"Whenever I hear someone express hatred for any race, I wonder what it is in themselves they hate so much. One cannot express hatred for others unless he makes use of the hatred within himself. To hate is to be enslaved by evil."
My boyhood mentor and best friend, the old black man called Jaybird, had a wry sense of humor, the kind that derives from worldly wisdom and keen insight into human nature. In a joking but serious way, he often pointed out that no racial friction would exist in this country if folks of different color didn’t resort to prejudice, bigotry, and hatred, but learned to laugh at each other’s frailties, foibles and follies.
His understanding of equality had nothing to do with skin color. He didn’t believe lazy slobs, content to sit on their haunches, do nothing, and live off a dole funded by working folks, was anywhere near equal to those working folks.
Jaybird believed that fate deals everyone a hand with which to play the game of life, and in terms of equality he ranked people according to what they did with that hand — how they used what they had to the best of their ability. Often he reminded me that color will matter only on Judgment Day, and that all souls will be the same color in God’s eyes.
He would have agreed with American writer Thomas Dreier, who said, “Whenever I hear someone express hatred for any race, I wonder what it is in themselves they hate so much. One cannot express hatred for others unless he makes use of the hatred within himself. To hate is to be enslaved by evil.”
Dreier held an interesting theory about how people interact chemically with each other: “Watch people working or playing together and you’ll be startled to discover how ‘chemical’ are their reactions to one another. Once you understand this human chemistry, you’ll be baffled less often by people, and become less impatient or angry at things they do that you may perceive as annoying. You’ll judge them for what they are — different kinds of human chemicals, obeying the laws of their natures as you and I obey the laws of our natures.”
As did Jaybird, Dreier must have felt that people should laugh — not at each other — but with each other, and that they should be able to laugh at themselves as well, in a self-deprecating manner. Both men would have belly-laughed at the following comparison entitled “Who’s Colored?” written by an African-American:
“When I was born, I was black; when I grew up, I was black; when I go into the sun, I remain black; when I’m cold, I’m black; when I’m scared, I’m black; when I’m sick, I’m black; when I bruise, I’m black; and when I die, I’ll be black.
“Now, consider white folks. When they’re born, they’re pink; when they’re grown, they might be tan, mottled, or creamy; when they go out into the sun, they redden; when they’re cold, they’re blue; when they’re scared, they’re pale; when they’re sick, they’re green; when they bruise, they’re purple; and when they die, they’re gray. And regardless of race, when there’s nothing left but bones — we’re all white.
“So my question is, who’s colored?”
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
