Many people in America are still tied by bondage of the past and unable to denounce the evils of society, lest they join their counterparts who were victimized before them while trying to arrive at the perfect union.
If you can recall the brilliant independent thinker, Cynthia Mackiney of Atlanta who one time challenged President Bush, you will conclude that leaders don’t like to be confronted with challenges that affect society at large.
The tough speaking lady however went ahead and did it but the price however was too much for she heavily lost in term two elections, and thereafter completely forgotten.
She was only honored by sharing a street ironically named as Memorial Drive.
She had then joined the many before her going down the same memory lane that were ditched because of their beliefs, and completely forgotten with time.
In whose memory and yet those living cannot be honored by treating them fairly and as equals.
Forming gangs selling drugs and the craze of every black kid wanting to join NBA, becoming a rapper, movie star and other fields that many black people have excelled in, will not solve a thing for the same will only create further, a blink blind future for the coming generations:
If they do not wake up and work together for a meaningful change, the black man in America and even the naturalized immigrants, are lost in time and their plight forgotten by the very constitution they pledged their allegiance to.
Obama was no Jesus or a miracle worker for he came and sadly left office without accomplishing or even attempting to solve the issue of racial equality.
Tracing one’s root like many have strenuously tried without much success, will not define ones identity to be accepted in society.
Majority will still continue to be tainted with a tragic past, a past of idiosyncrasy, hypocrisy, cynicism, hate, hopelessness and derision.
A past that will affect many generations to come until the whole generation cease to exist and there is a rebirth of a new era where ones color, creed, religion or heredity will not be an issue when it comes to settling in America.
Here we are not stereotyping but rather trying to hint out the present and past American image, and further elaborate on the deep complexities of race, culture, and disparities in both social and possibly try to work out a solution for eradicating racism.
A solution hard to come up with, for the past is not forgotten and the legacy of defeat to bring about meaningful change to end racism, evident and still passed on from generation to generation.
The legacy to bring about momentous change also completely forgotten and the few like Obama that tried to revive the buried fact, never even climbed a step towards the high racial mountain.
A change so hard to achieve for all have self segregated themselves right from Churches, nightclubs, restaurant grocery stores to the very bus they could not ride in the front seats but now can sit anywhere they want for there are no white people to ride on the same bus anymore.
The few whites that are forced by circumstances, being poor and neglected by their own race, somehow appear lost in case they appear at those self racial segregated places mentioned above.
In short, the struggle for economic equality, and social equality was buried alongside Martin Luther King Junior and his correlate Malcolm X who was trying to achieve the same though using different methods.
The ideals of the two further sidelined and the legacy of total defeat passed on to future generations.
The blacks thereafter hoodwinked by the Government with words like “freedom” and by naming many streets after the fallen heroes and ignored and completely forgot what they were fighting for.
Living next to a street named Martin Luther King will not improve one’s status or social and economic balance.
A black kid playing soccer with a white kid will fully not justify equal social status since they do not live in the same neighborhood and if at all they do, the white mother will always be cautioning the white boy to be extra careful while mixing with black kids.
The black man’s car will continue to blink hazard lights or running a flat tire next to a Martin Luther King Street for lack of gas or unable to afford new tires.
A black beggar will continue day in day out year after year to beg at the same street not even aware that he is standing at a street corner named after a Black man.
A famous black man whose dream of achieving equality was never fully realized since the gap between the rich and the poor is outrageous and segregation evident and not likely to end just like proving science wrong by imagining that coal can dissolve in water.
The poor man that has just being laid off, ending in welfare and section 8 homes instead of assisting him to buy land somewhere in the countryside to start rearing cows and chickens.
The countryside that will enable the black man to access easily the much needed vitamins from greens and fruits that at times grow naturally.
The Government does this while knowing very well that the old man will cost less to keeping him alive momentarily other than giving him the costly piece of land that is meant for the white people.
He will soon die and buried at an all black majority cemetery since the white man moved away from the area long time ago. That is a further form of segregation even after death.
The struggle is simply dead and buried and entirely forgotten and ultimately many will be left out in the 21st century and their path for advancement completely blocked!
The hope for a momentous change dwindled and finally shelved thus frustrating the optimism for a less segregated America with equal rights.
Equal rights in everything so that as you travel away from the highways that are normally heavily planted with trees intentionally done to block the shame of poor black City neighborhood, you will later see African Americans and other immigrants deep in the interior sharing farms with white people.
A forgotten struggle that will haunt many that struggled and worked alongside with the fallen heroes, including famous names such as Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson just to name a few remaining, that finally gave up and receded in silence.
That was as a sign of total defeat on their part but the Government will only honor them after death by naming the few remaining unnamed bridges or the many nameless creeks after them.
Here we are not bringing the black man down as some would say, but rather pointing out burning issues that were forgotten and shelved after independence was realized.
A struggle that continued to haunt many like the late Coretta Scott King as she once sadly and emotionally narrated in a predominantly all black Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, one chilly winter Sunday morning and I quote:
“What I see around does not justify the real ideals that my husband fought and died for”.
She had further gone on to stress the old aphorism that is mostly echoed by the old generation “The most segregated shameful hour in America occurs particularly on Sunday Morning”
(Obviously not aware that the same happens in most nightclubs)
She was not referring to the unusual snow that had fallen that morning in Atlanta covering high areas occupied by mostly whites republican but rather, the evidence of segregation found everywhere in schools and places of worship.
For example, there was not a single white face in the church that day and the few light colored ones at that moment, had suddenly appeared black than before and the pure black man and women, looked even more black.
She then had looked around the church to see if she could spot the Children of slaves and those of slave owners sharing a church seat.
There was none that day and she silently said: “It never fully happened my dear husband ”.
She had then removed a white handkerchief from her bag and continuously wept.
Many in that church that day never saw those tears or heard those words since the majorities were hungry and tired after sitting for hours on the hard platform while listening to a much sweating jumping black man who was more of a comedian than a preacher.
A well fed preacher that obviously talked of the meek, inheriting the earth some day when the majorities were certainly looking forward to take their families to a Macdonald across the street.
They simply had no energy left to start thinking of inheriting a planet in peril, and how to get to Macdonald was their immediate worry, since the gas gauge was below empty.
Not even aware that the price for the same had gone up the hour they were shouting at the top of their voices, “praise the lord”.
If to reach the Macdonald involved shouting many such words and if a vehicle reacts to divine intervention, then they needed to shout the whole night and yet not lucky to reach, since the same uses gas which is costly to many.
A Macdonald owned by a rich white man that lived 1000 blocks away in a secluded unpolluted purely all white community and who would rarely be seen around the black community.
A Macdonald run by young black mothers that work tirelessly while receiving meager wages day after day, year after year, with no meaningful hope of ever leading a sustainable life of financial stability.
Not forgetting their sisters elsewhere in strip clubs undressing and showing their nude bodies, to confused white and black people combined in order to receive a dollar for what is termed as “dancing” but in essence its reducing a human to the lowest of the lowest and evil in itself.
It is direct immorality in a society that castigates prostitution and yet has no control or rather is impotent to control the Mafia like operated strip clubs.
It affect the malnourished black youth who slept hungry after sharing with his little sister, a crispy McDonald to go box brought by a tired mother that had eaten half in a hurry not to miss the next stripping job starting in an hour’s time.
A tired mother with no hope of ever advancing in life and has no time even to think about the evils perpetrated in Society and affecting her, lest she get caught up with the endless bills mania.
A mother who is not alone in the “by design game” as there are many others working endless shifts to solve their financial needs, and have barely no free time to think about changing the society.
A society trying to reach Mars and yet a poor man is begging on the street and still many other beggars in shop verandahs some hungry without food.
The super eagle just about to land on the moon, soldiers invading Iraq and same hour, a poor Mexican mother with a baby strapped on her back and another one barely walking, eager to discover the “American dream” is being arrested at El-paso border while trying to cross to the land that belonged to her ancestors once upon a time.
She is later denied and escorted back by her own race with a fierce canine ready to attack, to the holding area to wait for a bus to take her to doom and despair.
Her imagined American dream cut short and turned into nightmare.
A Kenyan mother is arrested in Dallas for lack of papers and taken to a deportation center alone while leaving her young babies born in America without anyone to look after them.
A depressed Kenyan mother raising funds to return to Africa after the American dream fell apart, and another pregnant mother held at Dulles airport awaiting deportation.
Meanwhile, over 2.6 million immigrants from Africa legally and illegally working in America continue attending the sick in hospitals, others baby-sitting old white folks in homes, …..while still others in factories, schools, grocery stores and many others, busy doing transportation work to deliver commodities to all Americans.
While all are busy diligently serving Americans, a tough speaking President is vowing to end immigration from what he term as shithole(sic) countries and deportation happening at an alarming rate leaving many families in agony for they will end up separating forever.
A drone that cost millions is dropped in a forest in Somalia and 40 people killed while same time a Kenya is shot dead in Marietta after being a suspect of a drug ring.
Fighting terrorism and drugs and yet hard working and eager immigrants ready to pursue their dream sought like terrorist.
It can go on and on as many are haunted with a past and present whose strange ideologies cannot be rectified within a short redress like two Presidential terms.
All the same, many immigrants are struggling to embrace the present with cynicism and boldly welcoming the future with the expected uncertainties.
Cynicism since even immigrants are not accepted fully as part of those truly mentioned in pursuit of happiness and pursuing the “American dream” for the same can be curtailed any time ,… all the privileges withdrawn and thereafter deported.
Uncertainties since many come with high expectations and sadly later leave without fulfilling their full aspirations in life.
Despite the uncertainties many have hope that Philosopher John Locke ideals will one day be echoed and adopted by fully committed leaders, not by words as Thomas Jefferson of Virginia did, but by deed and entirely embraced wholeheartedly without reservations whatsoever with the very true and sincere meaning.
“That all men are created equal”.
All is possible if the black man can listen and follow the movements that were originally initiated by Elijah Mohammed, and taken over by Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam and others while at the same time to continue with the struggle that was started by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
Yes they should spread the word of unity to the younger generation who now have the believe that taking drugs, and forming gangs, is the only way out but it is to the contrary, for it will only give birth to a culture of violence.
People should be ready to form a movement aimed at embracing and uniting all and say no to mere rhetorical speeches that tend to brainwash and offer no hope and solution to the less fortunate Americans.
The same should not only happen to the black people but, to all minorities that are classified with the sole aim of discriminating them.
Reconciliation should be considered with some kind of broad-based, systemic redress with monetary gain including some land, to at least appreciate the many struggling African Americans that made America the way it is now.
Recognizing the original sin and saying sorry, and freedom is simply not enough. The government should make honest reparation to the many poor African American citizens whose parents never benefitted after independence was declared.
Thereafter, full freedom will at least be felt by all people without looking at their color, creed or religion and all will thereafter share one common name “Americans”.
And definitely if racial equality is finally fully realized, all will unite and be at least closer to a true and perfect union.
That is one part of the story while on the other side of the story despite the self racial segregation and lack of economic sustainability to some, life to others, is as bright as the sky.
Yes real bright for many other Americans black and white are elsewhere enjoying good life as if, the Elysian Fields just dropped down to planet Earth and hell their next door neighbor.
May what you read don’t go beyond your conscience.
D.K. GITAU
President
Kenyan Parents In USA
Columnist/Diaspora Messenger contributor
