This has nothing to do with sports or entertainment, but I still wanted to share. I think about young people a lot. I think about the problems they face, the hurdles they have to overcome, and the statistics they’re creating. I was so burdened recently, I wrote this open letter to the young black generation (who, in my opinion, are in crisis). Take a read:
Dear young black generation,
Once upon a time, our African ancestors went from being tribal kings and queens to laborers in America. We were beaten and killed for trying to escape oppression, learning to read or bettering ourselves in any way. At one point, we weren’t even considered human on the U.S. Census. Speed up to sharecropping days. Education was limited and wages were low. Although slavery was “over” — we were in a foreign land, told to figure it out — despite no fair opportunities. Couldn’t vote, couldn’t get a business or housing loan. Not all, but most couldn’t achieve the “American Dream.” Fast forward to Jim Crow days. According to the law of the land, we were still “less than.” Couldn’t eat where we wanted, ride transportation how we pleased, and yes — were still beaten and killed for wanting better. It took courageous men and women to say: wait a minute. We helped build this country one field at a time, yet can’t thrive in it. I am intelligent. I am talented. I am worthy of the same inalienable rights as my fairer complexed brothers and sisters. That spark ignited a flame that refused to be put out. New laws were written. Hatred and racism were exposed. (Some) change had come.
Knowing this — why then are we in such a lost state? Why are we acting savage; killing one another for less? Not valuing ours or anybody else’s life? Letting negative messages in music, disenfranchisement and hopelessness prevail? Why are we disrespecting the elderly and calling our women everything except what they were created to be? Why are we blaming others for bad choices and not finding ways to improve? Why are we not thanking God for our progressions, and working to get more? Lastly– why are we living up to the very stereotypes our ancestors tried to shatter?
My strong black men and beautiful women: restore your worth. Restore the value Almighty God has given you. Honor those who came before you through kind words, not violence. Take advantage of the free, equal education our grandparents fought for. Study hard; ask someone to help you apply for financial aid before you graduate. Go to trade school. Stop thinking street life won’t get you locked up or killed. Honor women, even if they’ve had it rough and don’t honor themselves. Give up the anti-monogamous mindset, and get excited about marriage. Seek God and His path, and see how your circumstances will change.
Above all, remember — you came from royalty. Now is the time to reclaim your thrones.
