I’m cursed. I rarely am able to shutdown my mind. Sometimes in the middle of the night I’ll be awakened by my brain churning some thought or idea. Sometimes I effectively communicate my position, sometimes I don’t. Last night I said that Juneteenth was not a step forward for black people. In hindsight I failed to explain exactly what I meant.
Opal Lee spent 40 years trying to get Juneteenth declared a federal holiday. 40 years is a very long time. I’ve told you that I have a difficult time shutting down my mind. I pay as much attention to the motivation for an act as I do the act itself. I’m thinking about how the passage of this bill correlates to a very pivotal time in the legislative halls of Washington. I’m thinking about the legislation being held up by partisan posturing that as real consequences for America’s black and brown people.
I’m think about what goes on in Washington and I’m thinking about the history of legislation that directly impacts the futures of America’s darker people. We’ve been down this path before. Since the end of the Civil War we’ve had multiple Civil Rights and Voting Rights bills. Time and time again we’ve had the promise of equal treatment extended and then snatched away. I think too much. I think about what it will mean if we fail to secure passage of the John Lewis bill and the other voting rights bill. I think about the direct economic impact that a stranded infrastructure bill will have on the black and brain community which desperately needs the equivalent of a modern day new deal.
I think about the fact that politicians rarely do anything in a vacuum. Politicians have learned from experience that if you give people even a small “win” that they can be appeased over big loses. I listen intently. When Mitch McConnell says that legislation is never going to see the light of day I believe him. I believe that if the proposed legislation goes down in defeat that it will mark a very dark time for my people here in America. I believe that if black and brown people are forced to wait another 40 years for voter protection and the opportunity provided by infrastructure that our very survival will be at stake. I think too much. I can’t look the other way.
For me the symbolic wins mean very little if the jackpot wins never come. I think too much. I refuse to decieve myself about the true nature of things. So Juneteenth for me is a bone with no meat thrown to desperately hungry people. It won’t sustain them when the real assault comes and come it will. I think too much.
Think!!
Eyes Wide 👀 Open!!!
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