Page 28 - Florida Sentinel 6-5-20

Local
It’s Up To Us To
Make A Change
Written by: Cherrell ”Chinah” Watson
There were lots of fires, but there was no Rain 􏰀 It’s time to make a difference,
change laws and take a stand!!
All those years of oppression on the neck of a Black Man
Hands behind his back,
Hands Up and Hands inside a Hoodie! Suppose to protect and Serve but You’re the Bully!! Here we are as a people all shapes and colors. Standing united as Sisters & Brothers.
What our ancestors endured we can only Fathom. One thing is for sure Black lives do Matter.
All the property it can be Replaced
but the lives that were lost will Never Be Erased! If History had a Face! Would you plead my case?! Would you intervene as I plead for my life?
Or would I be wrong because I put up a fight? I’m not resisting I’m simply telling you
“I can’t Breathe”
Out my eyes I see people pleading and watching Me!
as I slip away, sent to an Early Grave
& Now my Killer is going to walk away! What would Jesus Do?
Did he not cry out before he died invain pleading for God to remove the pain!
But once he knew that he was chosen to Make a Change.
He died so that we no longer have to live the same! From the Oak trees my ancestors Hang!
If you don’t know you will never understand! History was made on the neck of a black man!! 􏰁􏰂
#georgefloyd #blacklivesmatter #history #change #standup #dontshoot #cuapb #trayvonmartin #michaelbrown #covid19 #2020 #yearinreview
Racism & Social Unrest
BY NORMAN A. HARRIS AND ANTIPAS L. HARRIS
“I can’t breathe,” was the ceaseless, tenuous cry of a dying black man suffocating from pressure on his neck by a racist murderer acting in the authority of law enforcement! George Floyd is yet another casualty in the homogeneous history of barbaric racism against Blacks in America. This country has yet to reckon with its malicious, racist his- tory. The problem is so deeply interwoven in society’s fabric until the broader culture has been anesthetized to the pain.
Throughout history, civil- ians and police officers have unjustifiably killed Black peo- ple. Many perpetrators were applauded and never crimi- nally charged for their mis- deeds. Others, such as George Zimmerman, were legally exonerated. We are not sur- prised. The American system was built by racists to protect racists! Some laws have changed, but culture has not. Each generation produces racists in every area of society, and Blacks have lived in this reality for many generations. The recent protests, riots, and lootings are a social outcry: “Enough Is Enough!”
Floyd’s murder, caught on video, is a tipping point. Offi- cer Derek Chauvin’s knee mercilessly pressing Floyd’s neck is a graphic visual of how this country, unfailingly, has had its knee on the neck of Black America. If this image is not convincing enough, con- sider how Omar Jimenez, the Black CNN reporter, was taken into custody on national television while simply report- ing the protest. Not far away from him, the Minneapolis state police treated the white CNN reporter, Josh Camp-
bell, cordially and with dig- nity. Juxtaposing both situa- tions denotes an intelligible expression of the racism America has far too long em- braced. Blackness comes with a negative assumption amid white normativity. This is infu- riating and disastrously domi- nates practices of far too many systems of power, as evident in unscrupulous policing, and the racial acts of many civilians the same.
Racist narratives have shaped the entire existence of Blacks in America. Breonna Taylor and George Floyd murders are reminiscent of a history of policing that has his- torically targeted Black com- munities, dating back to its origin as slave patrol in the South. Ahmaud Arbery's assassination is painfully rem- iniscent of the 1955 Emmitt Till murder in Money, Missis- sippi.
The factual allegations giv- ing rise to each case are differ- ent; however, the racial actions taken by citizens to assume the power of protecting the com- munity from a Black man is the same. Moreover, whether George Junius Stinney, Jr., Emmitt Till, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Jamee John- son, Ahmaud Arbery, Bre- onna Taylor or a host of others, American history proves that there is an as- sumption of mysterious guilt when a white person says a Black person did something wrong.
History is paved with mor- bid pre-judgements for which Blacks did not stand a chance, not even a fair day in court. Any reasonable and good- hearted person should see that the pain is real. We need all hands-on deck to realize the overdue change of systems and social culture.
Our debaters often argue Black people should, “just get over it.” Some dismiss our nec- essary concerns as a mere “leftist agenda.” Some reli- gious communities attempt to reframe and demonize con- cerns that Blacks continuously address and suggest certain re- sponses to racial misconducts against us, such as protests and riots, are creating the problems.
It should be noted, how- ever, urgency is the mood of the Black community. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “A riot is the lan- guage of the unheard.” What is it that America has refused to hear? To be heard, we must matter. Blacks have not mat- tered equally as whites in this country!
A moral position is inten- tional about hearing the lan- guage of the Black community, irrespective of dialects. Con- sider faith that Jesus intends, one of justice, mercy, love, and hope. Everyone is created in God’s image. As is argued in the book, ‘Is Christianity the White Man’s Religion?,’ writ- ten by Antipas Harris, Bib- lical Christianity is for everyone. It connects with the anguish on the streets and fights for the equal, merciful, and loving treatment of all hu- manity. Christians must dis- tance faith from party politics and regain Christ-centered, Spirit-filled moral authority, showing solidarity with the un- derprivileged and even angry protesters over social injustice.
Norman A. Harris, J.D., M.Div., principle owner of Champions for Justice Law, LLC, community activist and ordained clergy.
Antipas L. Harris, D.Min., Ph.D., the president-dean of Jakes Divinity School and associate pastor at The Pot- ter’s House of Dallas, TX.
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 13-A