The Problem of the 21st Century
Halford H. Fairchild, Ph.D. lives in California
By Halford H. Fairchild, Ph.D.
The problem of the world
Is the problem of race
From London to L.A.,
We see it every place.
DuBois said it best
A century ago:
The color line is something
That just has to go!
From Africa, Asia
To the Islands of the Sea
The problem of race
Is deep in you and me.
The history of the Western World
Is one of exploitation.
Cultural genocide
And extermination.
Today we hear
A Bootstraps Metaphor
“Pull yourselves up!
You won’t be so poor!”
But the winners of the race war
Were not meritorious.
“Might makes right!”
Made them victorious.
For hundreds of years,
And even today,
People were hunted
Killed and enslaved.
This is how
The west was won:
Racism justified
The use of the gun.
Most of us have
A certain forgetfulness
We tend to believe in
The correctness of Whiteness.
What we need to do
Is rewrite history
So people of color
Can claim their humanity.
What we seek
Is a brand new day
Where all on Earth
Can hopefully say:
“I have what I need
And I need no more!
Let us celebrate
The end of war!”
This is the vision
I want to leave you with:
A world at peace
And love in our midst.
We hope one day
That the problem of race
Will be solved
So we each have a place
In a world at peace
And social harmony
White, Black, Red, Yellow, Brown:
A new unity.
In H.H. Fairchild (Ed.), (Re)Solving violence in America (2nd edition). Delhi: Indo American Books.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336279223_The_Problem_of_the_21st_Century