About yesterday

In full support of #BlackOutTuesday I was silent across all platforms yesterday - here in this blog, on social media, and even with email. I did it in hopes of calling attention, at least in a small way to the enormous problem of prejudice in this country.  More about that in a moment.

It was my intention to spend all of LGBTQ Pride Month writing here about LGBTQ matters and indeed I will.  Yesterday when for the first time since I began writing this almost twelve years ago, I showed only a black screen, I was indeed writing about an LGBTQ issue.  Black Lives Matter!  We need to put an end to the hate - ALL hate. How African Americans are treated in this country must be of immediate importance to each of us as a human being.  It's not just a Black issue, it's a human issue.

As I have said many times before, I do not have all the answers, but I think the first thing we need to do is finally admit there is a problem, and then actually work on solving it.  It really shouldn't be that difficult because it comes down to love and respect.

This week former President Barack Obama called on Americans to "a president, a Congress, a US Justice Department, and a federal judiciary that actually recognize the ongoing, corrosive role that racism plays in our society and want to do something about it."  We heard too from former President George W Bush who said "t remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country."  We need to listen to them.

#BlackOutTuesday began as #TheShowMustBePaused on Instagram and involved an untold number of people. It might not have been exactly as it was originally meant, but it did bring awareness, and that's a good beginning. Now, we must continue forward and bring about real change. I hope you are ALL onboard!