Two names, both alike in dignity, in fair Americas, where the scene was laid to rest ....
If you are a human being that can read, I strongly recommend reading or rereading the works of Cuban revolutionary, José Martí. A true renaissance man that was well ahead of his time in thinking progressively... because get this - he believed that diversity is a positive thing, that slavery should not exist, and that all people of all backgrounds, ethnicities and color should get along! What's remarkable is that Martí wrote these things in the late 1800s.
Martí held degrees in law and philosophy. He was a writer, a poet, a journalist, a political activist, a revolutionary and a true freedom fighter - fighting with his words and his brain above all else.
"Pensar es servir" - "to think is to serve" he wrote in Nuestra America - an essay on the status of political Cuba at the time, but really his prescriptive advice & heeded warnings are easily applied to all of the Americas (which was his intention.) The media-plastered stories of young black men being killed by people in positions of authority stops most of us in our tracks to ask ourselves, "What the hell is going on?" Is it racism? Fear? Miscommunication? Does it matter which one it is when at the end of the day human lives were lost - where the reactions were not justified? "...las armas del juicio que vencen a las otras" - "Weapons of the mind defeat the other (kind)" - Martí believed that a little cultural competence and THINKING could serve the people better than guns. The reality may be that this is not the society we live in today, but could it not be a start?
"Si la república no abre los brazos a todos y adelanta con todos, muere la república." If the republic does not open its arms to all (people) and move forward with all, the republic dies!" How profound and thought provoking as we navigate and filter through the stories brought to us on race relations or even, immigration laws!
My seniors examined these quotes from Martí just last week in class. Eric Garner's name was mentioned and one student asked what happened. This student just happens to be a young, black man. I told him what happened to Eric Garner and what did (not) happen to the police officer. He showed no emotion, but it hurt to tell him this. It is sad for everyone involved and for all of us watching from home. It's sad that an unarmed black male in a hoodie and 'hands up in the air' have become symbols of injustice carried out by the people we are supposed to trust. Why should any of us be okay with what has happened? These young men were their mother's babies and their lives do matter.
No matter if you are black or if you are white, you should not be okay or numb to these recent tragedies. Being white does not mean you have no voice in this - you should stand next to your black neighbor and say it out loud - "this is not okay!" Martí boldly stated in his essay,"No hay odio de razas, porque no hay razas." "There is no hatred of races, because there are no races," - that we are a country of one and in that, it's people should come together to build up the community they collectively own... "that salvation was in creation."
José Martí was shot dead fighting for Cuba's freedom in 1895. What will we do in 2015 to ensure the lives of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, & Tamir Rice were not lost in vain?
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The topics of race and identity have always struck a cord with me. I have spent a lot of time over the past couple years attending conferences and seminars on cultural competence, multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion. As a teacher and a parent, I see how race is a non-issue in most preschool and Kinder classrooms. My five year old says we are all chocolate - white, brown, dark. So, while most little kids notice - they don't have the history or stereotypes that can create fear, distrust, or hate. How can adults reasonably get back to that? In 2015, I will be speaking on this topic in a seminar called, "Race in Your Face: Moving from color blind to bold" - details to come.
