Tuesday August 4, 2020
Norah Alexander
BELONG
When I read Rob’s email requesting I write a Daily Reflection on the word “Belong” at first, I thought no way. I am not a very good writer and what would I say. After thinking about it and realizing what a powerful word it is, I agreed to write this reflection.
We are born into this world into a family. If we are lucky it is a family with a Father and Mother who love us and care for us. You belong to this family and of course you belong to God. I was lucky to be born into a family that loved me and raised me in the Episcopal Church. I had many privileges in my formative years that made my journey in life easier than most. I “belonged” to my church, school, clubs and various groups. I was never told I didn’t belong.
I was lucky, but other children were raised without privilege and were made to feel they did not belong. Many children were judged by the color of their skin or religion. They couldn’t join clubs, go to certain schools, and were not included even in the North. Housing was “Redlined” so it was hard for Black and Brown people to purchase in certain areas- they did not belong! Thus, we have the basis of racism.
I was raised in Pittsburgh, PA and never really thought about racism or belonging. Pittsburgh like many other cities had “neighborhoods”. Different ethnic groups tended to live in the same neighborhoods, Italians, Jewish, Polish, Black, Irish, etc. I never really thought about it as it was just the way it was. In 1961, I traveled to St. Petersburg, Florida to visit my sister. I knew there was segregation in the South, but when I got off the airplane and saw signs for “Whites Only”. I was really upset as this seemed so wrong to me. When I returned home, I continued to think about segregation and how it must make people feel. I couldn’t understand it. I decided I needed to understand, I asked my friend to go to a meeting of the NAACP and to write an article for the school paper. We found a meeting and when we arrived the people at the reception desk were sure surprised to see two young white girls. We did not belong there. They asked what we were doing there and we told them we were writing an article for our school paper so the students could gain a better understanding of what was happening in the South, and how their rights were not the same as ours even in the North. We took notes and wrote our article and I began to have some understanding of the complex issues of racism. It could not explain the violence you would see every night on TV with Black people being beaten, attacked by dogs, etc. Those memories will always stay with me.
The violence of the Sixties to Brown VS the Board of Education which after the slaves were freed moved their status from “Separate but Equal” to Desegregation, but did not erase racism. It did not stop racism and it has continued across America.
In 1973, in Boston there were riots the people in South Boston did not want the children from Roxbury and Dorchester coming to their schools or on their beaches. They did not belong there. Black and Brown people have been incarcerated more than white people, had lower paying jobs and were often targeted for abuse. The unrest this country is experiencing now is due to the continued racism in America today.
Below is the definition of racism.
“Racism is the marginalization and/or oppression of people of color based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges white people.”
Although the definition of racism above is about more “modern” racism, we know from the Bible readings that racism and slavery has been part of the human condition for centuries. Now it is time to end it.
The question for all of us is what can we do to end it. I don’t have the answer for this, but I do believe that we must find a way for all people to feel they belong. I leave you with the quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and an excerpt from the essay written by Congressman John Lewis published on July 17th on the day he died in the New York Times.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.- Martin Luther King Jr
When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.- Congressman John Lewis