Columnist’s Note: My journey this week has returned to my friend, Paul Buntyn, Pastor Emeritus of Abundant Life Christian Church, San Marcos, Texas. I asked him to share his thought in this week’s column.
A Day that will live in Infamy:
Franklin D. Roosevelt stated on Dec. 8, 1941, one day after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, “this is a day that will live in infamy.” Many years later, I believe Jan. 6, 2021, will be added to those moments in American History. I have been sharing excerpts of my life’s journey growing up black in America. Not only about how I learned life’s lessons as an African American whose grandmother was a slave as a child, but also as someone who had to learn how to navigate amid the essence of white privilege. I realize the term white privilege may strike many as derogatory, but I do not point this out to be condescending. American history is drenched with a view of whites as being “better off” than people of color via slavery, Jim Crow, segregation and voter suppression. Another term, called ‘systemic racism’ has shown up across the board in educational opportunities, employment, living conditions and the accumulation of wealth.
