An Open Letter To Ben

I’m still in a holiday mood, so New Year greetings to everyone. Perhaps you lit candles to celebrate Kwanzaa, Christmas, or Hanukkah. May the Light that guides you be with you and your families in 2023.

I stopped making New Year’s resolutions years ago because, like many of you, by March 1st, they are hard to maintain or almost forgotten. But this year is different. This year, I’m making a resolution sparked by something that caught my attention a few weeks ago and that my pastor even preached about on January 1, 2023. When The Creator places something before me multiple times, it usually means I need to pay attention. My resolution is to STAY WOKE. Let me explain.

While scrolling through an online news feed a few weeks ago, a story about the renaming of the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine in Detroit caught my attention. At the November 15, 2022, Detroit school board meeting, the decision was made to remove Dr. Carson’s name and rename, or re-name, the school Crockett Midtown High School of Science and Medicine. Needless to say, Dr. Carson was unhappy with this decision, and he expressed his thoughts in a Fox2 News interview with Sean Hannity. ¹

According to Hannity, this decision was entirely political. Dr. Carson was a victim of what he and others call “cancel culture” because of his political ideology, conservative views, and connections with the twice-impeached former president. As I listened to Carson’s soft-spoken yet cloaked, insidious implications about why he thought his name was removed and Hannity’s condescending insinuations about Detroit, I found myself getting a tad angry and asking lots of questions that I wish I could ask them personally, but realize that you can’t reason with unreasonable people.

But I needed to find a way to express my thoughts and feelings in a respectable way. So, this open letter to Carson started forming, and I started writing. As we enter this New Year, 2023, it seems appropriate to address this nationwide aversion by far-right conservative talking heads and politicians to “wokeness” as one of my resolutions to stay woke. Every disagreement I have with Dr. Carson’s publicly stated political views won’t be addressed here, but I will address his statements on cancel culture and wokeness.

First, let’s establish what “wokeness” is and why it puts fear in some people. I’ll quote Charles Blow from the New York Times for a good definition. On November 10, 2021, he wrote:

“Perhaps no other word of the moment is so under attack as ‘woke,’ a word born as a simple yet powerful way of saying: ‘Be aware of and alert to how racism is systemic and pervasive and suffuses American life. Wake up from the slumber of ignorance and passive acceptance.’ But because of its petit power, this small word was a prime candidate for co-option, for being turned against the people who used it. The opponents of wokeness — whether they be conservatives who believe it injures the ideal of America as inherently good, or moderate Democrats worried that it handicaps their electoral prospects — want to kill it…. Being awake to and aware of how our systems of power operate creates enemies across the political spectrum because wokeness indicts … the status quo. … Don’t blame wokeness for the reactions of whiteness.”²

Know that “whiteness” is itself an ideology that continually perpetuates the ideals of white supremacy embraced by many, not only those of European descent but also some Black and brown people who have not yet had their minds fully liberated from colonialistic and patriarchal indoctrination. Who knows, maybe this letter will find its way to Dr. Carson.

Dear Dr. Carson.

First, let me recognize your brilliance and accomplishments as a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, overcoming odds that would have prevented many from reaching the level of professional recognition you have gained. Separating Siamese twins and transplanting organs are things most of us would never be able to imagine or do. Because of your “Gifted Hands,” ³, lives were changed. For many years, I held you in high regard, astounded at your accomplishments. I’ve read and had my own children read your books to encourage them as young black children growing up in America. You were someone we looked up to.

And until 2015, when you announced your presidential bid, I continued to hold you in high regard. The fact that you even thought it was possible to join the ranks of other African Americans who ran for president of this country, such as Frederick Douglass, George Edwin Taylor, Channing E. Phillips, Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, Allen Keys, and yes even Barack Obama, is historic in itself. As I listened to some of the statements you made during your candidacy, I realized that your brilliance as a surgeon didn’t exactly transfer to your political aspirations. Perhaps, and I speculate here, your indoctrination into politics and the social views you have adopted and espoused has been through the eyes of the dominant culture, the white establishment. Even your publicly stated religious views, in my opinion, have been shaped by a colonialistic, patriarchal mindset. I won’t take up your time in this letter to discuss the controversial statements you made about forced enslavement being compared to voluntary immigration, though you did attempt to correct yourself. Nor will I ask you why you think the pyramids of Egypt are not burial grounds of the pharaohs but were built to store grain, or why you thought the Nazis in Germany would have been overthrown if the German people had guns, or why you think most of the racism in this country comes from the progressive left, rather than white supremacy. Or why you think it is okay for Congress to have Muslim members, but you would not “advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation” as president? Or even why you said that Obamacare was the worst thing since slavery.⁴ Or that abortion is worse than slavery. And I’m perplexed about why you think removing the names of Confederate generals from government properties is hiding or burying rather than correcting American history.⁵ Nor will I ask about your abysmal record as HUD Secretary, why you chose not to defend low-income families from discriminatory housing practices, especially during the height of the COVID-19 epidemic.⁶ But instead, you created “Opportunity Zones,” creating tax breaks for private developers while disbanding policies intended to protect renters against discrimination.⁷ Instead, today I’d like to ask you about your statements after learning your name was removed from a high school in Detroit.

Dr. Carson, while I applaud your amazing scientific work as a pediatric neurosurgeon for the lives you have saved and made better, we will never agree ideologically, as I am now one of the people you refer to as being woke. So now, according to your definition and understanding of being woke, I, and people like me, will be the detriment of this country. That’s according to your quote. I beg to differ with you, sir. Perhaps it is me and others of every nationality, religion, and social status who understand that being woke simply means looking at the disparities and systemic oppression forced upon people of color in this country, and we no longer accept those standards. Perhaps it is people like me who, instead of being what you say will be the detriment of this country, will rather be the lifesavers of this country.

Perhaps it does not seem clear to you that continuing with the imperialistic, white supremacist ideology you appear to have embraced is what is going to be the detriment of this country. I understand why your feelings are hurt, and you are disappointed that a school named after you would now be renamed, especially while you are still alive. I really do understand the hurt that you may be feeling right now. Maybe if you understood why the Black population in Detroit has rejected your political stance and political ideology, you could better move forward. There are many documented articles referencing your understanding of Blacks in America. Yes, sir, including your original statement on slavery as Africans immigrating to this country. Yes, you did correct that statement, but the damage was done. There’s no need for me to re-explain the difference between enslavement and immigration. Perhaps, sir, it is because you stood with a twice-impeached and disgraced president who made it very apparent that he and his followers have no respect for Blacks in America or any place else, for that matter. Unfortunately, sir, it seems to me that he placed you as the Secretary of HUD not because he trusted you, but because he wanted to use you. Maybe if you understand it in those terms, you would better understand why Detroiters, who at one time applauded you for your scientific and medical accomplishments, decided that those achievements weren’t enough to keep your name on a school.

Yes, it was a controversial decision. And quite honestly, I’m really not sure what I would have decided, but I understand. Even as I read the comments against the Detroit School Board’s decision made on your behalf, it seems that almost all of them come from the same white conservative right-leaning think tank you are connected with. It is certainly your right to believe however you choose. It is your right to choose a political stance. But it is also the right of the people of Detroit to make a statement and decision based on what they believe is best for their community. And they voted to rename the school. Remember, voting is a right of the people. Because your name was eliminated, you and your supporters call their decision a form of “cancel culture.”

What is cancel culture? In your interview with Hannity, you said, and I quote, “Cancel culture is alive and well. It’s infiltrating. Political correctness, wokeness, cancel culture, this is going to destroy us as a nation if we don’t get a grip on it.” Sir, do you really know what it means to be canceled? If you want to take a look at what authentic cancel culture looks like go back in American history to 1619 to see who was canceled and who has continually been canceled since my African ancestors were forcibly brought to these shores (oh, I forgot, the enslaved Africans were actually “involuntary” immigrants who willingly came to this country seeking a better life.)

And this is what you said about those of us who consider ourselves “awake.” Again I quote. “And we’re seeing this wokeness spreading throughout our community to the destruction of our community. How does it do any good for us to demonize people with whom we disagree and to teach that to our children at a time when the math scores are down, the reading scores are down, academic performance is down?”

First, whose community are you referencing? You’ve made it very clear that you are no longer part of the Black community as I know it. You did nothing as the HUD Secretary to assist the Black community anywhere. So, when the community wakes up, sees its own oppression, calls it out, and demands correction, how is that destructive? Next, while you may be correct about educational deficits, I wonder how having a school named after you addressed these deficiencies. Yes, you offered scholarships, but how often did you show up to tutor students who needed help to get to grade level? How often did you make yourself available when Detroit leaders reached out to you, even before you became a trump cabinet member? Did the students’ reading and math scores improve just because they attended a school named Carson High? Statistics from 2021 do not indicate so. ⁸

Why is being woke or wokeness such a divisive word for people like you? Perhaps it is because you can sense change is coming. And it is a change that the white establishment does not like and wants to silence at any cost because it threatens their power and it threatens to uncover their lies about the American story. Their historical accounting of America is much different from the first-hand historic accounting that comes from Native Americans forced off their tribal homelands, forced to live on reservations, and Africans forced to be in this country through enslavement. Perhaps being woke will make this country face its true history. Perhaps being canceled, like pulling down statues of treasonous Confederate generals who fought against this country, perhaps recognizing that those who were lifted up as heroes are, in fact, not heroes but purveyors of white supremacy. Perhaps, just perhaps, demonizing those of us who now call ourselves awake and who now make demands upon the nation about who its heroes are and should be, just perhaps you will reevaluate what you consider to be wokeness and cancel culture.

And let’s have a little history lesson here for you and anyone claiming you’ve been unfairly canceled. What it appears you don’t know is that the school was previously named Crockett Technical High School after the first African-American woman in Michigan to become a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Ethelene Crockett.⁹ JoAnn Neal wrote for Change.org”:

The Crockett Technical High School alumni, former parents, former staff and administration, and many Detroit residents were sickened by the fact that Dr. Ethelene Jones Crockett’s name was totally removed from a building built and dedicated in 1980 in her honor without the permission nor the acknowledgment of those who put the blood, sweat, and tears in constructing this beautiful edifice.

Dr. Crockett’s name was selected because of her 35 year commitment to the city of Detroit residents from advocating day care centers to assist working women to designing and directing the Detroit Model Neighborhood Comprehensive Health Center, just to name a few. She was also selected as “Physician of the Year in 1977.”

Dr. Crockett was a Black woman from a poor family who was able to go to college and then to medical school so that she could pay it forward for Detroit residents.¹⁰

In 2011, without any community input, the school was renamed Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine by a state-appointed school district emergency manager. In 2022, the control of the district was returned to Detroit, which now has an elected and appointed school board and superintendent. After 2-3 years of debate, community polling, and student input, the school has been re-named Crockett Midtown High School of Science and Medicine, restoring Dr. Crockett’s name and legacy, approved by an overwhelming majority of alums, staff, students, parents, and community leaders.

Not disparaging your achievements as a pediatric surgeon, I have yet to read or hear about you or anyone else upset that your name was removed, make any comment about Dr. Crockett’s name having first been removed, replaced, or “canceled” in 2011 in order to name the school after you. Or perhaps you didn’t know the whole story or history. Or didn’t bother to learn the community’s context.

It’s easy to think this was simply a political move because some don’t like your ideology and politics, as this political climate is ripe for such speculation. But sometimes, you need to do a deeper dive into background stories so you will know the whole truth. We know the truth by staying woke. Perhaps your supporters should learn a bit about Detroit’s history before they weigh in on a topic they know next to nothing about. And by the way, please tell me how you paid it forward in Detroit like Dr. Crockett did.

Just for the record, had the school board asked my opinion regarding the school’s name, I would have suggested a compromise. The Crockett/Carson High School of Science and Medicine, in honor of two African American scientific pioneers connected to Detroit, with a suggestion that you stay out of politics. That’s when you lost credibility within the Black community.

If you wish to respond, I can be reached through the Michigan Business Alliance, Letters to the Editor.

Sincerely,

The “Woke” Reverend Jean Derricotte-Murphy, Ph.D., D. Min

Public Theologian, Independent Scholar

Retired Public School Educator