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    Thoughts on Jena Six and Growing Up Black

    Filed Under anecdotes, current affairs, from the heart, race, sadness, small happinesses 

    I’m grateful that so many UUs have mobilized themselves to address the immediate situation of the Jena Six, while also calling attention to the underlying racial and class prejudices of the criminal “justice” system. It’s been amazing to witness the growth of awareness - among white folks, among very young people, and even in the news.

    Where my emotions get all mixed up is hearing people express incredulity that this could be happening - in 2007. To me and many other black people there is nothing shocking about this; it’s business as usual. Fifteen years ago, post-Rodney King riots/uprising, while watching an evening news commentary of racial relations, the newscaster (it may have been Peter Jennings) took me by surprise by saying, (paraphrase) “It may come as a shock to many of tonight’s viewers, but some African Americans actually believe there is a conspiracy to destroy black men in this country.”

    Upon hearing this I sat up straight. What did he mean “actually believe?” As if it weren’t true! For me it was always just true. Being raised by black parents - one who grew up poor in the South, participated in sit-ins and experienced his high school being integrated; the other who grew up in NYC during the 1970s - there were just things you were taught about the world. Living in Queens, Harlem, Brooklyn, and (later) a primarily black suburb in Long Island meant that my formative years were spent with black people, learning to see things through the eyes of black people. Until I was twelve years old, white people lived on tv and in books and sometimes at my school(s) - probably much the same way black people exist for many young white children.

    Even after almost two decades of living in white communities, attending a white church, associating with mostly white people, and attempting on many levels to “move beyond” race, and see people as individuals, I can’t get away from the fact that there is little justice for black men in this country. I never learned to expect it. What I learned is that you will be outraged, and outraged and outraged again. You will see people’s eyes roll sideways as they suspect you of paranoia. Although I do anti-racism workshops, sometimes I just feel at a loss for how to make them understand. Yes, this is wrong. yes, I wonder how this could happen - all the time! It is always there, weighing on us.

    What makes me sad is that even with all of the outward pressure currently bearing down on the authorities responsible for “the Jena 6,” it is still a battle for these young men’s lives. Why such a battle? Why is it so easy to lock them up as if their lives were nothing?

    Years ago, when one of my brothers was having conflicts with teachers at school, one of his (white) teachers took my mom aside and told her (paraphrase), “When I look at your son, I see myself at his age. I understand what he’s going through. He’s just a kid. The problem here is that when other teachers look at him, they can’t see themselves in him (because he’s black).”

    When it comes to race relations, sometimes my faith flags. I’m still a humanist; I believe we can work this out, that there are enough people willing to do the hard work of opening their eyes, examining themselves, and challenging each other to create justice and peace. I’m glad that for some folks, this is new, galvanizing, or makes them angry. In this moment, I feel none of these.

    related posts:
    Not So Random Feelings on Race
    What is the Value of Young Black Men in Our Society?
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    6 Responses to “Thoughts on Jena Six and Growing Up Black”

    1. jacqueline on September 22nd, 2007 9:47 am

      I am ashamed to say that I too said “… in 2007…” I like to think that things are better, but you are right. They aren’t. I think that our racism is now just more subversive. Which, I think, makes it scarier.

    2. Steve Caldwell on September 22nd, 2007 1:52 pm

      The problem is that racism has adapted and changed over time — it seems that it doesn’t matter what we do about it.

      This adaptation seems very similar to the way that microbes adapt to antibiotics. The earlier anti-racism “antibiotic” was the elimination of “de jure” discrimination. What we have now is “de facto” discrimination.

      One of the best sound-bites on 20 September 2007 came from Rev. Al Sharpton:

      “The problem is that Jim Crow has sons. The one we’ve got to battle is James Crow, Jr., Esquire. He’s a little more educated. He’s a little slicker. He’s a little more polished. But the results are the same.”

    3. Dan on September 22nd, 2007 6:30 pm

      And when one white kid gets tasered, it gets a lot more attention than six black kids getting charged with 2nd-degree attempted murder.

      A number of observers have noted that the high-water mark for anti-racism in the United States happened about 1980, and it’s been backward progress ever since. Nor is this kind of thing just happening in the Deep South….

    4. hafidha sofia on September 23rd, 2007 7:12 pm

      Thanks for the thoughts, all. I do agree that racism today is, in many ways, less conscious. That can make it scarier because it’s harder to address or call out.

      Personal story: I know a kid (my brother) who went to prison after the retired judge overseeing the case refused to see evidence or character witnesses that might help him in a trial. He refused to see the evidence because, as he put it, “I don’t care how you look today or what you say, I know you’re just a thug.”

      I spoke to a lawyer recommended by the ACLU; this lawyer was a Jewish man with 25 years of experience as a defense attorney. I explained the details of the case and what the judge had said. He asked if the kid was black. I said he was. He said, “Well, that’s unfortunate.” THEN he said, “I’m not saying the system is racist, but his being black doesn’t help him.”

      Now if that isn’t the system being racist, what IS the system being racist?

      I am not interested in thought policing. I think most people have racial prejudices, myself included. The LH frequently refers to himself as both racist and sexist - not because he’s proud of it, but because he sees it as honest. The point is, he says - and I agree - that he recognize when his prejudicial thoughts when they occur and not act on them.

      I get angry because I have seen time and time again people make decisions based on racist thoughts - and they have the power to destroy people’s lives. We see evidence of this in our economy, in our schools, and in our criminal justice system. But many people don’t see the cause as racism; instead they see the results as justification for more racism!

      It’s a crazy world.

    5. Becky on October 3rd, 2007 11:16 am

      Thanks for leaving a comment on my article about Working Mother’s 100 best.

      Have you seen the news this week about the children and mother arrested (two wrists broken) at a high school in California? It’s gotten scant coverage in the mainstream media, but it’s spreading throughtout the blogosphere.

    6. hafidha sofia on October 4th, 2007 3:11 pm

      Becky, no I hadn’t heard about that; it doesn’t surprise me, however. How sad is that?

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