Trayvon Martin was shot to death over the NBA All Star Weekend by a self-appointed neighborhood watchman . . . and yet another important chapter on justice and especially Race in this country is being furiously, passionately written . . .
A Poignant Memory
I remember having a bit of a testy 'discussion' with my mother years ago when I was going to wear an African necklace, that my then girlfriend, now my wife, bought for me in the village. I was on my way to work when she caught a glimpse of what I was wearing. This necklace had an miniature version of an African ceremonial mask from the Igbo Tribe on it. My mother felt that it wasn't 'appropriate' somehow . . .
"They might say something . . . you don't want to make no waves . . .!"
Now this job, had no dress code: I went to work in jeans, and boots or sneakers . . . anything I wanted. I just had to be neat and clean. I was a field office in a building where there was construction site.
Now I rebuffed her at first . . . but her persistence on this sort of surprised me.
But like 'that' . . . I knew EXACTLY what she meant.
My employers were White and might have some 'adverse reaction' to seeing such an obvious bold symbol of My Blackness displayed so overtly in 'their presence'.
I was and still am a person that doesn't stand for discrimination . . . and I made it clear I would not be cowed in my self-expression, I would not be victimized, like so many before me, for 'breaking' one of Our Rules for surviving in a White World . . . so to speak.
My Mother was right: There WAS a 'reaction' . . . from my boss who was a Super for the job . . . as well as some of the other contractors, all of whom were White.
To make a long story short I stood up for myself . . . I stood up for my identity, by shaming them for their asinine comments but wasn't belligerent about it.
It felt good . . . but sad at the same time.
My Mother was right.
I was discriminated against . . . just for being who I am and for daring to express it 'so proudly'.
I AM Trayvon.
The Unspoken Rules and And Their Nascent/Historical Legacy
But my mother's fear COULD have become all to real . . . just like that of Trayvon's parents if I was in a different part of the country . . . JUST like he was.
As for the 'Rules' I'll name a few . . .
1) Don't run in public
2) Don't talk back to the Police
3) When they are around make sure they can see your hands . . . even IF they are not necessarily focused on you
4) Don't be 'Too Black' around Them . . . don't make waves.
I've observed and ignored these rules over the years . . . but I've known too many folks, read about too many folks who either did not follow the rules or followed them to the T . . . and still ended up getting the short end of the stick.
Just like Trayvon.
I've been pulled over a few times but made sure to not be too testy, or have moved very slowly around them too . . . even when the anger inside is boiling. And after that, I get a little nervous, whenever I notice a police car in my rear view for a 'little too long'.
I've suffered the disrespect of Whites not even trying to pronounce my African name properly, who insist on shortening a two syllable name when addressing me . . .!
I've had to deftly 'fight back' at work against inappropriate racial or ethnic jokes from people . . . that I've never been 'that cool' with.
I've had little old ladies and young ones of the Caucasian ethnicity . . . give me nervous smiles tipped with fear, clutching bags a little tighter when in an elevator or on a subway platform with them . . . while ignoring the other guy with the glasses and unkempt hair staring at them a little too much.
I've had my Mother (her again!) explicitly tell me to try to avoid wearing hoodies if I'm going out . . . especially at night.
These are a few anecdotes that describe my experience of being Black today.
What This Means . . .
This speaks to the obvious fact that Race STILL matters in this country.
Obama's election did NOT change that reality . . . despite all the efforts to do away with affirmative action and other targeted social programs . . . We still have problems. We are STILL not allowed to 'be ourselves' in so many arenas . . . we always have to 'cover up'. We have to flash that disarming 'smile' literally and figuratively in order to function in society.
But occasionally, even that won't save us.
Some have likened this incident to that of Emmett Till . . . for the glaring similarities of it. And to be sure that might hold some water . . . vigilante retribution/'justice'.
And although Trayvon, like his more famous predecessor, did nothing wrong and was tragically cut down just being a Human Being . . . that 'privilege' it seems is STILL a subjective 'prize' even today, to be given and taken away a la the biblical phrase . . . by those who by accident of birth belong to the still ruling ethnic majority in this society . . . or, more appropriately, by those who have taken great pains to 'distinguish' and 'separate' themselves from 'Blacks' in 'any way they can'. Zimmerman, we're told, is of Hispanic ancestry, but he acted, for all the world, in his track record and in the fateful 911 tapes like someone with an arguably 'traditional' racist view when it comes to Blacks.
Other groups in this country, other non-white groups DO have similar attitudes towards Blacks . . . and it isn't by accident. It's been strongly intimated throughout ALL aspects of our society . . . from our media, to how our government agencies function . . . to even our electoral politics . . .! I've written exhaustively on this blog about the racism in our politics and the deliberate use of it for political advantage like this post here and my personal feelings about it as well.
But this incident with Trayvon is . . . an indictment of our whole sordid history in this country on Race, and the 'entrails of this animal' have been falling like rain on the sidewalk as of late, from the bowels slashed open by a relatively small, desperate, unscrupulous but powerful group in this country.
They are desperate because their days are numbered irrevocably. These people are undoubtedly White but NOT ALL whites are guilty of this . . . many like those protesting right now actually 'get it' and are not that hung up. But too often these folks control society.
The prejudice that seems to have governed this tragedy is older than this country . . . and unfortunately a sort of 'privilege' has allowed this ugliness to rise and simmer too often in our history. And we all must look in the mirror in some respect, search ourselves . . . and see where we fit into this.
We might be 'victim'.
We might be an Unwitting Transgressor due to the 'privilege' I spoke about
Or we might actually harbor these ugly feelings within . . .
Hopefully the time has come for us to 'exorcise' this age-old demon and the hold it has had on our lives and ancestors for generations.
Look inside yourself and suss-out where you fit into this . . . and be brutally honest . . . and if what you see makes you 'uncomfortable', don't ignore it or deny it. Confront it. Conquer it . . . and remove that weight from your soul.
I AM Trayvon . . .
I see myself in him. I could be, might still be a 'victim' . . . but I will NOT be ruled by the legacy of fear and heavy, bloody history that gave rise to the 'Rules' earlier that I described. I may continue to have certain anecdotes of the type that I described, as I go out there and continue to interact with the unenlightened . . . but I'm not scared.
I know who I am . . . I'm comfortable in my skin.
I have a vision of Justice that is unshakable . . . and I'll always demand it . . .
So tonight . . . I wear 'My Hoodie' . . . and always will . . .
Epilogue - Racism in Today's National Intellectual Product
I sternly believe that our leaders and those vying for the various jobs, have a responsibility to combat this sort of ugliness without exception. If leaders of, say our major political parties don't aggressively stamp out this sort of behavior . . . this racism, it may give 'cover' to those who might have the evident mindset that Zimmerman displayed. It might actually lead to tacit acceptance and encouragement of this deviance.
And one of our major political parties is failing to rise to the aforementioned occasion.
Not to dilute the tragedy of this death, and this might sound partisan to those who might be sympathetic to a certain political party . . . but I honestly can't come to any other conclusion, based on the mountain of 'evidence' . . . that the Republican Party of today . . . seems to be infested or consumed, pick your adjective describing possession, by 'racial issues'. They seem to be the harbor that wayward xenophobic ships, once lost at sea due the to righteous storm of decency that used to be blowing . . . have now tied themselves to the Red Pier.
And I'd be dishonoring Trayvon if I did not call out the glaring, unapologetic gumshoe of these folks in reviving and stirring up the dregs at the bottom of society's pot, and splattering it all over the public's intellectual sensitivities . . .!
I close with a less-than exhaustive list, that I've been keeping, with links of racially tinged albeit bigoted actions, occurrences, tactics, statements, etc . . . from the past four years . . .
Resegregation . . .??
More Resegregation . . .!
Some racism . . .
So much Hate . . .
Latinos: DO NOT let the GOP 'play nice' with you come next year! They have YET to explain this insanity about the Swine Flu outbreak in 2009 . . .! DO NOT LET THEM FORGET . . . make them PAY for this ugliness!!
and more Hate: Re: Sotomayor . . . I'm not going to let them forget this . . .
More Hate . . . an 'oldie': Watermellons on the White House Lawn . . .!
More hate . . . a 'newbie' under the guise of Holloween . . .!
More Hate . . .another 'oldie': Obama's as Apes!!
More BLATANT Racism . . . this is just ridiculous!!!
Food Stamp President?
Blah People??
More racism - Racist Stickers
Elected Official with this birther crap . . .!
No comments:
Post a Comment