Valley Forum: True freedom is the ’freedom to be’

On Emancipation, skin tone and the wisdom of children.|

I lived in New Jersey -- Teaneck to be exact. The culture there was so different than it is in Sonoma. Diverse, so diverse. On my street to the right of my house lived a dark-skinned family of African heritage, a dark-skinned family from Puerto Rico lived across the street, a dark-skinned family from the Middle East lived down the road, a light-skinned Jewish/Catholic family lived two houses down, a light-skinned elderly couple from Ireland lived on the other side of my house,and way down the street lived a light-skinned Asian family.

Then there was me, light-skinned of European heritage.

Thing is, all the kids played together in front of my house. It was beautiful to watch them meld together in whatever game they were playing at the time. One day while I was washing my car, Isaiah, my dark-skinned little boy neighbor came over and pushed his arm against mine. He said, “we’re different colors.” “Yup, I said, our skin color sure is different. I stuck out my tongue and asked him what color it was. He said, “pink.” I said, “Yours too.”

I only describe the tone of skin to avoid using the terms “Black” or “White.” For me those words have a charge. That may be because I grew up during the era of “Gunsmoke,” “Have Gun Will Travel” and “The Lone Ranger.” The good guys wore white hats. The fact of the matter is we all have one thing in common: we all have skin.

Last month there was a celebration that is not talked about too much; at least I, shamefully, had not heard of it: Juneteenth.

I am just now realizing the importance of this celebration, the momentous event that occurred on June 19 in 1865, more than two years after then President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 freeing enslaved people for the first time in about 400 years. It came to Texas in 1865 and “Juneteenth” was first celebrated there in 1866. I cannot imagine what joy and elation (albeit terrifying) those African American families experienced. However, freedom came with challenges of its own and was only complicated by the beginning of the Jim Crow laws established right after the Civil War ended in order to enforce racial segregation that disenfranchised and removed any gains of the freed former slaves. These laws were removed only in 1964 as a result of the Civil Rights Act. It has been a never-ending struggle for equality.

All along the way, people with a family legacy of slavery, people of African descent, people who have suffered atrocities of discrimination, and people with just innate wisdom to share, have stepped up to make a difference. In celebrating Juneteenth last month and in years to come, we must remember Martin Luther King, Jr, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Medgar Evers, Arthur Ashe….poets, musicians, baseball players, and I can go on -- people with a voice. So many have indeed made a difference..

That said, the Emancipation Proclamation was only the beginning. There is still so much to be done. Skin color isn’t the problem. Everyone knows that: It is power, greed, supremacy, fear and ignorance.

That said, the Emancipation Proclamation was only the beginning.

James Baldwin said, “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”

In Teaneck, New Jersey, the children playing in the street, in front of my house, carried a message we all must hear: Freedom to be. Each and everyone of us must bring dignity, respect and integrity to our interaction with all people. We must all play nice.

Marianne Harms is a licensed clinical social worker in Sonoma.

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