Mothers
Pray for Peace
Black America has mixed
emotions as war looms
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of
wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is
not yet" (Matthew 24:6). For sure, the winds of war have reached hurricane velocity
as we approach Mother's Day 2002, nevertheless it will take much more than the raging
storms of violence to drown out African- Americans' saintly matriarchs' fervent prayers
for world peace.
On the other hand, one would have to be political naïve, as well as in abject denial to
not realize that President George Walker Bush, who invaded Afghanistan under the guise of
conducting a "war on terrorists" (led by Osama bin Laden, an entrenched and
welcome guest of the Taliban), has a burning desire to extend his limited campaign in the
Middle East to include Iraqi's Saddam Hussein. Thus, wars and rumors of wars
notwithstanding, the fact 20.1 percent of the nation's military is comprised of made in
America African patriots, Black mothers have valid reasons to pray for world peace as they
celebrate their special day.
Insofar as African-American News& Issues is afforded the unique opportunity to
communicate directly with Sgt. Damon Brody (one of our Black History researchers), we
would be remiss not to share his ambiguous perspective of why Black America has mixed
emotions when it comes to our children fighting and dying in wars for a nation that has
yet to treat us as first class citizens. "I can't really say why we as a people join
the military," Brody responded when AAN&I asked him why our young people continue
to proudly serve their country, although they're fully aware injustice persists in the
land of the free.
"I can't speak for others," explained Brody, who set a single season state
record with 91 receptions while playing wide receiver for Robert E. Lee's football team
from 1984-1988. "But I joined because of my sister (SFC Dawn Williams, who is
stationed in Germany), who I really look up to. I find that it's not that hard for me to
do the job that's required of me. But, and yes there is a BIG but, the people in the Army
are some of the biggest racists that I ever came across in my adult life. And I'm talking
White against Black." Brody, a Senior Analysis stationed in Hawaii, epitomizes young
Blacks serving their country with mixed emotions.
"I'm very, very proud of my children making a career in the military," says
Patricia Sullivan, Damon's mother, who certainly isn't political naïve, inasmuch as she
got an up close and personal look at the war front when she worked with Halliburton in
Kosvo several years ago. "Dawn finished TSU and joined the army immediately. I think
she wanted to ease the financial pressure on me, because Damon was still in high school.
I'm certainly praying for world peace, because I would hate to see any of our children die
for a country that doesn't fully respect our contributions."
Incidentally Sullivan, past secretary of HABJ, once wrote a column for AAN&I (Pat's
People) and was the paper's Missouri City correspondent.
Mixed emotions aside, over 30 percent of the Army's fighting force that ultimately engage
the enemy on the ground are African Americans, who sadly are woefully missing in action
when it comes to executive positions. Slightly over 11 percent of the Army's officers are
Black, but alas, that's a much higher percentage than all of the Black officers in the
Navy, Air Force and Marines combined. Consequently racism is still alive and well in elite
units such as the Navy SEALs and Green Berets.
Ironically, after Special Forces came face to face with the enemy in the Afghan war, it
suddenly dawned on America that we need more Black faces in the military's special places.
Retired SEAL's Lt. Jake Zweig, recently spoke about his short, tumultuous stay in the
SEALs. "It was like being the only Black in a Harley-Davidson gang, as out of place
as you can be. It was horrendous." The SEALs have acknowledged "pockets of
racial insensitivity" and have appointed a minority recruitment chief with authority
to veto bigoted candidates.
All agree that the crux is the elitism that defines the "special" in Special
Forces. "SEALs are very sensitive about lowering standards and letting in people who
are not up to standards of what a Special Forces warrior should be," said Lt. Cmdr.
Darryn James, a spokesman for Navy Special Welfare. According to an April 2, 2002
Associated Press report, such talk riles Army Brig. Gen. Remo Butler, a Ranger who is now
the highest ranking Black soldier in Special Forces.
"That's code for 'You're not quite as smart, you're here because you're getting a
break somewhere," said Butler who heads Special Operations Command-South in Puerto
Rico.
"The armed services are often held out as standard-bearers for integration. Blacks---
13 percent of the U.S. Population-make up 20 percent of the military. But they are less
than 4 percent of Special Forces." Consequently Special Forces recruiters are working
in minority neighborhoods with an eye toward racial integration.
Navy special warfare, the whitest of special ops branches-just 2.5 percent of SEALs are
Black-has appointed a Black civilian known for diversifying medical schools to head
minority recruitment." Meanwhile, it's not lost on those who study war where Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is coming from when he said (at an April 28, 2002 press
conference): "Today, our country faces an era of the unexpected. We must be ready to
win today's global war on terror, but, at the same time, prepare for other surprises and
uncertainties that we must will most certainly face in the 21st century."
Surely, the obvious and active realignment of the military's command structure isn't lost
of Black America and (in spite of having mixed emotions), they will be praying for world
peace on Mother's Day 2002.
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