As I sit here writing, I couldn’t help but think to myself, the importance for all blacks to know the history of our people, from being enslaved, fighting for our rights like if being a different skin color made you not a human being, to be treated like an animal or even worst. It’s sad, because there are animals treated better than some black people have ever been treated, even today. Whenever I think of the suffering of black people I think of the four hundred years of the Israelites in Egypt enslaved by Pharaoh who refused to have let them go. But yet Pharaoh was afraid that they would one day take them over, because there was too many of them. God send Moses to deliver them out of their bondage.

Black History Month is vital to our exixtence it teaches blacks can do great things and be more than just slaves. We are capable of making the world a better place. When given the chance we can excel into greatness and accomplish so much.

We’ve come a long way and still the victory to be won for equality is a continuous battle. It hurts me to know after all blacks has been through, stolen from their country brought to foreign lands and enslaved. Their are some whites, especially old timers who believes to themselves, blacks are so privilege today what more do we want? What’s this, “Black Lives Matter!” Some whites even want for things to go back the way it was when they ruled, and abused blacks, who had no rights. They’d wish blacks to stay in their place of submissions to their authority and control like the good old days. I heard them speaking when they thought I wasn’t listening and I’ve even seen the looks in some of their eyes towards a black person especially the black men, it’s very hurtful. As a black woman, I strongly believe we are not the threat, but our fathers, brothers, husbands and sons are for some reason.

I could never forget this, it was in elementary school the first time I was called the N-word by a classmate and told to go back to Africa which is not where I was born. I could remember it, like it was yesterday, that hurt I felt already feeling isolated being one of the only black child in my class and afraid of being in a new school surrounded by so many strangers and them being all white. I suck it up and said nothing, because I was petrified and intimated. First year in high school, history class, studying ancient humans when one of my classmates after our teacher had given a description of the first humans looking like Apes, Neanderthal man, he turned looked at me and said, “look they are describing what you look like” and the entire class broke out in laughter. This time I didn’t felt intimidated or petrified, my respond was, “why then are you here on my earth if I was here first, no wonder you white people hate us.” There was a silence that you could of heard a pin dropped. The teacher said nothing, but carried on with his teaching after the brief moment of silence like nothing happened. He didn’t intervene to what the classmate had said nor my response. From then on I realized it was all ignorance that people are prejudice because of lack of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. But those two experiences prepped me for the reality I was going to face in the world as an adult because of the color of my skin. It hurt me deeply within my soul and affected me mental because of my innocence being a child, believing that the color of my skin shouldn’t matter, I was same age as everyone in my class. My first experience with racism and back then and I didn’t even understand that it was racism. You’re not prepared for that, especially if it’s not something you hear about or ever discuss at home.

I have no hate or dislike to any other people of different colors, even if they themselves would have a problem with me. I believe God created all humanity like a bouquet of flowers the beauty of it is in the difference types and the earth is our vase. There’s room for us all and it is our difference in color that makes us stand out equally not above or bellow. It is not the same for each person characteristics or personality. When come to the color of someone’s skin it’s like when it is said, ” Don’t judge the book by its cover.” There are just good and bad people no matter their color or whatever. No one human being is perfect except Jesus who wasn’t even fully human.

There’s so much more I’d like to write about, but I want to end this nice and short. Growing up I was blessed to have two white best friends one was German and the other French Canadian my sisters. We saw each other as people not black or white, but family, thank the Lord! And my husband whom I am married to for over twenty-five years also white for the first time in his life learned the hard reality by marrying a black person teaches you as a white person the existence of racism, especially with sons, it’s for real and it’s brutal. Will continue this topic next Black History Month. God bless!!!