Hope evades us in these times. Where do we find inspiration when the forces of darkness rule every turret?
Perhaps from sources near us.
How about our brothers and sisters of color? They have
survived over 400 years of persecution. On that path, they excelled in every
field in which they were allowed to participate. Take sports, for example. Their
excellence now forces us to place an asterisk beside the name of any white star
who didn’t face athletes of color.
Their music formed the basis of many of our prevalent styles
of popular entertainment.
The literature they managed to leave floats like sparkles of
gems on a sea of mediocrity.
They flew, sailed, and fought heroically for a nation that
despised and abused them.
After the trench warfare of WWI, the invasion at Normandy, the Chosin Reservoir, and the Ia Drang valley, they weren't allowed to vote when they came home.
They excelled in countless important achievements in America
history for which they received no credit.
To teach youth about the acknowledgement of their many
contributions is against the law in my state and forbidden in more and more
instances at the federal level.
Their descendants today have grandparents who weren’t
allowed to sit in the ground floor of a movie theater or enter the front door
of a restaurant.
Ad nauseum.
Yet they have survived. As the darkness descends upon us,
let us ask them how.
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