The unimaginable occurred in Charlottesville ... it is a horrible tragedy; the display of hatred was given license since the election to rear its ugly headed for all of us to see.
Yes Beloveds, the boogie man is real and came to life and walked with torches down the streets chanting hatred and spewing venom of African Americans, people of the Jewish faith and the LGBTQI community. Tragically, another innocent life was lost, many were injured and this looked like the Civil Rights marches of the 1960's except it was mostly a sea of white who took to the streets.
The country is in shock, so many are in disbelief that RACISM still exists.... I remember after President Obama took office, every media source was spouting this "post RacialAmerica" rhetoric because we had our 1st Black President but many of us knew the truth. We paid attention to commentary about his birth place and disbelief of his citizenship, the racist cartoons, nooses hanging from trees, the racist comments about Michelle and the criticism about her beautiful chocolate arms being exposed. We knew what this was plain and simple!!! Racism.
For those of us who have "stood at the shorelines" as Queen Mother Audre once said and faced racism first hand, we are not surprised by Charlottesville, like Charleston, like the air strikes on a American citizens in Tulsa- Black Wall Street), like Philadelphia and the bombing of the MOVE community, like Ferguson, like Flint...we remember the charred bodies burned at the stakes, the lynch mobs, the "strange fruit" hanging, the dismembered bodies, the denial of humanity and know that nothing has changed, sadly, racism is still alive and well in the US of A.
In college in the 1990's, I was approached by a group of rowdy teens of European descent and one biracial teen who refused to look me in the eyes while the others chanted "go back to Africa". They made it clear to me that I wasn't welcome in Morgantown, West Virginia. I was also called "n*gger" by some frat boys as I was walking from class. I stood outside the frat house in disbelief and challenged them to come outside but they never showed their cowardly faces. I was 19 years old, from the Bronx, New York and had never experienced blatant racism first hand nor had I ever been called a "n*gger"; at least publicly. This was the moment my life changed and I was forced to deal with racism. After two years in West VA, my mother withdrew me from the school because she feared I might be harmed.
I grew up in a community filled with people who looked like me but many didn't. We were a mixture of African Americans, Latinos, Italians, , Irish from all faiths and we existed peacefully, until the Benson Hurst incident. Although,I am certain in the safety of our individual homes, things were said, racism reared its ugly head but in our community we existed as a community of people who looked out for one another. My childhood friends were of all ethnicities, race didn't come up much as a child, I suppose my parents shielded me from its horror. So this focus on my ethnicity, racism spewed my way was a shock to the system.
In 2005, my neighbors mother came into town and I waved and said hello to her--- she said nothing, didn't wave and all I got back was a blank stare. Puzzled, I asked my neighbor if her mom had a hearing impairment bc she looked right at me but didn't reply. My neighbor embarrassedly said that "my mother doesn't like Black people nor does she speak to black people."
On Mother's Day, in 2015 an irate Euro man called me a terrible array of epithets using the n word and referring to me as a female dog. I reference this because racism is real and for many of us it has persisted for generations. So while many of you are in shock over Charlottesville, many of us are not. We see confederate flags on cars and houses and t shirts worn proudly. We see the utter disrespect and hatred and are aware of this "condemnation of blackness", we see the Anti-semitism and homophobia. The hatred and prejudice in Charlottesville doesn't surprise us at all!!!
This Race war began in 1492 and hasn't ceased. As a woman of Native and African bloodlines, my Ancestors have experienced insurmountable horror on this American soil, land stolen, have plowed the field picking tobacco and cotton, fingers bloody, hearts heavy burying loved ones killed by hatred.
Beloveds, the time has come for YOU to pick a side and denounce the support of the hatred and call white supremacy, the isms and the phobias out once and for all! NO time to sit idly by. It is time to ACT and let your position be clear!!!!
Even after all of this, I still believe that the good will outweigh the evil. I still believe in Humanity and am working tirelessly to preserve what's left of it!!!! What about you beloved? What will you do??? Will you allow your privilege to keep you comfortable or will you find the courage to speak? Where will you stand???
