I find it both criminal and heartbreaking that over five years have gone by since I first shared this post and that things have exploded into the current state of affairs. My son is relieved that I’m so far away as he knows I would be on the frontlines with the protesters. We are long past due for the pendulum to swing and this time to go in the direction that is needed. Let it swing for love, understanding and compassion.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Parents and schools should place great emphasis on the idea that it is all right to be different. Racism and all the other ‘isms’ grow from primitive tribalism, the instinctive hostility against those of another tribe, race, religion, nationality, class, or whatever. You are a lucky child if your parents taught you to accept diversity.” – Roger Ebert
“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” – Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird (Character – Scout)
“The Holocaust illustrates the consequences of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping on a society. It forces us to examine the responsibilities of citizenship and confront the powerful ramifications of indifference and inaction.” – Tim Holden
*
T.B.P.I.K.
Yes, that is how
They do it
All of them
The black people I know
They put on their pants
First one leg and then
The other
They hold down jobs – frequently
More than one – to survive
Blacks often are paid less
They eat, sleep, and shop
Cooking meals for family
Inviting friends in
Taking a hot dish
To someone whose been ill
They work in hospitals, search and
Rescue, give to charity,
Donate blood – you may have
It in you now
In a crisis – do you refuse?
They are expected to remain calm
As one more is profiled
Gunned down, targeted
Until the scapegoat paradigm
Chooses to target someone else
Momentarily
They read books, write poems
Dream dreams, large and small
They reach out their hands
In pain and in friendship
THE BLACK PEOPLE I KNOW
Bisous et solidarité,
Léa
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