Seen or Unseen: What Is Your Choice?

By Dr Clarence Riggins

The chapters in the book were meticulously chosen by the author. These are national occurrences combined with personal experiences. I had the impression that all adults at some point in their lives have witnessed something whether good or bad but decided not to intervene. Many of the readers probably have

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Print and Media
• Release date: Feb 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9781960753847

Book preview

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seen

or

unseen

What Is Your Choice?

Dr Clarence Riggins

Copyright © 2024 by Dr Clarence Riggins.

ISBN 978-1-960753-83-0 (softcover)

ISBN 978-1-960753-84-7 (ebook)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Printed in the United States of America.

Contents

Preface 5

Approach 6

Chapter 1 A NATION AT LARGE 7

Chapter 2 SCHOOL INTEGRATION: Do reparations apply? 14

Chapter 3 IS EDUCATION ALWAYS A SAFE HAVEN 27

Chapter 4 CRIMES DESERVE JUSTICE 42

Chapter 5 BLACK LIVES MATTER 52

Chapter 6 WHAT IF 66

Chapter 7 WHITE FLIGHT 76

Chapter 8 WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD 85

Closing 94

Afterward 95

About the Author 96

References 98

Animals Identified by Sex 101

Preface

As I sit here writing, much of my willingness to write derives from the strength of my mother. My mother was incredibly beautiful, strong, friendly, and tall. What stood out about her was she was handicapped. She was severely injured as a young woman in a car wreck as a passenger while my father drove the vehicle. This is a particularly important occurrence for me as I watch my mother through the years washing clothes, cutting wood, cooking, feeding the family animals, and occasionally driving. Not once did I ever hear her complain about her handicap or the preventable action that cause the near-fatal accident. This message is quite powerful in that my mother never said a harmful word about her situation and always made positive light of unpleasant events happening around her. I give a salute to my mother Ruthie M. Glover-Riggins for her strength passed down to me to undertake such a task.

Unseen or Seen: What is your Choice was my selection for the title as I contemplated my plan to begin and complete this book. I can remember earlier in my life when unpleasant events occurred, but we knew someone would take care of the problem. As the years progressed to my senior years, I believe too many gravely uncivil events are known but unnoticed. Whether the unpleasant events were moral or physical, leaders and citizens would take a stance for righteousness. The thoughts and patterns for the title are drawn from experiences, observations, current events, advocations, conversations, and personal involvements.

Approach

Did you ever think a citizen or a person working for a news station could say openly derogatory comments about the President of the United States (POTUS)? Did you think citizens could label discrimination to a group, protest by looting, demonstrate by destroying property, trespass on individual and government properties, and seriously injure citizens to say I am expressing my constitutional rights as a haven for protection? This is not to offend anyone or group but for the tenure during my book writing, the autonomous zone may be the appropriate terms. What does it take to elevate Black on Black crime high on the agenda for governmental officials, family members, parents, interest groups, and citizens? We see the remnants of these crimes and uncivil events, but do we choose to make these unseen? Have our governmental branches become a system of dispute resolution among themselves? Separation of powers was created as a check and balance process to prevent any one of the separate branches from becoming too powerful. People are atoned for the constant bickering, the lack of gains or improvements in their districts but in elections, after elections, the choice is to make politicians career government officials and millionaires plus. These are just samples and are not inclusive to define the title of my book. This information provides the reader with some expectations of the manuscript. Much of the information contained in the book derives from real-life experiences for the author. Have you ever wondered why something happens, someone is a witness, and many times the change agent, but the occurrence goes by choice unseen? Seen and unseen events affect our nation at large, discrimination, activities in the workforce, the Black Lives Matter movement, the wealth of our neighborhoods, the ultimate culture of our ascribed race, and how far left we as citizens are willing to tolerate. As events continue to aggressively interject in our lives, what choice will we make on acceptance?

Chapter 1:

A NATION AT LARGE

A nation at large consists of behaviors, actions, occurrences, beliefs, observations, statements, and cause-and-effects that give rise to situations causing shifts within societies. These shifts may occur as the generations replace themselves and governmental authorities create less respect within the levels and branches of government. A nation at large seems to take on an unexplainable reason for why chaos and tragedies occur in our societies. Have you ever witnessed individuals, races, genders, and sexes commit contrary actions to as what you can do for your country, but there are no reprisals? These contrary acts or uncivil events may not reach the level of a slight crime. Acts are committed and citizens bear witness against the persons, groups, associations, or agencies witnessing the acts as uncivil. This chapter is designed to discuss any topic of my choice. My decision for a Nation at Large aligns with basically anything that goes on today in our society. Sometimes we as citizens may feel that no one cares. We may support behaviors, but a segment of the population equates behavior to race, gender, creed, and color. Please do not misunderstand my words. I have nothing against individuals desiring to protect their race, individuals classifying themselves as transgender, or even those non-believers in a higher being. I say discrimination is wrong for all, should not be tolerated, but I unequivocally believe, support, and standby the fact that it is wrong to equate a behavior on the level of equal racial issues. Transitions, modifications, additions, deletions, and stating your stance occur I believe far more often than we realize. Ultimately no matter what we decide, a person cannot change his or her race. You may obscure your appearance and look until lack of recognition, but you remain the integrity of your race.

Has 2020 uttered a need to relook at how race is defined? I am a Black male with a southern accent I thought would associate me with being Black. During my travels, while employed, a few senior managers I interacted with by phone did not realize I was Black. One person seemed to be extremely surprised. I was quite disappointed, or downright angry with the engagement. There was an expectation of race, and I am one that advocates race be extracted from formal documents with criteria. My expertise is not a scientist or medical expert. Conducting research and the mechanics of organization leadership from a management point of view are my expertise. As I researched information to write sustenance, 2020-2021 may be a time to relook the word race. I would advocate for the word—Race—to be removed from any human criteria. Races create thin lines for control, employment, disparity, brutality, fatality, negotiation, and riots. I would even say Race could be used to hold someone hostage. In place of all the uncivil behavior and unrest, delete race and lawfully establish character, knowledge, experience, and education as overt determinants.

Do not attempt to identify the narrative as a theme or a collection of themes. Look at the contents as something that makes you say umm, what the hell or I cannot believe that. Have you ever asked yourself how in the hell or why did such an uncivil behavior occur? A nation at large entails personal experiences, events in the world, political behavior, racial events, my advocations, and speculations about black-on-black crimes and Black lives. I often wonder if 2020 is a time for major reconstruction of our nation’s Constitution of the United States, the Star-Spangled Banner our national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the United States of America our country. Francis Scott Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner in 1814. What do you see here? Should the words be modified to indicate the land of the free is not 100% accurate. What about the Race that was enslaved during the defense of Fort Henry? Is it time to alter many of the words in the Declaration of Independence? It was written in this document all men are created equal and are endowed with inherent and inalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Proposed June 7, 1776 and adopted July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence did not make concessions for those individuals taken from Africa and sold into slavery. Throughout my reading, 1619 was the earliest date known for slavery, but Blacks were continually transported into slavery in volumes during the 17th and 18th centuries. Can we say with liberty and justice for all excluded blacks and requires alterations in kind? This is by no means a history lesson. With all the protesting, looting, racial demands, crimes, and civil unrest, this may be the prime opportunity, requirement, and time to right the wrongs for historical inaccuracies.

I normally watch local and world news stations for local and world events. News organizations such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC were not of interest to me. As the Presidential election became near, I found myself tuning in to these stations. This was surely a broadcast shocker for me. Would anyone believe that freedom of speech extended to news anchors berating, downgrading, criticizing, and labeling the highest position in our nation? No prominent figures were off limit. Even the term fake news had not been of interest to me. News anchors and journalists referred to things that appeared inappropriate for the highest office in our country. Calling our top leader specific derogatory names, I would ask if this is a