We Shall Over Come-Foot Soldiers’ Cheerleaders of the BLM
How Birmingham March continues via the Black Lives Movement , keep on keeping on
History is repeating itself over and over and as long as it does the marching continues from one generation to another. Change does not happen without a march or revolution and freedom must be demanded as it is not freely given.
Years passed, there was Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. leading the pack demanding what was rightfully due, equal rights for all. Along with Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Rev. Jonathan McPherson, and thousands of others led a demonstration march to Birmingham, Alabama, April 12, 1963.
The voices of yesterday’s movements scream loud to the ears of the Black Lives Matter movement, to keep on stepping in the face of murder, shooting, police brutality, systemic racism, hate groups and all the elements that are trying to crush the voices of the masses, black, white, brown, red and every ethnicity on the face of the earth. Like the 1960’s, many other ethnicity joined the Civil Rights Movement and today the Black Lives Matter Movement includes all ethnicity as they join forces for change and equal rights for all.
The veterans of the campaign that Dr. King Jr. led to eradicate racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama nearly 60 years ago, today are yet standing firm for racial justice as they forever resolve to support the cause of systemic racism from the white house, in the halls of Congress, to the back house, the back woods, homes of hate groups.
All the movements of the past, like the movements of today represents nonviolence, but oftentimes the movement is infiltrated with factions whose sole purpose is too cause destruction and mayhem with a personal agenda of sort, which often gets labeled under the movements banner even though the world sees the truth before their eyes. It takes one major misrepresentation of a movement’s agenda, from a visible voice, that negates the reality of the movement, and many choose to believe a lie over visible truth. After choosing to believe a lie about a movement, removes the responsibility to take action to do the right thing. Even when churches, schools and homes were being firebombed, these acts of cruelty were ignored by many who had the power to curtail such action but often looked the other the way.
The Civil Rights Movement and the Black Lives Matter Movement mantra was non-violence but made their voices heard by the volume of the people. The March on Washington, DC, The Million Man’s March, and The MeToo Movement have never been about destruction but building up so that all could live without suppression and harm. All the burning of buildings, rioting and looting usually come from different sources and mindset, outside of any of these movements. Yes, lately there were a few eruptions with violence after a person of color was murdered in the community. They did so to make their voices heard. No matter how peaceful a movement for justice is, it gets labeled negatively as protestors.
January 6, 2021, the insurrection on the White House by insurrectionists from every persuasion of life, from the military, law enforcement, pilots, business people, everyday folks, Qanon, proud boys, Ku Klux Klan, Hitler proponents and this list is endless, the world saw their destruction of the White House, the first in history, but some of the GOP labeled the insurrection as an everyday tour of the White House with law abiding folks, and patriots, as they ran for cover for their own lives on that said day. These very same GOP voices, called the Black Lives Matter Protestors, terrorists, like J. Edgar Hoover called the Civil Rights Movement, communist. These are the leaders of this Country who rather lie than tell the truth. The Republican Party has become a party of lies, no agenda for policy can be heard from not one of them.
If the public doesn’t wake up and see what is before their eyes someday all is going to explode and destroy this country. The government is leading the charge in much division and hatred. Why? Because they have stolen and lied so much, they know nothing else to do. When you travel down into an abyss so far, you get to a point of no return, demise is inevitable. Life is about choices and karma does not miss a beat.
Look at what happened to George Wallace, a staunch supporter of segregation, was shot and paralyzed, not by anyone from the movement, but nevertheless, he finally apologized for his evil ways but in the mean time many had lost their lives and savagely beaten due on his watch. Apology was accepted but more was needed to be done in support of equal rights for all people of color.
Back in the day as the Civil Rights Movement represented non-violence and conducted peaceful marches, many were not only beaten near to death but was jailed for no reason other than for demanding equal rights. They were prepared to die for a cause, that would help generations to come to live free in a land that was built on the Black man’s back. Many veterans of Civil Rights Movement are making their voices heard in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, even when age has slowed them down from attending. Not only are these peaceful demonstrators negatively labeled but have been incarcerated while exercising their first Amendment right.
During the January 6, 2021 insurrection only a few hundreds have been arrested of the thousands of insurrectionists who stormed and defaced the White house, while 10,000 BLM marchers were arrested nationwide last year during protests for offenses including curfew violations, failure to disperse, hundreds arrested on burglary and looting charges, restrained with plastic zip-ties and taken away in buses, even though many times the charges were dropped. Even the national guard had been summoned to many locations around the country where BLM protesters were but for the insurrectionist, the National Guard could not be seen while the law enforcement and the military forces arrived hours later. By that time most of the insurrectionists had disbursed, remaining insurrectionists barely got a slap on the wrist. Afterwards, the secret service are scrambling trying to find these insurrectionists via their social media pictures posted by themselves while inside the White House.
This preferential treatment, has never been given before, during and after the Civil Rights Movement, as activists continued to the fight against racism, legalized segregation of schools, business and public accommodations, in the midst of being beaten and arrested and same holds true for the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Back in the day, more than 1,600 demonstrators were arrested as they had police dogs and firehouses put on them to break up marches as the world looked on via TV. The infamous Birmingham church bombing that killed four Black girls sparked a massive invention outcry of another racist act, eventually garnered greater support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The movement like today consisted of the young and old where many faced jail time, court hearings and/or had misdemeanor convictions on their record without a chance to defend themselves. The then-Mayor Larry Langford issued a blanket pardon for the convicted protesters in 2009, and many accepted, but some refused.
The veterans of the movement, today proudly convey that they are proud of their efforts for justice and would gladly do it all over again. Their sentiments are such as, “As long as you know what you are doing is right and is for a good cause, keep on keeping on. Keep on protesting because you’ll never get anything without some sacrifice being made. Keep going. A lifelong mark in the name of justice is worth the trouble.” In the words of John Lewis, “Get in good trouble.”
While much has changed and progress has been made, but it takes one evil force to undue much good and create much division and hatred between races. Trump did not cause racism in this country but he definitely gave a renewed license permitting systemic racism to raise its head to a visibility that had not been seen in years from the law enforcement, politicians and even churches have boarded a band wagon gone wrong as they bought into an agenda or were bought for another’s agenda.
In conclusion, the marching and protesting will always be because there is a racist force embedded in this country’s fabric and that mere fact warrants for movements like BLM to always stay on guard, no time to relax.
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