Coffee shop debates among casual, retired, and unemployed Black males can be brutal. It runs the gamut, particularly in an election year. On this morning my quest for a perfect sip of java landed me in a popular lair in Northeast Portland where brothers gather to shoot the summer breeze. Without raising voices, our conversation hung in the air like the smell of fresh ground coffee beans in this popular cafe.

The four of us were caught up in hang time — aroma and conversation, when on the periphery appeared a candidate for the upcoming mayor’s race. He walked to the line that stretched out the patio doors, and inside, where the barista holds court. Although he held a cell phone to his ear, it seemed impractical he really believed he wouldn’t be approached. So, given my numerous encounters with him in private meetings and public forums, I half jokingly said, “Say-hey, Mr. ___, have you got a job for us to do?” Oh, oh—And what do you think happened next? We were royally ignored.

First, you don’t come to a public coffee shop and not expect to converse, especially running for political office. You need all the good will you can garner. And, why wouldn’t you talk to the brothers? What’s worse is upon his departure, he took a wide berth. Tell you what: that incident decided for me which white male to vote for come November. As he disappeared into the distance, my cohorts lit into him like a cigarette.

Suffice to say he had just added to the legend of the insensitive, arrogant white male. The compelling truth is that my opinion of American white male isn’t formed by the ignorance displayed that morning. And since it’s inevitable a white male will be the next mayor of Portland, and since I’m a brother, I have a few white male role models for the winner to emulate.

For most of his 59 years on this planet, John Brown played a key role in the fight against slavery — the psychological/physical oppression of Black people. He participated in the Underground Railroad and, in 1851, helped establish the League of Gileadites, an organization that worked to protect escaped slaves from slave catchers. Brown’s life proves you never know where your help will come from. A lesson not lost on brothers sipping java at a public coffee shop.

Archivists and historian/documentarians Ken Burns and Michael Moore also hold the distinction of adding vanilla to the fight against white prejudice, and institutionalized racism. Burns is among a group of prominent public servants that filed a 30-page petition with the U.S. Justice Department to, posthumously, grant a presidential pardon to Jack Johnson (died in 1946), the first Black American to win the title of Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

In 1913 Johnson was convicted for violating the Mann Act law because he transported a minor across state lines for “immoral” purposes, in spite the fact the teenaged white woman was Johnson’s wife. He fled the country to avoid prison, only to return in 1920, when he was arrested and served a year in prison. Burns researched the life of Johnson and decided to to do a documentary. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, is a four-hour, two-part documentary that premieres on PBS on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 17, 2005.

Moore is the creator of Fahrenheit 9/11, the documentary that examines the Bush administration’s actions in the wake of the tragic events of 9/11. Moore exposes how this administration uses fear by FBI alerts, and the creation of the USA PATRIOT Act, which infringes on basic civil rights.
This threesome stands out among several throngs of brave activists in the fight against discrimination, racism, and improvements in the quality of life for all Americans.

I assure you they would relish the opportunity to talk with people from all walks of life, and wouldn’t pass up the chance to get a brotha’s perspective.

We live in a profoundly different world then the one our mayoral candidate lives in where he believes he can ignore history, and flaunt a cavalier attitude about folks. And although we’ve come a long way, history is just a short walk past four brothers sipping on coffee, shooting the morning breeze.

Yugen’s writings deal with culture, aesthetics and spirituality. His topics, opinions, and insights pay homage to the scholarly search for truth which lead to personal responsibility and the preservation of community life.