Now, it seems that I have ruffled some feathers in my very own community and these individuals (I will not name names, but I know who you are), are going around starting up the rumor mills exclaiming that I don't know what I am talking about and that I am to young and inexperienced to know what is best for this community.
As another has well said, to handicap a student by teaching him that his black face is a curse and that his struggle to change his condition is hopeless is the worst form of lynching. It kills one's aspirations and dooms them to vagabondage and crime.
Carter G. Woodson-"Father of Black History"nch
I will not allow those in, my community or outside of it, to lynch me!
When I first heard this I was shocked and appalled and I even shed a tear.
However, in realizing that this is the nature of the "BEAST" to fear, to lash out, to blame and to criticize those who would even attempt to move us forward. I accepted it and I embraced it. I wiped that tear away and renewed my commitment to sojourn on to helping my community realize it can be and do better.
So, to you individuals (and you know who you are), I say this.
Why hinder this movement to Educate our community to the issues, to Elevate this community above the status quo, and to Eliminate that which will and is holding us back? I thought about this question all night and all this morning, when it came to me.
I will not state here the outcome of this epiphany because we all have to come to it on our own terms and time, but eventually my goal is to have all of us come to it.
I will, however, pose these questions:
Is attempting to get this community involved, detrimental to anyone?
Is having an idea of how the City works, detrimental to anyone?
Is helping to keep the residents informed of the City's actions or potential actions, detrimental to anyone?
Who most benefits from this community becoming educated and informed?
Who most benefits from this community taking an active role in the government that was established to represent us?
Who most benefits from this community taking its destiny into its own hands?
What is lost if we continue holding to the same patterns, traditions, and pursuits that we have held for the last 60 years?
What is lost if we look for new avenues to ensure that our community is developed at the same rate as the other communities that comprise the City of Deerfield Beach?
Once you have an answer to these questions, look at what we would gain and then look at what we will and have lost.
When I look at District 2, I see a community of intelligent, responsive, and eager individuals who want the best for themselves. They may not know how to get it, but with the right encouragement and leadership "WE" will rise above any and all obstacles that my stand in our way.
So I ask these people, who would see me fail in my mission to make "US" aware and actively involved, who am I hurting.
Who will be hurt, if we continue with business as usual in this community?
We have lost our baseball field, we have lost our Mango Festival, we have lost our direction, we have lost our community spirit, we have our city employment, we have lost our Commissioner, we are losing our football team, and now we would lose our voice(s).
Is that what you would like to see happen? Would this be beneficial to you INDIVIDUALS?
When I look at these questions, I see the big picture and the agendas of those who would see us kept in the dark about our true power as residents of District 2. We have been in the dark for far to long under the strangle-hold of so-called institutions. It is time for us to break free from that "oldway" and step into the "SUNSHINE" of TODAY.
If that is wrong of me to ask of the community that I was born and raised in, then I don't want to be RIGHT!
I will, however, continue to scratch and claw fighting for "US" to make up the ground that we have allowed ourselves to lose, even if I have to do it all alone.
This song, "Each Tear" by Mary J. Blige expresses most clearly, what I may not be able to say about this community. Hopefully, you can learn from it and we can learn from each tear that we as a community have cried and move forward to our better future.
As another has well said, to handicap a student by teaching him that his black face is a curse and that his struggle to change his condition is hopeless is the worst form of lynching. It kills one's aspirations and dooms them to vagabondage and crime.
Carter G. Woodson-"Father of Black History"nch
I will not allow those in, my community or outside of it, to lynch me!
When I first heard this I was shocked and appalled and I even shed a tear.
However, in realizing that this is the nature of the "BEAST" to fear, to lash out, to blame and to criticize those who would even attempt to move us forward. I accepted it and I embraced it. I wiped that tear away and renewed my commitment to sojourn on to helping my community realize it can be and do better.
So, to you individuals (and you know who you are), I say this.
Why hinder this movement to Educate our community to the issues, to Elevate this community above the status quo, and to Eliminate that which will and is holding us back? I thought about this question all night and all this morning, when it came to me.
I will not state here the outcome of this epiphany because we all have to come to it on our own terms and time, but eventually my goal is to have all of us come to it.
I will, however, pose these questions:
Is wanting us to have a true voice and true power in this community, detrimental to anyone?
Is attempting to get this community involved, detrimental to anyone?
Is having an idea of how the City works, detrimental to anyone?
Is helping to keep the residents informed of the City's actions or potential actions, detrimental to anyone?
Who most benefits from this community becoming educated and informed?
Who most benefits from this community taking an active role in the government that was established to represent us?
Who most benefits from this community taking its destiny into its own hands?
What is lost if we continue holding to the same patterns, traditions, and pursuits that we have held for the last 60 years?
What is lost if we look for new avenues to ensure that our community is developed at the same rate as the other communities that comprise the City of Deerfield Beach?
Once you have an answer to these questions, look at what we would gain and then look at what we will and have lost.
When I look at District 2, I see a community of intelligent, responsive, and eager individuals who want the best for themselves. They may not know how to get it, but with the right encouragement and leadership "WE" will rise above any and all obstacles that my stand in our way.
So I ask these people, who would see me fail in my mission to make "US" aware and actively involved, who am I hurting.
Who will be hurt, if we continue with business as usual in this community?
We have lost our baseball field, we have lost our Mango Festival, we have lost our direction, we have lost our community spirit, we have our city employment, we have lost our Commissioner, we are losing our football team, and now we would lose our voice(s).
Is that what you would like to see happen? Would this be beneficial to you INDIVIDUALS?
When I look at these questions, I see the big picture and the agendas of those who would see us kept in the dark about our true power as residents of District 2. We have been in the dark for far to long under the strangle-hold of so-called institutions. It is time for us to break free from that "oldway" and step into the "SUNSHINE" of TODAY.
If that is wrong of me to ask of the community that I was born and raised in, then I don't want to be RIGHT!
I will, however, continue to scratch and claw fighting for "US" to make up the ground that we have allowed ourselves to lose, even if I have to do it all alone.
This song, "Each Tear" by Mary J. Blige expresses most clearly, what I may not be able to say about this community. Hopefully, you can learn from it and we can learn from each tear that we as a community have cried and move forward to our better future.
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