Racial divide: smashing the crucible

When I was a young man growing up in Harvey, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago, I came to terms with the idea that all white people in America wanted to get me. When I came to Benedictine College, a predominantly white private school located in Atchison, Kansas, I thought I must have suffered a lot of harassment and discrimination. I thought someone like Governor George Wallace would come out and lock the school door. Surprisingly, my arrival at Benedictine College was uneventful. Most of the white students and city residents were friendly and courteous. I thought they were going to be busy plotting against me and my kind. In contrast, the white students had other things on their minds; one of them is the consumption of alcohol, mainly beer.

Specifically, there have been white people who have hated me in my life. His behavior reflected the content of his character more than the color of his skin. What the ancestors of some whites did to the ancestors of some blacks in America was despicable and deplorable. Neither whites nor blacks today were ever masters or slaves. Neither of them was probably in the Ku Klux Klan or was a victim of Jim Crow laws.

Today, there are African Americans who have done quite well financially. Some of these successful blacks are playing a rogue game with blacks who are still struggling financially. Instead of acknowledging their success to the poorer black population, they have chosen to make claims that the black man will never succeed under the rule of the white man. They could go to the slums and show the other blacks, step by step, how they achieved their success. Some still have the attitude that I “got” mine and have to figure out how to get theirs. They parade showing off their success in the form of stylish cars and clothes. Some have made their fortunes off poor blacks, so they have to show them that they are “down” with the struggle.

The world is full of good and bad. The demarcation between good and evil is not black and white. It is time for Americans to stand up and look at people based on their actions. The wicked will always show their character based on their deeds. The Bible tells us how to love, but we ignore the word of Almighty God. We are divided as a country and that division is widening every day. I wrote a song 20 years ago that expressed my feelings about this situation. Is called Cantwebe and challenges us to be more human with each other. Here are the verses and the chorus that offers words of hope.:

I could be your brother if you didn’t steal from me

You could be my new best friend, if I treat you with respect

They could understand each other well, if they tried to understand

I could live like an animal or choose to live like a man

We could rise above hypocrisy to a place we’ve never been

Or I could see us sink under more lies, more hatred and more sin

I could have the courage to let you into my existence

You could help me prove you’re right if you offered less resistance

Why can’t we be human? Why do we choose to be less? Why can’t we be human and do what we do best?