Dear All,

Last year in my 2021 Juneteenth Address, I optimistically wrote the following:

“Now we are all free to pursue our inalienable rights in the pursuit of happiness. We don’t have to choose between subjugation and prosperity. One does not come at the jeopardy or expense of the other. Indeed, instead of spiraling down in this embrace of evil, we are now liberated to mutually pull each other up in a positive vortex of mutual support and respect in our pursuit of societal prosperity and happiness. A systemic recognition of the beautiful humanity underpinning all that we do, think, and say. It will take communication, anxiety and work to sometimes negotiate and balance the competing interest and conflict that will almost inevitably arise in the throes of our collective experiences as humans. That is why I signed on to UWLA. I want our university family to be a positive catalyst for positivity and the promotion of the uplifting of our community and the individuals that we serve. I would hope that on this day, everyone would internalize the ideals that this time represents by focusing on how we can individually and collectively contribute to the growth and positive pursuits of wealth and prosperity for all segments of our society, firmly reaffirming the ideals that domination, exploitation and oppression are intolerable practices that should never belong in any human society!”

Then the first half of 2022 occurred: One mass shooting after another; War and more killing and destruction committed by one country against its brethren; Loneliness, isolation  and mental illness as we reluctantly attempt to return to some form of normalcy in the face of an insidious virus that doesn’t seem to release its grip on our societies; a planet that environmentally becomes more hostile to us as we fail to honor and respect it with our destructive and ignorant refusal to conduct ourselves in harmony with her; authoritarian regimes that constantly suppress and dominates its populace; and the prospect that an almost half century law that allows woman to have control over their bodies may be outlawed and propel us back to a time when women were forced to submit to horrible atrocities in pursuit of their personal choices. Did I forget to mention gas prices that are simply a blatant and greedy means of exploiting a dependence on a soon to be extinct form of fuel?

On this day of remembrance of a significant day in U.S. history marking the formal release of Black people from the domination imposed by slavery, I just want to say, I’m tired! 

Because, despite the release from slavery that this occasion marks, humanity is still locked in the deadly embrace of domination, cruelty and oppression and suppression committed by man/woman against man/woman. As a result, we are all in great pain and deep anxiety and on the verge of hopelessness. I’m tired!

I suspect that we feel like slaves did as they were subject to such intolerable conditions as they were inhumanely chained and crammed into the bottom of boats as they crossed the Atlantic and forcibly brought to this country. They must have been hopelessly wondering what the future holds and how their lives might end given the circumstances that they would face as captives in a world where they had no control over their fates. Moreso, they were captives in a society that openly welcomed the opportunity to subject them to the most inhuman conditions of slavery, cruelty and death. When you think about it, how are the inhuman circumstances that we are currently living through all that different? Oh, I know we have our fancy cars and million-dollar homes. But now which of us can feel comfortable that they will very readily not find themselves in the midst of some mass shooting and hopeless to defend or respond to the situation? What is the difference really? We are just sleepwalking believing that the situation is different. Just ostriches sticking their head in the sand. And we call ourselves educated and civil? Worse yet, we have the capacity to change, but not the societal will.

Because I am a lawyer and words have significance, I wanted to understand the definition of the word, “inhumanity.” Inhumanity has the following definitions: “Extremely cruel, evil and brutal behavior. Its synonyms are: cruelty, harshness, brutality, callousness, sadism, severity, savagery, viciousness, barbarity, barbarism, monstrousness, fiendishness, evil, evilness, wickedness, heinousness, mercilessness, ruthlessness, pitilessness, remorselessness, cold-bloodedness, heartlessness, hard-heartedness, stone heartedness, unforgivingness, unkindness, inconsiderateness, uncaringness, lack of compassion, lack of feeling, lack of sympathy." I would also add apathy.

Wow, have you seen a word with so many synonyms and definitions describing so many evil forms of behavior?

But what constitutes being “humane?”

“A humane person is one who shows great compassion and caring for others, including animals, and who tries whenever possible to alleviate another's suffering. The idea of being humane is linked to a higher level of a person's character.

If being humane is linked to a higher level of a person’s character, then by deduction, inhumanity must be linked to lower forms of a human’s character.

When the founders were forming the constitution, they struggled with how to best address the inhumanity of man against man, especially in a society in which the majority would hold control over the various issues at hand. They were aware that men could use their constitutional majority power to oppress and cause inhumane acts against the minority.

Thomas Jefferson, too, respected the dangers that lie within the hearts of men. In his first inaugural speech, Jefferson states, “All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate which would be oppression.”

The inherent principle is people must grow in character and self-introspection to avoid being cruel and inhumane to other people. Obviously, we have not got there as a society. Otherwise, we would not inflict such pain and inhumanity on each other.

Perhaps as part of our Juneteenth holiday awareness, we should actively undertake to improve our character such that we are willing to address inhumanity and cruelty wherever it raises its evil head. I know this sounds idealistic and ignorant of the practical circumstances that I portrayed earlier.

Thus, if we truly want to free ourselves from slavery, we must raise the conscious level of the character of our minds. Of course, there is the age-old question of what determines our behaviors, circumstances or personality and character? The answer is probably not binary. Both circumstances and character and personality determine our behaviors. It probably depends on the fluidity or exigency of the circumstances and how that intersects with our sense of ourselves as expressed through our character values and personality.

Then why do we still continue to allow such inhumanity and cruelty to exist?

That is the crucial question for our society to emphatically address while we still have some of our humanity remaining.

I implore you to consider what you can do to improve our humanity at this time of celebration of the physical emancipation of a segment of our populace. One to which I personally belong. But we have other segments of our humanity who now also need emancipation. Some of which is physical and some of which is mental. Nonetheless, our society as a whole still remains in slavery until such time as all of us are released from the cruelties of the suppression and oppression caused by those who would ignore the civil right to be free from inhumanity.

Join me now in abolishing inhumanity in whatever form it is derived and encountered. It is a human right to be free from inhumane treatment. It cannot be tolerated or harbored no matter where it rears its ugly head. As we contemplate Juneteenth, let’s also recognize and act upon how we can be effective in addressing the various forms of inhumanity that we encounter. Let’s not bury our heads in the sand any longer. Humanity is running out of time less we act now. I will join you on the journey and path to freedom. No more long-winded discussions; it is time for individual and collective action to inject ourselves into the fray. No matter to what side of the issue you belong, let the eradication of inhumanity and the cruelty to individuals be the guiding principle on what courses of action to take. Let’s stop the suffering! I’m tired!