“In the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I’m reminded of a story from when I was a teenager. I was maybe 16 and this was one of the rare times I had a friend over to visit. The subject of music came up and my Dad overheard the conversation.
My friend — who was white — said something about “black music”.
“There’s no such thing as black music. There’s only music.”
Fewer statements have better encapsulated better how I was raised to think about race. Race didn’t matter to me. It never has.
Soul is the only thing that matters to me.
Two of my oldest friends in the world — two men I have known since first or second grade — are both black. But that’s never mattered to me. Derrick and Deangelo are my brothers and I love them like brothers!
And I don’t want this to read like “But I have black friends.” I get it. I’m a middle-aged white man from the South. I hope y’all understand my sincerity.
I’m not sharing this because I’m some beacon of hope. I’m not. I’m a human being with biases and prejudices just like everybody else.
As I watch what’s going on in Minneapolis, I’m absolutely heartbroken. Seeing the anger, the frustration, and the fear coming out of that beautiful city terrifies me.
I just watched video from CNN this morning where a reporting crew doing their jobs were arrested on live television by cops wearing riot gear. These reporters were armed with only cameras and microphones and words.
Look, I get it. There are racist assholes out there. For every George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery there are thousands and thousand more who don’t get the notoriety. This is because they aren’t recorded and uploaded to social media.
I love my Alma Mater, y’all know this. One semester when I was a student, at least three times a week I would walk by Foster Auditorium. I would walk by the plaque that commemorated George Wallace’s stand in the school house door. I would walk by a plaque commemorating the occasion that the Governor of my home state kept black students from enrolling in college!
Make no mistake, I’m not anti-police. Plenty of men and women punch the clock and put their lives on the line every day with the chance they might not be able to punch out and go home at the end of their shift. It’s a job I would not want for anything. They do so with honor, love, and commitment to protecting and serving.
But those assholes who killed George Floyd — there’s no honor among murderers.
I have two points in this post.
Racial hatred is never born. White kids aren’t born hating black kids. But when you grow up right next to a house that proudly displayed the confederate flag, that speaks volumes.
We all must look inside our hearts and ask the hard questions.
Finally, to my black brothers and sisters, I have two questions.
- How can we as white people better hold space for you?
- How are y’all holding up?
To the rioters in Minnesota, I get it.
To Colin Kaepernick, I understand.
Let’s take care of each other. Now more than ever.
