We are standing on the shoulders of the Civil Rights Leaders. Martin Luther King. Malcolm X and others. They stood on the shoulders of The Underground Ground Railroad and many others.
As people of color, we can no longer point our fingers and accuse others of keeping us down. We have proof that we can overcome injustice. What is our fight today? Sadly, 😭 it’s the fight with our brothers and sisters. Now we fight each other. We fight each other over sagging pants, and what a particular color stands for. We fight over a parking space, a misunderstood look. We fight our women, men, children and call it love.
🖤
When Dr. King delivered his I Have A Dream speech in 1963, I was 3 years old. I remember the tears shed by family members and the excitement of the moment.
I felt no emotions about this charismatic minister who had my community exhilarated. When his life was cut down on a balcony in Memphis, TN in 1968, I was 8 years old. I thought I knew how the world worked. I thought I could trust the world I lived in. My community was safe, so I assumed the rest of the world was too.
People gathered at my cousin’s home to watch the news report. It played over and over and over. It was all we were talking about. The children were soon sent outdoors. The older kids thought they understood and tried to explain what happened. No one understood. The air was electric with anger. Bitterness and hopelessness charged the atmosphere. It felt like hope had been killed. That hope has not returned.
It’s our job to keep Hope alive. To keep talking about the struggle for people of color. To keep electing officials of color that look like us and understand our unique gifts. Dr. King gave us a stepping stone, and others have paved the way. Now it’s our turn to keep pressing forward so our children’s children have hope..
and remember you can always call your sister! 💓
