I am very saddened today with the news of yet two more men shot by police. I am very saddened today with the news of five police officers gunned down by a sniper. I am saddened that all of the folks I’m talking to think we are slipping backwards, instead of moving forwards. What if the two people that were shot by the police didn’t have dark skin? What if the sniper had light skin? The mass shootings that happen over and over again, happen, for the most part, at the hands of a lighter skinned person. The victims of police shootings, for the most part, have darker skin. There can be no denying that our country is still suffering from the scar of slavery. When President Obama was elected, I unfairly put all my hope on his shoulders. The fact that a man with darker skin was now our President meant that we could finally close the chapter on racism in this country. That was not fair to our President. But I do feel that his election was a move forward. It seems that on a day like today, I am in the minority to think that we are moving forward, not backward.
Why do I think that? Because of my story. My father was a racist. Which meant, I was taught as a young age, that skin tone had something to do with ability in life. My mother was not a racist, and taught me that skin tone had nothing to do with ones capabilities. I have grown up with close friends with many different skin tones. I have grown up to understand that since I had lighter skin, I couldn’t understand what it was like to have darker skin. I couldn’t know what it was like to be looked at as automatically less capable than those around you. And to this day, I will never understand what it is to live a life like that. But, I can tell you that I don’t think there is any different in a persons capabilities based on skin tone. And that is moving forward. I can tell you most people I know share this same belief. And that is moving forward. We are moving forward, so why do we still read everyday about the divide between those with darker skin and those with lighter skin?
We are only 52 years removed from the Civil Right act of 1964. History has proven that first comes the law, then comes the shift in thinking. Our socioeconomic system was setup to favor those with lighter skin…it is changing, but very slowly. There are projections that have lighter skinned people becoming the minority between 2040 and 2060 in the United States. There is no doubt to anyone with a brain that we still have a deep seated anger in this country between those of different skin tones. My belief is that it is more relevant now because those with racist thoughts know deep down inside that love will win, and fear and hatred will die.
I wanted to put these words together because I want people of all skin tones to know…we are all one. We hurt together. We grieve together. We grow together. We love together.
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