Fannie Lou Hamer stated, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”  I am tired of the truth being distorted, I am sick of people believing that there is equality in America, and I am tired of being compared to others who have not been immersed in an oppressive system.  Let’s be clear, this country was set up based on systemic racism, oppression, and White Supremacy.  Consider the name of this magazine, Three-Fifths; that is what some of my ancestors were considered, not a whole human being but three-fifths.

The continuous lie I hear in America is that everyone is given the same opportunity, but I know that isn’t the case.  As a biracial woman who was reared in a predominantly white space, I know the opportunities afforded to me were not afforded to my African American/Black husband.  He is from the South, reared in a predominantly black area, and attended predominantly black schools, whereas I was reared in a white space in the Midwest and attended predominantly white schools.  The opportunities I had seemed to be endless, as my mother advocated for us daily.  I have seen both sides of the racial dichotomy that is very much ingrained in every facet of American society.  Equality and equity are two different terms with distinct differences.  Equality assumes we are all starting at the same place, which is not true due to historical (Slavery, Jim Crow, housing covenants, Separate and Unequal) and contemporary policies (underfunded schools in predominantly low-income communities of color, health disparities, etc.) that continue to impede certain groups.  Equity is about fairness and justness, giving people the tools they need to be successful.  We know that not everyone will succeed, but when given equitable access to resources and meeting people where they are, we can say we are providing an even playing field. 

If we want to make real change, we are going to have to deconstruct the systems in place now.  The school-to-prison pipeline, the inequitable health care system, mass incarceration, racial profiling, the educational gap, the wealth gap, etc.  In the same way, the system was set up to provide advantages to some and disadvantages to others, we must deconstruct those systems to make them equitable.  Equity for all does not take away the privileges being afforded to others. This is not a pie; there is more than enough to go around.

I know in my heart that most people, regardless of the social construct of race, are good people.  Many people call themselves Christians but then don’t want others to have the same opportunities that we have; this is not Christ-like.  We are to love one another as brothers and sisters.  I want us all to win at this thing called life, but I also recognize that due to the way our country was established, we must be willing to reorganize and acknowledge that things have not been equitable.  Let’s be clear about what is taking place in our country currently and historically, which has created a stratified system that benefits some but not all.