My parents worked hard to make sure we were not prejudice. Dad had worked on research for a case against the Klan when he clerked in the federal system and they never forgot.
He was the lawyer in town that people of color contacted when they wanted legal representation, often going to their homes so they weren't seen going into a lawyers office.
Our small above ground pool was opened when the city pool refused to allow kids to swim while visiting our community.
When BO was elected we were discussing him being “the first black president” and dad said he would also be the last. Not because of the American people, but because of Obama’s basic foundation. His presidency will humiliate so many when he is exposed that any progress our families have made toward equality and acceptance will be destroyed.
Few months back, BO had done something yet again, could hear dad yelling from the other side of the house. Went to see if he was alright...out of his mouth...through his tears came in a stuttering voice: “THAT D...Ni....!” Never heard it before, never thought I'd hear it from my father's mouth.
I grieve for my father, I grieve for families who have striven to improve race relationship. I grieve for America.
Good to see you HM:)
The loss for your family and for so many others of all colors is poignant- the undoing of decades of evil bigotry and hatred was slow but steady. It would appear there were always some on both sides that never really wanted the fear and hate to dissipate. The kkk types and the black panther types have been hovering in the background, ready to pounce.
If I may, I wish to concur in the angst you have expressed. My father was also one who worked hard to help the black community. He was a teacher and principal in a Chicago high school on the south side, rough area. (BTW, despite his claims to the contrary, Obama absolutely does not “feel” like a south-sider to me, but I digress). Dad had worked on a two-tier advanced studies program that allowed strong students to excel. These students were creating a steady stream of successful undergraduate and graduate students for nearby colleges and universities. The dream was coming true for these people, escape from the ghetto, escape from poverty, escape from the spiral-down culture of the hood.
Do you know who stopped it all? The parents of the kids who didn’t make it into the advanced study classes. Their kids were not becoming doctors and lawyers like the smart kids, so it just wasn’t fair. Enter Jesse Jackson. Yes, my dad had a personal run-in with Jesse himself. In a face to face meeting with him, my dad was told he was the wrong color to be principal of a black school. With the support of the elder Mayor Daley, Jesse had my dad removed from his principalship and sent downtown to do some crappy budget work for the rest of his career. Dad was a good-tempered man, but after that a broken man, too, with ulcers and no clear vision of why he spent his life on such a good mission, only to be deep-sixed by, well, what do you call people who do such things?
My dad also predicted a race war, based on his in-person observations. Contrary to popular belief, the resentment is not universal, but where it exists it is a deep and focused rage, a spirit of revenge. He spoke of one encounter where a woman told him “you had us in slavery for hundreds of years and we’re going to have you in slavery for hundreds of years.” This is the rage that JJ and the other race-baiters know is there, that provides them with their base of power, prestige and wealth. *They* are the new plantation owners, along with their white enablers. Would to God that God would send these people a new Moses to set them free from the spiritual darkness that holds them. It is the only way out. A true race war, once it starts in earnest, will never end.