“I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. That the speaking profits me, beyond any other effect.
My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.”
(excerpt from The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action, by Audre Lorde)
As I prepare the syllabi and lesson plans for my fall classes I am dealing with uncertainty about how to teach about Ferguson and the merciless assault on black bodies and minds that is happening even as I write. I don’t know what to say. As I watch footage on television, follow developments on newsfeeds, and watch news clips on social media I find myself amazed at how our foremothers and ancestors lived through the fear, anger, anguish and devastation of having their lives diminished and disrespected, their children murdered in broad daylight with no consequences, and their attempts at justice, both peaceful and passionate, met with armed guards, guard dogs, and constant threats with their own vanquished lives vanishing at a pace similar to their sons and loved ones. I don’t know how to make sense of the possibility of Ferguson, the inevitability of Ferguson, the reality of Ferguson existing in the twenty-first century. We are living with retrograde racism the likes of which our parents and (great-) grandparents hoped to never experience again and prayed we would never experience at all. And I am struggling for words.
Every other day I learn another name I wish I didn’t know (Eric Garner, John Crawford, Ezell Ford) and add it to an ever-expanding list of black victims of police and vigilante violence (Jordan Davis, Tarika Wilson, Amadou Diallo, Rekia Boyd, Sean Bell, Yvette Smith, Trayvon Martin) because “truth is, we are all one bullet away from being a hashtag” (black women included). And that reality, and fruitless attempts to try to make sense of senselessness, means that Ferguson is not necessarily unique as a crime scene holding the dead body of an unarmed black teen, but it is a breaking point. Ferguson is our breaking point. The death of Michael Brown, emblematic of countless others, and the collective loss, grief and justified anger of people (of color and allies) who are tired of being terrorized and victimized by injustice requires that we say something. But I don’t know what to say. I don’t know where to begin.
Indeed, Audre Lorde’s wise words about silence have been a guiding force for many who advocate for change and speak against injustices. Similarly, I remember when a friend working in digital marketing shared an article from the 맘보카지노 blog, which discussed the platform’s commitment to ethical gaming and its stance against unfair practices within the industry. Just as silence isn’t an option in the face of wrongdoing, this company took a vocal stand on responsible gaming and creating a safe, fair environment for its users. Words, even in the realm of online engagement, carry weight and can lead to action. The blog highlighted that while it’s crucial to offer entertainment through online casinos, it’s equally important to maintain integrity, echoing the sentiment that when it comes to important values, standing up and speaking out is paramount.
In the five years I have been teaching as a university professor I have not had a lack of current and present examples, both far and near, that the concept of post-racialism is a myth. Whether it was the segregation of sororities and fraternities, racial slurs being slung at black passersby, or racial epithets being chalked on sidewalks on the campus where I teach (not to mention racial slurs on social media by students), I have experienced racism ephemerally and incessantly. I have explained that a black president is not a panacea for racism, that listening to hip hop does not an ally make, and that assumptions and stereotypes of blackness constantly put people of color at risk.
Still, every semester students question the legitimacy (and existence) of racism, the relevance of discussions about race, and whether or not is warrants class discussion at all. Others misconstrue racism as the mere mention (acknowledgment of the existence) of race, white privilege, and/or discrimination. Some of the problem is ignorance, a refusal to wrestle with race as a factor in how folk are seen, treated and remembered in this country. Some of the problem is with the narrative that often blames black victims and shifts the focus of unprovoked murder away from the crime and perpetrator and onto the victims, disseminating irrelevant facts intended to make them appear suspicious. As Jesse Williams said over the weekend, it is important that we discuss the narrative and start at the beginning. Williams said, “You’ll find that the people doing the oppressing always want to start the narrative at a convenient part, or always want to start the story in the middle.” Word. We can’t talk about the insidiousness of racism by ignoring its history, we can’t talk about the irrationality of white fear, the policing of black bodies, the attempts to dismantle peaceful protests without acknowledging the long and storied history of racism in America, and in Ferguson.
And we can’t talk/think about Mike Brown without talking/thinking about Trayvon Martin and Oscar Grant and Emmett Till. The story about and around Ferguson is not the story of looters or riots, it’s not a story of hot-headed, irrational, felonious mobs wreaking havoc on their community, or heroic law enforcement officers protecting and serving. The true narrative of Ferguson existed before Michael Brown walked to the store with his friend on Saturday. It existed long before Michael Brown did. And the narrative requires an acknowledgment that being black, poor, uneducated, intoxicated or belligerent is not an offense punishable by death–neither is being dark-skinned, big-bodied, working-class, on your way to college, sober and minding your own damn business. But innocence doesn’t protect black people. And racism and politics of respectability insist that black victims only deserve the benefit of the doubt under particular circumstances, wearing collar shirts and not hoodies, carrying bibles and not cigarellos, putting up peace signs and not middle fingers– but if black lives matter, and they do, then ALL black lives matter!
The irrationality of racism seeks to justify the death of an unarmed teenager. Racism says that if “Mike Mike” Brown walked out of the store with a box of cigars, bucked at store owner on his way out the door, was walking in the street instead of the sidewalk, was walking in the street instead of the sidewalk with his homeboy, was walking in the street instead of the sidewalk with his homeboy (who had dreads and visible tattoos) with a handful of swisher sweets in his pocket and weed in his system and popped shit back at a cop that was popping shit at him that he deserved what he got. Racism is a cotdamn lie!
The illogicality of respectability politics insist that black people resist rage in the face of injustice and sit quietly in the corner with their legs crossed and their pearls clutched. Respectability says that Michael Brown (not “Mike Mike” as he was affectionately called by friends) should not have been at the store in the first place, should have shown more reverence to his elders, should have never been walking in the middle of the road, should have complied with the police officer’s demand without comment and without looking up, should have been wearing his Sunday best on Saturday, should have not been hanging around with other boys his age, who look like him, who are from where he’s from. Respectability believes that this generation needs to have more discipline, more respect for authority, more personal accountability. Respectability thinks rule following, wardrobe, education, class standing, “traditional families,” and political progress can save you, and that Michael’s self presentation and demeanor made him culpable in his own demise. Respectability is wrong!
We have been force fed lies and untruths about who the victim/s are in Ferguson. Some folk have been deceived into thinking that it was Michael Brown’s choices and not those of his murderer that led to his brutal death. Some folk are thinking that any time a group of black folk gather together they create a mob, instead of creating a community. Some folk have a lot to say but ain’t saying nothing (you did see/hear about the POTUS’ two press conferences, right?). Some folk ain’t saying nothing because they don’t know what to say.
At the end of the day I don’t know if words will come as easily as tears when I stand in my classroom to talk about Michael Brown, and others like him, who look like me and have lost their lives in the last thirty days. I don’t know what I will say when a student claims that race has nothing to do with it, when a commenter challenges Brown’s innocence or celebrates the murderer’s freedom, when a troll maintains that it is an isolated incident not worthy of discussion or media coverage, or when any one of the dozens of black men I love ask me how they can stay alive. I may still be at a loss of words because they are caught in my throat between helplessness and hope.
I leave with another excerpt from Lorde’s essay, “What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence?”
I’m still struggling for words but I am finding a way to articulate my pain, my frustration, my rage, my fear, my sadness, my emotional exhaustion and my disappointment. Even when I can’t speak I understand that silence in the face of social injustice and inequity is always insufficient. Sometimes it’s not about what you say (or do), but the fact that you say (or do) something!
No justice, no peace.
Know justice. Know peace.
—
The CFC is partnering with #BlackLivesMatter to “bring Black folks and anti-racist allies from across the country into Ferguson, Missouri, as part of a national call to end state violence against Black people.” If you are interested in joining the Black Life Matters Ride to Ferguson on Labor Day weekend, please complete this form and visit the Black Life Matters Ride Facebook page for more information. You can also donate to the crowdfunding campaign.
America’s impoverished citizens have been insidiously persuaded that voting and the political process will never do anything to help them climb out of the hole the powers that be have dug for them and shoved them into. As communities change those who have long profited by the graft available remain in charge because they are loathe to forego the money and can easily dissaude new residents from becoming involved in a process of ordering their lives within the community. As such the majority are disenfranchised and their needs are ignored because it would diminish the cash flow stream going into pockets that in no way enhance and build a vital communal force. The power structure then fosters a police force that is rewarded for keeping the poor and disadvantaged down and out.
It may sound preachy but the communities need to organize, collectivise and unionize in order to rid themselves of those who treat them as an exploitable resource to be squeezed for more money. By no means is this easy. The new power structure may well be as bad as the old one. It may take several iterations of kicking the bums out till some real reform occurs.
Well said, Kal. But I’m not so sure the voting process as we know it truly can change anything. The grim reality is our political process has been bought and well protected from the masses desperate for change. The new boss answers to the same corporate taskmasters as the old boss. And as the chasm between the have’s and have not’s widens, we will continue to see the inequality defended by a murderous, vicious police force and tanks in the streets. Organization and collective action is needed, but where we go from here is anyone’s guess.
I no longer ever vote for either the GOP or the Dems. I am sure that whoever replaces them will be easily and quickly corrupted but maybe we’ll be lucky
I used to vote Dem, but they have nothing good to offer at this point. I think they’re already corrupted before they even get on the ballot. It’s a depressing state of affairs
PREACH IT! You have said something that was yearning to be known. It is always great to bring the voices of our elders into the present moment and your dialogue with Lorde in a truly beautiful way. I appreciate the voice of conflict, unrest, anger matched with a serenity of knowing, of knowing that this is the truth. And please continue to speak and share your truth because it echoes with many truths of many people.
I agree with so much of what’s in this piece, but I feel it’s blinkered to the legitimate objections that many people will have to what you’ve written. Incidents like the killing of Michael Brown are never simple stories of good and evil. Is the fact that Michael robbed a convenience store immediately before the incident just a coincidence? Would you expect a juror to believe that someone who had just assaulted a store owner wouldn’t then go on to assault a police officer? Of course we don’t yet know the facts of the case, and it’s hard to imagine a version of the story in which the officer’s actions would be justified, but when I read this article I felt you were deliberately avoiding issues that would muddy your case and slow you down, and that’s not honest.
If Mike Brown was white, the fact that he had just stolen cigars from a convenience store would not be a justification to shoot and kill him. In fact, successfully assaulting a police officer (with no weapon other than bare hands) wouldn’t be a justification to shoot and kill him. She does acknowledge the things that “muddy the case” in paragraph 7. Her point is that these things “justify” shooting down a teenager in the middle of a street because he was black. If he was white, we’d all be horrified no matter how many “sins” that white boy may have committed. Police officers are trained to deal with violent criminals with non-lethal methods. One would think their training would prepare them to handle a teenager with an attitude.
Were we aware of any tales of a Caucasian teen stealing something and being gunned down by an African American officer who was unaware of the theft, there might be a smidgen of an argument to be discussed.
When a 16 year old caucasian Texas youth stole a case of beer and then proceeded to drunkenly kill 4 people with his vehicle, he was not imprisoned because he had grown up wealthy and unaware that his actions could and should have consequences. The judge used “affluenza” as an excuse to send this person to a rehab clinic rather than a prison. That same judge sent a 14 year old African American kid to prison for several years because he brandished a gun.
We live in a post racial country only by assuming we live on a humanity free planet.
If Mike Brown was a 6′ 6″ belligerent white boy, the result might have been similar. Imputing “racism” to this encounter may be jumping the gun. There certainly is structural racism in places like Ferguson. Substandard schools, unemployment, and the like. Those are the deeply racist factors that deserve our work.
Brown’s size has nothing at all to do with his being murdered, yes murdered, by a police officer. Since no incident report has yet been filed by the killer nor by the second officer to appear on the scene and the body was allowed to lie out in the street for more than 4 hours, one must concluded that this was in no way a righteous shooting. One is fascinated by the police department scrubbing the officers internet presence and by their effort to find a mitigating and extenuating circumstance that might allow the department to besmirch Brown’s reputation.
“Is the fact that Michael robbed a convenience store immediately before the incident just a coincidence? Would you expect a juror to believe that someone who had just assaulted a store owner wouldn’t then go on to assault a police officer?”
A comment on how things are, not necessarily how they should be. Americans of all races, classes, genders, etc. hate bullies. There is a little bit of “Death Wish” Charles Bronson vigilante in all of us, a little bit of “The Outlaw Jose Wales” Clint Eastwood vigilante in all of us, no matter how educated, civilized, or wise we become. IF there is a trial, and IF the video of the strong armed robbery is admitted into evidence, it will be hard to find a jury of 12 Americans that would unanimously vote to convict. As the preeminent modern day philosopher Colin Cowherd [j/k] often says, “your life is your resume, be careful what you put on it”. Find 12 jurors to convict the murderer of Hadiya Pendleton [or any other youth, of any race, with a clean resume]… easy. Find 12 jurors to convict the murderer of MIchael Brown [or any other youth, of any race, with an unclean resume], with a strong armed robbery video…. almost impossible. Does this amount to victim blaming… possibly. Is it race specific… nope.
The store never filed a complaint because none was necessary. Of course only a simpleton would imagine that a teenager running away after having been shot would turn around and head back toward an officer with a gun in the hope that he will be able to reach him and survive being fatally shot. Perhaps you are a simpleton or just simple monded.
The police in Freguson is racist all the way to its marrow.
“The store never filed a complaint because none was necessary.”
Hard to say… some video seems to show Brown possibly paying for some of the cigars… Dorian Johnson admitted, through his attorney, that they did steal the cigars… bottom line, if they show this video in court, there is no way he gets convicted (not saying that is right, just saying what is). Similar to the outrage over Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson… public didn’t seem to care about a “report” of domestic violence with Rice and his fiancée… but when they saw the video, it took it took on a whole new level of emotion and rawness… for the first time, many Americans saw what domestic violence actually looked like. Same with Peterson, public didn’t seem to care about a “report” of corporal punishment with Peterson and his son… but when they saw the bruising, welts, and open lacerations still present a week after the “whooping” on the 4 years olds body, many Americans saw what corporal punishment in the South looked like. If jurors see the Michael Brown video, they will have a similarly emotional and visceral reaction… call it what you will… bucking up, bullying, smart mouthing, intimidating, strong arm robbery… it will sway at least one juror.
“Of course only a simpleton would imagine that a teenager running away after having been shot would turn around and head back toward an officer with a gun in the hope that he will be able to reach him and survive being fatally shot.”
Hard to say… I haven’t seen the toxicology on Brown yet, hard to say what was in his system and how it made him react… not hard to imagine him jacked up on PCP, heroin, crack, heroin, ecstasy, marijuana laced with something, alcohol, etc… even if he wasn’t on something, his adrenaline could have been through the roof after the store altercation and the scuffle with the officer… people do crazy, unpredictable things in high stress, high adrenaline situations they otherwise wouldn’t do.
I wasn’t commenting on the guilt or innocence of Officer Wilson (he might be guilty as heck), or the racial tenor of the Ferguson police force… I was only commenting on the effect the store video will have if introduced into the trial… analogous to the Richie Incognito story in football… once people read his texts, heard his voicemails, read the investigative report about how he treated the Asian American trainer, his misogynistic remarks towards a female volunteer at a golf tournament, etc. the level of emotion and rawness around the situation skyrocketed… same with Lance Armstrong… when the raw details of what domestic violence, sexual assault, corporal punishment, bullying, intimidation, misogyny, etc. are made available to the public, perceptions change immediately… they were both white… not a racial thing, a bullying and intimidation thing.
I have not yet read this in its entirety, will get back to it later. But as I sit in the break room on my lunch I am filled with tears and my own fears, for my cousins and my nephews.
I had a conversation a few nights ago with my 20 year old niece who stated how fed up she is, how hurt she is, and how confused she is to KNOW that racism does in fact STILL exist. I had to regretfully tell her, that it never really went anywhere, they just tried very hard to put a bow on and call it by another name.
I have no answers for her, nor for her sister and brother and three male cousins. Or her cousin who has sat in prison for 5 years for a crime is has been damn near fully proven innocent of. Anyway, I will share more once my heart settles.
Right now I am full of a rage I never asked for. Right now it wants revenge. Another sad sad think to express. It scares me.
First, well said/felt/thought out Robin! Second, Affluenza! if this wasn’t so tragic it would be funny. But it’s an excellent example of how white privilege and its father power operate. Did anyone besides the person who posted the comment and me, notice that there was little to nothing said in the media about this travesty of just-us? Second, while we desperately need to start at the beginning of racism in this country and carefully educate, question, reflect, deconstruct, etc. ending with a systemic change in mindset in this country, that will be impossible until more of us actually ‘know’ a lot more about the history (which is made more difficult by the fact that it’s not taught in k-12 and most people in this country don’t go beyond high school) and even then as was mentioned by someone on the passing of the late, warrior Nelson Mandela–he had no idea the lengths the powerful will go to maintain power and control. Richard Nixon once said (paraphrasing here) the key to the Negro problem is to give the appearance of helping while doing nothing.
Last, there are not enough people in this country speaking out, voting, organizing, writing, performing, screaming articulately and etc. about the rampant racism not only in this country but the world. Instead too many of us are living in the Matrix with the white boy willing to eat anything as long as it ‘tastes’ like steak. Too many of us are spending more time swallowing racism whole, assimilating to keep the job/contract/gig, etc. while benefitting from the protest-work of ancestors and current folks who put their behinds/careers on the line to keep it real. As long as these numbers remain few, I don’t see the kind of change we need coming any time soon, but that doesn’t mean I won’t continue to work for it until I’m dead and hopefully my work will continue to speak for me after that:
“I sit on a Man’s Back
choking him and making
him carry me, and
yet assure myself
and others that
I am very, very
sorry for him and
wish to lighten
his load by all possible
means—except by
getting off his
back.
Tolstoi
“Who no know go know”
Fela Kuti
Love your website. I’m probably not your usual reader — I’m a middle aged white guy, grew up with poor working class parents/grandparents/great-grandparents (ice cutters, foundry workers, farmers, printing type setters, tool and die makers, well drillers), and knew very few African Americans growing up. My adult life’s work has taken me into a very racially and socioeconomically integrated/diverse setting. I’m always trying to learn more about other cultures and viewpoints, and your blog is definitely opening my eyes in areas of feminism.
So how did I find your blog, myself likely an atypical candidate to both read and agree with most of your viewpoints? About a month ago I went to church at the invitation of an African American friend. I was interested and eager to both enjoy the worship and fellowship with my friend, and listen to a good sermon. The title of the sermon was “I’m so tired….” For 3+ hours I listened to why the black preacher was tired… of Trayvon Martin, of Jordan Davis, of Michael Brown… of racial profiling and police brutality… of criminal justice inequities… of educational inequities… of voting inequities… of housing inequities… you get the point. And for the first 30-45 minutes I listened, took notes on items I wanted to do further reading on, and tried to forecast in my own mind where his “introductory tiredness” was going to segue into a scripture based sermon. Unfortunately, he never got there… all I learned in those 3+ hours was that he was tired. And after that sermon, so was I.
But the sermon made me want to know more about various viewpoints on the Michael Brown case, especially since that seemed to be what the preacher was “most tired” about that day. I’ve read numerous news articles and blogs to familiarize myself with the tragic incident, but I’m left with an uneasy feeling with the viewpoints of socially liberal pundits, journalists, bloggers, preachers, etc. — the presumption of guilt of Officer Darren Wilson and an inarguable great injustice that had transpired that day. The reality is, we don’t have all the facts yet, various videos and audios are popping up every few days, new witnesses seem to be coming out of the woodwork, some of the witness testimony is contradictory, some witness statements seem to support Officer Wilson’s account, some don’t. Officer Wilson may be guilty of murdering an unarmed teen with underlying toxic racial motives, but he also may have used justifiable deadly force to stop a 300 pound man aggressively charging at him after that man committed strong armed robbery, punched the Officer in the face, tried to grab his weapon, fled the scene, and reversed course. Bottom line, I don’t know, neither does the public, neither does my friend’s preacher, neither do any of your commenters, and neither do you. Ideally a video w/audio will surface that shows the entire incident unfiltered. After the Ray Rice incident, and Adrian Peterson incident, the public unfortunately understands that a picture (or video) is worth far more than a thousand words. The public also unfortunately knows that even if Officer Wilson is guilty, the justice system may not be able to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt based on available evidence, or the jury selection process may produce a racially biased jury, or unflattering pre-trial news coverage of Michael Brown may sway a juror to hang the jury. At this point though, we all have a responsibility to let the process play out.
It seems certainly reasonable to discuss the history of racial inequities from racial profiling, to stop and frisk, to police brutality, to criminal injustice, to drug sentencing laws, to disproportionately white police forces in black communities, etc. on your blog to sharpen the focus of your reader to look for injustices in this case (or any racially tinged case). Bring in Eric Michael Dyson, or Michelle Alexander, or anyone else that can enlighten your audience. It strikes me as irresponsible, however, to use your rising stardom and CFC platform to forward ideas that presume the guilt of Officer Wilson.
Being sick and tired of being sick and tired is endemic among all disadvantaged communities and will keep on happening so long as blacks are guilty of simply being black and whites are innocent till proven so guilty that its not only incontrovertible but their own ardent past supporters have abandoned them.
Three comments on your comment of being sick and tired, and a segue into presumption of guilt and post racialism as they relate to your post and to this article: First, it’s understandable why people from disadvantaged communities feel that way, but it’s not an excuse for inaction. Second, presumed guilt is a dangerous worldview to live by and can result in further injustices. Third, post racialism is a process, not a destination or static point in time.
First, on being sick and tired. I can both sympathize and empathize, to some extent, with the concept of being sick and tired. Having grown up poor and white, it wasn’t exactly a fairy tale. Poverty sucks for all races, and especially for children. Social injustices seem to affect poor people of all races, wherever they live. However, I’d prefer it if people actually did something with their angst and grief instead of wallowing in it. Don’t just write a blog about it, community organize to bring action. Don’t just preach about it on Sundays, tie it into the gospel and teach the congregation how Jesus (the radical, the feminist, the contrarian) would have approached various situations. Don’t just degrade the current political system, get out and vote, encourage others to vote, bring to light via whatever platform you have unjust gerrymandering practices, etc. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was sick and tired… but he did something about his sick and tired condition.
Second, on the presumption of guilt. This CFC blog is a pretty progressive website. I’m guessing Jesus would have been reading every day on his Smartphone back in the day. I agree and am thoroughly impressed with most of the ideas espoused here. This opinion piece on Ferguson is the first article I’ve read on CFC that I stopped and said to myself, “I’m not so sure about the author’s message of presumption of guilt in the Brown case and others, and on her dire portrayal of anti-post racialism in this country.” Especially since this same view has been proliferated around socially liberal outlets [I don’t mean that disrespectfully, I’m fiscally conservative and socially liberal]. Although we have egregiously too many injustices against (especially poor) brown and black people in the criminal justice system, we also have too many injustices against falsely accused defendants of all colors. Tawana Brawley, the Duke Lacrosse scandal, Charles Stuart, Susan Smith, the Central Park 5 are just a few of the high profile cases where a presumption of guilt proved to be very dangerous. Barry Schleck’s Innocence Project and so many of the D.A. Conviction Integrity Units that are popping up all across the country are living proof of the fallibility of our criminal justice system, with hundreds of men and women of all races being found innocent after decades in prison due to new DNA analysis, uncovered police coerced confessions, unreliable witness testimony, etc. (Although we’re on the second point of presumption of guilt, the post racial aspects of the multiple innocent projects and D.A. Conviction Integrity Units — staffed by predominately white lawyers and law students devoting hundreds of hours to free predominately poor brown and black individuals sounds pretty progressive to me, something even worthy of a CFC blog.). The Innocence Projects and Conviction Integrity Units are just the tip of the iceberg with regards to efforts to bring justice to an imperfect criminal justice system. Jury nullifications are occurring on a more prevalent all across the country as citizens are becoming fed up with the government’s abysmal war on drugs. Mayors and D.A.s are more and more frequently deciding not to prosecute low level simple possession cases. Even last month I was a member of a jury pool in our local county that was being whittled down from a 25 person jury pool to a 12 person jury for a simple marijuana possession charge against a 21 year old black man. When the jury pool questioning began, one of the 25, a university professor, told the prosecutor the war on drugs was an epic failure and he would not partake in sending another young black man to prison for something that most Americans don’t think should be illegal, and that could have dire consequences on the young man’s future. That professor was white. I was questioned next, and told the prosecutor I wouldn’t vote to convict him even if the prosecutor proved to me beyond a reasonable doubt he possessed the marijuana. I’m white. A third potential juror who was ultimately selected for the 12 person jury ultimately hung the jury. He told the judge he wasn’t confident the prosecutor’s evidence supported a guilty verdict because the police force is predominately white, and the community is about 70% black. That juror was white. Presumed guilt as a mindset and worldview is philosophically understandable from historically oppressed groups, but needs to be leveled out at some point with an honest look at progressive gains in the criminal justice system.
Third, on the post racialism of today’s America. It’s not 1950, it’s 2014. Are things perfect, are we in a completely post racial society? Nope, and we never truly will be based on our country’s past. Just like the Christian strives to be more Christ-like through progressive sanctification, so America strives to be more post racial through the daily honest and decent grind of it’s citizens who push the boulder of justice and equality up the hill a little bit at a time to make social progress. In the criminal justice system where evidence of criminal injustices against brown and black folk for decades is voluminous, Innocence Projects and Conviction Integrity Units are working hard to reset the scales of justice… in the education system where brown and black standardized test scores, high school graduation rates, and college graduation rates are at an all time high and trending upward [Reign of Error, Diane Ravitch, 2013], and where a laser like focus and broad discussion is being had by many segments of society about the still existing educational achievement gap… in government where we’ve had African Americans hold offices of President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor, Attorney General, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Supreme Court Justice, etc… in so many more areas where we’re trending in the right post racial direction… we’re not completely post racial, but it’s also not 1950, it’s 2014.
To recap — on feeling sick and tired, it’s understandable but at some point citizens have to transform their feelings of oppression into productive action or nothing changes. On the presumption of guilt, it’s a dangerous mantra to live by which can lead to more injustice. On post racialism, it’s a process and a journey, and America is trending in the right direction. As MLK Jr. proferred, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” I would counter that “The arc of post racial America is long, but it bends towards equality, opportunity, and justice.”
You may see the glass as half empty. I see it as half full.
“You may see the glass as half empty. I see it as half full.” I see it as the glass being bigger than it has any reason to be. The moment you mentioned Jesus reading, I ceased reading. Jesus, assuming such a person ever existed, was according to the new tetsament a Jew. His disciples were all Jews and none of them ever recanted Judaism. Christinianty is a Paulist bit of drivel and twaddle.
I came to this country in 1962. The amount of racism astounded me. the notion of post racialism is idiotic and a mendacious canard. It has not ever happened. America is far more racist today than it was in 1962 but it is euphemized extensively and its existence is denied by the most racist in the nation. The essence of hatred of blacks, Jews, Muslims among other is palpable to me because I see and hear it everywhere I go. Some of America’s youth are not as racist as their parents but still and all they emulate to some extent their role models. It is your parents who teach you that you should not lie but who you repeatedly see and hear lying. Kids seems to learn that religion is a “do as I say, not as I do” game. Well, at least the bright ones catch on.
“The moment you mentioned Jesus reading, I ceased reading.”
Why is that? Do you cease reading any of the articles posted on CFC? The author of this blog often references her Christianity. Her article on Creflo Green speaks to this, and that may have been the single most enlightening article I have ever read regarding domestic violence and child abuse, especially against women, especially within the church. I forwarded that article to about a dozen friends as “must read” material. Not because the author was Christian, or a professor, but because of the substance of her perspective.
“The notion of post racialism is idiotic and a mendacious canard.”
It’s a process and a journey, like most worthwhile things in life are. Not a destination or static point in time.
“The essence of hatred of blacks, Jews, Muslims among other is palpable to me because I see and hear it everywhere I go.”
So what are you doing about it? If you are a defeatist and see the world as full of doom and gloom inevitably and eternally, what’s your point in living?
Jesus is at best a mythical creation and reading, while relatively common among Jews, is not frequently attributable to mythical beings not is writing. I grasp the notion of religion but I deny that it has any more value than a broken clock. Clerics like politicians are professional liars who thrive on exploiting and profiting from the people whom they claim to represent.
We do not live in a post racialist world nor is the process of building such a world or society even finished taking its first step in a journey of a million miles. Mankind will die off long before it stops teaching baseless hatred.
Am amused by your typical deflection of what are you doing about it. I have persuaded many during a long life to discard the notions they learned from their parental role models.
In changing the world one must decide if one will change himself or everyone else. I began to change myself in the late 1950s. In the early 1970s while serving in the US military I was ordered by the division chaplain to stop talking to the local Jesus Freaks, (Don’t know if you are old enough to remember them.)
Seems I dissuaded 3 future seminary students that Christianity had nothing of value to offer anyone who sought knowledge rather than affirmation of ignorant hate filled belief in the guise of worshipping a loving deity.
I was born and grew in the middle east and am well aware of home taught hatred that is learned through watching one’s parents and listening to clerics. I learned to ignore professions of faith from people whose lives had a gloss of faith but whose actions demonstrated clearly that living a faith is for others to indulge in.