The fight for civil and human rights has existed for centuries. Even the right to vote had to be won piecemeal by constitutional amendments for blacks, for women and then for anyone over the age of 18.
Protection from slavery (“except as punishment for crimes for which the party has been duly convicted”), from unreasonable searches and seizure, from cruel and unusual punishment and from discrimination have all been won only after hard fought battles.
And today, even in the 21st century, humanity is still so unevolved in its moral and intellectual thinking that basic human rights are won only after long and bitter fights.
And so today we fight. The young have protested for months on end. Through rain, hot days and even cold nights they’ve diligently held the line. Through tear gas, tanks and taunts of guns, they’ve expressed their intolerance of conditions existing for far too long.
But unbeknownst to the young and energetic soldiers of today are the battles fought by the old. There are battles fought behind closed doors, fought in the courts, fought in board rooms and fought among friends. We may have dropped the ball but it wasn’t for the lack of effort.
While the young were bopping heads to rap, our generation were fighting wars. While these vibrant soldiers were cruising the streets, we were mentoring, feeding and lending a hand. While young bloods were busy gangbanging, churches were building community. We haven’t always gotten it right, but we’ve sure been trying.
Fighting the racism that tightened its clench when civil rights were won has been an uphill climb. Hatred runs deep and the tools we were using only dug so far down. We won battles but we never won their hearts.
The resistance to change emerged in the War on Drugs. Prisons were not only tools to fill their coffers with billions but served as a means of tearing our families apart and controlling reproduction. Today it rakes in $72 billion a year, removes the right of millions to vote, and ravages entire communities.
While we were busy fighting fires on the left, they were busy setting blazes on the right. Job discrimination, segregation and denial of rights became politically correct when “criminals” were put in the mix.
We’ve been lured by welfare benefits and free phones. We’ve been distracted fighting for crumbs while overlooking the wealth. We’ve expending energy demanding the minimum while they gladly kept us jumping through their hoops. And still we fight – within.
The racism we face today has plagued us for years. The struggle is the purview of neither the young nor the old. Racist policies proliferated because the collective pain had not yet swelled. But swelled it has, and the eruption cannot and should not be quelled.
It’s time to stop pointing fingers at who didn’t do what and unite as young and old, black and white to end the injustice that is killing us all. It’s time for an intergenerational community gathering to take plans to implementation.
Join us on November 8 at 7 p.m. at Washington Tabernacle, 3200 Washington Ave., to do exactly that. It’s time.
Christi Griffin is the founder of The Ethics Project, a non-profit organization addressing the impact of crime, injustice and incarceration. She is the author of “Incarcerations in Black and White: The Subjugation of Black America.” Write TheEthicsProject@gmail.com or visit www.TheEthicsProject.org.
