For my Black son… Our blackness is beautiful, baby. To be Black in America is to be an earthly likening to that of the Phoenix. As a people we have risen from great pain and destruction. We have suffered immensely, not because of our blackness, but because of hatred and greed. Our blackness is abstract to many, our CULTURE is abstract to many… and for some it’s easier to hate, than to seek knowledge and understanding.
And yet… here we are. Black. Here we are. Educated. Here we are. Successful. Here we are. Prideful. And STILL serving the very communities that dichotomize us. Son, our blackness is a gift. It’s a unique experience that I’ve been blessed with sharing with you. In that blessing, there is also responsibility. My responsibility is to teach, protect, and love you, so that one day you can Love and Protect yourself, and your own.
Differences don’t have to divide, but they do. And historically, they always have. On OUR backs this country was built, and yet it us, Black America, that is constantly targeted and labeled. Are we undeserving? No. Son, we deserve all the fruits of this earth. The fruits that our ancestors sowed. Son, own your blackness. Because it IS a gift. And know that we will always rise. Our blackness is beautiful baby.
Fifth of October 