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| Looking in our Mirrors and Finally Seeing Reality . . .
President Clinton's 1997 efforts to begin a dialogue on race was a noble effort; and if it could have worked during his administration, there is no doubt that America would have moved a step or two closer to racial unity. Yet, while that effort did not enjoy overwhelming success -- black America should receive meritorious award for being there, waiting to "dialogue." In fact, we have been at the table waiting for someone to hear us out about our worthiness for more years than we would like to remember. So, what does this tell us? Certainly, it points out the fact that there is no guarantee that white America will ever see a need to sit down and listen. While this is certainly not an indictment of all white America, it is one realist's view of the importance America holds for the "order of things." What this also says is that no one has more responsibility for our move from point A to point B, than we do. And, it all starts with our looking in the mirror and deciding what we see. What we see when we look into that mirror might be the root of most of our problems, in fact. Tragically, what too many of us see is what we have read in our text books from school, from the magazines we buy off the shelves, from the books we are assigned, or voluntarily read; from the images we see on commercial television…and, even what we hear when we turn to black-owned rap stations. What we see and hear is what somebody other than us has decided is our destiny. The answer…or, at least one answer: Finding a way to love ourselves; re-establishing our history based on reality; making a serious commitment, as a race, to begin taking back our history -- documenting, recording, and sharing our unique stories for the sake of posterity. This is an old urgency, with a new twist. More than ever before, it is critical for black America to "show ourselves" as worthy of the American pie, which is quickly being divvied up. The only way we can do that, is to believe it. Believe that we are deserving contributors to American history. While many historians tell us -- repeatedly -- that our plight lies with our denial, ignorance, or loss of our history; what we must know is that this fact does not give us a valid excuse for simply leaving it there. We all have a responsibility to ourselves, our children, and those who will make up our race in the far future, to reclaim our history. There can be no question that ours is a rich history; that we have excelled against the odds in untold arenas; that we have out-performed the accepted performers on untold stages. We are truly an indomitable race with a rich history to preserve and pass on for future generations. Yet, there are far too few of us who believe this truth. Like it or not, we could learn something from other "minorities" and/or immigrants…the Asian Americans, the Irish Americans, the Native Americans…and, most certainly from the Jewish Americans. What can they teach us? The importance of remembering. The importance of embracing our past -- the good, the bad and the ugly. The importance of preserving what is and was ours. The importance of appreciating our survival against untold odds. To take pride in our accomplishments, and know that we have to be God's chosen -- how else would we have survived our pasts? For African Americans, taking a pro-active role in correcting the historical myths, and documenting the truths of our race is not a question of whether we will -- but, when we will. It must be done. How many articles must we read to learn that other "minority" communities are fast claiming a place in this country, demanding -- and receiving - what we have demanded for years, now. Unfortunately, slavery will always lurk in the shadows of black and white America's psyches. Black Americans, even today, serve as mirrors of the ugly past -- wreaking guilt, paranoia and uncontrollable fear on mostly innocent white Americans. This past, that ties blacks and whites together also serves as the impetus for their acceptance of "others," immigrants who don't carry the baggage of slavery. Even with this understanding, however, we can never stop seeking our rightful place in this country we help found and build…in spite of others' comfort level. The day black America begins to accept and internalize our great history, we will also begin to look into our mirrors, upon our realities, with pride. It is only then that we will have the wherewithal to demand, with unabashed propriety, and without equivocation, an equal place at America's rapidly shrinking table. Janis F. Kearney is a Chicago writer, former journalist and diarist to President Bill Clinton. A Harvard W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow, she is currently completing William Jefferson Clinton from Hope to Harlem; and a personal memoir, Cotton Field of Dreams. Kearney Communications 5138 S. Kenwood Ave.#2 Chicago, IL 60615 (773) 493-2007 --ph (773) 493-5747 --fax janisfk@aol.com |
If there is a tragedy in wanting to "just get along" as racial communities, it is the tragedy of one race's history being maintained, while the other's history is ignored or neglected. "Getting along," must include efforts by all involved to recognize and "celebrate" the others' history.