While I listen and watch different newscasts and the read plethora of reactions to the horrific Charleston Church Massacre, terrorist attack and hate crime, I feel I need to contribute my own voice.
As I thought about this task, I became speechless and numb. Our collective struggle, suffering and victimization as Black people continue to be embedded in the DNA of the country.
While I think so many racial issues and narratives, such as Black love, forgiveness, white supremacy, the confederate flag, oppression, healing, Ferguson, and political resistance, are being voiced, I agree with President Obama that this has happened way too many times and should not be accepted as “the new normal”. Gun violence needs to be addressed. “It is not enough to just show sympathy,” said President Obama.
Unfortunately, gun violence in America is as much a part of the country’s fabric as racism.
For the last couple of years I’ve been living in Canada. Many people have asked me how I like living in Canada compared to the United States. There are many reasons I can give but what is paramount to me is the presence of stronger gun control laws and therefore, less gun violence.
Canada is by no means the promise land; and it’s not immune to racism and gun violence; however, as a country and society, there is not the same level of violence and incidents of mass shootings. Pepper spray is even an illegal weapon.
When I think of the Charleston Church Massacre, I have the haunting, lingering question:
Will America ever get this right and learn that Black Lives Do Matter?
I look forward to your responses below*, and I'd love your input.
If you have the time, please watch President Obama deliver the eulogy Rev. Clementa Pinckney:
*Note: You will need to register for an Institutional Diversity Blog account in order to comment, but you can get started right away by clicking here, or visiting our FAQ page for more help. Also, check out this video on "Registering for an Account on The Institutional Diversity Blog".
After the South Carolina legislature overwhelming voted early this morning to remove the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds, I think there is more hope than ever that America will get this right and learn that Black lives matter, that all lives matter.
President Obama spoke about a number of changes that need to happen in America, in his eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, including laws to restrict guns. However, time will tell if this is the start of real change. As President Obama said, “…it would be a betrayal of everything Rev. Pinckney stood for if we allowed ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again…to go back to business as usual. That’s what we so often do, to avoid the uncomfortable truth about the prejudice that still infects our society; to settle for symbolic gestures, without following up with the hard work of more lasting change. That’s how we lose our way again.”
There is cause for hope though when so many voices, from different constituencies, agree that changes are needed. Governor, Nikki Haley said, “This is a new day for South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of…,” suggesting a new source of Southern pride. Instead of pride in a past where southerners fought for slavery, Jim Crow laws and against civil rights, they can be part of the fight for the true vision of a United States of America, where there is freedom and justice for all.