Equality
“As we
express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest
appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
John F.
Kennedy
I tell myself daily that
there is always something to be grateful for—and for me there is. I
have a home, two healthy sons and one gorgeous, smart
daughter-in-law, more than enough to eat and share, one
goofy-looking, but adorable dog, and friends who love me. But if I
were the mother of a young black man today I would be afraid. Because
even if I could provide for myself and my children in exactly the
same way I've listed above, I would know he would be at greater risk.
His chances of getting a good job, even if he were well-educated,
would be less, and his acceptance into the broader society would be
reduced. In my lifetime, having grown up, first in the segregated
South, and later in the integrated South, I can say there is great
improvement in the circumstances of African Americans, but there is
not yet equality.
In Alabama, black and
brown parents who want their children to receive a quality education
have to be mobile—they have to be prepared to go where the systems
are that provide it. Incorporated communities, which became
self-governing in order to control who lives and goes to school
there, control the influx of people of color to their schools, by
tearing down affordable apartment complexes, and declaring imminent
domain over whole neighborhoods. They redraw their boundaries to shut
out the unwanted. I don't face that now, and I never have, simply
because I am white.
When I see the European
countries erecting walls of barbed wire to shut out desperate people,
I feel gut-wrenched, but the same thing exists right here in Alabama.
And, to be honest, I saw it in New York City and in northern
California when I lived there. It may be more subtle than barbed wire,
but it is nonetheless clear and effective. We, as a state, as a
country and as a globe have to get past the notion that one
people—those with white skin—can and should dominate the entire
world. That they should possess all the wealth and decide who
prospers and who does not. And then to wrap that belief up in a flag
and the cross of Jesus is simple blasphemy. There is nothing godly
about it.
I am grateful to live in
a country where peaceful protest is possible. I believe in it. It
will move the needle a little further in the direction of equality.
Each of us needs to walk a mile in the shoes of the mothers who have
had their children shot dead in the streets; or those of the police
and their families, who risk their lives to stop the rioting. And,
most of all, we should open our hearts to one another in
understanding and peace.
In the Spirit
Jane
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