I was singing Bob Marley’s No woman no cry; and as I got to the verse in this great future, we can’t forget our past, so dry your tears I say, no woman, no cry. I found myself reflecting on the past; whilst imagining the future. I thought about the lives and enduring legacy of visionaries like Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King Jr., Mandela Ali, Belafonte my parents of course, and so many more, that had a profound impact on my world. They were not just leaders; they were heroes and sheroes, real models, the embodiment of change, courage, and resilience; there indominable spirit continue to reverberate through time and space; as they navigated, championed and advanced the noble cause of justice, equality, and empowerment, they remind us that words without action are just words.
Today, as we reflect on their remarkable lives, let us also give thanks for their service and sacrifices to us all, an example we to must follow, if a change is truly gonna come, like Sam Cooke sang in 1964.
We must like Martin Luther King orated in his 1968 speech remaining awake through the great revolution. I believe this is one of his most powerful, if not most powerful speech he delivered. He RE MINDs us to stay awake and vigilant in this most crucial of times. Though, many of us are still remain asleep, or distracted by social media, tell lie vision, aimlessly meandering through this economic, social and political revolution.
As I said in the beginning, in closing I say this to you, you, and you! in this great future, we can’t forget our past. However, this chapter of our history has only just begun, and in this time, WE, NOT THEY, must empower our youth to be unstoppable forces, so that they have the strength to rise above adversity, acknowledge their innate potential, know their place, and heritage through our lens. Believe me when I say! The strength, the brilliance, and the untamed spirit of these young minds will shape our world in ways we can only dream of.
I am confident and look forward to the future, as we grow the next generation of hyper-intelligent, fearless princes’ and princesses who at times had to grow through the cracks of the concrete in the ghetto’s, colleges, or universities and learned to be kings and queens, lions and lionesses, in different kind of jungle – In an ever changing world, that we can hardly imagine, filled with challenges and opportunities in equal measure, and yet! As sister Maya Angelou says STILL, I RISE.
