How Do You End Hate?
In the 50’s and 60’s we had segregation, and Jim crow as the preeminent figures so to speak of racism. We had something tangible to focus our energy and efforts towards putting an end to. We could mobilize and target specific locations that openly embodied these ideologies and practices. We were able to aim our acts of civil disobedience at the right places to leave the strongest message.
Today segregation has ended, or at least the blatant signs on the front door. However what fueled these practices has far from been abolished, demolished, or destroyed. So I begin to ask myself, how do you end hate? How do you destroy a feeling? How do you abolish an emotion? An emotion, feeling, thought, solely directed at anyone with a darker hue than those with fair skin and those with anything but historically European features.
The simple answer logically seems to be love right? Both hate and love take the same amount of energy and effort to truly do. And when I say truly do, I mean putting your ALL into these things. Focusing the maximum amount of energy and effort to sustain and maintain these beliefs and practices. Yet I find myself faced with a new question, I don’t know why you hate us, and quite frankly I don’t know why we should love you?
My people and my ancestors have done nothing to you historically, by way of account through your own text books and teachings. None of my people came up to the captains of slave ships looking to hitch a ride here. This has all been by the design of YOUR forefathers, and perpetuated by your Grandfathers. When the Constitution was written we were only considered to be three-fifths of a person, so the term “People” in that same Constitution didn’t, and has rarely, represented us since the dawn of this country.
I say all that to again ask the question, why do you hate us, and why should we love you? And when I say you, you know who you are. This isn’t some written condemnation on white people, this is my written condemnation of racism and senseless hate. You can’t fix what is broken. You can’t replace pieces that you didn’t know were there to begin with. Racism is a broken concept, it can’t be replaced with Love when you don’t know where the hate truly comes from.
I don’t know if you want us to love you, I don’t know if you will ever love us, what I do know is that WE outnumber YOU. Those old systems you built on hate are being broken. Those old motions of violence are being exposed. Those old ways of thinking are being changed and it's time for you to change with it. The world as you once knew it of us standing still and just taking orders is over. You aren't a master anymore.
This country, and more importantly this world, are no longer your plantation that you can beat, sculpt, groom, or cultivate in a way you deem fit. The power is slowly but surely shifting to the people. We are at a tipping point in history, a place we’ve been many times before, and will likely be time and time again. So long as we continue to put pressure on the needle, the needle will shift; slowly but steadily. One day we'll look back and realize the needle is much further than it was when we began pushing, unfortunately that day is not today.
With all the progress we’ve made in science and technology, it’s such a shame we’ve made so little progress in humanity and empathy. How long will we allow classifications to keep us apart?
Javon Chasten is an artist and writer born and raised in the Bronx.
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