It's Memorial Day weekend and I just want to sit back, relax and enjoy the warm weather. However, the recent Muslim plot to bomb NYC synagogues has spun me into a pre-holiday fury. The four terrorist suspects are Black men. Three American, one Haitian. It is certainly difficult for some black men to navigate through a country that marginalizes and vilifies them. It is indeed difficult to be a five year old boy and watch police cruise through your 'Hood and arrest older versions of yourself. It's difficult to absorb news that broadcasts stories where black men are described as the only real American threat.
However… however… plotting to bomb synagogues is misguided and horrific. Not only does an act like that turn one into a murderer [and a terrorist], but it does nothing to bring much-needed light to the inequalities many black men [and women and children] endure on a daily. In fact, a plot to bomb synagogues and shoot down aircrafts reminds Mayor Bloomberg that the city needs to stay "vigilant at all times". Translation: the police need to enforce higher levels of stress-creating scrutiny on NYC black male community. And for the record, stress KILLS.
Enjoy your holiday weekend.
Keith Josef Adkins is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and social commentator.