The Top 40

'How does it feel to be a problem?'. Thus constrained, the Negro can never be truly whole until he escapes those mental shackles - which is something he can only give to himself.

But exactly. What is being addressed here is the assumption of sole victimhood, which is the primary argument of the left.

I was the only and youngest male child in a household of angry and abusive women, so I can assure you that plenty of folks know what it means to simply have no choice but to Get The Fuck Over It and move on. Whatever difficulties occasioned by being born black were at least ameliorated by several decades of being the Designated Victim in the brave new world of American socialism.

White men never got any of that, did they?

I would think the best cure would be to get busy. Get so busy you aren't even aware that you are 'black'.

When you are achieving that goal you set out to do and you lose that awareness of your 'blackness' being that you are focused on something else, you may eventually realize that people from all demographics in the US have come and/or gone in your life:

Some will be helpful, some will not. But skin color will have little to do with it for a large segment of those people. What is important to most of them is what you could do for them from the goal you had chosen for yourself as your role to these people in the community. That 'equality' that is being forever sought will be discovered through the people who come to you for your goods/services that you offer them.

But one thing for certain is this: This self awareness that you are 'black' has got to be let go.

You're an American. The big battle was won decades ago (and a century and a half ago).

Free your mind.

www . youtube . com/watch?v=StNCmOBDIag#t=6m32s

Slaves must free themselves.

Thus it has always been...

I think the Political Class keeps the reparations issue going in the hope that black Americans never judge what exactly was the point of the Great Society given the effect it has had on them (with so many others).

The opiate is believing that in a wealthy country one can receive from the government all the necessities of life without much effort.
This kind of slavishness is justified in the dependent's mind as owed to them for past injustices to ancestors -- 'self-respect' is maintained by assuming a victim's helplessness.
Others call it irresponsibility.
The dependents I refer to are essentially capable of adequate effort, but who prefer to play the parasite.