Since the release of the film "12 Years a Slave" I have seen some feedback from some, stating that these kind of movies no longer need filming.
These statements came from African Americans. Having had not seen they film until now I speculated, and still do, that this was due to many reasons including the belief that it is time to move passed such stories and hurt. That it continues the circle of hate in our country. Perhaps I am completely wrong about those thoughts and perhaps those more educated than I could explain it better. My perspective, of course is quite different, having grown up in a predominantly white community. As much as I hate it I personally have seen racism in ugly verbal ways. I have heard things that to this day make me sick to my stomach. Having studied history I know of the ugly past of this country and the blatant miss use of even scripture to justify it. Films like this never fail to make me angry and sick and heart broken. I can never understand how a human being could treat another in such wretched ways. I too wish there was no need for such films to be made. If stories of the holocaust, slavery, and genocide were fictions rather than retellings of history perhaps they would not hurt so. Unfortunately, these are not only our past but also our present. Injustices still happen every single day. Thousands of other stories are never told all over the world. Even as I write there are thousands in slavery, or under attack for simply holding a belief or being born a certain race.
As much as they hurt I am thankful that a few stories come to light now and then. May they serve as a reminder to us all that injustice should not be allowed to stand.
That those of us who can do something....anything, begin to make a change. That we change in even the smallest ways by treating each person we meet with respect and love. That when given the opportunity to stand up for others we do so with courage. I want my children to know such history. I want them to see it in all it's ugliness, so that they can understand what happens when hate is allowed to grow. So then perhaps they will understand what love looks like and help it to grow instead. Below are images from just a few groups doing just that. I hope you will take the time to look them up and support them in some way. Or take the time to look up organizations that do what is possible to aid in bringing justice to our world.
