The image of a mother mourning her child is an image that evades
racial and cultural differences. It speaks every language and it also
speaks a language of its own. It speaks to the heart rather than being
processed through the brain. I have seen that look before on my own
mother's face and I have dealt with the emotions behind it. And somehow
we have become distracted from the fact that a child has lost his life,
and a mother has lost a child. Consumed by controversy and overwhelmed
by an extensive array of opinions and personal beliefs, we forget that
we have lost a child to a color. We have lost a child to the dispute
over a color, and as ignorant and simple-minded as that sounds, it is
true. We have lost so much and so many to the fight over color, the
pigmentation of our skin. We have used the concept of color to try and
differentiate between people. In order to fit the complexity of
humankind into our small and sheltered brains, we have separated
ourselves in every way we could.We have conditioned ourselves to see
DIFFERENCES, yet we neglect our greatest common factor, our humanity.
This is only a small glimpse into the hell that is Racism, still very potent in America. It lies under the skin of our country,
hidden by a cloak of oblivion and denial. It has created an African
American culture that responds to the suppression with sometimes anger and resentment. Through music, fashion, art, behavior and attitude, this culture has thrived
on retaliation. A veteran musician, Lauryn Hill, released a song
responding to the events happening in Ferguson titled "Black Rage". The
song samples the sound of music song "Favorite Things". It presents a powerful and deep insight into the deep scars and wounds left in the black community.
Listen to it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I agree that that the situation in Ferguson Missouri is utterly deplorable. Racism remains deeply ingrained into our society, but luckily, there are steps being made to change that. This morning, CBS news reported that police officers in Ferguson are beginning to use body cameras, and I am supportive of this change because it means that police officers now have greater accountibility and responsibility for their actions. No, racially-biased violence will not stop soon, but if policies like this one endure, perhaps the rate at which racial violence occurs will decrease.
Post a Comment