President Obama vs. Trump: 15 Steps of Progress?

I have three questions I hope to address in this piece. What has President Obama meant to Black people and people of color? What has President Obama really done for Black people and people of color? How much will Trump set back civil rights and race relations in this country? First, let me say my opinion is my own. I'm an educated sixty year old adult Black man. But, I'm not trying to represent all of Black America. Nor am I trying to reflect what all people of color feel. And I most certainly am not trying to speak for White America. However, I have watched listened and studied what has been going on in this country. I have designed and taught courses on racism at the college level. I have conducted numerous seminars and lectures on anti-racism. More important, I have been taught about racism by people more knowledgeable than myself. No matter how intelligent a person is, there's always more to be learned. Unfortunately, most people don't understand this simple concept and think their feelings and rights are substitutes for truth and justice. I've learned in my life, that sometimes the truth doesn't make me feel good. Sometimes the truth isn't based on how I feel. All of these things have happened over a thirty year period. Therefore, while these thoughts are my own opinion, I'm coming at you from a perspective of someone who has actually studied race in America. What President Obama has meant to Black people and people of color, is actually what he has shown the world. He has shown the world that a Black man can lead the United States of America just as well as a White man. I will come back to this statement in a second. Because of this he has, rather than opened the doors of opportunity for other people of color, he has merely given Black people and people of color the address to the door of opportunity, key maker. The door of opportunity is still locked. Before President Obama came along the door was locked and people of color, especially Black people had no direction or knowledge as to where we could get a working key. We've had false trails down rabbit holes, leading to wasted time, only serving to take us further away from equality and opportunity. We had to deal with doubters of our intelligence and loyalty to America. President Obama has proven that a Black man has the intelligence to be a leader. Within the community of people of color we have always known of our ability to be patient. This ability comes with living in this society and is vital to any person of color's arsenal, as we are constantly at war for freedom, equality and success. What do I mean by saying he has shown the world that a Black man can lead the United States of America just as well as a White man? Well, that has to do with the question, what has President Obama really done for people of color? The answer is very little. He was working too hard to be the President for everyone. That would be a great philosophy if everyone started out at the place. The truth of the matter is, people of color are 15 steps behind when it comes to equality of wages, health, education and the ability to create success. If you keep focusing on giving everyone a step or two, it doesn't help Black people and people of color, catch up. We may even be at a slightly better place, but we're still the same 15 steps behind. We need someone who can advance people of color several steps, as to become equal to our White counterparts. Running the same pace as someone 15 steps in front of us won't get us any closer to equality. President Obama didn't get people of color any steps closer to equality. In fact, because he didn't push people of color forward, we lost a few steps. To be fair, through no fault of his, the lost steps were because of an upsurge in racism. Which was done to put President Obama and people of color in our places. And this leads me to the exclamation point at the end of this rekindled paragraph on the page of America's racism history. Trump is the absolute proof that America is as racist as it has ever been. He recognized it and used it to the benefit of himself and people like him. Trump and his followers will set back civil rights and race relations in this country fifty years? How did he do it? He struck gold! He found the lost City of Gold, El Dorado! In fact he found something better than gold. He found the perfect excuse of false hope for unhappy White people. And he became the conduit linking those unhappy White people to a reason for their woes in life. The reason he gives them for their woes, has to do with everyone who isn't White. This society and now Trump tells unhappy White people that people of color are the reasons their lives aren't going the way they feel they should go. Sadly, a fair number of White people believe this lie. Soon they will begin to see that the only loyalty Trump and people like him have is to one color "green". I have been on this planet long enough to have seen this type of brainwashing before. I have also read about the history of this kind of brainwashing happening in the past. Here's a clue. Several of the people Trump has appointed to a cabinet position are billionaires, with absolutely no experience. They do have one thing in common. They all contributed big money to Trump's campaign. I'm sure these wealthy people, in their hearts, have the interest of those unhappy White people. In reality, Trump only understands unhappy White people to the extent of using them. He has a track record of using and cheating White people who were poorer than he. That is when he wasn't trying to grab their wives, mothers and daughters by their pussies. As far as Black people and people of color are concerned, Trump has already begun the process of setting back fifty years, every advancement towards equality, freedom and success we have made. So, it's back to the drawing board for people of color. Like Gil Scott Heron said, "It's a Re-run." As people of color, we have experienced and know walking in darkness is merely the first step in finding the light. Maybe it is time for unhappy White people to truly walk in darkness of deceit for a while. If they experience it long enough, they'll never forget it. Maybe that's the only way of keeping the darkness from coming around again.

Why Do So Many In This Country Hate Christians?

I've noticed for quite a few years now, how the news media, television and movie entertainment and a lot of the general public in this country really hate Christians. I believe this to be a fact as real as the fact racism is a deliberate and prevailing mentality in this country. The question is, why? In the last few months I been able to listen to Christians from all around this country speak about everything and everyone. Now I get it. I totally understand why so many people in this country hate Christians. Unlike racism, a case can be made that Christians have earned the hatred that is casted upon them. People of color, especially Black people just have to be born and we become a target of racism. Many Christians actually do and say things that cause people to hate them. Here's the sad part of this situation. Many Christians think the hatred of Christians, by people who aren't Christians, is like some badge of holy honor. In my opinion Christians have fallen into the trap of desiring political power. Christians do not render onto Cesar that which is Cesar's and render onto God that which is God. You can find the actual words of that in the book of Matthew 22:20-22. One can say, when Jesus showed the people the coin and asked who's picture was on it, he was saying this the stuff of man. When he talks about feeding the hungry, taking care of the widows, giving water to the thirsty, raising our children with love, and visiting the prisoners. That starts at Matthew 25:34. One can say when Jesus talked about these things, he was telling them what is of God. The answer to why so many people in this country hate Christians is because too many Christians are busy trying to attain political power and not really doing the things of Christ mentioned above. And why is this happening? Simply put, too many Christians are following charismatic preachers. There's nothing wrong with a charismatic preacher per say, except when their self-serving doctrines causes congregations to worship the preacher rather than God. What ends up happening, is the preacher then sells his congregation to the highest bidding politician. In the long run congregations lose sight of the things of God and begin to act as the judge and juror of anyone who doesn't think, believe or act as they do. If Christians aren't careful their us against the world mentality will dwindled down until churches will separate based on race and skin color. Oh wait! Churches worshiping the God of the universe are already separated by race and skin color. Man's law says I, with my black skin can live next door to you if I can afford to. God's people say, I as a Baptist live next door to a White Baptist, but I go to "First Black Baptist Church of the Risen Son" and my neighbor goes to "First White Baptist Church of the Risen Son". Didn't Jesus say something to the effect of when two or more are gathered in my name, he is there? Try Matthew 18:20. My point is this, caring too much about who goes to your church, how many people go to your church and how cool the pastor is, has replaced the bright light on the hill, of people seeing and hearing about your church feeding the hungry, taking care of the widows, giving water to the thirsty, raising our children with love, and visiting the prisoners. Politicians can't fix what is wrong in this country. And the people of this country are mad because Christians won't, haven't or can't deliver that which God has told us to deliver. It's like children who are unruly. Most of the time they want their parents to tell them what to do and mean it. Christians tell the world about a loving God, but don't show or mean it. The world should know us by our love. No one will argue and hate people who are serving their needs. Why would a person go to a church or a Christian for love when there is as much backbiting and out and out racism amongst Christians as there is in society. As Christians we should be in the world, but not of the world. We can do as the world does and add to the chaos of man. Or we can work as hard as we can to do what God says. The friction caused by going against the grain, makes a spark in the world, which in-turn becomes a light for the world. The world doesn't hate the light. The world hates the darkness posing as light. We need to stop using our light to burn down the world and use our light to show the world a way out of the darkness. But to do that, we need to truly know the direction ourselves.

Standing Rock, Racism and Greed at its Best

I support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's right to protect their water today, tomorrow and fifty years down the road. However, make no doubt about it. This is racism and greed at its best, or should I say, at its worst. When Bismarck, the Capitol of North Dakota told Energy Transfer Partners to go build their pipeline somewhere else, because the venture would jeopardize the integrity of their drinking water, the Texas oil company re-routed. Here's why Bismarck could make such a demand; The racial makeup of the Bismarck is 92.4% White, 0.7% African American, 4.5% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population (Wikipedia). Here's why Energy Transfer could give a damn about the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe making the same request as the citizens in and around Bismarck. 4,044 - Total Population on Standing Rock Reservation (ND side only) [Census 2000]; 3,492 or 84.1% - American Indians on Standing Rock Reservation (ND side only) [Census 2010]. The perfect storm for white greed = a small number of people of color + the possibility of white people making a profit + media control = we will do whatever we have to do to take this from you. This has been a trait throughout the history of this country. This country has made and broken over 500 treaties with Native Tribes. I'm not going to make this a history lesson about the relationship between America and the Indian Nations. That's because it can be summed up simply as lies, betrayal and greed covered up by another lie. For the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe this is about honor. For in the history of every down trotted people, there comes a time when they must stand, sit, sing and scream in order to be heard. They must fight against the wealth of the white man and the deaf ears of a nation turned against them. They must understand, this fight will be forever, because the soul of the wealthy was long ago replace by the glitter of gold. The brightness of which, blinds the eyes of man, to the needs of their fellow man. In 1980 John Trudell, a Santee Sioux said, "We must go beyond the arrogance of human rights. We must go beyond the ignorance of civil rights. We must step into the reality of natural rights because all the natural world has a right to existence. We are only a small part of it. There can be no trade-off." For a while I couldn't get into what he was saying and then it hit me. One man should never have to fight another man, for human rights or civil rights. It truly goes against the natural order of the human experience. Because one race of people owns the media, they have been able to keep the details of what's really happening at Standing Rock out of the mainstream. They show only what benefits them. They only report what is sensational and brings ratings. For those in the media who aren't under the control of the very people who would profit from this pipeline, this situation just isn't sexy enough, or violent enough. The reason it isn't sexy or violent enough is because the Sioux Tribes are trying to protest peacefully. They are trying to appeal to the common sense of the people of this country. But common sense isn't and hasn't ever been common when race and profits are on the opposite sides of the table. But despite the results of the elections several weeks ago, I have to believe, most people, if they knew the details of Standing Rock, would not approve. Again, this is about rich folks making themselves richer, by trying to bully those with the least power. However, regardless of Energy Transfer Partners and their cronies efforts to suppress the truth, everyday more and more people are discovering the lies and injustices being perpetrated at Standing Rock. President Obama, leave office with a bang. Do something before matters come to a head and many people are injured or killed. Do something before the guy you called "unfit to be president" sides with the wealthy. Please go to the website below. “We urge the Obama Administration to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement of the Dakota Access Pipeline, with meaningful consultation with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. And we call on Energy Transfer Partners to halt construction until the review is completed and the potential impacts of the project are fully considered.” Public petition at http://act.americanrivers.org/page/s/nodapl-standing-rock