Only we can heal ourselves, but we cant do it alone. The Talk: Im talking about the talk that Black parents have to give their children before they go out into the world... Ive been fighting racism and injustices my entire life, and youre right; this is 2014 and things should be different, but the facts show that they are not; as readily demonstrated on a daily basis. I remember when I was a teenager and my Mother having this talk with me, she sat me down, told me to look into her eyes as she squeezed my hands and told me what to expect and made me promise her that if ever I was knocked down to get back up and to keep it moving. She instilled in me a sense of common fairness by pointing out that we couldnt hold a whole group of people responsible for what some did. She taught me that if I was going to change the world, then first I had to look at the realitiess of it and learn how to survive in it. Dr. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and others knew that there was and are values in taking a non-violence stance in a society, especially where the numbers of the opposition are overwhelming. I do feel your anger and I am angry too, but mostly what I feel is anguish because we are still dealing with this disease of ignorance that continues to have a detrimental effect on our people and society at large. However, I will not sacrifice my children or my grandchildren for my anger and frustration. We as a people have survived just about everything that they have thrown at us, and we are still here, making progress, step by step, slowly yes; but surely. Reality sucks, but it is what it is, and its all we have. Allowing our emotions to overtake our common sense has never prevailed. We dont have that luxury. We need allies, and with each instance of injustice; they are coming over. We win them with facts, not anger... That has been tried time and again to no avail. I truly believe that social media, networking and the information and connections that we are now privy to will be the key to the future, because the old excuses of ignorance ( I didnt know ) are being removed with each passing day. Because of the long lasting effects of racism we now live a society in which anti-black racism has been so long ingrained that not only most whites, but also most Latinos, Asian Americans and Hawaiians, demonstrate substantial subconscious bias against African Americans in study after study of implicit racial hostility (and even about a third of blacks themselves demonstrate anti-black racism). > As demonstrated by the Clarence Thomass of the world.< So you see, its not only other folks who have to change, we need to also. Only we can heal ourselves, but we cant do it alone. Keeping it real. Tom ~
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 16:01:08 +0000
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