Where Does It End?

The following article was written in August 2014 and published as a general submission in the August 2014 edition of 
"The Christian Index, The Official Organ of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church."
The expressed opinions are my own and not those of the CME Church.

While they are horrific, it's not just the constant killings of unarmed black men that's the problem. It's the consistent, systematic devaluation of the black person in American society. That's the problem. As unpopular as this position may be, I think a large part of that problem begins with us.  The internal forces that tear us apart: black on black crime, lack of education, spiritual malaise, complacency regarding social inequity - those forces leave us, as a people, weakened and an easy target for the external forces that would destroy us.  When we refer to our females as dogs and garden tools, and when our males kill one another over a misdirected glance, what message do we send about the value we place on our own black lives? When we constantly assault and fill our senses with messages of black people as lawless gangsters and thugs, what message do we deliver about the value of our black lives?  If we place no value on black lives, and if we are not collectively appalled and called to action by the non-publicized atrocities that occur in our communities EVERY DAY, then how much integrity is in our protests when an outsider defiles or murders one of our own? Have we not done or tolerated the same thing on a regular basis?

In no way is the intent here to blame the victims, nor to justify, minimize nor diminish the state of siege under which Americans of color often find themselves.  Rather, I am suggesting that people of color need not always assume the attitude of victim, no matter the external circumstances.  I’m suggesting we begin to recognize and avail ourselves of the existing opportunities in a society that revolves around power. We as a people HAVE power, but we give it away bit by bit, leaving ourselves open to be ravaged by those who can or simply will do so.  America, for the most part, is driven by economics.  African-Americans are projected to have a collective buying power upwards of $1,000,000,000,000 – one TRILLION dollars – in 2015.  Yet corporate advertisers spend little time, money, or effort marketing to the African American community – they know they’ll get their share of that money whether they advertise to that market or not. They know our collective memory is short:  we filled the streets protesting the Trayvon Martin injustice, but still flocked to Florida’s shores for vacations and continue to drink its orange juice for our breakfast.  We know that people who neither know nor care about our communities control the corporations that produce the media which  projects negative stereotypes of our community, but we download the tracks, buy the CDs, sing the songs, and go to the movies, anyway.  As long as we fail to use our collective strength, we send the message to others that all is well and there is no reason to change.  Why should an advertiser pay for a share of the African American market if statistics show they will likely get a share of it without even acknowledging African Americans in their marketing?  When the taking of black lives is met with the collective strength of the black community, perhaps then we will see some sustained change.  Why is it that the shootings in Norwalk, CT precipitated Congressional hearings, but the genocide in our communities is ignored?  When there is a connection between the taking of black lives and the deprivation of the collective black buying power, I believe a shift will begin to occur. 

“Why do ‘they’ do it?” doesn’t seem to be the question.  “Why do we allow it to continue?” or “How do we stop this?” seem more appropriate questions.  I’m concerned about a continual outward gaze in our communities.  I’m concerned that when injustice against us is exposed, that we always look to the oppressors (as if somehow they could be expected to behave any way other than oppressively).  Why must we wait until tragedy happens before we act, and why must we only focus our attention outward, at the injustices that have been committed against us?  This question in no way minimizes the specific tragedies that occur far too often; the question attempts to get at a larger issue.  What steps can we, as followers of Christ and as people of color, take to affirm the sanctity of black life?  What changes can we make in our pulpits?  In our Sunday Schools?  In our economic endeavors?   In our Local, State, and National politics?

As a resident of major urban center, I am routinely infuriated not only with racism, but with the hypocrisy and ignorance that accompany it.  Born and bred in the rural south, racism has always been a fact of my life; it's a system one attempts to learn to navigate, with the hope of ultimately dismantling or overthrowing it. Racism was there when we were the first kids in town integrating an elementary school. But the love, the pride and the support we got in our homes and our communities was SO much more powerful than the racists, even when they attacked our homes in the middle of the night, and even when they physically confronted us. No, everyone didn't live through the skirmishes and the physical confrontations, but when one person occasionally fell, others sprang up to take their place. We were a people united -- we couldn't be defeated.  When we thought we couldn’t stand, the wisdom, knowledge, and strength of our community supported us. We thought of ourselves as trees planted by the waters, and we would not be moved. 

I'm not minimizing the wrong others do, nor the effects thereof.  I have come to believe that it is not the goal of people of color to attempt to change others’ racist views.  It is the goal of people of color to instill and reinforce the truth among ourselves, despite what the dominant culture may think.  It is the business of people of color to acknowledge, affirm, and act to honor the sanctity of ALL our lives.  Racists will say and do racist things; that’s their nature. But others’ racism need not define us.   Attention should not be called to the plight of people of color in the US only when a wrong is committed against a person of color; that is a form of giving away our power. Rather, people of color would be well served to systematically and routinely celebrate our rich heritage; our many accomplishments; our communally undergirding, if disparate, faith traditions; and our nearly superhuman progress by surviving and thriving in a strange land.  We would be well served to move forward continuing to build on that foundation.  We as a people have so much to celebrate, so much to be thankful for!!  We have myriad reasons to march and celebrate without atrocities being committed, and reasons come together on one accord other than when something horrible has happened.  I'm looking to see more of the right we do for ourselves. I think that's a better place to start, and not reactively, not necessarily proactively, but simply because we love ourselves that much.