Over the last few years our society has spent a great amount of energy reliving and analyzing the 1960s. Every event – from the deaths of the Kennedy brothers, MLK and Malcolm X, landing on the moon, war protests, and the hippie revolution – has been scrutinized through the microscope of history. The interesting thing about history’s microscope, though, is that it often blots out the nasty and the ugly. The concept of revisionism centers on the retelling of history that makes it seem a little more palatable to the present generation. Some historians have gotten pretty good at that.
Nonetheless, the 1960s deserves the attention. American society was certainly different in the 1970s when compared to the 1950s. Thank the Baby Boomers (or blame them depending on your point of view) for having the courage to reject the status quo and dare to dream of a new world.
Those in the Civil Rights revolution rejected the notion that blacks were “less than” and demanded full citizenship in a society economically built on the horrors of slavery followed by Jim Crow. The hope generated by LBJ’s Great Society faded into the realities created by neoconservatism. The new emphasis on attacking criminals severely damaged the standing of black males in this society and, arguably, their very existence.
Don’t misunderstand me on this. If you’re a criminal, then you should be punished. But that punishment should fit the crime and be applied evenly, regardless of race or income. We now know that was not the case. By using police departments as a means of social control harkens back to the antebellum slave patrols and the post-reconstruction Klan.
Here’s a little secret I don’t mind sharing: black males are still targeted by police departments across this country. Fifty years after the gains of the Civil Rights movement and, as a parent, I’m fearful for the lives of my sons. Not from some random hoodlum (yes, that scares the hell out of me too), but from those sworn to protect. I know police officers risk their lives every day, and I pray God protects them and their families. But there are some who shouldn’t wear the uniform. I know the history. Some wore blue during the day and a white hood at night. Those are the individuals I’m referring to.
Nonetheless, our society is better for the social revolutions of the 1960s. I just wish black males were not seen as the enemy back then. Maybe then, we might not be viewed as the enemy today.
Later.