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A poem of hope on MLK Day, as we work through the 3rd level of racism [1]
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Date: 2023-01-16
Overcoming racism is saying no to the ego and its senseless need for perceived superiority.
Today, mindful of the MLK holiday, I woke up with this phrase: the burden of eyes. And it became this.
Let’s make this the last generation
That frequently suffers
The burden of eyes
Casting out icy judgement
For nothing more
Than pigment
Instead let’s make our eyes
Full of silent understanding
Supportive not denigrating
Offering the camaraderie
Of impending overcoming
Be the beacon
That splits a pointless night
With eyes that say
You are valued
Your challenges
Are understood
As best as an outsider can.
Eyes that say
The weight is lifting
Day by day
Person by person
And those that
Judge through arrogance
Will be the loners.
Those that
Judge through fear
Will be the outcasts.
Because denial of their folly
Will not be enough.
The stain on their souls
Will be judged
Not by ignorant imagination
But by damning truths
That expose
Entrenched weakness
Lazy hearts
Unwilling to open
For no good reason at all
Other than
The darkness of skin
As white men and women
Let’s present the eyes
That give a mental high five
That say,
“I’m one of the other ones,
The ones in rising numbers
Who can’t know all
But can know why
To give you
The benefit of the doubt
Because it’s
The right thing to do.”
Eyes will smile
Both black and white
Side by side
The overcoming may not be
Universal
But the momentum will be clear
Change for the better
Is winning
The alliance is growing
Glance by glance
_________
Any of us who have black friends know the truth in these words, past, present, and future. We are in the third level of racism against African Americans.
The first was when racism could not be resisted because the repercussions could be lethal. The second, made real by the civil rights movement in the 1960s, was when racism was proven to most of us to be a hateful scourge with no place in modern, compassionate society. For African Americans, fighting back in rhetoric and body language was not only allowed, but a reasonable response - pushing back against blind force.
The third phase, brought to bear through the heartless cruelty that killed George Floyd, is one where the whole picture is made clear, where truth can no longer be painted over. Justice is coming, and the need for true equality is now a cause with tangible steps just ahead. Society will lead the way, and through the generation now coming of age it will be done.
Right now, institutional racism exists, with black men disproportionately incarcerated, with career advancement a shallower curve than talent and ability should warrant.
Now is when we can and should change this. Late in the third level, African Americans won’t feel the need to resist impending judgement because it will be a rarity on the streets and in the store aisles. By the next decade, legislation and society will have turned the corner because at the state and national levels, racists will be the one lasting minority. They will be judged not by the color of their skins, but only by the darkness of their hearts.
Let each Martin Luther King Jr. holiday moving forward be a day to honor the man who, at the leading edge of the second level of racism in its infancy, embodied the spirit that the third level would hold dear nearly 60 years later.
And Dr. King also embodied parts of the fourth level of racism, when judgement itself is no longer a reflexive distraction. This will not only be the case with race, but also with xenophobia, misogyny, and the loathing of the LBGT+ community.
Also by this point, America will know the truth in how the fomenting of these types of hatred was a useful weapon in getting folks to vote against their best interests, essentially a tool to keep taxes low on billionaire GOP donors.
Defunding the IRS to protect wealthy tax cheats is the legislative Job 1 for the new House leadership. Let that be the evidence that history will point to as the beginning of the national recognition that racism for the benefit of greed has been the strategy all along.
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