Finding Our Way Through

It’s been a rough year already in terms of gun violence in America and its only July.  At this rate most major cities across America will surpass historical records on gun deaths. With each passing day some kind of gun violence event captures the news headlines and before long the event has gone “viral” on social media.  Getting any kind of positive media coverage on any notable program is hard when there is an event that involves a weapon, especially a gun.  As one person recently cited “if it bleeds, it leads.”   

In the wake of so must recent domestic violence many elected officials, activists, religious leaders and good citizens are at a lost on what is occurring in their communities.  Some suggest that as a nation we are at a “tipping point” on gun violence and gun ownership.  Trying to get a handle on underlying issues or to just begin to understand what is going on is a perplexing endeavor.  Of course every community is different; share some similarities, but the challenges on how to deal with gun right laws, drug abuse and mental illness are not unique to any community alone.  We are all sharing in this struggle.

The current wave of unexpected gun violence is “rocking our world,” to say the least.  For a new generation of African Americans this stuff is altering the way they are seeing things.  In the view of some of us who are older, this is nothing new; we have been here and seen this before.  The legacy of our American experience is full of examples of oppression, injustice, racism, abuse, slavery, intolerance and driving while being Black.  We know we have come a long way and yet believe much more work is required to make America better and safer.       

In light of what is going on, there is always a way forward, there is always hope, if we can only see it and search for it.  Just like our forefathers and mothers who believed that better days were coming even with so many issues unresolved, the race is still not finished.  I know if our ancestors can find a way out and to deal with the issues, to vote, to march, to boycott, to protest, to dialog, to run for public office, to own a business, to train, to teach, to preach, and to reach, then we too can help impact change.  And regardless of how we see it, solving many of these complex and connected issues are a tall order and require some level heads, prayer and some common sense.