Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
I’m proposing a new amendment to the Constitution that would make it illegal to use a color to describe a human being. White, Black, Yellow and Red are banned in particular but it’s only fair to ban all the colors. The Shades of Melanin Amendment would also ban using ‘country of origin’ and ‘continent of origin’ to describe people as well. The exception would be for folks ‘just off the boat’ and blue bloods (since they have a deep need to be set apart). Police will be allowed to ‘Profile’ bad people no matter their continent, country, religion, clothes styles, hair styles, where they live or who they hang out with.
In all of my 56+ years on this planet, the most ignorant thing I have ever heard is one person describing another by color alone. I still have not seen a White Man. All the albinos I’ve met have a pinkish glow in places (Pink is banned). All the supposed Black Men I’ve met always shake my hand with palms that would be accurately described as bronze or brown (Bronze and Brown are also banned but I’m not really sure if bronze is a color or a precious metal.)
In fact describing my two daughters with a color presents a major problem. Even though they look a tad pale during the winter months, by late spring they are usually bronze verging on brown. So if the typical fool met one of my daughters in January they would say ‘Oh, what an attractive White girl’. Meeting her on the 4th of July the description would be ‘Oh, she was a Bronze beauty’.
Other than appreciating his work as an actor, I know nothing about Morgan Freeman. He is ‘right on’ in this recent article titled ‘He’s No Fan of Black History Month’.
Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is ‘ridiculous’.
‘You’re going to relegate my history to a month?’ the 68 year-old actor asked in a recent interview. ‘I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.’
Black History Month has its roots in Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week, which he designated in 1926 as the second week in February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Woodson said he hoped the week could someday be eliminated- when black history would become fundamental to American history.
Freeman notes that there is no ‘white history month,’ and says that the only way to get rid of racism is to ‘stop talking about it’. ‘I am going to stop calling you a white man and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man’.
Thanks Mr. Freeman. I will be asking you to become part of the committee to draft the Shades of Melanin Amendment as well as be a spokesperson.
About 10 years ago my kids played a song me for me that should be designated the ‘No Colors to Describe Other Folks’ anthem. I still hear it from time to time.
Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, sir
I couldn’t help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
Cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin.
We’ve gotta come together
And thank the maker of us all.
(chorus)
We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We’re colored people, and they call us the human race
We’ve got a history so full of mistakes
And we are colored people who depend on a holy grace.
A piece of canvas is only the beginning for
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an artist’s heart
By God’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope.
We’ve gotta come together,
Aren’t we all human after all?
(full lyrics below)
This race stuff has bothered me since high school. I went to school in Jersey City, NJ. During the 1960’s the Black/White Us/Them hate was intense. I found myself in fights with kids I didn’t even know. They wanted to kill me and I wanted to kill them. Why? Had they insulted my Momma? No. Had they messed with my sister or my girlfriend? No. Had they robbed me? No. Did I do something to them that would incite their anger? NO.
It was about what had happened between light skinned morons and dark skinned people who had been enslaved for generations before I was born. But the line had been drawn in the sand. Somehow a large number of light skinned people felt threatened when slaves were set free. Maybe next year I’ll expound on those reasons.
Conversely, a large number of dark skinned people were threatened even after laws had changed. We can get into more detail in the future. But what we had and also what wound up with was a Big Mess, which continues today.
Because of the color of my Mommy and Daddy, that kid I was fighting in Jersey City hated me. It didn’t matter if I was a good person or not. And so it is- groups judging other groups for probably the least accurate of reasons--- One that predicts nothing of importance but serves to further deepen the chasm between many wonderful people.
When I size up a person, it’s a about the depth of their character. When I describe a person it will go something like this- ‘A bright articulate businessman who has been married for 23 years and has 3 extraordinary children. He’s about 5’9” tall, medium build, early 50’s, dark eyes, warm smile, dark hair with some salt mixed in and a light complexion’. Now you know something about the guy I met for coffee today and you also learned something about me.
I’m going to ask you to do 2 things. The first is to work on Reconciliation. Walk up to someone whose skin tone is opposite of yours and say something like this- ‘Hi, my name is Russell and I would like to repent and ask your forgiveness for anything my ancestors might have done to your ancestors. I want to be part of the solution and not continue this senseless division. Let’s move on together.’ Then shake the persons hand or give them a hug.
Next, I want you to get out and support the Shades of Melanin Amendment and have a fantastic MLK Birthday Bash (but don’t describe Dr. King by using a banned color).
Russell Jones
973.983.9607
http://www.powerworkshop.org/
http://powerworkshop.blogspot.com/
Colored People
Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, sir
I couldn’t help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
Cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin.
We’ve gotta come together
And thank the maker of us all.
(chorus)
We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We’re colored people, and they call us the human race
We’ve got a history so full of mistakes
And we are colored people who depend on a holy grace.
A piece of canvas is only the beginning for
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an artist’s heart
By God’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope.
We’ve gotta come together,
Aren’t we all human after all?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Stir My Soul!
Why is it so hard to stay Focused on things we are Passionate about? I believe we are all given Vision as part of our humanity. We ALL have seen a compelling picture of a better tomorrow.
We get distracted so easily. So if you’re too busy or pre-occupied, WHO is going to fulfill that Vision you’ve seen? If not YOU, WHO will step up and live out this thing called COMPASSION?
We shake our heads when we reflect on the condition of this world- global terrorism, religious extremism, nuclear tension, HIV & AIDS, political corruption, pollution, natural disasters, ethnic tensions, hunger and illiteracy. (You can include ‘global warming’ but it’s freezing here in New Jersey).
Oh but what can I do about this stuff? I’m worried about paying for medical insurance and getting my retirement plan in place. My children and grandchildren take up so much time. I’m so distracted by all of the ‘opportunities’ that come my way. It’s hard work figuring out everyone’s ‘dramas’ going on around me. Gotta plan the next vacation and home improvement and party and how many inches my new flat screen will be.
Oh my God, this world is a flippin’ mess and I’m trying to ‘get mine’! I want my kids to be Compassionate and Caring and Loving and Honest and Unselfish but I can’t quite get there myself (if ya know what I mean).
The book ‘Compassion Fatigue’ quotes an often repeated statement- ‘In the news business, 1 dead fireman in Brooklyn is worth 5 English bobbies, who are worth 50 Arabs, who are worth 500 Africans.’ Our compassion for others seems to be directly correlated to whether people are close to us socially, emotionally, culturally, ethnically, economically or geographically.
One of my sons was killed in a car crash in 1987. It was a horrific time in my life. Everything was turned upside down. The pain penetrated the deepest places of my soul. I physically and emotionally grieved for a full year. For years I would cry every time the news of a child dying came to my attention.
But now? Now when I hear of another family’s tragedy I mutter ‘that’s sad’ to myself and move on. And when I hear that 26,575 children died today of largely preventable causes related to their poverty, I just shrug. But another 26,575 children will die tomorrow and the next day and the next. I guess I got a real bad case of Compassion Fatigue.
So okay I get the message- now what am I going to do? I got distracted from my Vision a few years ago by an opportunity and by family stuff. But now I’ve been called out by my Soul and I was reminded of something I wrote 13 years ago.
“It was January 17, 1997 and my wife, Lin, and I had been presenting our motivational school assemblies for the last three and a half years. It had been a typical day. We were in an elementary school in South Jersey. After two assemblies, which included feats of strength and inspirational stories, we had visited classrooms. During these class visits, we pump up reading and answer questions.
After visiting our last class and loading our equipment, we were just about ready to walk out when a group of students asked us for autographs. We are always honored by these requests. It was dismissal time and the group around us got larger and larger. Teachers were trying to drag kids away to get them to their buses. The whole scene was wild and we stayed until the last child had an autograph.
We had signed autographs many times before and since that day. The thing that dawned on us as we drove away brought tears to our eyes. Before that day, none of those kids had ever seen or heard of us before. After only a few hours, we had become heroes. If we had announced that there was a bus outside school and that anyone who wanted to could come home and live with us, I'll bet that the bus would be full.
Why? Not because we’re great. These kids were hungry for encouragement. We let every child know that they are special and unique and we believe it. We let them know that they have a special gift and we believe it. We let love come through us. We also let them know that it takes work to achieve great things. The major problem lies in the home environment. Lin and I adjusted our commitment to include not only kids but parents as well. Our hope is that every child would want to stay with their own family and maybe just come to visit ours.”
So I’m committing to being a huge source of encouragement to every young person I come across until the day I die. I know now how to avoid the traps that would try to derail my Vision. I will learn how to reject rejection and do my best to build a more Compassionate World.
What about you? Are you part of the solution? Are you comfortable with your level of contribution to a better tomorrow for those other than your immediate family? Are we actually searching for the TRUTH? or are we trying to make up our own?
If you are old and tired, or lazy, or in need of motivation, Dr. David has a solution. Just cry out ‘God!!!! Fire me up again!!!’
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
We get distracted so easily. So if you’re too busy or pre-occupied, WHO is going to fulfill that Vision you’ve seen? If not YOU, WHO will step up and live out this thing called COMPASSION?
We shake our heads when we reflect on the condition of this world- global terrorism, religious extremism, nuclear tension, HIV & AIDS, political corruption, pollution, natural disasters, ethnic tensions, hunger and illiteracy. (You can include ‘global warming’ but it’s freezing here in New Jersey).
Oh but what can I do about this stuff? I’m worried about paying for medical insurance and getting my retirement plan in place. My children and grandchildren take up so much time. I’m so distracted by all of the ‘opportunities’ that come my way. It’s hard work figuring out everyone’s ‘dramas’ going on around me. Gotta plan the next vacation and home improvement and party and how many inches my new flat screen will be.
Oh my God, this world is a flippin’ mess and I’m trying to ‘get mine’! I want my kids to be Compassionate and Caring and Loving and Honest and Unselfish but I can’t quite get there myself (if ya know what I mean).
The book ‘Compassion Fatigue’ quotes an often repeated statement- ‘In the news business, 1 dead fireman in Brooklyn is worth 5 English bobbies, who are worth 50 Arabs, who are worth 500 Africans.’ Our compassion for others seems to be directly correlated to whether people are close to us socially, emotionally, culturally, ethnically, economically or geographically.
One of my sons was killed in a car crash in 1987. It was a horrific time in my life. Everything was turned upside down. The pain penetrated the deepest places of my soul. I physically and emotionally grieved for a full year. For years I would cry every time the news of a child dying came to my attention.
But now? Now when I hear of another family’s tragedy I mutter ‘that’s sad’ to myself and move on. And when I hear that 26,575 children died today of largely preventable causes related to their poverty, I just shrug. But another 26,575 children will die tomorrow and the next day and the next. I guess I got a real bad case of Compassion Fatigue.
So okay I get the message- now what am I going to do? I got distracted from my Vision a few years ago by an opportunity and by family stuff. But now I’ve been called out by my Soul and I was reminded of something I wrote 13 years ago.
“It was January 17, 1997 and my wife, Lin, and I had been presenting our motivational school assemblies for the last three and a half years. It had been a typical day. We were in an elementary school in South Jersey. After two assemblies, which included feats of strength and inspirational stories, we had visited classrooms. During these class visits, we pump up reading and answer questions.
After visiting our last class and loading our equipment, we were just about ready to walk out when a group of students asked us for autographs. We are always honored by these requests. It was dismissal time and the group around us got larger and larger. Teachers were trying to drag kids away to get them to their buses. The whole scene was wild and we stayed until the last child had an autograph.
We had signed autographs many times before and since that day. The thing that dawned on us as we drove away brought tears to our eyes. Before that day, none of those kids had ever seen or heard of us before. After only a few hours, we had become heroes. If we had announced that there was a bus outside school and that anyone who wanted to could come home and live with us, I'll bet that the bus would be full.
Why? Not because we’re great. These kids were hungry for encouragement. We let every child know that they are special and unique and we believe it. We let them know that they have a special gift and we believe it. We let love come through us. We also let them know that it takes work to achieve great things. The major problem lies in the home environment. Lin and I adjusted our commitment to include not only kids but parents as well. Our hope is that every child would want to stay with their own family and maybe just come to visit ours.”
So I’m committing to being a huge source of encouragement to every young person I come across until the day I die. I know now how to avoid the traps that would try to derail my Vision. I will learn how to reject rejection and do my best to build a more Compassionate World.
What about you? Are you part of the solution? Are you comfortable with your level of contribution to a better tomorrow for those other than your immediate family? Are we actually searching for the TRUTH? or are we trying to make up our own?
If you are old and tired, or lazy, or in need of motivation, Dr. David has a solution. Just cry out ‘God!!!! Fire me up again!!!’
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
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