Racism, I come to you today as a friend in need of your understanding, consideration, and support. I assume you are familiar with the historical achievement of Senator Barack Obama as the first African-American presidential nominee of a major party. If elected on November 4th, this would be a dream come true for the past African-Americans that have shed blood, sweat, and tears, and even those that have sacrificed their lives in the name of equality. But I’m afraid that you will do everything in your institutional power to influence the outcome of the election. Historically, you have illustrated your resistance to the economic, social, and political progress of African-Americans. Because African-Americans can no longer be victims of your prejudice and discrimination, it is imperative that we discuss your intentions for election day. Our relationship has a long and painful past.
Racism, remember in 1619 with the arrival of the first African slaves to Jamestown how you branded, chained, dehumanized, and labored them until their death, your impact on the Jim Crow south where from 1881 to 1901 an estimated 100 African-Americans were lynched each year, the separate-but-equal accommodations that were cemented with the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 that legalized segregation, the 1954 arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery for refusing to relinquish her seat, the 1955 brutal death of young Emmett Till in Mississippi, the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham that killed four little girls, and the 1968 killing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis.
Was your hatred for African-Americans that deeply rooted? I have always wanted to ask, what gratification you got out of committing those violent and demeaning acts.
I do not want this open request to discuss our past differences to sound ungrateful. I acknowledge you for encouraging President Lincoln to issue the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation that led to the eventual end of slavery, the 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that ended school segregation, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Racism, African-Americans have tolerated your leadership for over 400 years, and thus, the reigns of political power need to change hands. On election day, I ask that you do not allow your overt side to evoke white racial resentment and distort the electoral process.
Do not mistake my request, I am not in favor of Obama being elected solely because he is black, but because I believe he is the most qualified and should not be a victim of the systematic racism that you have been responsible for in the past.
I am asking you to give “hope” a chance. Young voters of all races, creeds, and colors support Obama. In the words of Dr. King, the “sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners [have sat] down together at the table of brotherhood” to hopefully lead this nation in a new direction. So please, do not suppress the plight of the 21th century with your own selfish agenda.
William T. Hoston is an Assistant Professor at Wichita State University in the Department of Political Science.
2 comments:
excellent article. i pray that white people won't act racism on Nov 4.
"In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently.""Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away, and that in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.""On an altar of prejudice we crucify our own, yet the blood of all children is the color of God"
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