The Answer is Voting, Prayers
C.Ron Allen
If there was ever a time when Americans need to vote as well as pray, it is now.
In a few days, Republicans will convene in Cleveland for the GOP’s National Convention where they are expected to select their next Pied Piper, Donald Trump.
And from July 25-28, a similar charade will take place at the Democratic National Convention in
Philadelphia, and Hillary Clinton will be tapped as the party’s savior.
When one considers the choices for who could likely be the next leader of this free nation , it is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck bristle. You will understand then why prayers will be necessary.
To pour salt in a wound, we are rebounding from a breathtakingly horrible week where police shot and killed two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota under what appear to be questionable circumstances. It should be clear to everyone, in particularly black males, that we need to pray and exercise our rights at the polls.
We also saw where U.S. Army veteran Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, ambushed police at a Black
Lives Matter protest in Dallas the following night and fatally shot five and wounded seven others. He was killed by a bomb attached to a robot drone
Several friends, both whites and blacks, said they had “the conversation” with their children in the days following the latest shootings, because they know that when a life is unjustly snatched away, it impacts everyone.
Since the killings, I have appeared on two radio shows and a few community forums to share my take. As a mentor, I find myself having “the conversation” too often with my teenagers, many whom are black. I do not speak for the community, but I think it is safe to say that a broad cross- section of Americans are fed up with the number of blacks who were killed by police in questionable circumstances. The racial makeup at the demonstrations around the country is proof that many whites are also against what seems to be the targeting of blacks by law enforcement.
These, however, are symptoms of a bigger problem. This comes from a history of mistreatment in North America, thousands of lynchings, Jim Crow laws and a shameful legacy of white supremacy that lingers today in our socialization and mind sets.
How do we address the problem? one of the radio personalities asked me.
We certainly do not need more noisy street protests, grandstanding attorneys at impassioned news conferences, prayer vigils, resounding pleas for justice, demands for police body cameras and good lord, calls for better police-community relations.
Much of this rhetoric inflames rather than heals.
What we need is administrative and legislative action that will provide protection both for residents and police. We need police reform, training and above all, more education on both sides.
The police need to learn how to deescalate a situation and how to deal with our children . Members of the community need to learn how to conduct themselves, when dealing with the police. It is unfortunate that in 2016 we have to do this in a country where all men are created equal. I encourage all parents to be proactive and hold “the conversation” with your children .
Teach them how to act respectfully when dealing with law enforcement officers.
As we see here in south Florida every year, with the summer comes a high rate of drownings. So, as a preventative measure, we teach our kids how to swim.
Such should be the case with our young men who are getting slaughtered. We need to teach them how to survive in that environment.
Above all, this will take action at the polls. What we need is for people to get registered to vote and vote in the upcoming primaries. That’s why on Saturday, Aug. 20, KOP Mentoring Network is spearheading a Register to Vote Rally where we plan to register 1,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 25 at three churches in Delray Beach. There also will be counselors on hand to provide information for those residents who need to restore their rights to vote after paying their debt to society.
As we elect our city, state and federal officials, we need to do our research to see who has the best interest of all people (minorities) in mind.
After all, when a “loose cannon” barges into a school and slaughters babies, and a nut case guns down worshippers in a prayer meeting in a church and now a whacked xx kills and injuries five police officers and injures six others while they are protecting people at a peaceful protest, it makes you wonder what is next.
People are frustrated and tired. And I am too.
It will take only prayers and voting intelligently.
C. Ron Allen can be reached at crallen@delraybeachtribune.com or 561-665- 0151.
