By Roger Caldwell
I would like to start my weekly article by stating that I am a racist. Yes I was born in America, and I was taught to see myself as a Black/African American first. I was born in Newark New Jersey, and the only people that I knew or associated with were Black. My entire family was Black, the church that I went to was all Black, and all my friends were Black.
I was born in the fifties, so Black folks knew their place in the scheme of things. On my father’s side my grandfather was a farmer who lived in North Carolina, so he knew his place, and out of 9 children only one sister went to college. The rest were hard workers, some went to the army, but most of my father’s brothers were masons, construction workers. Racism was not really talked about in North Carolina, because it was the south, and you knew your place.
My grandfather and grandmother on my mother’s side lived in New Jersey, and the opportunities for them were different, because my grandmother owned her own business. They both did not have much education, but they both made a steady and consistent income. My grandfather was a garbage man for 25 years, with a steady check, and my grandmother owned a nursing home for the elderly in the community.
With steady incomes, they were considered middle class, and they held a particular status in the community. Racism is embedded in every system in America, but White Americans respect Black folks who are able to generate income and sales. The system is organized in classes, and capitalism and business make the system go.
Even though my family was able to have some semblance of success, the system still controlled the level of their success. And today, the system of racism and White supremacy continues to hold Black folks and people of color down.
“That is our legacy as Americans, and in many ways, the most hateful remnants of slavery persist in the U.S. today in the form of systemic racism baked into nearly every aspect of our society and who we are as a people,” says John E. Allen – President – The Brookings Institution.
As many Americans acknowledge that the system is broken, they rather spend more time debating the problem, then taking meaningful action. On the other side, the Republicans and conservatives refuse to admit that racism exists, and their responsibility is to suppress the vote.
“After record turnout in 2020, Republicans controlled states appear to be in a race to the bottom, to see who can pass the most egregious new barriers in voting. According to a new analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, 253 bills to restrict voting access have been introduced in 43 states already this year. Georgia is ground Zero for the GOP’s escalating war on voting,” says Ari Berman – reporter for Mother Jones.
Instead of making an effort to improve the conditions in America, the Republicans are trying to turn back the clocks, when Jim Crow ruled the land. With Trump as their leader, White folks are egregious and nasty with their new laws, and they don’t care what the Democrats think or do.
There is a battle for the soul of America, and the courts will determine which side wins.
“I firmly believe that we as Americans cannot remain silent about injustice. Inaction is simply unacceptable, and we have to stand up and speak out,” says John Allen – President of Brooking Institution.
This week eight people were killed at 3 Asian Massage Parlors in Atlanta, and six of them were Asian women. There is a major investigation taking place to determine if this incident was racially motivated. The conservative news stations are silent, and refuse to answer questions concerning the issues.
President Biden and Vice-President Harris have told the truth about racial violence in America, but the Republicans have remained silent. Where is the soul of America?
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