It’s not easy to say out loud — but it’s real. I’m a Black man, and for years, I was afraid of my own people. Not because of what I knew — but because of what I was taught to believe.
Turn on the TV, scroll through your phone, or watch the evening news — and what do you see? Black faces linked to crime, chaos, and conflict. Headlines that scream violence but never show brilliance. Stories that highlight our worst moments while ignoring our best ones. After a while, those images don’t just shape how others see us — they start shaping how we see ourselves.
That’s what the system wants. Fear keeps us divided. It stops us from trusting each other, supporting each other, and building together. The truth is, the majority of our people are hardworking, creative, spiritual, and powerful beyond measure. But those stories rarely make the headlines — because unity isn’t profitable, and empowerment doesn’t sell.
The media has spent decades turning our pain into entertainment and our neighborhoods into headlines. But here’s what they won’t show you: the young Black teachers changing lives, the fathers mentoring kids after work, the women leading businesses and movements, the communities feeding their own. That’s the real story — and it’s happening every single day.
The fear we feel isn’t ours — it’s inherited. It’s programmed. And it’s time to unlearn it. The moment we stop letting the media define who we are, we start reclaiming our power. I’m not afraid anymore. I see through the lens now — and what I see are kings and queens, builders and believers, survivors and dreamers. We are not the problem. We are the promise.
