Guest columnist Michael Lawrence-Riddell: ‘When you attack one of us, you attack all of us’ Desmond Caldwell, principal of JFK Middle School, addresses a crowd that gathered to denounce racism on Feb. 24. Gazette file photo Published: 3/7/2021 9:03:44 AM “We can disagree and still love each other. Unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.” — James Baldwin Our community is under attack. This might sound like hyperbole, but I do not believe it is. James Baldwin is a hero of mine and a proponent of revolutionary humanity — the recognition that my humanity is tied up in yours and your humanity is tied up in mine and any diminishing of your humanity diminishes my humanity. This doesn’t seem like a revolutionary mindset at all, but in a culture that was, in part, built on the dehumanization of others through slavery and continued systemic racism, the recognition of the humanity in others, especially others who are not like you, is a revolutionary act.