BLACK LIVES MATTER – by Marlene Daley

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Link to “Race Baiting 101”
“Black Lives Matter” was formed in response to what I am now forced to label, “the alleged murder” of the innocent unarmed 17-year-old Black teenager Trayvon Martin, who was gunned down by the armed civilian George Zimmerman. As an individual who voluntarily scouted his neighborhood to keep it safe from suspected criminals, Zimmerman’s stereotypical suspect is black skinned, young and wearing hoodie. Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges while Martin, to quote one writer, was “post-humously” (hyphenated, I imagine, to underscore a new definition that technically means, the deceased representation of self), placed on trial for his own murder.

The film producer/director Matthew Cooke has added his voice to the cause of these bizarre, unconscionable, senseless killings and the continuing deliberate incarceration of Blacks and underprivileged citizens of America. His conscience and passion brought him to produce the riveting short video titled Race Baiting 101 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLgIIjnpZyU), which some may find a soothing salve, despite knowing that the ignorance that comes with prejudice is slowly but surely being eroded. He may be one of relatively few White men who could embrace Black women with their “burry-burry” head and treat them like queens as opposed to others (even among Blacks), who speak but not act accordingly. There are Blacks who in fact will try to use lighter skin in a way that could be self-demeaning or projected as such that could be interpreted to mean, having a psychological edge – that does not realistically exist. I hold them blameless. This myth or mis-education on both sides of the divide spells a lack of knowledge of our history and, I may add, spirituality, to which Matthew Cooke’s video brings a startling reminder. One may in the process come upon other revelations as well which points to why America is completely open to Cubans, albeit on the grounds of political asylum, yet, has closed its doors to Haitians who have done far more in contributing to the building of this country. History has forgotten that it was free men of Haiti who came here in 1779 to fight alongside the Americans against the British in the “Siege of Savannah.”

But I would be remiss if I did not get a little more in-depth with Cooke’s video and the reawakening it heralds upon reflection, because the truth is leveled there. His reference to White indentured slaves speaks loudly to a time in history when being seen as the underdog had little to do with skin color, as it included a breed of unfortunate Europeans that were tricked into accepting a free ticket to come to America to give free labor. The 1676 Bacon rebellion which saw Jamestown, Virginia, almost burnt to the ground was significant, in that the revolt spurned a White consciousness that thereafter saw a marked and growing distinction between Whites and Blacks. Visit us at.

The plight and brainwashing of nations are subtly entrenched around the world, but none as startling for me as the Dominican Republic where Blacks are so deeply influenced, that they see themselves as superior to their brothers in neighboring Haiti. It is as unbelievable how deep-rooted this influence is, as it is to believe that a Black man by every measure, could possibly see something else of himself on looking in the mirror; something that was mentally created, which led him to think that he stands apart or different from how the world sees him, compared to that which he truly is. Our schools, churches, political leaders, and others, who society models as guides and leaders, are partly to be blamed. Black pride will not be re-ignited until inculcated in the very young. The myth that castes the blame of slavery solely in the lap of the White man and taught to us as such in history, maybe that which, at its very root, has pitched us a sense of inferiority and may be more damaging today than teaching the truth about us being sold at a high premium, by our own brothers in Africa.

The melting pot that America has become will in time take care of some of these ills. In the meantime we should stand firm in the certain knowledge that we are all here as a fragment of the Divine Maker and that we are challenged to find the unique expression of Him through our work. We as parents are now charged with constantly affirming the truth to our children, which may be less understandable, but the truth nonetheless, of our genesis, regardless of religious teachings or Christian dogma. This truth does not abut at the messenger, but stands assuredly as a testament, that we are all from the same source of all creation and that that makes us All One, in His image and likeness.

Marlene Daley    https://kotchmagazine.com/
Author of “A 3rd World Awakening”