I dont often post about these things here ... to retain my sunny disposition, I sometimes insulate myself against reading/watching/commenting too much about the atrocities in the world and the things that eat at my soul. But this has been weighing heavily on my heart. When I found out I was pregnant and thought I might be having a boy, I had this moment of fear. I thought about how I would have to teach him to behave differently just because of the color of his skin ... to be more cautious, more deferential, to not place himself in any situation which could be interpreted as him doing something untoward, because so many will have an unfounded fear of him on that basis alone ... and believe that that fear is wholly justified. They will reason away seemingly illogical violence as somehow his fault for some perceived offense or another that would be trivial if arising from someone who looked other than him ... and all this to avoid the harsh reality that is ingrained racism in America. When I learned of the shooting of Michael Brown earlier this week. ... the thought that popped into my mind immediately was #legallynching, because that is what this really seems to me when one unarmed black boy/man after another is gunned down and I never read the same about other races. I cant even recall the number of times Ive read an article or heard an account of this in the last few years. I remember reading about Ida B. Wells when I was in college. I read about her campaign to expose and stop lynching and, unfortunately, it seems like that struggle is very far from over as it has just put on a newer face. I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned that I was having a girl ... because, as much of a challenge as it will be to raise a young, black woman in this world, it doesnt seem to carry as much risk and fear as the alternative.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 05:25:30 +0000
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