Tag: United States

A United State of Division

March 25, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

A United State of Division

one America wants private and independent
the other wants public and shared everything
one America wants everyone to win
the other wants only to be the winner
one America is a warrior
the other a protector
one America is black, brown, tan, Spanish speaking, Chinese, African…
the other is ‘color-blind’, assimilated and American…first
one America believes in God
the other sees god but doesn’t need or want to believe
one America is female
the other will not be labeled
one America lives for peace
the other fights for peace
one America began at birth
the other at conception
one America is a victim
the other sees a victim as open prey
one America is black
the other is white and doesn’t understand why
one America is proud and courageous
the other completely denies the colonial, genocidal name

these are the lines drawn in the sand
they are dug deeper and deeper
in this flawed model of tolerating one another’s differences
that we call “civil society”

but the planet brutally reminds us
that sand shifts
shores erode
rivers overflow
mountains fall
lines blur
what was close is far away
the more entrenched
the less we understand
where we really are
and how far we can go

–ALD

The Only Fight

August 20, 2014.Reading time 2 minutes.

brown-cancer-ribbon

The symbol to the left is normally used to denote support for cancer awareness.  I’ve turned it upside down as a symbol of my commitment to end the cancer of racism.  Upside down, its shape is also a reminder that the United States never passed a law against lynching…one of the most explicit and brutal acts of institutional racism in the history of this nation (although the government “apologized” in 2005.)  One of my earliest memories is the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot.  46 years later, black men are still being gunned down out of racially motivated hatred.  Where is my government?  Where is my church?  Where are my people?  

I offer the following plea to all people during what sometimes feels like a perpetual night of horror that has lasted my entire life.  If you agree, please share this image and these words:

WE believe in a truly United States…

We demand an immediate and more engaged national response to racism.  We insist on aggressive action from our leadership (government, faith, social, etc.) and we encourage hands on action and vocal responses to injustice that demonstrate the power and will of THE PEOPLE to dismantle institutionalized racism in America once and for all. 

Racism in the United States is a global embarrassment and demands our priority attention.  The question of race is part of every cultural, ethical and spiritual aspect of life in this country.  As a result, American racism is a sickness that lies at the root of economic inequity, environmental abuse, health disparity, immigration justice, gender, sexuality and gender identity marginalization, political and social disenfranchisement as well as countless other gross injustices, past and present.

We will no longer tolerate the specific issue of racism being sidelined.  THE PEOPLE have the power to turn American racism into history.  We demand change TODAY. 

– A.D.