There’s a big problem in America-in every state and quite possibly right in your own neighborhood. We’re living in 2015 and blatant racism still exists.
If you are African American and haven’t dealt with it yet, you’ve managed to beat the odds. However far too many families have had to say goodbye to loved ones before their prime. Not just the ones who’ve made the nightly news, but the ones who go without media coverage everyday.
As an Educator and Youth Advocate, I work in a sector that works primarily with urban youth; the population mostly affected by these events. As a mother that frightens me for my children’s future but as a member of society it should frighten all of us for all of our futures.
As leaders we have to be aware of what we’ve done wrong and what we’re going to do to fix it. Without our foresight, insight, and vision of the future we won’t be able to lead the change.
Society has glorified an urban culture that depicts instant gratification and the faster and easier way. We don’t teach process anymore we appease the product and what’s in your hand.
When I compare our cultures past to our current culture, I see a loss in several areas that have brought us to this place.
I see a loss in church attendance. I mean real church not just the motivational feel good church but the service that used to teach you principles, values, and struck fear in the hearts of the consequences from God if we didn’t live right. For many African American families church was our foundation and therapy when we had problems. Now we allow coaches and people to solve our problems.
I see a loss in raising children. Notice I said raising and not rearing. There are many parents who support their children, but not all of them are raising our children. When you raise children you are the voice in their head, you are the eyes through which they see the world, and you are responsible for elevating them. Parenting is not just about feeding, clothing, and getting them to school because your power as a parent is then given to the school system. It’s about nourishing, edifying, and cultivating your child until you see them bloom into independent, self sufficent adults.
I see a loss in community. There are so many nuts walking around the world that we have become fearful of each other. We don’t trust other people with our children, we don’t trust businesses, books, programs and ideas. We don’t accept others influences and words because there have been so many phonies that have taken your money in exchange for crappy products and services. Which leads to me to the loss of integrity.
I see a loss in integrity. We don’t teach character in schools anymore. We aren’t teaching honesty, responsibility, accountability, respect for authority but we still expect it. How can one expect what hasn’t been taught?
Every great leaders know that we have to inspect what we expect. That means that it must be taught and monitored. What programs and systems are in place in our society for this “inspection”? This is why we need a revolution!
Revolution’s have occurred all throughout history. They’ve stemmed from major changes in culture to global events. With recent events in our society we desperately need a revolution.
We need to rise up and revolt because the opposite is complacency and stagnation. For slavery there was the abolitionist movement, for civil rights there was the civil right movement.
Why would these times require anything less of us? Peaceful protest are a great ways to start but what are we saying to the rest of the world and how are we saying it? Who are our leaders that we hope to account for this change? Who is our cultural representative?
It’s not enough to just be upset about what’s going on and chat about it with our friends and co-workers, we have to get organized and we have to continue to have a much needed conversation within our homes, within our schools, and within our communities. This should spark new ideas, new community programs, and inspire others voices to be used as a vehicle for change.
We must recognize what we want our young people to recognize and that’s where we’ve been and where we are going.
They have lost their identity and their way because they don’t fully understand who and what they come from and it’s diminishing the path of where they should be going. When youth path is diminished, the future’s path is diminished.
We need a revolution that will remind our young people of not only what they can do but who they are. Then I believe the #BlackLivesMatter movement will make more sense to us all and it won’t just be something that’s nice to say and looks good on a t-shirt, but will take root in their hearts and birth something magnificent enough to truly change our society and the mentality that so greatly needs to be changed.