It Ain't No Secret

I have worn many hats in my life.  Fun fact, my head is so absurdly large that I have sometimes worn several simultaneously.  One that I have not worn, which I shall never wear, is that of an African-American man.  I cannot walk a mile in the shoes of an African-American man.  Hell, I cannot even put a pair of them on my feet just so I can wiggle my toes around in them.  I cannot pretend to know how it feels to be harassed, threatened, or murdered by a police officer because of the color of my skin.  It has never happened to me.  Not once in fifty-three-plus years.  

None of my shortcomings, however, strip me of my ability to feel empathy for my fellow Americans, who are black and not white, and to not just understand but to share the outrage they feel at the systemic racism in these United States.  Justice should not be a matter of black or white.  It should be a matter of wrong or right.  

A world in which a parent is constrained to have a conversation with his or her child, for the child's protection, how to interact with the police, is a world in need of profound change.  Yet, it is the world in which we live:

Protest is, in my opinion, the most American form of expression.  We developed our skills in the fine art of protesting years before TJ put pen to paper in Pennsylvania on the Declaration of Independence.  It is the marriage of word and deed.  It is not the only means for facilitating change but its effectiveness is impressive.  Earlier this week, it even prompted DJT to walk somewhere other than on the finely-manicured grass of one of his golf clubs.    

For me at least, his pose at journey's end evoked a cherished memory from long ago...

...although he certainly is no Lloyd Dobler. 

Protest is not the only marriage of word and deed.  Far from it, in fact.  Systemic racism is a problem in need of a multi-faceted solution.  It must be attacked not simply through protests, but also through voting, through education, and through activism.  Do whatever you feel you do best to effect real change.  Other than throwing up your hands and doing nothing...

...there is no wrong approach.  

Remember, too, the fight against systemic racism is neither easy nor quick.  To borrow a phrase from U.S. Olympian Marielle Hall, "Fighting racial injustice in America is an endurance sport."   Do yourself a service and read Marielle Hall's entire essay, which appears in Runner's World.  She makes the case far more eloquently than I.  

-AK