Are We there Yet? Reflections in Black History Month

During black history month, we honor our black and African American historical figures, known and unknown, who fought for freedom and equal rights for the black community.  If it weren’t for people like Martin Luther King Jr, Harriet Tubman, Fannie Lou Hamer, W.E.B. Dubois, Ruby Dee, John Lewis, Shirley Chisholm and Thurgood Marshall, black owned businesses and many of the rights that we have today would not even exist. We take this time to honor our unsung heroes who continue to fight for the rights of black individuals here in America and abroad.  Black History month shouldn’t be limited to a mere month. It deserves at least an entire year.

The United States of America wasn't always a country where the rights of racially diverse individuals existed or were respected.  Slavery may seem like an ancient and barbaric notion today but the reality is that it was a very real and harsh system that was once legal in America.  There has been a push by some who seek to end conversations, movies, discussions and literature about the topic of slavery and the Great haunting on America.  Unfortunately, slavery will always be a stain in America's past; a harsh and ragged truth that can't be erased or forgotten.  In consideration of the fact that it has never sought forgiveness from the descendants of these individuals who were drained dry for 400 years with no remedy, no reparations and no restitution, how could it possibly ever be forgotten?  It is the only era where a human being was publicly considered property in America to be bought, sold and traded.  Imagine being thought of as a house. Valuable but something only to be bought, sold and owned.

If you are a black citizen in America, you have to be so grateful to have been born in a modern day and age.  Dred Scott v. Sanford was a ruling that threw citizenship rights for enslaved people out of the window.  Cognizant of all their hardships, we celebrate those of our ancestors and slaces who toiled, fought and resisted through this dark era.  If only they had the chance to see the road ahead and welcome a day where people of all races and religions live in the same neighborhoods, have relationships and share intimate spaces with each other.  If only they had the chance to see that now all people have the opportunity to access the "American Dream."  

Discussions and visual representations of the past can never stop because satisfaction has not yet been achieved.  The road to justice is still ongoing.  Civil rights great MLK told us to never be satisfied until true markers of justice have been attained.  Has justice rolled down "like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream?" Not yet.  Not in this time.  Not during these four years.  Though we've received a small taste of justice, there is still many ways to go within the domain of equitable rights in this society.  The after effects of slavery, discrimination and segregation are still wide, far-reaching and lasting. So no, we are not there yet.

As we celebrate Black History month, let's continue to uphold and support each other.  It's only through the path of unity and togetherness where lasting change and true justice can actualize.