Vote – Walk Into the Future

Knowledge is power–Ms. Evers boys

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“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity”.

(Dalai Lama)

The Walk into the Future blog was able to expand to tackle racial injustice in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has adjusted how we interact with others but 2020 provided additional opportunities for the world to view social justice from a new lens.

The younger generation calls this new view as being WOKE. Merriam Webster.com identifies woke is increasingly used as a byword for social awareness.

The multiple instances of injustice we witnessed in 2020 AND past events provided the Walk into the Future blog with a new level of being woke—this platform has become a place for me to express frustrations, outrage, and fear. It has also allowed me to learn about past injustices and how they impacted the lives of others who had to live through the experiences.

2020 provided an awakening to the continued injustices for folks like George Floyd, Breana Taylor, Ahmaud Abery and Jacob Blake. Some if these injustices were recorded and we got a chance to see what really happened not what authorities wanted to hide from the public as they normally do.

2020 also provided me with a level of curiosity to research past injustices to educate myself and readers about things most Americans had never heard about: Black 14, Black Wall Street, Rosewood, Florida, and Why Black Lives Matter. I was able to learn about each of these topics and generate a blog article to share what I discovered. A lot of my blog followers had never heard of these and want to learn more—this allows me to keep looking for topics to help ensure these injustices are never forgotten and I am hopeful they will not be repeated.

Ms. Evers boys

Why are some minorities fearful of getting vaccines?

Seems like a simple question but the answer will surprise a lot of people who have never heard about the Tuskegee Study which ran from 1932 – 1972 before the unethical treatment of black men in Macon County, Alabama was ended. The study (lab experiment) was conducted on 600 black men in the rural county, and they were told they had bad blood which was used to trick them into participating in the study.

The study was designed to observe what happens with untreated syphilis in the body of black men. Let’s repeat that, the study was designed to see the impact of syphilis on black men who were never told what they had or if they were receiving an actual treatment to cure the disease (they were not). The government used these men as lab subjects to see how the disease would ravage the human body. No truth, no treatment, no compassion, and no concern for these men by the U.S. government. Sounds just like what we witnessed in 2020, huh?

My first knowledge of this American experiment on black men was when the 1997 movie, Ms. Evers Boys was released. This movie depicts the experiences of the black nurse who was brought in to help convince the men to continue to come in for treatment. The term bad blood was suggested by Eunice Evers and was used to highlight the need for the men to come in to be treated. The process continued even when it was discovered in 1947 that penicillin was an effective treatment for syphilis. The government officials running the Tuskegee Study were not interested in curing the men but watching how the disease impacted the body of black men.

The Tuskegee Study experiment on black men was ended in 1972 when news articles were published detailing what the government was doing down in Alabama.

A $10 million dollar settlement was reached in 1974 for the survivors and families of deceased study participants. Imagine the physical and mental damage done to these people by the governmental study?

This is one study we know about.

How many others has the American government conducted?

Do you understand why some people are afraid of the American government vaccine programs?

“Distrust and caution are the parents of security”.

(Benjamin Franklin)

Learn more here:

Black 14: Wyoming Football legacy

“He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it”.

(Plato)

My Walk into the Future for 2020 has been an interesting journey so far. Not complaining because there are worse things in life than maintaining physical distance during a time of COVID-19.

The most interesting part has been the ability for me to find a new voice and interest in documenting injustices that are happening in plain sight in America. The current news cycle seems to identify another racial injustice daily in America—that may be a slight exaggeration, but you may have to walk in my shoes to prove that.

My latest injustice knowledge came through a research show on ESPN titled the Black 14. I did not stop to watch the program initially because it centered around the University of Wyoming football team and I never had interest with anything in Wyoming. Decided to sit a bit and see what the program was about since I could not make it to the beach due to bad weather—lucky me! 😊

The Black 14 were 14 black football players who were recruited to the University of Wyoming football team from every corner of America. These players wanted to be a part of something different and chose to play football in Wyoming. I later learned there initially were 17 black players on the team but 3 quit the team earlier.

The racial turmoil of 1969 made it out to Wyoming in the form of protests in and around the University of Wyoming campus. The Black 14 were not part of the student organizations who protested injustices but wanted to take a stand against the racism of the Mormon church which founded Brigham Young University (BYU).

The Black 14 wanted to wear black armbands with the number 14 to signify unity when the University of Wyoming football team played against BYU. The players decided to approach their head coach with the REQUEST to wear the arm bands during the game. The coach saw this request from the Black 14 as a rebellion against him (white guy) and his authority. Again, the Black 14 went to ask permission to wear armbands. Fast forward and the Black 14 were dismissed from the team because they were creating a fragmented locker room according to their coach.

Their dismissal was appealed but the Black 14 were still kicked off the team even with most of the students on-campus in support of what they wanted to do. The Black 14 never got another chance to play for the University of Wyoming together again. Some stayed around the campus and were let back on the team the following year. Others made their way to smaller schools to complete their playing careers. They never got an apology or full explanation of why they were kicked off the team. A side note to this story is the University of Wyoming football program has never regained a national place in the college football world after the Black 14 were kicked off the team. Karma is real!

Imagine you go to an authority figure to ask for permission for something but get kicked out for simply asking. These men were damaged for just trying to do what others around the country could do freely.

Sadly, it took the University of Wyoming 50 years to issue a formal apology and welcome the Black 14 back to campus. This is a start but imagine how these men felt over the past 50 years. Happy they got their apology but makes me wonder how many other Black 14’s, Black 27’s, Black 3’s we never hear about.

2020 has proven to be my year of enlightenment and learning more about America. There appears to be a lot left for me to learn.

“If you can’t eliminate injustice, at least tell everyone about it”.

(Shirin Ebadi)

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-14-kicked-wyoming-football-team-receives-apology-after-50-n1080671

Vote next week!

Vote 2020!

(Image by Venita Oberholster from Pixabay)

There is still time to register to vote! Do not miss your opportunity to have your voice heard in the local, state, and national election process.

Registration deadline is October 5, 2020!

Thank you!

Have you registered to vote yet?

https://registertovoteflorida.gov/eligibilityreactive

https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote

Poetic Fridays

(Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay)

The Revolution is being televised

The Revolution is being televised

America can no longer hide behind the lies

We see the injustices daily

The same ones that leave us flailing

Just like we had when we sang ‘We shall overcome’

How long does the revolution need to go on?

Before the injustices of this land come to an end

Lucky for us the cameras have begun to roll

Because without the footage nobody would believe the carnage

That occurs daily and causes fear

That continues to show on the nightly news

Even though the perpetrators know they are recorded

The Revolution is being televised

But, does it matter?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/09/19/why-louisville-nation-has-been-rocked-with-protests-in-2020/3484320001/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/us/gallery/breonna-taylor-protests/index.html

Rock the 2020 vote

(Image by amberzen from Pixabay)

“Bad officials are elected by citizens who do not vote”

(George Jean Nathan)

November 3, 2020 is coming!

There is no stopping the calendar from flipping to this monumental date in our nation’s history. 11/3/2020 will be here sooner than you imagine. Not trying to scare you but this is a date you must be ready for. I will not tell you who and how to vote but vote you must.

With as much turmoil we have lived through in 2020, voting should seem like a regular activity. Not downplaying the risks involved with going to a polling location during a pandemic but voting must become a priority for all Americans. There is still time to request a mail in ballot if needed but make sure you plan to get out and vote.

58.1% of the voting-eligible population voted in 2016. You can see some citizens took the night off in November 2016 and simply did not vote.

Not here to condemn anyone but I never imagined the results from the 2016 presidential election would go the way they did. Shocked would be an understatement of how I felt the next morning when I woke up and discovered a reality PERSON (not star) was the new president. The disappointment I felt was numbing on that fateful day.

Now the pain I feel is a nation crumbling without credible leadership to help us get out of the pandemic, improve race relations, or become a world leader again. Maybe the new slogan should be: Make America a World Leader Again! That would be a fantastic start to getting this country back on a path where we are not being laughed at by other countries.

I digress a bit—forgive me!

There are 54 days left before the national election. There is still time for you to register to vote and while you are at it, please get your family and friends to register too. This would be an outstanding time to start a voting drive in your city or town. This can be done while maintaining physical distancing. We need people to get out and vote during this election cycle. Will not say who you should vote for but vote you must. Too many people have been beaten, threaten, bullied, and killed for the right to vote. This is our time to exercise our rights and vote for candidates to represent us all.

No more wishing for change in America, we must demand it. Voting provides an opportunity for your voice to be heard—do not be silenced this November. I do not want to be surprised again this cycle—thanks! 😊

Have you registered to vote yet? Who can you help with the registration process? What are you waiting on? Let’s rock the 2020 vote!

https://registertovoteflorida.gov/eligibilityreactive

https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote

About National Voter Registration Day

(Get out and vote! Help your friends and family register–there’s still time!)

“The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violet tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it”.

(John Lewis)

https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/post-election-2016/voter-turnout

Black Lives Matter Role Call

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(Image by CQF-avocat from Pixabay)

“Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.”

(Malcolm X.)

Guess it is time to get angry again. Day after day we read of another black person being killed in America for no reason other than being black. Terribly sad to keep writing this same line month after month after month. We cannot go a month without another instance of police killing or shooting someone black simply because they are black.

American politicians condemn OTHER countries for violating the human rights of their citizens but have nothing to say when black people are brutalized in America. The Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un receives the wrath of the American political system when he imprisons his citizens for no cause but police killing a black person in America gets nothing. Weird world, huh?

Chinese troops storm Tiananmen Square in 1989 and killed over 300 Chinese citizens and three weeks later the U.S. CONGRESS votes to impose economic sanctions on the Peoples Republic of China. The Chinese government brutalized Chinese citizens and the U.S. government was so appalled that we imposed sanctions and condemned the Chinese government. Police killing black people in America gets nothing.

Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen is attacked, beaten, killed, and dismembered by officials of the Saudi Arabian government at the consulate in Turkey. Multiple senators and congress members swiftly condemned this act and DEMANDED the Saudi government do something. Black man gets shot in the back SEVEN times in Wisconsin gets nothing.

Citizens of Hong Kong protest for human rights against the Chinese government and the United States government passes the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act on 27 November 2019. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1838/text. Americans march daily for police reform, human rights, equal treatment and to stop the senseless killing of black people—no Human Rights and Democracy Act for the death of black Americans. Would say that is a double standard but it is more joke than anything else.

Marching, praying, and voting have not ignited the change needed in America. Maybe Malcolm X. was right all the time—we need our day in court at the United Nations to put America on trial for neglect of citizens. The daily videos of black people being beaten, brutalized, and killed would present an open and shut case in a court of law.

My court argument would be:

How do you defend a cop’s knee on a black man’s neck (George Floyd) for 8 minutes and 46 seconds?
How do you defend Louisville cops with a no knock warrant shooting a black women (Breonna Taylor) who was in the BED?
How do you defend three Georgia overzealous citizens who run down, trap and then kill a black man (Ahmaud Arbery) out for a jog?
How do you defend a Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer who shot a black man (Jacob Blake) 7 times in the BACK in front of his kids?
How do you plead America?

Verdict: guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty.

The defense rests, being black in America is an exhausting experience.

Please vote—thank you!

“We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary”.

(Malcolm X.)

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