Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racism. It should be changed from March 21 to EVERY DAY!

I don’t usually post two days in a row, but there are exceptions to everything and this is one of them. Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racism, and it needs all the help it can get. There are two things in this world that cause me more anguish than anything else that is wrong could be so much better in this world, never-ending racism and increasing inequality. Racism and inequality negatively impact millions upon millions of people every day. Why?! Why the blankety-blank doesn’t this change? Why can’t we evolve to see each other for what we all are, just people? All of us, just people. And that’s how we ALL should be treated. With respect.

Fellow blogger John Persico, at the provocatively named blog Aging Capriciously, wrote a powerful post last month on the scourge (aka evil) of racism. I’m going to reblog the beginning of his post here and encourage you to follow the link to read his further analysis. If you’re looking for thought-provoking reads, Aging Capriciously is always the place to go!

The Tale of a Little Nine Year Old Girl Who Deserves to be Remembered

Here is a story that I heard on NPR this week.  It is a tale of a remarkable little girl.  A tale that deserves to be retold.  It goes like this.

In a small town (Population 9,027) located in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about 16 miles (26 km) west of New York City and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Newark, a little White girl aged nine went out to work on a science project and to help her community.  She had learned that spotted lanternflies were a nuisance species and she decided to collect as many as she could and use them in a science exhibit to educate others about them.  Until this week, the most noteworthy thing about Caldwell was that it was the birthplace of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.  He was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms, was born in Caldwell on March 18, 1837.

As the little girl went from tree to tree collecting these bugs, a former council member and neighbor named Gordon Lawshe saw the little girl going from tree to tree and picking something off the trees.  He was not sure what she was doing but he decided to help her.  He put his jacket on and went out to see how he could assist her.

Wait a Minute!  Hold on there Persico.  You have got your facts all wrong.  That is not how the story goes!

Oh, that’s right.  I forgot.  It was not a little White girl; it was a little Black girl.  It was a former city council member named Gordon Lawshe.  However, he did not go out to help her.  Seeing a nine-year-old Black girl going from tree to tree terrified him.  He wasted no time calling the police on our little budding scientist.  You can probably guess Gordon’s skin color so I won’t bother telling you.

After the police came and traumatized little Bobbi Wilson, they realized that she posed no threat to the community.  Fortunately, her mother had come out before they took Bobbi away in handcuffs.

Now there are many in America who say that racism is dead.  They believe that Black people are always playing the “Race Card” when they talk about unfair treatment or systemic racism.  Just the other day, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction (Tom Horne) said in an interview that there is NO MORE systemic racism in the USA.  This man is in charge of education in our state! [ … Click on this link to continue reading John’s post.]

The story John relates is just one small example of what it’s like for people whose skin colour doesn’t happen to be white. In your own country (and not just the U.S., for sure), even in your own home, you can never be sure about how your innocent actions may be misinterpreted. Just because of the colour of your skin. Think about that for a minute.

Let’s all think about what we can do as individuals to help eliminate racism. And then let’s follow up those thoughts with actions. Smiling helps. Assuming the best of your fellow human being helps. Helping others overcome misinformation and unwarranted fear helps. And remember, if we don’t speak out when someone we know makes a racist remark, we’re part of the problem.