Showing posts with label poc. Show all posts

Celebrating Equality on July 4th

As today's festivities get underway remember the history of today. The founding fathers, slave owners, fought against an oppressive monarchy. They fought against a government that did not provide fair and equal treatment. Much like they were doing in their own colonies by treating human beings as chattel. They proposed a notion of freedom. Freedom and equality for all. Yet this, at the time and still to some extent today, was an entitlement for white wealthy land owners. Land, stolen from the indigenous peoples of this continent. They wanted fair and equal representation because they felt their government was not proving that. Much like I, and I know many others, feel today.



I sit here, seeing our President behave much like the monarchy this nation fought against. A tiny group of people against tyranny. Today we must not allow our nation to be ruled by the elite few. Our history is made by those coming from around the world. The oppressed, the tired, the hungry yearning to be free. Our beginning was in oppression. Our future is in freedom.

Max D. Stanley's painting “The Trail of Tears.”


Our country was built on the backs of black people. Our country was built on the labor of people of color. Our country prospered on the backs of the immigrant, the forced slavery of a proud people. This country is stolen from a people, the first people, pushed to the brink of extinction by white people.

Image SRC - History.com


Today we need to accept that this nation, our nation, is not perfect. We have blemishes. We made mistakes. As white people we need to use our privilege to raise up those who are disenfranchised. We need to not speak for, or speak over these people. We need to pass the mic.

Source

So, what can we do? Today July 4, 2019 declare your independence from tyranny. Use your voice to embrace equality. Share content from black people. Believe black women. Raise awareness on the injustice in the workplace, the education system and the prison pipeline that railroad black people and people of color in this nation. Follow black bloggers. Read black authors. Learn black history. Learn LGBTQI history. Learn about people of color. Learn about immigration. Welcome the Muslim, the Jew as well as the Atheist to the table. Make room for those who without your support would be forgotten.



Source

Most of all, close your mouth and listen. Don't explain black people. Don't speak for black people. Don't try to explain what Trans people should feel. Don't speak over the disenfranchised. Instead amplify their voices. Share their work. Give them the platform you have.

  


I share a lot of articles with out commentary. I do this because this is their story. This is their voice. This is our time to show our support for our black brothers and sisters, our families of color and our LGBTQI family.

We are not free as long as one of us are bound.

Today, pass the mic.

Pinned Down

Photo By Jcadamson
Today I sit here looking at my screen watching the trending stories on social media and wonder what in the world we have done.  I see my friends sharing stories of wearing safety pins while others share another story of a trans person being attacked and mocked just for being who they are.  I watch the stories come in of others saying that a pin does nothing. It is simply a hollow gesture that does not actually impact any change at all.

I sit and watch and I'm scared.

I see those I love welcoming into office, people who would take my rights away.  People who may very well be the start of interment camps and death for people like me.  People like my friends and family. People who are not like them.  And I think therein lies the real issue.  They are more afraid of us and I really don't understand why.

My brain is scattered and I'm not really sure what I can say to help those scared people be less scared. Maybe if we take it one fear at a time.

Three of our Fears


1. Immigration - Our country is only our country because of those immigrants that came here searching for a better life.  Those ancestors didn't come in and treat the people who were here well at all.  They basically took it from those living here.  Is that what you're afraid of?  Are you afraid that those people you hailed those founding fathers you so love to celebrate are going to come here and take away your home, kill and rape your wives and children?  If we look back, it is what we did when we came here.  But we have learned so much since then. We are better people now.  We care about each other.  Can't we take that fear and place it into a bag and mark it as to what is really is. Ignorance and Racism.  We can open our doors to those tired, weak huddle masses and still keep our family safe.  We just have to want to do it.  In 2016, no child should be kept awake at night listening to bombs explode.  No family should be turned away from our doors when they are fleeing oppression. We need to spend more time loving each other and learning to be good to one another.  We just need to do it.

2. LGBT Rights - This has always confused me.  Why do you straight people (some straight people, not all) care what other grown adults do in the privacy of their own home?  I don't get it.  Some people actually eat raw oysters.  EWW   Some people actually eat deer!!  YUCK - Guess what?  It isn't my business.  As long as they're not eating PEOPLE it is their business.  As long as Gay men are sleeping with ADULTS, guess what?  IT ISN'T YOUR BUSINESS!  As long as Trans* people are consenting adults, guess what??  AGAIN!  Not your business!  LGBT couples don't want special rights, they want the same rights you have.  That's all.  They want to be able to see each other when one is sick and in the hospital. They want to have inheritance rights and be able to use the same insurance.  No matter what Rush Limbaugh or Alex Jones says, they are not coming for your rights. OH and that shit Pat Robertson said about forcing Christians to have anal sex?  Yeah that's bullshit. And just to put it out there, I've found in my personal experience the ones that claim Christianity are usually the more freaky in the sheets.  Just saying.... 


3. Abortion  - This seems to be a big one.  I can fully understand someone wanted to protect an unborn child.  I can also respect the fact that I do not have to feed, clothe or raise said child.  I do not have to make the sacrifices that it takes to raise this child.  I do not have the right to tell another person what to do in this situation.  It is not only a very personal choice to become a parent but also a choice that is full of financial and emotional commitments.  Now, let's think about this for a second. If person A has an abortion how does this impact me?  A perfect stranger?  The fact is, it doesn't.  Everyone should have equal access to health care.  We have addressed that over the years many many time in court.  A woman has the right to say what she will or will not do with her body.  She has a right to say, No I cannot raise a child right now.  Keep in mind this isn't some willy nilly choice. This is a hard choice that many women face. No one is walking around just aborting babies for shits and giggles. That doesn't happen no matter how much Dobson or any of those other folks at Focus on the Family want you to believe. Don't don't even get started with the whole "late term abortion" bullshit.  Do you really know who has late term abortions?  People with cribs and nurseries. People who have had baby showers and are waiting for their big day.  These aren't people who are just like, Oh shit I forgot let me run down and grab an abortion.  These are people whose lives are at stake and have no other option.  Seriously.  Stop and just think about where you would be if you were in this situation.  No matter what our President Elect says, Abortions DO NOT happen in the 9th month. Just stop it.


As I see it, if we can learn to accept the truths about these three topics we will be well on our way to becoming more open minded and giving people.  I'm pretty sure I heard some of your just say in your head, "Well my religion doesn't support ......."    Yeah well that's too bad. Also that's YOUR religion. Your religion doesn't make laws.  It doesn't enforce laws.  Religion is a choice.  You choose to be Catholic, or Baptist.  You choose to be Heathen or Wiccan.  You cannot choose to be gay.  You cannot choose to be black or white.  We take these descriptive characteristics and put them into little boxes and try to make people conform to those standards.  Guess what?!  I'm vegan.  That means I don't consume animal products.  It doesn't mean I lobby the government to make eating meat or using animal products a crime.  It means I....  *I* don't do it.


So what can we do now?


Looking at the choices that the President Elect has made for his cabinet I can say quite frankly I'm scared.  I'm scared for the PoC in our nation. I'm scared for the LGBT.  I'm scared for myself and my family.  But what can we do?  

Let's start by paying attention in local elections.  Make those votes you cast count.  Every time you cast a vote make sure it is for someone who supports a policy of inclusion. Make sure they are people who support the values you want to see in this country. When I ask the political affiliation of judges, I always get back, "This is a non partisan office".  Yeah bullshit. I want everyone from the dog catcher (figure of speech) to the President to appreciate PoC.  I want them all to respect women.  I want them all to understand that LGBT people are just people.  Just like they are.  So every ballot I cast reflects that.

Make donations to organizations that will help in making our world a better place. Focus on those that offer services to everyone.  I mention this specifically as the "bell ringers" are starting to gather in front of shops around your city.  Did you know that the Salvation Army denies services to LGBT people? So find those groups that will help.  I recommend avoiding large organized charities or parties that discriminate against others.  Find local places, volunteer at a soup kitchen, help a local animal rescue.  You can start to make a difference in your world just by stepping outside the box and offering to help.

Look up social justice groups and try to share good (accurate) information to your friends on social media.  I see a lot of shares that are from less that quality news sources.  Here are a few groups that I recommend.

Southern Poverty Law Center
American Civil Liberties Union
Amnesty International
National Center for Lesbian Rights
The Trevor Project
The Transgender Law Center
Lambda Legal

And most importantly, support your friends and family.  Be there for them when they are hurt. Recognize that when a Trans person is attacked, we are all attacked.  When our citizens of color are attacked, we are all attacked.  Don't be pinned down!  Take a moment and embrace our diversity.  We are a melting pot.  Let's care for each other as though we were family.









Thoughts on Racism

Thoughts on Racism

I started this article out with the idea of looking back at the history of race relations in North Carolina.  I thought maybe I could pull together some statistics about how it is better now.  I began by looking at the Civil War.  I dug through the National Archives to find information on black participants.  I found references to 54th Regiment of Massachusetts and other volunteers like the sons of Fredrick Douglas (Charles to the 5th Calvary and Lewis to the 54th Regiment) and even women like Harriet Tubman who fought unofficially for the Union.  Black soldiers were paid less than white and they were charged for their uniforms until 1864 when Congress granted equal pay retroactively.  Nearly 200,000 black men fought for the union, while it is said that only several thousand fought on the side of the Confederacy.  The troops remained segregated for over 100 years.  In 1948 President Truman signed an executive order creating the Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services to begin integration of the US Military.  Still today we have regulations to the dress code that tells people of color they cannot have natural hair and be in the military, hair that is does not lay flat and straight is preferred over fuller hair.

Changes, but not as clear cut as you would think we could be in our countries history.  I thought, ok, let’s go at this from a personal angle.  I have personal experience.

When I was in a youngster in 2nd or 3rd grade the little girl who sat in front of me had braids and beads in her hair.  I would play with her locks and ask her how her hair was able to have beads and ribbons.  She explained that her mom sat down each day and combed her hair and put in the twists and bows.  My young brain accepted that I would never have pretty hair like my black classmate because my mom never did anything but watch TV.  She never sat with me and braided my hair.  So I was destined to be different than my classmate not because of our hair texture or skin color but more so because her mom cared more than mine. Later in the year, while playing “Red Rover” outside I busted through the line next to my classmate and pulled her back to my side to be on my team.  For those not familiar with the game, two groups are selected, the kids hold hands and call the name of someone on the opposite side to run over and break through the chain.  If they don’t break through, they are added to the chain, if they do they select one of the two that broke the chain to take back to the other side.  I selected my classmate with the pretty hair to come back to my team.  I recall as if it were yesterday, “Come with me, slave.” are the words I spoke. I knew that a slave was a person that had to do what the other person said.  My friend yanked away from me and was angry.  She had tears in her eyes and said, “Don’t call me that.”  I was confused. I had no idea why she was upset.  She ran inside.  I never approached her again.  We never spoke again.   It wasn’t until 1977, when Roots was released that I had any clue what the word “slave” and racial bias were all about.  Here, she was well experienced in the words in our 3rd grade class, yet I had no idea.  This is white privilege.  No one needed to explain to me what racism was because it didn’t have an impact on my life. 

Today as a nearly 50 year old woman I sit writing this paper, with dreadlocks in my hair.  I have beads and ribbons, all the things that the little 8 year old wanted in her hair.  Yet, I have people approaching me saying I am appropriating a culture, store managers following me and treating me as though I’m going to steal something and the need to buy scarves and head wraps to put forth a more “businesslike” appearance. 

As I do more research for the piece and see so many comments about how when white people try to talk about race, they make it about them.  I try to think about how editorial pieces are written.  For the most part they are written based on first person experience.  I know that I don’t have the slightest clue what it is like to have to explain racial bias to your children.  I know that when my child made friends with the girl next door, it made no difference her race.  I didn’t ask her race.  It wasn’t important.  When she picked out a “brown baby doll” (her words) with her birthday money, I had no issue with that.  She took her toy to show and tell and was told very directly by the other children that she could not have a “brown baby”, that only brown mommies could have brown babies, I had to explain to her genetics.  Was I wrong to let her pick which ever one she wanted?  Should I have had a talk with her before I let her take it to school?  Hindsight is 20/20 they say.  I would not change my decisions. By the end of my research on this topic, to say I was disheartened and frustrated is putting it mildly.  I found a website called Mapping Police Violence and it is just incredible how much goes unreported by mainstream media.  I stare in awe at the screen unsure what my next move should be?  How do we move forward?  How do we work together to end racism?  Do we call on religion or government to help?  Interestingly enough the only religious text I could find that condemned racism was in the Quran, despite what modern media tries to say about Islam.

As children we are unaware of racism.  We learn racism from those around us.  We are taught to be nasty to each other or to judge others based on bias from the adults around us.  I saw an interview between Mike Wallace and Morgan Freeman where they discuss the need to stop referring to each other as a white man and a black man but more as Mike and Morgan.  Do discussions and dialog on racism actually lead to more racism?  For this I have no answer.  I do know that today, I wish I could return to the days of just appreciating the pretty beads in someone’s hair and wanting to have them in my own without worrying about offending someone.

Maybe the time has come to stop talking about racism and start doing something about it. Treat other people with the same kindness and respect that you would like to have given to you.  That’s it. Simple.