The Silencing

TO ACQUIESCE: (THE ASSENT TACITLY:

TO SUBMIT OR COMPLY SILENTLY OR WITHOUT PROTEST.)

A human voice, silenced forever, removed from family, friends, and would-be relationships, with a life full of promise, is suddenly wiped away. The sound bites of what might have been the voices of reason are no more! A life quietly snuffed out at the hand of a total stranger sworn to uphold the state’s laws is ignored because they can not, as the politics of hatred prevails. If this exists, there is no balance; there is no integrity and no equality.

The voice of a young man of color, who had only just begun, realized early that he had no future because of his surroundings and skin color. There is a lot left for those whose shoes he could never fill because he’s now dead, where bodies are riddled with bullets of anger and disdain. The hope of sharing love and starting a family is silenced as bodies are left to rot in the streets of a city that didn’t care by officers who ran roughshod in communities because they, too, felt that sense of vengeance by any means necessary. The careless disregard of a people has become a season with NO reason for killing due to conditional bias with phrases like; don’t speak unless asked to do so! Don’t argue or disagree! Become invisible even though you’re in the same room! Act upon request, and not before! These phrases are smoldering fires that now burn out of control, where these communities and their families suffer staggering losses, where balance is absent, and integrity is no more!

I see these communities as ‘kill zones’ and are not the battlefields assigned to war in another country, but a ‘kill zone’ found in an impoverished neighborhood. A community that suffers indignity and shameful despair is forced to endure the consequences because they aren’t important enough. Who cares about this world we call America? Is this the supposed home of the brave and the land of the free? How incredibly jaded is this measure of enforcing laws when a city’s guardians render havoc on its citizens? What will become of a country that refuses to take its own under its wing until that precious cargo learns to find a way to thrive without interference? When all measures to treat and ultimately cure the mental sickness in many communities prevail, the more natural way is to kill and beat. As I see it, thriving is the key because those who feel entitled find no need to nurture or promote those of color, and view these people of color as obsolete, which raises the question of balance and the idea of what integrity represents.

I despair when I see a world that is torn and divided. A world that holds biases and punishes unjustly because it can. A world indeed not meant for me, or any other person of color, that dulls my senses to these biased opinions where the powers can do whatever and whenever! A world broken down by countries, states, cities, and finally, communities whose plans are to destroy by any means necessary. Killing, murders, and assassinations aren’t uncommon if we recall our history, a history besieged by pain, suffering, and endless, penniless labor. To live in this so-called free country only increases the likelihood of death and destruction where black communities are not funded, nor are they supported to prepare their occupants for achievement. The notion of history being repeated has never failed to show its ugly head, and the message of hatred is continually practiced and protected by those of higher authority.

This silencing, these lives of our young and unsuspecting that have been taken for granted and overlooked for many years, displays no age preference or gender oversight. Our young are now afraid to attend school. They are so scared to play in the streets and worship in a church as they now question the protection and presence of [God]. For many, prayers are not heard. When sacrifice is not rewarded and education is ignored, many still can’t get jobs. Is it better to quietly and systematically destroy the human mind’s institution and force the exact opposite of behavior, looking only to survive?

I have experienced much of this personally and professionally. I’ve been inside to see how things are done and the measures and strategies introduced to keep people of color disenfranchised. I’ve seen my salaries overshadowed by my white counterparts who had substandard backgrounds regarding education and experience. I’ve been privy to insults aimed at people of color, where I was expected to accept but didn’t, at least not without a challenge. I was challenging and sometimes quiet in many ways, but no less respected and maybe even feared. I know that I was NEVER openly disrespected, but I still suffered the indignity of appearing differently because of my race. I had to find a way to blend through it all and not be labeled as a sell-out, a Tom, or an opportunist, losing my place as a proud black man.

From the beginning to the present of my existence, my life is revealed in my books. My books are a detailed and directed illustration of my achievements and struggles, followed by my sacrifices. I believe that to heal, you must reveal what you have concealed. There is NO part and parcel to what I just stated, where it’s only known to me as factual. Writing is the bookmark of past, present, and future events. A book can be the impetus to an outpouring for the reader to get into my head and perhaps have the opportunity to understand what was never seen, and that’s why I choose to write and speak. Find your way out of despair and emotional surrender, and while you are on that journey, know that every challenger was once a contender.

My voice was not silenced by society because I found a way to survive, and for my generation, those who followed became the cornerstones and the building blocks to a future far from over.