By Dave Devereaux
Will white America ever admit its hand in the crafting of racism and hate as a tool to build this country? That is the million-dollar question of the century in my opinion. They believe that if it’s not talked about it’s somehow not an issue anymore.
A white American can occupy any space in any room and never have to think about being there. Yet a black person has to make sure they code switch, simulate and articulate on all levels while being cognizant of those same efforts.
Our existence alone does not allow unconscious bias since we are usually fending off those behaviors from our non-black counterparts and this can include the behaviors of both Hispanics and Asians toward blacks as well. They will side with whites, and even castigate blacks as if they too are occupying spaces without biases. Forgetting that much of their history in this country has been marred by the deceit of their ancestors as well.
I come to these thoughts having reflected on the current relationship surrounding the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. The issues these two cultures have experienced are cautionary at best. Many see the treatment of Palestinians by the Israelis as abusive, confining and ultimately hateful. They are relegated to a small trek of land that is constantly being claimed by Israeli families pushing Palestinian families out.
It is much like that of blacks who were restricted to certain areas within cities that were usually substandard and without equal access to services and benefits. Whites came in and claimed certain areas by either flooding the area or using eminent domain as a justification for taking.
While the acts of Hamas were deplorable and most certainly egregious it directs the question of how long can you denigrate a culture before they strike back under duress and fear? How long can you keep your foot on a person’s neck before they begin to fight back by any means necessary? And why have you chosen this as the path to controlling another culture?
I equate the current struggle of the Palestinian culture to blacks in America in some respects. I do not condone Hamas’s bombing of Israel, but have to take into account the conditions that led to this and their actions. For years they have attempted to form their own state, to be autonomous, and to live in peace on a small piece of land that is so hotly contested based on a history they both covet.
However, statehood has never taken place. No compromises or discussions have been reached. With seven million Palestinians in the region and over nine million Israelis, it is unfortunate that they cannot come to some accord to share equally. The bigger question is why the hell is the American government involved in this; we have yet to resolve our race issues here. And with our history of pillage and plunder, we do not set a great example of the mediator.
There is a common belief in the black community that a white man will take what he wants, claim its origin as his own, and never give that creator a crumb of what is later financially capitalized on. What we do know is this has been going on forever, starting with their arrival to this country and their treatment of the Indians.
We have experienced the jealous nature of whites through horrendous events such as the destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa in 1921, which has been conveniently left out of history books seemingly to wipe away that truth. There were other incidents of similar desecration such as Bronzevlle in Chicago; Sweet Auburn in Atlanta; Hayti in Durham, N.C.; Ninth Street in Little Rock and Farish Street in Jackson to name a few.
All this leads to the question: What has any black man done to garner such hate and disrespect? Is the color of my skin so repugnant that others feel the need to disrespect and minimize it? Or, might it be the fear that I pose a significant challenge to others due to my ability to adapt and persevere? Let’s face it, just about every endeavor black people attempt, we succeed on such high levels. We become the standard by which they later measure themselves.
As black people, we are not interested in the least about retaliation. That is too costly, time-consuming and redundant. We are busy just trying to make sense of all this continued hate. The question does arise as to whether we should be compensated for the many deeds that have affected our ability to create generational wealth in the face of lies and stealing.
Proving that our ancestors were more involved in creating and building this country is a task in itself with little written record other than word-of-mouth history told by descendants who are dying every minute with valuable knowledge of what happened. To maneuver a system that selects a history that looks like it and omits the truth is a hard thing to keep up with.
While some may speak of reparations, many want simple acknowledgment to begin a more honest dialogue. I don’t know how one can put a price on centuries of deceit, abuse and racism. The next day, that same behavior would more likely still be present. It’s not like we can blame the current population for past atrocities. But we can demand acknowledgment and honest conversation about inclusion, access and moving forward.
Currently, we only have surface discussions that solve nothing. Every day we hear of some new way that white America has formulated to exclude the black community. We must include and celebrate ourselves within our community. We may need to discuss our own schools, hospitals and community services to better support ourselves. Moving forward with a black community agenda will send a clear message that their agenda is no longer valid for us.
The black mind has changed. The movement, though quiet, has begun. We no longer accept the past as the past. We demand a future that recognizes the ills paid against our culture and ancestors. We will not stop talking about what change should look like and more importantly don’t care if people of other races are uncomfortable in that discussion. We have been uncomfortable for more than 400 years. I was taken by a quote from the great poet Langston Hughes.
