I have stayed away from this issue for far too long and now feel it is my civic duty to get involved. This is the first part of a series of articles on the situation of the racial problem in our country, the challenges we face as a nation of immigrants, and the daunting prospects of bringing us closer to harmony as a people.
Why can’t we live in harmony? Well, there are many reasons for this serious problem, and I will not belabor the past history of four hundred years of slavery and how it has indelibly cast a shadow over this great nation.
I will start this journey into the future of our society by addressing something that has bothered me for decades. As a descendent of slavery, I was concerned when the term, African American started to be utilized by the media in everyday reporting of events. I was not a resident of the United States when this terminology was adopted and uncertain of the genesis.
After living in six different countries in my life’s journey, I was appalled to be identified as an African American when I immigrated to this country. My ancestor, just to be clear, NEVER came from Africa. He was abducted from some part of the region known as Persia, now divided into many disparate middle eastern countries that include Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and others at the time. While I identify as a Black person, my exact ancestry is still somewhat of an unknown quantity.
Undoubtedly the bulk of the slave trade emanated from Africa, and possibly the name was used to identify the horrible atrocities that befell all slaves in the USA.
However, here is where this misidentification went awry! Once we labeled or allowed ourselves to be known as African Americans, I feel we made a grave error in judgment of our fellow Americans. The label stuck, and I heard countless times and in many derogatory remarks, well, if you are African American, why don’t you leave and go back there! And so many times, the additional comment added on — you are not welcome here!
So here is my suggestion for whatever it is worth. Why continue to use this label that will forever stamp us a foreign entity that, by implication, invaded these shores over 400 years ago.
We came here, not of our own free will and desire. We were kidnapped, shanghaied, beaten, raped, and sold into slavery on arrival here in the US.
Why not now reidentify ourselves as only Americans! I say we need to take our place in this society as proud Americans who just happen to be Black!
I know the term Black American is used in combination with the African American term and sometimes in the same sentence. This is wrong! Where have you ever heard of any other group identified in such a manner and most cases, and in the media, viewed by many of the privileged white population as undesirable members of this society?
Yes, it was used to identify other groups is a mostly negative connotation on many occasions in history, but largely forgotten over the past century. Japanese American (due in no small part to the war), Jewish American (Holocaust horror), Italian American (Mafia, etc.) and others now recast as simply Americans! Why not us? We are all now Americans, never mind our horrendous past that still overshadows our present and future if we do not confront this challenge.
For those of you with no knowledge of the past, we are ALL immigrants, except for the native Indian tribes that were their home until the folk arrived from Europe to populate this continent. And look at the horrible treatment heaped on them by supposedly civilized people.
They were trapped on reservations, removed from traditional hunting and fishing lands that were their homeland for centuries. Delineated by boundaries, not of their making and demolishing their lifestyle and livelihood. Then the government tried to compensate the tribes for this unconscionable treatment. Look at how miserable that experiment has failed.
Fast forward to the present. I am not going to list the atrocities heaped on us by the white prejudiced US administrations for the past 300 plus years. They are on display for anyone who is interested in the history of this country and how it was built on the backs of slaves.
Suffice it to say, change is needed, and it is our time to ensure that our generation is the last to endure the inequity and inequality that has been so unfairly heaped upon us just because we are black. Many pundits, after the despicable display at the capitol on Wednesday, made comments wondering what the result would have been if the mob of domestic terrorists was black!
Just imagine why this type of remark was even made. Is that not incontrovertible evidence that to be black in America carries such a stigma that it is easily understood as a fact of life. “Driving while Black” is only one small part of the challenge of “Living in this society while being Black.”
And the term racial justice is not the correct term we need to promote — The correct term, is Racial Unity for all Americans. We must all have equal rights under the law. And we must be ‘protected and served’ by law enforcement across the nation. Not vilified, ostracized, beaten, and killed by biased and prejudicial police.
I urge all like-minded Americans of every color, race, religion, and ethnic background to put aside our differences and prejudices, teach our youth, children, and grandchildren to be better examples of what we have experienced during the past, and promote a better understanding of our fellow Americans.
I leave you with these thoughts for today! Do not judge anyone, your friend, your neighbor, or any individual or group!
If you are not Black, you cannot begin to appreciate the pain and suffering we have endured, and continue to endure. But I, for one, together with all Black Americans, want to be treated with dignity, respect, and kindness and to be accepted as an integral part of our nation. We paid our dues, and now is the time for reconciliation and justice.
Black American and proud of it! Thanks for your time.
I would appreciate your feedback and any positive thoughts and suggestions to make all our lives more enjoyable.
