"On Monday morning January 17, 2011, I opened my newspaper The Wilson Times and there on page 2A was an advertisement, advertising a celebration dinner in honor of two southern civil war generals cost per ticket $25.00. I remember thinking to myself this has to be a joke or a goof of some kind."
I went on to read my paper and didn’t give it any further thought. Yet I should have because as I looked back at the paper and there on page 8A was a picture of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and a public announcement ad for garbage, yard waste, and recycling pickup and a note that trash and junk normally collected on Wednesdays will NOT be picked up on January 19th.
I can only wonder to myself how crazy is this? Here in the City of Wilson, the State of North Carolina some of us celebrate and honor confederate soldiers who fought against their country and against their government. In fact committed treason, all in the name of The Southern Way of Life, because the richest Southerners wanted to keep slaves, exploit free labor and continue to treat a race of people as inhuman, property for ownership to be traded, sold, abused for entertainment, or killed as they chose.
I went on to read my paper and didn’t give it any further thought. Yet I should have because as I looked back at the paper and there on page 8A was a picture of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and a public announcement ad for garbage, yard waste, and recycling pickup and a note that trash and junk normally collected on Wednesdays will NOT be picked up on January 19th.
I can only wonder to myself how crazy is this? Here in the City of Wilson, the State of North Carolina some of us celebrate and honor confederate soldiers who fought against their country and against their government. In fact committed treason, all in the name of The Southern Way of Life, because the richest Southerners wanted to keep slaves, exploit free labor and continue to treat a race of people as inhuman, property for ownership to be traded, sold, abused for entertainment, or killed as they chose.
Yet in this same newspaper is a picture of one of the greatest human beings in the history of the United States of America who argubly has done more for civil rights, human rights, dignity and respect for all Americans than any other single person in the history of the United States of America, appearing with his picture on an ad for garbage pickup. The City of Wilson the Environmental Services Division and the Wilson Times should all be ashamed of themselves.
For the record: This post has been written by an angry Black Man, an African American who has proudly served in this Great Nations Military for twenty years, who has served the people of the United States as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer for thirteen proud years and has lived in Wilson for six years.
Angry, yes because I find it very difficult to digest that the good Christian, charitable and humane people of Wilson can be so insensitive to their fellow African American neighbors and friends as to "celebrate" any part of the civil war other than the fact that it ended. CELEBRATE!!!
There will be more articles to come concerning this subject, and I trust that other African Americans will join me in my expression of anger and disgust about this issue as long as the celebrations continue. And according to the Wilson Times we have four more years of this insensitivity and disrespect coming.
K Real. (Keeping It Real)
4 comments:
Truth of the matter is the government at that time didn't care about those abuses until they saw that they could use slavery as a chess piece. Black people were used as pawns to give the north some leverage. Lets not pretend that those things didn't happen in the north. The historical points of war are written by the "winners". I have always said that 40 acres and a mule turned into drugs aids murder and prison sentencing.I think instead of getting angry about them celebrating the southern way of life. We should try to understand why those things K.Real listed have come to define what some black people do to each other. Those southern boys don't have to abuse and kill as they choose because our fellow young black males are doing it all over America on a daily basis. Our fellow young brothers are the ones selling death and enslaving others to drugs. Instead of asking how the paper has become so insensitive, the real question should of been why have we become so sensitive to somethings while overlooking others.
Instead of you asking why have we become so sensitive to some things while overlooking others and changing the subject of the article posted on this blog what are you doing in the community to combat the issue you have brought up Mr. Jones? Talk is what it is - what's your active action to resolve what you perceive to be an issue? This person's issue has to do with celebrating civil war not about what you brought up. If you have something to say you should write an article like K real did and express your thoughts. Stay on point write your own article and submit it.
I agree with K Real. I agree with Mr. Jones. Both have valid points. In the case of the civil war issues we should have something to balance some folks wanting to glorify it. A silent voice means we agree with what they're doing when we don't. Silence for the next 4 years condoning slavery is not my choice of the right thing to do.
If you've read all of the history about slavery, you have to remember that in Africa it was black people who sold black people into slavery. Why are young black males selling drugs and killing each other all over America? Let's not make excuses for the things that can be changed if the desire for change is present.
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