Note: In honor of the celebration of Black History Month I have decided to share 7 blog articles written last year during the time I was participating in a closed FB page for a group of people who had committed to writing 1 page a day for the entire year. These articles were spurred after the horrible Charleston Church massacre that happened at the Emmanuel AME church in South Carolina resulting in the murder of 9 African American parishioners.
(Writing # 7 of 7 – June 26, 2015)
“We are the ones we have been waiting for” – Alice Walker
As I write the 7th and final blog post addressing the question “Where Do We Start?” in regards to helping to heal the gaping wound of racism so deeply embedded in American culture and society, I end with a very simple instruction to include on the list of essentials. And that simple instruction is to “Just Start!”! And please know that whether or not you start by using something you’ve read in this blog post series is completely insignificant. What is significant however is simply that You Start!
Sometimes when we’ve been bombarded with too much information or when the task at hand seems insurmountable we tend to become paralyzed in a state of inactivity. So it is no surprise that in a healing journey such as this one that we can easily become paralyzed as we ponder all of the things that must be done to heal this wound. If we allow ourselves to focus on the “bigness” of this issue of racism in America it will be easy to just give up and give out before we even really begin.
The reality is, YES, this wound is big, and YES this wound is calling for us to do much more that we’ve been doing so far. And, YES this wound is a monumental issue to be reckoned with. And finally, YES, as President Obama so eloquently reminded us of during the eulogy for Senator and Pastor Clementa C. Pinckney who was murdered in the church he pastured along with 8 other members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, “There are no shortcuts”. But even so, I hope you will not retreat! I hope that you will not convince yourself that “someone else” or “those other people” will have be the ones to get this thing done.
Instead, I hope that you will consider the words in the title of a book written by Alice Walker that says “We are the ones we have been waiting for”. Embrace this as truth and wherever you are, however you are and by doing whatever you can – Just Start! I assure you that everyone engaged in this healing journey as well as those who will benefit in future generations are calling you forth to carry out this final action. So in conclusion, I add this one final call to action to the “Where Do We Start” list of essentials. And that call to action is a simple one. Just Start!
(Writing # 7 of 7 – June 26, 2015)
“We are the ones we have been waiting for” – Alice Walker
As I write the 7th and final blog post addressing the question “Where Do We Start?” in regards to helping to heal the gaping wound of racism so deeply embedded in American culture and society, I end with a very simple instruction to include on the list of essentials. And that simple instruction is to “Just Start!”! And please know that whether or not you start by using something you’ve read in this blog post series is completely insignificant. What is significant however is simply that You Start!
Sometimes when we’ve been bombarded with too much information or when the task at hand seems insurmountable we tend to become paralyzed in a state of inactivity. So it is no surprise that in a healing journey such as this one that we can easily become paralyzed as we ponder all of the things that must be done to heal this wound. If we allow ourselves to focus on the “bigness” of this issue of racism in America it will be easy to just give up and give out before we even really begin.
The reality is, YES, this wound is big, and YES this wound is calling for us to do much more that we’ve been doing so far. And, YES this wound is a monumental issue to be reckoned with. And finally, YES, as President Obama so eloquently reminded us of during the eulogy for Senator and Pastor Clementa C. Pinckney who was murdered in the church he pastured along with 8 other members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, “There are no shortcuts”. But even so, I hope you will not retreat! I hope that you will not convince yourself that “someone else” or “those other people” will have be the ones to get this thing done.
Instead, I hope that you will consider the words in the title of a book written by Alice Walker that says “We are the ones we have been waiting for”. Embrace this as truth and wherever you are, however you are and by doing whatever you can – Just Start! I assure you that everyone engaged in this healing journey as well as those who will benefit in future generations are calling you forth to carry out this final action. So in conclusion, I add this one final call to action to the “Where Do We Start” list of essentials. And that call to action is a simple one. Just Start!