His Mother said she felt his presence at his funeral this morning. I believe that is true. His presence invades the whole issue of young black men in America -- why are so many of them in prison, why are so many of them nearly unemployable, why are so many at risk for gang activities/drugs/violence?
Is it "of their nature" as many racists would have you believe? Is it because races are inferior or superior to other races? Is it because our schools are slanted to one style of education, one set of reference points, one point of view? What does it mean to be "young, gifted and black" in America these days? Nina Simone wrote a song with that title -- but the reference goes well beyond the song!
We see young black successful men in sports, in pockets of the business world, in communities that have succeeded to cultivating its resources for the good of all. We have seen young black men become successful community leader, successful ministers, successful Fathers, successful businessmen. What we have not seen is the dissipation of "white fear!" Whites have been afraid of black success, and envious of it, for many decades in America. Whites are not so much racist as they are blinded by their own fears. It has been that way well beyond my lifetime.
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