A s we celebrate Black History Month, I want to take time out to have you ask yourself a question or two. How much does your life matter and how much does the Black man, woman or a child’s life matter? We know racism exists and we know that all lives matter. Consider someone who is racist, dying and in need of blood do you think he or she is going to deny that blood because it belongs to a Black person or other nonwhite? Of course not, they want to keep living. We can talk about the many injustices Blacks face today; overly incarcerated rates, police brutality, innocent lives killed, and racial injustices in the workplace to name a few. We all agree we need better laws in the court systems and in our police departments. However, I’m going to switch gears and talk about the injustices we face against each other. We understand racism in this country, going back to slavery, also passed down from slavery is Blackon- Black hate. Since the days of our earliest arrival as enslaved people it was intentional to keep us divided. How does that relate to us today in 2022? We have been taught to be divided. We know there is power in unity. Our Black History details instances of what Blacks accomplished when unified, we got things accomplished; the bus boycotts, sit-ins, the right to vote and equality in education. Many of these rights fought for then unfortunately we take for granted today. However, this was done in unity. Today we see more division and hate amongst Blacks than ever before in the history of this country. We know our history of Slavery will never be forgotten. Blacks have contributed greatly to America, such as the invention of the light bulb filament by Lewis Latimer, Dr. George Washington Carver and the many uses with the peanut, and not to mention other areas such as helping our country win World War II with the Tuskegee Airmen. We continue to contribute on many levels, even having our first Black President. We have one special month for Black history, I believe it should be honored every day, for all the contributions we have given to America. These are the easy and proud things we can easily talk about, another topic that is not so easy to talk about is the Black-on-Black hate which leads to Black-on- Black crime. Presently, we have issues of fatherlessness in the Black community, the 80’s we had the crack epidemic, which is still affecting today’s generation, and in the 90’s men being locked up for excessive amounts of time for petty crimes. Today we face an injustice against each other that we choose to ignore and that is a lack of support for each other. In Genesis 4:9 God asked Cain where is your brother and Cain said to God, I don’t know, Am I my brother’s keeper? Cain was really saying my brother is not my problem. If I am my brothers and sisters keeper then I just can’t be concerned when a young Black man gets killed by the police and ignore it when a young Black man gets killed by the hands of another Black man. If we can go and peacefully protest and get laws changed to hold police accountable for doing wrong, should we stop short and keep letting young Black men get killed by people who look just like them. I encourage you to pray. If we are to have justice and safety for Blacks, it must be on all fronts and not just one sided. What does that look like you ask, it looks like Blacks getting sick and tired of allowing senseless drive-by shootings go ignored and unpunished. If we are going to hold a corrupt police officer for wrongful killing, then we must do the same for the gangbangers and thugs who continue to terrorize our streets. I ask you if Black lives matter, who do they matter to and when do they matter? We as Blacks must stop being divided, unity is power. Unity is standing up to the gang member, the drug dealer and the neighborhood criminal. How about when it happens to your family member, are you going to follow the old saying “snitches get stitches” or are you going to demand justice? I am, you are my brother and sister’s keeper. Stand taller this year. Caleb Thomas M.A. LMHC 319 206-0651 thomasacc.com caleb@thomasacc.com Thomas & Associates Counseling & Consulting Counseling with a God given purpose! 29
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