Fishers, Indiana Library Actually purchases a "Black" book!

Chapter 3 in my ongoing exchanges with the Hamilton East Fishers, Indiana Library.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Fishers Library actually expended someone's funds to purchase the book "Soaring on the Wings of A Dream" by Ed Dwight the first black astronaut.  Normally when I do a search request  and see that the library does not have a book by a black author or on a topic related to black people, the library has resulted to getting the book for me via interlibrary loan rather than going out and buying the book for their holdings.  I am currently reading  "Before the Mayflower" by Lerone Bennett, Jr. courtesy of a loan from Grace College to the Hamilton East library.  The college and theological seminar is located in Winona Lake, Indiana.  I admit I had no idea the college existed prior to receiving the book.

Once I saw the library had purchased Ed Dwight's book, I did wonder why Hamilton East could not have purchased "Before The Mayflower".  I am halfway through Bennett's book and it is very educational regarding the experience of black people in this country from the early days of the 1600s on forward.  So why would Hamilton East want to deprive the citizens of Hamilton County of such knowledge?  Well it might be because some of the information in the book does not present European Americans in a very positive manner. For example, I never heard of  the Fort Pillow massacre where Confederate troops slaughtered black troops who had surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee during the Civil War.  I don't think there would be much celebration of the Confederate flag if stories such as what happened at Fort Pillow were part of the history told in the American educational system.  Well, I take that back.  There might be more celebrating!

So congratulations to the Hamilton East Library for doing your part to keep purity of actions as the false landscape of European American history.  I am enjoying Bennett's book and am thankful that Grace College had the courage to purchase the book for it's holdings and was willing to loan it to the resource rich Hamilton East library.

As I come across more titles and topics by minority authors, I will be nominating the books for purchase by the Hamilton East library.  European Americans need to be given the opportunity to learn the truth about racial issues in this country.  Keeping such books away from white Americans only maintains the status quo of ignorance towards other races and their experiences in these United States of America.

Is the FBI Doing enough to combat domestic terrorism?

Twelve and counting.  That is the number of mass shootings which have occurred in these United States of America in 2019.  Somewhere, a person is planning to eclipse the carnage of October 1, 2017 when 58 people were killed and 422 others injured in one incident in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The FBI.  The vision of the "Bureau" is "Ahead of the threat through leadership, agility, and integration".

The priorities of the FBI:
- Protect the United States from terrorism attack;
- Combat significant violent crime;
- Protect civil rights

Based on the continued incidents of mass shootings, how well do you think the FBI is doing in fulfilling both their vision and priorities?  Is the FBI doing enough to gather information to paint a profile on the type of person most likely to commit these acts of domestic terrorism and then take proactive action to prevent them from occurring?

Most of these incidents have been committed by white males.  Most of these incidents have been related to use of weapons of mass destruction.  The American favorite, the assault weapon.  The assault weapon sold in the country with the self proclaimed best armed forces in the world.  An armed forces designed to protect us from attack by our external enemies.  But the armed forces is not designed to protect us from our neighbors.

That is where the FBI comes in.  The priorities of the FBI need to be redefined and clarified.  Protecting the United States from terrorist attack should be expanded and clarified to include acts of domestic terrorism.  In the 1960s and 1970s the FBI actively profiled, followed, and spied on civil rights activists, Native American activists, and members of the Black Panthers.  The redefined terrorists are now those who look like the  majority of FBI agents.  White and male.  Many of these domestic terrorists have an affinity to hate groups.  Hate groups consist of people who hide behind the United States banner of freedom of speech.  That same freedom of speech that condones and allows for hate, biases, and prejudice.

Now is the time for the FBI to have their priorities reset and their vision clarified.  Their is a serious domestic terrorism problem in the United States.  Regardless of whether the incidents are based on mental illness of the attacker, action must be taken to preempt the actions of would be mass shooters.

No, we should not take our eye off the prospect that a foreign terrorist act still can occur.  But, we now have ample evidence that our own citizens can cause more collective harm over a period of time than one foreign terrorist incident.  Our government needs to take action.  The FBI and our Department of Homeland Security need to revamp the approach to ensuring our safety.

We need protection now.  Otherwise just tell us that we are on our own.

National Anthem Directions and Instructions

I was at a high school football game this past Friday. It was a decent late summer evening.  Not too muggy and warm. I had just finished watching the pre game team warm ups when it was that fateful time.  Time for the national anthem.  The stadium announcer directed us to stand and pay respect to our country and flag.  Instructed us to remove our hats if we had one.  At that point it struck me that we are being told what to do as if we had no choice. "You will stand, you will take off your cap, you will respect the flag and the country!"  This direction and instruction in the land of the free.

I thought to myself "why do you have to direct and command us on what to do? "  If we really respect the flag and all it is supposed to represent, we would not need anyone's directions and instructions when the anthem played.  We would simply stand once we heard the opening melody of the anthem.  The fact that we have to be told what to do seems to infer that we really don't respect the flag and the country.  Respect is being demanded from us.  We are complying because we don't have a choice but to comply.

What would happen if standing for the national anthem became optional?  How many of you would remain seated?  Why is it necessary to play an anthem anyway?  Is it to reinforce a false security in our allegiance to themes we really do not believe in?

A second thought came to mind as I robotically complied and stood looking aimlessly around the stadium. I saw one gentlemen walking out of the bleachers to an area behind the bleachers wearing a hat in the process.  I thought to myself, "now he had the right idea!"  Instead of standing via command I should have escorted myself out of the stands and stood somewhere out of sight while the anthem was being played.  Or I should have just stayed seated with my hat on, waiting for all the patriotic stuff to end.

Lastly came the thought why can't we just stand or sit quietly and say a prayer to ourselves to our Creator?  Why does allegiance to a country that supported enslaving people for hundreds of years have priority over praying to our Creator in whatever way we individually want to pray?

It all comes down to man made rituals and customs that have been forced upon us.  Forced upon us in schools.  Forced upon us in the military.  Forced upon us at sporting events.  Sporting events which are supposed to be a distraction for us from all the serious parts of daily life.  What happened to freedom of choice?  Why are you compelling me to stand for a flag and an anthem which supports a country that dehumanized my ancestors for hundreds of years?

I need to follow the direction of that gentlemen I saw at the football game.  Take a stroll to the rest room or to a hallway and say a prayer.

Fishers, Indiana - Public Library With Limited Books by Black Authors - Part 2

Approximately a year ago, I commented on the lack of  books related to African Americans and the experiences of African Americans in the United States.  Well not much has changed in a year.

I recently sought to find the book "Before The Mayflower" by Lerone Bennett Jr.  in the Fishers, Indiana library system.  My search request came back with the results that the book was not in the holdings of the Fishers, Indiana library system.  I queried several other books by black authors with "no results" being the result when I pressed "search".  This prompted me to write a letter to the head of the library as follows:

Hello, Over the past year I have periodically sought books either by African American authors or on topics related to African Americans. On several occasions the library obtained the materials for me via an inter library loan.  I'm thankful for those efforts. Recently I did several searches for the following materials:

1.  The book "Before the Mayflower" by  Lerone Bennett Jr. 2. The book "Blood in their Eyes" by Grif Stickley and 3.  Looked up a book on Ed Dwight the first candidate to become a black astronaut.

On each occasion the search turned up no results.  So I am concerned that the library's offerings are not as diverse as it could be under the published guidelines.  I understand the community does not have a large African American population, but the information available in the books are a source of knowledge to help educate other races and cultures regarding the experience of African American's in this country.

I did comparable searches under such topics as "Ku Klux Klan", "White nationalism" etc. and offerings immediately appeared.  I would like this matter brought to the attention of those responsible for procuring materials for the library.  If needed a resource from the African American community should be contacted to see what are the basic offerings the library lacks regarding the African American experience and interests.  The Board of Trustees appears to suffer from a lack of diversity to fully understand the need for diverse materials.

I also noticed a reference that a group called Friends of the Library also contributes  funds to library operations?

Thank You

Mr. Arnell Hill

The response I received said the following:

Dear Mr. Hill:

I appreciate that you have taken the time to provide this feedback.  It is very valuable.  I will share your concerns and suggestions with our Resource and Access Services staff who are tasked with developing our collections.  It is important to us that our collections are current and reflect the interests and needs of our patrons. 

Do I expect the collection of the library to change?  Nope.  Fishers, Indiana is definitely a majority European American based community.  Diversity is not a strong point of Fishers, Indiana.  Of course Fishers will occasionally feature a black music group at some activities and events.  Also an athlete is always welcomed for display.  That is the reality of some European Americans.  African American athletes and entertainers matter.  Ensuring books by African Americans exist in a library's collection, does not matter.  In terms of a welcoming environment, Fishers really doesn't have a lot to offer an African American family interested in African American culture.  

ICE immigration raids versus LAECE education raids

The United States government is sponsoring raids of households.  Not raids in foreign countries.  These are raids of homes and businesses within the United States.  The goal is to find and detain “immigrants” who will then be sent back to their country of origin.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of Homeland Security is the government organization tasked with the purging of these United States of  immigrants deemed as not having the right to be in this country.

If we have ICE, I think we also need to have LAECE (Locating Ancestors of Ethnic Cleansing and Enslavement).  The mission of LAECE would be to locate the descendants of people who committed atrocities against Native Americans and/or who enslaved people from Africa.  Once located those descendants would be informed of the actions of their ancestors.  Then they would have to appear at a public press conference and make comments regarding the actions of their ancestors. Lastly the descendants would be asked that knowing the truth what do they propose to do in the present to remove the stain of their ancestors?  As part of the process, the informing of the family would be video taped and shown as “news”.

There are many white, European American households in the United States.  Some of these households may be economically well off based on actions taken many years ago by their ancestors during the early years of the United States.  Do white, European American, families know that their ancestors may be responsible for stealing land formerly inhabited by Native Americans?  Some of their ancestors may have participated in the mistreatment, cheating, or slaughtering of Native Americans.  Do white, European American, families discuss at family reunions that they have ancestors who enslaved African American people?  Do these same families discuss how the lighter complexioned black people in the United States are based on the sexual assault/rape of African American women by possibly one or more of their ancestors?  Several of the white, European American, candidates for President have acknowledged that enslavement of African people was done by one or more of their ancestors.  Do these discussions regarding the truth happen at the family reunions of white/European American people?  If not why not?

Imagine agents of LAECE coming to the homes of white people in exclusive gated neighborhoods, the board rooms of corporations, construction sites populated by well paid white construction workers, at concerts with 20,000 plus people watching their favorite rock star, and the halls of the Congress and Senate of these United States of America.  Their purpose as agents of LAECE simply being to reveal and expose the past actions of your ancestors who enslaved people or participated in actions that forcefully removed Native Americans from their land.  The LAECE agents would provide the clear and brutal details on the actions of your ancestors.  The facts that you need to hear.  The facts you never wanted to know about.  The facts your ancestors never wanted discussed in the history lessons you were taught in school.

Just as today’s immigrants may be living in fear of a visit from agents of ICE, you also should be living in fear of a visit from agents of LAECE.  How would you feel once the story of your ancestors’ mistreatment of people is publicized and you become the target of jokes and your children bullied for being slave owners or ethnic cleansers?  Maybe that is just what this country needs.  More of the truth about the past so the racist mistakes of the present are no longer continued.  Maybe some of you already know the truth about your families past and just want the truth to remain buried?

How many millionaires have come forward and “confessed” that their ancestors enslaved people? How many owners of those downtown condominiums and million dollar homes in the suburbs have confessed that their wealth is partly due to an inheritance based on the enslavement of black people or theft of Native American lands?

Next time a white person starts a conversation with you, ask them if any of their ancestors enslaved people?  Ask them if any of their ancestors took land that was formerly possessed by Native Americans?  You are now an agent of LAECE.  Watch their facial reaction.  It’s likely the same reaction on the face of an immigrant being confronted by agents of ICE.

Land of the Free Since 1865!

It just occurred to me that the ending of the United States national anthem should be amended to "...and the land of the free, since 1865."  Plus all those references and advertisements also need correcting to add the clarifier "...since 1865".  Because that is when the United States institution of legalized slavery ended.  Of course all that has transpired in the 154 years since has not been land of the free activities for black and other people of color in this land.

Driving through the Storms When the Detour route does not work

When planning a return drive from a family reunion in Arkansas, I found myself constructing a journey analogous to real life situations.  I saw a weather report about bad storms north of our location.  I would be driving north and would likely encounter the storms on the route I planned to take.  In life we often know of bad situations and conditions that are not good for us and we have to decide whether to put ourselves into that situation or condition. 

In the instance of the storm north of us, I had the opportunity to try to avoid the weather by detouring to another route.  I would change direction to avoid the storms.  The same applies to our lives.  We often have to change direction in either our behaviors or thoughts to avoid situations that are against the Word of God or that may result in physically harm to us.

So I planned the detour route that I thought would keep us away from the storms.  In real life we make decisions to keep ourselves "out of trouble".  We try to avoid breaking religious and man made rules/laws.  During the course of my detour route, I periodically would check the weather ahead of us using the technology in the car I was driving.  It showed that even though I had adjusted my route, my route was still taking us too far north to avoid the storms.  As in real life, dangerous conditions and temptations just don't go away.  Some may even follow you!

Seeing that I would still be driving into the storm, I again adjusted our route.  The new route showed a better chance of avoiding the storm.  In real life we constantly make decisions and adjustments to avoid problems and situations.  Who likes to purposely move yourself into danger?

The new route was going well.  There was no rain or storms in sight.  Then I noticed that in checking the weather map in the car, a smaller storm was still headed our way and would cross our path.  All my planning and detours would not keep us totally out of the storms.  Just as in life we can try to avoid trouble, but trouble will often find us anyway.  Or a situation you purposely made a decision to avoid suddenly reappears in your life.

So the storm caught us.  I found myself just having to drive carefully through the storm.  I had to become more aware of my surroundings and prepare myself to make quick decisions.  Some drivers ahead of me were turning on the car's warning lights. The environment got stressful, but I found myself driving calmly knowing that nothing bad would happen to us.  I had done what I could to avoid the storm.  Now that I found us in the storm, I needed to calmly deal with the situation and drive us out of the storm.  The storm was temporary.  I didn't pull over and stop the car to wait the storm out.  I kept moving and purposely moved through the storm seeing clear skies ahead.

This is the same as in our daily lives.  We encounter problems and situations that present challenges to our religious beliefs.  We have to then make decisions on whether to drive through those challenges or to pull over to the side or the road and succumb to the power of the storm.