Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

VIEWS Crayons and Black lives
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Brad Hauger
2016-07-19

This article shared 588 times since Tue Jul 19, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


When I was younger and in art class I had to have the 64 count of crayons that included the sharpener on the back.

I used to mix the different colors and was fascinated that mixing the different colors created even more colors. The crayons were always placed in the box in a certain order and as I took them out to use them I never remembered how they went back in the box. I had to tilt the box to make room and placed the crayons back in no certain order. As I got older, I have stopped using crayons, but I did not stop seeing the world in color. In fact, as a child, I was taught to sing about the majesty of America and America the beautiful. However, while I grew up in the beauty of the countryside- the people living in the countryside had to be painted in using only the white crayon. When I traveled and went to college, I started seeing more of the crayons needing to be used to paint the people, such as brown, beige, black and some colors mixed with white to create all the shades in between.

When I went to the conservative church as a teenager, I heard the sermon about God did not want people to mix and that is why he had people speak with different languages so they could not communicate with each other and the people were sent to different parts of the Earth as they were not meant to be together as ordered by God. Sounds like God promotes segregation.

I went to school with everyone colored with the white crayon. Everyone was from small towns. Some students hated fellow classmates because of their weight, their clothes, their perceived weakness, their sexual orientation, their perceived lack of intelligence and/or athleticism. Later, as I looked back and the internet research on the area I grew up, the KKK had an influence and very active to make sure the white crayon was the only one used to paint the people living in the countryside. That hate I fear by my neighbors was real and once children learned the lessons by parents was natural to hate and be rewarded.

I did not have that hate lesson in my childhood home as Christ said to love thy neighbor was the lesson by my parents. My alternative side and view of the world and my imagination lead me to experience the world as a creation of God- My God did not hate. Being gay I was told that he did hate me- I thought again that God does not make mistakes and that I know. Only the white crayon was used in my yearbook pictures.

Black lives matter. Being married to TJ and part of an interracial marriage, I have experienced the difference on how we each are treated differently. For example; I have lived in my neighborhood for 20 years and walk the dog and never had a police officer question if I belonged here. TJ also has lived in the neighborhood for a long time and he knows more neighbors than I do; he gets stopped while walking the dog and questioned by a police officer—and a neighbor came to his defense. White people do not get this treatment; it was a Black profiling thing.

TJ went to his bank one morning and did not dress up professionally and was treated with suspicion and followed by security. I can get up and go with an old T-shirt on and no one follows me and treats me the different—it is a Black profiling thing.

We, as white partners, sometimes miss the moments of being treated different and we need to be more aware. I cannot walk in a Black person's shoes and say I understand the struggle—but I understand there is a struggle and a lack of trust of white people. I hear the comments by those attending a Trump meeting and cheering and hitting and dragging Black people out of the room. Trump cheering on the white supremacy and later when asked why so many white extremists follow him- he states he does not know. People who hate should not be ignored and the behavior should be condemned.

When the news shows Black men shot and killed by white police officers again and again and again and the police officers are never convicted for the murder… that creates a lack of trust and with good reason. Treyvon Martin walking down the sidewalk, a young teenager heading home eating skittles, shot and killed by a white man- a Black boy is dead and the white man is found innocent. We as white people have to ask ourselves what would have happened if the scenario was reversed with a Black man shooting a white teenager in the suburbs?

We all in our hearts know that Black lives and white lives are not treated the same in the justice system.

I have lived as a white man to be 56 years old and may have been pulled over for a traffic ticket—but I never felt I was going to be shot or dragged to the ground and stomped on. Black people do not have that comfort in being treated with respect and that their life is important. Our hate messages and our justice systems have sent a message that we do not value Black lives and, for too long—without white people expressing their disgust—silence by us gives our approval.

I have worked with police officers, of all races, as security standing by my side in my business making sure my staff and I were protected. I respect that they had families and worked two jobs to send their kids to school and had problems like all of us. They were trying to make a living. At the business, we had close to 1 million guests of all races and backgrounds come through the door and no one was shot. All guests were greeted and treated with respect.

It is not acceptable for Black people to be shot for a broken taillight or selling CDs outside a convenience store or walking down the street—, as white people, do not tolerate that our family members are shot and killed and we need to speak up for our Black brothers and sisters that their lives matter. Our city officials need to hear it and feel the outrage that they are not holding the people they appoint accountable and not providing ongoing training and monitoring of police officers.


This article shared 588 times since Tue Jul 19, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

VIEWS Mike Johnson: The smiling face of Christian tyranny 2024-02-14
- Mike Johnson wants to rewrite the constitution to make the United States a Christian nation. James Michael Johnson, Republican from Louisiana's Fourth District, is the 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was ...


Gay News

VIEWS Parents, not legislators, should be making decisions about medical options for children 2024-02-06
By Jeffery M. Leving - No matter the medical issue, when it comes to kids, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said something last December that every lawmaker in the country should realize when it comes to medical decisions for children. "Were House ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Sundance items, Green Day, 'Wednesday,' Queerties, 'The Wiz' 2024-01-26
- At the Sundance Film Festival, Jodie Foster told Variety that the $1.4-billion success of Barbie helps confirm that Hollywood no longer views women directors as too much of a risk. She said, "With a big success ...


Gay News

VIEWS Is the Pope Catholic? Francis faces opposition in steps toward LGBTQ+ inclusivity 2024-01-02
- The recent change in Vatican policy allowing priests to bless same-gender couples has provoked an unprecedented backlash against Pope Francis and his openness to LGBTQ+ people—a backlash that some fear might devolve into a schism in ...


Gay News

Bring Chicago Home: Guess who's saying no again 2023-12-04
Commentary by Bob Palmer and Mark Swartz - Chicago is ushering in an era of change with a new progressive mayor with a vision to invest in communities long ignored and a significant increase in like-minded city council members. We are excited to see ...


Gay News

Pope Francis's community of transwomen 2023-11-28
- It's a rare opportunity to meet the pope. It's even rarer if you're a transgender Catholic. However, on Nov. 19, in Torvaianica, Italy, a community of transwomen, many of them sex workers, were welcomed and seated ...


Gay News

Banning the Banning of Books: Illinois and California lead the way 2023-10-26
- In June, at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation banning book bans in Illinois public libraries. This legislation, initiated by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, passed the Illinois House and ...


Gay News

OPINION Renewing state's Invest in Kids program is investing in anti-LGBTQ+ hate 2023-10-23
- In February 2020, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield warned transgender students in the Diocese's educational system that they "may be expelled from the school" if they live their lives authentically. Lansing Christian School ...


Gay News

Gilbert Baker Foundation reacts to death of shop owner who flew the rainbow flag 2023-08-29
--From a press release - In response to the murder of Laura Ann Carleton over flying the Rainbow flag in her shop in California, the Gilbert Baker Foundation released the statement below. Facebook refused to post the statement as it did not "...meet their standards." ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT U.S. higher education under siege; freedom of inquiry and speech at risk 2023-07-03
- The Covid pandemic threw a harsh spotlight on higher education in America, exposing forces eating away at the foundations of college and university learning, calling into question the traditional purposes of such education in our post-modern, ...


Gay News

Guest essay by Florida mom Nicole Pejovich: What's Happening to Florida's Public Schools? 2023-06-19
Related video below - A queer Florida parent answers questions about recent laws, how Floridians are coping, and how you can help Books pulled from school library shelves by the dozens. All evidence of inclusivity stripped from classrooms. The politically ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT For divorced parents, transgender children's health can present tricky dilemmas 2023-06-12
- Over the last few months, issues impacting individuals who identify as transgender and non-binary are getting a lot of attention in the media and among some politicians. Sadly, because it's become a political issue; a lot ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT War in the 21st Century: mercenaries, private military companies, private armies 2023-05-20
- In 2022, $407 billion of the Pentagon budget—representing half of that year's funding —were obligated to private contractors, of which a significant number were Private Military Companies (PMCs) involved in ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT Telling the world about my mental health disorders 2023-05-04
- Over the years, coming out as a lesbian hasn't been that hard for me—because I was always too busy hiding something else. Confessing queerness can be a breeze compared to revealing mental illness. But I decline ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT German bishops endorse blessings of same-sex couples: Ancient rituals retturn 2023-03-31
- This March, at a national meeting of leaders of the German Catholic Church (referred to as a synod), a document titled Blessing Ceremonies for Couples who Love Each Other" received overwhelming support: 176 votes in favor, ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.