In high school, one of our readings was “Black Men and Public Spaces” by Doctor Brent Staples, Author and Editorial Writer for The New York Times.
It stuck with me, the feelings that unfairly arise in others out of fear, out of judgement, out of failing to realize that the insides of a person are what makes one bad or good, that the outside is only what the world sees. It seems especially relevant today. Here is a portion of it.
“And I soon gathered that being perceived as dangerous is a hazard in itself. I only needed to turn a corner into a dicey situation, or crowd some frightened, armed person in a foyer somewhere, or make an errant move after being pulled over by a policeman. Where fear and weapons meet – and they often do in urban America – there is always the possibility of death.”
I looked up the reading. You can read the entirety of it here.
I have been a fan of Langston Hughes for many years. Here is an especially poignant poem of his. Langston’s dream in this poem is mine as well.
I Dream A World by Langston Hughes
I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind-
Of such I dream, my world!
My best to you all,
Megan