This Ice Cube media cycle is toxic masculinity wrapped in bootleg-Booker-T logic postmarked to Trump’s doorstep.

Money will never earn “respect” from racists. Buying that myth says more about a hustler’s mentality than economic history or social reality.

Read “The New Negro” to see how Black Victorianism (e.g. we can earn respect by emulating symbols of white wealth) was disproven. It’s failure motivated nearly every major Black political movement afterwards.

Look at stats on wealth outcomes from college-educated, homeowning, and business-owning Black folks, who are often women. In the final analysis, all still earn less than their white counterparts with same pedigree or assets.

Look at the history of Tulsa, the wealthiest Black community of that era. The state helped bomb it while mobs displaced 6,000+ middle-class Blacks with no restitution.

Legal & political protection is the fundamental “respect” we need against racist state-sanctioned violence, not hush money. All three are in short supply under Trump.

But I’m glad Cube raised his voice because he embodies a lesson: All Black people do not experience racism the same way. The upper-middle class has always had the most cushioning.

Look at how Black elite thrived economically through the Reagan era. If history repeats, Trumpist violence underway has not affected the Ice Cube class. That’s why they can spew vague nonsense about “Black people can get through anything.”

Which Black people can survive more years of Trumpism? 2020 has taught us that even T’Challa could die.

I wish Cube was self-aware enough to admit, “I’m a straight Black male multimillionaire looking for more wealth but showed up late to shape election,” not thoughtfully representing the interests of all Black people.