So, I just got finished watching a video of the former black revolutionary Angela Davis address violence. It made me think of the racial issues affecting our Home and the need for understanding. Im sharing this for the sake of understanding - not with the intent to be divisive or feed the fire already being purposely ignited in our Nation. Theres a novel by Alex Haley that was made into a television miniseries a few decades ago, called Roots. Understanding the ROOTS allows us to recognize the poison or benefit of the fruit... In the recent weeks, and due to the current societal tumult that is tearing us all apart, many Americans have genuinely expressed their want to understand the roots of the disparity that exists between many black Americans and white Americans (not necessarily a disconnect between individuals themselves but rather the perceptions of the individual and that of others). Angela Davis, who is by all accounts a revolutionary mind, unabashed socialist, and liberal thinker was once upon a time, a bright icon to so many blacks who took a more bellicose posture against state-sanctioned brutality and murder. Whereas white Americans may have inadvertently found it easy to forget this particular period of time and move on, this is my parents generation. Its simple and shallow to say Forgive and forget without properly understanding the roots of the matter. If you consider yourself to be a freedom-loving proponent of the Second Amendment, would self defense not have been your posture? In this daydream, you are black, and the very essence of the definition of oppressed. If your current liberty or death posture rings true, with a time machine and a change of pigment, YOU would have been Angela Davis, you would have been Malcolm X, Kwame Touré, Huey Newton - that is, if your money is truly where your mouth is. The knockout game played nowadays by so many urban youths paled in comparison to the Lynch mobs and murderous posses that preyed upon those who dared to stand up to the dictates of Jim Crow. A few names out of thousands still scar the conscience of this Country: Emmet Till, The Scottsboro Boys, Birminghams four angelic girls who were murdered in a bomb blast while worshipping the same God as their murderers... and this was EVERY WEEK. No proper arraignment followed these crimes. Before the War on Terror was ordained as something real, terror was tangible for Americans deemed second class citizens. Before Constitutionalists like myself stood in front of courthouses asserting their god-given rights with rifles, black militants made it cool. Long before ISIS kidnapped and dismembered American citizens, bigoted men ritually used murder and intimidation to weave discontent into this countrys very foundation. That anger is residual and it lies deeply ingrained in the psyche of many blacks. The after-effects are discussed in barbershops, salons, churches, and homes. While there may be no one group left to hold accountable, there are differences among us that shouldnt exist but do. The hypothesis that has been proven worldwide in the face of imperialism is that the oppressor will never understand the oppressed the way that the oppressed understand the oppressor. Admittedly, Ill tell you that not only did I grow up two blocks away from the residence of Angela Davis but I also would make a habit of sneaking into her basement on the walk home afterschool. Id sit in that dank room and read her books, take them home as if I had just visited the library, and attempt to get inside her mind and find balance for the social distortion that I witnessed growing up in Birmingham. Did they forget us? Or is this our fault? Today, as a grown man in charge of his outlook and with an optimistic perspective, I am of the mind that there is no social wound that cannot be resolved with dialogue. Generations of raised eyebrows can be centered by simply reaching across the aisle and gaining further understanding for those both on the outside looking in and those who live the frustration. We are HERE now. There may be another world outside of the day to day transit that you and I call life but I believe that Forgiveness will get all of us far and Understanding will guide us. Why in the 21st century do we not relate to one another as brothers and sisters? This video might be invaluable insight into an age that we somehow all forgot but was ironically just over three decades ago. A time when fire was in the streets but news was enough to distract from the burning issues that would ultimately become us and become our future. That future is here now and its manifesting itself in the most horrible ways. Are we really going to allow ourselves to be foolishly divided once again? Have we not learned at all? Bosnian immigrants, cops, young black men... not a good enough reason why all shouldnt go home to their families each night. Me? Im not that conflicted black teenager any longer. I am a red-blooded American who fully embraces this Nations ideals and wishes for all citizens to feel its embrace in return. The issues that now afflict my soul are straight out of a post-apocalyptic horror series: authoritarian government, a tanking economy, slacking national security, a defense posture that would make the French proud, rampant regulation, a broken immigration system, and the blatant disregard for the supreme law of our land by so many who make rules for us. Color matters too... when choosing produce, when matching my shoes and jacket, or when Im figuring whether to apply the brakes at an intersection. In an ideal reality, it would be that dreamy for all but there is a conversation standing in the way and its longing to be held. There is a true adversary that plagues every aspect of our lives and it isnt our neighbor, it isnt the person across town in urban housing living a contrasted mural of the American dream - I guarantee you. There is no Orwellian system affecting only one demographic. If it does exist, we have all been victimized by it. No matter what color our skin says we are, lets start noticing our similarities and strengths while we still can. United we Stand isnt just some feel-good motto, its science. - Charlie Delta
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 04:16:28 +0000
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