‘White Ethiopians’ Singing Hymn to St. Michael in Ethiopic/ Geez | የቅዱስ ሚካኤል ግዕዝ መዝሙር በነጭ ኢትዮጵያውያን አንደበት

❖ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ክርስትናን የተቀበለ ሁሉ የክርስቶስ ቤተሰብ ነው፤ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው!

❖ የኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ክርስትናን የሚቀበል ሁሉ የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ነው፤ ስለዚህ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው! የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ መባል እና የቤተሰቡ አባል መሆን ትልቅ ክብር ነው። የትም ብትሄድ ወይም ማን ብትሆን ሁልጊዜም የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ትሆናለህ። ሁሉም አማኞች የቸሩ ጌታ የልዑል እግዚአብሔር ልጆች ናቸው።

በኢየሱስ የሚያምኑ ብቻ የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ይሆናሉ። የዮሐንስ ወንጌል ምዕራፍ ፩፥፲፪፡፲፫፤

“ለተቀበሉት ሁሉ ግን፥ በስሙ ለሚያምኑት ለእነርሱ የእግዚአብሔር ልጆች ይሆኑ ዘንድ ሥልጣንን ሰጣቸው፤ እነርሱም ከእግዚአብሔር ተወለዱ እንጂ ከደም ወይም ከሥጋ ፈቃድ ወይም ከወንድ ፈቃድ አልተወለዱም።”

በዓለም ላይ ያለ ማንኛውም ክርስቲያን የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ነው። አማኞቹ በአፍሪካ፣ በአሜሪካ፣ በአውሮፓ፣ በእስያ ወይም በአውስትራሊያ ቢኖሩ የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ናቸው። የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ በማንኛውም ባህል፣ ጎሣ፣ ዕድሜ፣ ወይም ጾታ የተገደበ አይደለም (ገላትያ ፫፥፳፰)። በእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ ውስጥ ያለ ሰው ሁሉ እኩል ነው (ሮሜ ፪፲፩)።

የማያምኑ ሰዎች በክርስቶስ ስቅለት፣ ቀብር እና ትንሣኤ ላይ እምነት ስላላደረጉ የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አባል አይደሉም። አማኝ ከሆኑ ግን እነሱም የእግዚአብሔር አምላክ ቤተሰብ አባላት መሆን ይችላሉ። የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አባል መሆን ድንቅ ነገር ነው። የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ከመሆን የበለጠ ምንም ነገር የለም።

እነዚህ ፈረንጅ ወንድሞች ኢትዮጵያን፣ ተዋሕዶ ክርስትናን እና የግዕዝ ቋንቋን ለመክዳት ከወሰኑት ጋላ–ኦሮሞዎች ይልቅ የክርስቶስ አምላክ ቤተሰብ አካል ለመሆን በመብቃታቸው በጣም የታደሉ ናቸው። ከሃዲዎቹ ግን ወዮላቸው!

❖ Everyone who accepts Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity is part of the Family of God Egziabher, and He or She is Ethiopian! It is a great honor to be called a child of God Egziabher and to be a part of His family. No matter where you go or who you are, you will always be part of God’s family. All believers are children of the Good Lord God Almighty Egziabher.

Only those who place faith in Jesus become part of God’s family. John 1:12-13 says;

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

If you are a Christian, then you are a child of God and you are part of God’s family. You will never lose your place in God’s family as once a person is saved; they are always saved. Nobody can lose their salvation as salvation is a gift from God. Salvation is not based on anything we do, but rather on placing faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Unbelievers are not part of the family of God because they have not placed faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. If they become a believer, then they too can become members of God’s family. Becoming a member of the family of God is a wonderful thing. There is nothing greater than being part of the family of God.

It is a great honor and privilege to know God as your Father. Being a member of the family of God includes knowing that you are eternally and forever loved by God Almighty. It means that you can never lose your place in His family. The concept of being part of “a family” can be foreign to many of us.

Broken homes, hatred between family members, or never knowing your parents can cause an individual to be skeptical of the idea of a “family.” In God’s family, there is no abandonment, hatred, or abuse. Only love, forgiveness, and grace abide within God’s family. He will never cast you out or turn you away (Isaiah 41:10).

Since we have God as our Father, we can freely talk to Him in prayer any time we want. God is the Holy Trinity, which is the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Three distinct Persons — One God. As children of God, we can pray to Him anytime, anywhere.

You do not have to use eloquent words, lengthy prayers, or rehearse your words in order for God to hear you. Jesus’ death on the cross enabled us to become children of God. If it was not for Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, we would not be children of God. This is something worth reflecting on as we owe our entire beings to God.

It is only by His mercy that we are privileged to spend eternity with Him. God loves us so much that He willingly sent His Son to die for us (John 3:16-17). There is no greater love than the love God has for His children.

Maybe your father, mother, or siblings did not treat you very well growing up. Even if our earthly families have hurt us or abandoned us, we know God never will. Psalm 27:10 tells us, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” God will never forsake you. He can be fully trusted.

We Are the Family of God

Every Christian in the world is part of the family of God. Whether the believer lives in Africa, America, Europe, Asia, or Australia, they are part of the family of God. God’s family is not restricted to any culture, ethnicity, age, or gender (Galatians 3:28). Every person within the family of God is equal (Romans 2:11).

Likewise, each person is strongly beloved by God, and He wants all people to know Him. Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become eternally part of God’s family. As part of God’s family, we inherit thousands of brothers and sisters in Christ.

😇 Commemoration of the Archangel Saint Michael- የሕዳር ሚካኤል

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church honors Saint Michael (Kidus Mikael); the Angel of mercy; on the 12th of each month of which two of them are great annual feasts of the saint – on Hidar 12 (November 21) and Senie 12 (June 19). His name Michael means “who is like God”.

Saint Michael is one of the seven Archangels, who is always standing besides God’s throne and is honored for defeating Devil at God’s command (Rev.12:7-9).

In addition to the Holy Bible, “Dersane Michael” contains the miracles of St. Michael. Archangel Saint Michael is powerful and the guardian of the souls and fighter against evil. He is often painted in the walls of every Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church followers with a flaming sword and spear, which pierces the devil.

❖ On Hidar / ሕዳር ፲፪/ 12 (November 21):

1. Crowned and became the Arch of the Archangel’s

Saint Michael is one of the seven Archangels, who is always standing besides God’s throne and is honored for leading the army of Holy Angels and defeated Satan and the rebellious angels into Hell. Revelation 12:7 On this day God crowned him with his glory and mercy and become the Arch of the the Archangel’s

2. The Commander of the Lord’s Army

Joshua, the son of Nun, saw him in great glory and was frightened by him and fell on his face to the earth and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” So he said, “No; but as Commander of the army of the Lord… I have given Jericho into your hand, … and its king.” (Joshua 5:13-15, 6:2)

3. The Exodus of Israel from Egypt through the help of the Arch Angle Michael

Exodus 14:19-22:

19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed[a] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward[b] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Michael, is the commander of the angels, came down from heaven, and rolled back the stone from the mouth of the tomb, and announced the women “Christ is risen from the dead”.

St. Paul observes that the Hebrews “ all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1-4; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:27).

There is a common ritual practiced by the devotees in order to commemorate, worship and give thanks. Ethiopian traditional bread – Difo Dabo, roasted barley – Kolo in the name of St. Michael are being prepared and shared in the church.

May the prayer of Archangel Saint Michael be up on us!

______________

ነጮች ዘረኛ የሆኑት የበላይነቱን ቢያጡ ጥቁሩ የሚበቀላቸውና የሚቀጣቸው ስለሚመስላቸው ይፈራሉና ነው

ከሦስት ዓመታት በፊት ያቀረብኩት መረጃ ነበር፤ ምንም የተለወጠ ነገር የለም ጉዳዩ ዛሬም ወቅታዊ ነው፦

ይለናል ከዚህ በፊት ዘረኛ ነበርኩ የሚለን ነጭ አሜሪካዊ። እንዲህ ዓይነት ሃቀኛ አያስደስትምን? ጎበዝ! እውነት ነፃ ታወጣናለች! እግዚአብሔር ልክ እንደርሱ ለብ የማይለውን ሰው ነው የሚወደው። የተናገረው ህሉ ትክክል ነው፤ በፈረንጆች (ኤዶማውያን) እንዲሁም በአረቦች (እስማኤላውያን) ውስጥ የገባው መንፈስ ሰይጣናዊ ነው። እነዚህ በዲያብሎሳዊ እራስ–ወዳድነት የተለከፉት ህዝቦች (አብዛኞቹ)፦

• 👉 ፍቅር አያውቁም

• 👉 ደስታ አያውቁም

• 👉 ሰላም አያውቁም

• 👉 የሌላውን ችግር አይረዱም

• 👉 እራሳቸውን ከፍ ሌላውን ዝቅ ያደርጋሉ

• 👉 ጥፋተኛው ሌላው እንጅ እነርሱ አይሆኑም

• 👉 ጥላቻን ያውቃሉ

• 👉 ጨካኞች ናቸው

• 👉 ፍርሃትን ያውቃሉ

• 👉 ፍርሃት፣ ፍርሃት፣ ፍርሃት

[የዮሐንስ ራእይ ምዕራፍ ፫፥፲፭፡፲፮]

“በራድ ወይም ትኩስ እንዳይደለህ ሥራህን አውቃለሁ። በራድ ወይም ትኩስ ብትሆንስ መልካም በሆነ ነበር። እንዲሁ ለብ ስላልህ በራድም ወይም ትኩስ ስላልሆንህ ከአፌ ልተፋህ ነው።”

👉 ስለ ነጮች ፍርሃት፣ ትዕቢት፣ ኩራት እና እራስ–ወዳድነት መነገር አለበት።

👉 ለምንድን ነው ነጮች ስለዘርኝነት ላለመናገር ሁሌ ራሳቸውን የሚከላከሉት?

👉 ለምንድን ነው ነጮች እውነታውን መጋፈጥ በጣም የሚቸገሩት? እንደኔ ከሆነ፤ ምክኒያቱ የተወሰነው ክፍል ፍርሃት ሌላው ክፍል ደግሞ ስግብግብነት ነው።

እኛ ነጮች ስልጣን እና የበላይነትን እንዲሁም ልዩ መብቶቻችንን ማጣት አንፈልግም። የነጮች የበላይነት በሰፈነበት ማህበረሰባችን ጥቅሞችን ማጣት አንፈልግምልል ሁሉንም ማጣት አንፈልግም።

ጥቁሩ እንዳይበቀለን እንፈራለን። የጥቁሩን ቅጣት እንፈራለን።

በጥቁር ህዝቦች ላይ ግፍ መስራት ከጀመርንበት ዕለት አንስቶ ይህን ነው የምንፈራው። ባርነቱ እንዴት ይረሳ? ያልክፍያ ስራው እንዴት ይረሳል?ት። ያለንን ሁሉ ማጣት እንፈራለን፣ መደባችንን ማጣት እንፈራለን። የጥቁሩን ቅጣት በጣም እንፈራዋለን!

ነጮች ወንድሞቼና እህቶቼ፡ አዎ! ተቀበሉት ኃይለኛ ፍርሃት ውስጥ ነን። ጥቁሩ ወደ ቤቶቻችሁ መጥቶ ቢያንኳኳ፡ “ያጠቃኝና ይጎዳኝ ይሆን?” ብላችሁ ትፈራላችሁ።

ጥቁሩ ባጠገባችሁ ሲያልፍ በፍርሃት ቦርሳዎቻችሁን ጠበቅ አድርጋችሁ ትይዛላችሁ። ስለሆነም ጥቁሩን በእስር ቤት ማጎር እንወዳለን፤ እስር ቤቱን የሞሉት ጥቁሮች ብቻ ናቸው።

አዎ! እንፈራቸዋልን፣ ላባዎቹ ፖሊሶች እንኳን ያልታጠቁትን ጥቁሮች ይፈሯቸዋል። የጥቁሩን ቅጣትና በቀል እንፈራለን።

እኛ ነጮች በበላይነት በሽታ ተለክፈናል መጥፎው ነገር ሁሉ የጥቁሮች እንደሆነ አድርገን እየሳልን እራሳችንን እናታልላለን። ለምኑ ነው ነጭ የበላይ የሆነው? የበላይነቱ ስሜት ከየት መጣ?

ጥቁር ቆዳው ጥቁር በመሆኑ የበላይነት ተሰምቶት መንገድ ላይ ሲንቀባረር አይቼ አላውቅም እንዲያውም በተቀራኒው ነው። ነጩ ግን በነጭነትኡ ሁሌ በኩራት ይንጠባረራል

👉 ስለዚህ ነጩ ነው እራሱን ማስተካከል ያለበት፦

ፍርሃታችሁን ተጋፈጡት! ስግብግብነታሁን ተጋፈጡ ይህን እስካላደረጋችሁ ድረስ ሰላም የለም፤ አንድ ትልቅ ችግር አለ።

አይይ ጥቁሩን ፈራሁ ማለቱ ብቻ ዋጋ የለውም፡ የጥቁሩን ቅጣት እየፈራችሁ መኖሩን የምታቆሙት ሃቁን ስትቀበሉ ነው።

የነጭ የበላይነት እውን ነው። አገራችን አሜሪካ የነጮች የበላይነት ያላት አገር ናት ይህ ሃቅ ነው፤ ሁሌም እንደዚህ ነበር።

ኃላፊነቱን ወስደን አንድ ነገር እናድርግ ለተቃውሞ ሰልፍ እንውጣ፤ ነጩ የበላይነት ባሕሉን መለወጥ አለበት። አሊያ ሁላችንም አብረን ልንጠፋ ነው እንዲያም በመጥፋት ላይ እንገኛለን

ተቋማቱ፣ ትምህርት ቤቶች፣ ፍርድ ቤቶች፣ ባሕሉ፣ ሜዲያው፣ ታሪክ፣ ስነልቦናው፣ መዝናኛው ሁሉም ነገር የነጩን የበላይነት የሚያንጸባርቁ ናቸው።

ጥቁር ህዝቦች መጥፎዎች ናቸው ማለት አልችልም፤ ሁላችንም እኩል ነን።

እራሳችሁን መከላከል አቁሙ! ፈራጅነቱን አቁሙ! እራሳችሁን ሳታታልሉ እውነታውን ተጋፈጡ!

የእኛ የነጭ ባሕል ዘረኛ ነው። ሁሉም ነጭ ዘረኛ ነው ማለቴ አይደለም ግን ግደሌሽነቱ፣ እርምጃ ላለመውሰድ ዓይን መጨፈን ትልቅ ችግር ነው። ተራመዱ፤ ከግድየለሽነት ውጡ።

አንድ ነገር አድርጉ፣ አንድ ነገር ተናገሩ። አሜሪካን እወዳታለሁ፣ ነጮችን እወዳቸዋለሁ። በዚህም እኮራለሁ አሜሪካን እንመልሳት።

በአሜሪካ እንኩራ በነጭ አሜሪካ ከእንግዲህ ወዲያ አልኮራም እኔ ዘረኛ ነበርኩ፤ በነጭ አሜሪካ ከእንግዲህ ወዲያ አልኮራም።

ለአንዴና ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ ፍርሃታችሁን ተጋፈጡት! ስግብግብነታሁን ተጋፈጡት ይህችን አገር መሆን እንዳለባት እንመልሳት፦ ለሁሉም ሕዝቦች የተሰራች አገር ናትና፤ የነጮች ብቻ አይደለችም።

 በሉ ለአሁኑ ቻው!

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መታየት ያለበት | “ነጮች ዘረኞች የሆኑት የበላይነቱን ቢያጡ ጥቁሩ የሚበቀላቸውና የሚቀጣቸው ስለሚመስላቸው ይፈራሉና ነው”

ይለናል ከዚህ በፊት ዘረኛ ነበርኩ የሚለን ነጭ አሜሪካዊ። እንዲህ ዓይነት ሃቀኛ አያስደስትምን? ጎበዝ ምስኪን! እግዚአብሔር ልክ እንደርሱ ለብ ያልሆነውን ሰው ነው የሚወደው። የተናገረው ህሉ ትክክል ነው፤ በፈረንጆች (ኤዶማውያን) እንዲሁም በአረቦች (እስማኤላውያን) ውስጥ የገባው መንፈስ ሰይጣናዊ ነው። እነዚህ በዲያብሎሳዊ እራስ–ወዳድነት የተለከፉት ህዝቦች (አብዛኞቹ)፦

• ፍቅር አያውቁም

• ደስታ አያውቁም

• ሰላም አያውቁም

• የሌላውን ችግር አይረዱም

• እራሳቸውን ከፍ ሌላውን ዝቅ ያደርጋሉ

• ጥፋተኛው ሌላው እንጅ እነርሱ አይሆኑም

• ጥላቻን ያውቃሉ

• ጨካኞች ናቸው

• ፍርሃትን ያውቃሉ

• ፍርሃት፣ ፍርሃት፣ ፍርሃት

የዮሐንስ ራእይ ምዕራፍ ፫፥፲፭፡፲፮

በራድ ወይም ትኩስ እንዳይደለህ ሥራህን አውቃለሁ። በራድ ወይም ትኩስ ብትሆንስ መልካም በሆነ ነበር። እንዲሁ ለብ ስላልህ በራድም ወይም ትኩስ ስላልሆንህ ከአፌ ልተፋህ ነው።

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I Taught My Black Kids That Their Elite Upbringing Would Protect Them From Discrimination – I was Wrong

No matter how many degrees you have, no matter how nicely you dress, no matter how “articulate” you are, Whites will still see you as a “nigger”

“ሮም አገር ስትሆን እንደ ሮማውያን አድርግ” የሚለውን አባባል በከፊል እስማማበታለሁ፤ አሁን ከረባት የምንለው ጨርቅ (ኽርቫቲ = ክሮኤሺያ – ከሚለው ቃል የፈለሰ ነው) ታሪካዊ አመጣጡ ከአውሮፓውያን ጋር የተያያዘ በመሆኑና ቀስበቀስም እንደ መለዮ ስለተወሰደና ከሌላው የተሻልን መሆናችንን የምናሳይበት ምልክት ስለሆነ። በተለይ እኛ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከረባት ማሠራችንን አልደግፈውም፤ እኔ እራሴ አልፎ አልፎ ለማሠር ብገደድም። የባህል ልብሳችንን ላለመልበስ አዘውትረን የምንሰጠው ምክኒያት፡ “ለሥራ አያመችም!” በማለት ነው። እንዲያመቸን አድርገን ማሠራት/መሥራት አንችልምን? እኔ ከረባት ሳሥር በደንብ ለመስራትም ሆነ ዘና ለማለት ይከብደኛል፤ አንገት አንቆ ትንፋሽ ስለሚያሳጥር። በሌላ በኩል፡ ከረባት ስለታሠረ የሚኮሩ ብዙዎች አሉ፤ “የኛ” ባልሆነ ነገር፡ በተለይ እኛ ኢትዮጵያውያን ደረታችንን ለመንፋት ስንሞክር በጣም አሳፋሪ ሆኖ ነው የሚታየኝ፤ ታዲያ ፈረንጁ ይህን አይቶ ቢያሽሟጥጥብን ሊደንቀን ይገባልን? በራሱ ባህላዊ አለባበስ ሆነ ባጠቃላይ ማንነቱ የማይኮራ ሌሎች ሊያክብሩት ወይም ሊወዱት አይችሉም። ቀደም ሲል ለባርነት ተጋልጠው የነበሩትና በአውሮፓውያን ቅኝ አገዛዝ ሥር ወድቀው የነበሩት አፍሪቃውያን ወንድሞቻችን ለውስኪ እና ከረባት ሲሉ ወገኖቻቸውን ለባርነት አሳልፈው ሲሰጡ ነበር፤ አሁን ነፍሳቸውን መልሰው ለማግኘት በመሻት ባህላዊ የሆኑ ልብሶቻቸውን በየቦታው ሲያዘወትሩ ይታያሉ። እኛ ደግሞ፡ ነገሮች ሁሉ ግልጥ ብለው በሚታዩበት በዚህ ዘመን ለብዙ ዘመናት የጠበቅነውን ብርቅ ማንነታችንን በግድየለሽነት እየሸረሸርን መሆኑ፤ ወርቁን በፈቃዳችን ለማስረከብ ጠዋት ማታ ተግተን መሥራታችን አያሳዝምን? ‘ሠለጠነ‘ የሚባለው ዓለም ነዋሪ ሱፉን እና መርቸድሱን እያስቀመጠ ወደ ካኪውና ብስክሌቱ በመሸጋገርና ያጣውን ሰብዓዊነቱን መልሶ ለማግኘት በመታገል ላይ ይገኛል….እኛስ?…. ከረባት፡ ለእኔ፡ ዘንዶን – የሚያንቅ ዘንዶን – መስሎ ነው የሚታየኝ። የኦክስጅን እጥረት በሚታይባቸው ከተሞቻችንና ላብ በሚያስመርቱት ሞቃታም ቦታዎቻችን አንገትን በከረባት ማነቅ ጥሩ ሃሳብ መስሎ አይታየኝም፤ ስለዚህ፡ ኢትዮጵያዊው፡ ከትንሹ እስከትልቁ፡ ከረባት ማሠር ቢያቆም ጥሩ ነው እላለሁ።

I knew the day would come, but I didn’t know how it would happen, where I would be, or how I would respond. It is the moment that every black parent fears: the day their child is called a nigger.

My wife and I, both African Americans, constitute one of those Type A couples with Ivy League undergraduate and graduate degrees who, for many years, believed that if we worked hard and maintained great jobs, we could insulate our children from the blatant manifestations of bigotry that we experienced as children in the 1960s and ’70s.

We divided our lives between a house in a liberal New York suburb and an apartment on Park Avenue, sent our three kids to a diverse New York City private school, and outfitted them with the accouterments of success: preppy clothes, perfect diction and that air of quiet graciousness. We convinced ourselves that the economic privilege we bestowed on them could buffer these adolescents against what so many black and Latino children face while living in mostly white settings: being profiled by neighbors, followed in stores and stopped by police simply because their race makes them suspect.

But it happened nevertheless in July, when I was 100 miles away.

It was a Tuesday afternoon when my 15-year-old son called from his academic summer program at a leafy New England boarding school and told me that as he was walking across campus, a gray Acura with a broken rear taillight pulled up beside him. Two men leaned out of the car and glared at him.

“Are you the only nigger at Mellon Academy*?” one shouted.

Certain that he had not heard them correctly, my son moved closer to the curb, and asked politely, “I’m sorry; I didn’t hear you.”

But he had heard correctly. And this time the man spoke more clearly. “Only … nigger,” he said with added emphasis.

My son froze. He dropped his backpack in alarm and stepped back from the idling car. The men honked the horn loudly and drove off, their laughter echoing behind them.

By the time he recounted his experience a few minutes later, my son was back in his dorm room, ensconced on the third floor of a red-brick fortress. He tried to grasp the meaning of the story as he told it: why the men chose to stop him, why they did it in broad daylight, why they were so calm and deliberate. “Why would they do that — to me?” he whispered breathlessly into the phone. “Dad, they don’t know me. And they weren’t acting drunk. It’s just 3:30 in the afternoon. They could see me, and I could see them!”

My son rambled on, describing the car and the men, asking questions that I couldn’t completely answer. One very clear and cogent query was why, in Connecticut in 2014, grown men would target a student who wasn’t bothering them to harass in broad daylight. The men intended to be menacing. “They got so close — like they were trying to ask directions. … They were definitely trying to scare me,” he said.

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