I want you to take a little trip with me. Let’s go to a parallel universe together. Everything there is as it is here with three exceptions: What if all white Americans here and now are black Americans there and then – and vice versa? What if everyone in this timeline of America who is a Democrat here is actually a Republican in the specific timeline of America that I’m referring to – and vice versa? What if rich folks here and now are poor there and then – and vice versa? Ladies and gentlemen, cast your gaze upon a unique dimension of the space/time continuum that I’ll call “50 shades of black.”

Don’t worry – you’re safe. Stand right beside me.

Now put on your thinking cap.

What if the most advanced civilizations on earth in ancient times were established by white people and history books in postmodern schools were willfully written by black people so those facts were not taught to white students in elementary, middle and secondary schools? If you were white and watching your children being denied knowledge of their cultural heritage, would you remain silent?

What if America’s founding fathers had all been black? What if the cancerous blight of slavery had been inflicted upon white European and Caribbean citizens who were stolen from their native lands and robbed of their language, culture, and system of faith in the process? What if those same black founding fathers – long revered as beacons of tolerance and vision – owned white slaves themselves? As a white citizen of America, would it alter your level of respect for the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation or the US Constitution? How would you feel if our duly-elected Senators and Congressmen – the vast majority of which were black – went out of their way to make it difficult for women, minorities (especially white folks), and young people to vote? Wouldn’t you protest, march, and rally to affect change?

What if Barry Odom was the first white President in this nation’s history? What if the Democratic Party – once the political party of inclusion, integration, and innovation – denied its proud history to focus on being the party of demonization, despair and denial. What if the democrats voted 58 separate times to repeal Odomcare? What if America’s white citizens were called takers and users? What if President Odom was constantly called communist, fascist, socialist, racist, apologist, and other names too abhorrent for print? What if that American President’s faith in God, love of America, and legitimacy as the leader of the free world was repeatedly called into question? Would you smirk then?

I’m going somewhere with this.

What if white people couldn’t breathe? What if black police officers throughout America displayed the propensity to harass, stop-and-frisk, and arrest unarmed white men without just cause? What if the events of Ferguson and Staten Island and Cleveland were events which resulted in the deaths of unarmed white teenagers and men? If, as a parent, you were concerned that a black George Zimmerman might follow and potentially harm your white son merely for walking through his own neighborhood, wouldn’t you be angry?

What if White History Month was every February? What if Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs) were still necessary as a lasting legacy to the dark days when white students (however gifted) were legally prohibited from attending American institutions of higher learning alongside blacks? Segregation, after all, was real. It was a thing.

What if “black power” was the battle cry white people heard as they were beaten, arrested, and fired upon by black police officers and National Guardsmen in the North during the 1960s simply for peacefully protesting? What if the civil rights movement was waged so that this great nation would grant the full citizenship rights to white Americans? What if Presidents Kennedy and Johnson – black Presidents who risked all politically – worked with Dr. Marty King, a white pastor and professor, to make the US a greater union? White is wonderful, too.

What if one percent of black Americans owned 50 percent of America’s wealth? Would the terms “wealth redistribution” and/or “living wage” still offend you?

What if brown-skinned women with dark brown eyes and natural black hair were the universally accepted standard of beauty? What if curvy, not thin, was in?

What if America’s prison population was mostly made up of white men who couldn’t vote, secure employment, or re-integrate in society after their release from prison? Would they be classified as the rightful victims of poor choices?

Let’s go home.

And… we’re back!

In dimensions imagined or real, people are people. We love and hate, rise and fall, live and die. Individually and collectively, we’re powerful yet powerless; righteous yet unrighteous; selfless yet selfish.

God grants us His unmerited grace, but we refuse to extend grace to each other. When will we learn? Will we ever learn?

A great deal of self-diagnosis is needed. Perhaps the only things that are 50 shades of black are our own hearts.

Civically, he is an active member of The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the 100 Black Men of Brooks-Grady-Thomas Counties, Inc.; the Thomasville Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance; the Thomas County branch of the NAACP; and the Thomas County Democratic Party – just to name a few. He serves on several Executive Boards – including the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council and the Thomasville Community Resource Center.

Literarily, Reverend Jones is a Pulitzer Prize nominated, Democratic Op-Ed Columnist with – and Special Contributing Reporter for – the Thomasville Times-Enterprise. Through syndication, his op-ed column is read throughout the East Coast. He currently serves as a featured writer for the online magazine GrayDaily.com, the online newspaper BlackStarNews.com, and the online magazine, ThyBlackMan.com. Reverend Jones’s articles have also been featured in the London, England-based online cultural magazine, WhatCulture.com. He has written for a variety of print magazines.

His social media links are as follows:

TWITTER: @RevArthurJones3

EMAIL: TCDPsecretary@gmail.com

LINKEDIN: A. Lavon Jones, III

RADIO SHOW LINK: WUTS.sewanee.edu (Mondays, 3:00-5:00pm Central time)

Arthur L. Jones, III

Writing since December 2015 · 1 story contributed