On June 29th I got a full-body MRI, a magnetic resonance imaging scan which is a procedure to take pictures of the body’s interior. Before and afterward, I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. I almost gave up within the first 5-8 minutes. I felt constricted, restricted, and irritated. I listened to Lil Baby, reminding myself that each of his songs is about 3 minutes long, and I needed to listen to about 10-12 of them to get through the MRI. I also thought about the 30 minutes of jogging I would do, followed by a walking break as I train for my annual Peachtree Road Race.
Why was I feeling so impatient to get something so important done? I had to realize that my constant attention to answering emails, overuse of social media, and craving for it were a cause of my lack of patience during this much-needed MRI.
The wait for the results was worth it. I don’t have cancer.
I was born and raised in Zone 1 Bankhead, Atlanta. I am a Grady Baby. I was educated in Atlanta Public Schools and played my foundational years of sports in Atlanta Parks and Recreation.
I am 47 years young today, and as I drove through Bankhead today, it looked worse than it did when my young mother and father were making ends meet while raising me.
“Like race, the ghetto is a social construct.” – Sheryll Cashin
Before race is about people, it is about power.
Atlanta is a racist city in a racist state and we can do better. We must do better.
We have global power in Atlanta, yet if you are born into poverty, you only have a four percent chance of making it out.
We have money in Atlanta, yet we are number one among American cities for income inequality based on race.
We have many nonprofits in Atlanta, yet the several of the active offenders in Georgia reside in Atlanta zip codes 30310, 30311, 30315, 30318 and 30331.
Racism is about influence (relationships) and affluence (money). You cannot fight racism without a lot of both.
Atlanta needs an MRI.
Getting an MRI was nerve-racking because if something wrong is detected it means lots of upcoming and possibly ongoing treatments.
It felt good getting a good bill of health, and it energized me to be productive and not just busy with my life because tomorrow is not promised. Productivity is connected to doing things on purpose with purpose rather than being busy, which can cause stress and a loss of time, energy, and money.
M – Martin Luther King, JR. was a master orator who made racists sick using sharp, convicting, plain words.
R – Ruby Doris Smith Robinson was a respected resistor, a civil rights and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, leader.
I – Ida B. Wells was an investigative journalist.
Atlanta needs these types of people today so that we can cease to be racist. Atlanta needs an MRI to expose the truth about why African-Americans live in such poverty in the inner city of Atlanta. And how that poverty is in lockstep with the amount of crime.
Who among us is most like Martin, Like Ruby, Like Ida?
Which one are you?
Photo Credit: iSmooth