Ugly

As a young boy of 7, I went to 2^nd grade in Kinston, North Carolina. I stayed with my grandmother and my two aunts because the Navy housing at that time was not suitable for school age where my dad was stationed in Virginia. Schools were segregated. So were neighborhoods. But nearly every Saturday, we would go into downtown Kinston to shop and I’d sometimes get an ice cream cone. Most Saturdays were quite obvious in how segregated things were. Blacks were on one side of the street and whites on the other. But my Grandmother would always cross the other side to say hello and hold and kiss the small babies. They all called her Miss Ida. And one could see genuine respect for her. Anything that had to do with ungodly action or rude behavior, or how you treat your fellow man or foul language, my grandmother called “ugly.” That word summed up so much. She never used another term to describe that which was contrary to God’s word. I learned a lot from her.

In 2019, my friend and I traveled to Washington D.C. We spent special time in the museum of African American History and Culture. I was a history major in college and took Black History. But this was far more eye opening. What one sees visually says much more than what a book tells you. And now we’re seeing those in power trying to erase what actually transpired during these evil times and basically “whitewash” this time in our history. In my state of Florida, Governor DeSantis is minimizing what happened during slavery. One measure among many to get rid of what is considered “woke.” We don’t want people to feel responsible for what their ancestors did to people of color, so we teach a different history. DeSantis said of slavery, “Slaves developed skills which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit.” I guess I never saw this as a job training time for blacks. And I’m sure if you were uprooted from your nation, sold at auction, beaten, killed, raped and dehumanized in every manner one could think of, you might not consider this period as a time where you were preparing to learn a trade.

And Donald Trump is looking to do the same with our museums of black history and Native American history in Washington D.C. All the negative things shown are just a downer. Trump said of these museums, “Everything discussed is how horrible our country is, how bad slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been. Nothing about success, nothing about brightness, nothing about the future.” And in this time in our nation’s history, we still see those who not only wish to whitewash our history but repeat it. Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States said of slavery and white supremacy, “This principle for which we contended is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and another form.” That other time is today.

Genesis 1 says we are all created in His image. Yet some have given themselves over to feeling superior. We use brown skinned people to help run our economy then abuse and mistreat them as scapegoats for all that is wrong in our country. We forget God sees all and we must answer for all. Psalm 34:15-16 states that the Lord hears the cries of the oppressed and His face is against those that do evil. All is before Him. The Lord warns us in James 2:4, “Have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” All of this evil is done in a premeditated manner without fear of repercussion. Matthew 12 tells us we will give an account for all we do or say. And we should remember with trembling what was spoken in James 2:13, “For judgement is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.” Separate yourselves from those who have set themselves up as paragons of godly virtue, when in essence they worship Baal and self. Put off the works of darkness and separate yourselves from those who commit these evil acts. This all falls under the definition of what my grandmother called “ugly.” But it’s more than that. It’s demonic. Be always in prayer. Blessings.