01/16/2024
MLK Day always makes me think of my Pops.
Here's a story for y'all:
On April 4th 1968, my father's all-Black band, in the image above, was playing at an all white bar, in either New Jersey or Virginia.
My pops was a horn player, so, you know he was killin' it. I used to joke that I could do anything better than him; it was a lie, nobody I've ever heard was better on a trombone.
Anyway, while his band was playing, a news bulletin came over all radio and TV channels announcing the assassination and death of MLK Jr. It was a deep blow to Black folx everywhere, and all those who understand that our collective liberation is tied together.
What made it worse, the all-whjte audience broke out into high fives and cheers. Classic white supremacy.
My pop's bandmates, and he, were stunned. They didn't know what to do. So they played on...
All these years later, that story stays with me. There was resilience in that group. They didn't know what to do, and so they played on.
I am of the next generation. Their resilience and survival has enabled all the opportunities of my generation.
We are fortunate to no longer be required to "play on".
Instead, WE. DON'T. PLAY.
We need not appease.
We need not fear discomfort.
In fact, we invite discomfort because we understand that discomfort is sometimes a critical component of learning.
And while some school districts seek to stifle uncomfortable discourse, others continue to learn to embrace it, because of course, nothing worth having comes easily.
We confront anti-Black racism directly, and confidently. Sometimes it's ill-intended; usually it's unrealized. And so, we educate- with love, and without fear.
And slowly, building off all of those before us, we create a better world for all our kids & for all kids.
And we dismantle the great lie: that there are racial rankings that prioritize some lives over others.
Race is a long-told myth. Nothing more.
The entire race- all human beings- are of Africa. Our collective souls originate there.
And so, as MLK told us in :I Have a Dream', "Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."
Stay Soulful ✊🏾
