Today is the 52nd anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

Remember their names. Remember their faces. Remember that HATE killed them. And that same hate flourishes, unchecked today. They are still killing us for the color of our skin.  And now, as then, they are getting away with it.

What are we going to do about it?

Be white.  It’s that simple.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time writing about the policing of black bodies.  It’s ugly, oppressive, devastating and detrimental to healthy communities, not to mention that it denigrates an entire race of people and is reminiscent of America’s history of trying to keep black folks in our place.

But enough about that.  Let’s talk about the policing of white bodies.  From my vantage point, it’s fascinating and devastating at once.

So, in no particular order, here’s a run-down of several real-life examples of how white people encounter the police:

Sarah Culhane committed three hit and runs, had several other traffic violations and assaulted police officers, and she will get a clean record.

Kevin Miner assaults police officers and breaks an officer’s hand.

This chick got in and out of her car dancing and ignoring police officer commands to put her hands up.

Need more?

How about eight more?

Policing white people?  It’s ugly, oppressive, devastating and detrimental to healthy communities, not to mention that it denigrates an entire race of people and is reminiscent of America’s history of trying to keep black folks in our place.

White or black bodies.  Cops in America send a message to black folks.  And it’s loud and clear.

 

 

Shout out to DJ Stone Crazy Spot for the picture.

Add “Standing While Black” to the list of offenses which are apparently criminal acts when committed by black folks.  James Blake found that out recently.

I’ve said it before here, and I’ll say it again:

“If you’re a person of color in America, especially a highly educated and/or acomplished Black person, your exceptionalism does not exempt you from racial profiling, blatant racism and the subtle (and not so subtle) psychological stress of systemic oppression. Your exceptionalism is inconsequential to your one, immediately defining physical characteristic—your blackness.”

That is the classic Exceptional Nigger.  We are frequently reminded that America views us still as Niggers, despite our JDs, Phds, Ed.Ds, MDs, MAs, MBAs, MSs, and the plethora of other elite pedigree calling cards that open doors and provide entree into our respective communities’ inner circles, to mix it up in the “right” social circles and to hold sway with elected officials and to enjoy some modicum of influence with the “powers that be”.

But lest we get too comfortable, and think that the “collective we”, by virtue of our pedigrees and positions, are exempt from the fate of the likes of less influential black folks like John Crawford, Eric Garner, Mike Brown, and Freddie Gray, the “system”, that complex machinery that churns independent of, or in concert with, active racists (depending on the circumstances) comes bearing down on us with its massive oppressive weight, and reminds us that we, especially those of us who society deems “exceptional” are still, nonetheless, just Niggers in the eyes of the state.

So deeply ingrained is our status as NIggers, that a white man accused of the cold-blooded massacre of nine people who welcomed him into their bible study could be arrested peacefully, and the white man who convinced millions of people that Subway could aid us in our weight loss efforts, all the while allegedly molesting children, could merit a knock on his door in order to be arrested, while a Harvard-educated tennis star ranked #4 in the world at one time, could be violently tackled and taken down by not one, not two, but four New York police officers, all for the suspicion of having purchased a cell phone with a stolen credit card, while standing outside his swanky New York hotel.

But, Exceptional Nigger status has its perks over just being a nigger.  You see rarely will the “system” acknowledge that it called us out as a Nigger.  Rarely will it validate our state-induced psychic trauma with as much as a “we’re sorry” or “we messed up”.  Instead, it criminalizes the victims of its oppression.  We’ve seen this.  We know what this looks like.

But, James Blake is an Exceptional Nigger, so the NYPD Commissioner is trying to apologize to Mr. Blake.  He even placed the first officer who charged Blake on a “modified assignment”, removing his badge and gun while Internal Affairs investigates.  Blake’s money, pedigree, and celebrity status are the perfect trifecta for the illusion that justice will be served.

That’s certainly more than Mike Brown or John Crawford got.  Usually, police officers make money off their state-sanctioned abuse of unarmed black folks.  Donations to GoFundMe accounts overflow in support of the police, while those in charge clear officers of any wrongdoing.

But here’s what the “system” grossly misunderstands.  Exceptional Niggers won’t be bought, compromised or placated by illusory efforts at making amends.  We know that for every one of us, there’s dozens of others for whom no justice is forthcoming; not even illusory justice.

Instead, we’ll use our “Exceptional” status to shine a light in dark places and demand changes.  We didn’t acquire “exceptionalism” by being docile.  And we won’t allow it to be used for the manipulative purpose of silencing us.

 

Thanks to IZ Quotes for the graphic.

White people created racial classifications to justify slavery and categorization of black folks as chattel property. Of white people.  

Now you’re mad when we claim that same blackness and receive special attention for it. Yet the only reason we get any special attention is to undo the damage caused by white people in the first place. Affirmative action is what it’s called.  And the fact is, white women have been the biggest benefactors of affirmative action.

But white people never intended for us to benefit from being a nigger. Even an exceptional one. It was only to be used as a stick against us (quite literally and figuratively), and never as a carrot. In their wildest imagination, white people never envisioned our blackness might be used to atone for their sins.

There have been others, but now we have Abigail Fisher, a white woman suing the University of Texas because she was denied admission and is claiming that affirmative action admission policies are unconstitutional.

Let me understand this.

You labeled me “colored” or a negro…which turned to treating me like a nigger. This was done to separate and segregate and marginalize and denigrate me..to make me “less than” and to ensure that I was “kept from” good jobs, good education, good homes, good communities, opportunity for wealth, and essentially anything desirable to white people, including my babies and my man. You never intended for any good to come from it.  And then you have the unmitigated gall to tell me to pull myself up by my bootstraps?

So now you’re mad, huh? Mad that the law actually has the nerve to recognize that we cannot depend upon the goodness of the oppressors to make up for the generational psychological and financial trauma visited upon an entire people for your financial enrichment? So you’re mad that the law recognizes that we must have “affirmative action” to remedy just a portion, a tiny portion, of the harm inflicted upon black people by white people?

So you’re mad that my black son was accepted to college over your white son?

Puh-lease.  Bye Felecia.

 

Thanks to Wikipedia for the image.

In 2012, when Trayvon Martin was murdered, and George Zimmerman was still walking around Florida free as a bird, I wrote an “Open Letter to My Community”. In that letter, I talked about how I felt about Trayvon’s murder, as a Black mother with two Black sons, who were, at that time, 19 and 23. And I had questions for my community about what I should tell my sons about why Trayvon is dead. Here’s an excerpt of that open letter:

I’ve already told them all their lives that they have to be extra careful because, since they are young black men, society will quickly label them “suspicious” and guilty. Of something. Of anything. But, mostly for doing whatever they do…while being Black. Driving while Black. Hanging out with friends while Black. Shopping while Black.
And now, apparently, for walking home from the 7-11 with Skittles and a can of pop. While Black. How do I explain that to them? Do I tell them to keep their head down, eyes averted and move to the other side of the street when approached by a white person, like Black folks used to do in the south back during Jim Crow days? That seems a tad bit archaic and submissive to me, but on the other hand, if they make it home alive, who cares about their dignity, right?
Do I keep them locked up in the house unless their dad or I accompany them outside? Much more practical and easier to do when they were 4 and 7 years old than now. And besides, since I’m married to a Black man, who is equally as much a potential target practice subject as my sons, that doesn’t seem so safe anyway.
Do I ban them from wearing hoodies, jeans and white tennis shoes and make them cut off their beloved dreads so as not to scare good, “just-looking-out-for-my-neighborhood” folks? Would making them walk around in a suit, tie and bald make them safer and less threatening? Since I’m raising Black sons, perhaps I don’t get to instill in them a sense of pride in self-expression. Perhaps the most I can dream to teach them is a sense of self-preservation.

But that was then. I’m over all those questions now. Too much has happened. It all started with the meteoric rise of the Tea Party (whose resurgence—yes I said resurgence—more on that in a minute—coincided with Barack Obama’s change of address to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave). Then, Trayvon’s murder. Then, in rapid succession in a matter of a few short months, there was Paula Deen, the Supreme Court’s invalidation of key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1963 – the provisions intended to keep in check those states who were historically known to interfere with Black folks voting, the infamous “not-guilty” verdict which set George Zimmerman free, Jordan Davis’ murder, Mike Brown, John Crawford, Eric Garner, Jonathan Ferrell, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland and oh, so many more.  One every 28 hours the statistics show us.

Allow me to digress for a moment.

Let’s talk about Paula Deen. If only I had a dollar for every person who responded to one of my many Face Book posts about Paula Deen with “she apologized for using the “N” word so let’s forgive and move on. After all, be honest. Who hasn’t used a racial slur in the comfort of their close circle of family and friends?” My response to that? FORGET THE “N” WORD. At the end of the day, I don’t REALLY care. I’ve been called worse by better people. And I’m regularly treated like an Exceptional Nigger by a systemically racist America.  But while everybody was distracted by the “N” word, I was grieved by her revelation that she wanted to dress black men up like slaves to entertain at an event. Since I am married to a Black man, and I have two Black sons, it is not a visual leap of imagination for me to substitute them into her little “plantation-themed” event.

So let me get this straight.

You (Paula) think it would be a good idea to take the most painful period (on a continuum of painful experiences) in Black history, and re-create it for entertainment? I think that’s essentially what she wanted to do. Let’s think about that for a second. Think. Deeply. Have you thought about it?

Well, I thought about it and here’s what I came up with. I have NEVER made a joke about the Holocaust. NEVER. In my entire life. Nor would I find funny a joke or remark that made light of the most painful period in Jewish people’s history. And if you ever have, shame on you. But, Paula Deen’s “vision”–in my mind– is tantamount to wanting to dress up Jewish people and have them “pretend” like they are dying in big ovens.

Not so funny or easily dismissed now, huh?

There would be national outrage (not just a national discussion about whether Paula should get to keep her cooking show and endorsements) if she had dared to tread there, and rightfully so. But, I digress. Back to my letter.

Like I was saying, too much has happened for me to still be asking those old questions. I have a whole new list of questions…for white people who care (because if you don’t care, I’m not talking to you anyway).

First, what are YOU telling YOUR kids about why Trayvon Martin is dead and George Zimmerman walked free? About why MIke Brown, John Crawford, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray and Sandra Bland are dead?  Are you teaching them that blacks and Latinos in this country do not have equality of opportunity? And that the lack of opportunity has devastating consequences for our communities? Are you teaching them that racism is real? That “white privilege” is real and that while they hear some folks talking about “merit” and “bootstraps”, they will receive some unmerited favor and be handed greased “bootstraps” in this country simply by virtue of being white, before they ever even have to prove themselves”? Have you told them that my black sons are 5 times more likely to be pulled over by the police…and end up charged with a felony than them and their friends?  And 20 times more likely to be shot by a cop?

Have you considered teaching them that there is simply no way a race of people can endure almost 300 years of chattel slavery, and then another 150 years of “black codes”, convict leasing, Jim Crow, and now Jim Crow, Jr. and the Tea Party…and come out of it unscathed…for generations to come? Ahhh, the Tea Party. Let’s park here for a moment.

In my humble opinion, the Tea Party is nothing more than the 21st century version of the Ku Klux Klan. They lost mainstream support for their white hoods and robes and went underground for a while. But, the election of a black man to the White House proved too much to take. So, they re-invented themselves, and made a come-back, climbing out of the dirt they had retreated to previously; only they couldn’t really come back in white hoods and robes and with the same name. Because, well, we’ve progressed from the place where that would be acceptable, even for conservatives.

So, in a classic marketing move, they re-branded themselves, changed their strategy (from marches and burning crosses to running for office—from the local library boards, city councils and school districts, all the way to the U.S. Congress and now, for President of the United States of America). Infiltrate and decimate. That’s their strategy. They went underground once and look what happened. Barack Obama. They aren’t taking any more chances. The gloves are off, and they’re taking no prisoners. So, the KKK: Remixed is alive and well, and coming to a local election near you.

Which takes me back to my list of questions. What are YOU doing to challenge your own notions and assumptions about these issues? Are you engaged? Are you in the ring, so to speak? Because here’s the thing. Remember, I’m only talking to white people who care. And if you care, then you can’t be a spectator. You have to get in the ring with me, where it’s dirty, messy and risky. Because in this conversation, there’s really no room for spectators. And there is no way to get in the ring and come out without some battle scars. You WILL have your feelings hurt. You WILL be exasperated, frustrated and exhausted. You WILL be challenged. You WILL feel like retreating.

But, you either join the conversation and the struggle to fight through these tough issues and figure out how to move forward from this ugly place where we find ourselves in 2015, or…please, step away, and make room for someone else. No hard feelings. Let’s not part mad. Let’s just part ways. Because for most people who look like me, there is a sense of urgency around this issue. Our neighborhoods are being destroyed. Our kids are dying. They live in despair and without hope. They are being under-represented in college and vocational training and over-represented in the prison industry (and it IS an industry). Our collective self-esteem and ability to reach self-actualization are being threatened and annihilated. Which all means that our communities are in peril. OUR communities. Yours and mine. Where we both live.

So, here’s my commitment to you. Because “the ring” is a two-way street. I will answer the tough, painful, and sometimes embarrassing questions you have about black folks and our current condition, without judgment. I will assume that your inquiries are sincere, heart-felt, and that you are trying to understand and get some frame of reference for puzzling phenomena. Like, why do we appear madder about the lack of justice for Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown than we do about rampant black-on-black crime?

The very simple answer is that we care equally about both. It’s just that the two issues are branches of the same tree. And we can’t meaningfully talk about the state of black America without talking about the legacy of white America, because we are inextricably intertwined. The point is…I know that you are wrestling to understand, and I commit to giving as much, if not more, than I am asking for.

But, join the conversation on these tough issues or get out of the way. Because, if you are a white person who cares…spectator-status is not an option.

My life and the lives of those who look like me are literally at stake.

 

Thanks to the Museum of Jewish Heritage for the graphic.

I am unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian. I love my black skin and I love Jesus Christ. Together with being a woman, those two identities are the absolute core of who I am and inform my thoughts and perspectives.

But being a black, female Christian is a hard space to live in today.  I am constantly examining and re-examining the intersection of these parts of me.

Because I’m black, I understand all too well the sting and devastation of oppression. Because I’m black, I understand how systemic racism plays out every day in the lives of black folks in a million subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Because I’m black, I understand the ugliness of white supremacy, the arrogance of unchecked, unacknowledged white privilege and the anger and exhaustion of constantly having to fight for your humanity.

Because I’m black, I understand how insulting “All Lives Matter” is as a response to our fight to demand that “Black Lives Matter”.

Because I’m black, I know what it feels like to be marginalized and oppressed.

And…

Because I’m Christian, I know that Jesus loves me and that he died for my sins and that I have eternal life because I’ve accepted God’s gift of salvation.

Because I’m Christian, I know that God has certain expectations of me and that I need to avoid sin.

I know what the Old Testament says about women on their periods, disobedient children, and eating certain foods (like fat). [Side note: If eating fat is a sin, for which I cannot repent, I am going straight to Hell.]

Because I’m a Christian, I know God’s law on these and many other matters, including premarital sex, tithing and drunkenness.

And because I’m Christian, I know what the Old Testament says about homosexuality.

And, importantly, because I’m a Christian, I know how self-righteous and hypocritical Christians can be.

And because of this hypocrisy, some Christians like to “weigh” sins (in spite of the fact that sin is sin) and seem to forget that we ALL sin and fall short of even coming close to being worthy of God’s grace and mercy (yes, me and you too).

I know that Christians like to “cherry pick” sins, pointing out the sin of someone else, while, with herculean efforts, ignoring the log in their own eye.

I know them when I see them. Truth be told, I’ve even been them sometimes. But since I’m a Christian, I know that God does not want HIs people to “hate on” one another and that the bible instructs us to love one another.  In fact, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, and the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourself.  Everything hangs on those two commandments.  I see no exceptions.

Christians are also expected to “tell the truth in love”. So here is my “truth”, spoken in love:

Honestly, I think homosexuality is a sin.  But it is no more of a sin than all of you (and me at one point in my life) are committing, who are having sex with someone you are not married to.

It is no more of a sin than the deacon in the church who is flirting with Sister “So and So” and eating up those pound cakes she’s making him, all the while married to Mother Louise.

It is no more of a sin than the sin being committed by all you adultererous, lying, drunken, tax cheating, cursing, swine eating, lusting, degenerates.

We are all saved by grace. God’s grace. Not man’s grace. And we’re all promised salvation if we “confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts” that Jesus is Lord. Nowhere in God’s word is my salvation dependent upon perfection as judged by my fellow sinners. And nowhere in God’s word are homosexuals excluded from salvation.

Yes, I’m aware of 1 Corinthians 6:9.  So, if you want to go there, let’s go there.  It condemns the sexually immoral, idolaters and adulterers, in addition to homosexuals.  So if gays have no path to Heaven, guess what?  Neither do most of us nor most of the people we know.  Sleeping with your boyfriend/girlfriend? You’re out.  Are you having sex with multiple partners?  You’re out. Cheating on your spouse?  You’re definitely out.  Idolizing money?  Go to the back of the line.  A glutton?  I’m out too.

We all can stop praying, stop tithing, stop taking Communion. We’re not going to Heaven UNLESS we stop doing those things.  Because there are apparently no saved, active sinners.  But if there are no saved, active sinners, then why does the bible tell us to repent of our sins?  If we’re not saved, then repenting of sins isn’t going to help us, and if we are saved, and therefore not actively sinning, then what is there to repent from?

But gays haven’t repented of their sin!  And you haven’t stopped looking at pornography.

Taking that literal stance is to ignore God’s provision for our secure eternity.  Romans 10:9 assures us of salvation.  And there are no exclusions from that assurance for sexually immoral people, liars, cheaters, drunks, robbers, or even people, who like me, love pork.  If we confess and believe, we will be saved.  I’m convicted that applies to EVERYBODY.

That sounds declaratory, not conditional, to me.

It would be a cruel God that would make our salvation dependent on ensuring that we don’t sin. At least not THAT sin.  But THIS sin is ok.  Well, not ok, but not like HER sin.  As long as I don’t do it too much.  But how much is too much?  At what point would my salvation be in jeopardy?

And who is the arbiter of the stability of my salvation?  My pastor?  My neighbor? The Christian Right?

To be sure, we are called to follow God’s word, including repenting of our sin. But we are also admonished that we “judge not lest you be judged”.

That doesn’t mean that we don’t “speak the truth in love” to our friends and family about their sins (and be open to receiving the same about ours), but I’m pretty clear that it does not mean that we speak hatefully toward homosexuals, that we wish harm on them, that we disassociate ourselves from them and ostracize them, or that we try to interfere with their right to live peacefully in our (collectively, including them) communities.

This behavior feels like the experience of black people in America to me.

And that ain’t Jesus.  I’m sure of that.

And I’m especially sure that it doesn’t mean that we break the law while invoking God’s name, in direct contravention of His directive that we obey the laws. That’s a direct shot at the Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk who is refusing to issue any marriage licenses so that she doesn’t issue any licenses to gays.

I see you Kim Davis, standing on righteousness, all while you’re on your 4th husband and “they” say one of your baby daddies fathered your child while you were married to another man.  In other words, the rumor is that you had an affair, and the man that you had sex with outside of your marriage is the father of one of your children.

That sounds pretty sexually immoral to me.

I’m not pointing that out to judge you Ms. Davis. I’m pointing it out to show you that when we start deeming some people’s sins as “unpardonable”, we are treading on very thin ice, as our own sins are likely to come crashing down on us ahead of the ones we sit in judgment of.  When we start judging people to the point of refusing to do the job we are paid (and in your case, elected), to do, because they don’t sin like we sin, we are on a slippery slope of pride, which, as Christians should know, goes before the fall.

I’m unashamedly black. Therefore, I am very uncomfortable with the oppression of a group of people.  And I’m Christian. Therefore, I am very uncomfortable with singling out an entire group of people for discrimination, determining their sins, and then judging them because they sin (perhaps) differently than I do.

I’m going to try to do what God has called me to do. Spread the gospel, live a Christ-honoring life, forgive others their trespasses against me and love my neighbors, including my gay neighbors, and I’m going to fight against oppression and marginalization by arrogant, hypocritical people.

I don’t pretend to have it all worked out.  I’m “working out my salvation” (that blessed assurance) as I go, and trying to hear from God for direction.

In the meantime, I’m trying to love people.  That includes gays.  And it includes others like me, whose righteousness is like filthy rags before God.

But this is my truth.  I’ll be judged for it.  And I’m ok with that.  As long as God does the judging.  All you perfect Christian folks please leave me (and my gay friends and family) alone.

 

Thanks to this YouTube channel for the picture.

Who are the biggest threats to Americans?  According to a recent study, white Americans are.  Let me say that again.

White Americans are the biggest terror threat in America.

So…why are the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security investigating the Black Lives Matter leaders and participants?  Why has the federal government treated the movement like a terrorist group?

[Exclusive: Feds Regularly Monitored Black Lives Matter Since Ferguson]

[5 Examples of Our Government Treating BlackLivesMatter Movement Like a Terrorist Group]

Instead of policing the real threats (white, right-wing extremists), our government, on a local and national level, is trying to intimidate and decimate the struggle against police brutality in black communities and our fight for equity.

Think COINTELPRO deja vu.

Think white privilege.

When DeRay McKesson and Johnetta Elzie are investigated, but Dylan Roof went undetected, America’s War on Black People has never been more obvious.