I Can’t Breathe 5

Black Lives Matter

Only after we recognize that racism still exists in America will we ever be able to abolish it. What I can’t understand is why there are people out there who refuse to acknowledge that racism still exists. And they don’t quietly deny it either. Regarding the civil unrest and organized protests that have followed the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, they wave away the righteous indignation and angst of Black people, and instead, focus on the vandalism that has accompanied some of the protests.

Most of the protests around the nation have been peaceful but there have been some that have resulted in acts of vandalism, arson and looting. I know people who have discounted and or dismissed the purpose of the protests by stating, “Yes, I feel bad that George Floyd was killed, but they shouldn’t be vandalizing.”

Well, first of all, aside from the vandals themselves, I don’t know anyone in favor of vandalism.

Secondly, we need to change this narrative so the emphasis is where it should be — on the murder of a man by an on-duty police officer. A better and more appropriate statement would be, “I can’t stand all this violence and vandalism, but George Floyd was murdered by a cop. A cop who continued to kneel on his neck after both the victim and bystanders told the cop that the man couldn’t breathe. For three minutes after George Floyd went slack.” Do you see the difference? Yes, the vandalism is bad, but not nearly as bad as someone’s being murdered.

Those who site only the vandalism are ignoring the message: “Cops! Stop killing Black people!”

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Some people I know have blamed Black Lives Matter on the violence, looting, and arson, claiming BLM is a hate organization comparable to the Ku Klux Klan. Really?

If someone is breaking windows and starting fires, he is a criminal. If he happens to be a Black man, he doesn’t suddenly become an icon of the Black Lives Matter movement. Neither the BLM movement nor the BLM organization condone or promote violence or vandalism. Quit characterizing all Black people, or all BLM activists as criminal. That’s a stereotype. That is racism.

In my continued effort to educate myself on systemic racism in America, I’ve started reading

Stamped from the Beginning, The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi. A passage from the book’s third chapter struck me because I read it within hours of someone suggesting that BLM should be banned too (in response to one of my earlier posts in which I state that all hate organizations should be banned). Kendi writes,

Already the American mind was accomplishing that indispensable intellectual activity of someone consumed with racist ideas: individualizing White negativity and generalizing Black negativity. Negative behavior by any Black person became proof of what was wrong with Black people, while negative behavior by any White person only proved what was wrong with that person.

In this section of the book, Kendi is writing about White behavior in the 1700s! Doesn’t look like we’ve advanced the level of our thinking very much, does it?

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My endeavor to educate myself on racism in America has been emotionally draining. Each day I learn more travesties that have been bestowed upon Black people throughout our history and well into our present reality. My heart aches. And remember, I’m White. I cannot fathom the anger, anguish, and great sadness that must be borne by so many Black people in America.

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Today I learned that a painting hangs in the state capital of Alabama. In the painting, which acknowledges the medical advancements of a White physician, is a Black woman patient kneeling on an examination table. As it turns out, this celebrated Alabama doctor perfected his surgical techniques by operating on Black women without anesthesia. He believed Black women didn’t feel pain, so anesthesia wasn’t necessary. Really? Did he still think that as the women screamed when the scalpel cut through their bodies? And Alabama is still proud enough of these brutal surgeries to commemorate them with a painting at their capital?

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I also learned today about President George Washington’s so-called “wooden” teeth. I already knew they weren’t wooden, but today I learned that the teeth were pulled from one of Washington’s slaves and it was these teeth that were used to make Washington’s dentures. Though he paid six pounds two shillings to “Negros for 9 teeth”, a slave is unlikely to have had a real option to refuse. Selling teeth had been a way for people in dire straits to make some money. At the time, the going rate for nine teeth would have been about 19 British pounds. Washington made quite a deal by using the teeth of the slaves he owned.

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The above are two terrible examples of White supremacy that I learned just today.

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But I’m determined to do what I can to help expose the sins of our past and present, to right some terrible wrongs, and make this America into the kind of country I can help shape into a country in which all children can live happy, healthy, hopeful and free lives.

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It’s unfortunate that in my blog and in my posts on social media, I feel like I’m preaching, and not just preaching, but preaching to the choir. I’m not a preacher and I’m sorry if I come across like one. And the folks outside the choir, well, they’re not even listening. In fact, some have unfriended me on Facebook, tired of hearing about racism and police brutality. The problem is that, once you stop talking about systemic racism, it becomes forgotten – except, of course, for those who live it. If we sweep it under the rug yet again, racism then becomes a problem for our children to fight. Let’s end the cycle now.

Black lives matter. And they matter as much as White lives. Now, let’s prove it.

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Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are just as outraged as those who are.

Author Unknown

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Footnote: Lucky for me (and you), I have an excellent resource for information on racism in America: my brother Jim, who is a professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and who has taught courses on racism. He’s already steered me toward additional publications that I should read to further educate myself on systemic racism. I’ll look to him for clarity on some of the topics I write about going forward.