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Editor’s Note: This post contains a racially sensitive word. The author asked that we publish this with the word printed in full, and The Gabber Newspaper chooses to respect our wishes.
Jacksonville Shooting: This Hate is Ours to Hold
The City of Jacksonville was an important port city to hold for the Union army during the Civil War. Nevertheless, it’s its massive size allowed rebel soldiers to survive thanks to inland supply routes.
I don’t mention this for a history lesson; I mention this because it is important to know that racial animus has been a part of the very fabric of Florida and even the City of Jacksonville since their foundings.
Since the Civil War…
Since Ocoee…
Since Rosewood…
Since Ax Handle Saturday…
Since acid was poured in the Monson Motor Lodge pool in St. Augustine…
Since Martin Luther King Jr. was too afraid to march through the streets of the nation’s oldest city, and instead snuck through the back rooms of small churches to spread the message of freedom, justice and liberation…
Since the confederate flag flew high over the I-4, I-75 interchange…
Since the Florida State flag bears the bars sans stars…
Since Stand Your Ground…
Since Trayvon Martin…
Since Jordan Davis…
Since Markeis McGlockton…
Since Ahmaud Arbery…
Since Donald Trump goaded the first Black President to prove he was a U.S. citizen…
Since Donald Trump became President…
Since Ron DeSantis found it was more politically expedient to be openly racist and ally himself with a movement of white supremacists who support authoritarian populism. As long as the bellicose bigots/would-be dictators — if not for democracy — are mediocre white men who describe hateful, racist, violence as “horrific” but take no responsibility for stirring up the scum from which the “scumbag” devotedly drank; faithful to a doctrine that detests people because of the color of their skin, and lives in unfounded fear they will be replaced by us, they call niggers.
I didn’t want to write this, but here I am using my words to process a pain that runs too deep in my bones, my bloodline, for me to ignore, while my children watch TV, blissfully ignorant of the dangers that could face us, kill us, the next time we go to the dollar store, or grocery store, or play our music too loud, or wear our hoodies, or go for a run, or go to church.
There is no safe haven for Black people anywhere in America. The endless killings, beatings, attacks, false arrests etc. prove that our skin will always be a provocation for police, for vigilantes, for people who fear us for no other reason than the fact that we exist and we dare to take up space and breathe the same air.
Thoughts and prayers don’t console.
God’s timing is not always God’s plan.
And while broken hearts heal, and forgiveness sets us free, I will never forget that as long as my soul’s home is a body of Black woman, I am never safe from racism and white supremacy, that mean me harm and wish me death. Just like prayer hasn’t worked against these specific wages of evil, neither has our government, or it’s mayors, governors, legislators, or presidents (including Obama) because this hate is ours to hold. It is our origin, not our sin, and while often cast as a villain, in this country, in this state, in the Jacksonville, it has proven victor time and time again.
Read Vice President Kamala Harris’ statement to the Jacksonville Shooting.
Toni Smailagic
Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy award-winning producer. She’s also an award-winning author. She produces and hosts the Black & Published podcast. Her latest novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree, will get published in 2025. Nikesha is a columnist with JAX Today. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, ESSENCE, and VOX. She lives in Florida with her family.
