The Wisdom of Dr. Ruby Sales
I attended the Deeper Change Forum facilitated by Dr. Ruby Sales on Thursday and Friday this week at the Uniterain Society of New Haven (which is actually in Hamden, CT). It was two days of deepening awareness, challenges and developing community. I share this handout with Dr. Sales' permission.
Coming clean
There cannot be a progressive movement
when the majority of faces are White in a majority world of color. White matriarchy is not a radical departure from patriarchy. Rather, it is the same White Supremacist game with new names.
There cannot be a progressive movement
until the killing of Black mother's daughters and sons is a significant item on the agenda. This includes the FBI targeting Black Lives Matter freedom fighters as domestic terrorists setting them up for the kill.
There cannot be a progressive movement
until the issues of commodification and degradation of Black and Brown bodies and lives in state sanctioned sites of terror called detention centers, prisons and militarized public school are main items on agenda.
There cannot be a progressive movement
unless it places state sanctioned captivity of Black and Brown people in sites of terror such as prisons and detention center on the agenda.
There can be no progressive agenda
unless state sanctioned fragmentation and dispersion of Black and Brown families by deportation, incarceration and detention centers are on the agenda.
There cannot be a progressive movement
when Black and Brown women and girls are raped by guards, managers and police in state sanctioned sites of terror called detention centers and prisons.
There cannot be a progressive movement
until state sanctioned ethnic cleansing with gentrification, deportation and travel bans is a main issue on the agenda.
There cannot be a progressive movement
until the suppression of the right to vote by millions of Black and Brown people by redistributing, voters' ID, cross checking and ballot tampering is on the agenda.
There cannot be a progressive agenda
until state sanctioned chemical warfare in leaded water in Black and Brown communities is high on the agenda.
There cannot be a progressive movement
unless the state sanctioned dismantling of public schools where 95% of Black and Brown students attend is on the agenda. Otherwise, they are being regulated to a future of meaningless and disposability that guarantees a future of White supremacy and power.
There cannot be a progressive movement
until the mistreatment and malpractice carried out against Black and Brown people in the medical industrial complex is on the agenda.
There cannot be a progressive movement
until Black and Brown people enjoy equal protection under law.
There cannot be a progressive movement
until Black and Brown LGBTQ people lives are on the agenda.
These are but a few issues that must be included on any progressive agenda in a majority world of color.
Democratization not diversification!
PS. There cannot be a progressive movement
as long as the White Americans and their language dominate the media and other areas in the public square in a majority colored world. A democratized press is essential to a democracy. Otherwise, it is racism bending heavily towards fascism where one race defines the contours and geography of our lives and the American political and social landscape. A progressive movement shifts who has access to the public microphone.
© Dr. Ruby Sales. Extracts from sermons by Dr. Ruby Sales, used with permission