don’t forget to also forward to your friends to subscribe.
l. The Facts
The 2nd Amendment is important to your Black-Ass life
Like everything in America, gun ownership and gun control laws have a racist history. Yes, the Second Amendment guaranteed the right to bear arms in 1791, but slaves, as well as most free Blacks, were barred from gun ownership in states across the newly formed country.
Fast-forward to the Civil Rights Movement, when Black nationalists like the Black Panther Party took up arms to defend their communities, and states became solidly pro-gun control. For example, in 1967, California's then-Governor Ronald Reagan (Satan) signed the Mulford Act, which prohibited open-carry of weapons in public places.
In the 60s and 70s, the NRA continued to support gun control policies like prohibiting open-carry and “Saturday Night Specials” because they considered guns in Black hands a threat to White people.
Today, the NRA is still not about Black gun owners. They were infamously silent after the deaths of Philando Castile, who was murdered for having a licensed weapon (and being Black), and John Crawford, who was murdered for carrying a toy gun in an open-carry state (and for being Black).
A closer look: Black gun owners ask: Does the Second Amendment apply to us?; Gun control's racist past and present; Negroes With Guns
So … what can my Black ass do?
First, this is not a endorsement of gun ownership. I (Jumoke) am on
#TeamTakeEverybodysGunAwayTodayLikeRightNow, but with the rise of hate crimes ushered in by Mango Mussolini and emboldened racists, Black gun ownership is way up, and we understand why Black folks are choosing to exercise their Second Amendment rights.If you’re interested in learning more about gun ownership, you can check out the National African-American Gun Association, based in Atlanta. They position themselves as the Black NRA and went from 300 members in 2015 to 20,000 today.
For Black women, there’s Trigger Happy Firearm Instruction, founded by Marchelle Tigner. She’s a veteran and a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence, and wants to empower women by teaching them how to use firearms.
On the gun control advocacy front, there aren’t many national organizations solidly at the intersection of gun control and racial justice, but check out Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
ll. Other Things
Shannon Sharpe is GOAT:
Shannon Sharpe is my (Mitu’s) favorite Bronco & the greatest to do it. He celebrated the Broncos’ recent dominance with “Milds and Henn Dawg” and now he’s been remixed! He’s also doubled down to show us his Henny is a little more expensive than the stuff we drink. Legend.
Also, Jumoke told me she’s never heard of Shannon Sharpe and I’ve never felt more disrespected.
Stella McCartney is lazy:
Unpopular opinion (Jumoke): Designer Stella McCartney is not an appropriator for using ankara in her new line. The fabric, also known as Dutch Wax Print, did not originate in Africa and is not even made on the continent (the good stuff is made by the Dutch, the cheap shit is made by the Chinese). The cross-bred complicated history of ankara began on the island of Java (Indonesia), made its way to the Netherlands in the late 19th century, and eventually became the marker of West African identity in the 20th century. In the 21st century, the fabric is both a symbol of pride for Black people everywhere and the go-to for lazy uninspired designers who need to add a dash of exoticpizzaz! to their resort line (i.e: Burberry /2012, Marni /2012, Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B /2011, Junya Watanabe/2009). While I don’t think McCartney is an appropriator, I do give her major side eye for calling the line "a joyful exploration of British style" (Girl. Whut?!). Also, she’s basic, her designs are unimaginative, and she needs to get more Black models walking her shows.
Our Black-Ass song of the week (Mitu):
I know it’s been out for a minute, but I cannot stop looping the Mi Gente remix featuring Beyonce.
Obligatory Kanye check-in (Mitu):
Hero and Chance the Rapper-mentor, Kanye’s West’s The Life Of Pablo album is the first ever to go gold based purely on streams in the U.K.
Things we are looking forward to / things we are not forward to (Gabrielle Union Edition):
We are looking forward to Gabrielle Union’s new book We’re Going to Need More Wine (October 17; Harper Collins) where she talks about rape, infertility, colorism and a host of other very difficult issues. She’s a Black-ass survivor. And a Black-ass Clover forever!!
We are not looking forward to 2018’s bittersweet 2-hours series finale of Being Mary Jane. Yes, the show did go off the rails once Mara Akil-Brock left, but it gave us laughs and tears and a closer look at what it’s like to operate as a Black woman in a very White office space.
lll. Texts From a Black-Ass Papa
Cuffing season is upon on us and we have a reminder from Jumoke’s father that dating is serious business.
