Instead it seems to be business as usual and that's what scares me. The majority of us are still asleep at the wheel or we are condemning those in Ferguson, MO. for rioting. I do not condone nor do I condemn the rioting of those that are engaged in that brand of civil unrest over the senseless murder of Michael Brown, but I do understand it. What I do not understand is why the same thing isn't happening in Cincinnati where John Crawford was gunned down inside a Walmart when carrying nothing more than a BB gun in an Open Carry state. Or here in NYC over the choking death of Eric Garner? People should be losing their minds and they aren't. That's both frustrating and frightening to me. We are now so complacent that the unjustified murder of three Black men, four if you now add Ezell Ford, gunned down by police while lying prone on his stomach in Los Angeles, doesn't move us to unify, organize, and mobilize to demand better treatment for our communities and justice for the fallen.
What is it going to take for us as a people to stand up and shout, "NO MORE!" Who or how many must die at one time for us to say enough is enough? That is what scares me because Black men, it is open season on us and while I know some who will tear down the walls of heaven should something happen to me, would anyone join them or would they be too busy living their own lives, happy it was me and not them, "There but for the grace of god..."
It took the deaths of 3,000+ civilians for airports to change their policy of stricter boarding practices. What is it going to take for us as a people to do the same? Right now in this country every Black man should be an angry Black man and that anger should move us to fight, if not physically then financially. Boycott stores, keep your money in your pockets, only buy what you need, forget what you want. That anger should move us to fight politically, run for a city council seat, a judgeship, or even local sheriff. We need to see more of us when times get harder than they usually are for us. That anger should move us to hold our entertainers and athletes and scholars feet to the fire, to make them speak up and speak out instead of being Michael Jordan-like silent. That anger should drive us to demand more from the church. Instead of worrying about where your soul is going once you die, trying saving the lives of the people still living. The church was one of the many backbones of the Civil Rights movements, where is it at today? Praying for those that are killing us? That anger should be what makes us stand up as men and say "NO MORE!" instead of waiting for the next batch of murdered Black children to come across our headlines because the next one could be yours.
America Is Not For Black People
M, I'm glad you shared your words here. Words ripple out like a wave to create change. Silence is NEVER an answer. Honest dialog, clear reasoning, and shared awareness are the only things that will spur evolution in our society.
ReplyDeleteSo many cling to distractions and fluffy memes to hide from the ugly realities that litter our country. Whether Black, white, brown, or yellow, every one of us must ask ourselves...what if Mike Brown was our unarmed frightened child gunned down by a police officer on the way to his grandmother's? What if unarmed and frustrated Eric Garner was our husband, brother, father, friend who was left to die on a sidewalk after a police officer choked him into submission?
You're absolutely right, M...I would tear down the walls of heaven for my man and for my child or die trying.
NONE of us can continue to look the other way in avoidance, say silent in fear, or wait for it all to just blow over...our very humanity is at risk, and we must all ask ourselves what is right and just and what can each of us do to join together and make our society a better place.
Again, thank you for your thought provoking words, M.
~K.