Your Heart Outweighs Your Heritage

I have always thought it racist and unpatriotic to celebrate the confederacy for any reason. Over the past decade, those who choose to do so allege it to be a celebration of their heritage, but not hate. The confederacy cannot be separated from the enslavement of Africans, my ancestors, and its continuing legacy in direct conflict with all that is holy. While my family tree includes a confederate general, even he said the battle flag should be put away and there should be no monuments after the war. Of course the confederacy did not establish the slave trade and chattel slavery, but it seceded from the nation and risked the lives of its men to protect it.

The word "heritage" is such a complex one especially when you realize the absence of muted voices speaking of a history more expansive than that promoted by the dominant group. While millions of people share the heritage of being from my home state, Alabama, we embrace different and often conflicting perspectives on what that heritage is. People recognized as traitors by some are considered heroes by others.

Those who are members of the First Nations speak of being in relationship with the Creator and creation. Having lived on Turtle Island for millennia, they recall how their lives and the land were forever changed by the arrival of Europeans. Their bodies carry the trauma of genocide and the forced removal from their homelands. Their children were taken from them so that they could be taught the culture, faith and language of the dominant group. They entered countless treaties with the new national government only to have them unilaterally dismissed when deemed  necessary. 

Those who descend from Europeans speak of the courage and desire it took for their ancestors to leave all they knew to board a ship heading to establish colonies in "the New World." They declared their independence from the crown, and claimed that this land was given to them by God because of their white bodies by God. There will be claims of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps with individual rights their prized possession. 

The story of the dominant national heritage splits as tensions increase between the European descendants. When they fought against each other, the United States referred to it as the Civil War to end slavery, while the so-called Confederate States spoke it as the War of Northern Aggression to protect state's rights. The wounds were deep. To heal the nation, great efforts were taken to bridge the divide between the children of Europe. Promises to the newly emancipated were abandoned.

Those who are of African descent know that their ancestors were kidnapped in Africa, robbed of their culture, faith, and language, and shipped to this land as cargo. They built this country amidst the trauma knowing that the freedom celebrated by the dominant group was never intended for them. Even the law denied their full humanity. They worked hard for nothing, risked their lives by learning to read and how to navigate the system. Through lived experience, they learned that each advancement would be met with a violent response from the powers that be. 

There are other stories that contribute to the history and heritage of our nation. Here I am only providing a generalized view of three of them to provide a glimpse of the complexity of heritage. For us to appreciate who we are as a collective it is imperative that we consider perspectives different than our own. 

While there are differences, we do share common experiences. In my lifetime, we have witnessed the assassination of a president and a prophet. Together, we lost lives in war. We have worked together to respond effectively to natural disasters. It was together that we celebrated a fellow American being the first man to walk on the moon. Most of us celebrated the monumental achievement of electing the nation's first President of African ancestry. Yet, many of us are sheltering in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19 as health disparities reveal how those of us who are Black and Indigenous still suffer disproportionately in this nation.

Those who are not in the dominant group have experience in understanding history from a broader perspective. It continues to be part of the practice of surviving. While the powers that be will not encourage it, those of the dominant group can expand their understanding. It requires courage and curiosity as both will challenge the status quo. However, there have always been those who have done so. Their names are not celebrated by the masses, their stories are remembered by those with expansive hearts.

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The following is an excerpt from a recent conversation with a high school classmate.

Hilda: "My friend, you have once again caused me to examine my recollection of how things were. As someone who has wanted to reject racism from a young age, I have constantly struggled with my deeply embedded white privileged heritage. Sometimes, I feel even my best intentions are filled with self-righteousness."

Leslye: "Hilda, your heart outweighs your heritage."

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