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From: Rev Locklear
Date: 08 Jan 2004
Time: 21:55:57 -0500
Remote Name: 172.131.167.242
I wanted to let you know that the message you are sharing is vital to those of us who are concerned with justice for our people. However, we both know that many of our people in Robeson County are not attune to what is happening in our community. Their heads are stuck in the sand and they are not aware of the actions of the decision makers, so called leaders of our community, many of whom are self-serving, I hate to say. The stories you are sharing about their actions must be told, and I support your endeavor. Working at the national headquarters for the Presbyterians, who are naturally political minded, I have learned a lot about politics as well as social/racial justice issues, and how the systems and institutions work to keep people of color fighting among themselves for the crumbs. As long as we're (general term) busy targeting one another, the structures that be will continue keeping us in a mode of "divide and conquer" and we continue buying into that mentality. This practice of "divide and conquer" has served the establishment quite well over the centuries and it continues to be utilized across this country, primarily in racial ethnic and poor communities. Rather than working together to support the causes of the community, the people continue to fight with each other pulling the entire community down. My racial justice staff have a term for this behavior, it's called "internalized oppression." Our people have moved far away from seeing each other as "relatives" and moved toward individualization.