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This past April, my father died of a virus that is killing Black people in crazy numbers.
In May, I watched a cop murder a Black man on-camera.
Most of my white friends were upset by this image.
We hadnt had this much fun since Jadakiss did his drunk dance onVerzuz.
The picture, taken by Win McNamee of Getty Images, has circulated widely and generated many silly memes.
In an Instagram Story by Jamie Foxx, the intruder is saying Hi, mom!
Like all great photographs, the image fires the imagination.
I believe it should be printed, framed, and hung in the National Portrait Gallery.
Thats the America white people think we live in a beacon of democracy, a paragon of dignity.
But the photograph itself is the America Black people know.
An America built on the theft of labor, land, and life.
Maybe thats his truth, but it isnt mine.
When I was 15, I was arrested for a nonviolent drug offense.
Then the barbarians arrived.
They caused the worlds most powerful people to cower in the basement.
They smashed in the windows like the bad guys breaking into Kevin McCallisters mansion inHome Alone.
Hes got practical Asics.
Golden surfer hair and a scarf.
His smile is friendly, free of worry, content.
It isnt the bitter grimace of those bad white people the deplorables Im supposed to fear.
As it turns out, that face has a name: Adam Christian Johnson.
But things seem to have worked out well for him.
As someone who has survived violence, Im not happy that five people died at the riot.
But I cant deny that this picture of Mr. Johnson gives me life.
Do a Google image search for the original Jim Crow, and youll see it.
Note the bugged-out eyes, the mindless grin, the hand held out in a cheerful wave.
Its our turn to be entertained.
