It feels like a dream sequence. Are privileged white-Americans ready to share power and give up privilege? The preferred GOP status is highly valued over justness. Ask Donald Trump. But what those people are really groaning about is giving up control through this rebirth of reconstruction coming out of the shadows and staring us in the face. 

Reconstruction is doing big things, and these are some of the ways I have seen how.

Reimagine Professional Development in public schools. The end of the school year 2019 – 2020, required my participation in professional development sessions. The usual suspect, inequality, definitely took a different tone this time. Traditionally, admin just ‘circles the wagon’ around the why of inequity, repeating the seemingly insurmountable PARCC test results/data with no cure to heal the nagging education-achievement gap that persists from one zip code to the next. This time, session after session, I realized the leadership was paying attention and knew they needed to align with the national conversation. 

Even their targeted language began fostering a determination to not lose momentum. Finally, I thought as I took stock of my anxiety to not want to face another meaningless training, the District means business; their vigor towards an education practice of racial-inclusivity was showing! There was one elephant in the room, however, that had to be conquered before a victory lap, and that was the absence of Black professionals in the area of sociology leading our training sessions. By day two of the training that gross error in misjudgment was corrected because we the people spoke up and insisted that a credible change be made, immediately. In that moment, our school district was a microcosm of what the nation was experiencing. How could we move forward without changing the way things are done? Admin had to reconstruct their approach to all things equitable with intentionality. 

For the remainder of the District-wide training, we were exposed to knowledge and insight from Black professionals with experience in their own communities and in their field of science and medical expertise. The result was life giving to the otherwise mundane training that left the development stage a long time ago. Finally! I imagined as I listened from one director, doctor, and social scientist to the next, Black Lives Matter protesters and supporters waved the banner of liberty and justice for all — and now we just might watch privilege go “POOF”! I know that won’t be the reality for every school/community/neighborhood, but change could be for real this time.  Thank God for First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, an educator who will never stop teaching, and a real Secretary of Education pick, Miguel Cardona! The opportunity for change is here! 

 Voter Rights in Action. The quarantine bubble demanded that the nation STOP, take serious introspection, and make an about-face from the useless focus on nonsense that people pick—because it’s easy. Easy. Too many white people admit that they have lived within nonsensical choices to keep them inside the construct of a divisive bubble called privilege. Look at the Georgia senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, they sure changed that paradigm. Shout out to Stacy Abrams—she’s a General in the fight for fairness and equality. Abrams, and others like her, have a resolve to create a groundswell of support that demands equal access to vote and to protect what is legally every American’s right.  The national conversation: Change now! Went screaming to the polls, and still echoes. 

Police reform! I had a conversation with a young white police officer who was in D.C. for an annual police conference awarding officers for their service. I had not heard about the event, so I asked why wasn’t the event publicized? Wouldn’t that be good PR? Build respect for the force through camaraderie with the community? His response: the event was not publicized because of the tension in the country around police killings in neighborhoods of color. Well, why not reform how police, police? Stop shooting to kill unarmed Black people and find alternatives like wounding instead, especially when it’s an allegation and no weapon is present.

Train police to protect and serve—especially in neighborhoods where ‘blue’ violence is high. His response: that is too difficult to do; if the police force ever trained officers to wound, police would leave the job or people would never join. Police officers- are not trained as officers of peace, rather officers of force, trained to kill. This conversation made me stop and thank God for body cameras and people with cell phones causing the reform happening now. The stories of Amhad Aubrey, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks where the camera captured the bloodshed, and civil unrest followed. Thank God. I wish the eyes of the camera had been there for Breonna Taylor. My heart is so heavy though because it has taken shed blood to make room for this rebirth, but, we are here. Cell phones are part of reforming how policing is done, particularly in neighborhoods of color. 

Answers to prayer. Suddenly, the floodgates are open forcing the nation to take stock of how stagnant race relations have been the last 60+ years.  The protests, while many might say were unwelcomed, were the catalysts for the conversations happening from the streets, to the pulpit, from the schoolhouse, to the boardroom, and finally from politics and government, to policing. Yes, it is a partisan -even racially motivated cry- because until the racist elephant in the room is brought low, racism will color the choices that we make.  We cannot lose momentum though! “Hold the line!” I hear the ancestors say. 

The magic dust is here! We got to be like Thunder, in Black Lightning, when she stomps her foot and inhales, the power from within shakes the foundation –and Snap! With immediacy, the environment is changed. Ours might not be immediate, but the nation’s foundation is in trauma, it’s shaking and uncomfortable. From the terrible ugly narrative of 1619, to the short-lived Reconstruction period, clear through the Jim Crow lie, leveling off at the Civil Rights victories –and now the antithetical Trump takeover, holding democracy hostage, I declare we better keep stomping that foot!

This historic time is another Reconstruction attempt and cannot be just a moment. It is an answer to the deep bowels of prayer from the 1619 slave right up to this racist pandemic of 2020. I can hear in my spirit, a voice say, “Remember who you are.”

PUSH through. The world is watching. PUSH like a woman in childbirth who was told that she is carrying more than one child. She didn’t know until she got on the table. Too late now, can’t stop pushing. One is born, yet her pain seems unbearable. She cannot stop though because life is depending on her. That life deserves to see the light of day. 

Disclaimer: This story is extreme -but- interesting. Be ready, because weird is coming.

One spring evening, you could say, a “weird” air entered my ride. Let’s stay with that metaphor.

I remember the rider had something to do with the U.N., and from the time his trip started, he was the worst backseat driver. I will never forget that piece. This dude not only insisted on directing my entire driving route, but, before I knew it, he had opened Pandora’s box, and was driving the “talk” too.

At first, I thought, “OK, he is a micro-manager; let me humor this dude to make the ride go smoothly.”  I ended up more than humoring. I listened. I processed. And, I learned. His first-hand experience changed my perception almost like a second wind. He spoke generally about how global relations depends on the willingness of people to just listen. Listen to understand how others think.

He shared an extreme story with me about the time he was in a foreign country and experienced the intense behavior of who he thought was just a guide. The guy’s actions, however, were far outside of what seemed normal, yet they aligned with the practices of his country. This story was just creepy.

The guide had actually “snuffed” two people out! You get what I’m saying?

His team had gone there for some other reason… and VOILA! They got this experience for free.

Finally, I asked, “You mean to say, that you were breathing the same air with the guy that took the people out! What did you do?” and Why did he do this?” He said that the guy did what, in his culture, was expected. The locals can take matters into their own hands.

I was flabbergasted. “Yeah,” he continued, “I couldn’t believe it either.”

Even in that situation, cultural competency won. They couldn’t just dump America’s ideology and say, “Here you go people, take our cultural exchange to prove that our way is the best way … Just go with it!” Nope, he had to walk away.

Diversity means understanding that there is more than one side to the story. He and I agreed that it’s important for people to learn about other cultures and perspectives before passing judgement or making claims. Even in extreme cases.

I understand better now that we can’t change someone’s ideology to fit our normal. Unless they ask. If they don’t ask for change, leave the door open for future possibilities. New prospects might be the breath of fresh air that keeps society sane. In today’s cultural climate, sometimes the most sane decision to make is to respect each other and just walk away. 

Sanity lives in the space where we can “agree to walk together, agreeably, even when we disagree.” Pause and think about that one. Agree to be culturally different? Diverse? Love a varied tapestry of people? Yes, especially when cultural difference is by design.

We can’t change someone’s ideology to fit our normal. Unless they ask.

Sanity lives in the space where we can “agree to walk together, agreeably, even when we disagree.” Pause and think about that one, again.

The ride was over, yet I continued to process. My drive returned to normal and my breathing synchronized with my heartbeat. I wondered, what is the real lesson –for both of us in that weird “talk.”

Upon reflection, I think I got it…

That story was extreme; however, I can value seeing life from another’s perspective. That by no means says that I agree with what happened in that story, but I can look at life from a culturally diverse vantage point. I am not always right. I am open to learn. Like the gusts of wind that flow in and out of my ride, learning is like a breath of fresh air. I can exchange information with those I have the least in common. Who knows, culturally diverse insight might help us all stay Sane!

I drive UBER.

With no time to waste, I needed answers fast. Somewhere I heard the name Uber, and without fully understanding what Uber meant, I learned that it was an opportunity towards financial gain.  I was desperate. My mid-life circumstances dictated my need. There was no choice; I decided, part-time driving for Uber was it. I wondered… can I handle the constant driving? What about strangers in my car? While the task seemed daunting, it was sink or swim time!

The tables in my life were suddenly turned, and I was on my own. Survival became imminent. Times were tough, and I had to toughen up or be a “wet noodle” and let life swallow me up!

Looking back, I unashamedly boast that my Uber driving experience changed my life. I toughened up! Among other things, some of which I will share later, the business and professional riders I met have impacted my life -and- my future for the better. Before the riders get out of my car, they too thank me for the talk. We talk about tough issues. Through thousands of car rides, and tons of conversations stereotypes are shattered and empathy for the “other” is brought to life!

We are more alike than we are different.  

I’ve been able to straddle the divide between those who get their foot in the door and those who never cross the threshold of opportunity.  In the drive time, the very real opportunity gap for women of color has begun to close for me. In the trusted confines of my car, professionals, dignitaries and everyday people develop a genuine interest in me – the black lady driving the black car. 

We are more alike than we are different. 

We can choose to care about others if we pause, talk and listen.  The trusting atmosphere in my car, levels the field. We talk about gaps, racial and otherwise. Let’s be honest, the “gaps” that exist in America today, are deeper than economics and equity. Gaps exist because American citizens lack empathy for each other because we do not talk  – especially with the other. In my car, however, professional people -from every walk of life, without exaggeration- develop a genuine interest in me, and I in them because we talk. Our feelings become mutual. Questions are asked. Conversations are had. 

We each say good-bye but we leave a little closer than we were before I started the trip. Disclaimer: I certainly am no slouch when it comes to talking. I am a full-time educator with an MBA in Liberal Studies. I love to talk! Adding UBER to my life gives me the chance to be the teacher and the student every time I start my engine. Literally. I couldn’t be happier.  

Next: Excuse me, former UN member, what did you say? … And young man did you get sick in my car??