A Season of lamenting

A Season of Lamenting Jeremiah 8:18-22 (NRSV) 18 My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. 19 Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" ("Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their foreign idols?") 20 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." 21 For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored? Matthew 2:16-18 (NRSV) 16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more." The Christmas song “Silent Night, Holy Night” is a song that I used to love as a child but when I grew older and examined the biblical narrative for myself to discover that the night(s) were not silent nor outwardly holy. I will never forget talking to my former Minister of Music the Late Great Philip G. Freeman about the song and the bible to which Phil stated he “will never play the song again, because he would refuse to perpetrate a lie.” What I discovered as a Pastor is that this time of the year we know as Advent is in reality a “Time of lamenting.” The season itself is going through a period of “Grief.” Fall is reluctantly giving way to winter as foliage battles from green summer colors to the golden brown, and orange of its resistance to go quietly. Things in nature are what Hospice people call “Actively Dying” during this time of year. Along with nature “Actively dying” are the dreams of so many people during this time of year. So many people started off this year with high hopes and expectations only to have them turn into the Brown and oranges of a setting sun. The realization that you will not accomplish all or most of the things you set out to do at the beginning of the year can be a saddening reality. The sun sets early (or so it seems) which for some people is extremely depressing. Some people have to get up when it is dark and come home when it is dark. For people of African Ancestry this is very troubling and creates some psychological and emotional challenges to our body/mind equilibrium. The Sun has always provided us with plenty of Vitamin D but during the dark days of winter we are lacking and that does not bode well for a jovial disposition. This indeed is a “Season of Lament.” Then there is the infusion of Corporate America’s version of Christmas complete with “Just the right thing you have to buy to make Christmas just right.” The unreal expectations of buying gifts for people are the biggest hypocrisy perpetrated on people ever. For those who truly try to practice “Good will” towards all people every day this season of “Fake Frivolity” is frustrating. This is a “Season of Lamenting.” As a Pastor I have had to deal with what others do not have a clue about and that is that more people die during this season than any other part of the year. Why that is, is a mystery but it is. The other facts are that more people are stressed out during this time of year; more people lose their jobs during this time of year; and more people lose hope during this time of year. This truly is a “Season of Lamenting.” Jeremiah Lamented in the above text because his people were suffering and did not understand why. The Matthew text which is used frequently during the Advent season speaks to Mothers weeping over the senseless Killing of their children. Chicago will hit 500 murders in 2012; we have faced the most horrible of killings in the mass murder of 1st graders in Newtown, CT. The Season was ushered in by a horrendous storm called Sandy and the people still have not recovered yet everybody is supposed to make “Happy Happy.” Right wing politicians are taking America over the “Fiscal Cliff” where people receiving Unemployment have already tumbled over that cliff because of the posturing against the Black President. Yet the media merchandises merriment at the expense of the misery of masses of people. This is truly a “Season of Lamenting.” The only entity facing reality is found in nature. Things die during this time of year! Things hide from the cold during this time of year. Things become bare, naked and exposed during this time of year. The Sun becomes short tempered during this time of year and refuses to hang around with us for too long. Things in nature are Lamenting! And I have found that Grief is Medicinal! Lamenting is cleansing and sorrow can lead to appreciation of joy. Things die but they won’t stay dead! They will, in time be resurrected! It won’t happen overnight, it won’t come about in a moment or a flash but it is a process. For those of you why would interrupt the grieving process you do so at your own peril. You must purge! You must sit with the uncomfortable! You must tarry with the troublesome to experience true transformation. Children are dying and somebody needs to weep wailing tears for Chicago Street corners that bear witness to a life that will never be because of America’s love affair with guns. Unfulfilled Dreams are dying on the vine never to be and tears should be shed which will shed light on the why of their death. The Country is careening toward chaos because of Corporate money and somebody needs to mourn the hypocrisy of American Christianity that supports Capitalistic religion. Only then can one’s soul be so scarred by sorrow that something significant can see the light of day. Jesus was born to be murdered! Babies were slaughtered this is a “Season of Lamenting” what humans are really capable of doing. But the Lamenting can lead to serious reflection; The Weeping can give way to honest worship that does not seek to be seen in church only but is the smile of a child whose sees true love in your hand of help. The Season can lead to a structural change in how we related to one another where we sit with the pain and sorrow of the poor, the jobless, the under-insured, the heart broken, the Church hurt and not speak but allow the ministry of presence to pour oil of healing upon their hearts. Maybe we need to follow the lead of nature and be real so that we can learn to love one another and not just love. My prayers are for truth! My Prayers are for honesty! My prayers are for sincerity in serving the suffering and exposing the scandal of a forced smile bought and paid for by Apple, Microsoft, or the Stock exchange.

The Violence that Violence Produced

I watched your movies of how you "tamed the West" and many of us played "cowboys & Indians" not realizing that the real lesson was "how to denigrate and destroy" other people's lives. I grew older and watched John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Clint Eastwood, Roy Rogers, The Big Valley, Bonanza, Gun Smoke, Have Gun Will Travel and all the Westerns I could. We played shoot em up at the Ok Corral because you said it was harmless fun. Little did we know you were teaching us that some lives were less important than others. I grew older still and watched your War Movies, machine guns, G.I. Joe, hand Grenades, Tanks and Sub Marines. So we played War Games to prove our manhood not knowing you were justifying the Killing of innocents by painting some people as less than human. I got older still and graduated to Cops & Robbers. I watched all the shows all the movies from "Dragnet" to "Hill Street Blues ("Let’s be careful out there"), to "NYD," to "Law & Order." And it seemed clear that you were saying a man without a Gun is a man without courage. You were saying Violence is viable to get your way and get what you want. I stand stunned today, at the deaths of little children by a man with a gun. But I am not Stunned by the act; I am in deep sorrow about the innocent lives lost. I am Stunned at you, America! YOU! Because you act like you don't know why! What did you expect America? Huh? What did you expect to eventually happen? And please don't start the dialog about the shooter being Mentally Ill. Tell me, is the Military official who gives the order to send a Drone to Eviscerate a life because of that person's affiliation with a group, Mentally ILL, America? And when innocent lives are what you call Collateral Damage, left in the wake, is the person that gave the order Mentally Ill? Are you saying that the gang banger in Chicago who sprays innocent children on a Street Corner is Mentally Ill? Was the Shock & Awe based on a lie about Weapons of Mass Destruction initiated by a Mentally Ill person? Was the Killer of Jordan Davis at a gas station for music playing in a car that he was a passenger in by a Mentally ILL man? Was the Killer of Trayvon Martin for wearing a Hoodie by a Mentally ILL man? Maybe it will come out that the shooter did have some Mental issues or maybe not, but don't start that discussion so soon. You did not do this in any of these others, and I wonder why? America you are such a strange nation! You don't see it do you? How come in the UK in 2011 there were 58 murders by Gun but in the U.S. in 2011 there were 8,775? America you have the most Guns, most violent minded most Incarcerations of people of color for non-violent offenses than any other nation on Earth! Guns were made to kill, plain and simple! People can say they use them for target practice and I guess I could Juggle Chain Saws for fun if I wanted to. However that does not change the purpose of Chain saws and it does not change the purpose of Guns. Too many people have too easy access to Guns; too many people can buy Guns on-line with no background checks; too many people have Assault weapons which have no business in the hands of anyone except law enforcement or military personnel. This nation talks too much about killing, Violence and destruction. This nation has too much hate speech coming from the mouths of too many Wealthy Right wing zealots. America you are such a strange nation! I am Stunned not at the act and the victims, for them I am in deep sorrow because parents are grieving unnecessarily tonight. I am stunned that you America, cable talk shows, you America Media pundits, You America professional politicians, cannot see that you created the climate! America you are such a strange nation!

Individual Acts of Kindness and a Movement of Ministry

There is a difference between individual acts of kindness and a movement of ministry. I think that the culture of fear, war mongering, hate, classism and extreme individualism has created the context for people of conscious to invest the best of their energies in individual acts of kindness. I also think that for Africans living in America this has created some very difficult challenges. People of African descent have thrived our best when we operated as a community. A community is forced to put up with one another's idiosyncrecies, likes dislikes, moods, and differences of opinions for the greater good. But in the times we exist in that is no longer necessary (a) because we are not in our homeland where it once was the norm, (b) we are no longer situated in the South during slavery, Segregation and Jim Crow where we were forced to be a separate community. People now days do not feel they should nor have to be around people that tend to rub them the wrong way. Many people now days do not feel thay should find common ground; many people do not feel they have to make peace, not put up with people they don't particualrly like. In fact because of the nature of this Absurd American context of isolationism many people do not see value in staying close regularly with people they like, are biologically link with or married to. Thus among many conciously inclined folks who want to do something Individual acts of kindness serves as the outlet for the drive to do something about the conditions of other people. In individual acts of kindness I can regulate my interaction, I can choose when and where without anyone from outside challenging me to go father or do more; i can pick the person(s) I will help and I can feel good that I have done some good. I think some of this was the case when Harry Belafante called out Beyonce & Jay Z. Their publicist quickly rolled out the list of charities that they have been giving large sums of money to and making spot appearances. Yet this never addressed the heart of what Harry was getting at concerning Black entertainers these days. Harry put his career and public persona on the line to tell the True story of our people. Harry used his talent, notoriety and money to say and do that which aided a movement that was very unpopular among America's white population. Harry took humanitarian risk to fight consistently for the liberation of Black brown and white by saying and supporting that which his agents, record company execs and media personalities found distaateful. Beyonce and Jay Z give money but hold their silence tightly in order to not offend the Corporate white power structure of the record labels, media, Hollywood and agents. Individual acts of kindness will never free a people, nor move the masses nor subversivly change systemic evil. Yet no movement of ministry can exist without Individual acts of kindness but those acts are a carefully orchestrated symphony of people striking at the designed times and in strategic ways in order to organize masses of people to change oppression into liberation. Finally, I believe the Black Church is still the best place for Movement ministry. I know what is going on and am sick to my stomach of stale, stagnant and self centered spirituality that has seeped into the Black church. Constantian Christianity of the Imperial cult has created the mindset among far too many Black believers that the state is to be upheld while focusing on personal and sexual activities as most important. That way the Empire would not cultivate insurgents against itself (L.H. Whelchel's "History and Heritage of African-American Churches) Constantine knew that he had to control this group of peasants proclaiming their liberation brand of religion or it would eventually bring down the empire itself. Thus the Empire called the great meetings to deal with issues but covertly co-opt control of how the faith would from then on be communicated and WHO would do the communicating. That is not how it started however. When Jesus made his calcualted assault on the Imperial Cult of Rome which ended at calvary in his Murder Jesus had already established a "Shadow Conferacy" in his Disciples to strike and keep striking. He was not a "Lone ranger" he did not waste time on a persons personal sexual behavior. Liberation for the Black people of Palestine was far more important (Ched Myers - "Binding the Strongman) And when Africans in America were presented with this European Constantinian form of the faith they covertly rejected it while overtly feigning acceptance. They covertly defaulted to their original activities in the faith because they were the ones who were first vouchsafed with the "Religion of Jesus" (Howard Thurman). Now far too many Black Clergy and Black parishoners have let Jesus the revolutionary, Bookman, Dessalines, Rev. Gabriel Prosser, Rev. Harriet Tubman, Denmark Vesey, Rev. Nathaniel Turner, Rev. Jerena Lee and David Walker be pulled out of their hands and replaced with Billy Graham, Norman Peale, Joel Osteen, Paula White, Kenneth Hagan and Kenneth Copeland. I name the white one's because they pull the strings of the Black ones. Yet I still believe that the Black church is the place for Movement Ministry! Movement Ministry allows us to not get oo inpressed with ourselves because everybody has worth. Movement ministry forces us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus who also had to put up with the idiosyncrcies of the people closet to him; Jesus had be patient with their issues; Jesus taught them to not try to correct one another until they had connected with one another; Jesus taught them by example that people don't care how much you know until the know how much you care. Movement ministry knocks all of us down from our Horses of arrogance to find common ground for a greater cause than ourselves. There are still are Soldiers of Emmanuel both Black and White who have never taken off our uniforms of Liberation in the Church. Many have had to go into hiding secretly moving about recording names and places of both sympathizers and betrayers to the Faith of that African Warrior of hope Jesus. While many of our troopos have turned to Individual acts of kindness to help feed the need to do something we need you in the ranks. The Black church needs an Influx of Insurgents to build up the ranks. Only Movement Ministry will ultimately tear down Satan's stronghold and the willing Host to Satan's oppressive schemes through Governmental systems, Corporate militarism & materialism, classism, Sexism, Homophobia and Racism. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. asked "Where do we go from here: Chaos (Only Acts of Individual Kindness) or Community (Movement Ministry through the Black Church)? You decide!

Musing from a Man who gets tired a little more these days

Throughout their sojourn in America, Africans have been taught the separateness of themselves from Africa and Africans. The teaching has been so ingrained that even in those communities which are “most African” there is the greatest scandal of “being African." By Dona Richards(Marimba Ani) At this point in my life I cannot turn back but I can't help looking back every now and then to check the depth of my We are such a biblically illiterate people and culturally deprived group that I wonder if I am not a firefly in the night. There maybe light but the darkness is so pervasive it cannot be truly penetrated. Americans of African descent are so far removed from the relevance of our culture that it is like reaching across the Grand Canyon with just the human arm and hand trying to bridge the gulf. Have you ever tried talking to a snail explaining why it would behoove it to speed itself up every now and then? That is what it is like looking into the vacant eyes of Black folks in America who find it too hard to believe the world waits on them to wake up. Have you ever tried to persuade a bumble bee that pollinating the personal flowers in the backyards of people hastens it's demise by people? That is what it is like trying to get Black people in America to see that the religious systems of every American Denomination is hazardous to their health. At this point in my life I cannot turn back but I cannot help looking back. Have you ever tried getting the Moon to be consistently full? It is as fruitless trying to get people to be consistently in community building from the inside our our only Free Black institution called the church. Have you ever tried to get the rain to be less wet because it's rhythmic moisture beating upon the ground creates a melancholy mood seductive to sleep? That is what it is like when tears roll over the levies of my eye lids cascading down my cheeks in the solitude of my own thoughts of the faces and lives of my people I try my best to inspire. I cannot turn back at this point in my life but I cannot help looking back, and saying Lord forgive me for not being better than I am. Musings of a Man who gets tired more often

Belchings from a Smoldering Soul on the Occasion of ‘An Olympic Opening’ By M Thandabantu Iverson

After years of existence as an angry member of an oppressed people and an exploited class, perhaps now I should be willing to acknowledge how wonderful it is to behold this current Olympiad as a final and irresistible indicator of the triumph of Western capital. Undoubtedly, there were no small number of “former” workers who watched teary-eyed at the spectacular opening ceremony of the Olympics in London with feelings of adoration for what capital claims as its accomplishments; so majestically proclaimed by the sounds, sights, and syncopated rhythms of the opening pageantry of The Games. Accomplishments indeed! These were the results of the coerced toil, sweat, privations, sicknesses, and premature deaths of other workers.

Yet “it is best,” we hear some say, “to let some things be!” Undoubtedly, these former workers felt rapturous pride in their own contemporary escapes from working-class conditions into conditions of greater status and economic comfort, if not security. These contemporaries will think me an ingrate that today, with a job as a teacher at a Midwest university, I continue to babble about the evils of oppression, the hypocrisy of the national pride of modern states mired in the history of colonial and imperial conquest, and the bourgeois theft of centuries of work by literally millions of workers. These contemporaries who have made their ways ‘up the ladder’ do not wish to hear us inveigh against those who stole and raped and maimed and murdered to create the racist, patriarchal, and capitalist hierarchies. Those voices will clamor that we are wrong to indict our good neo-liberal masters who control with such handsome smiles and such quiet drones and sinister prisons. Those who have longed to escape the working class may feel quite unnerved by our remembrances of how the nod was made by the Olympic Opening planners to the workers who dug, and dredged, and hammered, and lifted the Industrial Revolution into place; yet not a single slave ship was seen and not a single word was spoken to acknowledge the many enslaved African workers whose travails birthed the Industrial Revolution. My utterances now will only anger those who would like to continue to forget those telling black invisible creators of “progress”.

Some will say that I should “just get over it all;” but I will not. This Olympiad is yet another round of the games and entertainments by which entire Peoples and Nations can be momentarily bedazzled, and as Malcolm X put it, “bamboozled.” Millions are still jobless, homeless, landless, imprisoned unjustly, profiled inhumanely and murdered with legal impunity. Wall Street barons still live large, laughing at the prideful pimping they have turned into obscenity, and Democrats and Republicans sport their elegant and expensive finery while seeking ‘common ground.’ The rulers of Empire are congratulating themselves on their booty and their celebrations of international ‘brotherhood. But let them beware. There are millions of sullen souls who see this empty bombast and do not sing. We watch the events but we do not feel the pride of the elites. We are loath to cry with national satisfaction, watching those we may have to fight one day to fill some rich man’s pockets. We watch the contests as metaphors for the lives we live. We hope the underdogs can win, even if we cannot. But we are not entirely fooled. We will remember the work of our forebears, and how they built this world from which others seek to disown us. We are tired. We are starting to stir. The Games will not last always. Dr M Thandabantu Iverson is a professor of Labour Studies and a writer

Response to "Enough" by Carla Banks

In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail in 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote these words which remain true today:
“There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.”
When is enough enough? When we decide that it is and we stop talking and start taking action to reclaim our blocks, neighborhoods, cities, states and country. When will we stop complaining about the way things while we continue to do nothing or, even worse, act like nothing is going on? As I followed the coverage of Trayvon Martin’s murder I kept wondering “where are the leaders of the denominational churches and when are they going to speak out about this?” On March 22nd, the United Church of Christ’s Collegium of Officers released a statement calling for a “swift and just processing of this case in the court of law, rather than in the media or on the streets of our nation.” Leaders of the UCC and the Disciples of Christ also announced plans for a prayer vigil and a brief silent march in protest to call for justice to be held March 28.Click to access UCC and Disciples leaders to join in prayer vigil and march for Trayvon Martin
Not only can we not afford to wait for the government to do something, we can’t afford to wait for any other leader to step up and tell us what to do. In the words of a successful movement we have to be the change we want to see. It’s time that we, along with other like minded people, decide to take action and create strategies to deal with what’s happening to our children, in our community. And if nobody is willing to stand with us, we have to be willing to stand alone, demanding that people be held accountable for the injustices that are perpetrated everyday against people who look like us. The old adage “a squeaky will get’s the oil” is true: those who speak up and demand respect and to be taken seriously often are.
Like you and many others, I am outraged about what happened to Trayvon Martin. His murderer needs to be arrested and tried in a court of law along with those who seem to have been complicit in helping to cover up the facts. I’ve written letters asking for justice, signed petitions, marched in the rain with others and followed this case because I refuse to sit idly by and let his killer get away with murder. But, I also have a question: why don’t we as a country and community take the same interest when the victim is female? What are we saying by our silence about the value we place on Black women and girls? I understand the outrage about the murder of Black men and boys, I get it; really I do. What I can’t understand is why we don’t have the same level of outrage when the victims are female. Aren’t we too “created in the image of God” and thereby deserving of having people demand justice for us? Or does the fight for justice really mean “just us males?” This evening I finally read an article that articulated my thoughts on this issue. I invite you to read this and to reflect on the questions that are raised. Please accept my apology for some of the language. But hell, sometimes you have to speak in language that people can understand.
Why Don’t We Know Their Names? The Invisibility of Black Women and Girls
S. Mandisa Moore 28MAR
“Because the machine will try to grind you into dust anyway, whether or not we speak.”- Audre Lorde
My heart is saddened by the murder of Trayvon Martin-a child. My heart is also saddened at the subsequent media frenzy around his death because I know in every part of my body that when black women and girls are raped and murdered, not a damn thing happens-there is no rally or CNN coverage, but instead an instant blame game or mitigation of the facts. This post is about the inherent value of black women and black girls. If once you read “Trayvon Martin”, you thought this post would be about how white supremacist ideologies define black males as inherently “suspicious” and “dangerous” and, thus, black men and boys need our support- this is not the post for you. Luckily, almost every other blog has posted analyses very similar to this that you can read and comment on. I have no interest in doing so-not because the criminalization of black men and boys doesn’t enrage me but because I believe that the black women and girls are just as valuable. Not to mention that the ways we are inherently criminalized and stigmatized must continue to be unpacked. I write this because NO ONE comes to our defense or sees us as worthy of marching behind, and I will bear witness to this.
We invisibilize black women when we narrowly equate black men as representative of black people; when we focus on the criminalization of black men as if this is the only narrative of criminalization; and when we enable or participate in the collective amnesia that most black women NOT ONLY die as a result of the deadly combination of gender and racial profiling at the hands of private citizens and law enforcement agencies, but also from the hands of our black partners and family members. The black female body, including black trans women, is perceived as inherently sexually deviant and, thus, worthless. We DO DIE just walking down the street-whether we are profiled as a sex worker and raped and killed or, much like Trayvon Martin, just standing there. We also die at the hands of law enforcement-because to be black and woman, or to be perceived as possessing feminine characteristics, is to be unsafe in a world where you can be raped and/or murdered-by your partner, your neighbor, or police precinct # 9 AND to live with the knowledge that no one will come to your defense. But UNLIKE black men, we also die when we rely on law enforcement in the aftermath of interpersonal violence or sexual violence.
As soon as I heard of Trayvon’s murder and the outrage popping up in my emails and on my twitter timeline, I immediately thought:
o Why don’t we interrogate racial profiling when it occurs on the bodies of black women and girls?
o Why aren’t these same people outraged when black women are raped and murdered for just being themselves?
o Where are my black feminists-what are we doing at this critical moment to hold the humanity of black men next to the value and visibility of black women?
o What names will I get called if I speak about this?
o Why do we know-thanks to indie media and black mainstream media (Mike Baisden, Steve Harvey, Roland Martin, Tom Joyner, etc) who Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Troy Davis, Oscar Grant, Wendell Allen are?
o Do we know who Phylicia Barnes, Kathryn Johnston, Tarika Wilson,Aiyana Stanley Jones, Crystal Mangum, Brenting Dolliole, or LeAndra Jackson are? If not, why don’t we?
o What about Remember Me-a Baltimore-based group centered on documenting the murders and/or disappearances of black women and girls? What resources are being allocated to them to increase their capacity to bear witness?
o Why was so much media attention centered on the Jena 6 when almost no one knows, or seems to care, who the New Jersey 7 were?
o Do we even know who Jeremy Sweat and Dustin Evans are, since we like to focus on individuals like George Zimmerman instead of systems?
Now here’s the part where people (including “good white allies” who co-sign anything to seem less racist- even when it marginalizes black women, which in turn allows white supremacy to grow and prosper) start saying dumb shit because they can’t deal with the fact that- GASP- they are willfully invisibilizing black women, and so they get defensive:- “well, those women were lesbians!” or “she was a stripper!” or “they thought she was a prostitute and that is why they killed her and it’s not ok to kill any innocent person, but this is more understandable” or “it’s just not the same!” Lemme just remind people of how quickly they checked and side-eyed those who pointed out irrelevant facts like “technically, Trayvon didn’t live there, but was visiting his stepmom and dad” or “well, he was suspended from school, so clearly he had criminal tendencies.” We were right to call them out, but let us also rally behind black women and girls unconditionally. It’s not like we believe there is a justification for violence against black women and girls, do we? Because that would make us fucked up and complicit with white supremacy, right? Oh shit-maybe we are.

http://www.theoysterknife.com/2012/03/28/why-don%E2%80%99t-we-know-their-names-the-invisibility-of-black-women-and-girls/#comment-73

Enough

When is enough, enough? Just 6 months ago an innocent Black man, Troy Davis was put to death in Atlanta, GA and the brutal blow to Black America once again came from the bloody hand of "Injustice' system. When is enough enough?

Between March 16-18 49 people were shot, 10 killed in the Chicago area. Shootings are up in Chicago 27% and homicides are up 32% from the same time period in 2011. All this while the Mayor of Chicago allegedly told the Chicago teachers union President that "25% of the Public school children (majority Black & Brown) were NOT going to make it; therefore he would NOT waste resources on them." If he really said this, when is enough enough?

And now our hearts are ripped from our chest because 17 year old Trayvon Martin carrying some skittles and wearing a hoodie was brutally murdered by 28 year old George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman ignored 911 operators who explicitly told him to stop his stalking of Trayvon in order to kill this boy. Plain and simple! Now because of Florida's "Stand your ground and kill Black people" law George Zimmerman is able to walk the streets a free man while Trayvon's parents are imprisoned in grief.

To add insult to not an injury but a gaping hole the police chief Bill Lee not only refuses to arrest Zimmerman but blames Trayvon by saying "maybe Trayvon would have done something different if he had the chance to?" Done what different, not be born Black? When is enough, enough?

This short catalogue of carnage against Black and Brown men are the result of a racist society. Plain and simple! Why is it that no other race of people have had to go on these emotional roller coaster rides of emotion concerning the lives of their men? Trayvon did what society told him and his parents was right. He was a good kid who stayed out of trouble. He did well in school! What else did he need to do?

When is enough, enough? The President will not weigh in because despite it being a gross tragedy he does not want his Right wing republican rivals to use his concern as a cause to paint him as "anti-America," translated "Anti-White" way.

The government has failed Black people once again, Law enforcement has shown its unwillingness to protect Black people as does the Criminal injustice system. So when is enough, enough?

What will happen now, because the insult is already stamped. George Zimmerman has been walking free for weeks. If he is arrested today (and he should be) it still can not cover the stench that assaults Black America and suffocates two parents sorrow at the senseless murder of their beautiful son. By the way, have you studied the picture of this beautiful boy? Did you gaze into his face captured now on picture because he will never move with grace again? Did you see his eyes in any of the photos? Did you notice how Bright, innocent and happy those eyes were?

How about that smile? Did you gaze at that grand joyful smile? You see that is the problem with pictures. Pictures are reminders of what could have been. Pictures lock us in a time that is long past and we shed a tear every now and then but rush to catch up to ever moving world we live in. We are afraid of staying there too long with pictures because they make us think. They make us ponder and ask ourselves "was there something I could have done?" Pictures make us wonder if we are trying to hurry too quick to forget. If you look at a picture too long it will make you as "When is enough, enough?" But it will also make you answer it starts with me and it starts today.