I walk through the halls of my $3.4 million estate that boast five bedrooms and four full bathrooms. My bathroom all have bedays and gold encrusted handles to wash your hands in royalty. I have stormy gray and black porcelain floors throughout my home. I love to feel the coldness against my feet when I get out of bed. The touch greets me with a profound reminder of how fortunate I am and what I have accomplished all before the age of forty.
Hello, my name is Emily Dupri, and I am the direct descendant of the Dupri’s out of Alabama. My great-great grandfather made a name and a way for our family after he assisted many explorers on their quest to Africa to save the lost souls on that neglected continent. My proud ancestors freed hundreds of Africans and placed them throughout the Caribbean and the newly developed United States. At that time, my great-grandfather, still a boy, looked up to and learned from his father. He was taught that it is his duty to help the helpless by any means necessary.
My family’s plantation in Alabama was a good Christian plantation. I have always heard my family was one of the nicest slave owners in Alabama, allowing the slaves to marry and attend church on Sundays, another way my family has given back to the community.
My family built our wealth on cotton, liquor, and private equity firms by the time they reach the twentieth century, which I am presently benefiting from now. Of course, I am not one of those snobbish, privileged whites some may think I am because my father, like his father, thought their heirs should be educated and work hard to support the family’s legacy. And that is exactly what my brother and I did. We are both college graduates, debt free, and both have prominent positions in fortune 100 companies with residual income forever coming from our family’s sacrifice.
Some people look at me and sometimes think I am full of myself and say that I live in a bubble which could not be further from the truth. In fact, while attending Yale, I met some greet people who didn’t have as much as I did but were smart and worked very hard. One of my longtime friends, Mary Ashley, a beautiful blonde with high cheek bones, was from a middle class, single parent household. She was on scholarship so her mother didn’t have to pay the tuition like my parents did but Mary Ashley went on to graduate and is now the chief operating officer at one of the top hedge funds.
My girlfriends and I still keep in touch and relish over our accomplishments. It’s a proven fact, that you get out what you put in and as long as you have a great work ethic, you will achieve your goals and go far. Race, sex, and age should not factor. Although I do not have any personal friendships with people from other ethnic backgrounds, I respect all human life and want everyone to have the opportunity to succeed. My ancestors had that same mentality and we were rewarded for our due diligence. This country is truly the land of the free and endless amount of opportunities for each and every person.
*****
This narrative depicts that naiveness is the root cause of the stain America continues to perpetuate. Refusing to acknowledge the sinister acts of human exploitation of any minority group is grotesque. After more than ten years of the war [Revolutionary War] and its ravages, the Founding Fathers wanted to establish an orderly, prosperous society that valued property (Johnson & Smith, 1998). The race majority in the United States have profited and advanced for years off the backs of minorities who were brutally plucked away from their motherland as babies are plucked away from their mother’s breasts. “Domestic tranquility” depended upon the forced enslavement of those who ensured profitable enterprise (Johnson & Smith, 1998). The naivety of the majority in America stems from apathy and unfortunately these corroborated narratives are passed down from one generation to the next.
Many great Black Americans are no longer here to grace us with their presence, articulate words, or different viewpoints because we the people of the “free world” silenced them. We silenced them because we didn’t like their rhetoric. We silenced them because we didn’t like their tactics. We silenced them because they posed as a threat to what our society suppose to look like.
These beautiful and perfectly woven individuals will never say they had a chance to earn a million dollars let alone build a family name to create generational wealth. These fallen souls were the example of keeping the minority in place, a place where history is our present.
Take a moment and see all the Black and Brown fallen souls whose life and light was diminished by the hands of police before their 40th Birthday. These individuals will never have the opportunity to start/raise a family, build generational wealth, or look back over their life and relish in their accomplishments:
Tony “Tony the TIger” McDade, 1982 — May 27, 2020
Dreasjon “Sean” Reed, 1999 — May 6, 2021
Vincent “Vinny” M. Belmonte, September 14, 2001 — January 5, 202
Casey Christopher Goodson Jr., January 30, 1997 — December 4, 2020
Angelo “AJ” Crooms, May 15, 2004 — November 13, 2020
Sincere Pierce, April 2, 2002 — November 13, 2020
Marcellis Stinnette, June 17, 2001 — October 20, 2020
Jonathan Dwayne Price, November 3, 1988 — October 3, 2020
Dijon Durand Kizzee, February 5, 1991 — August 31, 2020
Rayshard Brooks, January 31, 1993 — June 12, 2020
Carlos Carson, May 16, 1984 — June 6, 2020
Breonna Taylor, June 5, 1993 — March 13, 2020
Manuel “Mannie” Elijah Ellis, August 28, 1986 — March 3, 2020
Atatiana Koquice Jefferson, November 28, 1990 — October 12, 2019
Elijah McClain, February 25, 1996 — August 30, 2019
Sterling Lapree Higgins, October 27, 1981 — March 25, 2019
Emantic “EJ” Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., June 18, 1997 — November 22, 2018
Charles “Chop” Roundtree Jr., September 5, 2000 — October 17, 2018
Chinedu Okobi, February 13, 1982 — October 3, 2018
Anton Milbert LaRue Black, October 18, 1998 — September 15, 2018
Botham Shem Jean, September 29, 1991 — September 6, 2018
Antwon Rose Jr., July 12, 2000 — June 19, 2018
Saheed Vassell, December 22, 1983 — April 4, 2018
Stephon Alonzo Clark, August 10, 1995 — March 18, 2018
Dennis Plowden Jr., 1992 — December 28, 2017
Bijan Ghaisar, September 4, 1992 — November 27, 2017
Charleena Chavon Lyles, April 24, 1987 — June 18, 2017
Jordan Edwards, October 25, 2001 — April 29, 2017
Chad Robertson, 1992 — February 15, 2017
Terrence LeDell Sterling, July 31, 1985 — September 11, 2016
Korryn Gaines, August 24, 1993 — August 1, 2016
Philando Castile, July 16, 1983 — July 6, 2016
Quintonio LeGrier, April 29, 1996 — December 26, 2015
Corey Lamar Jones, February 3, 1984 — October 18, 2015
Jamar O’Neal Clark, May 3, 1991 — November 16, 2015
Jeremy “Bam Bam” McDole, 1987 — September 23, 2015
India Kager, June 9, 1988 — September 5, 2015
Sandra Bland, February 7, 1987 — July 13, 2015
Brendon K. Glenn, 1986 — May 5, 2015
Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., August 16, 1989 — April 19, 2015
Phillip Gregory White, 1982 — March 31, 2015
Mya Shawatza Hall, December 5, 1987 — March 30, 2015
Meagan Hockaday, August 27, 1988 — March 28, 2015
Tony Terrell Robinson, Jr., October 18, 1995 — March 6, 2015
Janisha Fonville, March 3, 1994 — February 18 2015
Natasha McKenna, January 9, 1978 — February 8, 2015
Jerame C. Reid, June 8, 1978 — December 30, 2014
Rumain Brisbon, November 24, 1980 — December 2, 2014
Tamir Rice, June 15, 2002 — November 22, 2014
Akai Kareem Gurley, November 12, 1986 — November 20, 2014
Tanisha N. Anderson, January 22, 1977 — November 13, 2014
Dante Parker, August 14, 1977 — August 12, 2014
Ezell Ford, October 14, 1988 — August 11, 2014
Michael Brown Jr., May 20, 1996 — August 9, 2014
John Crawford III, July 29, 1992 — August 5, 2014
Tyree Woodson, July 8, 1976 — August 2, 2014
Dontre Hamilton, January 20, 1983 — April 30, 2014
Victor White III, September 11, 1991 — March 3, 2014
Gabriella Monique Nevarez, November 25, 1991 — March 2, 2014
McKenzie J. Cochran, August 25, 1988 — January 29, 2014
Jordan Baker, 1988 — January 16, 2014
Andy Lopez, June 2, 2000 — October 22, 2013
Barrington “BJ” Williams, 1988 — September 17, 2013
Jonathan Ferrell, October 11, 1989 — September 14, 2013
Larry Eugene Jackson Jr., November 29, 1980 — July 26, 2013
Clinton R. Allen, September 26, 1987 — March 10, 2013
Kimani “KiKi” Gray, October 19, 1996 — March 9, 2013
Jamaal Moore Sr., 1989 — December 15, 2012
Shelly Marie Frey, April 21, 1985 — December 6, 2012
Darnisha Diana Harris, December 11, 1996 — December 2, 2012
Malissa Williams, June 20, 1982 — November 29, 2012
Noel Palanco, November 28, 1989 — October 4, 2012
Reynaldo Cuevas, January 6, 1992 — September 7, 2012
Chavis Carter, 1991 — July 28, 2012
Alesia Thomas, June 1, 1977 — July 22, 2012
Shantel Davis, May 26, 1989 — June 14, 2012
Tamon Robinson, December 21, 1985 — April 18, 2012
Ervin Lee Jefferson, III, 1994 — March 24, 2012
Kendrec McDade, May 5, 1992 — March 24, 2012
Rekia Boyd, November 5, 1989 — March 21, 2012
Shereese Francis, 1982 — March 15, 2012
Jersey K. Green, June 17, 1974 — March 12, 2012
Wendell James Allen, December 19, 1991 — March 7, 2012
Nehemiah Lazar Dillard, July 29, 1982 — March 5, 2012
Dante’ Lamar Price, July 18, 1986 — March 1, 2012
Raymond Luther Allen Jr., 1978 — February 29, 2012
Manual Levi Loggins Jr., February 22, 1980 — February 7, 2012
Ramarley Graham, April 12, 1993 — February 2, 2012
Alonzo Ashley, June 10, 1982 — July 18, 2011
Derek Williams, January 23, 1989 — July 6, 2011
Raheim Brown, Jr., March 4, 1990 — January 22, 2011
Reginald Doucet, June 3, 1985 — January 14, 2011
Derrick Jones, September 30, 1973 — November 8, 2010
Danroy “DJ” Henry Jr., October 29, 1990 — October 17, 2010
Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley-Jones, July 20, 2002 — May 16, 2010
Steven Eugene Washington, September 20, 1982 — March 20, 2010
Aaron Campbell, September 7, 1984 — January 29, 2010
Kiwane Carrington, July 14, 1994 — October 9, 2009
Victor Steen, November 11, 1991 — October 3, 2009
Oscar Grant III, February 27, 1986 — January 1, 2009
Tarika Wilson, October 30, 1981 — January 4, 2008
DeAunta Terrel Farrow, September 7, 1994 — June 22, 2007
Sean Bell, May 23, 1983 — November 25, 2006
James B. Brissette Jr., November 6, 1987 — September 4, 2005
Henry “Ace” Glover, October 2, 1973 — September 2, 2005
Timothy Stansbury, Jr., November 16, 1984 — January 24, 2004
Kendra Sarie James, December 24, 1981 — May 5, 2003
Orlando Barlow, December 29, 1974 — February 28, 2003
Nelson Martinez Mendez, 1977 — August 8, 2001
Timothy DeWayne Thomas Jr., July 25, 1981 — April 7, 2001
Patrick Moses Dorismond, February 28, 1974 — March 16, 2000
Prince Carmen Jones Jr., March 30, 1975 — September 1, 2000
Malcolm Ferguson, October 31, 1976 — March 1, 2000
LaTanya Haggerty, 1973 — June 4, 1999
Amadou Diallo, September 2, 1975 — February 4, 1999
Tyisha Shenee Miller, March 9, 1979 — December 28, 1998
Nicholas Heyward Jr., August 26, 1981 — September 27, 1994
Yvonne Smallwood, July 26, 1959 — December 9, 1987
