Let's Talk Turkey

"C'mon bruh! Y'all gotta know when to trip and not to trip!"

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” Marcus Garvey was quick and to the point when he said, “I like honesty and fair play.” The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. broke it down like this, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

On Thursday night during TNT’s NBA halftime show, “Inside the NBA,” Sir Charles Barkley was asked by co-host Kenny Smith who his favorite president was and he answered by saying, “I love President Obama, but Abe Lincoln is my new favorite president. You know why? Because if it weren’t for him, we’d be calling Ernie boss.”

Now what blew me away was not that Chuck said it, but the reaction of people watching the telecast to what he said. All of a sudden people were offended that he said something that was true in a joking manner but he wasn't lying bruh. Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! In other words homeboy, let's talk turkey. Who was offended? Black folks or a small number of white folks that don’t ever want to be reminded of the reality of slavery in America? The old timers would always tell us that you can’t ever figure out where you’re going unless you understand where you’ve been. That means all of us, both black and white.

Don’t get mad at Chuck for saying what he thought was real because most black folks feel the same way about Lincoln even though we realize that the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 had little to do with us and everything to do with saving the Union, either way it freed the slaves.

Let’s stop avoiding issues in this country that can help us to become a stronger nation. The issue of race is always on the table but we have to be smart enough to use it to our advantage as a nation. Our diversity is what makes us great. If everyone were the same and had the same cultural background and outlook on life it would be boring and bland. It would be like cooking with only one ingredient and no spice! Therefore, we’ve got to stop lying to ourselves about our history and how we all got here in the first place. If Chuck has to throw it into the NBA show to do it, I'm cool with that.

It’s like when they teach kids that Christopher Columbus discovered America in school. How can a boy discover something that was already inhabited by other people hundreds of years earlier? That’s like some cat showing up at my house, kicking my family and I out and telling his boyz that he discovered this new crib.

Let’s deal in honesty and we’ll be better for it. The key is not to offend people in the process about who they are. The reason that folks love that show is because it’s brutally honest! Now you may have been shocked that Chuck said it, but there was nothing offensive about what he said. It was funny because they all have a great relationship! Now Ernie was clearly embarrassed but it was all in fun. I've seen Chuck say some ridiculous things and that doesn't make the list. He was keeping it 100 and being funny with his boyz. That is why that show blows all of the others away. The only people that didn’t find humor in what Charles said were those that want to act like slavery never happened.

 As long as we continue to lie to each other we’ll never live out our true destiny as a country. Yes, our past has been ugly but so has the history of other great empires of the world. Now that doesn't make it right but it is what it is at this point! However, to act like it never happened is just as offensive as the act of slavery itself. So if we're all gonna be family then let's embrace who we are and we’ll be better because of it and don't be so uptight in the process!

Holla At Ya  Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter:@jaygravesreport