A World Without Racism, a country without racism, a community without racism….

We get to hope for such a world, we get to believe that such a world is possible, and we get to act to achieve a world without racism.

We get to heal the fear that has been installed on us to keep us from acting on our belief that such a world is possible.

We get to express and heal our grief and outrage about the terrorist killings in Charleston, South Carolina.  We get to notice and discharge our rage and terror; that the conditions that allowed this to happen, indeed, the conditions that predicted such an event, the conditions that almost insisted    that such a thing happen, have been created in this country (the United States).

We get to be outraged that in the face of this act of terrorism (what else could it be called?), rooted in racism, that so many public leaders equivocate and seek to explain it away, to shift the focus, and to construct and bolster barriers that hinder the people of this country from facing racism and its terrible consequences.

The South Carolina terrorist who killed nine Black people in Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, has been shown draped in the confederate flag that, though long considered a symbol of racial hatred, is described by a Republican Presidential contender as "part of who we are".  This terrorist undoubtedly drew inspiration and courage from his state house that flies the confederate flag as mandated by South Carolina State law.  

This terrorist undoubtedly draws inspiration and courage from a national conversation that allows and defends white people killing Black people (police and others) with impunity, if white people “feel fearful” of Black people.  I imagine that this terrorist was emboldened by a national tolerance for public lynching threats directed toward the Black man who is President of the United States. 

This terrorist is reported to have said that he wanted to start a race war.  I say, let this act remind us of our humanness, our connection to each other, and our commitment to have a world without racism.

White People get to stand together, as white people, and heal the guilt, shame, outrage and fear, about the conditions that created or enabled this act of terrorism.  White people get to speak up as white people and oppose racism.  White people get to be visible in the world as white people in their call for ending racism, and their acting to create a world without racism.

Black People get to stand with all of our allies (People of the Global Majority and white people) to heal the indignation, outrage, exasperation and terror evoked by this act of terrorism.  We get to speak up and act to create a world without racism.

Liberation for our generation

People who hold out a vision of a world characterized by liberation sometimes upset us. Such a vision can remind us of our own expectations as young people and the disappointment and dismay we experienced as we let go of those expectations.

As young people, we held high expectations for our world. We expected to live in a world characterized by fairness, equity and justice. We expected to witness relationships, interactions, institutions and societies characterized by fairness, equity and justice. We were disappointed and dismayed to see so much injustice in the world around us. We were startled to witness a world permeated by vast differences in access to resources and quality of life.

When we expressed our expectations that people around us would intervene to make the world better, we were told that by those people nearest and dearest to us, our parents, teachers and faith leaders, that we were naïve and that as we became more “mature,” we would understand better why we must accept a world characterized by injustice. “That is how society has always been,” we were told, “and that is how it always will be.”

We learned to accommodate this view of society and accept an unjust society along with our inequitable relationships within that society as inescapable. We made the mental, emotional and intellectual adjustments necessary to live comfortably with ourselves in a society characterized by inequity and injustice. This assault on our integrity and sense of self was explained away by descriptions that made the targets of injustice responsible for that injustice.

When someone offers a vision of liberation, that a just and equitable world is possible and that we can create it in our lifetime with the resources that we have at our disposal, we respond in different ways. Sometimes we welcome the reminder and the challenge that a vision of liberation holds for us. Sometimes, this vision can upset the equilibrium that we created for ourselves when we abandoned that vision as young people. We made the mental, emotional and intellectual adjustments that we were told we had to make to live in societies characterized by injustice. Sometimes, the discomfort that ensues from having our equilibrium shaken causes us to lash back at the person who presents a vision of fairness, equity and justice. The reminder of the ideals and expectations that we abandoned as young people is sometimes painful to bear.

I invite each of us to imagine a world characterized by liberation.
I invite each of us to imagine liberation in our lifetime.
I invite each of us to imagine that we can help to make liberation happen.

Love for liberation

bjlove