Black Card

     I took my daughter to try a hip hop dance class. She thought it was hard and she believed herself to be inadequate. I thought to myself,  "inadequate for what? To whom? For a black girl?" We joke about the black card and when and why it should be revoked. I had to pause and explain to her what it means to be black, and just how ALL encompassing we are!
     No one has the right to contain all and everything that you are and place it in a "Black Box". As an American we've been exposed to so much, and as we continue to travel the world, explore & discover, we will continue to expand who we are.            That brings me great joy! I love being black & I am proud, but I know we sometimes have a tendency to judge one another for stepping out of our culture lane. I think we've been shut out far too long to limit ourselves. Don't you? We have many talents, interests, and our strengths vary. Rhythm is something that some of us has to work on, and that's fine. It doesn't mean we are any less black. There are many of us who have been so ostracized by our own that they've abandoned being black altogether. You know those sisters and brothers who feel like they can't identify with our cause? We label them 'Uncle Toms' and confiscate their black cards.  What is it that made them turn their backs? If we are to move into the future in strength and in numbers we have to remember who we are. The spirit within knows NO boundaries and can never be placed in a black box.

Humanity First

I've been thinking about the new talk about life outside of Earth.
At one time, I believed it to be exciting.  The thought of life other than ours...
Then I thought about all the unjust killings of black people. The disproportionate number of black and brown men incarcerated and I knew that as much as I LOVE to fantasize about the world beyond, we have too much work to do at home.