There is no excuse for the wanton violence that continues to plague our communities. However, we must look at the “American Way of Violence” to understand partially what is happening. We must remember the Puritans who came to the North American shores from England and beyond and how they attempted to decimate the Native Americans. Nor can we forget the much-heralded Christopher Columbus who “discovered” America. We know that’s not true, but what we do know is that he too, visited unimaginable cruelty on the Native Americans. And let’s not forget the lynchings in the south, and elsewhere, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries – all American Ways of Violence. I am reading an excellent book about Thurgood Marshall – “Devil in the Grove,” by Gilbert King. This excellent read chronicles the early days of Thurgood Marshall practicing law and his involvement with a case in Florida where four Black young men were railroaded and falsely accused of raping a White woman. Even though the Groveland case was prior to, it sounds similar to the Emmett Till case, doesn’t it? In addition to the Groveland and Till cases there are hundreds of Black men who lost their lives because of alleged “dalliances’ with White women. In speaking of violence we must also speak about corporate and industrial violence against the workers through poor wages, unsafe working conditions and psychological and emotional abuse from the “bosses.” Nor can we ignore the violence of the church. Selling the parishioners a “dream for a dollar” is one of the worst forms of violence because the preachers are saying gimme – gimme – gimme and you’ll not only prosper on earth but you’ll also find your way to heaven. Theological violence has kept many enslaved forever. We must also remember “Black Wall Street” when we speak of the “American Way of Violence.” sfbayview/2011/what-happened-to-black-wall-street-on-june-1-1921/ Whenever a young Black man is unnecessarily killed by the police, it is violence committed by the State. George Zimmerman while not actually a representative of the State thought he was acting as a pseudo agent of the State which further perpetuates the war on Black males. Violence is interwoven in the American fabric of life and unfortunately it seems to be taking away whole generations. Peace!
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:01:51 +0000
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