My thirty-three year old nephew posted this picture on his facebook page the other day along with this comment:
"This picture used to be in my house growing up. I really liked it then and I still do now. Shout out to the Pooh Bears in my life."
I have four nephews...sons. They are gifts from my three siblings. I gifted them with a niece...a daughter. They are warm, loving, sensitive individuals...all of them. They are responsible. They are kind and caring. They were the light in their grandparent's eyes. They continue to make mine shine. They give generous, unpretentious hugs and never leave me without pressing their soft warm lips upon my cheeks and reassuring me of their love. They provide friendship and support to one another and have a strong understanding of what the word "family" means. They struggle. They work every day to meet mortgage and car payments and all the other financial obligations that come with daily life. Like all of us, they try to make sense of their lives in this world on a daily basis.
I have four...sons. They are gifts from my three siblings. I gifted them with a daughter. And, I cannot understand how it is reasonable for anyone to believe they are a physical threat to the extent that they would do them harm, physically, emotionally or spiritually. But that is the argument which has been raised everywhere from the streets of New York City by the New York City Police Department, to a string of homicides from Trayvon Martin to Sean Bell to Jonathan Kerrick to Renisha McBride. That is the argument they have been confronted with on vehicular stops. That is the argument when they have been frisked in front of their dates. The argument is that by the very nature of their physical attributes--young, black with commanding physical presence--it is "reasonable" to believe they are a threat to society, should be viewed with suspicion, and handled accordingly.
I have four sons and a daughter...precious gifts. And, everyday I pray for their survival and that their steps be guided and guarded.
I love Stevie Wonder! He doesn't just talk about it, "he be about it"! When I read that Stevland Hardaway Morris, Mr. Wonderful, had announced that he would no longer play in Florida or any other state with "Stand Your Ground Laws", I was reminded of a different time... ground covered. I remember Roxanne Ellis and major protests at Hampton Institute. The late '60s and early '70s times of struggle and protesting to encourage, among other things, the divestiture of corporate interests in South Africa, raising our voices for the freedom of Nelson Mandela and the end to apartheid. I'm certain that to some this may seem a stretch. Certainly there are many who can not draw a parallel between what's happening in America today and South Africa of yesterday. To those I can only say that your reality is not mine; and I know that my reality is but a walk in the park for many of my sisters and brothers.
From where I stand, "Stop and Frisk" and ethnicity as probable cause to question a person's citizenship or right to be in this country are as much a violation to one's human dignity as having to carry a pass book. And the Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act, which provided access to voting for thousands if not millions, has ushered in new more sophisticated mechanisms to disenfranchise the poor and seniors. The promise of desegregated schools and the perceived death of "separate but equal" have been replaced by the vile reality of de-facto segregation that resulted from the flight from inner cities and public institutions which has resulted in the loss of "good paying" jobs, ratables, the collapse of unions, the lack of resources and the ever growing pit of poverty of the communities as a result. Those of us who can/could have all run from these communities and the myriad complex issues that surround them. We run from them and we don't look back. And Sundays... and Sunday mornings remain the most segregated time across America.
But maybe worst of all is the selective application of laws like "Stand Your Ground" that render them nothing more than part of the Twenty-first century Black Codes. Read about Marissa Alexander here.
But then there comes the children...
And these children? God bless them! These courageous young men and women, these Dream Defenders who are "being about it".
"We found beauty in the dark. We found strength in our struggle, determination in our dispair. We are good kids growing up in mad cities. We started at the bottom, now we're here. We believe in freedom and we will not rest until it's won. The dream defenders welcome you to the dream era. Join Us. Bring your chisels, bring your paint brushes, bring your creativity, bring your light we've got some national redecorating to do!"
So for me, I'm all for redecorating. At least sprucing up a bit. But I still think Sun City is one of the greatest protest songs of our times. It was great to see Marvin Gaye and a younger Springsteen and Ringo Starr. That doesn't mean I'm not open to another to bind our hearts in struggle. I'm sure this younger generation can come up with something, and I'm willing to follow. But like I said before. I sure love me some Stevie Wonder!
I've spent a great deal of time this morning reading articles about two separate events: The verdict in the George Zimmerman trial; and the erroneous reporting on the names of the captains who piloted the Asiana Airlines plane that crashed earlier this month.
From the start I knew I could not bear to watch the televised trial or listen to any of the reporting of Florida v. George Zimmerman. For me, the stage was set long before the "trial" but the results were solidified with the defense attorney's opening remarks--a joke. When the trial became the "Trayvon Martin Trial" it became pretty clear to me how we were painting the world (at least this corner of it). Semantics help us to create images, and they describe how we see the world and the world we create. We must always chose them carefully. Trayvon Martin should have never been on trial. But for many he was, and continues to be.
I think the most level statement I've read to date was the press release issued by Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center: a response to verdict in State of Florida v. George Zimmerman.
"Can we respect the jury verdict and still conclude that Zimmerman got away with killing Trayvon? I think so, even if we buy Zimmerman's story that Trayvon attacked him at some point. After all, who was responsible for initiating the tragic chain of events? Who was following whom? Who was carrying a gun? Who ignored the police urging that he stay in his car? Who thought that the other was one of 'them', someone about to get away with something?
The jury has spoken, and we can respect its conclusion that the state did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. But we cannot fail to speak out about the tragedy that occurred in Sanford, Florida on the night of February 26, 2012.
Was race at the heart of it?
Ask yourself this question: If Zimmerman had seen a white youth walking in the rain that evening, would he have seen him as one of 'them,' someone about to get away with something?
We'll never really know.
Racial bias reverberates in our society like the primordial Big Bang. Some years ago, Rev. Jesse Jackson made the point in a dramatic way when he acknowledged that he feels a sense of relief when the footsteps he hears behind him in the dead of night turn out to belong to white feet. Social scientists who study our hidden biases make the same point in a more sober way with statistics that demonstrate that we are more likely to associate black people with negative words and imagery than we are white people. It's an association that devalues the humanity of black people -- particularly black youth like Trayvon Martin.
George Zimmerman probably saw race the night of February 26, 2012, like too many others would have. Had he not, Trayvon probably would be alive today.
The jury has spoken. Now, we must speak out against the systemic racism that still infects our society and distorts our perception of the world. And we must do something about it."
The second event also is another which highlights the cultural discord and our continuing inability to see others as simply "others". They are objects of amusement, even in the face of tragedy.
This a screen capture from an actual newscast reporting the names of the pilots in the Asiana crash earlier this month. There are a number of accounts on how this happened. No one seems to be in any hurry to resolve the matter. Only to absolve themselves and their organizations of any guilt.
This looks to me like one of those inappropriate e-mails generated by folks around a water cooler or at a local bar. It looks to me like one of those horrid e-mails that you get that leaves you wondering how you got on this list. Only this one... this one... got out of hand! This one actually made the air.
I cannot admit to you how many times I have received similarly racist emails. After deleting them, I can't admit to you how many times I have not taken the right next step. I didn't call and have a conversation about the inappropriateness of the e-mail. I didn't trust that the person/s who sent me the e-mail had enough humanity to understand why their missile was inappropriate. I thought as little of them as they thought of the "object" of their ridicule! That won't happen again.
Believe it or not, there are real conversations taking place across this country. All with one single agenda: creating communities where we can all live together. They are happening in large groups and small groups. They are taking place in large cities and small hamlets.
I'm not sure where we humans are on the evolutionary timeline. ( I can also respect that many people don't believe there is an evolutionary timeline.) I don't think we have forever to get it right: to get our greed in check; our self-absortion and all of the other ways of being that constantly motivate us to exploit our home planet and each other. We either learn to live together in mutual respect sharing the resources provided, or we die... together. Playing out our existence as if we truly believed that we cannot surpass our lower desire to remain Neanderthals. It's as simple and as complex as that.
