Tami’s Take: Racial Unrest

I wrote this exactly two years ago. I’m touching it up a little in light of what we know now. At the time I had a lot of reasons for not posting it, but now I believe it’s time to freely express myself. A lot has happened with racial unrest since then and now and I’ll be writing about those things and posting quite a bit more. I hope you’ll stick with me and share anything that moves you!

A Look Back – May 2020

By now you’ve seen all kinds of videos on the news showing pictures that may be hard to process. Emotions over racial unrest are no doubt running high as you’re seeing the video of the police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck and the news saying people rioting, burning, looting and throwing things at police are peaceful protesters.

What’s Going On?

You’re also seeing the deaths of innocent people at the hands of the people who say they want justice for Floyd. Groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter all in the streets, at times forcing white people to kneel before them and beg forgiveness for their “white privilege.” Members of the United States Congress wearing Kente Cloth and kneeling at Capitol Hill.

What in the world is going on with our country? I have some thoughts on the matter and about racial unrest in general.

Who Am I?

Who am I to speak to this?  Just a regular citizen who loves God and loves this country and does not want to see it torn apart. But, I’d also like to be a bridge builder because I have been uniquely positioned to live in both worlds, black and white.

I was born in a mud hut in Sierra Leone, West Africa. I was in the room with her when my mother died when I was six years old. She was the only family member who accepted me. I bear a deep scar on my arm that shows how a relative abused me when she took something out of a fire one night and held it to my flesh until it burned. I was abandoned and rejected by my own African family members.

A white missionary family that my mother and I fell in love with, who lived in a neighboring village and was translating the New Testament into my tribal language, adopted me when my mother died, and they brought me to the United States.

This white American missionary family took me in when no one else wanted me. They loved me as their own and treated me as their own. The missionaries gave me opportunities I could never have dreamed of as a little girl in a mud hut in Sierra Leone, West Africa. They introduced me to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of all.

Love and Hate

Since then I’ve been shown a tremendous amount of love by people both black and white. The Kimball family helped me find scholarships for school and get an education. They supported and encouraged me. Even at my most rebellious, they loved me and told me I was not only their daughter, but also a daughter of the King of kings. They instilled confidence in me that I could do and be whatever I wanted.

When I chose to become a broadcast journalist, I went to many new places and met many new people black and white who helped me when I was in need. They helped me get a job, a car, housing. They fed me when I was away from home, embraced me when I was looking for a church, and befriended me when I didn’t know anyone where I was.

I’ve also been hurt badly by people both black and white. Both black and white have called me the “n-word.” I’ve been followed in stores. I’ve been told “you’re a little far from home, ain’t ya?” by a big scary white man. I’ve been mocked by black and white for my skin color, my hair texture, my wide, flat nose, the way I walk and the way I talk.

But none of that could break me. Knowing who I was and Whose I was helped me to keep my head up high when people tried to bring my spirit low.

Building Bridges

Because of these experiences, I believe I can help build bridges. Bridges between black and white, between native-born Americans and immigrants, between journalists and viewers or listeners, between Christians and non-Christians, between young and old, between Africans and Americans. I live or have lived in all these worlds, and I speak from personal experiences.

I’d like to start by not only commenting on the racial unrest here in the U.S. but also finding solutions to bridge the gaps. I watch and read a lot of news from the left, right, and center. I hear people talk about the problems ad nauseum. It’s hard to find anyone offering real solutions to the problems.

Community Non-leaders

Sadly, I think there are some people out there who don’t really want solutions. They just want to keep going on and on about the problems, why? Many times, it’s because they’ll get a few dollars thrown in their direction. There are national and multinational corporations out there who will cut a check to some so-called “community leaders” to do this or that. But guess what happens? The money often goes in their pocket, they often fan the flames of racial unrest, and we see little progress.

To people like that it would be devastating to solve the problem of bad race relations and racial unrest in America. They would lose their livelihood. Those are jobs I’d like to see totally eradicated because we dared to unite as one country, one American culture, instead of divided up into categories and boxes in which we’re expected to remain.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t enjoy the beauty and goodness of the various sub-cultures within America. Who doesn’t love being able to taste food from all parts of the world, or see shows and entertainment from the perspective of our various ethnicities, or see the different ways people dress? We should celebrate those differences. For the most part, whenever racial unrest dies down, we do.

George Floyd Protesters

About the death of George Floyd. Many professional commentators have spoken in-depth about the subject. For my take I will echo a few things about racial unrest in this matter, that you may have already heard. Some say he was definitely murdered and the police officer who killed him deserves to be punished. Even if that was true, Floyd should not be held up as a hero for blacks to emulate. He may have been made in the image of God as we all are, but he had a long rap sheet. He had fentanyl and meth in his system when he was killed, according to the medical examiner’s report. Floyd was not a hero. There are many other black heroes all of us can look up to.

People who riot, burn and loot, causing all kinds of racial unrest because they’re angry over racial injustice are simply in the wrong. Multiple black lives were taken in the protesting, rioting and looting. So now black people who are upset that a black man was killed are responsible for the killing of innocent black people. Doesn’t make sense.

Somebody Loved Them

I’ll never minimize the loss of life. The people killed, black or white, by police officers are loved by somebody, and I have empathy for those who loved the victims. Still, speaking strictly by the numbers, police kill more white people than blacks. Yes, whites are the majority, but the majority of violent crimes are committed by blacks. So police come into contact with blacks for violent crimes more than they do with whites. And, most blacks who are murdered are killed at the hands of other blacks. Mainstream forums rarely address that.

You may be asking how can we minimize this violent contact with police? How can we lessen the loss of life, especially because of racial unrest? How can we have racial reconciliation? What can I do? Plenty, whether you’re black or white. Let’s dig into some solutions to truly save black lives, and to bridge the racial divide.

Turn Back to God

1. First and foremost, we must turn back to God as a nation. We need revival once again in this land. We need our churches to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and we need to get back to church. Every week. We are falling off the deep end and only Jesus can heal our individual hurts and our various communities and heal our land as a whole

People will always face racial unrest, general unrest and treat each other badly until they tap into the source of love, joy and peace. Only then can they start to look beyond the problems they’re facing and start reaching out to help others. So, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior today, and get solid in your identity as a Christ follower. Emulate and reflect Jesus, and think about how you can help others, not hurt them or get revenge for your grievances against them. Romans 12:19 says “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” Let’s not take something that’s not ours.

We must ask that same Lord to search our own hearts and show us, black or white, if racism, prejudice or discrimination resides there. If so, we must ask Him to root it out.

No More Mobs

2.We must not become a mob out on the street, killing our own or anyone else. Instead, we should pack our local city councils, county meetings, state legislatures, and even the halls of congress and calmly, logically and rationally lay out our outrage. That earns respect. Dr. King showed us that.

Screaming, yelling and becoming violent toward the people with the power to make changes usually makes them shut down. Watch any council meeting on any public access station in any city across the U.S. When people come in hot about racial unrest, yelling and screaming, the council members look away, look at their phones, or sit with a glazed, far-away look. Most of the time they’re not even listening. Terrorizing people who didn’t do the offense demonstrators are angry about brings fear and division, but very little change.

Only Kneel Before God

3. White people, please take my hand and get up off of your knees. No one has to kneel or bow before another person. In America we kneel and bow only to God as said so well by a Georgia State Trooper. Even if a prankster shot this video, the simple fact that the white people feeling like they had to kneel is appalling. Any equal rights demonstrators and others telling white people they need to kneel and beg for forgiveness for their ancestors’ racism, their own inherent racism, and their white privilege are becoming the oppressors they hate.

I have some issues with those who talk about white privilege as if it’s a sin white people must confess. I’ve lived in Eastern Kentucky and told stories as a news reporter about people who’ve lived and died in “hollers” there in abject poverty, most of them white. I have also worked at a homeless shelter and seen white people and families there. I’ve seen the stories on the news of white homeless people robbed and killed in the street. Their white skin did not afford them any privileges.

Content of Our Character

If we as black people can’t help the color of our skin and expect people to acknowledge, love and accept our skin color and our race, we should extend the same grace to people with white skin. Have we forgotten Dr. King’s words? Judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. 

Unfortunately, I think some of what we’re seeing in D.C. is theater when politicians kneel in congress wearing what they think is material that symbolizes solidarity for black people. The Kente Cloth actually comes from an African tribe that practiced slavery.

Begging for Votes

These politicians are begging for the “black vote” in this election year. Democrats will lose badly to President Trump if a recent poll is true which shows that 40% of registered black voters approve of the Republican president. If the number translates into votes, that would be unprecedented. So, some politicians want to show that they have not forgotten blacks in this election cycle by kneeling and bowing and wearing Kente Cloth. They’re misguided.

A few bad actors in politics and behind the scenes want to keep fanning the flames of racial unrest for their own greed and gain, but there’s not much there to fan.

Racism is Real, But Limited

Yes, racism exists. Systemic racism exists. There’s no denying that. There are some people in power who will always want to keep people out of their business or neighborhood or their church or their school or their government based on their skin color. Those numbers are minute now in this country, thanks to legislation and awareness raised about that injustice over the decades.

I have befriended, worked with, covered news stories about, and dined with many people on the right, black and white, who some might think of as “right-wing extremists” but who proved to me through word and deed that they did not have a racist or prejudiced bone in their body.

Quick. Name a self-proclaimed white supremacist or KKK member that you’ve interacted with. While these bigots still exist, they are few in number and hold no actual power to keep people of color down and oppressed. If they did, we would not see the black brain surgeons, celebrities, famous athletes, famous lawyers, celebrity journalists and millionaires and billionaires in our ranks. These are often people who faced major challenges, sometimes race-based, yet overcame them and rose to wealth and prominence.

Good vs. Evil

4. Let’s recognize the difference between good and evil. Using common sense, I have to point out that there are black people who do good and black people who do bad. There are white people who do good and white people who do bad. Let’s applaud the good and correct the bad.

What is good and what is bad? Let’s use that common sense again.

Even in the midst of a protest against injustice, robbery is not good. It’s criminal. Murder is not good. It’s criminal. Arson is not good. It’s criminal. In general, lying is not good, it’s bad. Cheating is not good, it’s bad.

Trying to learn about someone else’s culture is not bad. It’s good. Holding a door open for someone is not bad. It’s good. Visiting someone who’s sick or alone is not bad. It’s good. Going to church is not bad. It’s good. Being against abortion is not bad. It’s good. It’s sad that we have to even spell these things out.

In Isaiah 5:20 the Bible says “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” Let’s get it straight. Let’s hold the individuals who do bad things to account, not generalize about a whole group or a whole race. Let’s investigate and prosecute each case objectively, on its own merits, not lump all incidents together.

It’s Ok to Succeed

5. Take advantage of available opportunities to get ahead. We as blacks have massive opportunities today to do and be whatever we want in the United States. We just need to go after those opportunities. The only ones truly holding us back are often our own people. Let’s stop saying people are “acting white” when they speak properly. Stop calling them “coons” for believing something different than you do about a current event or for being friends with someone you don’t like. Let’s stop calling them Uncle Toms or sellouts if they want to move out of a neighborhood filled with drugs and gangs. Don’t believe this still happens? Wade through Twitter one day using these words as search terms.

Lots of opportunities exist even in our badly deteriorating public schools. There, students can join a play or join the band. They can also go to after school programs for technology, cooking, sports or just about any activity you can think of. If we encourage our young people to get involved in those things, focus and work hard to excel in the activities and then support and cheer them on, they can get ahead in life!

We need a cultural shift in the black community where we still remember the past so that we are not doomed to repeat it, but not live in it. Where we choose to see the positives of our current situation and not wallow around in the negatives. Where we look for solutions instead of only talking about the problems.

Back to Work

6. Let’s put everyone back to work again. There is great satisfaction and dignity in knowing the work of your hands provided the food on your table. Sadly, too many in the black community are content to live on government handouts.

No more. It’s time to get up, get dressed, get online or out in the community, knock on doors. Tell everyone you know that you’re looking for work and don’t give up until you find a job. Then focus and produce results. Stay away from the lazy and the gossipers. If a job is not opening up, consider what you can do to become an entrepreneur and create jobs, then be the best boss ever. Work hard and put your heart and soul into establishing a great place of business.

The unemployment rate was at a historical low before the coronavirus. After that, the conomy lost about 20 million jobs and millions were filing for unemployment benefits. In May, as COVID restraints began to loosen, 2.5 million jobs came flooding back into the marketplace. This is a great jump start to the economy which cratered for weeks because of coronavirus. Barring any other threats, when states open up completely once again, the economy will boom. Before the virus there were more jobs available than people to work them.

Heal Broken Families

7. Let’s work on making our families whole again. Divorce rates are high in this country, impacting both black and white. If reconciliation is at all possible and there are no safety issues, please get back together. Find a Christian counselor or a pastor you can trust, pray and ask God to heal your marriage. Focus on the Family provides the Hope Restored seminars that have about an 80% success rate.

The black family unit remains as broken as ever. Black men, propose to the woman you know you love. Marry her. Be faithful to her and treat her like a queen. How she blossoms and shows you love and attention will shock you. Have babies after marriage, not before. Stay home, stay out of the streets, stay away from drugs and alcohol and care for those children.

Abortion’s Lies

Let us not fall for the lies that abortion is good and will improve our lives. It is not, and it does not. It often produces guilt and shame. Since Roe v. Wade in 1973 we’ve lost approximately 400,000 black babies each year to abortion. That’s almost 19 million black people who would be alive today if we’d give them a chance. I’m tearing up as I write that. It’s just breathtaking to think about. If black lives matter, if black is beautiful, if we should be proud of our heritage, our race, our skin color, then why are we killing our descendants?

You know what improves our lives? Having and raising children.

Deep Soul Satisfaction

As a mom I have experienced the deep soul satisfaction of holding and rocking my children as I nursed them. You’ll find nothing in the world sweeter than the feeling of peace that washes over you when you’re holding your baby as you realize this is exactly where you’re supposed to be at this moment in time, caring for this precious little life. The feeling is even better when your husband is right there with you.

Healing our families and having and caring for our babies will bring our crime rates down, reduce our poverty levels, and increase our chances of getting a good education. It’ll also increase our chances of living longer and being upstanding citizens with good jobs, becoming productive members of society.

And remember, you’ll get old one day and need someone to take care of you. That baby you allowed to live will most likely be the one to help you live and have good quality of life when you can’t take care of yourself. See, lots of benefits!

Seek Out Others

8. Seek out people different than you and talk to them regularly. Even if you disagree on everything! It’s ok. God made us all different. On purpose. Intentionally. Thankfully, He loves us all the same. Find out what makes the other person loveable to God and others.

The more you talk the more you’ll find you have in common. We all want to love and be loved, right? What about providing for ourselves and our families? We all want to live in peace, right? Who doesn’t want the best for our children? We all want food, shelter, clothing and transportation, right? Even if we’re different in looks or thoughts, in spiritual or political beliefs, ultimately, we all want the same things. We can find common ground and stop fighting.

In Summary

When you’re busy trying to reflect Jesus, caring for your family and keeping it together, going to work every day, finding civil ways to make change in your community and talking regularly with someone you may disagree with, it becomes harder to look at someone different than you as an enemy.

I have many more thoughts, ideas and potential solutions to the racial unrest we’re facing in this country. I plan to keep sharing them. Ultimately, – and this may sound trite or corny to some, but it’s still true – what we really need is love. Love for God, love for ourselves and love for our neighbors. That’s what will help heal the discontent, damage and discord between the races. Not forcing white people to their knees, making them beg for forgiveness, not taking a knee on a ballfield or in the halls of congress, not rioting, not calling all white people white supremacists. Love is how we build bridges to reach each other and connect with one another instead of dividing and tearing our communities and our country apart.

That’s my take. Take it or leave it. I hope you’ll take it to heart.