Written By: Timothy Waller
Many people are aware of racism in America, and this awareness has sparked the Black Lives Matter movement as well as many other groups and organizations. Many people are fighting for equality in the government, but as one New York man found out, racism is still prevalent on the streets.
Kenneth Walker, a black volunteer firefighter in North Towanda, New York, is in the process of repairing his life along with his family as his house burned to the ground this Wednesday.
Monday, Walker received a threatening and racist letter in his mailbox stating that “N****** aren’t allowed to be firefighters. No one wants you in this city.” The letter also contained other violent racial slurs and insults, before demanding that Walker (the only black firefighter in the city) resign his position of volunteer firefighter or “you will regret it”.
Two days after Walker received the letter and did not resign, his house caught fire, turning it to ash. Walker and his family are unharmed, but they lost all their possessions as well as two cats. Reports indicate that there is no clear way how exactly the fire started.
“It shocked me,” Walker stated in an interview, “I didn’t think this kind of thing happened nowadays.” Walker also stated that in the two years he’s been a volunteer firefighter, he has never had any trouble with his coworkers or the community.
The FBI is launching an investigation into the fire and letter will hopefully bring the assailant to justice.
Racism is still prevalent in today’s society, the case of Kenneth Walker just proves it. Burning a house down because of the color of one’s skin? There is no way any one can justify that, and hopefully the jury will see that when the assailant is arrested.
Our society now days think that everything that happen to men and women of color is racist or sexist. If not one then both.
If this was because of racism then ok, but now days people are saying that because our society is now feeding off of each others fears and stereotypes. When in reality, it all comes down to being afraid of being different. The fear of seeing something that your Sunday school teacher taught you as a kid or even as your mom and dad and social media wants you to believe and have taught yourself because of bandwagon.
Fear has over taken our 21st century minds and just to think it may have just started with some people in the beginning “what will get the eyes of people to look at my video,” or photo, or news feed.
Think of people outside of your race; black, white, or otherwise before you say something is “because of race”.
#black lives matter 🙂