Sunday, May 31, 2020

In The Context Of The Courage In Which We All Forever Live



Strange Fruit

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” 
(Nelson Mandela)

“Like so many of you, I’m pained by these recent tragedies. And I’m exhausted by a heartbreak that never seems to stop. Right now it’s George, Breonna, and Ahmaud. Before that it was Eric, Sandra, and Michael. It just goes on, and on, and on. Race and racism is a reality that so many of us grow up learning to just deal with. But if we ever hope to move past it, it can’t just be on people of color to deal with it. It’s up to all of us—Black, white, everyone—no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out. It starts with self-examination and listening to those whose lives are different from our own. It ends with justice, compassion, and empathy that manifests in our lives and on our streets. I pray we all have the strength for that journey, just as I pray for the souls and the families of those who were taken from us.” 
(Michelle Obama)

2 comments:

ellen abbott said...

I do not understand why some white people have such a deep seated fear of the black man. it has to be rooted in fear, this racism. it must be genetic, embedded in the dna of the descendents of the slave holders. maybe.

Tara said...

To Ellen's comment, I don't believe it's genetic. It's rooted in the families and communities we grow up in. White America doesn't (by and large) live with Black America. We don't see their daily reality. We humans fear what we do not know, and we do not know our black brothers and sisters.

I posted on Saturday about instances of racism I've seen first hand because I do know some black people. They live with this every damn day. Michelle's quote put it perfectly.