The Community

by N. Jamiyla Chisholm

Her upbringing had imprinted her with an unwavering belief that family was everything and anti-Blackness was everywhere, which meant that family had to stay together no matter what happened. These are the puzzle pieces that got my mother to agree to the Community, the belief that she would be able to make something whole.

My mother listened as my father, resolved, explained we would become members of a grand new family that would protect us from the evils of the white world. My mother liked the idea of joining a network of people who believed in the same freedom-fighting, do-for-yourself ideals she believed in.

Racism was such a powerful concept, we thought, that people who lacked power often hesitated to see themselves as victims. Instead, they think if they hadn’t been there, this wouldn’t have happened. If they hadn’t made eye contact, they might not have been noticed. If they hadn’t been Black or Muslim or a woman or gay, they would be safe.

wondered if a Dwight York or a Jim Jones would have existed and amassed a following had the citizens of this country felt like citizens who could expect justice and respect.

Cultural vulnerability, when up against powerful arms of society that control all resources and ultimately livelihoods, have led many to seek their own forms of liberty in the people and places who appear to share their vision even when they don’t.

People who have been trampled upon, robbed, and vampired of their traditions, and then told for centuries that their lives matter none, may eventually resist oppression like their lives depend on it. Others might find themselves at an identity crossroads, if wearing two faces, as W. E. B. Du Bois wrote, becomes unbearable. When that happens, desperation can set in. Some might join a crew, a gang, an organization to stamp out such desperation and reclaim a concentrated power

Sentimentality can explain how people who felt left behind by a changing nation fervently voted for a president who bashed anyone on the margins and promoted a return to the before times.

“My lack of understanding shouldn’t get in the way of me experiencing love.”