On September 10th 2025 Political Pundit Charlie Kirk was brutally assassinated at Utah Valley University. This event has caused so much division between millions of people in this country and its mainly between two sides. Democrats vs Republicans. Right vs Left. I did not agree with any of Charlie Kirks political views but he did not deserve to die the way he did. I will never celebrate anyone's death. I'm truly one of the people that is not afraid of having the hard conversations about this country and the political climate we are in. The reality is the conversations need to be had, we must have the dialogue.
Charlie Kirk was a very controversial political pundit. Did he deserve to be killed absolutely not. As I mentioned earlier I will never celebrate anyone's death. While I do feel for his wife and kids. For the first time in my life I can't even describe how I feel. Because on one hand he's a human being that was a father and a husband and had people who lost a loved one in a very traumatizing and brutal way. On the other hand he was a guy that pushed racial divide, and legitimately attacked pretty much every minority and community he deemed lesser. Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, Jewish community etc. and I sit back and watch how this man is being treated as a hero when he created so much divide.
Now from the political standpoint I have a very intellectual grasp of it because of my upbringing. I was brought up by grandparents who were born and raised in Jim Crow south Mississippi. A time where blacks were not allowed to walk down certain areas of town or even look at a white person without the possibility of facing repercussions. My late grandmother was arrested in Port Gibson Mississippi for peacefully protesting and marching. I was raised by parents who grew up in the heart of the civil rights movement in 1960's Mississippi. I was raised in a family that dealt with all of these issues. My father in particular made sure I was well aware of these issues and that I understood the reality of my circumstances simply because I'm a black man in America. (Previous post I made years ago).
So when Charlie Kirk says things like "Martin Luther King was not a good person and doesn’t deserve a national holiday." It doesn't matter what context you’re using that in. That is extremely insulting to the black community especially people like my family. One of the main reasons I'm able to work where I want, walk where I want, sit down and eat at a restaurant of my choosing is because of the man who led the civil rights movement in Martin Luther King. When he says "I'm against the 1964 civil rights act" Again it doesn't matter the context you use that in. That is very insulting not just to the black community but all minority and marginalized communities. The reasons he was against the 1964 civil rights act because of the outcomes of that did not benefit the people that looked like him. When you compare Kirk to MLK and JFK that is insulting to our community because Kirk said things that was very insulting to my community while JFK put the foundation in place for the 1964 civil rights act which would be signed into law by Lyndon B Johnson after Kennedy's assassination. When Kirk says "Juneteenth should not be a federal holiday and I'm going to work. It's become a racial complaining day." Please understand how absolutely insulting that is to the black community. Juneteeth is a huge holiday in the black community becuase its a celebration of the end of American slavery on June 19th 1865.
This is why the dialogue and hard conversations must be had. The key to having these conversations is Listen to Understand Not Listen To Respond. Truly sit back and listen to the different communities of people and try to understand why they feel the way they do about certain things. The reason why so many people have to very different aspects of the very same issue is because we have very different personal experiences from the same exact situation. The reasons why the black community talks about Police brutality and why so many people on the opposite side of the spectrum have the complete opposite view of it, is simply because of our personal experiences. The reason why people say just comply and you will be fine is because their personal experiences with police tells them that. Every single time they encounter an officer if they comply they get to go home. The black community does not have that same experience. I personally myself have had encounters with an officer where I completely complied and if I even made a sudden movement it could have been very scary.
Try to understand why people feel the way they do about Charlie Kirk. There is a reason why entire Communities of people did not like him. It's because things he said may not have been insulting to you but it was very insulting to others. We will not get past the divide in this country until we understand this with mature dialogue and understanding. Because what people of all races, religion, and backgrounds need to understand all of this is distracting us from the real issue which is Economic Injustice which effects us all negatively. That is the real fight. These rich and powerful politicians on both sides and their even richer and more powerful lobbyist do not care about the middle class and poor. This is why Civil rights leaders like Fred Hampton and Martin Luther King were assassinated.
In the end I know people that have different political viewpoints than me and that is ok because I know they are good and decent human beings that do not cause harm in this world. More importantly they are willing to listen and understand. but if you refuse to see past your own views in light of others you're part of the problem regardless of what side of the spectrum you on.
This is Why Dialogue is Needed. Listen to Understand Not to Respond.
