by UIN Staff 2 8 26

(note: for those of you who may not know, there is an ongoing policy by American institutions to hide, erase, delete and destroy our history and achievements. Our children and yet unborn decedents will suffer greatly if we allow this to happen. UIN is fighting this battle. Please subscribe at http://uintv.net to help us preserve these stories and the 4,000 videos we have on the Black experience.)

First, who is Shaboozy? Being a Baby Boomer or “OG”, as we are referred to now, I had no clue who he was until this Grammy speech controversy  surfaced.  Clearly he s a gifted performer and the accolades he has received are warranted. However, the comments he made during his acceptance speech has only added to the mistrust between FBA’s and Tethers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-icR-84toYQ

Although he issued a weak apology, far more people heard the speech than heard the apology. That is why this response is necessary.  For those who may not know, there has been an ongoing social media battle between FBA’s (Foundational Black Americans) and who they call Tethers (immigrants, not just Africans).  The false assertion that “Immigrants built America” is unchallenged by corporate media and White institutions. They encourage this narrative because it absolves America and the people who run it from the trillions in Reparation owed to FBA’s. This group is the amalgamation of two people. The first are the mostly West Africans who were brought here for the slave trade (many were Black Jews from Portugal and Spain, and the Black Hebrews who fled South into Africa when the Assyrians destroyed the Temple,  https://blkhistory.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/KINGDOM-OF-JUDAH.mp4 ).

The second is the First American who came here long before the Asians came across the top of the continent from Siberia and down into the Americas. There were millions of these Black people already here. https://blkhistory.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/Indigenous-Black-American.mp4

These two groups mixed, were mislabeled and reclassified by invading White Europeans to deny their claim to this land. When you combine the land claim with what is owed for the yet uncompensated for labor and intellectual property, there is an iron clad claim to this land. https://www.tiktok.com/@heylovejones/video/7602348112035843359

They are the ones who built America, the railroads, the universities, the white house and especially the American economy. They  fought and died in all the wars. They fought and died for just laws and fair treatment. This allowed immigrants like Shaboozey’s parents to come here and enjoy a system FBAs fought, and died for. When he said immigrants build America, I genuinely would like to know who and what. He said his parents “sacrificed to come here. They did not sacrifice to come, They abandon their homeland rather than stay and fight to fix it. All Black people carry the burden of the consequences of the millions of Africans who fled rather than stay and fight. So we know they won’t wage any battle here and that is why this society promotes them. Here is what Donald Trump said about the contributions of FBA’s:  https://blkhistory.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/TRUMP-CLIP.mp4 

     As far as culture, all of the music that has contributed to who Shaboozey is, R & B, Hip Hop and Country has it’s roots set in the Black American experience. All the musicians he credits acknowledged the influence Black musicians had on their careers. Country music has it’s origins in FBA culture. This genre is associated with the ”cowboy” image. Even this was totally appropriate, hijacked and distorted by Hollywood as this clip points out:   https://blkhistory.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/Cowboys-Were-Black+-.webm

So comments like “”immigrants build America” contributes to the alienation of FBA’s and Black immigrants. Given Trump’s ever changes policies, Shaboozeys resident status is not guaranteed.