An Open Letter to Teachers Everywhere

Dear Teachers Everywhere,

We enlightened Americans owe you an apology. We have stood idly by while a small group of unenlightened Americans (conservative Republican operatives really) have implemented schemes to make it more difficult for you to teach our children how to be critical thinkers and responsible civic leaders.

The voices of these unenlightened Americans are being heard in local school board meetings all across the country, and just recently, I learned that a small contingent of unenlightened truckers used their 18-wheelers to block traffic on a major thoroughfare between the United States and Canada, all to express their opposition to COVID-19 mask mandates. But we enlightened Americans know what is really going on. Conservative Republican operatives have initiated a campaign on both the micro and macro levels to make us all less enlightened about inconvenient truths.

But long before these conservative Republican operatives started displaying bullish behaviors at our school board meetings and on major thoroughfares, they were railing against the multi-racial and multi-ethnic groups of enlightened Americans peacefully exercising their First Amendment right to march through our streets to loudly proclaim, “Black Lives Matter!” And even though over 90 percent of the Black Lives Matter protests and rallies were peaceful, then president Donald Trump used his high position to falsely designate the Black Lives Matter organization as a hate group. He cited incidents where shady characters embedded within the BLM protests sparked violent outrage from a few of the peaceful protestors by breaking out windows and looting neighborhood retail stores. But when he encouraged his MAGA cult followers to march on the United States Capitol to “stop the steal,” he called these same MAGA cult followers true patriots even after the world watched them break windows, doors, and damage historical artifacts, before illegally entering the U. S. Capitol vestibule and ultimately the House and Senate chamber floors. Unenlightened Americans consider this ballsy on the former president’s part. I consider such behavior unpatriotic, and a permanent stain on our democracy. Why? Because property was damaged, innocent lives were lost.

Conservative Republican operatives railing against CRT
in public K-12 schools

Teachers everywhere, I know you recognize that Donald Trump used his presidency to make it right for White Americans to push back on Black Americans’ ongoing struggle for equity, justice and fairness. When you hear conservative Republican operatives stand before school boards to rail against Critical Race Theory, something that is not even taught in public K-12 schools, you realize that the conservative Republican movement’s play is to generate support for conservative Republican candidates by appealing to White fears and resentments.

White conservative Republicans want White parents to believe that you teachers teaching their White children about all the bad things their White ancestors did to black, brown, red and yellow Americans is another bad thing because it makes their White children (and them) feel uncomfortable. They want White parents to believe that you teachers engaging their White children in discussions about ongoing racism, prejudice and discrimination makes their White children feel guilty about something they’re not responsible for (and have no responsibility for undoing). They want White parents to believe White children being exposed to books by Black writers like the late Toni Morrison and her contemporary Ta-Nehisi Coates causes their White children to be ashamed of their own racial/ethnic identity. Heck, they want White parents to believe that they did not inherit any privileges from their White ancestors systemically trying to crush the hopes, aspirations and dreams of Black Americans and other Americans of color.

Most, if not all of you, have opted to enter a profession that doesn’t pay well, but has the greatest impact on young minds. You are the professionals who set the tone for how our children will think and feel about their obligations to each other as members of the human race. And ever since the 1954 ruling in the Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case, which stated that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, you have gone out of your way to encourage our children and adolescents to work together to create a more perfect union, not make America great again.

Let’s be clear: the GOP slogan “Make America Great Again” is nothing more than a dog whistle to White Americans from conservative Republicans that now is the time to make America White again. In short, it is a nod to individuals who falsely believe that White people are the ruling class, and White people more fully exercising their power, influence and control over the masses is the key to keeping America great. But this just isn’t true. Yes, numerous White people have made positive contributions to our country’s greatness, but similar, and sometimes more significant, contributions have also been made by numerous Black Americans and other persons of color, despite the obstacles that the racist Whites have tried to put in our way.

Teachers everywhere, we, the enlightened Americans of this great nation, the United States of America, are depending on you to continue teaching our children how to think critically and lead responsibly. As you well know, critical thinking is the ability to use acquired knowledge and shared experiences to make decisions that positively impact individuals and collectives. Responsible leadership, on the other hand, is the ability to use these same critical thinking skills to work with other patriotic Americans to develop and implement strategies that promote peace not chaos, justice not criminality, truth not lies, unity not division.

We enlightened Americans know that conservative Republican operatives are not making it any easier for you to teach our children critical thinking and responsible leadership skills. That is why more of us are starting to become more committed to countering their false claims about Critical Race Theory with real stories about how White racism, prejudice and discrimination adversely impacts the lives of children of color. That is why more of us are starting to remind school board members and school administrators that representation matters. Our children and adolescents of color must see themselves and their racial/ethnic groups’ contributions reflected accurately in textbooks and supplemental material, which help them establish good habits for lifelong learning.

Teachers everywhere, I implore you to not allow these conservative Republican operatives to normalize ignorance in our society. Enlightenment is what we need, and you are the patriots we’re depending on to help our children become enlightened in the face of the Conservative Movement’s coup to confound their common sensibilities.

When You Know Better, Do Better

The late Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” That’s a profound statement from one of the United States’ most prolific Black writers, but the more I mulled Dr. Angelou’s statement over in my head, the more I found myself questioning our collective ability to get there, to do better.

I have no doubt that most, if not all, of us are doing our best in our personal endeavors. We’re working 9-5 jobs to keep food on our tables, clothes on our backs, roofs over our heads. However, as we struggle to survive and thrive in a world that at times can be so unkind, we find ourselves succumbing to forces that cause us to feel sad, angry and even depressed. The key to overcoming this sadness, anger and depression is to take stock of the thoughts, feelings and events that cause us to feel sad, angry and depressed. But we also must develop routines that decrease our susceptibility, and, more importantly, counter the big lies that make us feel sad, angry and depressed.

And that leads me to the question that is on most citizens’ minds these days: Why don’t Republicans want us to do better, to feel less sad, less angry and less depressed? They don’t want us feeling less of anything negative relative to the state of our union because these feelings fuel cynicism about government operations under Democratic administrations. And as their persistent CRT dog whistle foretells, Republicans don’t want us to do better, to feel less sad, less angry and less depressed, because it makes it easier for them to appeal to White fears and resentments. These unenlightened Republicans goal here is to make White people believe that they have to vote for their Republican candidates because their Republican candidates will prevent non-Whites from taking things from them. But in the final analysis, non-Whites have never endeavored to take things from White people; we non-Whites have only demanded that this country, the United States of America, give us the things that were withheld from us because of White racism, prejudice and discrimination.

Trump supporters participate in a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his baseless claims of election fraud. The president is expected to address a rally on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

There are some who believe Donald Trump was good for the country because he got things done. That’s a common refrain within Republican circles. But it is easy to make it appear you’re “getting things done” when your party controls the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches with large majorities, and your cult of personality causes you to be surrounded by a bunch of Yes men. The questions we must ask ourselves about what Donald Trump’s administration got done should center around what Donald Trump did to make all of our lives better, not just the lives of the people who voted for him. When we elect individuals to public office, they should be leading efforts to help the country and its people become a more perfect union. Donald Trump and members of the Republican Party did neither. Now, far too many of our neighbors are willing to give them another pass rather than hold them accountable for further enriching the rich off the backs of middle- and working class Americans.

I don’t know about you, but after four years of Donald Trump’s lunacy, I grew tired of being sad, angry and depressed about the state of our union. That’s why I was one of the 81 million plus citizens who voted for Joe Biden to become the nation’s 46th president. And it wasn’t a difficult choice. Donald Trump and Republican legislators showed us through their concerted rhetoric and deeds that building a wall to keep immigrants and refugees out was far more important than building back better for current and future generations. They even balked at the fact that many states were allowing their citizens to vote by mail during the global coronavirus pandemic. Even now, we see Republican governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis making fallacious statements and signing legislation that undermines efforts to get more citizens vaccinated. Who does that? And when they engage in these types of bad behaviors, why are they getting rewarded?

January 6th Select Committee Co-Chairs
Benny Thompson (D) and Liz Cheney (R).

They’re getting rewarded because some segments of our society are all for owning the liberal Democrats, running against any bipartisan bills and legislation they put forth that improve peoples’ lives. That’s what saddens, angers and depresses me the most.

But I pray that these Trump-friendly people segments come to their senses by getting vaccinated so we can finally claim victory over COVID-19.

I pray that these Trump-friendly people segments come to their senses, and start applauding the truth-finding efforts of the Select Committee on the January 6th, 2021 Insurrection.

More than anything, I pray these Trump-friendly people segments come to their senses to gain a better appreciation for the big lies that the Republican Party is spreading about the 2020 Presidential Election results, Critical Race Theory and, most importantly, President Biden’s Build Back Better Plan.

There are a number of things we can do to do better to be better. First, and foremost, we have to counter Donald Trump and Republican legislators’ big lies with shared inconvenient truths. Next, we have to get the vote out (and vote) against the irresponsible Republicans (and Democrats) that are preventing us from doing better as a citizenry. Lastly, we have to treat others the way we want to be treated. If and when we do these things and more, we will restore the admiration and respect that the United States of America previously had in the eyes of other sovereign nations before Donald Trump and his domestic and foreign loyalists stole the 2016 presidential election from Hillary Rodham Clinton.

What’s So Inconvenient about Truth?

Obama: The Historic Presidency of
Barack Obama

If you’re a regular visitor to this site, you’re probably asking yourself, “What’s so inconvenient about Truth?” That’s a good question, one that deserves an answer. But first I need to set the table, establish the foundation for my argument.

I just purchased a book that chronicles the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, the first Black American to occupy this office. I am not going to use this space to cite quotes from Obama: The Historic Presidency of Barack Obama, but I am going to write about why I purchased it. I purchased this book because I wanted to have something in hand that serves as a reminder about how responsible leaders are supposed to behave.

Most of the people I associate with know that Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential Election because of loyalists here at home and nationals in countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia. Again, I’m not going to use this space to cite quotes from the Mueller Report, but I am going to encourage you to read it. When you do, you will learn that the Republican Party is no longer the party of Abraham Lincoln; it is now a cult whose subjects kiss the ring of Donald Trump, who, sadly, had no plan for governing this country. He seemingly looked at the presidency as a way to enrich himself and his loyalists at truly patriotic Americans’ expense. And while he was United States president, he and members of his party went out of their way to appeal to White citizens’ fears and resentments about non-White Americans. He made them feel proud to be White, and went out of his way to denigrate Black Americans and other Americans of color for making White people feel uncomfortable for exercising their White privilege. But the truth is we non-White Americans don’t want White people to feel ashamed of their Whiteness; we just ask that they focus more on their ancestorial ethnicity rather than their racial designation. When White people shift their focus, they may discover that we have more similarities than differences.

But if you do a critical analysis of the Obama Presidency, you will conclude that President Obama went out of his way to lift all boats. In other words, if you are a United States citizen, the Obama Administration endeavored to institute policies and practices that made our lives better, regardless of our race, ethnicity. One of the first things he did after being elected was pass the Affordable Care Act, which expanded health care coverage to over 40 million Americans. He also signed Recovery Act legislation that saved the auto industry and many other small businesses. More than anything, though, Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and children Sasha and Malia exhibited the kind of charisma that inspired both young and old to work collaboratively to create a more perfect union. Moreover, they appealed to our best instincts, not our worst.

Barack Obama did not lose the 2016 Presidential Election. He had served his two terms, and now it was time for another civil servant to occupy the Office of the Presidency. Unfortunately, it was Democrat Hillary Clinton who lost to Donald Trump. If she had been elected, Secretary Clinton would have become the first female, as well as the first former First Lady, elected to office.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifying before the House Select Committee on Benghazi (October 22, 2015).

What impressed me most about Hillary Clinton was the way she accepted defeat. She suspected Donald Trump had help from foreign allies in Russia and Saudi Arabia, and she knew Trump used his racist dog whistles to leverage White electorate votes. He referred to Black and Brown countries as shit-hole countries, and even suggested during the aftermath of the Unite the Right Rally that “you had very fine people, on both sides” when trying to make an equivalence between the peaceful protestors and the White supremacists that converged on Charlottesville, Virginia from August 11-12, 2017. And after losing the 2020 Presidential Election to Democrat Joe Biden by over seven million votes, Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to convene in Washington, DC on January 6th to “stop the steal.” His supporters tried, and they failed because there was no “steal” to stop. The bottom line here is Hillary Clinton, and so many other unsuccessful presidential candidates before her, exited gracefully and honorably to unconditionally love on others in their roles as United States citizens.

So, what’s so inconvenient about truth? Well, the answer to that question is it depends on who you ask. But based on what I just presented above, truth is inconvenient when it infringes on one’s ability to hold onto power, influence and/or control. We all must acknowledge that we are not holding our elected leaders accountable for their destructive actions. The Republican Party showed us during both the Obama and Trump presidencies that their only concern is to win congressional seats and the presidency so they can engage in nefarious maneuvers that impede on our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These nefarious maneuvers are being hatched by duly elected leaders within the Republican Party, and their campaign to make it harder for Americans to vote shows they are more concerned about expanding their power, influence and control than meeting their constituents’ needs.

What is so disheartening about their efforts is so many of their supporters, which includes Evangelical Christians, believe their cause is righteous and just. It’s not. How can it be when they are working to restrict access to the ballot box for non-Whites, women, college students and poor people? I get that many of our urban sectors have become havens for progressive-minded voters. And this fact alone makes it difficult for Republicans candidates to win some local, state and national elections. But they can’t say they’re for the people when they are endeavoring to restrict constitutionally protected rights and silence the voices of their constituencies. Our founding fathers intended for this power to rest with the citizenry, not politicians and the lobbyists that work to keep them in office. However, if we allow Republicans’ nefarious maneuvers to continue unabated, We the People should expect a rude awakening, for the power that we hold so dear will rest squarely in the hands of these nefarious Republicans.

Shameful?

Yes.

But my question to you is do we keep electing these villains to office or do we finally say no more?

I look forward to hearing your response when you cast your votes in the 2022 midterm elections.