Racism paralyzes hope

"We shall overcome. We shall overcome. We shall overcome some day. Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe we shall overcome some day."

- From the song "We shall overcome" by Charles Albert Tindley

Wonder if the writer of this song really believed overcoming day was remotely possible on this side? The more ubiquitous evil seems to penetrate our world raising its horrendous head within every aspect of society and daily living, the more I wonder if overcoming day is only attainable on the other side. As many pause to pay homage to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his quest for equal opportunity and justice for all, that all men would be judged by the content of their character not by the color of their skin, I ask myself would he be satiated to the point of proclaiming we have overcome?

Dr. King and other civil rights trailblazers may be amazed at the country's advancements that would seemingly instigate the unification of people fiscally, socially, and everything in between. Unfortunately those advances assist in the clandestine separation of the haves and have-nots leaving some feeling forgotten and others proclaiming entitlement, maybe without even realizing the genesis of those generational attitudes subconsciously passed along in the family's will of consciousness.

Racism: Alive and well, living and breathing as an organism that grows inside of its host who provides it sustenance fueled from the energy of ignorance. In my mind, that's the obvious culprit. Ignorance is to blame for the unwillingness to see the benefit of each person's individual contributions of his culture and experiences, which can undoubtedly result in progression and creative solutions to problems. All we have to do is submit to the impeccable legacy of those from every ethnicity who invented new technologies and modified existing ideas for modern day relevance to see that God did not bless intelligence, prosperity, and opportunity to only those we might consider worthy. How dare we make ourselves the judge and take on the role that God left for Himself to execute? Yes, I said it - racism. The one topic we can't seem to tackle without an uprising of uncontrollable emotions that continues to paralyze the hope of unity.

It's baffling to me how we can call ourselves a Christian people, followers of the one who loved everyone as no respector of persons and yet we succumb to the temptations of racism, which presumes one race of people is inferior to another and thereby less entitled to opportunities and privileges only on loan by God in the first place. God is a god of love, inclusion, compassion, understanding, and mercy. How can we say we love God, whom we've never seen, and we hate man we see right here on Earth?

Have you ever wondered why God made us different in the first place? I know there are those who believe adaptations of man based on hemispheric locations to the sun and adjustments to other environmental considerations may have contributed to external differences. Honestly, I believe God made us different as a test to see if we could love and tolerate one another on Earth despite our differences. I believe He wanted to see will we be smart enough to capitalize on those differences to end racial prejudice, to combat poverty, to educate all children and strive for equity in educational opportunities and resources, to care for the sick and downtrodden, to end profiling and legal injustices, to be thy brother's keeper.

How do we eradicate racism? I believe it starts with education. Educate yourself on that which you fear. Fear blocks progress and an understanding that fear is the devil's workshop of insecurity.

Insecurity disguises itself with the mask of self-proclaimed unsubstantiated superiority. If we all educate ourselves on that which we fear with an open mind to learn and embrace the risk of knowledge, I believe we could get one step closer to overcoming day right here on Earth.

- Donna Moore Wesby is a member of the Aiken County Board of Education and hosts the show "Education Matters" on ASTV.