Another Black History Month is almost over; I witness fellow blacks young and old go though another year of being remote from their ancestry, their spirituality and themselves, perfunctorily going through the motions to escape judgment by their peers. Blacks are distracted and distressed, the solidarity actions of our ancestors far down memory lane – we need a month to pull back all those years, all those tears shed, and blood lost. A month is just not enough.
The success and future of blacks rests on the ability to look back, let go and uplift.
We as black people need to look back into the past so that we can identify what went wrong, what did not work, and own this. We must tell our children that we are sorry for the microwaves that replaced Mama in the kitchen, “No Child Left Behind” failure, for instant gratification instead of focus and work. We must tell our black women that we are sorry we did not protect them and that we left them to be something God did not create them to be – black men. We must tell our black men that they were born kings and leaders; and must take their rightful place: not in prisons, family court and/or street corners. We must tell our elderly that we are sorry we lost our respect/patience for them and that we want to listen to them. We must tell each other that we are valued, it is OK to share burdens and not spouses, that our bodies are living temples: drugs, alcohol and promiscuity destroy the temple God has given each of us in his own image. We must tell the world that we will never let go of one another or our hopes, faith and dreams. We will not be invisible, broken or deterred.
Older blacks need to let go of the baton. Positions in the church, community and professions – elder blacks must look to groom and mentor those blacks coming up behind them to step in and surpass them with respect, wisdom and ancestry. I have heard frequently: “You are not old enough to say anything.” The age may be different but it is time to acknowledge that each generation is exposed to so much of life in good and bad – respect is reciprocal; we have much to offer one another.
Respect at all ages
If older blacks are to pass the baton, younger blacks must have their hand out ready to receive. Humility, respect and accountability for the “we,” not “me” as nigger, pimp, or ho but as a unified people unmoved in hope, faith and love on the backs of ancestors who died for us and the almighty God over us. What made our ancestors dynamic, unified and resilient in their pride, intelligence and families than we are today?
Blacks must never drop the baton of achievements our ancestors fought and died for us to have now. We must enhance that baton of achievements with successes of today and pride that new generations of tomorrow won’t have to look so far into the past to recall and remember. Each black man, woman and child should be a spouting fountain of black history, pride and respect for equality, spirituality, family and education so that we are never distressed nor distracted from what is rightfully ours; without detriment or destruction; without loss of identity or values.
Passing the baton takes faith, strength, courage and hope. Blacks must respect, uplift, and mentor one another, not maintain the destructive actions that have dominated our race since Willie Lynch. This achievement will eradicate “black folk time,” low expectations, suspicion and the race-on-race discrimination of skin tone, hair grade, church affiliation, age and marital status.
Change by “any means necessary,” “courage in the face of adversity,” for, “Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.” I thank Malcolm X, Dr. King and Sen. Obama for their leadership; I hold the baton proudly and I am taking it as far as I can. My turn to pass it on is quickly approaching.