Author: Tennielle Bailey

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Justice

I Got Questions

OK – All my republican friends… How in the heck can you say with a straight face, that the federal government has no role in education? If there were no federal intervention into Georgia’s schools, we’d still be going to schools on separate sides of the tracks!!!!! The size of the federal government is directly related to the failure, ambivalence, down right unwillingness of several states to do the right thing!!! GTFOH!!!! Do the right thing without federal oversight and folks like me would get behind state control.

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Justice

Sandra Bland

Black Voices Framed Art Print Courtesy of www.society6.com

This is our country. No matter what color you are, this should outrage you. You should look in the mirror and say to yourself: “Self, did I do anything today or this week to be helpful to someone other than my family? Did I think about or consider a change in my day, an adjustment in policy that I control, or support for an issue where I can make a difference for people whose voices are not as loud or as strong as mine?”

People are losing their lives, losing opportunity to do and be better and make a difference in this country because of what they look like. Not what they did. And a society that is cool with that is begging for the slippery slope to make its way from this woman’s house all the way to your door step. And when it is your kid, mom, sister or brother, it is too late.

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Spirit

Mr. President

Yesterday, I met the leader of the free world. The President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama. Shook his hand, stood for a picture and heard him pronounce my name (correctly on the first try I might add). It was a mighty special day. But do you know what made it even more awesome??? My friends and family made me feel so special all week, that this really awesome privilege that most citizens do not have the opportunity to experience ended up as just a cherry on top of a pretty outstanding cake.

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Justice Spirit

Summer 2015

I’m itching to get home. On our trip, we visited the birth places of this country and saw many monuments erected in memory of the men and women whose vision and leadership set the course of this nation. It struck me, as I stood under the shadows cast by statues of these men and women and as I walked past their graves, how different they were. How if they were here now, they wouldn’t agree on every detail. But the unifying thread through their lives, beliefs and the quotes attributed to them, was the freedom to live as they choose and a commitment to equality and justice. Did they always make the right choices? No. We know that women and minorities weren’t even considered when making many decisions at the start of this country. They didn’t always come down on the right side of the issues of the day. Were they prefect? Hell no. They just didn’t have to contend with facebook and the interest. But they showed up and did the best they could with what they had before them.

This week, I’ve had all types of feelings about being American, being black, a woman, being married and a mom. I am grieving the loss of life in South Carolina at Mother Emmanuel. I am grieving for the continued lack of justice experienced by people of color in this country. I’m hoping that all of us have real honest conversations with ourselves and our friends and family about where we are and what we can do to show up and do our best to make this nation better. Ye, progress has been made. But we are failing in light of the ideals and ideas of our native heroes.

Freshest on my mind are these from the monuments at the National Mall in D.C.:

FDR – “In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice…the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.” 1932

“I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.” “The test of our progress is not whether we add amore to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” 1937

“We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.” 1940

MLK JR. – “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” 1963

“Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” 1959

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Spirit

Emotion

Had the most interesting conversation with a stranger in attendance at a kid’s party we hosted this weekend about how little the truly important things are valued in this country. We spend so much on prisons and so little on therapy and training young folks how to deal with the emotion and circumstances that lead to pitfalls. All of us will face some difficulty in life, but we numb ourselves and teach our kids to do the same with material possessions, games and immediate gratification. We laugh and point fingers and scoff at others when they fail to meet some whack standard that we hold everyone but ourselves to. Why don’t we focus on teaching contentment, real joy and how not to react to or be led by temporary emotions? How you can be sad about something without flying off the handle. How adversity and suffer and failure are a natural part of life. How you should try it even if you aren’t the best or don’t think you’ll win or know someone is better than you. After thinking of these things, I am more determined than ever to use Decatur ArtHouse as a vehicle to teach this to others. A blank canvas, journal, sheet or staff paper is a safe and productive place to vent for anger, frustration, fear and happiness. The best art – music, paintings, sculptures, photographs – has all that emotion in it.

Categories
Justice

State Of Confusion

Thinking about the Zimmerman verdict, Trayvon Martin and his family, young black me and the realities of racial profiling, my husband, my sons, and the young black male teens on a crime spree over here on the east side of Atlanta. The unfairness that people can’t dress and look the way they want without judgment, the reality that life is not fair. Then I realize how confusing it all is. Do not be deceived or distracted. If y’all want to be mad, get mad at satan, who probably wrote this script and is loving all the anger and hatred flowing on both sides of this issue.

Categories
Justice

King Center Visit

I took the boys on their first trip to the King Center. Looking at those exhibits reminded me that it hasn’t been that long. My parents were teens during the civil rights movement which means the very people fighting against equality are still alive. There are a lot of black folk still suffering the ripple effects of slavery, post slavery era, Jim Crow and welfare. Those of us that have prospered should not look down on our brothers and sisters who have not. And to my non-black friends, and friends from other parts of the country, please take time to watch a few PBS specials that go deeper than “We Shall Overcome”. The disparities in this country still exist.