It’s been some 35 years since my brother shared with me an article he ordered from a popular radio broadcast at the time by Eric Butterworth called “The Voice of Unity.” This particular broadcast entitled Truth in Black and White, began with the statement: “There are no race problems; there are only people problems. Let’s take a long, hard look inside ourselves.”
For nearly ten years a select group of individuals (not by design but by commonality) met voluntarily on a weekly basis here in Roanoke to do just that-take a long, hard look within ourselves to examine our true feelings on the subject. After being side tracked for several years that group was reorganized the weekend before the November ’08 Presidential election that resulted in the election of our nation’s first President of African American descent! It continued to meet weekly since that time at the Community Action Center on Melrose Ave. and gain focus and momentum under the acronym LAAM (Local Association for the Advancement of Man-kind).
An exciting new development followed initiated by the Roanoke District UMC exclusively for this area. Strongly encouraged was serious investigation of developments. As opposed to age old concentration on “solving race problems,” intensifying through new, more sophisticated methods. It may be time to honestly examine our own attitudes, actions, and motivations. We may then be more inclined to explore a new wave of partnering to add strength and solidarity to overall mutual goals while maintaining our individual identity through collective effort.
A major barrier has been the absence of a neutral playing field-thus, the N-Zone, shorn of religious, political, fraternal or other persuasion served as the perfect partnership of each for the common good. It was an exciting experiment within our community at a critical juncture in time when we have never been more vulnerable or so easily divided through our own multiple prejudices and egos.
You have heard me tell repeatedly what one elderly gentleman once told me: “The only difference between city folks and country folks is they’re dumb ‘bout different things.” Likewise we all have different strengths and different weaknesses. Once we learn to pool these strengths rather than pitting them-which we have learned to do all too well, we will minimize our weakness if not eradicate them all together.
Socrates once remarked, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Within the framework of our present day individual attitudes toward ALL the people of the world, is your life worth living? It’s time to investigate!
