So many of us are outraged at the way Blacks are treated by
the American judicial system, by our public safety departments, and by any
individual who stands by and does nothing to change this massive American
cancer of discrimination. I’m angry and feeling powerless to bring about a
change that has not occurred in the centuries since the first black people were
brought to Virginia as slaves in 1619. It is the latter feeling that I must
change in my heart and my actions.
Writing passionately about the problem has proven to be a
waste of my time and words, except as a sane outlet for my anger. We are not powerless
to bring about a tidal wave of change. But it will take all of us-- no matter
our skin color or ancestry—to quell this 400-year deadly storm with the power
that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. showed us we have when we unite; when we
pressure our federal, state and local government at the ballot box and in
accountability for their (lack of) actions; and when we hold our courts
accountable for their disparate treatment of black people.
Dr. King showed us that the path to change does not include
murdering those who represent discriminatory institutions. The path does not
include violent, destructive acts as an expression of determination or rage.
Those actions simply reinforce a false stereotype and delay the time when this
becomes a nation where all people are created equal and treated as such, a time
when black lives finally matter.
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