As I sit here stunned and a bit silenced, I’m befounded by the decision to murder a man with no physical evidence, witnesses who recant their testimony, another shooter identified, and a pile of evidence pointing to doubt in the murder of an off duty police officer, Mark MacPhail. If you are unfamiliar with what has been happening here, then simply type in Troy Davis into any search engine and read up on the facts. Kevin Powell, Lisa Guerrero have written some amazing pieces and Jasiri X has had an amazing push for the stay of execution for Troy Davis that you can read as well.

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At first I didn’t think she liked me.  There was minimal eye contact and she never smiled, or greeted my entrance.  But as days have passed, and she saw that I would actually show-up each day, and care for the kids, her demeanor has melted. 

Mrs. Evelyn lives across the street from the Midtown Center, a small white building, less than three blocks from our house (plus a short-cut the kids taught me, which cuts off another 200 yards).  I never knew it, but it was Mrs. Evelyn’s garden I’ve been admiring all these months, and her husband who seems to be perpetually picking weeds, or watering it.  She’s tall and weathered and sings in the choir at her church on the west side.  I can’t figure out if the kids respect Mrs. Evelyn, or are down right scared of her, but either way, she knows how to keep cuss words from leaking and a pair of pants from leaving the waist.

It's common knowledge that fashion magazines touch up photographs of models. If this is news to you, I'm sorry to have to break this to you; the faces you see on covers of magazines in the check-out counter at the grocery store are no more real than cartoon characters. Jennifer Anniston really isn't that thin. The Kardashian cheekbones don't look like that in real life. Images in fashion magazines are conjured by artists, manipulated and carefully sculpted to deliver a message - mainly that you will never look like this but, you should try as hard you can to.

The process a model goes through to be deemed photographable and the subsequent manipulation of the photograph are well documented in this video that Dove did as part of it's Campaign for Real Beauty several years ago.

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These days it is difficult to fully embrace the idea that we live in a “post-racial society” when we in the Black community still see our young people shot down at the hands of police officers (click here. This young man was from one of my home towns on the Central Coast of Ca. where I did Young Life for many years). It is difficult to imagine a society where “race” and the “color” of our skin are not looked upon as the measure of a person/ people group. It is challenging to see through a lot of the subtle, overt, and venomous racism that swirls in our media, political rhetoric, and societal structures almost every day.

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President Obama has his hands full. On one end, if he presses too hard for equality and justice, he will be crucified for “playing the race card.” On the other side of it, if he sits still and says very little, at the end of his presidency not only will Blacks remonstrate but many other ethnic minorities will bawl for justice and equality against the beast of racism. In the recent weeks, we have seen the struggle President Obama has had; Shirley Sherrod is case in point. Moreover, now you have Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters being probed by the ethics committee; both are African American. Does race play a role in all this? Of course.

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It is difficult for some people to comprehend police brutality. For many, they accept the notion that a police officer is provoked and or is entitled to use brute force; moreover, if and when that force is used, it must have been justified. Therefore, it is almost impossible to understand someone wanting to take action (as in a lawsuit or criminal court case) against an officer who was simply “doing his/ her duty.” After all, if you were not doing anything wrong, why would you have to run or put up a fight? Therein lies a very large misunderstanding and thus enters in the multifarious nature of the social construction of race (Click here for another examination of the social construct of race).

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This week, Congress is taking legal action against the now infamous Arizona law passed a few months ago. At the same time, a Washington Post poll reveals that most Americans actually support the new law in Arizona. Proponets ot the law assert that Arizona is doing nothing but enforcing what has already been on the books; moreover, they are protecting a border that has gone unchecked. While still others call the new law racist and part of an ongoing trail of racial profiling. What do we make of all this? How can this “debate” even be a debate? Are we not just protecting our borders and keeping Americans safe? Isn’t it in our best interest to keep those “bad people” out of the country? Well, these are all important issues—no doubt. However, there is a mask which covers the ugly countenance that most are unaware is happening. For example, in the 1980’s Danilo Blandon—known for his drug trading and arms dealing—was given full citizenship in the U.S. by the C.I.A. in return for trading guns for crack cocaine in our inner cities.[1] That is just one of many examples where this perceived “protection” has failed us as Americans. In addition there are thousands of websites and documents supporting the Bin Ladin family being given shelter and a “safe exit” after the 9/11 attacks.

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As I set here reflecting on all the time that has passed since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I am challenged to look inside and ask, what does all this mean to me? What does it mean that I can vote? What does it mean that I can live where I want to (to a certain degree), what does it mean to be “free?” In addition, what does it mean to blog and say what I need and want to? Those are just some thoughts of mine that are running through my head.

What does this day mean for me? Well, quite frankly, a lot. It means I, as a Black man racially, African American/ Mexican American ethnically, can stand on my own two feet, get a PhD, write books, travel the world, and have an interethnic marriage along with a multiethnic daughter. It means I can stand up for the marginalized and speak for the poor in the countenance of injustice. It means I can walk down the street holding my wife’s hand without the real fear of lynching’s and or severe public ridicule. It also means I can get an education and help my little girl get one too. It means I can bury my loved ones in a proper manner. It means I can go to court if my “civil rights” are violated. It means I am standing on the shoulders of all those who died before me and never made the headlines or nightly news; or ever had a Holiday named after them. It means I give homage and respect to the Civil Rights Generation and for what they did for my family and the subsequent generations, which follow. It means I pay respect to the struggle and fight that many people did to help me and others like me get to where we’re at today as a people of color. It also means I thank God for allowing some people to make the ultimate sacrifice of death for a people, a cause, and a purpose.

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As we enter the Thanksgiving Holiday, here are a few things I’m not thankful for. These video clips below illustrate some of the deep-seated problems that we not only have in this country, but globally, in relation to racial stereotypes. I’m not thankful for the amount of crap and problems racial stereotypes have caused in our society. I’m not thankful for the amount of explaining I have to do insisting that I don’t dance, eat chicken everyday, and or rap. I’m not thankful that we as society have yet to really deal with these issues on a macro level. I’m not thankful for the tensions that exist between Blacks, Asians, Latinos, poor Whites, and Pacific Islanders in connection to racial stereotypes. I’m also not thankful having to prove my narrative as a valid one in White Supremacist institutions. And I’m dang sure not thankful for the types of looks my wife and I get walking our little girl down the street at certain times and in certain neighborhoods.

Now…for many of you reading this, you may be wondering why we’re still talking about this issue. Haven’t we moved beyond this? Aren’t we making progress in this country? Are we still dealing with this type of madness? Yes, we’re still here. We’re still here, and until we all come to the table and engage with these issues in a very real and open way, we will continue to remain here, and it will only get worse.

We are at a great moment in history to really begin dealing with some of these issues. I see new generations of students beginning to break down what previous generations have built up on and in the wall of racism. So I do take hope in that, and am very thankful for a new crop of young people who want to make a difference and actually make a better world, not just talk about it.

Take a look at the videos below and begin to ask yourself: just how deep does this racism really go? In addition, how do you respond to “funny” racial stereotypes; maybe even funny true racial stereotypes? Alternatively, are minorities and or people of color just being too sensitive? Hmmm.

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I was sitting at my kitchen table the other day, looking at an ad for the new film, The Blind Side. It was an engaging graphic, with two people walking away from the viewer across a football field. The one on the right is a huge African-American man, dressed in black and white, almost identical to the small blond woman on his left. Their hands and arms are synchronized, the only difference being the turn of her head and the sun shining on her light hair and white face. Interesting.  

I drove to the mall to see Blind Side because my wife said I could not skewer it without watching it first.  So I did, but went to an early show, so I would not have to pay $12 for a movie I hated. I love the cheaper tickets, except for the fact that it’s too early to pop fresh popcorn, so the teenagers at the snack counter serve the stale stuff popped the day before.  

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