Nov 4, 2021 6 min read

Dumb and dumber has no place in American society or its democracy. The real America must stand up, take a stand for truth and honesty. The insurrection on Jan. 6. has produced many lenses with different perspectives. However, my Black perspective is my experience and mine alone.

The insurrectionist mindset required to storm the nation’s Capitol was blatant white supremacy, an act of white privilege and entitlement. Real America must see the insurrection not from Fox and Friends, CNN’s or Donald Trump’s slant but from the heart and soul of America’s melting pot. This melting pot is America’s real greatness. This greatness didn’t start with Trump’s “Make America Great Again.” America has always been great and will always be the pillar of the world. If we wake up before it’s too late, reality and truth will prevail.

Ponder if Black Lives Matters, the American Indian, Hispanic or Asian Americans decided to storm the nation’s capital. The outcome would have been radically different for Black Lives Matter. To the insurrectionist, from my Black perspective, get back in line (wait your turn for American justice). You can’t just jump to the front of the line because you think you have white privilege or entitlement.

In January and February, I lost seven friends and relatives I knew for more than 53 years. Three of the deaths were coronavirus-related. These deaths that occurred during the insurrection, the growing racial divide in America, police brutality of Black America, caused me to do some serious soul reflection of what’s really important in life. My friend of 53 years, Alvin Renick, who passed from COVID-19, called me in January to tell me he was in the hospital with the virus. He was short of breath and having difficulty talking. The call ended after a short conversation. After I got off the phone, I said to another friend that my spirit told me I should have shared with Al how profound and important the three years we shared going to the University of Michigan football games were. These treasured moments included attending the 2007 Michigan Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, Calif., the University of Michigan being my alma mater. My friend said I shouldn’t feel badly because I didn’t want to make him feel he might be dying. He did die, though, and I didn’t get a chance to share what was in my heart. Maybe it would have been just what he needed to hear before his death.

That traumatic experience triggered other thoughts about the insurrection, coronavirus, health and wealth disparity in America. One other profound reflection was my childhood relationships with real American patriots who truly make up the fabric of this country, not the ill-advised, fake, stop-the-steal lie by the so-called patriots who were the disgruntled, white supremacists frustrated with government/bureaucracy. Again, they should get back in line and wait their turn, like all the other races of people waiting for the scale of justice to swing in their favor.

That brings me to the real reason for this piece. As I said, my friend left this life without me telling him what was on my heart. At 73 years old, I don’t want to leave this life and miss the opportunity to share my Black experience with my white brothers and sisters from Washington, Pa. To the parents, family and offspring of John West, David Sweet, John Rankin, Ed Fonner, Tony Sacco, John Kazarick, Ricky Zacoura and Patty George, Sheryl Pence, Barron Johnson, Tom and Linda Berk, Tom Ramsey, Donnie Coon and his wife, Denny Coon, Linda Coon, Gary Wright and his wife, John Wright and wife and Linda Wright, Edward Jacobs and many others: I honor and thank you for your kindness and your humanity toward me during the school years of 1960-66 in Washington. Your spirit of being a real American patriot has enriched my life. More importantly, my personal life was forever changed by your kindness, love that was free from racist behavior. My hometown experience was my guiding light in terms of race relations and my perception of humanity that I carried throughout life.

I would also like to acknowledge two very special Bruce Street neighbors: Evert Richmond, as I walked by his house going to school or from practice where I was a three sports letterman at Washington High School. Mr. Richmond made me feel important and his humanity toward me was exceptional. He showed an interest in how my day was by asking how my practices went – a genuine brotherly love for mankind. The second was Bobby Richardson. As a young Black man I was fascinated with his Corvettes and muscle cars. It seemed as if he washed them every day and he allowed me to help. Bobby Richardson never projected or demonstrated privilege or entitlement. He made me believe I could drive a Corvette or muscle car one day. In fact, my dream of owning a Corvette was fulfilled when I drove a 2006 spruce green Corvette off the showroom floor of the Al Serra dealership in Grand Blanc, Mich. In 2008, because of the inspiration I got from Bobby, I went back to Al Serra and bought a silver Corvette. Many years later I told my brother, who still lives in Pennsylvania, to make sure he told Bobby Richardson that I said thanks for giving an ambitious young Black youth a vision of hope and inspiration.

My introduction to race relationships and humanity was demonstrated by my mother when she saw from her kitchen window a white woman catch on fire as she attempted to grill in her back yard. My mother rushed to her aid with a blanket. The fact that this lady, Becky, was white didn’t matter to my mother. This experience was particularly profound because the other neighbors who witnessed her on fire were white but went inside their homes, leaving Becky burning and running in circles for her life. Becky and my mother became best friends over the years. At my mother’s home going, Becky let the world know this lady saved her life when no one else would.

America, we have been led into darkness. The world sees this darkness. Russia and China, our adversaries, see this divided nation in a weakened state can only become an opportunity for our adversaries worldwide to challenge us when we are a racially divided nation.

William E. Sams Sr. is one of 12 children born to Elizabeth and George Sams Sr. of Washington and a 1966 graduate of Washington High School. He lives in Grand Blanc, Mich.