…you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. — Genesis 50:20 NKJV
This week, we all heard the quote from former first lady Michelle Obama about how she was feeling a low-grade depression because of the pandemic, but mostly because of the racism that seems to be running rampant here in America.
“I’m waking up in the middle of the night because I’m worrying about something or there’s a heaviness,” Obama said in her podcast Wednesday. “I try to make sure I get a workout in, although there have been periods throughout this quarantine, where I just have felt low.” She also said in her podcast she explained “it is exhausting to be waking up to yet another story of a Black man or a Black person somehow being dehumanized, or hurt, or killed, or falsely accused of something.”
Last week, we all saw how Aurora, Colorado, police handcuffed a Black family, with young children, in a stolen car mix-up. The Denver Post reported how Aurora police uses force against Black people at higher rates than against other races.
This story brought me to tears! To hear those little girls screaming and crying, I can only imagine what they were thinking. They saw police murder George Floyd, they felt they could be next. The fear coming from the screams of those girls simply threw me! This time, it was women and girls. It is summertime, the parking lot had to be very hot to their bodies, that’s why you could see them trying to hold up their legs to keep from getting burned from the hot parking lot. Just awful!
I heard one reporter say, “Would they have done the same thing to a white family?” We all know the answer. All we need to do is think back on how they handled the killer at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina. You all know who I’m talking about, no publicity from me. Took him to Burger King, fed him a meal, and treated him like he was just another ordinary young white, with respect. And he had killed nine Black people, including a pastor and elected official. We don’t really have to think long or hard to see the blatant differences.
Also, last week, Oprah Winfrey endorsed a new book, “Caste.” Though I haven’t read that book, I was reminded of the caste system in India and other countries. It was a real-life opportunity to learn about the caste system, when my sisters and I had our own, women-owned small business called Critique Career Management Services, Inc.
One of our services was typing term papers, masters’ theses and doctoral dissertations, but there was a particular instance where the customer was from India. We saw firsthand how his assistant kept his head down, and was his servant. To this day, we still talk about what we learned from the caste system from time-to-time.
Once I read the book, I plan to compare what I learned in real life with how this author has written about a similar caste system here in America.
There is a scripture, Romans 12:19, which says it this way: Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Faint not, continue to acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He surely will direct your paths.
Don’t worry when someone has done you wrong, just repeat this scripture from Genesis 50:20: “You meant it for evil, but God has turned that thing around for my good!”
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.