YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT HATE IS?

Hate is the sniper that lurks behind the tree, camouflaged by the flashy smiles and blatant denials of a thing called racism.

It is the silence that rolls off the tongues of those who stare in despair and disgust as you walk by.

Hate is the icy spot on the pink, fleshy hearts that beat to the rhythm of a violent drum and is said by some to be the
"Don't call us, we'll call you," after a job interview.

Hate is the Politicians in Rwanda, the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, the wars in Bosnia, and the empty stomachs of starving children in Somalia.

Hate is the sound of the approaching Gestapo's boots and the echoes of screams of thousands of Jews.

Hate is the slave drivers and the Middle Passage. It's the clutching of your purse as a black man passes.

Hate is the existence of P.O.W's after World War II. It's the tears of Japanese mothers after the nuclear bomb came through.

Hate is the greed of Saddam and the sandstorms in Iraq. Hate is the gangs in the streets and the guns that they pack.
Hate is not an illusion, for hate lives right across the lake in seclusion.

YOU WANNA KNOW WHERE HATE IS?

Hate is in the air that we breathe, in the churches in which we pray, the songs that we sing, and the words that we say.

Hate was born in the hearts of the old ones And survives in the minds of the young ones.

BUT HATE CAN BE DEFEATED; DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW?

Hate is defeated by mothers who read to their children at night and the many who were killed fighting for civil rights.

Hate is defeated by people like Ghandi and Mother Theresa, who gave and expected nothing in return.

Hate is defeated by the Black families that didn't give up, even after crosses were burned in their front yards.

Hate is defeated by equal opportunity and education and every humanitarian who lives in this nation.

SO WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?

Remembering the nonviolent philosophies of those who went before us It is now up to us to acknowledge it
(that thing called HATE)!
and abolish it
(that thing called HATE)!
thus making this country what it was meant to be -- a place of love, peace and tranquility. We have to, because it is now our responsibility.

Written By: Adriane Frazier

Adriane Frazier's reading of her poem at the Interfaith Vigil prompted an invitation to be a featured panelist at the Community Labor United Breakfast Forum on educational issues.