I have to tell us white people some very difficult truths about America.
First of all, black Africans have been here as long as white Europeans.
This is true. Look it up. And watch the news.
They are as much a part of American history and the American experience and American values as we whites from Europe.
We took them from their homes in Africa, and through cruel mistreatment and removal of their languages and learning, and through enslavement and direct suppression of education and opportunity and worth, we stripped them of their identity as either Africans or as Americans.
This is true. Look it up. And watch the news.
We have made sure they have stayed outside “American” values or being defined as “American” or as being equal to “Americans.”
We have begrudgingly allowed legal niceties such as civil rights to be used to grant them a sliver of their dignity as humans, but as soon as we find a way to remove their rights and their dignities, we do it, willingly, enthusiastically, and we celebrate these removals.
This is true. Look it up. And watch the news.
We have completely and thoroughly integrated the idea of “white” as being only equal to “American” in our schools, our businesses, our government — and even our churches, where white Christians can sit week after week hearing the gospel of Jesus of the poor and the marginalized and not be moved or led to act as Jesus to the poor and marginalized.
This is true. Look it up. And pay attention in your church.
We are not “bad” in doing this. There isn’t some great evil conspiracy of evil demons lurking in the shadows.
We do this because we value this condition. We value being white, being superior, being in charge. It is not “bad.” It’s very common humanity. We’ve just turned it into a moral, objective good, that white Americans are the default, are in charge, set the standards.
This is true. Look it up. And watch the news.
The man who shot nine people dead in Charleston is no different than many white Americans who are upset, incensed, and even angry that their default position in the world is being shown to be temporary, evanescent, and even imaginary.
This is true. Look it up. And watch the news.
It is not black people and brown people, Asian and South Asian, who are usurping “Americans” from their superior position.
It is us, we white people, who have created a dwelling of clouds and a philosophy of fog, who are seeing that all the scaffolding and false fronts are tumbling down.
This is true. Look it up. And watch the news.
Our expectations and our default assumptions have no basis, no foundation, no reality behind them.
It’s going to take painful actions to set things right. We can participate in the actions, learn and grow, or we can wait until what happens to us is a catastrophe.
This is true. Look it up. And watch the news.