KeKe Palmer was Right. The Military Should Join Us! Pt. 2
“March with us! Please march with us!,” Keke Palmer passionately pleads with the National Guard during a George Floyd protest in Los Angeles, CA. She continues, “We have a president that’s trying to incite a race war. This is when you stand together with the community to stop the governmental oppression. We need you. March beside us. Make history with us, please. Let’s just do it.”
First of all, Keke BEEN that chick! I stan her! If you’re a real one, you recognize the real in Keke. Honey dumplin’ been outchea in these people streets being a voice for the unheard and speaking truth to life. This ain’t the “celeb for clout” corner. Keke has been speaking on colorism, sexual assault in the industry, Black Lives Matter and so much more. Even when it was unpopular and when people tried to drag her. I love her because she is never afraid to stand in her truth. She comes off as a person who is very mindful and intentional, someone who places great value on the inner being within herself and others. She's dope and I didn’t even mention her talents or the credits she has to her name. As an African American child star, she has been through a lot, which is probably an understatement, yet, through it all, she still exudes grace, confidence and continues to inspire with a boldness to be her authentic self.
It was this boldness that prompted her to speak directly to the guardsmen. This could have been potentially dangerous considering all the violence perpetuated by law enforcement nationwide since the onset of the protesting sparked by the killing of George Floyd.
Someone asked the guardsmen to take a knee. Keke said “That ain’t enough for me.” She’s one of my spirit humans. Her statements resonated with me because I was planning to speak on this very thing.
The military, specifically the National Guard, is a direct reflection of the community in which they serve. They are, for the most part, from the city or town in which they are stationed. Meaning they know the community. Their mothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, lovers and friends all reside within the community where they are stationed. In the event that Donald Trump deploys them into their own community, it would be very difficult to occupy and complete operations the same as they would in a foreign war zone. This is the very reason the POTUS was condemned by retired senior military leaders for ordering troops to control peaceful protesters near the White House on June 1, 2020.
It’s one thing to deploy the troops to provide relief to the community for Covid-19 efforts such as manning testing centers, giving out food and water and ensuring that the community is safe during quarantine; they can feel proud of their efforts in helping to secure our safety. But it is a whole other story when you tell those same troops to shoot at their neighbors.
New Orleans is as divided as any community in America and as a veteran who has served during a crisis, I have witnessed the darkness that some military members can show to specific segments of the community and that was heartbreaking alone. If the National Guard is a reflection of their communities, and the community is racist, then the National Guard will have racist elements in it as well. It then becomes a direct reflection of the police force with many members serving as both law enforcement and military servicemen.
I spent 13 years 3 months in the United States Air Force. 4 years active duty stationed at Ellsworth AFB, SD and 9 years 3 months in the Louisiana Air National Guard, which I spent the majority of working full time at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in New Orleans, LA. People often ask me why I didn’t finish up and retire. I keep it cute, no need to be bitter, but my truth is, a great part of my experience was traumatic. I experienced quite a bit of racism and that’s one of the main reasons I was running out of the door.That’s not everyone’s experience, but it was mine
People join the military for many reasons. Some are patriotic and want to protect the country. Some are following the legacy of parents and grandparents. Some are given the judicial option of joining the military or serving jail time. Some are running away from danger and/or abuse and seeking to create a new life for themselves. When I graduated high school, it was either music or the military. I had two brothers in the AF already. I didn’t want to waste money on college because I felt like I wasn’t ready. When the head of the local music label I was singing for was murdered, my “dad” chose for me. “You’re going to the Air Force.”
Once in, we are stripped of our identities and told that we belong to a family. Ya know! Kind of like a gang, but the best kind, fighting for liberty and freedom of the world but most of all for the red, white and blue. The land of the free and the home of the brave. What greater calling than to be a hero for your fellow countrymen. We are taught the history of the military and indoctrinated to the glory of blowing up our enemies for the greater good. All of that pumps you up and you're all “HOORAAHHH!”.
As an African American woman, and I can vouch for some of my African American brothers in arms, that whatever our reasons for joining, and after all of the subsequent training, we quickly found out that the military wasn't what we were brainwashed to believe it was in basic training.
That uniform, no matter how many people say, “Thank you for your service”, when you are wearing it, it did not make you a true American citizen worthy of the dignity and respect of everyone else fighting under that flag. There was still a chain of command, still classism, still sexism and yes, still racism. It didn't protect us from...America.
The sooner military members and law enforcement learn that they are being used as dispensable pawns in a game of power grab for the wealthy, used to bully the world, both foreign and domestic and understand that as a citizen, (even though when in uniform, we are no longer classified as civilians, which is a travesty when you think about it) the laws that are implemented and enforced by you still affects you and your family. You are not immune from them. You can feel invincible while you're in that uniform and feel like you are protected under those threads, but the truth is, YOU ARE ONE OF US and you DEFINITELY should be MARCHING WITH US.