Why Is It So Dark On the Bus… As the world wakes to this day January 21, 2013 we remember the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and we look forward to the second inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama. It is a time of reflection and celebration for not only America but for African Americans, or is it. As I think on my personal struggles during my life time I am compelled like many folk to visit a past which I have no personal experience yet my life today has been shaped and molded by folk I have never met. It is critical for me to understand my growth and lack of by delving in the lives of those that walked before me. If I am to measure my worth as not only a woman but as a black woman, it is imperative that I fully understand the roots of my tree. As I watch the news and read snippets of discourse, the tone in my local community is one of frustration, sadness and struggle. At first glance it would appear that the young men in my neighborhood are still plagued with violence and the women are still un-wed mothers engaged more in their appearance than in tuning into who they really are. The struggle is not with the laws; the struggle is not with time allotted to our young black men who have broken the law, the struggle is with “somebodyness”. The overarching issue of pain that runs so deep is the crux of the struggle to be “somebody”. Black folk need to be somebody, they/we need to be heard, and seen. How do we as a people become “somebody” worthy of recognition, deserving a better job, better living conditions and voice in today’s America? Perhaps the question that should follow or precipitate is how did we get from accepting our worth from the God who reigns to striving “by any means necessary” to obtain our validation from “the man”? How do we gain or do we need acknowledgement from folk who have no clue what it “feels” like to be black in America? Upon our arrival to American in chains unlike any other race known to man we started out with a sense of “less than”. We emerged uprooted from a life we had known to learn a new way to live being taught about fear. Fear of… grew to unimaginable depths within our existence and continues to dominate our lives today. Fear is on both sides of the track in Black America. Those that acquired a seat on the lighter side of the bus fear their interaction with the darker side of the bus will inevitably lessen their chances of “white approval”. I’ve witnessed in 2013 families disassociate themselves with their own family members for fear of disapproval by other extended family members, for fear of disapproval by the “massas” at their place of work, for fear of disapproval by their friends in high places. More importantly what I’ve witnessed in 2013 is the disapproval by the “lighter” side of the bus was and is just as unjust as “strange fruit”. In 2013 how do I, we, you find your value when the bus is still separated. Sure Rosa Parks took a stand and we found that black folk could sit in the front of the bus; who will take a stand to cease having a division between black folk in the front and back of the bus? Why is so dark on the bus, still…. Dedicated to my father Robert Hughes Williamson – You will always be my hero…
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 02:00:38 +0000
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