Children see the entire world in a different way than adults. The innocence of discovery is something we all enjoyed. I often wonder, had people not interjected certain ideas into my mind at certain times, where would my childlike mind had lead me? So here's to nostalgia, to innocence, and the people that will become our future.
An Apple A Day
Living a healthy life is important, and many people take their concerns with eating right or losing weight to unhealthy extremes. This month, I'll be talking about eating habits, sharing some of my favorite recipes, and focusing on healthy choices.
Legends of Africa
One thing I've noticed during my years attending predominately white schools and having circles of friends that are more diverse, is that the major factor in racism and prejudice is ignorance. There is a lot about black culture that many non-blacks just don't know. Often this lack of awareness rears its head in the form of ignorant assumptions and awkward questions. The Legends of Africa series touches on topics that may be extremely familiar to blacks, but may not be familiar to non-blacks.
Religion & Theology
I've always been interested in Religion & Theology. As I child, I questioned everything. I wanted to know why this denomination was different from that denomination. I wanted to know how Christianity differed from Islam, and how they differed from Buddhism, etc. I found that as I studied with the faith of a believer and the open mind of scientist, the world of religion started to make more sense and I was able to form beliefs that I don't question. April 2015 is dedicated to my journey to those beliefs.
Dreams are the privilege
of those who sleep—
Sound and restful moments,
But I don't sleep.
When I close my eyes,
Light gives way to darkness
and in the darkness I hear
The slow and deliberate cracking
like glass shattering
The echo of clanking and tinging
As the pieces of my heart fall to the floor
I need the Light to find all the pieces
The heat of its fire to melt them back together.
But I never get it back the way it was,
There's always a blemish
a missing piece that just wouldn't fit.
And the fire...
Remnant flames that won't go away—
Can I channel the flames into emotion—
Make moves, start a revolution?
Or will I close my eyes and dream.
I was ripped from my mother's womb—
Or maybe she gave me up...
Left to fend for myself with the man who raped her
He took pleasure in breaking her,
Invaded her heart, stole the diamonds from her eyes...
Settled his debts and paid his way in her blood,
Then cast her aside to die...
He stole her from me
And I see her begin to fade...
I can't remember the sound of her laugh
The smell of her breath
The feel of her heartbeat sustaining mine...
And when I look in the mirror I see him
Because he raised me,
But to hate him is to hate me.
I have his eyes, his nose and his lips
I walk like him and talk like him
I even hate her like him...
I thought I'd lost myself,
But there never was a me to lose...
I'm just a gear in a machine he'll never claim.
Set to work until my purpose runs out,
Til' my usefulness fades
And he can replace me with someone new...
Some other motherless child
I wish I could be more like her.
I wish I could dance
To the rhythm of her heartbeat
Talk, with the cadence of her walk
Smell of her favorite flowers and perfumes...
I wish I could wear those diamonds from her eyes
And look upon myself as something to pride...
I wish I could find my way home,
That is, I wish I had a home to find
It was after listening to this song that I found the words I couldn't get out.
I was ripped from my mother's womb— Or maybe she gave me up... Left to fend for myself with the man who raped her He took pleasure i...
One of the many ways people attempt to prove that they are not a racist, is to assert that they are colorblind. "I don't see color," sounds good, but it doesn't make any sense logically. Think about it, to prove that you love disabled people the same way you love able bodied people, you wouldn't say "I don't see impairments!" I get where people are trying to go with the idea, but really, you just muddy the waters. If you are a teacher and a student in your class is blind, are you going to ask them to walk to the board and solve the problem if you don't have any technology to assist the visually impaired in the classroom? Are you going to talk to a deaf person who has no translator or hearing aid, then wait for them to respond, knowing that this particular person can't read your lips? No, that would be stupid. You recognize (and in some cases compensate for) the difference between able bodied people and disabled people, however you do not allow those differences to influence your love for them.
What I'm talking about is equity vs. equality. Equity is about treating people fairly, while equality is about treating people the same way. Each person you come into contact with has a variety of experiences that changes how they view and interact with the world. This isn't limited to race, it encompasses class, nationality, gender, religion, sexuality, etc. All of these factors make up who this person is. Buzzword: intersectionality! By pretending one of these things doesn't exist, you're not only insinuating that if you saw color you couldn't treat the person as an equal, but you discount an dimension of the persons identity.
Yesterday, I kicked off Black History Month by sharing a video of Ronald Martin covering the revelation that Emmett Till's accuser lied about his actions toward her. If you aren't familiar with the Emmett Till story, please read about the tragedy here. This young boy was brutally attacked and lynched in the mid-1950s, his killers were set free, and this was a "normal" thing for the South. Growing up in the South, with parents, aunts, and uncles who survived the Jim Crow era and were children themselves at the time of Emmett Till's murder, I have always been aware of this history. Thus, when I was introduced to the musical Grease, no matter how much I may love the songs or enjoy the movie, I have zero desire to live in the 50s. My white friends, however, fell so in love with the movie that they daydreamed about living in the 50s. None of them took the time to process the fact that there are no black characters in the original movie because all of the characters probably hated black people and lived in an era where it would have been illegal for them to go to school together. This same romanticization occurred with the pre-civil war era. Once on a field trip I had to listen to my classmates go on and on about how "great" it would have been to live back then, with parties and gowns—back when the South was flourishing. Yes...back when the South made it's money off slave labor.
Pretending you don't see the fact that I'm Black is actually a way of mentally negating that Blacks have had different experiences in this country. It actually allows you to live in a whitewashed society and not even realize it, because "you don't see color." So my challenge to you today is to take off the colorblind shades and really look at the people around you. See them for who they are, including what color they are. See how that color effects their day-to-day life and most importantly, appreciate that color.
O ne of the most important things, in my opinion, is to showcase the positive within the black community. Often, new relating to presen...
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