Let me begin with I believe Trump’s use of “Riggers” is a racist dog whistle…and that is all I have to say about it.

Most descendants of slaves, including myself, just want to be treated the same as everyone else. We want our history taught and the lessons of the past remembered. We want our children educated. We want to be treated fairly when we apply for jobs and career advancement opportunities. We want to be paid the same for doing the same jobs. We want our vote to be counted. We want safe neighborhoods with affordable housing, good schools, clean water, sidewalks, recreation areas for our children and grocery store chains.

My guess is most descendants of slaves have concluded that the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow and systematic racism will never reap reparations, and that others have always benefitted and will continue to benefit from the fruits of those injustices. That doesn’t mean reparations are not warranted, and it doesn’t mean they don’t value affirmative action, equal opportunity laws, voters’ rights legislation and other programs that have attempted to cure the ills of this legacy.

However, it also doesn’t mean we are sitting around waiting for reparations. We work, go to school, pay our bills, are good citizens, we raise our children and often we soar. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) exist for a reason…because we as a people insisted upon soaring long before affirmative action. There is a reason we have Black businesses and communities that while not extravagant have survived…because we as a people decided to survive. It is so insulting to pretend like our history doesn’t matter…the silence is deafening and sounds like resounding agreement.

Our lives are just not that different, except the difficulty of living through a traffic stop or having to pay more for a college education because of the difficulties of attaining a decent early education. Our lives are not that different, except maybe too many did not escape the harsh reality of poverty, the proliferation of drugs in our communities that appeared from everywhere and nowhere, the separation of families due to harsh policing and criminal punishment policies, the enforcement of hiring policies that screened out many potential workers but lessened in importance with the employee shortages due to COVID, etc.  

By far, the majority of us live through the traffic stops, as well as all the other stuff, and go on to become teachers, police officers, military personnel, healthcare workers, manufacturing employees, retail workers, business owners, managers, supervisors, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, clergy, students, taxpayers, attorneys, judges, etc.

Yes, we want diversity, equity, and inclusion in today’s America. Training helps because so many people simply come from homes where these concepts are not taught or practices. I didn’t realize the enormity of such programs until recent history showed many hoods were still in the closet. And yes, we want a fair chance at the American dream…it has been a longtime coming. 

But it does seem that even that is too much for some to stomach. There are many who think our history doesn’t matter and want to forget it ever happened. Crickets.

Until you’ve has a few sessions on the porch with my 92-year-old aunt, perhaps it is just hard to understand the legacy.