Face the uncomfortable truth

This is a response to columnist Rex Hussmann’s April 25 call for everyone to face the “uncomfortable truth that racism is embedded in American history and in the fabric of American life.” He calls for Caucasians to stop pretending that what he is saying is not true. I say to black people as well to stop pretending because it makes you feel so uncomfortable.

Remember, for any change to take place someone must be uncomfortable. Blacks and Caucasians are going to have to sit down and get a better understanding of where the pain is coming from. There needs to be an ongoing think tank discussion for both sides to open up about the pain that is taking place.

A think tank also needs to be held by us as a black people. We have so little respect for each other, so little love for each other. I truly believe it comes from self-hate. Some of us hate the blackness in ourselves, forgetting who created the people of the earth in the manner that He saw fit. Should we question the hand of Providence?

I want to share one out of hundreds of incidents that occurred to me, and this one makes me chuckle. After building a modest house and moving to the county some years ago, I was standing on the porch sweeping and the mail truck came up the hill. She yelled from the truck, “Are they not home?” I instantly knew what she was thinking.

Later, my son said, “Momma, you should have told her that you were the owner of the house.” My answer to him was, to what avail? It is going to take more than a correction about home ownership to heal our land, and our land does need healing. Willie Mae Samuel

Rome