where do you stand?

At 1:27 this morning, I actually had a moment of hesitation about writing this blog post….I was fearful of how some of my White friends may be taken aback by what I need to write. Fortunately, this only made my desire to write this post that much stronger.

I am an educated, intelligent Black man. Yes, I’ve grown up and lived in a White world, and now I’m seeing the impact of growing up in such an environment playing out with the decisions being made by our current political regime.

Please hear me clearly – I DON’T care how people voted – many Americans fought and died to allow us the freedoms that we have. What concerns me is where people stand on a very important issue……how do you feel about racism?

This is a question where politics shouldn’t matter….hell, it’s practically a yes or no question. Are you against racism? Yes or no?

We’re seeing events take place that were never discussed in any type of forum. Taking slavery out of the history books….elimination of DEI…..the practical dismantling of the African-American Museum in DC. How ironic that the museum that a president of a certain political party fought to have created, a president in the same party wants to shut it down…..why? What’s the end game here?

As the Kennedy Center just CANCELLED all celebrations and events for Pride Month, we’re seeing first hand how diversity hasn’t just become an endangered species, it’s practically extinct.

I’ve had people very close to me mock the word “woke”, because to them it implies weakness. Hear me clearly – I’d rather be woke, than be a stupid, ignorant, clueless motherfucker. Put THAT on a t-shirt!

It breaks my heart that many of my friends are afraid to speak up. They’ve settled into their roles in life, and act as if they’re not impacted by what’s happening to the people around them. Yes, we still have pleasant conversations, but this topic gets avoided like the plague. I realize that some of them have to be careful what they say around legislation (ironically the people who can help facilitate positive change), but whatever. You do you, but please be aware of what’s happening around you.

Where do we go from here? Families are splitting apart because of these types of issues. Long-term friendships are ending. Is this happening because of silence, because of discussion, or a little bit of both? When you break it down to its most basic form, it’s this simple – treat people the way you want to be treated. Respect and value people’s differences. If you see something, say something. So easy, yet we continue to make things so fucking difficult.

I hope that the day comes when it’s safe to embrace what makes us unique again. And I sincerely hope that I can talk to my friends about this issue, instead of continuing to sweep it under the rug.

It’s 6:55 am – time to STAND up, be WOKE, and start the day.