How Far We've Come

As a 30-year African-American male I am well aware that I do not have the frame of reference concerning the historicity of the African in America save the living memory of those who endured the struggle, books, and a host of TV documentaries.

I am living from the advantage of retrospect. I am a reaper of the benefits of more than 400-years of struggle. My generation is the living fulfillment of prophecy that came to pass in due time by the shedding of innocent blood.

I have the ability to look back, but it is vicarious in nature, and therefore leaves me at the point of sympathy only hoping to empathize with the struggles my predecessors in America. Even the label, title, ethnic designation of "African-American, is only a small peek into our struggle in this country.

It raises two serious questions. When did we become or are we now considered Americans? Why the designation African-American? For every minority there is a specific label that seems to almost make the point that you are what you are before you are an American and you will always be that. African-American, Latino-American, Asian-American, et al. Additionally, if you think about it, how we even got to be called African-Americans is a story all in itself that subsequent generations prior to the struggle have little or no appreciation for.

Am I proud to be an descendant of the great continent of Africa? I am now more than ever before. I am chagrined at the fact that those who are of European descent have never referred to themselves as English-American, Euro-American, British-American, but choose to place honor upon themselves as indigenous to this land. Bitter I am not, but enlightened and free from the darkness of ignorance I am...don't get it twisted.

I'm not waiting on my mule. I'm not not impatiently tapping my foot for my 40 acres. I'm not sitting here with Betty Boop eyes looking for a hand out, but I refuse to let my ancestors die in vain. I refuse to allow my God-given abilities, gifts, and talents to be squandered and beleaguered by the vicissitudes of the present while ignoring the achievements of the past that were designed to bridge a gap between "deferred dreams" and overcoming realities.

Many of us have differing positions on Barack Obama, but let's agree on one thing, he is somewhat the embodiment of what our people have fought for. When was the last time you drunk from a public water fountain long enough to feel a policeman's nightstick over your back, the slap to your face, or the voice that yelled, "Nigger, what are you doing?" When was the last time you were refused, not delayed, but refused service at a restaurant because of your pigmentation? When can you recall being told to move to the back of the bus because you're black? When was the last you doctored wounds from water hoses from a fire engine shooting out in excess of 40 mph at unguarded human flesh? These are questions that we should ruminate over and gain appreciation for what is currently taking place in America.

Recently, (even you staunch right-wingers must admit this) persons at Gov. Palin's rally's have desperately tried to force us to take steps backwards into the past with cries of "kill him", "he's a terrorist", and other things I deem inappropriate for this blog.

Amazingly, this has been excused as political passion not only by the RNC, but also by the McCain campaign.

My question to those of you who equate Christian fundamentalism with the Republican agenda, and are unapologetically African-American, how can you stand idly by and approve of this, while ignoring the great achievements of the man in question. Is this any different than justifying racism, slavery, hatred, unequal rights, disparity in the quality of education, etc? Throw down your partisan license, swallow your puritanical pride and look at the facts and see it for what it really is. While we're fighting over abortion rights and same-sex unions (again, don't get it twisted, I'm fighting for that too), we're ignoring the blood of our forefathers and fore-mothers that are crying out from numerous graves untold to acknowledge the validation of their sacrifice that is culminating (whether you like him or not...the Jews didn't like Jesus) in the person of Barack Obama. It's not a full culmination and I'm definitely not comparing Barack to Jesus, he ain't that, but it's something to acknowledge.

I beg you, look how far we've come.