Like many people, I've had a number of conversations with friends and colleagues about the horrific murders in Charleston last week. We've talked of the shock and the senselessness of it, and how, in the end, nothing of any substance will be done in reaction to it. In a conversation with a friend yesterday, we shared our disappointment in the reaction of much of the greater church - prayers are ascending for sure, but we both asked the question: What is the greater church going to change about itself in response to this loss of life?
I asked myself the same question last week. We happened to be on vacation when I read about the shootings. I felt a particular closeness to this event, as my father is a retired A.M.E pastor that still leads Bible study on a weekly basis. In the living room of his house...disturbing images came to my mind. I grew up in an A.M.E. church and imagined what it would have been like and how it would have changed all of our lives if a stranger had come in and shot up the place. I imagined what it would have been like sitting in those chairs at Bible study, after welcoming the young stranger into our midst, to see him pull out a gun and point it in my direction. I imagined the disbelief and the shock, and I truly can only imagine the devastation of the community that is left behind as they grieve this event that has forever changed their lives.
This evening I watched "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" with Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and Sydney Poitier. If you haven't watched it, you should. It's good stuff. Dr. John Prentice, played by Poitier (black guy, if you didn't know) fell in love with and is planning to marry a young woman named Joey Drayton (white girl). The movie tells the story of how they spring the news on their parents just a short time before they are all to meet for the first time at dinner at the Drayton home. This may not seem like a big deal to most of you but considering this was premiered in 1967, you can bet your boots it was controversial.
I was struck by the scene with Tillie, the maid (who you may recognize as Louise Jefferson from The Jeffersons - black woman), and John Prentice. She had previously shown her displeasure to her employers in waiting on the young, black doctor and gives him a hard time - a very hard time - using very harsh words with respect to the young lady she worked hard to help raise. The gist of her argument - he'd better not do anything to mess with that. And if a black man wanted to marry a white woman in 1967, something good was being messed with.
The scene reminded me of a similar situation in the movie "Django Unchained", which is set in the Old West and Antebellum South. Django, played by Jamie Foxx (black guy) is trying to rescue his wife from the clutches of a horrible plantation owner, played by Leonardo DiCaprio (white guy). I found the movie brutal and extremely offensive. The scene that gave me pause, however, was when the "butler" of the plantation, played by Samuel L. Jackson (black guy), refuses to wait on Django, who is a guest in disguise at the plantation. Jackson's character calls Django out for being uppity and stepping out of his place. He refuses to wait on someone who is no better than himself, no matter how fancy his dress. In both movies, I found myself asking the same question:
Why do we treat each other this way?
Are we jealous of those who look like us who seem to have made out better in life? Do we resent the uneducated black person because they may reflect poorly on us to others? Do we frown upon the light-skinned person - the "high yellow heifer", as I was called as a child - because they fraternize so easily with whites? Do we dismiss the dark-skinned person as a non-person because they will never "blend in" with the rest of society? The answer is yes to all of these things, and to many more
What does this have to do with Charleston? For me, everything. I think we are often hardest on those closest to us, and this is true for myself. I have been hard on and judgmental of black culture for many reasons, and some of these reasons have a lot of validity.
This has to change.
I have said, as many others have, that if you put yourself in bad situations - like committing crimes and running from the police - you run a greater risk of losing everything, including your life. I was appalled by the horrible police shootings of the past year (there are so many to pick from) when unarmed black men (mostly) were shot by negligent police officers. But there was always a small part of me that said, "But I'm not surprised."
This has to change.
Like many others, my shock and horror at these events faded after a few weeks, and I went on with my life. Until I saw the video of those kids at that pool party in Texas. Until I read about those people losing their life because they decided to go to Bible study last week.
I have to change. I don't know what that change will look like. But I do know that I am a part of the problem with humanity I complain about. And that has to change.
I asked myself the same question last week. We happened to be on vacation when I read about the shootings. I felt a particular closeness to this event, as my father is a retired A.M.E pastor that still leads Bible study on a weekly basis. In the living room of his house...disturbing images came to my mind. I grew up in an A.M.E. church and imagined what it would have been like and how it would have changed all of our lives if a stranger had come in and shot up the place. I imagined what it would have been like sitting in those chairs at Bible study, after welcoming the young stranger into our midst, to see him pull out a gun and point it in my direction. I imagined the disbelief and the shock, and I truly can only imagine the devastation of the community that is left behind as they grieve this event that has forever changed their lives.
This evening I watched "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" with Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and Sydney Poitier. If you haven't watched it, you should. It's good stuff. Dr. John Prentice, played by Poitier (black guy, if you didn't know) fell in love with and is planning to marry a young woman named Joey Drayton (white girl). The movie tells the story of how they spring the news on their parents just a short time before they are all to meet for the first time at dinner at the Drayton home. This may not seem like a big deal to most of you but considering this was premiered in 1967, you can bet your boots it was controversial.
I was struck by the scene with Tillie, the maid (who you may recognize as Louise Jefferson from The Jeffersons - black woman), and John Prentice. She had previously shown her displeasure to her employers in waiting on the young, black doctor and gives him a hard time - a very hard time - using very harsh words with respect to the young lady she worked hard to help raise. The gist of her argument - he'd better not do anything to mess with that. And if a black man wanted to marry a white woman in 1967, something good was being messed with.
The scene reminded me of a similar situation in the movie "Django Unchained", which is set in the Old West and Antebellum South. Django, played by Jamie Foxx (black guy) is trying to rescue his wife from the clutches of a horrible plantation owner, played by Leonardo DiCaprio (white guy). I found the movie brutal and extremely offensive. The scene that gave me pause, however, was when the "butler" of the plantation, played by Samuel L. Jackson (black guy), refuses to wait on Django, who is a guest in disguise at the plantation. Jackson's character calls Django out for being uppity and stepping out of his place. He refuses to wait on someone who is no better than himself, no matter how fancy his dress. In both movies, I found myself asking the same question:
Why do we treat each other this way?
Are we jealous of those who look like us who seem to have made out better in life? Do we resent the uneducated black person because they may reflect poorly on us to others? Do we frown upon the light-skinned person - the "high yellow heifer", as I was called as a child - because they fraternize so easily with whites? Do we dismiss the dark-skinned person as a non-person because they will never "blend in" with the rest of society? The answer is yes to all of these things, and to many more
What does this have to do with Charleston? For me, everything. I think we are often hardest on those closest to us, and this is true for myself. I have been hard on and judgmental of black culture for many reasons, and some of these reasons have a lot of validity.
This has to change.
I have said, as many others have, that if you put yourself in bad situations - like committing crimes and running from the police - you run a greater risk of losing everything, including your life. I was appalled by the horrible police shootings of the past year (there are so many to pick from) when unarmed black men (mostly) were shot by negligent police officers. But there was always a small part of me that said, "But I'm not surprised."
This has to change.
Like many others, my shock and horror at these events faded after a few weeks, and I went on with my life. Until I saw the video of those kids at that pool party in Texas. Until I read about those people losing their life because they decided to go to Bible study last week.
I have to change. I don't know what that change will look like. But I do know that I am a part of the problem with humanity I complain about. And that has to change.
