Letter to the editor: Racism, then and now

Recently I received an advertisement from a local church hosting a presentation denouncing critical race theory (CRT) and the hiring of an equity director for the Gateway School District. The speaker, Joseph L. Green, an African American Missionary Baptist minister, is an opponent of CRT. In my opinion, Green’s declamation was a minstrel show that pandered to whites’ racism to make some whites feel comfortable and to entertain them with racial suppression. A school board member’s invitation to Green to attend the school board’s meeting signified the tendentious agenda.

However, the Aug. 17 board meeting triggered a HTR (historical trauma response) similar to PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). The emotional outbursts, anger and facial hate exhibited by attendees resembled my early teen years of civil rights protests in my hometown of Macon, Ga., and my debut as Florida State University’s first African American football player. The chants of white hierarchy were resounding in this “deja vu” moment. The fears at that time were the integration of white spaces and privileges. Today, it is the fear of integrating truth and compassion into a space of selfishness and entitlement. Unfortunately, white children’s welfare and security are still being leveraged to give credence in preserving status quo.

The interests of Gateway School District students are being jeopardized by board members straddling the fence of principles and power. My summation is they are trying to put 5 gallons of “crap” into a 3-gallon bucket.

J.T. Thomas

Monroeville