DC mob was treated better than us Black Kansas Citians — but we still sing America

“I, too, sing America.” These words form the opening line of “I, Too,” one of Kansan Langston Hughes’ most legendary poems. At the height of the Harlem Renaissance, a Black poet put pen to paper and captured the feelings of Black Americans all across the United States. The poem tells of the internal struggle to love America while being treated as second-class citizens.

I recall being required to learn this poem as a kid in school. I must admit, while reading through the stanzas I couldn’t understand how the writer could endure such pain and suffering and still sing America. The year was 1925 when Hughes authored these lines. One can only imagine the injustices a Black man living in 1920s America faced, yet he still claimed to extol the country.

Hughes would become a subtle literary soundtrack to the 1960s civil rights movement. A close examination of speeches made by Martin Luther King Jr. illustrates how the poet influenced him. Deep within the lines of his famed “I Have A Dream” speech lie the rewritten words of another Hughes poem, “I Dream a World.” Perhaps, nearly half a century later, we are still dreaming of that world “where black or white, / Whatever race you be, / Will share the bounties of the earth / And every man is free.”

On Jan. 6, our world was seemingly turned upside down. We all watched in disbelief as a mob incited by President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. The police were quickly overwhelmed, and not much seemed to be done about it. We watched so-called “patriots” enter the sacred halls of liberty and desecrate them. It appeared the police all but gave up on securing our nation’s Capitol. After several hours, the rioters were peacefully escorted off the premises and allowed to return home.

Black people all across the country were furious. Quick comparisons of protests from the summer were made, and rightfully so. The general sentiment was: “Had they been Black, they’d all be dead.” The cries of Black people weren’t coming from a desire to replicate the mob’s behavior, but to be treated with equal respect while peacefully protesting.

How many Black people have we marched for, unarmed — yet were shot and killed anyway? When we shout, “Say her name” — a reference to Breonna Taylor — we are in essence shouting, “I, too, am America.”

If anyone knows what it’s like to be ignored, denigrated and discriminated against, it’s Black Americans. The whole purpose of Hughes adding the word “too” was to bring to mind the designation of second place. He was in fact speaking for the excluded. Black Americans have been fighting an uphill battle against exclusion for centuries. If you need a living, breathing example, simply drive east of Troost Avenue. There you will see the struggle for freedom and equity is ongoing. The lack of adequate and affordable housing, grocery stores, and decent and dignified employment shrieks of inequity. Government funding that should address Kansas City’s blight is often redirected to wealthier areas.

More than 95 years have passed since the writing of “I, Too,” and Black Americans are still asking for a seat at the table. The difference is, when we were legitimately denied, we didn’t storm the Capitol. Even today, as we careen from the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Botham Jean, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile and countless others, we still have not stormed the Capitol. We did not lose an election and become angry. To refresh your memory, we weren’t allowed to vote for hundreds of years.

To observe the Washington mob wave both American and Confederate flags, and claim patriotism while breaching the doors was the epitome of hypocrisy. Untold numbers of law enforcement personnel were injured, and Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick was killed in the line of duty. What happened to “Blue lives matter” — or does that apply only to Black people taking a stand against unarmed police shootings?

All of this, in the name of patriotism. It is actually pseudo-patrotism under the guise of “saving our country.” The irony of it all, yet again: It was a Black police officer, Eugene Goodman — seen on video leading the mob away from the Senate chamber — who actually helped save American democracy.

The pro-Trump mob can learn a lot from our struggle. Though disenfranchised, voter suppressed and civically ignored, we don’t plot to overthrow the government. We peacefully demonstrate, albeit fist in the air. We shout out: “Black Lives Matter. “Say her name.” And “I, too, am America.”

Branden A. Mims is senior pastor of Greater Metropolitan Church of Christ in Kansas City.

This story was originally published January 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "DC mob was treated better than us Black Kansas Citians — but we still sing America."