Trivial, right? No - amazingly huge.
I remember when I was little - how long it always took to find a brown doll in the stores. One that actually looked pretty and had decent hair to comb. I'd get even more excited if she had an afro - and that took years to find.
It's still funny that I told her I liked her shirt, and she ran to hide behind her mom. Cute!
Anyway - today sparks Black History Month, and I wonder what I've done to contribute to our legacy as Black people. 24, soon to be college graduate, no kids, living on her own. I think I've done pretty well thus far. I have a passion for helping others and making a change in the world - that is my calling in life.
It saddens me to see so many young Black kids getting bamboozled into their depiction of the American Dream. Expensive clothes, bags, shoes - and not a pot to piss in. Working just to provide these things, never trying to progress. I fear that this will become the norm for my successors. Girls growing up without fathers, boys being raised by mothers alone. This is not what I want to see for my people. It doesn't matter the ethnicity, this seems to be the plight of the Black race.
On the bright side of things - I know plenty of young men and ladies my age who are out here doing it. Working two jobs, going to school - anything to make it happen. Those who decide to take alternate routes are starting businesses and making something out of themselves. The dope game and prostitution just ain't what they used to be.
We've got to take it upon ourselves to make a mark in this world. Not everyone can be Diddy or Russel Simmons - but what about following your dreams? What about opening that black skincare store you've always wanted? The youth center your city needs? Or like myself, the Audiology clinics in underprivileged neighborhoods across the country. The world!
Mine aren't questions - they're answers waiting to happen.
People may doubt you and talk you down - but most of those people will be individuals who have never seen their dreams come to life. People who were afraid to fail, afraid to look silly - never realizing how silly they truly look. Don't become them. It's a new millennium - nothing has to stop you from achieving your goals.
No excuses. No retreat, no surrender.
Let the nay-sayers eat your dust, for the road to success is paved with lots of haters...
This month, I will chronicle many aspects of the Black experience; black hair, black skin, black life. All Black Errythang. Hope you enjoy, maybe even participate :)
Oooh, and Black Men. Yum...
Why does it have to be just the black race that is like that? In my town the black race has more expensive things than most whites. I don't understand how being that most don't have jobs. And I'm tired of hearing the white people a resist. Yes some are but guess what so are some black people. It shouldn't be about color on anything. It should just be people.
ReplyDeleteI think that was my point. I emphasize the Black race as an ode to Black History month. An ode to those who fought, died and were victorious in a battle that many of us are still fighting. I never said anything about white people being racist - or white people at all. This is a big matter for our community, but it encompasses the world as well. We've all got to do better. Period.
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