Wounded Justice......

A quote from Dr. King----


I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.

excerpted from Nobel Peace Prize speech, 1964

Post racial America?

Some of the worst racists are wolves in sheep's clothing.......This came to me early this morning as I prepared for work. Malcolm X spoke a great deal about this and it's still applicable.

Live To See Nothing Happen......

If I live to see nothing happen.....My mother and grandmother used to say this all the time before or after mentioning something they wanted or desired. "Live to see nothing happen, I'm going uptown this weekend......I'm getting the plants out next week, live to see nothing happen."

It was a testament to the power of the unknown and an appreciation for the blessings of life we are given everyday. As simple as it sounds, waking up in the morning is at God's will. Live to see nothing happen meant nothing was taken for granted. On the farm in Whitakers, North Carolina I suppose they believed in this phrase more than anything. As sharecroppers, they had little assurance about what the next day, month or year could bring. In fact, we migrated to New York (I was five) after learning that the landowner deceitfully calculated that my grandparents owed him hundreds of dollars. Earlier that year, I imagine that Grandma had uttered those words more than once----Live to see nothing happen. It was a snowy January Sunday in 1965 when we left the uncertainties of sharecropping.

I grew up hearing this phrase in all its mystery. Only now do I understand how it acknowledges the power which we do not have. We can do everything in our control to direct our next steps but there's an infinite power that controls our destiny. Live to see nothing happen refers to more than literal life; it speaks also to the present and how we can treasure what we already have.
Ask that you live to see nothing happenbut live life fully while you can.

The Obamas and Photo Ops: Where are Black Adults?

This is another Obama critique. Rarely do I see the President or Michelle in photos with black dignitaries or leaders. Yesterday Obama was in Germany to pose with Holocaust survivors---a very noteworthy image for the world to see. Pain and suffering is universal. Michelle posed recently with former First Lady Nancy Reagon. To her credit, Michelle is frequently pictured with black school children on visits in the DC area and in other cities.

So is there any truth behind this perception. I'll keep watching and hoping that President Obama's journey takes him to the South and a photographer snaps a shot with him and venerable Civil Rights leaders. He could also travel to Harlem and snaps a shot with Al Sharpton. There are plenty of folks in his political birthplace of Chicago--perhaps there's a photo op with some of the community organizers upon which he rose to prominence.

I readily accept that he is not the President of Black people. Even so, he doesn't have to stay so far away. And Michelle can move closer to black adults in her next photo shoot. I could go on but the point is made.

I have much love to the First Family. There could not be a prouder moment for the black community, for the world. I only want to see them embrace more black figures so the world can see from whence they came.