Many blue moons ago, America lived in an era when race was at the back burner of everyone’s mind. Yes, racism still roamed; however thanks to Martin Luther King during the civil rights of the 1950s and 1960s, we revolutionized how we viewed race. Racism was no longer mainstream. His speech is a reflection of how American society progressed several generations after his death.
“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, ‘My country, ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.’”
I did not quote the whole speech, but this portion resonated with me during my upbringing. I was old enough to remember 9/11 and our country’s responds afterward. You want to talk about people living up to M.L.K’s dream? Americans responded with love from sea to shining sea. After the attack, everyone wanted to find ways to help their neighbor, despite different beliefs and backgrounds. Americans were pissed evil occurred because of our nationality. A nationality that spreads all ideologies and ethnicity. Seven years later, America elected it’s first multi-racial president. A literal representation of black and white coming together out of love towards one another. This is the anti-racism that I was taught. A culture which valued merit and character, over pigmentation of skin. It’s not to say there weren’t prejudice individuals, but we merely ignored those people. You had to do something despicable with evidence to earn the label “racist.” Now, I am the racist in 2021- a product similar to Obama with a mix of European, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic heritage. According to what I was taught growing up, that is no longer anti-racist, but racist.
I am reminded of the ending in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan were confronting each other before their epic battle. And during their dialogue, Obi-Won tells Anakin he became “the very thing you swore to destroy.” That is what I think of today’s so called anti-racism. An agenda that now has Cartoon Network (meant for children), advertise seeing color is anti-racist. The advertisement also insinuates one’s experience is automatically associated with one’s pigmentation of skin. And what was mostly bizarre was how they spoke- the cartoon characters spoke like activist! Mind you, the characters are supposed to represent kids. Unfortunately, this is not an anomaly. Schools, corporations, military, even churches across America are being taught “Critical Race Theory,” or at least certain concepts.
Critical race theory suggest, “examining everyday interactions, and finding the racial component in them, can help move the racial equality cause forward perhaps more than a sometimes simplistic ‘color blind’ approach.” This is where the term “micro-aggression” comes into play. The example in the link provided, uses this scenario, “two people pass one another while walking down a street and the first person smiles at the second. Let us imagine that the second person either smiles in response as they pass, or stares down at the pavement and shuffles past. In the case where the second participant shuffles by uncomfortably, an observer's first instinct may be to imagine that they are simply unfriendly or have had a bad day. But what if the first participant is a person of color, and second is white? An observer will probably be wary of some form of racist micro-aggression. What if both participants are people of color? What if the first participant is white, and the second is black? In each of these situations, the observer's understanding of the society's race relations may be more nuanced than under a traditional approach.”
The example provided may leave your conscious in bewilderment. This makes any sane mortal pull their hair out. Essentially, they want you to view everything through racial lenses. This is the kind of education that is being shoved down. Coca-Cola employees had to go through Robin DiAngelo’s training on being “less white.” Schools in New York are teaching children there are “eight white identities.” Ever heard of the “Pyramid of White Supremacy?” Have you heard of Columbia’s six graduation ceremonies, with race being a factor? The city of Seattle made their white employees partake in training to “interrupt whiteness.” The church community I was involved with last year, were bringing in certain components of this brainwashing; teaching one group is responsible for events they took no part in. Own your privilege. You would have thought you were living in the Jim Crow south in one of their sermons. If you want more evidence of the insanity, you could read published articles from the Medium.
There is a new generation being taught skin color is the most important factor of your existence; segregating based on race is “progress.” Your group is not based on interest, profession, or environments, but skin color- that alone determines the three. Your perspective’s validation is dependent upon skin color. Your existence’s worth is based on the color or your skin. All this in the name of racial equity and anti-racism. To a degree, I give some of these folks benefit of the doubt. From what I observe, they sincerely believe this education is beneficial. They are empathetic towards those who have felt ostracized in society. Partly, so I am too; however too much empathy can lead to Obi-Wan’s conversation with his apprentice (Anakin). We can become so empathetic to one group, that we become hostile towards anybody who doesn’t think along the same line-thus losing empathy for others in the process.
Unfortunately, this schooling will create more racism. This is literally using one group as a scapegoat for all of the ills of western culture. Why does one’s success automatically have to correlate with race? There are millions of white people still waiting for their privilege to kick in. Do we have to assume anyone who isn’t white is poor or less educated? And why assume people of color can’t move up the economic latter without a government handout? There is class privilege, but there’s wealthy and financially stable people from all backgrounds. That alone is advantages. How come people of color aren’t capable of being racist-not just with each other, but towards the white population? Is it okay to bury our heads in the sand and pretend people of color aren’t capable of evil? Everyone is capable of great evil, as evidenced from the events of 9/11, sex-trafficking, child soldiers in Africa, etc.
Color blindness is about going beyond the pigmentation of skin. Thank you Captain Obvious for pointing out there are different colors out there-yea we get that. There are different eye colors too, yet it’s not a primary focus. Whenever it does get brought up, it’s out of good faith in celebrating differences. The same mentality should be applied with skin color, but NEVER the defining method of one’s character and experience.
Are there differences in communities? To an extent, yes; however that doesn’t mean you can’t relate with one another. Let everyone be individuals. Individualism is a good thing, contrary to the Marxist teaching of critical race theory. That is the American dream M.L.K was wanting, not this junk. You’ll quickly find out there are more similarities with each other than the elite bubble wants to portray. Everybody deals with heartache, hardship, joy, laughter, love, breath the same air, and bleed red. I don’t want anybody fixated on the impact the color of my skin will have. I’m uncomfortable, because it’s frankly creepy and racist. If you never had a genuine belief that you were better simply due to your skin color or ethnicity, you’re not the problem- you aren’t responsible for the previous generations’ sin. All ethnic groups have their dark moments of history- celebrate your heritage. No, people shouldn’t forget the sins of the past, but we need to forgive. To progress healthily, we must not view each other as enemies, look inward, love our neighbor, remembering love keeps no record of wrong. And if reading this bothered you, because I didn’t buy the new notion seeing color is anti-racist, you should look where the sun doesn’t shine. Seeing color is the position the Ku-Klux-Klan held.
Author’s Note: Anything underlined is a link for you to click on if desired. Readers are encouraged to educated themselves and seek other sources for information. Follow Taboo Topic on Instagram @kengine_express to stay in the loop what’s to come!