Dear Friends,
I know I’m the last person you should have to listen to, just another middle-class white guy from Ohio who can never fully understand what it’s like to walk in your shoes. I’ve been privileged, and I know it. I’ve never had to face the kind of bigotry or systemic injustice you endure every day. The only reason I’ve had the opportunities I’ve had is because my dad, after being forced out of the ministry for standing up to the hypocrisy in his church, swallowed his pride and worked as a janitor to put me through college.
It was a humiliating job for a man who was once a respected teacher and man of faith, but he carried himself with more dignity than any of the stuffed suits who’d cast him aside. He cleaned their floors and emptied their trash, and through his sacrifice, he gave me a gift far greater than any paycheck: the chance to learn, to study, to understand the patterns of history. And it’s because of that education that I’m writing to you now, not to lecture, not to shame, but to share what I’ve seen and to tell you how deeply I wish I could do more.
What I’ve seen, what breaks my heart, is history repeating itself. Across the centuries, I’ve studied how empires rise and fall, how cultures are erased, and how people are reduced to slaves, not by accident, but by design. It always starts the same way: divide the people, stoke their fears, turn them against one another, and make them forget who the real enemy is.
That’s what I see happening now. I see a man who has repeatedly shown disdain for people like you, a man who called Haitians dog-eaters, who promised mass deportations, who discriminated against tenants based on their race. And yet, somehow, more of you, young Black men, Latino voters, people who should know better than anyone how the powerful prey on the vulnerable, chose to support him.
I don’t say this to judge you, and I mean no offense. I know the world is more complicated than any single vote, and I don’t claim to understand the weight of your decisions. But what I do know is this: the people at the top will never stop looking for someone to blame. First, they’ll come for the immigrants. Then the LGBTQ community. Then the outspoken activists. But soon enough, they’ll come for you, because they’ll always need someone to blame for their problems, someone to oppress, someone to pick their tomatoes or clean their mansions.
We’ve seen it before. The Confederate flags and monuments should remind us all that the past isn’t dead, it’s still being glorified, still being used as a weapon to divide us. When I see minorities supporting someone who would happily throw you under the bus, or into something worse, it feels like watching you lay down the tracks for the trains that could take you away.
It reminds me of the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”
This isn’t about me. This is about all of us. The system wants us to stay divided, to see each other as enemies instead of allies. But if we keep falling for that trap, we’re all going to lose.
When the of tree knowledge bears strange fruit, the seeds she spreads must share her wisdom.
I’m not here to apologize for my race or my privilege, but I am sorry, sorry for what’s already happened and for what’s likely coming. I’m sorry for not doing enough to change the world I was born into. I can’t fix everything, but I promise you this: I’ll lay down on the tracks to keep those trains from taking you. Until then, I’ll use whatever privilege I have to try to stop this madness before it’s too late.
With humility and hope,
R.L. Lawrence
P.S.
As a student of history, I feel I must offer you some advice based on what I’ve seen over the years: arm yourselves. Buy a gun, and learn how to use it responsibly to protect yourself and those you love. Do it now, while you still can, because history shows us that those in power will stop at nothing to consolidate control. There may come a time when they try to make it illegal for people like you to arm themselves, or worse, when they declare you “illegal” people altogether. Don’t let them strip you of the means to defend your freedom and your family.
This isn’t a call for violence; it’s a call for preparation. Because when history repeats itself, those who are prepared to stand their ground have the best chance of surviving it.