“Was That Justice?”

The whole world seemed to hold its collective breath last week when a jury in a Minneapolis courtroom returned a verdict of guilty on all three counts against former Officer Derek Chauvin who kept his knee on the neck of George Floyd for over 9 minutes resulting in Mr. Floyd’s death. It has been almost a year since we witnessed that horrific scene caught on the cell phone of a courageous young 17-year-old woman named Darnella Frazier. In the days following Mr. Floyd’s death it appeared as if the world erupted with outrage and indignation. Protests occurred in Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, and even here where I live in Madison, Wisconsin. But not only did protests erupt across the United States, they erupted in the UK, in France, in Canada, and in New Zealand. It was as if the whole world was saying, “enough is enough.” This outpouring of protest became known as a “racial reckoning” and may have been decisive in the 2020 Presidential election.

So now almost 10 months later we sat nervously awaiting a jury verdict. We relived the terribly graphic death of Mr. Floyd as we watched the testimony and legal arguments. There was seemingly overwhelming evidence that what we saw with our own eyes was indeed true. But as Black people we have seen this “movie” before. We have seen Black people killed via video evidence and no police officer was convicted. Indeed, in many cases no police officer was even charged. Do you remember Rodney King, Tamir Rice, Philando Castille, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Rekia Boyd, Jacob Blake, or Breonna Taylor? We saw lots of evidence, but they did not receive justice.

Thus, when we started receiving alerts on our mobile devices that the jury was ready to render a verdict, we sat frozen in time nervously awaiting the news. Officer Chauvin was convicted on all three counts—guilty, guilty, guilty. A crowd had gathered outside the courthouse and a man on a bull horn read the judgment on each count to them. With the final “guilty” was uttered the crowd erupted. People hugged one another and cried tears of joy. There was something of a celebration in the streets of Minneapolis and I am certain the city’s elected leaders and business owners breathed a sigh of relief that there would not be angry protests that might turn into destruction.

Yes, I too was relieved to hear the verdict. But that verdict brought me no satisfaction. It certainly brought me no joy. There was no satisfaction or joy because there was no justice. Mr. Floyd did not receive justice because his life cannot be restored. His daughter will grow up fatherless. His brothers and sisters will grow up without their beloved sibling. His partner will either remain alone or move on to another relationship. But George Floyd will not be with us. The Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison said it best. We did not receive justice…we received a measure of accountability.

But has everyone been held accountable? Was the City of Minneapolis Police Department held accountable for the ongoing treatment of Black people in their city? Remember, during the Derek Chauvin trial, another Black man, Duante Wright was shot and killed by a nearby police department over a minor traffic stop. Was the education system held accountable? Every time educators exclude and stigmatize Black children, we are putting them on a path to not just school failure, but rather life failure. Yet, as educators we are not being held accountable.

Derek Chauvin may spend the next 40 years in prison, but it will not begin to atone for the terrible injustice people like George Floyd endure year in and year out. Most of the violence visited upon Black people will never result in true justice. It will not result in systemic changes. It will not require the society to stop criminalizing our children. It will not require municipalities to stop over policing our communities. It will not stop the society from turning our babies into adults. It will not make up for the thousands upon thousands of Black people who have been lynched, gunned down, and beaten to death.

Derek Chauvin will have to pay for ONE death of an unarmed Black man, and he will pay for it because the entire world witnessed him doing it. He should pay, but was that justice?

Stay Black & Smart!

“Don’t Let Da Rona Get on Ya!”

I have been home and mostly in the house for the last 10 months and I am not happy about it. I am used to being on an airplane every 10 to 14 days flying around the country and sometimes around the world. I was supposed to spend April and May 2020 in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was supposed to attend my twin grandchildren’s high school graduation in the Sacramento, CA area. I was supposed to attend my sorority’s international convention in my hometown of Philadelphia, and I was supposed to head to Johannesburg, South Africa to receive an honorary degree in October. I didn’t get to do any of those things, and I imagine you, too, have a laundry list of things you were supposed to do, and we were all prevented from doing them for the very same reason—COVID-19 or the Corona virus.

This virus has been devastating for this country and the entire world. At this writing more than 400,000 people in the US have succumbed to this disease and more than 25 million have been infected by it. Many businesses have gone under. Millions of people have been laid off, furloughed, or fired. More than 800,000 women have left the workforce. Only 38% of public school students have been able to participate in face-to-face schooling. Most reasonable people wear masks in public and practice physical distancing which means we don’t congregate in regular activities like eating out in restaurants, attending church, going to parties, celebrating major life events like weddings, graduations, or funerals. I along with most of the folks I know conduct business, family, and friend visits via electronic platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet.

Now we have learned that 2 of the vaccines that were fast-tracked during the Trump Administration are ready to go with somewhere between 90 and 95 percent effectiveness. Both vaccines require two dosages administered about 3-4 weeks apart. However, we are learning that Black people are less likely to say they will get the vaccine. The most recent statistics indicate that 80% of Asian Americans say they will get the vaccine. Sixty (60) % of Whites and Latinx people say they will get it,  but less than half—40% of Black folks have said they would get the vaccine. The reasons for Black people’s reluctance are understandable. They are grounded in a history of mistreatment and mistrust.

As a researcher I have to go through Human Subjects certification periodically at the university. These certifications are in place based on the abuse of people by researchers and African Americans have been frequent victims of unethical and cruel research protocols. The major study we reference is the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Briefly, this study took place in Tuskegee, Alabama and looked at what happened to Black men who were left with untreated syphilis, even when a cure for the disease became available in the midst of the study. Many of these men and their families were unaware that they even had the disease. They study allowed the disease to ravish the bodies and lives of these families. The study went on for 40 years, from 1932 to 1972 and the families devastated by the disease did not receive a formal apology until the Bill Clinton Administration. Additionally, the story of Henrietta Lacks reinforces Black America’s mistrust of the medical community. Henrietta’s ovarian cancer was misdiagnosed and mistreated. She became a genetic guinea pig and almost every biological sciences researcher actually uses what are known as HeLa (Henrietta Lacks) cells to understand developments in their field. Those two cases are high profile examples of things that have occurred to Black people in their relationship with the medical community. However, the mistrust also stems from personal encounters with the medical community.

The research suggests that physicians do not believe Black people experience pain to the same degree Whites do. Our medical concerns are regularly discounted and brushed aside. Health care workers are rude and dismissive of Black health concerns. We are treated (even by the previous Surgeon General) as if our health concerns are all a result of poor lifestyle choices. We have always understood that the medical community regards Black life as cheap. This is why we have to take to the street and yell, “Black Lives Matter!”

These series of bad experiences notwithstanding, Black people we have to get this vaccine. We are dying at a greater rate than Whites from this disease. We are working jobs that place us at greater risk of contracting the disease. We are front line workers in hospitals, nursing homes, grocery stores, public transit, pharmacy clerks and other service industry jobs. We are more likely to live in multigenerational families and we are more likely to live in densely packed, multi-family residences. In other words, we are “ground zero” for contracting Corona virus.

Folks, I know we are suspicious of anything the US government sponsors but this time we have to be willing to give this a chance. I am reminded of 2Kings 7:4 that tells the story of 4 men with leprosy who sat outside the city gates. In their dilemma they said, “We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.” The Bible scholars among the readers know they did not have to surrender because God caused confusion among the Aramean army and they fled. The lepers came into an empty camp filled with food, supplies, and treasures which they took to the city and shared with the people. If you are afraid the vaccine will harm you, I can assure you catching the virus will harm you AND you may spread it in ways that harm a family member, friend, and/or neighbor. Getting the vaccine may cause an adverse effect but the probability of that happening is quite low. All I can say is we have to protect ourselves and our community and as my fam from West Philly says before I hang up from our phone calls, “Don’t let da ‘rona get on ya!”

Get your vaccine, fam!

Stay Black & Smart!

“I Don’t Want to Unify with Evil”

It is almost impossible for an American not to have been impacted by the events of January 6, 2021. That was the day that a crazed mob of racist, white supremacist, reactionary, cult-like people who believed the big lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. In addition to breaching the walls and doors of the US Capitol building, they went on a rampage destroying property, desecrating the Senate Chamber, rifling through lawmakers desks, and urinating and defecating in the halls of the Capitol. As the days and weeks pass, we see more video of disgusting behavior and recognize that more than mere vandalism, this attempted coup and insurrection also resulted in the death of at least 5 people.

Hours and days later after the insurrection was quelled Congress came back into session and completed the task they were originally slated to do—count the Electoral College votes to formally recognize the victory of Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice-President of the United States. However, more than 100 Republican Representatives continued with their objections along with a half dozen Senators to the electoral votes from a few states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania). Fortunately, the will of the majority of the electorate prevailed and all the votes were counted to reveal what we already knew. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were the duly elected next President and Vice President.

Over the next few days, the House of Representatives initiated a second impeachment against Donald Trump for his part in inciting a riotous coup designed to subvert the Constitution of the United States. Voices on both sides of the Congressional aisle rose to speak in favor of or against the motion to impeach Donald Trump. While those against impeachment often cited the fact that Trump had less than 2 weeks left in his term, the big talking point was that we shouldn’t impeach him because we want to heal the divisions that have wracked the country. As I watched incredulously, I talked back to my television saying, “Oh now you want to be unified? After you have spent the last 4 years (actually last 12 if you count all the divisiveness they sowed during the Obama Administration) making sure the country was divided, you want to speak of unity!

I have nothing against unity. A people who are unified are stronger. A unified nation is likely to be more prosperous and productive. But there are some things we should not unify with. We should not unite with the forces designed to oppress and destroy us. We should not unite with morally objectionable causes. We should not unite with evil. What we saw at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was evil and that evil was encouraged and incited by the then President of the United States. The evil that Congressmen and women want us to unite with include policies that allow for separating children at the nation’s Southern border, corrupt business practices that funnel public monies into the President’s private interests, duplicitous census procedures that attempt to subvert the Constitution’s mandate to take an accounting of all the “persons” in each state and District of Columbia, environmental policies that threatened subsequent generations, health policies that take no responsibility for the death of almost 400,000 people along with months of inaction, voting restrictions that suppress the electoral power of millions of Black, Brown, and other people of color, law enforcement practices that continuously kill Black people with impunity, and white supremacist dog whistles that threaten to over throw the government and the voices of 80 million voters.

I will unite with parents of children whose first language is other than English, even though mine is, so their children can receive a decent education. I will unite with homeless people, even though I am not homeless, so they can receive adequate shelter. I will unite with immigrants, even though as an African American I am not an immigrant, to ensure they receive fair hearings as they seek asylum. I will unite with prisoners, even though I am not in prison, as they seek decent conditions and adequate legal representation. I will unite with the disabled, even though I do not have a disability, as they fight for accessibility and opportunity. I will unite with anyone who experiences marginalization, oppression, racism, and sexism whether or not I fall into the category of otherness being challenged. But I will NOT unite with evil!

Stay Black & Smart!

“But What Will We Tell the Children?

More than 30 years ago I was teaching a class of prospective teachers at a northern California university. The class focused on curriculum and methods. The class of almost all young, White women had just completed a reading that included the translation of Christopher Columbus’ journals by the Spanish priest, Bartolomé de las Casas. The students were shocked to learn of Columbus’ brutality—wantonly killing the indigenous people of what is current day Cuba, brutally working them from sunup to sundown, and even slicing off the hands of those who did not bring in the required amount of gold. Columbus’ savagery was responsible for the genocide of the Arawak people. After reading this information, one of the students asked, “But what will we tell the children?” I responded, without blinking, “The truth, I hope!”

For much of my career with adult learners I have heard story after story of how we can’t tell our children (read, White, middle class students) about the ugliness of racism. “It’s just too much”. “We don’t want to frighten them!” No one talks about the terror and fear that Black children experience as a fact of daily life. And this rush to protect the “innocent” White children from the truth is a big part of why we cannot make real racial progress in this nation.

On Wednesday, January 6, 2021 we saw yet another day that will live in infamy in the US. A mob of thousands of domestic terrorists stormed the doors of the US Capital to destroy, desecrate, and loot what is often referred to as the symbol of democracy. Much of this mayhem and destruction was visible to us on television. The Congress was in session in order to count the electoral college votes that certified the election of Joseph Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President. This mob breeched the building and ultimately one person was shot and killed, and 3 others died as a result of other injuries or underlying conditions. Members of Congress were shuttled to undisclosed locations deep within the bowels of the Capital. Ultimately, the protestors were forced out of the building where they continued to congregate on the Capital porticos and chant the lie that Trump won the election. One group swapped out the US Flag for a Trump flag to hang from the Capital and another person had previously paraded throughout the building with a Confederate flag. That flag never, ever flew in the Capital even in the midst of the Civil War!

As the situation was finally brought under control more and more outraged officials, generally White, declared, “This is not who we are!” The truth is this is EXACTLY who we are. Over and over when Whites have not received what they wanted they have visited acts of terrorism on anybody or anything they perceive to be standing in their way. Shay’s Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion of the late 1700s are examples of Whites who did not want to pay taxes. Of course, the Civil War was the ultimate rebellion. The summer of 1919, known as the “Red Summer” was marked by acts of violence against Blacks at the close of World War I. By 1921 Whites in Tulsa, Oklahoma bombed, burned, and massacred Blacks in the Black independent business section known as Greenwood. According to the Equal Justice Initiative in the period between Reconstruction and World War II there have been 4,400 documented lynchings

 of Black citizens in the US.

What America saw on January 6, 2021 was a mirror reflecting back on itself. This is who it is and who it has been from the beginning. Now, we have educators wondering what to tell students about what transpired at the Capital. If the past is any indicator of what will be done, we will likely not tell the children anything. Instead, we will create a narrative about some “small group” of dissenters who were protesting the results of an election that had been settled. It will describe this as an “isolated incident” not connected to anything else. Telling the children this version of what transpired means we will continue to repeat these behaviors over and over declaring them to be unrelated to the very fabric of the nation. However, I have some clear perspectives on what we SHOULD tell the children:

1. In this nation White protests are generally regarded as the legitimate right of the participants and without threat;
2. Black protests are perceived as dangerous and warrant extraordinary police or military presence for control;
3. The nation has been engaged in anti-Black racism since its founding;
4. Because the nation refuses to deal directly with racism, its manifestation wax and wane over time. But, it does not go away;
5. Racism is anti-democratic and as long as the US does not face its complicity in racism it cannot claim to be a democracy;
6. The US has profited from racism through things such as free or low wage labor, different housing costs, differential health costs, etc.;
7. The US has also economically disadvantage itself because of racism through lower productivity, poorer educational opportunities, under identification and utilization of talent.
8. All of our systems—education, criminal justice, health, housing, environmental policy, symbol systems—are riddled with racism;
9. The system only redresses Black complaints when it is certain that Whites will also benefit—e.g. Affirmative Action, public accommodation, school segregation;
10. Tell them the TRUTH!

Stop saying this in not who we are. It IS who we are….

Stay Black & Smart!

Stop Using Black Children as an Excuse to Open Your Schools

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. The Corona Virus has forced me to address so many things virtually, that the last thing I’ve had the energy for was sitting down in front of the computer for yet another thing. I didn’t even want to think about an Op-Ed. However, the current chatter about returning to schools has me thinking about how Black children are once again being used to serve the needs of Whites. This is not a new slight-of- hand—claim something serves the needs of “the least of these” but in reality, the rich continue to get richer.

The current conversation regarding re-opening school is all about how closed schools are hurting the most vulnerable students—Black students, Latinx students, English Language Learners, poor students, and students with disabilities. But, in truth the parents clamoring the most about opening schools are the parents of the most privileged children. They are concerned that their children’s resumes are being tarnished by missing all of this school. They are comparing their children’s progress with that of their private school peers who they perceive to be moving ahead of them. They are concerned that their kids’ inability to participate in varsity sports and athletics may be hurting their scholarship chances. They are recognizing that having their kids at home and having to plan for each and every hour of their school day or perhaps having to sit beside them and assist with their virtual learning does not help one climb the corporate ladder. Actually, none of these reasons for wanting schools to be opened is a bad one. Just say that’s why you want schools to open!

Don’t pretend you have some deep conviction to the education of Black children. If that’s your motivation, where was it last year when school was in session? Weren’t Black children struggling then? Weren’t they over identified for special education placement? Weren’t they more likely to be suspended and expelled? Weren’t they least likely to be placed in honors or Advanced Placement courses? Weren’t their high school graduation rates lower than other students? The rush to open schools “for Black children” is disingenuous and merely a way to cover up the desires of the more privileged students.

I decided to write this blog because I was contacted by 2 different reporters who said they heard that Black parents were leery of sending their children back to school and they wanted to understand their rationale. The first reason Black parents are reluctant to have their children return to school is health and safety. More Black children are likely to live in multi-generational homes. This means that even though children are less likely to manifest COVID-19 symptoms, they can still contract and shed the virus and infect a grandparent or parent with underlying conditions. Given the high rate of COVID infections and death in the Black and Brown communities, Black families are not willing to take the risk of transmission. Also, many of the schools our children attend are in buildings that have problems with their HVAC systems. What evidence do Black families have that their children’s schools have been retrofitted with upgraded filters and proper air circulation systems? What is the evidence of improved cleaning and disinfecting in the buildings? Who is monitoring PPE in the schools?

Second, Black families are keenly aware that school was not the haven of comfort and safety that some professionals try to pretend they are. Yes, some children live in unsafe and unstable homes, but rather than solve their problems, some students find that school exacerbates their problems. School is the place some students are stigmatized by standing in the “free lunch” line or being pulled out of class for special services. School is the place where their academic struggles are magnified and what they don’t have (i.e., two parents at home. new clothes, fancy school supplies) is on constant display. School is a place where adults yell at them for not knowing an answer or not completing an assignment or project. No, school can be a place of a special kind of violence.

I understand the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages students to return to school to address their social emotional needs. However, what has your local school said or done that suggests students’ social emotional needs will be a priority? How have Black students’ teachers conveyed that to them? Indeed, I have heard from a number of Black parents that their children are less stressed and less anxious in virtual school. Some Black parents indicate that the school has reached out to them more during the pandemic than they ever did when students attended face-to-face school. Many Black parents are finally having a school year that does not involve constantly running up to the school to deal with school personnel.

The decision to return to in-person school is deeply personal. We all have our own reasons for why we think it’s a good idea (or not). Just don’t pretend you want schools opened for those “poor Black kids” when what you want is school opened for your own kids!

Stay Black and Smart!

“Successful or Significant: CT, Joseph, & John”

 

A few years ago, a survey of young people learned that many of them were more interested in being famous than being of service. When asked if they’d rather be the President of the United States, a U.S. Senator, or “famous,” youth overwhelmingly chose “famous.” The cult of celebrity is so strong in the US that we actually have people who are famous for being famous. They are not artists, writers, inventors, scientists, philanthropists, doctors, entrepreneurs, or businesspeople. Their “contribution” to society is that they exist on an Instagram or Twitter page. They have more “likes” or “follows” than everyone else. But what they do is of no real significance.

In 1968, singer Dion recorded a song written by Dick Holler titled, “Abraham, Martin, & John.” The song was a tribute to 4 leaders who were assassinated—Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles recorded a version of the song in 1969. I thought of the song upon hearing of the deaths of Rev. CT Vivian and Congressman John Lewis who both passed away within 24 hours of each other. Also, I recalled that Rev. Joseph Lowery died this year in March. These 3 giants represent the best of what America (not only Black America) has to offer. All 3 lived lives of significance. They did not concern themselves with success. Their life work is significant. It has helped change the world and made it a better place for everyone. Black people are rightly proud of each of them.

Rev. Lowery was 98 years old when he died. He, along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was the organization’s vice president, chairman of the board, and president. Today, many will remember him for giving the benediction at President Obama’s first inauguration. With his many accolades one might expect Dr. Lowery to be prideful, but he was not. After arriving home in Atlanta from receiving an international honor he realized that he had lost his parking ticket. He approached the parking attendant’s kiosk begging for some grace to be allowed to pay what he thought he owed, but before he could get his request out, the parking attendant said, “Oh go ahead man, you don’t have to pay.” Rev. Lowery asked of the attendant, “You know me?” The attendant responded, “Sure, you work third shift don’t you!” The parking attendant did not recognize him as someone famous. He looked at him like any other brother who worked at the airport.

Rev. CT Vivian died a couple of weeks shy of his 96^th birthday. I remember him vividly from the Civil Rights documentary series, “Eyes on the Prize.” Rev. Vivian is seen being assaulted on the steps of the Alabama Courthouse as he attempted to escort a group of African Americans inside to register to vote. He declared, “There is nothing we haven’t done for this nation. But we kept knowing the scriptures. We kept living by faith, We kept understanding that it’s something deeper than politics that makes life worth living.” For his bold stance, Rev. Vivian was punched in the face by Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark. Clark punched him so hard that he broke his own hand. Rev. Vivian was a Freedom Rider who founded the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference (an affiliate of SCLC). He worked alongside of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who declared the CT Vivian was the best preacher he’d ever heard. Rev. Vivian didn’t strive for success; he worked toward significance.

Congressman John Robert Lewis died on Friday night at the age of 80. He began a career in civil rights in his early 20s and was the youngest speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington. He was severely beaten as he led a march for Black voting rights. He was also beaten in a bus station where he participated as a Freedom Rider. That beating left him unconscious. But Lewis never gave up on democracy. He never gave up on non-violence. And, he never gave up on fighting for justice. He served as a US Congressman from Atlanta for over 30 years. Unlike many civil rights leaders, Congressman Lewis was not known for his eloquence. Instead, he was known for his passion and moral commitment. His kindness was immeasurable. I ran into Congressman Lewis in the Atlanta airport in 2016. I must confess I was so giddy seeing him that I could hardly form a sentence. I just wanted to tell him how important his work has been to my thinking and understanding of democracy and justice. He looked at me and said, “Well, don’t you want to take a picture?” Of course I did but I did not want to presume. He insisted that his assistant take the picture and wished me well. He wasn’t trying to be successful. He was continuing to be significant.

If I were to sing Dick Holler’s song, I’d update it to say, “Has anybody here seen my old friends CT, Joseph or John? Can you tell me where they’ve gone? Didn’t you love the things they stood for? Didn’t they try to find some good for you and me? And we’ll be free. Someday soon it’s gonna be one day. I thought I saw them walking up over the hill with Malcolm, Martin, and Medgar!”

I am glad that all three men—Rev. Joseph Lowery, Rev. CT Vivian, and Congressman John Lewis had a chance to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. They didn’t receive the medal for their success. They received it because they were significant

“In the Room(s) Where it Happens”

If you are a devotee of the Broadway musical, “Hamilton” or have paid attention to the recent release of former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, you have heard the phrase, “in the room where it happened.” It refers to the rooms where the most powerful decisions are made. These are the seats of power and what happens in these rooms ultimately impacts us all. Black people are rarely in the rooms where it happens.

In the days before emancipation and then, before state sanctioned apartheid (i.e. legal segregation) ended, we sometimes were in those rooms as part of the servant class. As cooks, maids, butlers, and valets we were sometimes in rooms where it happens because the privileged and powerful needed someone to serve them. God forbid they should be required to pour themselves a glass of water or clear their own plates! And, in their arrogance they refused to acknowledge our humanity, our intellect, and our interests as citizens. Thus, although we were sometimes there they acted as if we weren’t. But, those folks in the room where it happened helped Black folks to plan and execute slave revolts. They helped Black folks plan their Civil Rights strategies. When we are in the rooms where it happens, we can respond in ways that serve our own best interests.

Today, under the guise of representative democracy we are regularly excluded from the rooms where it happens. We are not in corporate board rooms. We are not in legislative caucus rooms. We are not in executive offices of mayors, governors, or presidents. And when we are not in the room, or at the table, we are often “on the menu!” Decision makers are determining how to slice up our schools, our neighborhoods, our communities, and our rights and serve them up to the rich and powerful.

The civil uprisings happening today are a demand to be in the room where it happens. We want to be in the room where police contracts are negotiated. We want to be in the room where school superintendents are selected. We want to be in the room where housing development is discussed. We want to be in the room where tenure and promotion decisions are made. Indeed, instead of just being in the room we want the room to be open and available to stakeholders regardless of their social stature.

The rooms where it happens are rooms where people may refer to us using the N-word, like the police in Wilmington, NC who declared they want to slaughter us. The rooms where it happens are grand juries that fail to indict police for shooting unarmed Black and Brown people. The rooms where it happens issue no-knock orders that result in the death of innocent people like Breonna Taylor.

On May 25, 2020 17-year-old Darnella Frazier put us all in the room where it happened when she filmed Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. I cannot imagine how that murder would have been spun if we had not been able to be “in the room where it happened!”

The Black community is tired of being kept out of the conversations where people make life and death decisions about us. We, like “Hamilton’s” Aaron Burr want to be “in the room where it happens… the room where it happens… the room where it happens!”

Stay Black & Smart!

Time for a Hard Reset

For those of us accustomed to working with computers—laptops, desktops, tablets, and/or smart phones—we have heard the dreaded words, “You need to do a hard reset!” This phrase speaks to the fact that everything you have tried to repair a challenging problem on your device has failed to work. Many of us have seen a frozen screen or the “icon of death” that suggests the device has failed.

For lesser problems you may be able to do a “soft reset.” Indeed, just the other evening I was having a problem with my iPad. Although most of my applications were working correctly, I was not able to hear any sound via my headset. After trying various headsets I determined the problem was in the tablet itself, not the headphones. I sought out some online support and was advised to do a soft reset. The soft reset would return a number of my applications to their original settings without losing my data—photos, contacts, saved emails, etc. I followed the directions and was able to get the sound to work. However, if I had to do a hard reset I would turn my tablet into a device that was like it was when it first left the factory. My previous data would be gone. I would need to start from the beginning.

The situation we are in the midst of COVID-19 (the novel corona virus) pandemic calls for a hard reset. Far too many people keep talking about how to “get back” or “return to normal” without understanding there can be no return to normal with the level of devastation this virus has wreaked upon the world and particularly Black people. As a people with less resources and the least able to work remotely we find ourselves deemed “essential” in jobs like public transportation, sanitation, grocery and pharmacy store clerks, and health care workers. We are also a group of people with less access to quality health care and are likely to be treated unfairly by the health care system. Because of this limited access to health care and other financial resources Black people have accumulated a number of underlying health challenges—hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer—that place them at greater risk for contracting COVID-19 and dying from it.

The pandemic has forced a drastic change in our lifestyles. Those who can, work from home. Our children are unable to attend school. Many of our churches are closed. Yet, there are calls for returning to what we had before this disaster. This is not possible. Millions of people have lost their jobs. Students without computing capacity and access to wi-fi have been unable to keep up with school work. Schools have been unable to offer full service instruction and lurking just beneath the surface of all of this trauma is a giant, ticking, mental health bomb. Just “opening the economy” will not restore businesses that have gone bankrupt. It will not replace bank accounts that have dried up. It will not fix homelessness. It will not fix food insecurity. The stimulus checks reflect emergency money but do not put people on secure footing. Our children have seen death without proper closing rituals. They have seen sickness without comfort. They have suffered abuse without help from caring adults. We need a hard reset.

A hard reset for this society means we have to first and foremost forgive all debt that has accumulated during the pandemic. Debt that continued during the pandemic (e.g. inability to pay student loans, car loans, mortgage debt, credit card debt, etc.) must be forgiven. Next, in the world of education a hard reset means we do not penalize students for conditions beyond their control. We must ignore the test scores and grades coming out of the pandemic. We ALL need a clean slate and a fresh start.

There is no “going back.” There is only “going forward” and we need to go forward with as much equity and justice as we can muster. We do not need to try to test our way to equity or penalize people for devastation that was visited upon them. We can learn lessons from school recovery in post- World War II Japan or Europe. How did these education systems start again? I am sure they did not worry about what page their students left off on before bombs were dropped that totally destroyed their lives. The first order of business was to help children and their families heal.

A hard reset means we have to re-think what we ought to teach as well as how to teach. A hard reset means we cannot see teachers as essential workers only in the midst of a pandemic. We now realize their work is essential to the everyday well-being of our children. We know that without a viable public health system we will be vulnerable to the next global pandemic (and there will be a next one). We know that people need to earn a living wage to avoid catastrophic loss.

We cannot patchwork our way to post-pandemic life. We have to have a hard reset.

Stay Black & Smart!

“Requiem for a Blues People”

(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

By now you or someone you know has been touched by COVID-19, the novel corona virus. This cruel disease is burning a path through Black communities in New York, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, and New Orleans to name a few. And, not only are Black people coming down with COVID-19 they are dying from it at a disproportionate rate—far outstripping their proportion in their cities. We are told Black people are succumbing to COVID-19 because they are more likely to have more underlying health risks—diabetes, hypertension, cancer, asthma, and COPD for example. At some point officials at local, state, and national levels finally admitted that Black people’s high morbidity is a direct result of longstanding and persistent social disparities—lack of access to health care, poor housing, low level employment, and limited access to quality food, etc. That’s the subtle way of saying racism is killing us!

Despite the acknowledgement that an unfair system is leading us to early graves, somewhere the discussion came back to our dying being our own fault. The Surgeon General, a Black man named Jerome Adams, defaulted to that old bromide… Black people are dying because they are not taking personal responsibility for their own health. He stood in front of a national audience at the daily COVID-19 press briefing and said, “Black people need to stop drinking alcohol and stop smoking.” He said that as if White people do not drink (remember the 3-martini lunch?) or smoke. He did not tell White people to stop using meth or opioids. No, his admonition was directed solely at Black people. So, in the midst of our dying we are being shamed!

On top of all of this death and suffering, I am even more concerned about the way this moment is keeping us from one of the most sacred rituals of Black life—the homegoing—or what the rest of America calls a funeral. Black homegoings are an important culmination of our journey here on earth. They allow family and loved ones to say a formal and public goodbye to the deceased. It allows us to speak well about the departed. It allows community and friends to surround us with condolences, prayers, and love. It allows us to send our loved ones into eternity with proper reverence and ceremony.

In addition to the formal ceremony, there is the repast, and no one does a repast like Black folks. As someone who has worked most of her adult life with White colleagues I have been to my share of “White” funerals. Some are somber. Some have a sense of humor or even whimsy, but none has had a repast like a Black repast. My White colleagues often have what might be termed a “reception.” There will be fruit and vegetable trays, perhaps a finger sandwich platter, some cookies, punch and/or coffee. However, a Black repast is a banquet. It has chicken (sometimes 3 types—baked, barbequed, and friend), ham, turkey, baked macaroni and cheese, yams, greens, green beans, potato salad, spaghetti, cornbread dressing, rolls, a wall of pies, cakes, cobblers, banana puddings, and ice tea, Kool Aid, and coffee. This food is a result of friends, family, church and community members bringing special dishes to be shared among the grieving family.

This Black grieving ritual is being totally lost in a time of COVID-19. The requirement to stay in our homes in order to stay safe along with not having any gatherings of more than 10 people means we cannot have what we think of as a “Black” homegoing. Thus, COVID-19 is not only stealing the lives of our loved ones, it is stealing our traditions. It is forcing us to grieve alone. When the patriarch of the famed Marsalis family, Ellis Marsalis, died last week all I could think of is that he would be laid to rest without the benefit of that New Orleans’ staple—a second line. People would be unable to dance behind his casket to the rhythmic beat of horns and drums playing, “When the saints go marching in.” Instead, less than a dozen of his family and/or friends will assemble in a quiet service to say their goodbyes. Perhaps after we come through this period, they will memorialize Mr. Marsalis but the memorial will lack the immediacy and feeling of a traditional homegoing.

Poet Amiri Baraka referred to Black people as “Blues People.” The music we created to make the nation’s most original art form contains within it a lament of our sadness and sojourn from the shores of West Africa to the cane brake and cotton fields of the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi and most of the South to the share cropping farms and the institution of Jim Crow to the battle for Civil Rights. We have died for the right to be Americans. And we need the ability to mourn in our very own way.

So, in this blog post I say and prayer and pour a libation for those Black people who have departed in the wake of COVID-19—whether as a result of the disease or the serendipity of a death during this time. I imagine glorious choirs, a rousing eulogy, smartly dressed ushers, funny anecdotes, and yes, a magnificent repast. I declare a requiem for those Blues People!

Stay Black & Smart.

“Why COVID-19 Should Scare Black People”

By now you and everyone you know has had some experience with COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus. The outbreak was first documented in Wu-Han China and because of its totalitarian government China could take draconian measures such as forced quarantines, building a hospital in less than a month, and requiring health care workers to work around the clock. However, in a democratic society, individuals retain certain rights that governments are not supposed to violate.

Today, people are pointing fingers at various people and government officials concerning slow or limited actions. Most of the nation is asked to practice what we now know as social distancing. Unless we are first responders—police officers, fire fighters, and health care practitioners—we have been asked to self-isolate and stay home. Our schools are closed, our jobs ask us to work from home, if possible, and sadly some of us have lost our jobs. We are washing our hands multiple times a day, wiping down hard services with disinfectant wipes, and shopping for hard to find staples like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, bleach, and disinfectant wipes and sprays.

Lots of myths are spreading because of this deadly virus. One such myth is that young people can’t catch it. That’s not true. Indeed, 58% of those identified with the virus are in the 18 to 49 year old age range. A variety of “cures” for the virus are circulating on the Internet. However, as of this moment there are no cures for the virus. Our best course of action is to practice social distancing to help flatten the curve of the outbreak.

I wanted to write this blog because I am concerned about what COVID-19 may mean for Black people. One of the myths we must confront is that Black people can’t catch the virus. We know that’s not true. Idris Elba tested positive and several NBA players—Rudy Gobert and Kevin Durant—have tested positive. We are all at risk for contracting the virus. But, as Black people we have a special risk.

Our risk is tied to our limited access to quality health care. We are less likely to receive a COVID-19 test even if we present with symptoms. Over the last few days 3 Black people have come across my news feed as victims who died from COVID-19. We are more economically vulnerable so we are likely to risk going to work or taking on side hustles like shared ride gigs (Uber, Lyft) and food delivery to make ends meet.

Historically, we say, “When White America catches a cold, Black America catches pneumonia!” Thus, White Americans may be getting the flu, but we are getting the coronavirus! We are less likely to be able to homeschool our children and our children cannot afford to lose precious classroom time. We have fewer childcare options and because our seniors are considered a vulnerable population we cannot rely on grandma and grand dad as childcare providers. Thus, we may be tempted to leave children home alone so we can earn a living. This can be very dangerous.

COVID-19 is scary by any measure but it is especially scary for Black folks. We have to pay attention to the best science and hygiene practices to stay safe and healthy. We will get through this but we can speed up the resolution by being smart in how we respond. Let’s stay safe… let’s stay healthy… let’s stay alive.

Stay Black & Smart!