What I Do Know

The one thing I do know is:

Quote:
"For if the black American is to be truly understood, his history must be made intelligible." Dr. Grier/Dr. Cobbs-Black Rage

I know from my own personal experience that until I dealt with some very suffocating issues from my past, I could barely breathe, let alone live. It was no different when I began to deal with the historical chains that bound my mind. From religion to lack of services, that black is consistently held back in the country that our ancestors built. There would be no America is it were not for the black man. Yes, others were enslaved, but none as long as our people were.

They wanted to live! Plain and simple. If you have ever questioned why they allowed themselves to be treated in the manner they were. It was because self-preservation kicked in and they decided they wanted life. None of us would be here if they had not.

What I do know is each of us is charged with the duty to educate our children about our history in this country. No black child she go throughout their life without this training. We cannot continue to fear the past, mourn the past, or use the past for present pity parties. We must acknowledge and discern what is usable and what is not. We must allow ourselves to feel whatever lingering pain there may be, then get up and do what is needed to turn our black nation around.

Black folk are way too sensitive. We don't want to hear the word nigger, as is it is not said, then it will not be thought. You cannot legislate the heart. What makes you a nigger is your black skin, or your economic status. Forget about what you heard. Look the word up. It does not mean a low-down dirty person as I was told when I grew up. I wish my mother knew the real meaning, then I wouldn't have wasted so much time rallying against the word.

We cannot change the meaning of words just because we don't like them. There was a huge campaign years ago spearheaded by Tavis Smiley, trying to get the word out of the dictionary. It just doesn't work that way. Why would they removed a word fromt he dictionary to please us, when they do all they can to make sure we can't even read a dictionary? We must get a grip.

What I do know is we need to grow a collective self-love. Each of us need to embrace our blackness, love our full lips, our dark skin, etc. It is the only way that we can turn this thing around. Racism is built on hate, only love can break it down. That is what I do know.