My part has been to tell the story of the slave. The story of the master never wanted for narrators. The masters, to tell their story, had at call all the talent and genius that wealth and influence could command. They have had their full day in court. Literature, theology, philosophy, law and learning have come willingly to their service, and, if condemned, they have not been condemned unheard. Frederick Douglass
Right now people are telling more stories about racism and killing. Right now there are narratives about Michael Brown, about the danger that children and adults of color face, about poverty, oppression, racism, brutality. More and more stories from years past and in the present that show the horror, yes horror, that has never stopped since Africans were brought to this continent as slaves.
There are also a few stories that show us we could be better–a policeman and a young African American boy talk and hug, the Rams football players come out with hands up (don’t shoot), young African American men cleaning up their community after protests, swelling group of protestors walking from Ferguson to Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri, influential groups making statements about justice.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jobarrow/boy-and-cop-hug-at-ferguson-protest
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/st-louis-rams-show-solidarity-ferguson-protesters?CID=SM_FB
We are posting and talking, even walking. We can’t let the story of slain young men and injustice on our streets and in our courts fade again.
We need to keep telling the stories, even when others want us to stop. Even when it seems no one is listening. Even when no one believes that my story is more true than a conflicting story. We need to persist– like a continuous drop of water on a rock –telling and retelling, telling and retelling—eventually we’ll make s a dent.
I’ve been trying to be heard with my stories of teachers who work all the time, students who struggle to succeed, overwhelmed parents who want what is best for their kids in the face of the dominant narrative of lazy bad teachers, parents who don’t care, kids who are out of control.
I’ve been watching to see when my stories are heard. I’ve noticed fewer eyes glazing over when I’ve followed the story of injustice, of the problem, with a glimpse of a story that shows a possibility for hope for us.
Who has not had their full day in court who has a story you could tell and keep telling? What if we each chose one unheard story to keep telling every chance we can find? Would you have a story about yourself, your own life or someone else–perhaps a student, a school, a teacher, a health care worker, or an endangered animal or species or even our whole planet?
It is not time to be discouraged by lack of progress. The consequences are too serious. It is time to insist on being heard to make a difference.