I often find myself venting to my social media timelines over my ever-growing frustrations with the plight of African Americans before receiving a call from my parents. These calls consist of mild scoldings about curbing my posts on social media due to unknown lurking eyes that could possibly jeopardize my future. These are the qualms of black parents in the social media times, the thought of expressing the First Amendment can cause backlash that can cost someone their job, life or freedom. It isn't fear, but rather the understanding of the ways America has historically worked to demoralize the lives of Black men and women. It nearly cost Washington D.C. firefighter Norman Brooks his job, landing him on suspension after expressing his sentiments towards "racist cops" on Facebook after footage of Baton Rouge resident Alton Sterling being killed by police went viral nationwide on July 5.

For every radical person of color ready to revolutionize their communities like the Black Panthers or hold court with police by way of weaponry like Larry Davis, there is an immeasurable number of African-Americans who opt to think and act to the contrary of their peers. These people are often labeled as "coons" or "Uncle Toms" for their thoughts and feelings on the matters at hand. A notable trend among the black community is writing off black figures of prominence for their thoughts or lack of concerning police brutality.

Rap star A$ap Rocky recently received backlash from the African American community for his remarks during a 2015 interview with "Time Out New York" for calling out the Black Lives Matter movement and neglecting to get "political" in terms of racial matters.

While rappers standing in solidarity with citizens isn't a clause in their contracts, Rocky's blatant disregard for the people of affected cities like Ferguson, MI has caused an uproar.

"I did not sign up to be no political activist. I wanna talk about my motherf***in’ lean, my best friend dying, the girls that come in and out of my life, the jiggy fashion that I wear, my new inspirations in drugs! I don’t wanna talk about no f**king Ferguson and shit because I don’t live over there! I live in f**king Soho and Beverly Hills. I can’t relate. I’m in the studio; I’m in these fashion studios; I’m in these b*tches’ drawers. I’m not doing anything outside of that. That’s my life."

Rocky has attempted to reconcile, but like several of his black entertainment comrades, Rocky's thoughts and actions may be irreconcilable. The list of shunned black celebrities grows seemingly daily, from long-time members like Charles Barkley, Raven Symone and Stacy Dash to new entries like Don Lemon, Kevin Gates and Wendy Williams, Their thoughts have landed them nasty nicknames like "coon" and "Uncle Tom," slurs reserved over time for those that have alternative mindsets of their peers.

Not every black is willing to evoke their inner Nat Turner, rebelling over the built up aggression of being subjected to more than 400 years of physical and psychological warfare.

It's easy to criticize these people, while the real cause of this mindset is racism. During the days of slavery men were often whipped until they passed out in front large audiences of slaves, including their wives and children. The physical scars would eventually heal, but the trauma of experiencing, and others witnessing the power of their slave masters has been passed down for generations. The fear of slave owners eventually became a fear of white people in general, the fear that caused black boys in the early 20th century to keep their heads down around a white woman to avoid dying a painful death similar to Emmett Till. This same has fear swept many throughout the Civil Rights Era, to the Crack Era, to present day.

The fear of receiving the treatment endured by friends or family has been enough blacks to train their children in the ways deemed necessary for survival. Not with violence, but by common courtesy, love and forgiveness towards oppressors. For some, the past is the past, and for others, the future is an opportunity to tend to the wounds. These actions all in hopes that turning the other cheek could somehow quell the desired change, or safe a black life. Just like racism, being an "Uncle Tom" is taught, through words or experience. For some, the desire to be accepted and not judged by the color of their skin is enough to go above and beyond.

For many, this is a sign of betrayal, a slap in the face to the struggles of people of color, but the bigger issue of developed self-hate should be a bigger alarm.Although every race, religion and creed is subject to violent acts against one another, blacks are often held to a different standard, whether by media,or themselves. Over the course of 400 years, not only have blacks been conditioned to hate each other through various media tactics, but the divide between African Americans and Africans has caused an unimaginable riff.

There are many problems troubling the black community, many that have yet to be addressed and accounted for. In the fight for equality and change, it's easy to write off those deemed unwilling to stand in solidarity, but it's hard to address the racism that has caused this divide and destruction. The racism that has resulted in mass incarceration, gentrification, police brutality and the use of blacks as the scapegoats from crime and violence despite being less than a fifth of the U.S. population.