As a Black person,  I have my own cultural nightmares, yet every time I think of the era that descended on this country after December 7, 1941, I am physically ill.  A president like no other before or since, responded to attack with a rhetoric and acts based on unsubstantiated racialized fear, suppression and hatred aimed at innocent citizens.

75 years later, on the day that set those events in motion a man who has claimed the presidency based on racialized fear, suppression and hatred aimed at innocent citizens was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

Apparently, America does not want to change.

Today I honor the men and women who lost their lives as civilians and as service members, and all of those who served during WWII before and after the United States entered that global conflict.  But most of all, I honor the Japanese Americans who suffered in this country…their country, under the tyranny of targeted oppression.  That period and our recent election both lay bare the perverse failing that still plagues this nation. Racism.

It’s Not About Race…

“It’s not about race” they say.
…my stomach turns
The sight of those self satisfied faces
Spinning politics on parade
…my heart burns
Not because they are white
But because they use the power of white
To turn me inside out always telling me,
“Its not about race”.
Yet race is always their final solution
To every problem or conflict.
It’s not about race…
It was a war between the states
It’s not about race…
It was about properly cultivating the land
It’s not about race…
It was about national security
It’s not about race…
It was about jobs and feeding families.
No, it’s never about race,
And its always about race.
So I rock in silence, too spent to weep
Too chilled to push back
Holding myself
Convulsing
From the poison I’ve been force fed
Over and over again
“It’s not about race”
It’s not about race
It’s not about race.

– ALD