What Does it Mean to be in the Movement?
by IRJ Blog Contributor Eddie Umana
The more I learn about what’s going in this country, the more I realize we haven’t progressed as much as we’ve thought.
We feel we’ve progressed because of all of the technological advances we see. The stories of upward mobility and access to college education for the more disenfranchised. We measure progress also in the fact America has elected and re-elected a black president. We pat ourselves on the back as if it’s some massive achievement. As if electing a black president confirms we’ve erased all the racial ills in our society.
Some even said Obama’s election was Martin Luther King Jr’s dream realized. Those who’ve read Dr. King’s speeches know better.
Ultimately, Obama’s election was used as an excuse for white America, the wealthy, the liberals and the middle-class to be disengaged. An excuse to be selfish. An excuse to be elitist. An excuse to be “American”. And fundamentally, an excuse to be inhuman.
The losers are not only the poor and people of color terrorized by the police let alone the whole system. We must remember we all lose when we tacitly allow those in less privileged situations to continue to suffer as we turn a blind eye.
What right do I have to be in a privileged position, and tacitly deny poor people food then criticize them for being lazy?! What right?! If I do not know what it means to be poor, then why am I speaking on how a poor person should live their life?
Continue reading IRJ Blog – What Does it Mean to be in the Movement? →
