The Story Continues

I often speak of visiting those places I call Brownsville, you know, those segregated places mandated by law as a result of the wretched system of “Separate but Equal”. I try to resurrect the ghost of the greats that changed the world, which have caused me to live a life promised to all Americans. Having said that, I readily admit there is still a long way to go.

I have shared the African American journey that no doubt is the greatest story ever told. Maybe let me say this more succinctly by quoting Jesse in terms of witnessing our story coming “From the outhouse to the White House”. The irony of this was that Africans were dragged onto the shores of this place the slaves called “merica” to now having a man of African descent in the White House as President. Frankly, this is the most significant event since Christ rose from the grave.

This evolution brought about our acquiescence to political agendas, abdicating our own economic self-sufficiency for the greater good and most working diligently for the economic well-being of African American people. Since the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were written many have died for the rights described therein and we continue to fight for equality still.

Let me leave you with this thought from “The Mis-Education of the Negro,” the most profound novel ever written in my opinion, originally published in 1933 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who is known as the father of Black History Month. I might add that this book should be mandatory reading for all African Americans – young and old.

The thesis of Dr. Woodson's book is that Negroes of his day were being culturally indoctrinated rather than taught in American schools, or not even given the advantage of education. This conditioning, he claims, causes African Americans to become dependent, seeking out inferior places in the greater society of which they are a part. This assertion is clearly evident nearly eighty years later.

He challenged his readers to become empowered by doing for themselves, regardless of what they were taught: “History shows that it does not matter who is in power... those who have not learned to do for themselves and have to depend solely on others never obtain any more rights or privileges in the end than they did in the beginning.”

This goes beyond the imagination, irrespective of the many promises that have been made and broken, that fairness exists. Religion teaches us - “don’t worry, we have been taught that when we die there is a place where there is a mansion with streets paved with gold.” Be that as it may, let's agree with the great Curtis Mayfield who wrote: “we are people who are darker than blue”. He also said, “People get ready there’s a train a comin. You don’t need no ticket. All you need is faith to get on board… you just thank the lord.”

Some of you may know George Orwell’s statement about history:

Whoever controls the past controls the future, and whoever controls the present controls the past. And whoever’s in charge of a culture decides what history we get, or tries to decide what history we get, and our job is to look beyond that and to try to find our own history, the one that they don’t want us to have. You know what I mean by "they." I won’t—I won’t give you any names, but there is—there’s always a "they."

I have said often that “Black History is American History”. We have witnessed the first man of African descent elected president of these United States and I am thankful to have lived to see what no one living or dead ever thought would occur. God Bless America but the train has not reached its destination and the greatest story ever told will continue! And that is my Thought Provoking Perspective.

http://johntwills.com/

AMAZON

"Just a Season"

and

Legacy – A New Season