Yesterday was a good day for me I was able to vibe with several brothers in the course of one day. At the Gym last night a brother that i talk to on a regular basis and I began to talk about the word Nigger and this lead to other discussions. This brothers views on the word was interesting and deeply thought about. And that moved me and gave me the ability to discuss other things with him. We talked for about 40 minutes to an hour about this topic and others. This brother is very educated and I believe that he is a Lawyer here in the D.C area. When I began tying in the history and struggle of blacks and key figures in the struggle I saw a reaction that I had not expected. He seemed to have that look in his eye where he was being introduced to New information. I had tapped into fertile ground. Let me tell you there is no feeling better than this. When you find someone who is RAW and willing to learn, lets just say that it is a power feeling. Ask any Teacher that you know who loves what they do, they'll attest.
This brother and I touched on the Civil Rights movement, Black Power, and the lack of knowledge of these things today in our children. Being that he is from the South, I think Mississippi to be exact, he understands the feelings behind these topics and has first hand accounts of the RAW and uncut nature of the word Nigger. And this is a more powerful lesson than anything that can be taught in school or anywhere else. I must admit that I look forward to speaking to the brother again and going further into depth with these and other topics.
Sadly enough these kinds of interactions are far and few in between. I know for a fact that it is easier for us to sit around and talk about sports and things of that nature because there we are all on a level playing field. But in the end we do not learn anything new, because next week it all changes. These types of dialog are powerful because the information and the ideas taken away from them stay with us. We may not always agree with what the others around us may say but we tend to find our truth in some of it and walk away with that Jewel.
My direction today is to try and spark more of this type of dialog and to hopefully build it into a group who will willingly and eagerly meet on a regular basis in order to discuss life as it is for us.
This brother and I touched on the Civil Rights movement, Black Power, and the lack of knowledge of these things today in our children. Being that he is from the South, I think Mississippi to be exact, he understands the feelings behind these topics and has first hand accounts of the RAW and uncut nature of the word Nigger. And this is a more powerful lesson than anything that can be taught in school or anywhere else. I must admit that I look forward to speaking to the brother again and going further into depth with these and other topics.
Sadly enough these kinds of interactions are far and few in between. I know for a fact that it is easier for us to sit around and talk about sports and things of that nature because there we are all on a level playing field. But in the end we do not learn anything new, because next week it all changes. These types of dialog are powerful because the information and the ideas taken away from them stay with us. We may not always agree with what the others around us may say but we tend to find our truth in some of it and walk away with that Jewel.
My direction today is to try and spark more of this type of dialog and to hopefully build it into a group who will willingly and eagerly meet on a regular basis in order to discuss life as it is for us.
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