Someone asked me whether or what a Black man could do to end racism.

Here is what I answered assuming that this question arose because of my critical reaction to the Black Lives Matter demonstration at the Netroots Nation.

I would like to preface this by saying that I think that a Black Lives Matter demonstration was appropriate at the Netroots Nation and that I especially like the idea of reading the names of all the Black victims of police brutality. But the expression of respect and the honoring of the victims of police brutality could have been far more effectively done. The more inclusive and compassionate and respectful the Black Lives Matter movement, the more successful it will be in my opinion. And I say that knowing how bitterly difficult it must be to be Black and to see all this unwarranted racist violence and stay effective and yet forceful. I appreciate the difficulty of that.

Here is my response to the question asked that I repeat in the title of this post.

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End white racism? That's something that only white racists can do.

Changing white racists into compassionate people is the job of white people for the most par.

But people of all races who are either not racist or don't want to be racist, working together can make it very uncomfortable for people to express racist thoughts or perform racist deeds.

It would take a great movement of solidarity.

I liked the idea of the Black Lives Matter group of listing one by one the names of all Blacks who have died as a result of police brutality, and I would add, of racism.

After discussing the demonstrations of yesterday with a few DUers, I had a kind of vision of how I would present the list of names of the victims of police and other racist brutality. It isn't something I "thought up." It just is something that I saw happening before my eyes. Sort of a right-brain experience.

It could be performed live and videoed.

You have a stage. In the front of the stage is a mass of unlit candles -- one for each Black life lost due to police brutality or racism. There might be additional names of dead Black people like Martin Luther King or other victims of racism that you would want to add.

You have three or four musicians -- drums, maybe two drummers maybe three, a timpani with brushes and a cymbal, a bongo (for the hollow sound) and maybe a small child's toy tin drum, a saxophone player and a muted trumpet (maybe not always muted).

You have a choir made up of singers and actors, preferably with gospel choir and/or improvisational experience. There is one member of the choir for each name on the list of Blacks who have died and who are to be remembered.

The choir members enter silently and slowly, each lighting a candle upon reaching the front of the stage where the candles are placed and then walking to a position on risers on the stage (as in any choir performance).

The choir members are wearing black robes and the stage is black with the exception of the candles which will be lit one by one as the choir members enter. Upon reaching the risers, each member of the choir stands and slowly turns his/her back to the audience. The musicians improvise sounds that are solemn but not continuance according to their personal inspiration as this occurs.

When all the candles have been lit and all the choir members are on the stage with their backs turned to the audience, everyone remains silent for about five minutes. (That's pretty long.)

Then one choir member says clearly and distinctly the name of the first Black victim to be honored. The choir murmurs "Black lives matter." It is a chant, and not all choir members are saying the words in unison or in the same rhythm or the same voice. Each says it according to his/her inner feeling at the moment, according to his/her meditative or prayerful inspiration of the moment.

The choir member who spoke the name is on one end of the risers and goes to the mass of candles and extinguishes one candle then exits the stage. We hear the murmur Black Lives Matter, or maybe the scream or cry Black Lives Matter in the background from the choir, each according to his or her feeling of the moment.

There is a space, a silence, a musical rest (this is very important), and then when the next choir member is so moved, he/she says the name of the next Black victim to be remembered and walks to the candles and extinguishes the second candle. And the choir members each separately at his/her own tempo murmurs, then or screams or whispers or yells, as the moment requires, Black Lives Matter. The instrumentalists play but sparsely and again with variety in what they play improvising very quietly. This process continues, with each name read and as each name is read, a candle is extinguished and member of the choir leaves the stage.

At the end, the stage is dark. There are no lit candles. There are no members of the choir on the stage. Each of the instrumentalists plays a very short dirge like sound and at the end, the percussionist that remains plays the sound of a death rattle. The audience sits in silence for several minutes until finally the lights in the theater are very slowly from the dimmest upward lit.

And then as this lighting occurs, the sound of the choir chanting in unison, Black Lives Matter is heard.

That is what I envision and hear as a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement and the victims of racism.

That's just what comes from me. Each person has to have their own experience with this.

I think that the listing of the names is extremely moving but it should not be shouted or spoken in anger but rather in a sense of loss.

The way that the Black Lives Matter movement was kind of brought in that made them look like usurpers of a program that was important to a lot of people because it was one opportunity to hear O'Malley and Sanders speak to a liberal group was very unfortunate for all concerned. It did not properly show respect for the victims and their families. It did not give enough time to the Black Lives Matter group to respectfully read the list of names which is so moving and so impressive and it was insulting to the candidates because it suggested in a way that they don't care about the police brutality. It suggested that based on no evidence.

In fact all the Democratic candidates care deeply about fighting racism and about the many Black lives lost to violence including but not limited to white violence against Black people but also gang violence, domestic violence but especially the police violence.

I don't know how to change racists into compassionate people who see all as equals. But I think that the more that we all encourage compassion, the better chance we have of increasing the numbers of people who are not racist and reducing the remnants of racism that remain in so many of us even when we think that we are not racist.

Rowdy behavior is appropriate in many protests. But here, rowdy behavior is counterproductive because what needs to be inspired is compassion. What needs to be expressed is mourning. Mourning by the entire nation for the terrible loss of Black lives due to violence. This has been going on for a long, long time in our country. And the fact is that Black Lives Do Matter, and the loss of so many Black lives is a great loss for all of our country.