Change

I wrote the below piece afew days after President Obama won the election.


We have just entered a new era in American history, by electing a Black man to the highest office in the land. The news and media are full of people who are ecstatic, in churches, people are singing and reporters are reporting. Even people from foreign countries are excited about this. Hell, they are just as excited as most Americans. This recent election has become, no is, a huge deal. Rightly so, this country’s past has been littered with racism and peppered with hatred. Yet for over 100 years society has finally managed to elect a black to the presidency. We are making progress, the dream has been full filled; change has finally come.


If all this is happening and great change is going on or about to take place…why am I not impressed? Why do I, a black man in American not feel over joyed as many do? I should be dancing in the streets, singing hymns, quoting MLK or high fiving my buddies. I guess the training I have previously received as an Equal Opportunity Advisor won’t let me. 16 weeks, for 16 weeks I and 13 relative strangers sat in a small room, looking, talking, crying and at times arguing with each other in various discussions that could fuel hate and discontent in someone not in the course. But when it was all said and done, many of us were to be for ever changed. Pandora’s Box, as my roommate and I loved to say had been opened and there was no way to close it. The day after the election I sat and listened to Doug and Dee Dee, a black radio show, the participants were talking when I heard some one on the show say that this is a time for all black men to stand up and be proud. Are you kidding me? You are joking right? That…is a slap to the face for a lot of black men who have been doing “what’s right” for years. But now all of a sudden I should be proud. You’re out of your damn mind. I was raised by a Blackman. Though he made mistakes and was not perfect, he along with my mother did a good job and that I turned out pretty good.

One could easily make the argument that the Military is a future view of society. Over the years the military has led the way in “testing” the waters so to speak in the realm of social equality. The Army, in particular has been seen by some as a large social experiment. The integration of blacks being one of it’s biggest along with bringing women into our ranks which there is no doubt in my mind trickled over to the civilian work force allowing women to be in positions that were previously closed to them. Things happen within the military culture and often society soon follows. This phenomenon is believed so much that Former President Clinton instituted the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy that would prohibit service members from questioning a recruit’s sexual preference. We have had minorities in positions of great responsibility and in the highest offices within the services. So this which is why I am not surprised by what has taken place in the past election.

The ceiling is still there, it’s just that it looks different. About 10 years ago we had our first black Sergeants Major of the Army (SGMA). He didn’t hold the office very long and was brought up on sexual harassment charges and later stepped down. Though Colin Powell had already retired and was one of the most prominent blacks in the military, I don’t think we were ready for a black SGM. Many Americans are oblivious to the fact that many of the same discriminatory policies of a hundred years ago are still in effect today. If I, in the military where we have a much better record and systems in place to deal with some of these issues can tell you we still have a ways to go, then there is no way you can tell me society is good to go. I’m hoping that some in our society do not use this as a way of minimizing discrimination as well as racism. Trying to down play it or argue that it doesn’t exist because a black was elected to be Presidency.

In EO school, we learned about minimization. Minimization: To represent as having the least degree of importance or value. Today some White people continue to minimize racism by saying, “Personal achievement mostly depends on personal ability. Racism isn’t prevalent anymore.” When you say that something may exist but it’s not really that bad. It’s not that big of a deal and you should just ignore it. Well if it’s allowed to slide, it’ll never go away. I just feel we need to be real about what happened and not let joy cloud our judgment. Racism has not gone…it’s still alive and well. Was it not more than two years ago that the incident in Jena, LA. made national headlines? In 1999 a Blackman was drug behind a pick up truck in Texas; drug to the point where his body was found strung out for miles and disfigured. Just days ago an Offensive lineman from the Texas Longhorns, was kicked off the team. Why? Well the young man decided to voice his opinion of the incoming president by going on his facebook page a sending a message to his friends in which he stated that all the hunters need to get their guns because there would be a nigger in the white house. There are still places in this country where I am not welcomed and could be killed for going there.

My biggest fear is that this one event will back fire and blow up…mainly in the faces of Blacks across this country. My childhood friend told me he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He felt there must be a conspiracy somewhere in the wings waiting to show its head. We laughed about it but there maybe some truth to it. I heard Blacks on TV themselves now saying, “There is not one thing that I can not achieve.” Soon this will be followed by whites saying, “See there is a Black President. Racism doesn’t exist anymore and Blacks shouldn’t complain.” WHOA are you kidding me. A Black gets into office and all of a sudden all the problems will be erased. I think this train of thought is very, very dangerous. We have fought and continue to fight against racism, sexism and any other ism out there. It has not gone away. And as Kenny thought, maybe that’s the conspiracy. All eyes will be on Barack from this day forward. I hope he’s got some big shoulders, because he has been given the biggest weight to carry of any one person on this planet.

So what are we to do? First we need to hold our society to the highest standards. How about the press, we need to start beating them up to report more about the facts instead of sensationalism journalism. The media does more for keeping us separate than together. Do not allow someone to tell you what you can or can not do without you giving it your best. Be a realist, there are some things in this society that we can and can not do. Know we are working towards a goal and though we might not be there yet, we can still get there. But we must do it together. We live our lives the best we can. We do our best not to rely on outward appearances and focus on what’s inside.