HAPPY 250 America!!!!

 

Wow, 250 years! Not many thought we would last this long. America, like her creators, is far from perfect. It's no wonder we are the land of crazy ideas, conspiracy theories and magical thinking. What else could we expect from being settled by religious fanatics like the Shakers, Puritans and the Oneida. We cannot forget George Carlin's contribution to American history that reminded us we were also founded by a bunch of slave owners who wanted freedom. Along with the hard-working settlers who tamed the West were also the snake oil salesman, con-men, robber barons, bank robbers along with a smattering of serial killers. Our history is full of  blemishes, warts and full on horrors  like slavery and genocide. You might be thinking to yourself why should we even celebrate the 4th of July / 250th  year? We celebrate to commemorate the progress and the eternal hope for a better future. Stick with me a minute.

Despite the numerous horrors in our history, there have also been gains, both big and small. Yes, it took a long and grim Civil War to finally bring slavery to an end. Let's add another century on to that for African Americans to get the power of the vote. Here in the middle of the 2020s, things are still not well. Sadly, racism, bigotry and homophobia still flourish. In my opinion these are tools the oligarchy uses to maintain power ( that's a discussion for another time). American Indians remain one of our most marginalized groups to this day. Progress for women's rights has been long and painful and is still incomplete. Misogyny is alive and well even here in the 2020s. All of that said, we have moved the needle in the right direction. I would like to think African Americans and women are better off than they were a generation or two ago. Maybe that's being too broad? The plight of our Native American brothers and sisters still remains grim.  Hopefully, this too will change with more awareness and investment in things like healthcare, education and infrastructure. We have to do better. The good news is we can do better.

Being a person with a physical disability, I'm thankful I live in America at this time. Only a generation or two ago I would have been written off and consigned to some kind of medical institution or other. Thanks to the work of others, I was able to go to school, have a career and even own my own home. I'm thinking of those who struggled for equal rights for those with disabilities. I think it's also worth noting I've had African American bosses and women supervisors. Now, I doubt  Disability Rights was very high on the agenda for our founding fathers. They did create a system that was indeed capable of change. Changes for social justice never come quickly or easily. 

We now find ourselves in an age of 24-hour news cycles, instant answers at our fingertips along with same-day delivery. The idea of being patient for anything has gone out the window! Social Justice work is never fast. It can take generations and you might even argue it never ends. We can always do better. Our current leadership wants to turn back the clock. This is certainly not the first time nor will it be the last. One thing remains certain, they are temporary. There are simply too many of us who will physically bend the arc towards justice. It won't bend itself. That's the struggle for us and why July 4th is still worth celebrating. 

Feelings of Invisibility

This is a post from another blog I have. I think it works here as well. 

-Paul 

Not so long ago I read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Interesting... No, it is not about some superhero. It is about a guy who is invisible to the larger society. He's a ghost of a man. We never learn the main character's  name through the whole book, just a few aliases he uses from time to time. This guy turns this invisibility to his advantage, but not in such a way that makes him happy. I, as a handicapped person, also find myself invisible sometimes.

We have rules and guidelines for how to treat the disabled, and I cannot help but wonder f they do more harm than good. For example, does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) actually make it harder for people with disabilities to get jobs? The ADA was passed in 1990. Unemployment for the disabled is still abysmal by any standard. It is almost double the rate of the non-disabled. I'm asking the question in all honesty. I could see where potential employers would shy away from hiring someone with disabilities BECAUSE of this law. Read it will cost more money. Just being able to get around is another barrier. In my limited experience the USA is the best place I've been as far as accessibility is concerned. But it varies from state to state. Too many places take a minimalist approach. For example, a strip shopping center with a ramp at one end (along with a lone handicapped parking space). This kinda sucks for someone with limited mobility. This represents being further disabled by society. We are talking about a large chunk of the US population, 23% according to this article. That's like one out of every five people! Where are they? I think a part of the problem is the expectations are set so low for too many. I was taught I could do anything I want. I took the lesson seriously, and now I work full time, blog sometimes and write books in my free time. I should be the rule and not the exception. What I mean is every so called disabled person should have every opportunity to live life to it's fullest potential free from physical and social barriers. I'm thankful for those who have struggled for me so I was not institutionalized at a young age. We still have a very long way to go.

I'm hopeful the invisibility spell is slowly fading away. Technology helps. I don't have to look for a job that involves hard physical labor. I can do plenty of stuff via computer (like blogging). But technology alone will not change much. People with disabilities need to self-advocate. Society at large needs to recognize and encourage everyone to live to their full potential. This cannot be done via legislation alone. We collectively need to build more avenues of inclusion, involvement, and equality. I'll do my part through writing and speaking up. What about you?          

A Little American History

Lynchings of Black Women

Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. 

A book report...

"Blood Done Sign My Name... A True Story"

By Dr. Timothy B. Tyson

This book is truly a must read for anyone wanting to understand modern race relations in the south. Dr. Tyson’s book is an autobiographical account of an incident in his home town that took place while he was a boy. Although it takes place in the early 1970’s in Oxford, North Carolina many of the issues raised are still with us today through out the United States. The plot is pretty simple. A black man, Henry Marrow is murdered by a white man named Robert Teel and his two sons. The whites are found innocent by an all white jury. The second part of the story is what happens in the community afterward. The black community exploded in riots but did not attack white directly. Instead, they attacked economically, destroying property and warehouses full of inventory. The events all takes place after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. In the book we hear the story told through many characters, Dr. Tyson, his father Reverend Tyson, community activist Ben Chavis, Mr. Marrow’s friends and family and Mr. Teel also tells his side. The book vividly illustrates racial tensions in the south at the time. We like to think we have progressed and in some ways we have. This is an extremely important book because many of the issues it brings up are still with us today. Let’s consider a few examples. One, there is still a caste system here in the south based on race. The structural violence that lead to the physical violence in Oxford all those years ago is still with us. Last, it can be argued the use of violence by the black community did help bring about positive change.

Oxford, North Carolina in 1970 is no different from many other towns and cities across the United States at the time. Almost all the power lied with the wealthy whites, some to the poorer whites and very little left over for blacks and other minorities. Mr. Teel owned a small convenient store in the “black” neighborhood. This is where the murder took place. Mr. Teel and his sons claimed Mr. Marrow said something disrespectful to one of the son’s wives. They beat and shot Henry Marrow and claimed self defense. Their lawyers managed to convince the white jury that Mr. Marrow posed a threat to Mr. Teel and his family. It was okay to do business with blacks in their own neighborhood but there was no way at the time there would be a black owned business in a white neighborhood. Everything about the existing power structure favored the Teels. The police were white and the legal system was controlled by whites. Many wealthy whites quietly donated money to help the Teels hire extremely good defense attorneys. There was very little mixing of the races. Whites for their part if they thought of blacks at all considered them to be “good niggers” meaning they knew their place with in the community. Blacks who wanted to stand up for themselves were thought of as trouble makers and radicals or worse. It is very interesting to see how this caste system played out in the churches.

Dr. Tyson’s father, Reverend Tyson, believed in equality but he has to be careful how he addresses his own church. Not everyone is ready for a message of equality. He has to walk a tight rope between his principals and some of those he is called upon to lead. Reverend Tyson followed his own beliefs despite the fact of losing some members. He openly supported equality for blacks and even invited black ministers to speak at his church. Some members left for more segregationist churches but many stayed. Reverend Tyson did not surrender his own values to try and please everyone. Black churches helped organize and support peaceful protests in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King. Both groups tried to bridge differences by setting up meetings directly between blacks and whites. Black and white churches are still a fact in American life today.

This notion of being separate on Sunday morning is still with us. Barack Obama belonged to a black church in the Chicago area. Recordings of Jeremiah Wright, a former Pastor, showed him making some inflammatory remarks about race in America. It was a black conjuration he was speaking to. When he said we should be damned, he spoke for many people who have suffered under the second class status blacks have had to live with for generations. What is more interesting, is for all of the talk of progress and equality in America today there are still black and white churches. Instead of condemning Mr. Wright for his remarks we should take a look in the mirror as a nation and address the reasons behind his statements. Outrage comes from somewhere. It would seem sharing a common religion, Christianity, would bring different people together. It has been used as such a vehicle for change in some cases but until root causes of structural violence are addressed little can really change.

Structural Violence in Blood Done Sign My Name leaps off almost every page. Dr. Tyson’s father has power and influence in the white community but not near enough to overturn or reduce Structural Violence. Rather, he is a victim of as well. He faces threats for inviting a black preacher to come speak at his church and speaking at black churches. One of the few ways out of a life of poverty for blacks is military service. Many had been drafted and fought in Vietnam only to wonder why they had to fight for a country that treated them in such a second class manner. They made use of their over seas experience as we will soon see. The housing conditions, education and economic opportunities for blacks were far less than their white neighbors. This extended to the justice system as well. Henry Marrow’s killers were acquitted despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Mayor Currin was white along with all of the political and business elite. Anything left was for blacks; low paying mill jobs, domestic service work and laborers. Some of the black Vietnam Veterans thought the protests and breaking a few shop windows was not enough.

Violence is complicated. Many whites living in and around Oxford saw the black response to the murder of Henry Marrow as a unified response by the entire black community. It was anything but that. People like the Civil Rights activist Ben Chavis wanted non violent solutions. Some of the much younger generation expressed their outrage through rioting and setting fires with no set goal in mind. They saw no solution. Still others thought the only way to bring about any real change was via economic violence. This last category consisted of a group of black Vietnam Veterans who planned and carried out a series of attacks on warehouses and other businesses. Their view was simple. The only way to get any significant change was by attacking the dominant white power structure economically. They called it ringing the cash register. The whites negotiated wit Ben Chavis thinking he had some control or influence over those carrying out the violent acts. When in truth, he did not. According to Dr. Tyson the whites never even considered making changes until the rioting and buildings started going up in flames. Mayor Currin and other political elite's started to listen to blacks for the first time. The things they wanted were pretty straight forward. Obviously, equal protection under the law and the justice system were high on the list. More black employees in city government in positions of authority, not just patrol officers and laborers. At the time there was not one black police officer with higher rank than patrolman and not a single black fire fighter. Things slowly started to change. The city made an effort to be more inclusive. White owned businesses started to hire more black employees and the schools were integrated. It is hard to say all of this came about by acts of economic violence but the writer feels this was the biggest factor. Over time the violence lessoned and the community was able to move forward.

Reference

Blood Done Sign My Name By Timothy B. Tyson.

Three Rivers Press 2004