Celebrating Black History & Remembering Your History
As we all know, this is Black History Month. This is a time where we reflect on all the great people that have impacted society in hopes to have racial equality as well as better opportunities for all minorities. We celebrate, we have ceremonies, and some even try to give back in whatever we way we feel we can contribute. As I was thinking about the significance of this month, my mind began to reflect on a project that I had when I was in elementary school. I was asked to interview my parents and grandparents on their lives and how they grew up. The interviews were somewhat the same, yet they all different perspectives, kind of like the Four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They all walked with Jesus and told the same story but in different versions. Now getting back to the project, there were stories about using their limited resources to make ends meet because of the lack of provisions. Some parents had big families and raised them on farms. The parents didn’t get to go to school because of the amount of work that had to be done. The children had to work on the farm in the morning before they went to school. Then, they return home to do work after school. Some children had to miss school or drop out altogether. Imagine yourself in that situation, if you didn’t live it.
Since they didn’t have the finer things in technology, their entertainment was each other. So, there was plenty of time to tell stories and enjoy family time. Needless to say, the story can go on and on.
You are probably wondering by now, ‘Where is this going’? Well, here you go. As important as the Black History is, ‘When was the last time you talked about your family history. I’m reminded of mine when my Daughter asked me one day about someone that sent her a friend request on Facebook. She asked, “Daddy who is that?” I replied, “That’s your cousin.” We all have some amazing people in our families. My thoughts while we are celebrating Black History, let’s take time to reflect on our own family history: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Learn about how our ancestors struggled. But most importantly, learn how our families overcame adversity and how they are still advancing every day. It is important to YOUR generation and mine. We should never forget where we come from. Remembering should be our motivation to always want to do better.
