I just read a post from a friend who said that it was time
to stop talking, start listening and start learning. He was referring to all of
the ongoing banter on social media after the tragic murder of nine members of
the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston. So I did just that I listened to the families
talk to the alleged murderer of their family members. I heard the words
forgiveness, grace and mercy instead of hatred, revenge or kill the __________.
I listened to portions of the worship service on Sunday at
the AME Church in Charleston and was humbled to hear the Pastor talk about
grace, mercy, forgiveness and the need for racial reconciliation. The reality
that hit home was that I wasn’t going to learn much about the issues if I
continued to talk and closed myself off to reading more about the past history
that has placed our great country in racial jeopardy.
I had a young friend send me the book, ‘The New Jim Crow’.
I’m making my way through this book that is written extremely well by someone
who is an expert in her field and educated at the best colleges. (Stanford and
Vanderbilt.) It is too easy to pretend not to be aware of the ongoing racism
and prejudice that exists in today’s society. This book takes the time to
unfold the history of what has caused and continues to cause racism and
prejudice to put down specific racial groups in ways that most choose to
ignore.
The only the way to stop the ongoing racial issues in our
country is to step back and acknowledge how easy it has been to be indifferent
to someone else’s life circumstances. I just listened to a good friend describe
the nightmare she has gone through with her daughter. I could empathize with
her but I’ve never had my teen get pregnant at the age of 17, choose to live
with her boyfriend who ends up in jail, have a car towed away because of not
paying on a payday loan and the drama continues. I listened and helped a little
with her grandson’s birthday coming up soon.
My hope is that I will stop assuming I have the answers to
everyone else’s ills in life and start to listen more, talk less and read more
about what has gotten us to this juncture in our history!
Time to learn more about your neighbor, work partner or
person you sit next to at Starbucks or church.
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