Being Black in 2020

This was on someone’s Facebook page, and I post this cautiously because I didn’t want to “stir the pot”, yet all people need to be reminded that the following things happened to Black Americans. After MLK died, Black folks got quiet, nonetheless with the “Black Lives Matter” movement we shall rise for equality. Remember, you can help to make a change in ALL the 2020 elections. You must VOTE! (some words have been changed or omitted by this writer) - VTP

“Black People can’t..."

Dear Social Media Friends,

I am about to say some harsh things and you may not like it. But I pray that you will pause your life and hear me. 

Black people in America are, ONCE AGAIN, grieving. We are hurting because YET AGAIN, this country sends the message loud and clear that we will never be equal. And a lot of you…my friends…don’t know about it, don’t care about it, don’t believe it, refuse to see it and at the very least, you aren’t willing to take a stand against it. How can you love me if this is where “we” stand? How can I walk hand in hand with you knowing that I will ALWAYS be treated differently? How can I worship with you, when I know that we are only one political FB rant/post away from you disregarding my life and the lives of those who look like me?  So yeah, I’m tired. Downright exhausted. But today I want you to pause, and if you are willing to go on a journey beyond yourself, beyond your interests, beyond your privilege…then keep reading. And if you don’t know these names, GOOGLE THEM! LEARN! Get a better understanding of why Black people, in and out of different circles, are NOT OKAY!  We have been murdered by white people in this country for CENTURIES!!!! And believe it or not, it’s still LEGAL to take our lives! So read, educate yourself. See why it’s downright TRAUMA to live in this nation as a black person…thinking about our every word and step, wondering if someone will feel so threatened by it that they take our lives. READ! And after you’re done reading…tell your friends, tell your family, tell your neighbors, tell those cops… And maybe if YOU speak up enough, maybe if you stop tolerating it, they will #STOPKILLINGUS! 

BEING BLACK IN AMERICA:

We can’t go jogging (#AhmaudArbery).

We can’t relax in the comfort of our own homes (#BothemJean and #AtatianaJefferson). 

We can't ask for help after being in a car crash (#JonathanFerrell and #RenishaMcBride). 

We can't have a cellphone (#StephonClark). 

We can't leave a party to get to safety (#JordanEdwards). 

We can't play loud music (#JordanDavis).

We can’t sell CD's (#AltonSterling).

We can’t sleep (#AiyanaJones)

We can’t walk from the corner store (#MikeBrown).

We can’t play cops and robbers (#TamirRice).

We can’t go to church (#Charleston9).

We can’t walk home with Skittles (#TrayvonMartin).

We can’t hold a hair brush while leaving our own bachelor party (#SeanBell).

We can’t party on New Years (#OscarGrant).

We can’t get a normal traffic ticket (#SandraBland).

We can’t lawfully carry a weapon (#PhilandoCastile).

We can't break down on a public road with car problems (#CoreyJones).

We can’t shop at Walmart (#JohnCrawford) .

We can’t have a disabled vehicle (#TerrenceCrutcher).

We can’t read a book in our own car (#KeithScott).

We can’t be a 10yr old walking with our grandfather (#CliffordGlover).

We can’t decorate for a party (#ClaudeReese).

We can’t ask a cop a question (#RandyEvans).

We can’t cash our check in peace (#YvonneSmallwood).

We can’t take out our wallet (#AmadouDiallo).

We can’t run (#WalterScott).

We can’t breathe (#EricGarner).

We can’t live (#FreddieGray).
We can't serve our country (#VanessaGuillen)

We’re tired. 

Tired of making hashtags.

Tired of trying to convince you that our #BlackLivesMatter too. 

Tired of dying.

Tired, Tired, Tired.

Cummer Museum to host a Black Lives Matter Zoom discussion

Culture and conversation will be happening at the Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens, in response to current events through the arts.  Throughout history, artists have used their art forms to amplify conversations surrounding the injustices that have shaped the country and world.

As part of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens' focused efforts to continue to collaborate on initiatives with community partners, we hope you will join us on Tuesday, June 16, 7 to 8 p.m., for a FREE panel discussion on how the arts communicate a message to respond to current events.

The panel will be moderated by Wanda Willis, the Museum's Director of Community Development, and will feature an esteemed group of arts and culture leaders in our community.  Virtual guests are invited to register HERE to receive a Zoom link to connect with the panel discussion.  Space is limited; so, register today!

DATE: Tuesday, June 16, 2020
TIME: 7 to 8 p.m.
COST: FREE
MODERATOR: Wanda Willis, Director of Community Development for the Cummer Museum
PANELISTS: Shawana Brooks and Roosevelt Watson, Founders of 6 Feet Away Gallery.  Mal Jones, Hip Hop Artist and Creator of The Lyricist Live.  Erin Kendrick, Artist and Art Instructor at JAMS (Jacksonville Arts & Music School).  Adonnica Toler, Ritz Theatre & Museum Administrator.  Joy Young, Executive Director of the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville.

Unrest in the Land of Opportunity

COVID-19, Protests, Unemployment, Violence & Hurricane Cristobal.  What’s next?  Where is the Love?  What do we do?  How do we survive?  Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” has a principle: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood”.  Well, some things I just don’t understand.  It reminds me of an old song “Ball of Confusion” by the Temptations, just change some of the words.  We need God now more than ever.

I was 14 when I saw a riot while living in Philadelphia; and it wasn’t pretty.  I went to an all-black Catholic Elementary school and wasn’t allowed out at night.  I remember that the 2 grocery stores (Fagan’s & Barney’s) were burned down and other businesses on Ridge Avenue.  There was nothing wrong with the white people who owned the stores; as a matter of fact, they extended “credit” to those who didn’t have any money until their next government check was in the mail.  These store owners kept food on many a table.  I never thought that I would experience such looting and building burning nonsense again in my lifetime until now.  I am saddened.

White people are more apprehensive now than ever before (To To Where Are We?).  Some are afraid of retaliation or being seen as the enemy.  This situation is like “wearing a mask”.  Do we think of how wearing a mask is helping ourselves, or does wearing one help others around us?  What will I gain verses what someone else is dealing with?  How can I make this world a better place, is the question that we would be asking ourselves?  I’m tying to understand – are you?  How does the song, “We Are The World” come into play today?

Businesses have been looted and that causes more increase on unemployment, nevertheless, looting was not done by protestors, but by greedy, lawless, immature people who wanted to obtain something from nothing.  Because of their acts of violence, we have to earn the right to be respected.  Once again, all protestors are not rioters!

The “Pledge of Allegiance” still does not give equality for all.  Blacks have recited this poem for decades and it never pertained to black people.  We have tried to obtain liberty and justice for all, yet we haven’t started to get justice until these recent days.

Colin Kaepernick (and now, many others) are taking a knee.  It’s not about putting our hands over our heart and standing up tall.  We need to respect the American Flag for what it stood for.  The flag represents the lives that were lost during wartimes and the colonies that were set free, but are we all free?  Now we are fighting another war; a war of hatred that exists in the minds and hearts of some people.  If “taking a knee” during the playing of the National Anthem is wrong, consider it part of the “New Normal” instead of a sign of disrespect.  We are NOT disrespecting the American Flag, yet America is NOT being “Great Again”.  We are living in a time of change, and it’s time to SEE a difference made in our lifetime.  It would be lovely to exist in a land where you’re not judged by the color of your skin, but by the content of your character.

My heart aches for those biracial couples and their children who may experience racial slurs, criticism, or bullying.  This hatred has got to stop being spread from generations to generations.  Hatred seems to be another form of virus that is spreading throughout the land.

We live in a cul-de-sac and are the only blacks in the neighborhood.  Just like a place where we lived in New Mexico, we didn’t realize that we were the only blacks until we relocated to a city in the south.  I was respected more in Europe and Asia than I am living here in the US.  And it’s a shame that I am reminded of words spoken in the past, “If you don’t like it here, go back to Africa where you belong.”  Yes, I remember those thoughtless words and a tear comes to my eye.

The other day I was in Walmart getting supplies to make masks.  As I walked down the aisle (in the correct direction) a white man stared at me directly into my eyes.  He was unmasked and I could see the distain in his eyes.  I checked myself and made sure that my hair wasn’t making me look crazy √.  It happened again with another man standing in line.  I had to check√ again, I was standing 6 feet from him √, wearing my mask √, my deodorant hadn’t failed √.  You want to talk about “a new normal”, we are living in a “new abnormal”.  Things will never be the same again, and some things we hope will change for the better.  Nonetheless, I continue to smile beneath my  mask in hopes that they see the love of Christ through my eyes.

If any of my friends feel uncomfortable about what’s happening today, please listen to “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” - former NFL player Emmanuel Acho, as he tries to explain some of the issues that black men go through.  It has been awhile since I’ve had to think about inequality (2007), nevertheless, I will continue to pray and make changes whenever and wherever I can.