Author Archive
Leroy Barber
Racism, Moral Law and the Penn State Abuse Scandal
Friday, November 18th, 2011
“A time comes when silence is betrayal.” — Martin Luther King
My heart is very heavy today as I read about the eight boys who were sexually assaulted by Gerald A. Sandusky in his home and in the locker rooms of the Penn State University campus. My soul deeply grieves to think that for more than 10 years the abuse was seen and known by others and overlooked.
I made myself read the Grand Jury report about Sandusky’s alleged crimes and it was 23 pages of vile and inhuman behavior not only by the predator but by those who actually saw it, heard of it, or received reports about it across their desk.
Then to also learn that all these children were black deepens my sadness.
Bernard Hopkins, Donovan McNabb, and Debunking the ‘Black Card’
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
During a recent interview, professional boxer Bernard Hopkins aimed remarks at all-pro quarterback Donovan McNabb that essentially implied McNabb was a “House Negro” or “Uncle Tom.” Hopkins remarked, “He’s got a suntan. That’s all … Why do you think McNabb felt he was betrayed? Because McNabb is the guy in the house, while everybody else is on the field,” Hopkins told the newspaper. “He’s the one who got the extra coat. The extra servings … He thought he was one of them.”
These remarks put words to a long-standing ideology that one needs a “black card” to show you are black enough. The card that allows you to connect more with black people because of where you grew up, how many times you have been arrested, or how many kids you have out of wedlock — to name a few of the so-called marks that apparently make you legitimately black.
I Met a White Man and He Couldn’t Dance
Monday, May 16th, 2011
I attended a majority white high school in the late ’70s and since that time my life has been one cross-cultural bowl of spaghetti. It tastes good but is really messy, sometimes sauce all over your shirt.
My first encounter with white folks was not a good one — full of fear and uncertainty — because I could only go by what I had heard from older adults or seen on television. Archie Bunker and Fred Sanford were the references I could draw on mostly. I went into my high school situation full of stereotypes, you know, like white people can’t jump, and the all time favorite: White people have no rhythm and can’t dance. What happens when you meet a person that fits the stereotypes? When Fred Sanford is right? When you meet the white person that cannot dance?
Am I Living the American Dream?
Monday, March 7th, 2011
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.
This opening to the Declaration of Independence is a very powerful statement that gives me goose bumps when I read it. Many of us have heard this statement at least once in our lives — most of us, countless times. This is the statement upon which our country was built. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In fact, about 100 years after these statements were adopted into our Declaration of Independence, we decided that black Americans should be included in this dream as well. And then, 100 years after that, we adopted the Civil Rights Act that grants even more equality. All of this progress is personified today in our black president, whose example suggests that we live in a country that treats us all the same and that anyone can become whatever he or she wants to be with enough hard work.
