Chaos or Community…Where do we go from here?

My friend, Dr. Vincent Gaddis, a university professor , wrote this about the prophetic question Dr. King asked over 50 years ago in his book.  Indeed, where do we go?

As Dr. Gaddis stated, the chaos is not in the protests; the chaos is in the system that creates the conditions for the chaos.

The chaos is in the fact that since this article was written in January, 2015, countless more black folks have been killed by the police or have died mysteriously in police custody.

The chaos is in the fact that police officers continue to kill us with impunity.

The chaos is in the fact that black folks continue to get put on trial for their own murder.

The chaos is in the fact that we are a year out from the deaths of Eric Garner, John Crawford, and Michael Brown and not one of their executioners had to be accountable for their murders.

The chaos is in the fact that Sam DuBose was unarmed and non-confrontational, which is what “they” tell “us” we’re supposed to be, and still, a cop blew his face off.

Black folks have been forced to live in chaos since we first touch a toe on American soil in 1619 as slaves.  And the chaos hasn’t receded.  It has simply changed shape.

I agree with Dr. Gaddis that we will not have community until my humanity, and the humanity of people who look like me, is recognized and valued.   There will be chaos until black folks are free.

But I can’t shake Dr. King’s thoughts on where the biggest threat to our freedom from chaos lies.  I blogged about it here.