Life Is Not Black and White

Right now there is a huge controversy happening. I am not going to speak directly on the current state of our country regarding the incident of tragic violence that occurred. I am not going to examine or analyze the facts to determine if what is happening is right or wrong. I do however, want to bring my own perspective to the issue at hand. Right now the world is more divided than it has been in a long time. Everyone is feeling the pressure to chose a side. Either you are with black people or you are with white people. Either you are defending black people or you are part of the problem. I would argue that this kind of thinking is how we got here in the first place. The truth is nothing in life is that simple. There is a complex culture that exists and subcultures that exist due to racial segregation. I speak from experience when I say racism is as alive in the black community as it is in the white community. I am a mixed race person with a black/native father and a white mother. I witnessed first hand my family being torn apart due to the color of my parent's skin. I experienced being cast aside as a family member because of being part white or part black. I have been rejected by the black community for being too white. I have been rejected by the white community for being too black. I have had to go through periods of life where I passed for white in order to avoid racism and I have experienced times when I did not pass and was directly discriminated against due to my being part black in the south. The issue is not black and white. The issues exist on a spectrum of anger, hatred and pain. Black people are not the only ones suffering in our current system. This revolution is not about black and white. We need to keep in mind all the minority groups who have helped to pave the way for this current climactic scene. Women, Indigenous People, LGBTQ to name just a few that have helped us get to this moment today. This revolution is not about being black. It is about being human. There are certinly issues that pertain to the black community that need to be addressed. Are we ready? Anytime you destroy something it should be with an effective plan to heal. The cycle of life demands that when we put something to death we must labor to birth new life to fill that void. If we truly want this revolution to succeed we need to start focusing now on how we are going to heal our communities. Focused attention needs to be brought to how we are going to have meaningful, productive, reason focused discussions on how we can truly level the playing field. Damage has been done for generatons as we have witnessed the demise of our people over and over again. This is not something you repair by handing out privilage. Apologies and nice words will not cut it. Holding a sign and chanting will not fix our broken homes, failing school systems and tired spirits. There is also another issue that no one really wants to address. The black community needs to be honest among itself about the many ways we have become unhealthy towards one another and our fellow man in the midst of our suffering. There are generations of rage and pain coursing through our veins. What are we going to do with that. How are we going to lift one another up out of the pit we have been thrown in. We can rise victoriously our of it but it is going to take work from us and the support of our allies. Picking eachother apart like angry vultures will not fix this. Pointing the finger at entire people groups will not fix this. It is time for all minorities to come together with our allies and stand together to create lasting change. After all life is not black and white. There are so many beautiful shades of every kind of color in between. As a mixed race person I had to learn about all the colors that exist in the world so I could find my place. There was no solace in black or white. I have blended in with multiple ethnicities and people groups soaking up the culture and knowledge. If you can take off the blinders and remove the segregating construct that was programmed into your mind you can enjoy all the beautiful colors too. This goes beyond skin tone, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, economic class and education. This is about getting in touch with humanity at its base. At the end of the day we are all one. We are all human.