Racism is alive and well!
So for the last year I have been more and more conscious of how real the denial of racism has become in this country. Since the release of my book (The Mentality of Man from an African American Perspective) in January of 2014 we have seen it come out of the wood works. I really don’t understand why we have such denial and or rejection of this subject. I have heard so many lame excuses about racism being gone and done with because we have an African American President. To the excuse that it’s only a few people not everyone is that way. Now I must agree that everyone in every race is not that way however, what people refuse to look at is that racism is an institution and runs deep into the fabric of this country. People need to wake up and see what is really going on with the institution of racism. Sure can we say that we have progressed from the inception of this country? The answer is yes we have progressed but how much is hard to say. Statistically when we look at economics and its advancements for people of color and minorities including women the scale is tipped towards whites in this country. My biggest concern is that people who it does not directly affect tent to think that everyone else is over accentuated and it really is not that big of a deal. It is also amazing how quickly people choose to change the conversation instead of having mature dialog. Furthermore it is also pretty amazing how dismissive people can be about social things like racism even in the church where it should most definitely be addressed. However, even there it is still business as usual. So some may ask why do I keep bringing up this subject and I will always answer because it has never truly been addressed. As a black man in this country trust me I have plenty of situations that could have ended up in death or something tragic like we are seeing every day. However I am not so insensitive to other minorities to my fellow mankind like the Hispanic culture who is being attacked by stupid people like Donald Trump who thinks every Spanish person is a thug or rapist. Now here is a person who is rich and has benefited from the foot of the white man being on the necks of blacks in this country for years. These actions not allowing financial advancements for people of color making these outrageous statements. What people fail to realize as this dismissive attitude arises to avoid real conversations and this is the institutionalized racism I am speaking of. You can’t hide bigotry too long especially if you squeeze a person hard enough. So as a whole this subject is getting increasingly more noticed as the advancements in social media are revealing the actions and behaviors of many. The crazy part is that this has always gone on but now it is being recorded for the whole world to see what has been happening to minorities in this country. Now as it pertains to police sure brutality is deep and it does not only affect blacks but overall our communities have and are still suffering the most.
The institution of racism is deep in the hearts and minds of people in this country and it is not everyone sure enough but there are still a lot of people who see color. When something is taught to you with many actions and very little words it is even more dangerous because more is caught than taught. One can speak volumes without speaking anything at all and this is what makes this institution so deadly. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this deep seeded, rooted mindset manifested in peoples behaviors. I experiment all the time with people’s reactions to my friendliness or my polite approach. I watch person after person unfortunately white folks cut the conversation short, or ignore my interactions all together. Now this does not stop me from being who I am and this is a lover of all people but if further proves my point about this thig running much deeper than we want to admit. I experienced it at my job with the local school district on a daily basis and I can now speak on it as I am no longer there. The administrative staff all white never spoke to me consistently for serval years until I complained to HR. I walked the halls many times and the majority of people were not friendly at all as far as being polite in gestures or speaking. I had one fellow teacher tell me it was because I appeared to be a certain way and many people were intimidated by my appearance. I am 6 foot 3 inches and black, he really meant that I was a big black man that looked intimidating. By the way did I mention I was the only black educator on my work site! Yes on a campus full of over 400 staff members I was the only black person to be in an educating role and I was an instructional aide at that. This is a problem! It was a problem then and still is now as those statistics haven’t changed much. I bring this up to further my example of the institution that has poisoned the minds of many over the years. It’s like a muscle cramp once the muscle has been shocked from a lack of water or potassium it is sore and takes a few days to properly heal depending on how severe. This issue is very real and has shocked this nation even the world over and over again but we as a very ignorant country expect people to be healed! No, it is not that easy it has been years, and years, and years of this inhumane treatment that sadly is still going on in some places today and we choose to be oblivious to this bull!
I SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! WAKE THE HELL UP AMERICA!
Stop avoiding the issue and let’s talk about this very real situation. Stop acting like if we don’t acknowledge it then it will just go away, it’s not going away! What does it say about our country when people are willing to leave this country, join terrorist groups, and are willing to die for that cause one against America? I am not willing to do this but so many are and I ask the question why? This is one of the “greatest countries in the world’, but people are leaving it ready to stand against it and once again I ask you why is this so? This is just an observation as I chose to pay attention to what is really going on in my country and world today. It is simply not something I can afford to not pay attention to because this is how one is caught by surprise.
So I will end with this as it has been a lot said, pay attention to what is going on in your circle. Some may not have the opportunity to interact with someone who does not look like them or has the same culture. I would dare to say that this is by choice or simply by ignorance because nothing should keep you away from stepping out of your comforts into something you don’t know or understand. This is a choice people make every day and most of this is driven by the institution that taught you one or two thins.
1. That you are better than those you look like.
2. You can’t associate with them because they’re not accepting of you.
BBBoth are bad and we must move passed this mindset and be willing to break all the stereotypes, preconceived ideas, notions, and attitudes that divide us the most. I believe generation Y will be the one to break these cycles of institutionalized racism and we (the older generation) must advocate for then to be about such a change.
As As always God bless you all.
D