they are not your saviors.

Beyonce made you feel like a woman, but she is not your savior.

Puff made you dance, but he is not your savior.

Aubrey Grahams helped you make sense of your relationship, but he is not your savior.

robert kelly made you think you could fly, but he is not your savior.

Kamala gave you hope, but she is not your savior.

Snoop helped put Hip Hop on the map, but he is not your savior.

Kendrick made you think, but he is not your savior.

tyler perry… well, i dont know what tyler perry did for you.

but they are not your saviors.

when living in a white supremacist world, i understand the yearning for representation. the desire for having someone who looks like you with some recognition. the want of identifying with someone whose from where you’re from. the void of a voice of someone who speaks your language in a high place. the image of someone you think is like you “at the table.” i get it.

it helps your self-esteem. YOU made it.

it creates a feeling validation. YOU are worthy.

it helps breaks negative stereotypes. YOU are normal.

again, specifically when heterosexual Christian (lol) white men curate their very own menu that everyone else MUST eat from, representation matters.

but it’s not enough.

especially considering the media is the fourth branch of the government. consider the common perception of Cuba. or Russia. or the entire continent of Africa. or of Black women. or Black males. copagangda and seeing your favorite Black actor in law enforcement. the media is doing its job.

why it matters.

there’s a lot of gay people, but you might not know because some people are scared to show who they are due to little or no representation of gay people around them or in public spaces. more seriously, there’s a lot of harm and judgement and dehumanization that comes with admitting you’re gay and openly wearing whatever you wanna wear. there’s a lot of judgement from your loved ones when you’re gay, let alone from the outside world. but for some people, if their uncle told the family he’s now their auntie, and didn’t care what anyone thought, it could help them maneuver a little better. or they might be empowered if a really famous person said “yeap, i’m gay. and what?” last week.

just imagine if the main character of the highest grossing movie franchise ever was whatever YOU identified as. or is from where you’re from and let the whole world know every they spoke. imagine if the most popular musician looked and spoke and danced like you… they didn’t actually DO anything besides sing or rap, but they looked and spoke like you. that’s all. there might be this seemingly natural attraction to them. or what if you’re from a place that the majority of society doesn’t like. we throw “those people” away. the Have Nots. what if that person became one of the most well known persons in the world, like, the president. just imagine if someone who looks like you made it to be the president of the united states of amerikkka. hell, just to the senate. matter of fact, forget the position. if someone who looked like you and was from where you’re from and was simply on tv making money. that’s all it takes.

when people, but really Black people, saw Barack Obama become president, it provided a sense of accomplishment. like the world is moving in a better place. like what you and your ancestors fought for paid off. like you can proudly show your kids that THEY can “make it.” whatever “it” is.

in 2001, Halle Berry became the first Black woman to win the best actress award for her performance in Monster’s Ball. the first. and i know we liked celebrating the first. she cried throughout her speech. she named many Black women who came before her and during her career. her speech can truly give you goosebumps.

“This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.”

this was a moment.

why it’s not enough.

moments usually don’t swing the pendulum. we don’t fight, struggle and die for moments as moments come and go. we fight, struggle and die for transformation. we must not struggle for this “seat at a table.” THEY cannot be the standard.

in 2025, the same Halle Berry said “it has forced me to ask myself, ‘did it matter? did it really change ANYTHING for women of color? for my sisters. for our journey. the system is not really designed for us.’ so we have to stop coveting that which is not for us.” what would make her say that 24 years later? well, she thought that door was opened then but she was the last one to win. THEEE door wasn’t opened. A singular door seemed to be propped open, but it was an infinite amount of doors behind that one and the power structure knew it.

it becomes dangerous when we don’t see plays being made because, remember, media is the fourth branch of the government. it’s a tool used by this very government (you know, the one we are looking to destroy and complain about daily) to maintain power. to pacify you. media assists in influencing your ideas, actions and belief systems. the power structure knows this. we are naive to it. we become so subdued by simply seeing someone on tv that we don’t care what they’re doing.

“Get that bag, sis.”

“Get ya money, Black man.”

“He’s one of us.”

“She has her reasons.”

“He’s the first…”

no. she is complicit in the conditioning of YOUR people. he is in collusion with the people you are against. the reason you can’t (or wont) see this is because you share the same identity. you don’t WANT to see it. if this person was doing the same thing and was white, you would see the play before it started. if the person was a man, you would see the game as is. if the person wasn’t gay, you would see how negative and flat-out wrong they are. if this person didn’t make good music, you would be more critical of their actions. if the person wasn’t a democrat, you would see how foolish and conniving they are. but they are. they check every box you like so you just don’t care.

why? because representation matters.

there’s non Black people right now trying to get money. their first move is to make content that satisfies Black people. if you can satisfy Black people (especially within the entertainment realm), you’ll make it. people don’t study finances. they study what Black people want.

your politics is identity. your politics is linked solely to representation. the danger in that is how quickly and easily manipulation occurs. the government has only a few plays but they keep them in rotation because we keep falling for the okey-doke. we must check ourselves if what matters to us is simply SEEING someone.

Black faces in high places are not going to save us. look around.

visibility is not dignity.

a huge issue for people who have been colonized is the question of DIGNITY. when you have been oppressed and are still dealing with the oppressor, instead of you working on de-colonizing your mind, the oppressor is working on making sure you question your reality. you are to question those who are questioning them.

conscious and conscience people are now your subconscious enemy. the ones who refuse to accept crumbs as cake are difficult. the ones who are apprehensive about commonly accepted ideas are labeled. you no longer want to talk to the ones who understand visibility is not enough.

dignity is the victory. freedom is the achievement. not being seen. not visibility. not recognition.

Black faces in high places are not going to save us.

CULTURE.

listen. culture aint enough to stand on when it comes to principles. let “culture” take position when your sister gets beat up by someone who contributed to “culture.” let your nephew get abused by someone who was part of “culture.”

since we don’t have many of US (whoever us is) in high places, we remain forever tolerant of harmful and nasty and soulless human beings part of “the culture.” since representation matters so much, we accept “culture” over principles. but if we lean into people who lack (literal) soul in favor of represenation, what does that say about us? who are we? what do WE represent?

why do we fight so hard to defend men who beat and rape and coerce people? all because they sing well and produce songs? THAT’S our bar? if it were your sister…

why do we fight so hard to defend women who drugged and robbed men and have laughed about it and literally said they’ll do it again? doubling down on drugging people. and you’re gonna find a way to excuse it, right? all because you can dance to her song about wet pussy? THAT’S our bar? if it were your little brother…

all in the name of culture, eh. many of these people didn’t even write or produce their songs. they just walked into the studio, spent hours trying to perfect the vision, had their voice manipulated, and became a puppet. Ice Cube already mentioned how the same people who owns prisons also owns record labels. he mentioned how there’s a committee who writes lyrics and takes out whole verses if it doesn’t serve the bottom line.

we keep NOT seeing The Play because we’re so caught up in representation. who cares if gang life and being a perpetual ho is being promoted to the youth. who cares. i mean, we mentor and talk to the youth for fun. not to deter them from any of thoooose actions and types of behaviors.

if amerikkka is a white supremacist country (it is) whose government doesn’t care about you but instead preserving the empire and will do EVERYTHING to do so, things you couldnt even imagine, what does that say about us who is in favor of the leader of that very government? as long as they look like us.

if you worked your life to get paid more and fought for every cent in your bank account, what does that say about us are in full support of celebrities who exploit poor consumers while they make billions all while being draped in a flag that REPRESENTS oppression? i mean freedom.

Barack, like other Black faces, are puppets for the empire. neo-colonialism. what is it about a Black man bombing people in the name of amerikkka worth celebrating? why do you want to see a Black woman as the leader of a country that disregards Black people? that funds wars all over the world causing destruction to Black and Brown people?

what does that say about us? we have to revisit our morals. our principles. our goals.

again, representation DOES matter.

but we have to question how much conditoning has been doing for us to celebrate war criminals and value money so much that we don’t care how it comes, as long as they’re OUR identity.

visibility is not dignity.

listen to the second verse of The Heart Pt 5 x kendrick lamar.

*as always, click the blue words as they will take you to another link/source