I had posted this on Facebook a couple days ago, but I think the weight of it missed most of my "friends", which comes as no surprise given Facebook's general use these days
This video is relevant now due to the recent death of Jefferson Thomas, on of the 9 students who first integrated public schools in Arkansas. And as I read news of Thomas' passing and in turn took in this moving story, I couldn't help thinking a couple of things:
- To those who subscribe to the idea of a present-day "Post-Racial America", where race no longer matters, or even is noticed anymore, I would ask of you to remain cautious in your optimism so that you are willing to acknowledge that the way some people feel about race in America lags well behind the reality of race in America. Have we come a long way in the 56 years since Brown V. Board of Education? You bet! I am living proof of this fact every day. But as I tried to explain to my wife the other day, I feel sometimes as though there is some sort of collective conscious shared by black Americans that causes us to sometimes be less hopeful, even in the face of great advancement and personal success. We all still gasp when hearing news of a warranted or unwarranted police shooting of another young black male. We all seethe when some idiot drops the "N-word" and then tries to justify it. We all shake our heads in dismay when racial epithets are displayed or a noose hung from a tree at an American university. I would argue that most intelligent and compassionate people respond in the same way as I do, but I would also argue that for some unexplained reason, I feel experience in a way a white person doesn't. No doubt, I've experienced racial discrimination, but never any threat to my personal safety or well-being, and yet something wells up inside me and I become much more defensive that I probably need to be. I'm guessing that if I feel this way, other black folks do too, so cut us a break.
- To those who continue to claim that racism will never end until black people are given a level playing field in all areas of life, I would say this: Slavery is over, reparations are not coming. Yes, there are many people who do not want you to succeed, and there are many more who don't even care. But our collective history gives us many examples of those who succeeded in spite of the opposition, which by the way, will ALWAYS exist in some form. Here's a not-so-secret secret: Freedom from slavery doesn't mean that the former master is now obligated to pay for "services rendered' (as much as I wish it did). It doesn't grant the the slave a right to anything other than what freedom grants: freedom. It doesn't mean we must triumph over the former master to secure our new way of life. Freedom from slavery means only that there is no more master. Right or wrong, the field doesn't get any more level than this. It doesn't get any more fair than a Federal order to integrate public schools. Learn a lesson from the Little Rock Nine and take the field!
I put my kids on the bus this morning and thought for the first time about what it means that they can attend public school and have the opportunity to educate and better themselves. It's an impossible opportunity without people like Jefferson Thomas showing us how it's done.
Yeah, Lady Liberty has a scarred face, blurred vision, and often walks with a limp, but she's still the best lookin' gal at the dance.
Stay grateful...
(*FIBA Alert! - I am a FB junkie like everyone else, and am prone to spend hours looking at complete strangers' pictures, making fun of people I barely know, telling everyone what I had for lunch, and complaining about how hard life is as I sit on my couch at midday, Pepsi in hand, bored to death with the digital conscious of the ENTIRE WORLD. But still, if FB is your source for substantive information and provocative thought, well... you're probably not reading this.)
This video is relevant now due to the recent death of Jefferson Thomas, on of the 9 students who first integrated public schools in Arkansas. And as I read news of Thomas' passing and in turn took in this moving story, I couldn't help thinking a couple of things:
- To those who subscribe to the idea of a present-day "Post-Racial America", where race no longer matters, or even is noticed anymore, I would ask of you to remain cautious in your optimism so that you are willing to acknowledge that the way some people feel about race in America lags well behind the reality of race in America. Have we come a long way in the 56 years since Brown V. Board of Education? You bet! I am living proof of this fact every day. But as I tried to explain to my wife the other day, I feel sometimes as though there is some sort of collective conscious shared by black Americans that causes us to sometimes be less hopeful, even in the face of great advancement and personal success. We all still gasp when hearing news of a warranted or unwarranted police shooting of another young black male. We all seethe when some idiot drops the "N-word" and then tries to justify it. We all shake our heads in dismay when racial epithets are displayed or a noose hung from a tree at an American university. I would argue that most intelligent and compassionate people respond in the same way as I do, but I would also argue that for some unexplained reason, I feel experience in a way a white person doesn't. No doubt, I've experienced racial discrimination, but never any threat to my personal safety or well-being, and yet something wells up inside me and I become much more defensive that I probably need to be. I'm guessing that if I feel this way, other black folks do too, so cut us a break.
- To those who continue to claim that racism will never end until black people are given a level playing field in all areas of life, I would say this: Slavery is over, reparations are not coming. Yes, there are many people who do not want you to succeed, and there are many more who don't even care. But our collective history gives us many examples of those who succeeded in spite of the opposition, which by the way, will ALWAYS exist in some form. Here's a not-so-secret secret: Freedom from slavery doesn't mean that the former master is now obligated to pay for "services rendered' (as much as I wish it did). It doesn't grant the the slave a right to anything other than what freedom grants: freedom. It doesn't mean we must triumph over the former master to secure our new way of life. Freedom from slavery means only that there is no more master. Right or wrong, the field doesn't get any more level than this. It doesn't get any more fair than a Federal order to integrate public schools. Learn a lesson from the Little Rock Nine and take the field!
I put my kids on the bus this morning and thought for the first time about what it means that they can attend public school and have the opportunity to educate and better themselves. It's an impossible opportunity without people like Jefferson Thomas showing us how it's done.
Yeah, Lady Liberty has a scarred face, blurred vision, and often walks with a limp, but she's still the best lookin' gal at the dance.
Stay grateful...
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