I am a 79 year old white American male. I was born in 1941 into a family that was still struggling to recover from the Great Depression. Like many families of that era there was simply no money to cover anything but the basics of living. Since we had limited resources, one of our chores was to go to the only laundromat in town to wash our clothes. I was about four years old and I hated going. However, during one of our trips I found a friend. He was the same age as me and we immediately became pals. I never noticed that he was different from me or that there was a difference in our skin color. I only knew that he was my best friend. His mother and my mother also became fast friends.
Hate did not live in my house growing up. There was no place for it to live. There was no heart that would allow it. I was taught that regardless of any personal opinion I might have of anyone, they still deserved respect because we are all members of one global family. All human beings are 90.0 to 99.9% identical in their genetic makeup. If I am ever inclined to think myself to be superior to someone else, my fathers words ring in my ears, “You are no better than anyone on the face of this earth, but you are no less”. The words of our Declaration of Independence bear repeating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.
It is well past time for America to accept and practice these words. We are all equal, no matter our skin color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or political party preference.
Frank A. Bumpus
The Family of Mankind