I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to have my eye’s opened. I watched in horror as Ahmaud Arbery was gunned down. With a broken heart I read about the death of Breonna Taylor. And of course, George Floyd.
But my journey didn’t start there. Under Obama’s administration I remember stories and discussions about racism. It seemed that to a lot of people Obama’s presidency, instead of truly ending racism, was actually making it worse. How could this be?
I started digging in. Since a child I was always fascinated by the Civil War, but sadly that education ended with Reconstruction. I rectified that. I came to the brutal realization that Reconstruction never actually happened. It was cancelled by racists. The deep wounds of slavery were never even close to being healed. They were never intended to be. Its effects are being felt on a daily basis by too many Americans.
I believe it’s time to revisit Reconstruction. While I realize there is nothing that can really make up for the damage caused by slavery and its racist aftermath, doing nothing is not an option.
I hope and pray that this reparation campaign sweeps across the country and begins a new era of reconstruction and healing.