I Had a Dream

Coincidentally to the first day of Black History Month, I just had a dream.

I was in a school building and ran into varying people. Someone's child had made a snappy remark and I went to talk to the parent about it. The only person that would even speak to me was an older white lady who said she had been raised like that and wasn't used to speaking to black people. She asked for something to wash her hands with after touching me. Everyone in the dream did.

Next I ran into another teacher in the building. She and I got into an argument during which she said I shouldn't have the right to teach. I asked her why. I spoke of my education, my multilingual capabilities and dared her to respond. Flustered, she simply sent me elsewhere. I had to do the same with some spanish-speaking lady. The kids laughed and tried to get me to speak spanish, but i smiled and declined.

Passing through the halls, I ran into a mix of kids and adults. We spoke about things they had heard about so strange a black male. One persons comment stuck out -- I had destroyed their concept of black people as unintelligent, brutish, "ghetto trash"; they did not expect me to be well-spoken as I was.

The children stared in amazement. I told them that, where I was from, black and white people could be together without as many problems. I saw awe and hope in their eyes. I went to look for my computer. They folded it the wrong way and it became a listening device. It played gospel music from the present time and it soothed everyone that could hear.

After this I left that world and woke up here.

I have felt a racism that intense once and only once in my whole life, but I still understand those kids. I have no idea what those kids may have walked into, but I had gone back to give them hope and now I give you the same. There one thing that is very common during this month here in the south. Bitterness toward racist people. We usually single out white people but we forget that we have done the same wrong and in the end we miss the mark.

The goal is to love. I challenge every black person reading this note to love every person they come across even if it someone they don't normally talk to as deeply as they can. No excuses no hidden motives. Love was the goal. We got lost in affirmative action and FEMA and quotas but let's get back to basics: love and more love until I can go back and tell the people in my dream that we made it there.