America: Racism = Dehumanization = Terrorism--i.e. people behaving terribly

This, just in from my girl Anji from across the pond. It's a documentary of an exercise conducted by a teacher in Riceville, Iowa to teach a lesson in discrimination: one I think we all could learn from.




For me, there are so many lessons and parallels to draw from this. But it's not only about me; it's about all of us. Please watch, listen, and share with us. As you do, think about the following:

• Who introduced you to, taught you, your assumptions and fears?
• Who put them in a position of authority to make and teach those assumptions?
• Would you like to be treated in the same fashion?
• Do you still hold some of the assumptions taught to you? If not, what brought about the change of mind?
• Why is possible to make someone feel bad about a birth attribute (i.e. the color of their eyes)?
• Do you need to view someone as inferior to feel good about yourself?
• If you are aware of injustice and do nothing; are you guilty of the same injustice?
  

Thanks Anji: one love, one people, one world, one cause--that we all may be free.

Should We Celebrate Martin Luther King's Birthday?

Today, I read an article where the author said the celebration of Martin Luther King's Birthday reminded them of "the grim apparel of shackles and chains African Americans were once forced to wear...[and that] the national celebration of Dr. King's birth is a symbol of the continued bondage of African Americans."

Come to the light.

Perhaps one of the greatest lessons from that era is that we have choices, either to do great good or great harm. Martin Luther King was one of the greatest orators, philosophers, and leaders of the 20th Century--indeed a profit. Born in a time of great injustice, he chose to take the high road. His words and deeds moved Americans of all races, cultures, and religions to do something great: to stand up for the humanity of African-Americans, even if it cost them their lives. And for many it did.

With the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States; we enter the dawn of a new era. I think it important that we understand we do have choices about how we conduct ourselves during the course of our lives and that those CHOICES are what define us, both then and now.



The United States, its people, and its institutions have a long way to go. So far now, as a black man making the right choices in "this new era", I stand encouraged but not satisfied.

Jena Six teen shoots himself: Is this the REAL story? No!

The latest news on the infamous Jena Six case is the story of Mychal Bell. According to EURweb, [Bell] "one of six black teens charged with beating a white classmate at Jena High School in December 2006 shot himself in the chest with a .22 caliber firearm and was taken to a hospital in Monroe, La., on Dec. 29." Apparently, Bell was upset over recent coverage of an arrest during Christmas. According to the article, "His [Bell's] arrest came less than one month after he completed a sentence for his role in the beating of a fellow classmate, Justin Barker, at Jena High School in 2006."

But is this, the story of a young man upset over an arrest and shooting himself, the real story? Or, is the real story that this young man, indeed, young black males in general, are out of control? Could it be that issues facing the black community: babies being born out of wedlock, single parenthood, poverty, drugs, and gangs, are the real story? I say no and I think we, the American public, have missed the real problem reflected in this incident. The REAL problem is the BIAS and fear that STILL governs what we HEAR and subsequently accept about ourselves and our children.

While there are countless news stories out there about the problems of black youth and the plight of the black male in general, I would have you know that ALL of our children are at risk. According to Newsmax, the federal Centers for Disease Control reports that "a white adolescent male is four times more likely than his African-American classmate to be a regular cocaine user. Whites are 66 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds, and yet they are 70 percent of drug users in that age group. Blacks are 13.5 percent of persons in that age group and only 13 percent of young adult drug users, while Hispanics are nearly 15 percent of that age group, but yet comprise only 12 percent of drug users 18-25. [And], approximately 9 out of 10 serial killers are white males between the ages of 20 and 35. Yet we never hear these statistics repeated over and over again in the mainstream press, making these crimes synonymous with one particular race as is the case with blacks." Thus, the real problem is not that young black men are out of control; the problem is that the American public has failed to realize that ALL of our youth are making life-threatening mistakes. Yes, young black males do have their problems, but so do white youth, or any other youth for that matter. You know, Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." In parallel I say that a for every child in trouble in an inner city, borough, or hood, there is another in trouble in a suburb, country, or Beverly Hills. The preference of the media to cover only the negative aspects of black societal behavior, and our (both black and white) willingness to buy into this distortion, is the REAL problem. The twisted view we Americans have of our children is preventing us from helping them. As long as African-Americans have these views, which are perpetuated by media, we as blacks cannot possibly understand our children, yet alone steer their behavior in a positive direction. Conversely, with the "all is well" media stories, whites will not even try to change the behavior of their children, yet alone try to understand the issues black youth face each day.

As a republic, we cannot continue to think that crime in one place simply reflects the norms and morays of "those people." We must see ourselves as one nation, one people, one planet. We must see the problem of our youth for what it is--an epidemic of national proportions.