In 1961, President John F. Kennedy pledged that America would go to the moon. On September 12, 1962, Kennedy said:
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon.”
In 1969, America sent three white men to the moon; two of them felt the lunar surface under their feet. Inspiring.
Here’s the twist.
As late as 1968, America legally sanctioned sunset counties. What’s that? Towns and counties that legally banned black Americans from being in their localities after dark.
In 1968, America stood on the brink of sending three white men 238,855 miles from home. In the same year, black America was still waiting to feel at home.
Todays iPhone possesses more computing power than our first manned mission to the moon, but we can’t figure out how to keep unarmed black men from being killed by police?
Houston we have a problem.
1968 was twelve years before I was born and I had never heard of a sunset counties before today.
I’m ashamed.
Ten years before I was born, Gil Scott-Heron wrote these words:
A rat done bit my sister Nell (With whitey on the moon)
