LOVE IMAGINED: Declaration of Independence
Frederick Douglass said, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” And he asked them, “Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day?” It wasn’t until 2009 the senate passed a resolution apologizing for slavery! – for the “fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States#The_end_of_slavery
I live a history of injustice; I live it in my bones and in my heart. I often wonder why it haunts me; but I know. Injustice upon my great-grandparents, my grandparents, and my mother gave cause to secrets, and lies and children not even knowing their family names-my grandfather had to change his name, the name of his white father, in order to escape the south searching for freedom. And, who was his Negro mother? I will never know.
The construct of race has always been a problem for me. Why? Sometimes I just don’t know. Other times I’m very clear about why. It has affected my siblings differently, but I believe we all hold the secrets and lies in our bodies. My uncle said once he was so tired of having stomach upsets, he eventually just passed for white.
I want love. I imagine love. But the construct of race has almost always been a problem in my relationships. Some refuse to see it. Some are too naïve. Some just lazy. Some figure it has nothing to do with them. I refuse to hide. I refuse to forget my history.
But, I also refuse to give up on love. Without love there is nothing. Without love there will never be world peace.
Sherry Quan Lee
July 4, 2012
never cease to amaze