Robert E. Lee, Really?
On Saturday August 12, 2017,
groups of white supremacist, neo-Nazis and the KKK converged on Charlottesville
VA to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee a confederate general
who had taken up arms against the United States during the civil war. They were loud and belligerent and they
clashed with counter-protesters. Sadly a
young woman lost her life standing up against hate that day. We will forever honor Heather Heyer’s sacrifice
on that tragic day. Since then the debate
has raged about these statues that stand in many places in the south honoring a
group of men who actively fought against the United States of America. Calls
that they be left alone or relocated have rung out on both sides.
I even got pulled into the
discussion by a white friend of mine who didn’t understand all the fuss over
these statues and during the conversation I realized that I had also fallen for
the diversion. The bottom line is that
it isn’t about the statues – it never was really. Even the hate groups that converged on
Charlottesville on August 12 knew why they were there had nothing to do with the
Robert E. Lee statue. They just
neglected to tell the rest of us that pertinent fact. But as a person of color if I was really paying
attention, I wouldn’t have missed that fact.
They told us in their chants and slogans as they marched chanting “Blood
and Soil” or “You will not replace us” or “Jews will not replace us.” The fact is the Unite the Right rally had
less to do with preserving Confederate History and more to do with trying to
maintain a framework of white political power that is gradually becoming
threatened by a growing population of people of color.
According to The Pew Research
Center report published in 2008 the population of the United States will be 53%
people of color in 2050. We will be a
Minority – Majority country. This is a
fact that was not missed on those white supremacists that marched in Charlottesville. They see the writing on the wall and that is
why they are mobilizing but don’t fall for the distraction. As people of color we have an almost inherent
need to confront hate groups. It is part
of our racial makeup, bred into us for generations, a byproduct of slavery, jim
crow laws and the civil rights movement, this need to combat and resist these
lightning rods of racial hatred. But
these are not the people we need to worry about. I don’t fear the KKK member or the Neo Nazi
or the Alt right guy in the polo shirt and kakis. No these racists are self-identified; I know what
they believe and how they think. No they
are not the racists I fear. The racists
I fear are the ones who sit in the next cubicle near me at work. The ones who say good morning to me in the
grocery store when I shop and who even exchange the sign of peace with me at
Mass. These are the ones I fear, the
racists who hide their hatred and prejudice behind smiles and polite
conversation. Do I believe that every
white person is a racist? Absolutely not, but I also do not hold any
misconceptions about racism in the world I live in. But we have been distracted
from the real effects of racism by the side show that is playing out on the
American stage.
Since January 20th
the Trump administration has begun quietly limiting federal civil rights
enforcement.
Excerpts from an article from
the PBS Hew Hour states:
Top officials in the DOJ
civil rights division have issued verbal instructions through the ranks to seek
settlements without consent decrees — which would result in no continuing court
oversight.
And
On March 31, Sessions ordered
a sweeping review of all consent decrees with troubled police departments
nationwide to ensure they were in line with the Trump administration’s
law-and-order goals. Days before, the DOJ had asked a judge to postpone a
hearing on a consent decree with the Baltimore Police Department that had been
arranged during the last days of the Obama administration. The judge denied
that request, and the consent decree has moved forward.
And
The DOJ has already come
under fire from critics for altering its approach to voting rights cases. After
nearly six years of litigation over Texas’ voter ID law — which Obama DOJ
attorneys said was written to intentionally discriminate against minority
voters and had such a discriminatory effect — the Trump DOJ abruptly withdrew
its intent claims in late February.
The entire article can be
read at:
As people of color we must be
aware of these changes that are quietly and systematically trying to turn back
the clock on rights that were hard won with the blood and tears of those who
went before us. We need to PAY ATTENTION
- this “battle” will not be overt, will
not be fought against sheriffs, dogs and gun toting Klan members standing in
the street trying to prevent small black children from entering schools that
have been ordered to desegregate. No
this “battle” will be more subtle, more insidious because its soldiers will
simply decide not to fight. They will
roll back civil rights by deciding not to defend them. They will simply turn a blind eye. They will pass laws and cut budgets that
affect people of color limiting opportunities and education while spouting
tired rhetoric about giving the power back to the states. Systemic racism will
win because our current leaders will neither recognize its existence nor fight
its effects.
So what are we to do as
people of color as we go through the next four years while the clock is
systematically turned back? Stay tuned
for my next post I have some ideas.
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