This Is The House That Redlining Built

A Modern Nursery Rhyme by Mother Becky














This is the house that redlining built.

This is the water
That came to the house that redlining built.

These are the people
That drank the water
That came to the house that redlining built.

These are the laws
That hated the people
That drank the water

That came to the house that redlining built.

This is the racism,

That made the laws
That hated the people
That drank the water
That came to the house that redlining built.

This is the fear with the media horn
That fed the racism

That made the laws
That hated the people
That drank the water
That came to the house that redlining built.

This is the power, ugly and strong

That spread the fear with the media horn
That fed the racism
That made the laws
That hated the people
That drank the water
That came to the house that redlining built.

These are the men, corrupt and wrong

That held all the power, ugly and strong
That spread the fear with the media horn
That fed the racism
That made the laws
That hated the people
That drank the water
That came to the house that redlining built.

This is the money

That moved the men, corrupt and wrong
That held all the power, ugly and strong
That spread the fear with the media horn
That fed the racism
That made the laws
That hated the people
That drank the water
That came to the house that redlining built.

These are the lies

That made all the money
That moved the men, corrupt and wrong
That held all the power
That spread the fear with the media horn
That fed the racism
That made the laws
That hated the people
That drank the water
That came to the house that redlining built.

This is the country reaping discord

That sowed the lies
That made all the money
That moved the men, corrupt and wrong
That held all the power
That spread the fear with the media horn
That fed the racism
That made the laws
That hated the people
That drank the water
That came to the house that redlining built.



Photo:  http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27260073

What's A Mom To Do?

This morning I was running late.  (What’s new, right?)  I probably could have made it in time, if I bypassed the school parking lot morning mayhem and dropped him off at a more convenient spot four blocks away.  I briefly wished I could do it.  You may ask, why couldn’t I?  He’s 13 and a really responsible kid, so he is certainly capable of walking a few blocks unsupervised.  You know the one; he’s the athlete and honor student we all congratulated last week for winning a bunch of academic awards.  So why didn’t I even consider doing it? Well, I can’t bring myself to do that because to some people, my kid isn’t an honor student with a bright future.  To them, he’s just SCARY BLACK MAN.  I know this to be true because of experiences we have already had, where he has been targeted merely because of the color of his skin.  He has already, at thirteen years old, been harassed by police for walking down the street and “matching a description.”  For his own safety, he doesn’t have the freedom to do what I would have allowed my white sons to do without even thinking about it.

Did I tell him any of that? No, but should I have?  I really don’t know.  I want to teach him to expect approriate behavior from the people around him, but is that the right thing?  On one hand, if I explain to him why I don’t want him walking around amongst the general public wearing a hoodie, I’ll be accused of “teaching him to be racist.”  On the other hand, he could very predictably have bad things happen to him if I don’t teach him to be aware of how whites may perceive him.  What’s a mom to do?  It’s very easy to be opinionated about it all until you actually have a loved one facing the crap we don’t want to admit still happens. 

So, while you’re out there deciding who to vote for and (hopefully) deciding whether equal opportunity really exists in the USA, I hope you’ll think about kids like mine—the ones who can’t even walk down a street and be assured of safety.  I hope you’ll consider that a racist candidate endorsed by known KKK members is probably not going to be great at pursuing equity and justice for ALL of us, not just the rich, white ones of us.  I hope you’ll remember that the candidate who had a hand in making the imprisonment of black men a profit-generating enterprise may not be interested in the well-being of ALL Americans.  Myself, I voted for the candidate who has been fighting for peace and racial equity for 50 years.  Do I agree with everything he believes?  No.  Is he perfect? Of course not.  No candidate is perfect, but I think he has something to offer that may be more important than our fear of what’s going to happen with our money or our guns.

Photo:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/6103250/Britain-needs-a-middle-class-baby-boom.html