I've been extremely busy these last few months. However, my eyes and ears have been opened and I have been listening to the latest news that has been going on this past few months. I am irritated, frustrated and disappointed by the latest edict that has come down from President Barack Obama and his cabinet. On May 13, 2016, The Department of Justice and The Department of Education issued a letter telling schools across the country that "transgender" students should be allowed to use the restrooms that match with their "gender identity".
But that's not all. In fact, it got more interesting. Both Attorney General Loretta Lynch and President Obama compared "Transgender rights" to the that of Black Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In reference to HB 2 in the state of North Carolina, AG Lynch said the following:
"This is not the first time that we have seen discriminatory responses to historic moments of progress for our nation. We saw it in the Jim Crow laws that followed the Emancipation Proclamation. We saw it in fierce and widespread resistance to Brown v. Board of Education…. Some of these responses reflect a recognizably human fear of the unknown, and a discomfort with the uncertainty of change….This is a time to summon our national virtues of inclusivity, diversity, compassion and open-mindedness. What we must not do–what we must never do–is turn on our neighbors, our family members, our fellow Americans, for something they cannot control, and deny what makes them human. This is why none of us can stand by when a state enters the business of legislating identity and insists that a person pretend to be something they are not, or invents a problem that doesn’t exist as a pretext for discrimination and harassment."
Well, that's a great speech, but it lacks value and substance. You see, Mrs. Lynch, as you know the laws that were enacted against Black Americans in this country were based upon what we looked like, not based upon sexuality. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X did not fight for the right to have sex with each other. Blacks were prevented from voting, owning property, having their homes and businesses destroyed, i.e. "Black Wall Street" in the 1921 Tulsa Riots, and so on.
What I find interesting is that as the first African-American President, along with the first African-American, female, Attorney General has spoken up more for the LGBT community, but will remain silent on Black rights. Now, there are those that would like to defend the president and talk about how the image of having a "Black President" is great. But is image really the only thing we as Black Americans should keep relying on? After all, we should judge people based upon their actions, not what the color of his skin is. That goes both ways.
I'm happy to see that we have an African-American President in the White House. But I wonder could the president use his bully pulpit on these random police shootings of young black men like he's doing on these schools across the country for the LGBT community? It's just disappointing that he has decided to take this issue and disrespect our community and our history like this. If we do not protect our legacy and history as black people, others will dictate it for us.
Peace and Love.
G
No comments:
Post a Comment