The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

It wasn’t too long ago that a little known event referred to as the Civil War took place in this country. This event served as a catalyst that eventually led to the freedom of black slaves that were held captive under the tyranny of slavery. Many soldiers, both black and white, lost their lives in this war so that a system that was fueled by slavery could be eradicated.

Because freedom was seen as such a priceless commodity to African-Americans of that day, many of them pressed for the opportunity to fight not only in the Civil war, but in many of the wars/battles in which the United States was involved. These great men and women will always hold a special place in my heart. Although they lived in a country that considered them less than human, they still made the decision to put their lives on the line for the greater good- the hope for a brighter day for the generations to follow. For the ones that paid the ultimate price: your lives were not given in vain.

For years, Iraq has harbored terrorists whose whole mission is to bring death and destruction to the free world. Right after the events of 9/11, it was determined that: #1, Osama bin Laden was responsible; and #2, Iraq could have served as a staging ground for 9/11. Although the latter is up for debate, one thing is certain: Saddam Hussein provided a safe haven for terrorists while keeping his people under the boot of oppression.

Like the African slaves during the pre-civil war era, The Iraqi people were subject to things like starvation, murder, rape, torture, and other inhumane treatment

Over the years, many in the African-American community have aligned themselves with oppressed people around the world. Haitians, Cubans, the Palestinian people, Sudanese, South Africans and others have all welcomed us with open arms as we joined our voices with theirs in their quest for freedom and equality (unless, of course the Iraqi people do not constitute as being “people of color”). What I found to be strange was that when it came to the issue of the liberation of the Iraqi people, those same voices from the African-American community began to call for immediate end to the conflict “lest more innocent American lives (in particular African-American solders) are destroyed in vain.” Now, I will admit that the top priority of the US was not to liberate the Iraqi people. It was to get rid of Saddam and the terror cells that were in that country preparing to strike the US at any time. But one cannot deny (and the US knew this) that the liberation of the Iraqi people was directly tied to the removal of Saddam Hussein. Yet, many African-Americans chose to hide behind their negative sentiments for President Bush and take a more “softer” approach to deal with an evil dictator that brutalized his people on a daily basis. There were no emergency flights to Iraq by Maxine Waters to check on the many human rights violations caused by Hussein. Al Sharpton did not go on a hunger strike; not a single resolution was drawn by any of the main civil rights organizations demanding for the liberation of the Iraqi people.

Have we as African-Americans come so far that we have forgotten all of the lives that were lost (both white and black) during the civil war so that WE could be liberated from a tyrannical system? I assure you, just as those lives were given in honor, the same applies to our men and women in Iraq today. If you do not believe me , ask the Iraqi man who had to endure sleepless nights knowing that his wife was being raped in one of Saddam’s “rape rooms”. Ask the Iraqi mother who could not comfort her son because he was under heavy guard while being tortured. There are many, many stories like these that are now only memories thanks to the sacrifice of those soldiers that we say have died in vain. If the “unnecessary” loss of young African-American lives is to be of great concern to those who choose to politicize this war in the black community, then one does not need to look far to see the hundreds of young African-American lives that are snuffed out year after year throughout the streets in America.

As long as there are oppressed people in the world, those of us that enjoy freedom’s blessings need to do whatever it takes to see to it that those people get to bask in freedom’s warm glow. We as African-Americans need to be leading that charge.