By Vauhxx Booker
Yes, Jim Lucas did it, but he hasn’t owned it.
State Rep. Jim Lucas created a meme using an image of poorly clad African children. The original meme was created in 2011 as part of compilation of photos entitled “Third World Perks” as an alternative to First World Problems, featuring a photographed group of dancing children with the caption “Found water / wasn’t contaminated.”
The images consisted of differing people living in various impoverished conditions accompanied by optimistic captions. The meme was in the center of a 2015 controversy in which an AT&T executive shared the meme amongst peers, resulting in a $100 million racial discrimination lawsuit and his termination.
The meme coupled with a history of past racial indiscretions lead to the good rep’s actions being denounced by party leadership. Rep. Lucas has also been removed from several positions of authority within the Republican Party.
“I don’t see color,” Jim says. But unless he means he simply lacks the ability to distinguish between red and green, that’s rather unlikely.
In one form or another, generalizations and stereotypes of black culture have evolved and endured within American society since our nation’s colonization. Ever since blacks stopped being forced to work from sunup till sunset under the brutal conditions of slavery for free, racist tropes about blacks being lazy, watermelon eating slackers and welfare queens existing on government handouts have persisted.
Rather intentionally or innocently, Rep. Lucas took this image of dancing poor black children and captioned it, “We gon’ get free money!”
This isn’t Rep. Lucas’ first controversy. In the past, he has placed imagery of a hangman’s gallows and nooses that harken back to the age of lynching. These actions play on the history of utilizing racist symbolism and negative depictions as weapons of hatred and tools of oppression against blacks and others.
Symbolism holds immense power in our society. Think of the Christian symbol of the cross and its ability to reshape the world.
Undoubtedly, the power of any act is in the meaning and the understanding others take away from it. The overall messaging of these incidents is harmful to black people specifically and the public at-large.
When someone does something harmful or offensive to another person, the offender’s intent is not what’s most important. The harm the actions caused to others is of greater importance. In fact, many would say that it is inherently privileged to redirect the focus of a conversation to the perpetrator’s (presumably harmless) intentions, rather than focusing on the feelings and experiences of the person(s) who have been victimized.
It doesn’t matter if I intended to crash into your new vehicle or not. It matters that I took my eyes off the road and harmed you.
For Rep. Lucas to seemingly claim that the offending issue wasn’t the impact of his own potentially racist actions but the response of those who became offended is more than ridiculous. It’s akin to spitting into the wind and being angered when your face becomes wet. If you deal in offensive content, you’re likely to offend people. It’s that simple.
America has a history full of racism that’s still causing social unrest. What’s more is, as a leader, you cannot fully represent people if you can’t see their unique identities and the inherent challenges those identities bring. Good leaders understand that every individual is capable of bringing something unique and worthwhile. They see your full identity and lived experiences and value your input. They are able to work toward the shared interests of entire communities.
In the midst of a global pandemic when people are worried, some have lost family members and everyone has had their lives interrupted in some fashion, Rep. Lucas took time not to lead and unite us in our common struggles but to sow division and discord based on our differences. The good people of Seymour and our larger district deserve to be nationally recognized for something other than the harmful antics of an elected official.
During this time of shared struggle, we’ve seen ordinary folks heroically rise to the occasion. Essential workers stepping out from the safety of their homes to keep our community moving, nurses and all sorts of medical staff care for our ill and neighbors going out of their way to be neighborly. I’ve been inspired and immensely proud of what it is to be both a Seymour Owl and a Hoosier. These are the reasons our community should be being recognized.
If Mr. Lucas doesn’t have the dignity to resign, I ask my neighbors to seek out new leadership. We deserve an elected official that exemplifies the best of our district, that will demonstrate the decency and compassion that I believe makes our community great.
Vauhxx Booker, who is a 2002 graduate of Seymour High School, is Monroe County human rights commissioner. Send comments to [email protected].