The struggle has to become a fist-fight

Fresh off the week celebrating the visionary Martin Luther King Jr. and on the cusp of Black History Month, here’s a few things to think about while going through the day…

Injustice will never end.

Not as long as women and non-whites in the year 2002 continue to earn less than white males for performing the same work.

Not as long as a glass ceiling still exists in corporate America.

Not as long as economic disparity continues to run rampant through inner-cities posing an eminent threat to the quality of life people may experience.

And not as long as “white” elementary and high schools continue to have higher academic standards than “black” institutions.

Racism will never end.

Not as long as people refuse to have intelligent discussions about the past.

Not as long as blacks and whites continue to say sentences beginning with “you people” and blame one another, no matter how true, for our country’s problems.

Not as long as our elders inadvertently taint the views of children with stories from the past without clarifying that not all black people are criminals or not all white people are devils.

And not as long as people share similar views with the recently deceased Glayde Whitney, a Florida State University professor who claimed scientific facts proved blacks were genetically inferior to whites. African Americans, he said, are “bigger in bone, smaller in brain,” more sexually aggressive, have an overall lower intelligence, lack of empathy and no foresight.

Self-hate will never end.

Not as long as chocolate-hued beings are called “blacky” by those who share their ethnic background.

Not as long as honey-colored people are automatically considered stuck-up and talked about — “She think she so cute.”

Not as long as whites risk skin cancer to bronze their skin, women have fat injected into their lips to make them fuller and men look to supermodels as the perfect image of a woman.

And not as long as people happily accept the so-called “cards” life has dealt them, but are envious of those who took Outkast’s advice and decided to “get up, get out and do something.”

Ignorance will never end.

Not as long as some blacks continue to complain about the lack of activities in this city, but fail to attend one educational event created with them in mind.

Not as long as some whites don’t see the relevance of the Office of Minority Student Services.

Not as long as an office, such as MSS, is needed.

Not as long as people readily accept their families’ beliefs about other races.

And not as long as people refuse to acknowledge blacks and white often live in two totally different worlds.

Hatred will never end.

More time won’t fix the pain of slavery.

Whites don’t think about racism.

America’s eyes will forever remain covered concerning racial issues.

If you don’t agree with me, please do something to prove me wrong.

If I’m making you mad, please change the way you are living.

Have a blessed day and keep an open mind.

Tiffany Woods can be reached at woods1tl@cmich.edu.