When will we learn that we all are of the same value to God?

When will we learn that we all are of the same value to God?

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”                                                                     Matthew 25:40 (NAS)

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

      Why is it that the people who do the dirty work of completing the most unbearable  jobs never get any credit until it’s almost too late?

The entire episode, with reference to the tragic chronicle of the Trayvon Benjamin Martin’s murder and faux trail, has left me pondering the question, “Why do the least get the most out of a just judicial system?”

As I wrestle with the question, I’m baffled by what surfs across the waves of my mind like tiny sparks ready to start a forest fire.

The First word of the question is ‘why’, which in letter form is Y. In my thoughts as it pertains to Trayvon it represents a tree. A tree in history (Caucasians) of this country has been one of which records and hangs our storied legacy upon its branches.

Of course no one wants to be reminded of the shameful past of such a great nation which was help to be built by the “strange fruit that hangs from the southern popular trees.”

     “Southern trees bear a strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swingin’ in the Southern breeze Strange fruit hangin’ from the poplar trees…” Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit

The next word that penetrates my soul is ‘least”. This word, in all of its usage when it comes to America is a word that separates the privileged (white people) from every other race of human beings and delegated them as the least, less fortunate and left out.

The oxymoronic phrase “least get the most” stabs my heart with the poisonous arrows that are clutched in the talons of the sacred eagle which dawns our symbol of freedom.

Moving farther along into the question, the expression “just” is a far cry from the true meaning of the word and use of  just (adjective meaning  guided by truth, reason , justice , and fairness dictionary.com).

I’m reminded that the just in justice is in reference to just us (Black folks), those who are victimized by our judicial system.

And lastly, “our judicial system”.

The first thing that comes to mind when it’s about our judicial system is how the system is systemically used against its Black and Brown citizens.

The next appalling reference to our judicial system is that judicial reminds me of the person Judas Iscariot.

Judas Iscariot was, in harmony with the New Testament, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ.

He is disgracefully known for his kiss and disloyalty to Jesus in that he gave up Jesus to the chief Sanhedrin priests in a trade for compensation of thirty silver coins. Some say Judas hanged himself out of regret for betraying Jesus.

Now, we are right back to the ‘Y’ as it relates to the poplar trees which have been a showcase of Black History here in the United States of America.

I guess when we look  at and take into account those who have met their fate through hangings, Black folk have been placed into GREAT COMPANY!

I’m praying that Trayvon Benjamin Martin’s murder and faux trail will forever change the way this country treats those who come in the presence of its judicial system and the manner in which we see each other, accepting all humans as children of God.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

MESSAGE OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

The Promise of the Golden Door “A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name, Mother of Exiles.” Julie Redstone

Immortalized in the poem of Emma Lazarus The Statue of Liberty was originally called “Liberty Enlightening the World,” and this is truly her task – to enlighten mankind to the noble ideals of freedom and equality that belong to each one, and to hold high the standard of hope that light will always triumph over darkness.  This is the promise represented in the Statue – that through every conflict, war, or loss, through every dispossession or abandonment of principle, the torch of freedom will continue to be held high.