Lament for Charleston

Of the many powerful things I’ve read online about what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic (I’m in Ireland this week), this piece by Navajo Christian leader Mark Charles stands out. Quotable:

I lament the words of our political candidates who promise to lead America back to its former “greatness”, ignorant of the fact that much of America’s “greatness” was built on the exploitation and dehumanization of its people of color.
I lament that today the dominant culture in America is in shock because last night in Charleston South Carolina one individual committed a single evil and heinous act of violence, while minority communities throughout the country are bracing themselves because the horrors of the past 500 years are continuing into their lifetime.
I lament with every person and community, throughout the history of this nation, who, due to the color of their skin, had to endure marginalization, silence, discrimination, beatings, lynching, cultural genocide, boarding schools, internment camps, mass incarceration, broken treaties, stolen lands, murder, slavery and discovery.
Today I lament that the United States of America does not share a common memory and therefore is incapable of experiencing true community.