Many years ago, in the early nineties, I had the honor of introducing the late Honorable Maynard Jackson. Mayor Jackson came to my company and delivered the Keynote address for Black History Month. During my introduction, I said that his election as the first black Mayor of Atlanta in 1973, signified a beginning of a new era in the South. One where we could move on, and forgive and forget. When he took the podium, Mayor Jackson quickly refuted my “forgive don’t forget” introduction and said, “Young man, we can forgive, but we must never allow ourselves to forget.”
During the past few years, we have seen what some have termed racial divisiveness. Some even say that it is the worst that it has ever been. Apparently those who believe this are not very good students of history. Any racial divisiveness that we are experiencing today, pales in comparison to that of what we have seen in the past. However, because of Social Media, fanaticism, hate speech and the like, it could easily get out of hand.
That is why I now stop and correct those who tell me to “move on” or “get over it”. I learned a great lesson from Maynard Jackson those many years ago, one that I should have already known. We should not treat such responses as trivial. We should absolutely not move on. We should never forget our past. Not for one minute. Not for one second.
We Learn From the Past!
The late poet and Philosopher, George Santayana once wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” As we look over history, we see events that shaped our world that must never be forgotten. And it seems those that make the most indelible mark in our memories are the most horrific, heinous and atrocious acts that humans could have committed.
And so, when someone says, “get over it, move on, let it go,” remind them of the memorable words written by George Santayana. Illustrate to them why, we must never, ever, forget; the bodies of millions of innocent Jews lying in mass graves; the images of black men and women, lynched and their bodies swinging from the trees because of mob rule; the systematic execution of thousands of Armenians in Turkey; rivers in Uganda flowing with the bodies and blood of thousands, because of a mad man in power; the brutalization and killings of hundreds of thousands in Rwanda because of a media generated hate campaign; the killings of thousands in Syria by their own regime. Sadly, the list is seemingly endless. When we forget, mad men rule. Bad things happen to good people. So, no, we must never forget.
