My America
Chained-Enslaved-Animals-Three-fifths-Thieves-Bullies-Thugs. At risk of dying, just for living.
This is the progression of how the world, especially those of European descent, thought and still-too-often think about Black people in America. Black Americans are human beings — individuals who have had their lives jeopardized because of a socially-constructed system fueled by privilege and producing inequality. Who are we as people that we cannot think of others as equal, merely because of a difference in the color of their skin?
Ella Baker. Ida B. Wells. Rosa Parks. Malcolm X. John Lewis. Martin Luther King, Jr. These are warriors who devoted their lives to elevating Black Americans to the same level of respect as Americans of European descent. Why did they have to fight to do that? They should not have had to. Did they really change anything? Yes, they did! Would they accept the type of negative treatment Black Americans continue to receive today? NO! Ultimately, the question we must consider is this: Will we, as humans, accept inequality in America or work to change it? This change will only take effect when we gather as a nation with open minds, a commitment to empathy, and a desire to improve the lives of those who for too long have been denied access and opportunity.
The other questions we must ask ourselves are these: Will we invest in historically marginalized communities? Will we recognize and address the gaps at every level of society caused by one of America’s original sins: enslaving Africans? Will we give Black Americans the jobs they deserve, first helping them prepare for job interviews if needed, and provide them with the professional resources so many take for granted? Will we commit to providing all workers, and especially working Black Americans, a wage that reflects modern costs of living? Will we stop calling the police on Black Americans who are simply enjoying the liberties of life? Are we willing to do that as a people? As a society? As a country?
Will we give all Americans equal access to job skills training, family planning, and education? Each of these are necessary for one to be successful. Will we help bring about a population of people to an equal level of of worthiness? Of value? Or will we, as a nation with a dark past, try and pass the impassable… think of human equality as improbable… as too much of a challenge… as not worth our time? This is the difficult choice America faces as a growing multicultural nation.
I, Greear, with a Black father and a White mother, have been referred to as mixed, an Oreo, zebra, mulatto, Black-ish, White-ish. However, I am not a mix of two colors, or even of two people. I am me. Created in my mother’s womb by a God who does not judge based on color of skin and who makes no mistakes. I am fortunate to experience two realities. I am comfortable engaging with family members and friends of African descent as well as those of European descent. Do I hear the negative ways Black Americans are spoken about by certain White people? Yes. Do I still love my relatives of European descent, who work daily to educate themselves on their historic privilege in America, while protecting and supporting me as they do their immediate families? Yes. Do I enjoy hearing the sound of my Black family laughing, of their sports talk, and of the challenges my Black family members have turned into successes? Yes. I do not take for granted my unique position existing between two realities. It is often difficult to comprehend the state of America — of its people and events. I desperately want to make a change, but sometimes I do not know how best to approach that change. But, will I keep trying? YES!
Greear. Young-Black-Biracial-A Dreamer-Son-Brother-Future Husband and Father-Committed to Positive Change.
