Old Doors
/On the side wall of my local theater
Is the outline of a doorway
Now bricked closed
But which in its day stood open
To people of color
‘Twas not “exclusive”
At least in the sense of being “Advantageous”
“Better”
But rather existed so other doors
Could hold those distinctions
And be reserved
For people of a different color: white
This former portal exists as a reminder
Of a time when people were routed
Shunted
Excluded
Because of the color of their skin
The specters of this treatment are all around us
Photographs of a popular local swimming club
Which upon close examination show us that only white people were present
Restaurants where signs saying “Whites Only” once hung
Creaky old movie houses with balconies where only people of color were seated
Today these overt signs, symbols, doorways are gone
Yet more than their memory lingers
For today we see their remnants
Roiling just beneath the surface of our society
Where irrational fear, bigotry and hatred still live
Becoming manifest in the latest racist incident:
A woman told to, “Go back to your own country” because her skin is brown
A world-wide virus derided as being “Chinese” as if Asian origins are abhorrent
A black man murdered by police on our nightly television screens
Violence erupting from frustration and anger
The mutual paths we have followed as a Nation
Have brought us to a gateway
A time of National reckoning
Redress
Renewal
And, if by our forthcoming actions, we are worthy,
Redemption
Of a recognition that the color of a person’s skin
Has nothing to do with the content of of their character
Or the size of their heart
Yet it also needs be a time in which we recognize
That skin color does still matter in this country
That there is still unjust, separate treatment given upon its basis
Wherein people of color are subjected to discrimination
Denial
Denigration
Violence
Death
While people of a different - lack of - color are spared such treatment
Protected from it
All on the basis of pigmentation
Which has no relation to the souls we actually are
These goals we must now dedicate ourselves to:
Removing the still very active separations that exist in our society
based upon the color of one’s skin
(As well as any other differentiation from “the norm”
(Be it color, origin, religion, sexual identity
(For all these things, collectively, are the true “norm”)
Insuring that “color” does not serve as the basis
of disparate treatment
Applying our ideals of freedom, opportunity and justice
To all
Recognizing that skin color will not divide us
But unites us
In a rich diversity of cultural heritage
Which we all share and celebrate
In the community of humanity
It is said that when one door closes
Another opens
And as with the old, bricked-in door of my local theater
May we forever close the old door
Of bigotry, racism, hatred, violence, fear
And, with a commitment to equality and justice
May we walk through the new door open before us
Hand-in-hand
Together
By Mike Turner
From: United States
Website: http://www.MikeTurnerSongwriter.com
Twitter: SchoonerSkipper
Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/MikeTurnerSongwriter