Exploring the Intriguing
Category: politics
Every year there’s a new one
A Diallo, Bell, Brown
Ford, Garner, Rice or me
Clamoring loudly
Broken faces on TV
We ask so many questions
But no one’s forced to answer
With sympathy’s short half-life
Soon most are hoping for the noise to stop
And the questions to disappear once again
Just like us
In our lives
And our deaths
© Gayle Force Press 2015
This summer I told a friend that I couldn't write any more poems about police brutality. So here's an old one. Again. I initially wrote this poem in 2002 and when performing it in public through the years have changed/updated the names. Mike Brown Eric Garner is only the most recent addition to the litany of blood.
Justified Use of Force
Every month there’s a new one
A Diallo, Bell, Brown
Ford, Garner, Rice or me
Clamoring loudly
Broken faces on TV
We ask so many questions
But no one’s forced to answer
With sympathy’s short half-life
Soon most are hoping for the noise to stop
And the questions to disappear once again
Just like us
In our lives
And our deaths
© Gayle Force Press 2014
Thanks to Michele Norris for mentioning this post in conjunction with her ongoing program The Race Card Project. There are so many powerful testimonies there, it's worth a close look.
FDO
Today, I'm glad my son is White.
That’s a phrase I never thought I’d write. In part, that’s because I identify so much with Black culture and Black history. It’s also in part because, as a Black man, raising a White boy is extremely complicated.
Please understand, life at home is as simple as can be expected with a teenager. I’m incredibly fortunate that Jake is a wonderful young man. But life out in the world is filled with constant reminders that our family is jarring to others.
We’re jarring to servers who felt they needed to ask ‘everything on one check?’ even when Jake was in elementary school. We’re jarring at the bank when the teller needs ‘help from a manager’ to authorize Jake cashing a birthday check from a grandparent. We’ve been jarring at the mall, convenience store, park or any of the other dozen times I wondered if someone were ready to put out an Amber alert, fearing for Jake’s safety because he was with me. We were jarring the time I got pulled over and very aggressively harassed because a cop saw Jake sitting in my backseat while we drove through a White neighborhood. Jake’s Whiteness has been a consistent hassle.
In one important respect though, Jake’s Whiteness has been a real blessing: I've never given him THE TALK. Of course we've had the sex talk because I’m the responsible dad of a teen. But we've never had the cop talk. Some of you know about the cop talk. That’s the one when young people of color learn the dos and don’ts of interacting with the police. They learn what kinds of behaviors to change, which places should be avoided and what poses to assume. My son doesn’t need to know any of that. If anything, I would say that Jake is wary of the police because of how they've treated me but he doesn't live in any real fear of the cops. And I'm so glad he doesn't have to.
Jake will get the automatic benefit of the doubt when it comes to cops. That reality makes a huge difference in my life and the last few days in Ferguson has made that more clear than ever. His inherent (wait for it…) White privilege means that when I'm worried for my son’s safety it's about driving or alcohol or sex. At root, I worry about Jake having a problem based on something of his own doing, having trouble because of a choice he makes. I worry just because he’s my kid.
But I don’t have to worry about Jake being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong skin. I don’t have to worry that he’ll be Mike Brown or Tamir Rice or Ezell Ford or Eric Garner or Sean Bell or any of the murdered others. I don’t have to worry that someone with a badge might decide to kill my son.
Today, I'm glad my son is White.
© Gayle Force Press 2014
Right now, my main takeaway from the many enlightening #Fergusonconversations happening right now is still this combination:
A) Darren Wilson will never have to risk jail for his decision to shoot and kill Michael Brown while Brown was unarmed
B) the lack of an indictment doesn't really shock anyone and
C) I CANNOT IMAGINE those realities being true if Wilson were Black and Brown were White.
The gulf between White and Black America is still vast, systemic and clear. I want to feel confident that #Ferguson will be a catalyst for deep, difficult conversations that lead to long lasting changes.
If that happens, Michael Brown will be this generation's Emmett Till. If not, we will have failed him, ourselves and our children as our parents have failed us.
God bless us. Every one.
FDO
This summer I told a friend that I couldn't write any more poems about police brutality. So here's an old one.
I wrote this initially in 2002 and when performing in public through the years have changed/updated the names. Mike Brown is only the most recent addition to the litany of blood.
Justified Use of Force
Every year there’s a new one
A Diallo, Bell, Brown or me
Clamoring loudly
Broken faces on TV
We ask so many questions
But no one’s forced to answer
With sympathy’s short half-life
Soon most are hoping for the noise to stop
And the questions to disappear once again
Just like us
In our lives
And our deaths
© Gayle Force Press 2014
This Black History Month I’m Grateful for Harriet Tubman
"Every great dream begins
with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the
patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."
— Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman spent several years of her life as one of the most
wanted people in America. Her exploits as a conductor on the Underground
Railroad were legendary even during her lifetime. She is reported to have made
more than a dozen successful return trips to the South after her own escape
from slavery. Ultimately, Tubman was reported to have led more than 300 slaves
to freedom in the North. Her reputation
was so substantial that at one point there was a $40 000 reward for her capture.
The reputation that Tubman garnered helped convince slaves
throughout the country that there were more possibilities for escape than had
been previously foreseen. Many escaped slaves reported that they were inspired
to escape since they only needed to leave the South once while Tubman did it
time after time. Clearly, Harriet Tubman was not just the most famous conductor
of the Underground Railroad. She was also a symbol for possibility.
Tubman’s contributions extend beyond those for which she is
most noted. She was an important speaker
and public figure in the national abolition movement and had important
relationships with Frederick Douglass and John Brown, both of whom expressed
their highest admiration for Tubman. Tubman even helped Brown recruit men to
help in his ill-fated attack on Harpers Ferry.
During the Civil War, Tubman
held many roles including as a spy and military adjutant, thoroughly
disregarding the notion of gendered boundaries in the process. This Moses for her people worked tirelessly
to free enslaved individuals and an enslaved people.
Today I am grateful for Harriet Tubman. You should be too.
FDO
This Black History Month I’m Grateful for John Lewis
“Registering to vote is an act of commitment to the American
ideal. It is patriotic. The Federal Government must decide whether it wants to
let Southern Negroes register. It must make that choice this summer, or make us
all witnesses to the lynching of democracy.”
-John Lewis
John Lewis was a young college student when he got his start
as an activist in the Nashville Student Movement. Lewis was often viewed as the
prodigy of the movement as he was the youngest of the “Big Six” leaders of the
Civil Rights Movement by a full decade.
As a co-founder and an early chair of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis first became a national figure during the
Freedom Rides of 1961. It was during this endeavor to desegregate public
facilities in the South that Lewis was beaten so badly many feared his death
was imminent. While continuing his leadership of SNCC, Lewis was one of the speakers
at the legendary 1963 March on Washington.
SNCC worked throughout the South to
develop Freedom Schools that trained nonviolent activists. They also organized 1964’s Freedom
Summer efforts at registering potential Black voters. Lewis was also one of the
leaders of the Selma, Alabama march now referred to as “Bloody Sunday” because
of the brutal beating Lewis and many other nonviolent protestors received at
the hands (and clubs) of the Alabama State Police.
As the sixties came to an end, Lewis became deeply involved
in electoral politics. Initially, he became a prominent advisor for Robert F.
Kennedy’s Presidential campaign in 1968. For the last quarter century, Lewis
has served his country as a member of Congress from Georgia. He is widely perceived
as the most important living link to the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis continues
to fight for human rights to this day.
Today I am grateful for John Lewis. You should be too.
FDO
This Black History Month I’m Grateful for Olaudah Equiano
“But is not the slave trade entirely a war with the heart of man? And
surely that which is begun by breaking down the barriers of virtue involves in
its continuance destruction to every principle, and buries all sentiments in
ruin!”
- Olaudah Equiano
Equiano was a native Nigerian who was sold into slavery as a
child. His autobiography, The Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, is
often considered the founding document of the genre of slave narrative. Slaves
like Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass followed in Equiano’s footsteps by
sharing their own stories.
Equaino’s harrowing tale of being kidnapped as a ten year
old helped introduce White Americans to some of the worst elements of the slave
trade. Reading this young man’s story of terror (he worried that any people who
stole other people were likely cannibals!) caused some to reject Northern
participation in the African slave trade.
Equiano’s storytelling was also an early indicator of the
intellectual ability of Blacks. When it became clear that Equiano wrote his own
story, some of the rationales for African enslavement were substantially
undercut. Although his fame in England far surpassed his limited recognition in
the United States, Equiano made important impacts that continue to resonate
into modern works like Alex Haley’s Roots.
Today I am grateful for Olaudah Equiano. You should be too.
FDO
This Black History Month I’m Grateful for Muhammad Ali
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will
accomplish nothing in life.”
-Muhammad Ali
I want to spend today’s blog post reflecting on a man who
transcended virtually all the expectations of his life. While a young boxing
champion, the man born Cassius Clay made the first high profile conversion to
Islam. After being brought into the Nation of Islam by Malcolm X*, the newly
christened Muhammad Ali was immediately condemned as an un-American radical. Most
in the mainstream media refused to use his chosen name for years.
When drafted
to enter the Vietnam War, Ali became the most celebrated American to refuse
induction. Ali famously declared that he had no quarrel with the Vietcong.
Although Ali was offered the possibility of spending his military service as a
traveling entertainer, he continued to refuse to participate and risked jail
time for his stance. Although he was not imprisoned, he was stripped of his
championship and not allowed to work as a boxer.
For many years, Ali’s name was associated with Jane Fonda’s
as Vietnam era traitors. It took much longer for Ali’s stance to be recognized
for the act of willing sacrifice that it truly was. Ali eventually was allowed
to return to boxing where he became the first three time heavyweight champion.
More importantly, Ali used his fame and celebrity to support a wide variety of
social causes. As the most famous Muslim in the world, Ali had an extraordinary
following and level of credibility globally. Ali has been honored with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom and in the 1996 Summer Olympics, his lighting of
the Olympic Torch became one of the iconic images of the decade.
Ali’s work as an advocate for peace was generally
understated but recently, ESPN produced a documentary
detailing Ali’s role in freeing American hostages held in Iraq before the
Persian Gulf War. At this stage in his life, Ali’s physical impairments had
already manifested and he risked his health in a profound way on this trip. As
one of the most famous people in the world, Muhammad Ali could have chosen to
bask in luxury and adulation. Instead, he’s continually worked to promote peace
and justice. He’s become an icon worthy
of the label.
Today I am grateful for Muhammad Ali. You should be too.
FDO
*- check back Thursday
Here's a poem I wrote for Ali:
The Greatest
King of all the world
From sinner to savior to saint
And shrill to sagacious to silent
Always beautifully, willfully,
painfully
Real.
© Gayle Force
Press 2003
This Black History Month I’m Grateful for Coretta Scott King
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by
the compassionate actions of its members… a heart of grace and a soul generated
by love.”
-Coretta Scott King
Somehow, many of us have managed to forget the critical role
Coretta Scott King played in the Civil Rights Movement. As the wife of Martin Luther King, Coretta
would automatically hold some level of importance but her accomplishments
during and after his lifetime have been incredible and valuable. Most accounts
of Mrs. King focus on her status as a loving wife and homemaker but she was
much more a partner to Rev. King than was typical (or publicly acceptable)
during the 1950s. It is clear that she made remarkable efforts at maintaining
domestic tranquility in the midst of incredibly trying circumstances.
While her status as a symbol of love was incredibly valuable
to the Movement, Coretta Scott King went far beyond the prescribed models of
femininity. She was such a competent leader that she presided over the first
meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Council. Mrs. King was also a
talented enough singer that she performed ‘freedom concerts’ to raise money for
civil rights initiatives.
For more than a decade, the Kings were constantly under the threat
of death and indeed had their home bombed multiple times. As the mother of four
children, Mrs. King could have easily asked her husband to take a less public
profile yet she publicly (and privately!) insisted that her resolve was only
strengthened by the violence perpetrated against her family. After her husband’s
assassination in 1968, Mrs. King failed to be cowed and raised her own public
profile by founding the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social
Change.
Eventually, Coretta Scott King became an outspoken opponent
of South Africa’s apartheid regime, a dedicated peace activist and one of the
first prominent Blacks to advocate for same sex marriage rights. Mrs. King also
led the way for the creation of the King federal holiday.* Mrs. King continued
to grow and change as she aged, eventually embracing veganism and her role as
the First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.
For nearly forty years after Martin Luther King’s murder,
Coretta Scott King served as a living symbol of the highest ideals of the Movement.
She focused continuing attention on the issues of racism, poverty, violence and
inequality that so deeply informed her work and life. It is particularly
appropriate that she be celebrated on Valentine’s Day as she continues to serve
as a tremendous symbol of love.
Today I am grateful for Coretta Scott King. You should be
too.
FDO
*- Alongside Stevie
Wonder
The WhoDeannyPod 