No. It's not over.
It doesn't matter that we've elected an African American President. It doesn't matter that we no longer officially have separate drinking fountains. It doesn't matter that we have the Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action, an Open Housing law, television shows with blended casts. Yes, in many ways things are better than they were in 1955.
But don't let that fool you. It's not over.
Racial tension, and even hatred, still exists.
Sometimes it spills over into undeniably horrible and violent demonstrations of unforgivable acts of violence and brutality. A sacred church setting, filled with loving, open people, is turned into a killzone.
So, no. It's not over.
A moderate, centrist Democrat, one elected to bring us together, more open to the other party than any President that I have ever seen, is turned into a foreign-born devil, and is vilified and unaccepted, no matter what he does. Hard fought for voting rights are being assaulted in state after state, as we have imposed greater and greater voting restrictions, returning to an era of what are almost poll taxes. Affirmative action is considered a foul and unnecessary advantage, and as more and more colleges and work places move away from it, they become less and less diverse. Our public schools are becoming less integrated every year. The wealth gap between the rich and the poor is almost dwarfed by the wealth gap between the average African American family compared to the average white family.
No. It's not over.
The young man who did this made it abundantly clear why he did this. It was his opening blow in a race war. He told that to his victims, and the survivor that he left to spread the message as to why he did it. He wore patches on his jacket of apartheid countries. He had the confederate flag symbol on his car. He expressed racist attitudes to his family and friends. To deny why he did this, to say it is not clear, is a an act of racism in and of itself. Sorry, but that's the way I feel. Fox News and the major Republican candidates who are being obtuse about this should be ashamed of themselves.
Was he mentally ill? Only to the extent that anyone who commits such atrocities are mentally ill. But he knew what he was doing. He planned it out. This was not an impulse. He clearly knew what he was trying to ache rive, as sick and twisted as it may have been. When you think of the terrorists that crashed into the Twin Towers, the first thing that rolls through your mind is not mental illness.
Was it an act against Christians? No, it was an act aimed against people based on the color of their skin, not the state of their faith. What do Nazi Germany, apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia all have in common? They all thought of themselves as "Christian societies". Now, most Christians understand what an abuse of that label that is, but that does not mean that it is not often usurped that way.
Was this just an isolated incident? In it's extremity, yes. But that does not mean there are not a thousand cuts that occur every day, a thousand incidents much smaller in scope, but in accumulation, just as damaging. This area just a few weeks ago had an officer shoot down an unarmed black suspect in cold blood. That officer will be a jail companion of Mr. Roof.
No, it's not over.
What can we do, those of us who care, those of us who DO want it to be over?
We can look to the example of the Emanuel AME Church. They opened their arms in love to this evil young man, and welcomed into their prayer group. He stated that he hesitated because they were so nice to him.
When he was arraigned, victim's family members spoke out with love and forgiveness. Their love and outreach under such horrible circumstances just about brought me to my knees.
The answer in not more guns. The answer is not to return hate with hate. The answer is love. We need to preach out to each other in love.
It won't be easy. But we need to care, and understand that it's not over. There is a reason for voting rights laws, open housing, affirmative action. We are not there yet.
And we need to stop clinging to symbols of division. We can start by putting away the symbol of past hatred and slavery, and consign the Confederate flag to the museums that it belongs in. Not over state property, not even at your home, business or car. It is not saying what you think it says.
Love is not always easy. Even in a church dedicated to it, it cannot be easy for those family members to say what they did, to reach out in love and forgiveness at a time like this.
Each one of us that takes that step makes this world a better place. The only way to defeat the darkness of evil is with the light of love.
No. It's not over.
But the more of us that choose love, the brighter the world becomes, and the harder it becomes for darkness to exist.
Emanuel AME is showing us the way. Let's make their message of love stronger than Dylann Roof's message of racial hatred.
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