MICHAEL FERGUSON II: A family reunion, an AR-15, and the truth America must face

In the 250th year of this nation’s founding, many have commented on the significance of America’s anniversary. There will be speeches, celebrations, patriotic songs, fireworks, and reflections on the meaning of freedom.

Yet I find myself once again with the task of speaking from a perspective too often silenced, minimized, or explained away. As a citizen of southwest Georgia, this hits close to home.

Lee County has now made national news because of an incident that should disturb every person of conscience. A black family that had gathered for a reunion — a moment meant for love, laughter, memory and generational connection — was allegedly confronted by racial slurs, gunfire, body armor, and an AR-15-style rifle.

A family reunion should never become a battlefield.

W.E.B. Du Bois captured the contradiction of the black experience in America when he wrote: “One ever feels his twoness — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two
unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone
keeps it from being torn asunder.”

That twoness remains painfully relevant. Black Americans are expected to believe in the promise of America while repeatedly being forced to defend our right to simply exist within it. We are told to celebrate progress, and, yes, gains have been made. But the deeper truth is that we should not have to fight for gains concerning rights that were inherently ours from the beginning.

This nation’s creed declares the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those words were not meant to be seasonal. They were not meant to apply only when black citizens are quiet, agreeable or invisible. They were not meant to disappear when a black family gathers in a front yard, celebrates kinship, and enjoys the peace promised to every American household.

What allegedly happened in Leesburg is not merely a verbal altercation. When racial slurs are paired with an AR-15-style rifle and body armor, the matter moves beyond disagreement. It becomes racial intimidation. It becomes domestic terror in its most recognizable form. It becomes a reminder that while America prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence, black families are still being forced to demand the most basic independence of all: the right to live without fear.

This is why language matters. This is why truth matters. This is why we cannot sanitize racial violence until it becomes more comfortable for public consumption.

I salute my fellow veteran who, while armed, returned fire and injured the coward who
allegedly attacked his family. In that moment, the oath to defend this nation against foreign and domestic threats was not theoretical. It was met with courage, restraint and the lawful defense of innocent life.

Let us be clear: Black families have no desire to live in a state of war. We desire peace, safety, dignity and the full protection of the law. But when terror arrives armed, armored, and determined to harm innocent people, no family should be expected to stand defenseless and die.

That veteran’s response should remind America of a hard truth: Black citizenship includes the right to self-defense. The Constitution does not stop at the edge of a black neighborhood, a black church, a black home or a black family reunion.

The black experience in America has always carried the burden of proving loyalty to a nation that has too often failed to prove equal loyalty in return. And yet, despite slavery, segregation, racial terror, redlining, voter suppression, mass incarceration, and modern political hostility, black America has continued to believe, build, serve, vote, pray, fight, forgive and lead.

That is not weakness. That is strength.

But strength should not be mistaken for silence. Forgiveness should not be mistaken for permission. Patience should not be mistaken for surrender.

The accused in this case placed many lives in danger. Although no death occurred, that was not because of any lack of effort on his part. When a man allegedly brings racial hatred, body armor, and an AR-15-style rifle to a family gathering, the community has every right to demand accountability. He should be prosecuted and, if convicted, punished to the full extent of the law.

In this 250th year, America must decide whether its founding words are ceremonial decorations or living obligations. If life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness means anything, it must mean that black families in Leesburg, Albany, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, and every corner of this nation have the right to gather without being targeted, threatened, or terrorized.

We are Americans. We are descendants of people who built, bled, prayed, labored, fought, served and died in this land. Our claim to this nation is not borrowed. It is not conditional. It is not up for debate. And neither is our right to live.

We will be following this case closely. Justice must not be negotiated, minimized, or softened for public comfort. Govern yourselves accordingly.