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| Photo courtesy of Ted Eytan - Flickr |
We thought we were okay. We no longer had to use separate facilities, and we could sit anywhere we wanted on the bus. There was a black man in the White House for the first time.We were making strides; Dr. King's dream had come true. We thought we had a generation that would never understand the real significance of having a Black man in the White House. We thought they would never truly comprehend the hatred behind the use of the word "nigger" back in the old days. It was a word that many of them used often with a different meaning.
One day a gun went off, and a young Black man wearing a black hoodie was silenced forever. Worldwide attention was brought back to a low-lying problem... Racism between blacks and whites. People wore hoodies all over the world in remembrance. Candles were lit and prayers were sent to God. Another term was over, and the Black man was still in the White House. Meanwhile, the preparations for the possible consequences of the shooter's actions were in process when a young Black girl won her gold medals. But, many of us acknowledged her curls before acknowledging her medals.While some of us were going back to our natural hair, an older woman cooked while some of us watched. The news reached our ears of her stirring the pot literally, uttering the words "nigger" and slave in a cold pot of Racism. The videos were released revealing a twisted apology, but who's impressed?
It was less than a day since echos vibrated in my ears about the stirring of the pot. I didn't even know her exact words, when I stepped on the platform and the doors shut behind me. It had been a long day, and. I looked forward to a quiet moment watching green trees and sunshine fly past my window. Before I could get settled, I heard words coming from 2 Black men who seemed to be stirring the same pot. "Nigga" was thrown in and chopped up. In that moment, the three people's words melted together like wax. It's all the same to me. Racism.
Soon after, the television came on and she had her OWN conversations about the issue at hand. Some of our sisters sat on the couch and conversed about skin tone in Hollywood. Next, the "Dark Girls" documentary revealed more of the same attitudes as the 2 Black men behind the closed doors. The channel was changed and hurtful comments were thrown at a beautiful family in a cereal commercial....There is much love to be learned and much to discuss... Racism.
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We must love ourselves; we must love our Black skin and kinky curly hair first. We must get rid of the negative labels that we use to refer to ourselves. Most of all, we should never forget the past and present struggles of our existence.
Genesis 1:27 says, 'So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.' If we were created in God's image, there should be no question of whether we are worthy.
Racism...The Conversation Continues...
-© 2013 LaToya A. Harris
The conversation continues...
Slavery in America by The History Channel
The Civil Rights Movement
ABC: Martin Luther King's 'I have a Dream' Speech
Straighten Your Hair for a Job Interview?
James Craig Anderson: Killed for Being Black
Trayvon Martin Trial
Olympic Gold Medalist, Gabrielle Douglas
Paula Deen: Racial Slurs
Access Hollywood: "Ciara Defends Using The N-Word"
OWN: "African-American Women in Hollywood"
"Dark Girls" Documentary
Controversy Over Interracial Cheerios Commercial
Lauryn Hill on Racism
....
Do you think we are closer to achieving Dr. Martin Luther King's Dream?
