In a country that is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, it sickens me to see such horrific crimes and ill-will treatment of others due to race. The United States has always had institutionalized problems from the very beginning. Hundreds of years of slavery turned into decades of segregation, which has now turned into institutionalized racism and bigotry led by our very own president, Donald Trump. It is awful. It is wrong and the problem that existed from the beginning because of some evil power hungry and control white males, still remains in the year 2020.
Judgment is a sad thing. How feeble minded is the one who thinks he or she is better because of skin color. Race is a real thing and white privileged exists. It should not. All people deserve to be treated equally. My heart hurts because we all bleed the same color, red, and are part of a human family. Our differences when it comes to race, ethnicity, language, religion, gender, culture and political affiliation make this world diverse. Diversity should be embraced and celebrated, not hated. Black lives matter, black dreams matter, black beliefs matter, black hopes matter, black futures matter, black rights matter, black education matters, black votes matter, black belief matters. Additionally, Hispanic lives matter, Chinese lives matter, Japanese lives matter, Native American lives matter, Pacific Islander lives matter, White lives matter, all human lives matter. No person is better than they next and no person is less than another. We all have unique qualities about us. We are all different and we must respect one another.
As the great Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Inequality anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." So why do we allow these hateful crimes, these horrible systems, and this unfair and ill-willed treatment of others due to race to exist? Why do people still treat others wrongly because of skin color? As Will Smith recently put it, "Racism isn’t getting worse, it’s getting filmed.” This problem has plagued our society in this country for hundreds of years. Light is being shed on an issue that most be resolved. The solution begins with me and it begins with you. As a white middle class and educated male, I realize that I have been given great privilege as a result of my gender, race, and socio-economic status. I do not take this lightly, but I realize that I have to do more. It is time for those who have this white privilege to use it to better the world and to speak up, step up, and act on the behalf of those who are being mistreated and hurt. Wouldn't you want someone to do the same for your brother or mother? Well, why then does not every human being deserve respect, equal and fair treatment, and opportunity? They do. The sad thing is we have leaders in this country who don't believe that so it is up to us to empower those who are good and who will fight for the rights of all people.
Back in August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King gave his famous "I have a dream speech." Within that address to the nation, King spoke about living in a spirit of brotherhood and how he was dreaming of a future where all children and men and women would be able to live in harmony. Recall the powerful words, "I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls." When you hold someones hand, you join forces, you are united. This is what our nation should be all about. Father Gregory Boyle wrote the book Tattoos on the Heart. He, a white male used his privilege and life to serve the gang infested streets of LA for decades. Father Boyle created a way for rival gang members to come together and work alongside one another by empowering them through HomeBoy Ministries. He created a bakery, restaurant, and other businesses. Father Boyle said, "It is not enough to take a stand on an issue. We must stand with people in the issue." MLK and Boyle were cut from the same cloth. They desired to change the world and did so by taking radical action. It is time for you and I to take action and do so in the best way we know how.
In 1992, the LA Race Riots took place after a black man named Rodney King was brutally beaten by cops and nothing was done about this hate crime. By the time the riots concluded, a total of 63 people had been killed, 2,383 people had been injured, and more than 12,000 were arrested. And yet, history repeats itself once again and for all those years in-between. MLK Jr. was right when he said, "Darkness cannot Drive our darkness only light can do that. hatred cannot drive out hate only Love can do that." Stop the hate and put on the garments of love.
As an educator in urban schools for over eight years, I have experienced racism first hand and it was horrible. I was blessed to have taught and worked with thousands of children during my time teaching in the inner city. I deliberately chose to work at a school that was primarily black, having over 90% African American population, about 7% hispanic, and less than 1% white. As a white male and knowing the horrible issues our country faced, I desired to serve the underserved, the underprivileged and those who deserved a fair shot. Numerous times during my tenure I was approached by people in the white community who said, "Those kids in Arbor Hill, NY cannot make it. They have no chance." This fueled my person fire to do what ever I could as an educator, mentor, coach, and person do to whatever it took to ensure that my students would have a choice filled future. In my classroom, I took pride in teaching students how to treat one another respect, of calling out our government leaders, and people from my community who were racist and wrong, and speaking truth into them. We read about slavery and segregation by diving deep into books like Night John and Promises to Keep. We had lengthy discussions about how the system in America is broken, how it is unfair and wrong that white males had the power centuries ago and still do to this day. I made a point to tell them how sorry I was for the ill-treatment people of color received and how disgusting it was that racism and discrimination still exists. My students gained my trust as I built strong relationships with them, supported their lives far beyond the reaches of the classroom, and cared about them deeply as people. A young student of mine named Janiyah told me on a number of occasions, "Mr. Jason, you are the best teacher ever. You believe in me and make me feel like I can do anything.” This is what she and her peers deserve.
The school system is certainly broken as well. There is a pipeline to prison approach, especially amongst blacks and minorities. Discipline is not done correctly and instead of learning from choices and restoring justice, suspensions pile up, failure rates increase, and kids drop out. Within the city of Albany there is over a 50% drop out rate. Much of this has to do with people giving up on our students and saying that there are too many obstacles. They have thrown in the towel and not given these kids a fair shot. And then the black young man or young lady has to continue to look over his or her shoulder wondering who is out to get them. The police cannot be trusted because of a few horrific individuals who are ruin the reputations of heroes who serve their country and fellow citizens. The situation our divided nation faces is out of control.
A few months before I decided to move on from the teaching world to take a more active role as a missionary and re-evaluate life, one of my favorite students said something to me that I will never forget. Deon, the young African American 5th grade student I called "Neon Deon," said to me, “Mr. Jason, you are the first white person who I met who I think is actually black inside. You care about us. You would never allow this stuff to happen to us. You would have protected us.” Those words made me realize that we must do more. I have great love for my students including Deon and believe that he can do great things in life. However, if our society doesn't change his ceiling will only be so high and he and his peers will have to live in fear. That is not acceptable. Jesús said, “ Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) Little children do not hold prejudices, they are not racist, and they focus solely on love. That is why Jesus said we must become like little children. In a world that is shattered, we must start gluing back the pieces one encounter, one interaction, one relationship at a time. St. Paul said to the Galatians, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." ...and then to the Romans “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor." (Galatians 6:10, Romans 12:10) If you and I take this approach and if we say something and do something when we see something, the world can change.
Ultimately, this issue of race in our country boils down to one thing, respect. There is a lack of respect for others and a lack of human decency. Need new policies, laws, and our social justice system must be rewritten. We have to flip it on its head. Institutional racism is keeping people in shackles, as the black community and people of color still face the bondage of long ago. Malcom X was right when he said, "I believe that there will be ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash...based on the color of the skin." That clash existed decades ago and still exists in the 21st Century. He then went on to say, " Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." The thing is, this freedom and equility should be a person's from their time of existence. You shouldn't have to go get it, God created you to be free.
A problem that began long ago, remains. "I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land," said Harriet Tubman. These were her words after reaching freedom and escaping slavery. The thing is she went back and rescued over 300 others, risking her life by conducting the Underground Railroad. A hundred or so years later, Rosa Parks refused to move on the bus and said, "Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome." It is up to us to discuss these horrible issues with our children and address them, to break the cycle, and to show people there is a far better way. Love and mutual respect is the answer. I couldn't agree more with Parks who suggested, "I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people."
So in light of the happenings and the situation that worsens, I hope that you will join in a grass roots movement. We can each do our part and if we are white we have a great responsibility to do more to help our brothers and sisters who face racism. We must ignite the change and be the change. It will not happen on its own and we cannot allow another 100 years to pass by and for the way of the world to only worsen. As the first African American president in our nation's history, Barrack Obama, so eloquently professed, "If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost....Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Keep fighting, keep striving, and keep being that change. Do it for the Deon's of the world and do it because it is the right thing to do. Love can conquer all evil and it will win in the end. Let's do our part to turn our country into the United States of America, a truly unified nation with liberty and justice for ALL!
Dan Jason
