Our community has contributed many things to this great country. It seems fair that we would expect something in return. The problems come when we forget that this is the real world. No one is going to give us anything. We have to earn it and then take it.
African Americans have lost the work ethic and drive that was mandatory for our ancestors. They did not have the luxury of simply complaining when things did not go their way. Every day was a struggle. Every victory required a battle. We now feel entitled. We've become complacent in our efforts. We expect the yoke to ride on someone else’s neck.
Reparations are not coming, a revolution must. We must revolt against the idea that we are owed something from anyone in this world. We must revolt against the idea that we are victims locked perpetually in the shackles of our skin, waiting for a savior. We must revolt against the idea that if we complain long enough, someone will come and wipe away the tears that are our grievances. We must rise above the idea that “the man” and “the system” will forever hold us down, or that they must one day carry us on their backs across the finish line of success and power, and we must accept our new mission as soldiers and ministers for our own people.
When the black man and black woman no longer wear their color as bondage and embrace it as beauty and strength, there is no barrier that we will not break. We will educate our people. We will empower our people. We will free our people. We will filter out of prisons and no longer lead in incarceration rates. We will no longer shy from politics only to be crushed by the decisions of those we so ignorantly elected. We will change the world for the betterment of all.
We have fallen, but we shall rise.
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