is a New York Times column in which the journalist addresses the response of many on the Right (Fox News) and in law enforcement to the cold-blooded murder of a Harris County Deputy Sheriff. The responses included declaring there is a war on law enforcement, in part led by the President and the immediate past Attorney Genera (because they have spoken out against police brutality) and that this is the result of a criminal organization, Black Lives Matter (in part because of a chant at a demonstration in MN AFTER the shooting occurred).
Often when sharing a column by a writer like Blow I will offer a number of selections and add my responses and observations thereupon. Today I will not do that.
I will immediately below the fold offer the final three powerful paragraphs by Blow, and then provide some context from I encountered yesterday.
Or you can simply follow the link above and read the entire column.
I will be satisfied either way,
Here are the words from Blow:
Black Lives Matter makes America uncomfortable because it refuses to let America continue to lie to itself. It targets police brutality, but the police are simply agents of the state and the state is representative of the totality of America.
Discomfort with Black Lives Matter, is, on some level and to some degree, a discomfort with blackness itself. It’s not only about the merits of individual cases, it is also about the collective, ingrained sins of the system committed disproportionately, and by design, against people of color. The movement convicts this country of its crimes.
America has been engaged since its inception in a most gruesome enterprise: Like the mythological Cronus, it has been eating its children, the darker ones, and this movement demands — at least in one area, at least in one moment — that it atone for that abomination.
And my very relevant experience from yesterday.
As those who follow me know, I have begun teaching at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science. Because of its association with the flagship Historically Black University, almost all of our students are Black. As of right now, I am the only White on faculty or staff, although there are two Hispanic women (not on the 7th grade team of which I am a part). We are spending this first week with our students outside our own building, which is still being refurbished after water damage. Our first week is dedicated to expectations and school culture, so while it is something of an inconvenience, we are managing to be somewhat productive in our work with the students.
Yesterday the 7th graders spent the morning working on mini-projects on Black Lives Matter. For the two advisory groups in the room in which I was, those of the Math teacher and me, I actually introduced the topic. I started by asking what the term meant to them. Students, who are 7th graders, responded that it was a response to police violence against Black people. When I asked for some examples, I had students who could list all of the names, starting with Trayvon (which granted, was NOT a killing by police) through Sandra Bland. Remember, these are 7th graders. In our two advisories, all of the students were Black. This was real to them.
Some of the student wanted to know why I was introducing the topic rather than the Math teacher, since I was "Caucasian" as one student put it. I explained how I first became aware of racial segregation when at ten on a trip to Florida I saw "Whites Only" bathrooms in the airport. I talked about growing up during the Civil Rights era, from Little Rock when I was 11 through the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Justice and beyond. I remembered going into a pizza place after cross country practice where our captain ordered and the guy behind the counter ignored him and asked me what I wanted. I mentioned my nephew and his African-American wife and their two beautiful daughters, whose lives of course matter to me.
Students brought up the Golden Rule, and I explained similar statements in other traditions.
But what struck home for me is how visceral this was for most of the students. Not all. One told me she had never experienced discrimination, and thought it should be all lives matter, and did her project accordingly, which is fine.
Some listed the names.
Some tried to explain their reasons.
Some did drawings ranging from stick figures to detail panoramas, including one of Michael Brown on the ground.
It is because of that experience of yesterday, of seeing and hearing what Black Lives Matter means to my young students, that the words of Blow so resonated with me when I read them this morning.
I do not think what I have written is necessary to understanding the power of the words of Blow. I offer my words in partial explanation of my own reaction, perhaps in the hope that it may for a few or even one more person help them make sense of why this issue is so important to so many.
Peace.