NO REST FOR THE WEARY

international | labor | repost Wednesday November 28, 2007 12:18 by SUNCERE ALI SHAKUR

NO REST FOR THE WEARY

My name is Suncere Ali Shakur I am a 36 old African American I live here in the Mountain of Asheville N.C.I have been a grassroots activist for peace and justice for over 15yrs. I just recently moved back to Asheville after going to New Orleans 3 days after Katrina as a first responder

.I spent almost two years there as a volunteer and what I saw while there tested me in ways I never imagine, there in New Orleans I learned that I was still a subjugated person but not only in New Orleans but as I reflected back on my whole life as a black male I had never been free no matter were I lived.

My name is Suncere Ali Shakur I am a 36 old African American I live here in the Mountain of Asheville N.C.I have been a grassroots activist for peace and justice for over 15yrs. I just recently moved back to Asheville after going to New Orleans 3 days after Katrina as a first responder

.I spent almost two years there as a volunteer and what I saw while there tested me in ways I never imagine, there in New Orleans I learned that I was still a subjugated person but not only in New Orleans but as I reflected back on my whole life as a black male I had never been free no matter were I lived.

Not that I was under any illusion before New Orleans that I was free in the first place , but at least in DC were I am from I could pretend but there in New Orleans (pretending) no such doing.

I remember seeing bodies of black men with whole in the back of there heads cause white vigilantes were free to executed them at will and these same men patrolled the street were we set up our volunteer camp at a friends home in Algiers on the West Bank.

While I was there I set up six distribution centers in five different parishes. To get in most of these communities I had to go through a check points then I still had a chance of being taking in by police for being a looter .

So I would find a church that was not being used and turn them into hurricane relief centers were food water clothing flood buckets and also basic medical care that checked blood pressure heartbeat and diabetes.

The places I went to were Morgan City , Houma La., St Bernard areas includes Violet and Phoenix, .Plaquemine Parrish West Bank and East Bank, 9th ward and lower 9th ward.

New Orleans taught me that in the face of racism those great things can be done by people both white and black and that through struggle we can grow together as one.
New Orleans taught me that in the face of such ugliness that you can do two things run or fight .Myself and many other chose to stand with the people of New Orleans and fight for peace and justice. After 15 months I was burn out depressed and to tell you the truth I could have use a little hope.

I had put on 125 pounds had high blood pressure stage one diabetes and I was emotionally damage to the point were I was pissing myself and every time I saw a white person I would quickly try to avoid them because I thought that they were going to call the police on me and the police would beat me or kill me. I was not that far off because this is what I saw other people of color go through in the City were Civil Rights forgotten.

So my friends put together money for a train ticket and sent me back to Asheville to get away from the racism and heal. I had no money because I was volunteer and sleep outside in a tent and ate what ever came in off the relief truck. I guess some of you are wondering how I managed to put on 125lbs I drove 1,400 miles a week and worked 7days week none stop for almost two years.
New Orleans showed me that not only black people suffer in America but poor white people catch hell too as do the Native American folks I worked with in the Bayou (peace out to the good people of Houma La.)

In a way I guess you can say I serve my country in her time of need and so did countless others.
I guess you can say I try to helped preserve the very thing American troops are fighting for abroad Peace and Justice and Hope for a better life.
I also realize that with God anything is possible and we are never alone not even in our greatest hour of need as long as we are open to him and to each other.

I came back home to Asheville in an emotional wreck feeling guilty that I did not do enough to help get people there homes back.
The truth of the matter I did what I could and today I am fine with that even though I still suffer from depression from time to time.
I am stronger today.
I wrote this not because I was feeling like I was ready to author my experiences and share them with people.

I wrote this because like many of the poor and oppress people that fight in our military for a freedom that they do not get to enjoy at home.
After all of that I had been through and had accomplished in New Orleans I too risked my life fighting for a freedom that I can not enjoy, freedom from racism here at home and of all places it found me in one of the most progressive cities on the east coast inside a CO-OP.
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The idea was to lay low, heal no more activism, I said to self, self let start thinking of a good job house and kids. Maybe its still possible to obtain the American Dream. Even though I had no money and little help

I got back on my feet I got a place thanks to Ameri-Corp who was paying me a small stipend to continue to do mediation here in Asheville I was able to get a room across the street from the Orange Peel and next door to the French Broad CO-OP were I worked for four months before they fired me for not cleaning the Operations managers toilet .

This is way I am writing this story because the plan was to lay low and heal no more activism I was hiding from the world in my room and working my job cleaning toilets and changing trash bags for $7.85 cents and was doing a pretty good job of it to according to the grocery manger Chris ask him how good of a job I did he will tell you what he told me he not firing me because I was ever late , I was not being fired because I did not hard worker he admits I worked hard matter of fact your dependable and your are a man of integrity , confused join the party.

Ok, so Monday the Nov.12th I was off from work feeling really sick since I live next door to the CO-OP I went next door to get some ginger to burn the cold out.

There I was stopped by Steve the operation manager of the French Broad CO-OPand he asked me if I could clock in and mop the second floor and clean the bath room up there too. So even through I was sick, hick I still can make few dollars. So I did the job it took maybe 45 minutes Steve walks in the bathroom while the floor was still wet and turn around and smile at me and walk into his office as to say good job or at lest that how I took it
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So I was surprised the next day when I was told by Chris that Steve was really pissed at me for not cleaning the bathroom. I told Chris that Steve must be mistaken because I clean the bathroom and I went into detail how I clean it. I was a little up set because I could not understand why my action had would warrant him being upset with me plus I did this on my day off.

So Chris asked me are you calling Steve a liar and I was like what else do you want me to say I cleaned the bathroom , so are you calling my boss a liar and I broke down and said the only thing I could say was yes.

So I after that he gave me a hand written schedule for the next three weeks and that was the end of that or at lest I thought so. I came into work later that night Steve and Chris was there I finish my task asked if my supervisor could she check over my work she cleared me and I went home.

The next morning coming from the YMCA pool on my way to work I was met in the CO-OP parking lot by Chris and told that I was fired because I had called had boss a liar and that I did not have the attitude that they wanted to have on the other side of the collective bargaining table .

All this because I had a slit disagree with management not hardly they never intended to hire me any way simply because I was this big black man scary man whom they were intimidate by. It was clear cut racism you don't that type of thing to a do hard working men like that.

Other example of racism like me and the other black man that works there stop to talk after working our tails off for four and management would came by and tell us to broke it up and move on and get back to work the other white employees that did the same thing never was treated in that way.

When I came in to work the first thing Chris would do and to look at the clock and then and tells me how lucky I was that I was not late. One time I can remember how when I fist started there management had other employees watching me and they did a piss poor job about spying on me because it was so obvious .

I believe that was held to a higher standard than the other employees because I am black and that no matter what I did they still was going fire me .What does that say to our youth that you can get a job work hard and if the management does not like the way you look he can fire you. So I guess you can tell that my American Dream was a short nap because I intend to leave a legacy of fighting for peace and Justice and fighting racism at every turn.

If you ever been mistreated for what ever reason this goes out to you, Keep Loving, Keep Fighting
And to the French Broad CO-OP Management Chris Roland & Steve Watts you may not be burning crosses in my yard or blowing up little black girl, but as long as you use your white privileged to deprive me of my basic right to and earn a wage and live as a free man of color you still tow the line for people like Bull Connors and the racist environment down in Jena La.

This letter is not an open indictment of the good people of people Asheville NC I have to say that. We all suffer from racism its no good for anybody white or black. I still believe in the Dream that the Great DR. King Spoke about.

And I guess what Steve and Chris showed me is if you are and opponent of racism there is no place you can hide and no matter how tired you maybe there is no rest for the weary.