(Loud!) Black Voice

Continued from page 3

As a JV basketball coach for a local high school, I acquired the reputation that I was a man on the edge of a cosmic breakdown. I was loud! I screamed out play calls to my players, and my voice was loud and booming. One parent wrote (anonymously, of course) that Coach Russell “frightens adults and scares children.” And that when I stomp on the floor, “the entire basketball seating stand shakes.” And they also added that they overheard me instruct my players to injure the opposing team’s players. My reputation at Falcon High School was awful. Even some of the coaches asked me to calm down and not to scream so much.

However, at the end of the season banquette, I pointed out to all of the coaches and parents I was the only coach at our school, from freshman to varsity, for boys’ and girls’ teams, to have not had one technical foul called against me the entire two seasons I coached there. Parents and coaches were surprised and had to think about what I had just said. If I was the wild and screaming, out-of-control coach I was made out to be, why did the other couches receive several technical foul calls, and I did not receive one? It all has to do with my physical attributes that this false narrative was hung around my neck.

I’m big, black, bearded, and bald. People are afraid of me, even though I, and those close to me, know that I would not harm a roach. Well, maybe. But the point is, in the Black world, I am just another brother going about my business, and I am not considered intimidating at all. But when I walk into the White world, I know what happens if I raise my voice. After they get to know me a little, many white people become comfortable enough to tell me how I intimidated them when they first met me. I got that from students, parents, and other teachers. When I ask them why I frightened them, one of the first things they say is my voice, followed by my size, and some even mention my snowwhite beard.

This is not a minor problem. I’ve been stopped and approached by cops, and I can sense their nervousness by golly. I can feel it, and that’s when I know that just a routine stop can turn into a deadly event because of the cop’s fear and, at the same time, their need to let me know that they are in charge, as they sometimes nervously go about their business. During one traffic stop, a cop put his finger an inch from my face and told me not to raise my voice, even though I was using what I considered a normal voice and tone.

White fear is why Trayvon died, and his killer got away because the jury related to being afraid of black boys and men. That trial’s outcome justified a white man approaching and killing a Black teenager that did not commit any crime other than trying to protect himself from an armed white man who stalked and murdered him. But when Zimmerman got off free, this was a not too subtle a symbol that told White America that their fear of Black people was justified, and a jury of their peers will understand and sympathize with that fear. White fear, mixed with hate sometimes and ignorance all the time, has put Black fathers, sons, and brothers in the crosshairs of gun-toting white men as the “Stand Your Ground” laws are spreading throughout the United States, putting us in danger and protecting violent racists at the same time. ***

Many years ago, I watched the movie The Green Mile. My white co-workers recom- mended this movie. I thought it was a stupid movie. My white friends were shocked that I thought it was a shit movie. But I explained to them that if I had that power, the last place that I would be is in any jail, even if I was guilty, let alone innocent like King’s character. Most white people like Blacks to smile often, especially if they are big, like me. If I don’t smile, I am asked what is wrong. Like Stephen King’s John Coffey character, they want Black men to be smiling, happy, and friendly. They want Black men to be like those television commercials, singing, laughing, and dancing in Popeye Chicken restaurants. At the same time, they are creepingly overjoyed to be frying chicken for a minimum wage.

In my present position, I attended a meeting and raised my voice at a co-worker, a white female, and I was highly criticized because of it. I did not threaten, I did not call anyone out their name, I did not use profanity, I raised my voice, and it stopped a meeting. I’ve attended meetings where voices were sometimes raised, but when I did it, people became upset. White people want to domesticate what they consider the monster, turning something they fear into a friendly, docile being whose only consideration will be to appease white people by being softspoken and non-intimidating. We cannot change the physical attributes that make white people fear us, but a broad smile on our faces will do wonders to make them feel safe.

The reason Charles Barkley gets away with being outspoken (even though he’s rarely correct) is because of the flip side of his outspokenness; Charles Barkley is a Black man in a clown suit, who is so outrageous that his occasional visit to the BLM platform is wholly forgiven by white people who do not consider him a threat or take him seriously. That is the way Barkley can get away with being “outspoken.” If Charles Barkley’s outspokenness were not followed by a smile or a joke to add levity, he would be considered disorderly and unAmerican.

If those Black representatives had been grinning and joking while protesting on the House floor, they might not have been suspended. According to Republicans, Black men can say that America has to do a better job of controlling gun violence or that a woman has to be the master of her own body. Still, it better be followed by a joke, a smile, or a compliment about a white colleague to prove that they are not entirely into the BLM movement and the violence it represents.

We should not be surprised that young Black men raising their voices upsets many white people, who consider these young and loud men an existential threat to their grip on power. But it is surprising and upsetting that as I write this, laws are going up all over America that will make it easier for racists to kill people like me. Because of their fear, the Stand Your Ground laws are being extended to all public areas as more people are allowed to carry weapons concealed and open. Because of the innate fear of the Black voice, the next time a Black man is in a Walmart, he may need to adjust his decimal level. .

Remembering

Dr. Joseph N. Langley

September 20, 1937 ~ April 17, 2023

Dr. Joseph N. Langley was born in Henderson, Kentucky, the third of six children of John and Catherine Langley. The family moved to Denver, Colorado, when he was 7 years old. He grew up in Denver and attended Denver Public Schools (DPS), graduating from Manual High School in 1955. He attended the University of Colorado for two years prior to entering the U.S. Army, where he served as a Morse code interceptor. He tracked Russian troop movement in Germany, and monitored the first Russian rocket to the moon. After the army, he worked for the U.S. Postal Service, and became an instructor for postal collectors, while traveling to Boulder daily taking classes at CU.

After receiving a bachelor of science degree, he began a successful career in DPS. He taught math at Cole Junior High School, where he met the love of his life, Alice Powell from Beaumont, Texas, in 1969. They were blessed with two children, Dr. Kimberlyn Jo Langley Brown, a board-certified internist with Ascension Health in Tennessee, and attorney Koby Joe Langley, senior vice president at the American Red Cross.

At DPS, Joseph applied for and received the federal grant for the High School Hold Youth Program, became the program manager, and then supervised teachers in the program’s implementation. One of his greatest accomplishments was earning his doctorate degree from the University of Northern Colorado. He then published his doctoral thesis as a book entitled “Handbook for a High School Hold Youth Program.”

Before retiring from DPS, he held the positions of Place Middle School assistant principal, Montbello High vice principal and athletic director, Columbine Elementary assistant principal, and Gilpin Elementary principal. Then, he returned to CU to study real estate appraising. He became a realtor, received his state certification, and worked as an associate appraiser for the Certified Real Estate Appraisers. He founded JNL Colorado Residential Appraisers, Inc., and as the CEO, employed and supervised six associates.

He received many awards and commendations for his leadership in education and community service. He was a devoted volunteer mentor to Manual High students. He worked with Denver’s African American Health Program. He was the founder and board president of the Langley Family Scholarship Foundation, which has awarded tens of thousands of dollars in college scholarships annually since 2011. He also worked with the Colorado secretary of state as an agent for voter registration, and completed voter registration drive certifications for Denver agencies and county election officials.

Joseph served as a lifetime member of the Urban League, treasurer of the Urban League Guild of Metropolitan Denver, served as a volunteer at national conferences, and received the Sebastian Owens Award for Community Service. He was a lifetime member and served as vice president of the Denver Educational Senior Citizens retirement group. He was also a member of the Colorado Black Chambers of Commerce, Rocky Mountain Minority Suppliers, Voter Registration Agent, Colorado Minority Business, Northeast Denver Optimist Club, American Legion, Masons, 100 Black Men, Phi Delta Kappa, Denver Board of Realtors, National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers, and African American Wealth Program.

Joseph was a devoted man of God, lived his Christian values, and was proud to be a part of the 77-year Langley family legacy of servitude at New Hope Baptist Church, including a decade of assisting with elderly transportation. He was also an avid fisherman, and his sense of humor was well-known, as was his love of Denver sports teams, nature, gardening, cooking, and his fierce devotion to his extended family members.

Joseph leaves to cherish and celebrate his life of 85 years to his beloved wife Alice Powell Langley; daughter Dr. Kimberlyn Jo Brown (Kevin) of Nashville, Tennessee; son Koby Joe Langley (Dr. Adina) of Bowie, Maryland; outstanding grandchildren Brandon Eli Joseph Brown and Kallista Raine Langley; sisters Elaine Anderson and Wanda Lydia (Johnny); brother Jerry Langley of Virginia; sisters-in-law Mary E. Langley and Anna Langley of Denver, Colorado; nephews, nieces, cousins and a host of relatives and many friends. Joseph is reunited with his brothers John and Earl in their heavenly home, along with their parents Catherine and John Ingram Langley.