Last night when I listened to Senator Obama’s speech about race…
I could only think of someone stepping out of a closet…
The issue of race is a touchy deal…
With so many claims of non-existent racism and denial...
His analogy about his pastor’s remarks versus his grandmother’s
Was the realest thing…if we disassociated ourselves from loved ones when they come out of a particular bag, we would be, well, without any people in our lives…
We all know that there are folks who make exceptions for some,
But struggle with accepting all,
This morning driving across the bridge I thought about all of this,
Knowing that the speech will impact many,
But those with a certain kind of heart, well as my grandma said, ‘That’s a tougher row to hoe…’
Because to change a situation, circumstance or income bracket,
Isn’t all that hard, but changing a heart is something else altogether,
And many times a person hasn’t admitted, owned or acknowledged what is in their heart,
Racism is a hard thing to just flat out admit or own…
It’s easier to call it something else,
I recall a couple years ago when I published my first book,
I told a couple of the women in my office,
They purchased, attended my events and couldn’t stop talking about it,
One day however, we were at a luncheon and one of the women told another co-worker,
She couldn’t wait to get her signed copy,
After getting it weeks passed without a word,
I wondered what was up, starting feeling like Erykah, a little sensitive about my…#%^@
But time passed and I moved on, everything is not for everybody...
One day out of the clear blue sky,
I was told that my book made this woman realize how black I was…and that made her uncomfortable, and get this…
Not that my characters were black but that they were wealthy and uninterested in being anything but black…
Huh…
I was told that I blur the lines better than anyone,
And when people think of me they don’t think race…
They think Angelia…please...
But when writing a book filled with for the most part, positive black folks all of a sudden she was uncomfortable with me…two years later, we smile cordially but she never quite meet my eyes…
But I can assure you that she will never in any way own that as being the teensy, weensiest bit racist or even racial…
Not realizing that not seeing me in my entirety but only in a way that was palatable to her…well you feel me…
So I am really glad that the Senator stepped out of that closet,
Giving us all something to think about,
Only time will tell how much of an impact it will all have…
Blessings,
angelia
