The Financial Disempowerment of Black Male Media Figures

How Cancel Culture Financially Castrates Black Men In The Media

Photo credit: Creed 3 from MGM

Jonathan Majors is trending in the media again and it’s not because of Creed 3, debates about his masculinity, or his workout regimen. According to TMZ, he was arrested in New York City this weekend for putting his hands on a woman. Specifically, he’s accused of the strangulation, assault, and harassment of his girlfriend. And while he has maintained that he’s done nothing wrong thus far, the comments on Twitter referring to his career and his dating preferences are anything but positive.

Social Architect @RahkimSabree

Not picking a side, but I think it’s interesting how fickle people are. Wasn’t everyone drooling over Jonathan Majors like a week ago? He doesn’t get the opportunity to prove his innocence before being cancelled?

But I’m not here to debate his guilt or innocence.

Has anyone noticed how quick we are to financially castrate Black men in the media when they don’t fit into the box society has established for them? It’s this weird kink of sorts where the moment there is a whisper that “insert prominent Black man here” has :

• done

• said

• offended

• not said

• stood

• kneeled

• laughed

• cried

• (insert other signs of life and being human)

that the first thing we go after is their livelihood to “teach them a lesson”?

It’s not a slap on the wrist as much as it’s the yanking of this huge chain that threatens their careers, their lifestyles, and their families unless they vow to comply.

What’s worse is how quickly we are to abandon said Black men when the news breaks without thoughts of their innocence until proven guilty, and more likely settling on their guilt until they are proven innocent.

When I think about the trauma of having something you’ve worked your whole life to accomplish dangled in front of you like some golden carrot, threatened to be snatched away, and the impact of weaponizing money—especially in large amounts— to control someone, it pulls back another layer to the onion that is financial trauma.

That is to say that the mere threat of poverty—especially once you’ve escaped it—can trigger past financial and other forms of trauma.

It supersedes all talent, skill, charisma, and intelligence because it can be used to cripple you into obscurity lest you control the flow of where that money is coming from—and many times we do not—.

And we’re not going to simply brush over the wealth gap, economic inequality, institutional racism, and the dangers of just being a Black man in America (particularly if you’re a POOR Black man in America) just because you’re a high income earning actor, entertainer, or athlete. (See: Ja Morant)

Financial castration is not only a threat to the lifestyle they’ve grown accustomed to—it’s a threat to their lives period.

All that is not to say that in the event of actual wrongdoing that any man, Black or otherwise shouldn’t be held accountable. However more often than not, the court of public opinion presides over these “wrongdoings” long before those qualified to actually make the judgement have a chance to get involved.

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Thank you always,

Rahkim