If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ~ Bible. I John 4:20
Not in my backyard. Not in my neighborhood. Not on street corners in my community. Certainly, not amongst my friends, and never in my family! These are the cries heard 'round America. In rural regions, in urban boroughs, in the suburbs, and in the city proper the public clamors, "We are not colorblind." The defense voiced in earlier days is a thought from the past. In the United States of 2008, people see shades. Skin, pitch as coal, casts a shadow. Deep-seated bigotry is displayed on the surface. Today, racism is not only rampant; it is visible on every crossroad. Please consider the campaign trail. Intolerance is evident in the Presidential Election, 2008.
"Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free.
Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government.
Nature, habit, opinion has drawn indelible lines of distinction between them." ~ Thomas Jefferson (Autobiography, 1821)
It was a Saturday morning, late in June. The year was 2008. In the background, radio broadcaster, Scott Simon could be heard. The host of Weekend Edition offered his Reflections on Race and the Presidential Election. Alexander listened halfheartedly. It was not that he was not interested in the topic; he is and he was. Alex was distracted. The gentleman glanced over at Donna, a young Jamaican woman he knows so well. Donna's skin is as Black as pitch coal and as rich as sweet crude. She gracefully moves across the room. He thinks of how he loves the way her hips sway to and fro. Her voluptuous bosom fills the full cup of her brassiere. As she bends down to feed his ailing cousin Anna, Alex reflects on how lovely the dark skinned woman is. His sentiment is not sexual in nature. Alexander is analytical.
As someone who lives in a neighborhood going through gentrification I am often at odds with my belief that poor people need to be integrated into mixed income neighborhoods and the fact that many poor people trash the neighborhoods they live in. We must develop a method of removing poor people from the isolation of ghetto existence, while at the same time protecting the values of the properties we relocate them to. Unfortunately because of personal decisions, lifestyles, and circumstances many of our poorer citizens have lost either the desire or the ability to respect their environments. Many will say that this is due to our treatment of poor people and I would not disagree with this, but this does not help in creating situations that will allow them to escape the dangers of ghetto life.
The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. ~ Barack Obama [Senator and Potential President] March 18, 2008
When we are separate, our experience is never equal. African-Americans mingle among the many Anglos in this country. However, individuals with dark-complexions do not fully unite or fit into a society that segregates by color. While Americans have forcibly progressed beyond the laws that allowed for racial discrimination, the bias and bigotry that filled the hearts of many citizens in the United States for centuries still thrives. While we muse, we love thy neighbor, we react to those whose race is not our own.
Joseph McNeil (from left), Franklin in McCain, Billy Smith and Clarence Henderson sit in protest at the whites-only lunch counter at Woolworth during the second day of peaceful protest,
February 2, 1960.Corbis
French Novelist, Alphonse Karr offered, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." 'Tis too true. Beginning in the month of February 1976, Americans were given an opportunity to realize how profound the axiom is. For four short winter weeks, citizens of this country contemplate what was. We, as a nation honor Black History. For a moment, countrymen set aside the preeminent prejudices that govern many practices and policies. As a nation, we ponder how much African-Americans have contributed to this country.
Tales are told; triumphs recounted. Perhaps one of most significant heartfelt stories shared was aired on February 1, 2008. All Things Considered producers gave the listeners much to contemplate. Newscaster, Michele Norris introduced an unassuming activist whose personal anecdote brought tears to the eyes of many in the National Public Radio audience. The Woolworth Sit-In That Launched a Movement, as narrated by one of the Greensboro Four, Franklin McCain reminds us of how often the past is found in the present.
It's never been my interest to run a race-based campaign. My message has always been that I want everyone included in a broad coalition to bring about change.
I want to spend more time talking about solving the problems that people are feeling right now. ~ Barack Obama [United States Senator and Presidential Aspirant. January 27, 2008]
In any Presidential election year, we hear of the race. Yet, discussions of "race" are void, or are since a truce was tendered. Americas would like to think of themselves as colorblind. We are not. Citizens of this country embrace "colormuteness, a term coined by Mica Pollock, Associate Professor of Education at Harvard University. What Professor Pollock observes in classrooms and in the hallways of schools throughout the nation occurs each day on the campaign trail. Children who wish to achieve excellence in the classroom are restricted by conventions they learned at an early age in our nation's communities.
"The dog ate my homework," said young Jonathan. In those tender years, he hoped an authority figure would trust the statement to be true. As an adult, Jonathan grumbled in frustration, "The computer ate my vote." The concerned citizen wanted to hear no excuses. Just as he knew the sweet little pup on his lap never digested the paper he did not write, Jon understood; the central processing system did not devour the votes. Constituent choices were not read or recorded accurately.
I, as a white person mourn on this day, for every man and woman Black, white, brown, red, or yellow are my brethren. I feel the pain of all those that have gone before me. My heart aches most for those whose flesh is darkest. It seems, try as they might Afro-Americans can never escape the bondage, the bigotry that enslaves them. The color of their skin shades their every encounter. I recognize that only days ago, in this duplicitous land founded on the principles of freedom and justice for all, segregation was again endorsed by the highest Court in the country. The Supreme Court ruled "Schools can't use race to assign students." History demonstrates, left to their own devices whites will not desegregate.
Intentionally, I have avoided the hype, the hypocrisy, and the hysteria surrounding the Duke Lacrosse players and the woman frequently described as a "stripper." I did not wish to discuss my disgust for I feared my own rage. Revenge, for me, is never sweet. Racism, is a bitter pill. However, the taste of it stays with me in every passing moment. Finally, I can stay silent no more. I must flush out what I believe is folly. The "case is closed."
On Monday, May 01, 2006, another May Day will come and go. However, for those in the United States this international holiday that honors laborers will be different. This one will live in the memories of Americans forever. In this country, citizens, and non, will speak out on the issue of immigration. For, it is the newest immigrants that makeup a large portion of our labor force. These persons are planning not to go to work today; nor will their supporters. They and their allies will stand up for themselves, their beliefs, and their desire for freedom.
Other will also venture out. They will take to the streets, the blogs, the bars, and airwaves. They will wail for walls. Some will agitate over the issue of amnesty. Whether they themselves are residing in this country legally or not, people will demonstrate. They will express their opinions loudly and openly.
The undocumented workers here in the USA are not loved; they are loathed by a vast majority of the populace. Numerous liberals, those that usually support the downtrodden have turned their backs on this population. They see them as law-breakers, union busters, and less than those born in this country.
The apology was weak and meekly delivered. Senators did not choose to vote on the record; they revealed their position in voice only. They did not speak in single file; nor did they state their stance strongly. They delivered their dictum as a group. The Senate stated their regret. They regret the 4742-recorded lynchings. They regret their delay. Nonetheless, here and now, they apologize. Finally, the United States Senate concluded, it is time. America must legally forbid hangings.
The United States Senate has had many opportunities to rescind what is "a stain on American history;" however, until today, they refused. In recent years, on three separate occasions, the House of Representatives voted to revoke the law that allows for legal lynchings. Yet, each time the bill was sent to the Senate floor, influential and vocal Southern Senators spoke out. They invoked their right to filibuster. Ultimately, and repeatedly, the measure died.
Death for this law was never as brutal as a death by hanging; nor was it ever as public. These frequent congressional deaths were not proud moments for America. They were rarely discussed. However, there were those that knew of them. Descendants of lynched victims knew. A man that was once hung from a tree, yet, survived, he knew. These people worked tirelessly, and with devotion, to ensure that change would come.
It has, though this is only a beginning. An apology, the repeal of an antiquated law, does not resolve much of what still is. What is, is a history of promises, and acts that contrast with these. We as a people promise equality for all. Our Constitution asserts this principle and philosophy. Yet, in practice, there is little equity. We enslave a people; [we identify others as illegal,] while simultaneously encouraging and professing freedom. This is not simply our past; it is our present.
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