I want everyone of color (or not) who reads this blog to watch this video first. It speaks volumes to me about where African Americans are today as a people. And it speaks volumes as well about our legacy, who we are as a people, and how far we still have to go.
Do we know who we are? And do we know how important that knowledge is? This goes beyond weeping with joy at the sound of the "I have a dream speech". This goes beyond the reality of Obama's Presidential victories. Do we know who we are? Is the "dream" still alive or is it just a fantasy we indulge ourselves in once or twice a year?
Reflecting on my own limited Black historical education: Back in the early 1990s, I was a high school. That was the first time I had heard the name Malcolm X. I never knew that there was an antithesis to the nonviolent Civil Rights movement. I was handed a paper with multiple choice questions on it, full names and dates. I thought I knew enough. I really didn't know anything at all. And that fact just hit me like a ton of bricks.
So, I chose, as much as I could, to educate myself about our historical background. I figured, knowledge is power, and if that power can be used against me, I had better arm myself as much as possible.
But, it takes more than a month to enrich a lifetime. There are still things I don't know.
But I have learned to count on the wisdom of my elders. Elder women, like Maya Angelou (who I haven't meant but greatly admire), who counseled Tupac Shakur on the set of Poetic Justice. Tupac was an icon like she still is. His murder (possibly orchestrated and perpetrated by other black men) remains unsolved. I believe Maya's words speak more about Tupac Amaru Shakur's character than anything I have ever read or heard about him. But that is not the point of this op-ed.
Do we know who we are as a people and how important that knowledge is?
More importantly do our youth?
There is an urgency within our community to act, but nothing is being done to shield us from one another. Too many black youth are dying at the hands of one another, and no one seems to have answer for the chaos.
Tomorrow, First lady Michelle Obama plans to attend Saturday’s funeral in Chicago for 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton who was shot and killed in a park on January 29th. She had her whole life ahead of her, and was the pride of her family and her community.
Her senseless death is one of many that have plagued the city of Chicago and it's surrounding suburbs for years. So much death; so much that question becomes not, do we know who we are, but do we know what we are losing?
Drugs, Gangs, Lack of Education, Lack of Discipline, Lack of self respect--This all has to end. Once, a long time ago, it took a village to raise a nation. That is what it will have to take again in order for things to get better. AND so I end this piece by asking again--no pleading with all to know who you are and educate yourselves. You are the next MLK, the next Malcolm X, the next Tupac, the next Maya Angleou that you have been waiting for. So educate yourselves. And each one teach one.
No comments:
Post a Comment