Having self awareness means how an individual consciously knows and understands their own character, feelings, motives, and desires. To state it another way, it’s an objective way in how we view ourselves. Matthew 7:3-5 Jesus said,” Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
As a black person in today’s society it’s very hard to go about our day without feeling unappreciated. Feeling that society doesn’t accept us as equals. We’re labeled as feeble-minded beings, who are always looking for a hand me out, that also lack discipline to behave in an orderly manner. These assertions couldn’t be further from the truth. Generalizing a whole group of people based on the actions of a few is not only irresponsible, its hurtful and shows a lack of objectivity.
Generational curses are real. They have existed since Eve talked Adam into eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Since that moment humankind has been cursed. One of the albatrosses that exist in black families today in America is the absence of black fathers. Where did this issue emanate? Could it have been the slave trade? Countless families were torn apart. Slaves were often traded, sold off, raped, and murdered. The formulation of strong black families was strongly discouraged so the man was often being displaced and sometimes they were removed before even seeing kids they fathered. Without order and a strong foundation, slave owners knew their slaves would more likely be content and have a subservient attitude. The best way to do that was to remove God’s head of his family structure, the father. I think it would be ignorant to not see a correlation in the behavior of our current family structure and how it relates to our family structure during slavery. Although there are lots of black families that are flourishing and that have strong foundations, there always seems to be systems in place to curtail any progress made for countless others. Remember Black Wall Street? https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2020/06/18/the-bezos-of-black-wall-street-tulsa-race-riots-1921/#1ed3e06df321. Eradicating forms of oppression that have been apart of our culture for hundreds of years was and is not an easy thing.
Some factors that contribute to absentee fathers are mass incarceration, lack of parental commitment, or some men wanting to be a philanderer. All which have negative connotations. For most of these men, there is no reasonable excuse for this. Only God knows how many men have been wrongfully convicted or excessively punished unfairly for crimes that lead to their incarceration. It pains me to hear people losing decades of their life through no fault of their own, but there is no defense for voluntarily participating in gang violence. With little to no real father figures gangsters tend to be who some kids gravitate to in order to find security from a male figure. That’s why programs like Boys and Girls clubs and sporting programs are so instrumental in poor communities with helping kids gain tools needed for success in life. It’s a positive alternative to street life. Back to my point, there is also no defense for walking away from your kids even if they were a product of an accidental pregnancy. Yes, there is a big problem in the black community with kids born out of wedlock. Some athletes and celebrities although paid handsomely, are being stuck having to pay exorbitant amounts of child support due to this issue. Former NFL cornerback Antonio Cromartie comes to mind. This issue like most isn’t germane to just blacks. Two of Boston’s biggest sports legends Larry Bird and Tom Brady also have kids out of wedlock with women they are no longer with. Regardless, studies show there are positive benefits to having dual parent involvement even if the parents aren’t together. It is critical in developing the behaviors that our kids need to navigate through these perilous days and times.
We must be cognizant about how our actions affect future generations. Generational curses are temporal. The God I serve is eternal. God is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow. This means that this generational curse can end with us as a people if we are more intentional about the way we live our lives and attack the curse that is afflicting us aggressively. In the movie “Remember the Titans” T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia was newly integrated and coach Herman Boone a black man, played by Denzel Washington was chosen to lead the team over a popular white coach, Bill Yoast played by Will Patton. Together the two men were able to successfully coach the school to a state championship despite all negative tension leading into the season due to the integration of the races. In the championship game against a rival school the refs were intentionally calling the game in favor of the other school in order to sabotage Bonne’s job at TC Williams. They fabricated calls. They let the opposing team get away with excessive contact. They were determined to make the outcome not so rewarding for Coach Boone and his team. The ones in power could dictate the outcome. Sounds familiar. That was until Coach Yoast spoke to the refs midway through the game and told them he knew what they were trying to do in terms of swaying the direction of the game and that he’d report them. The refs complied to Coach Yoast’s wishes. On the even playing field the momentum and outcome of the game changed. Just like here in America for about 400 years the refs have let one team get away with a lot more than the other. No one wants an advantage. We just want the same rules to apply to everyone. All men are created equal, show it. Eradicating systemic racism and inequalities isn’t an instant thing although in this microwave society we’d like to think so. America has taken baby steps to eradicate racism and other forms of oppression.
Let’s do our part to try and minimize the potential for unjust treatment by law enforcement and “Good” guys with a gun. Botham Jean, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Elijah Mclain, Daniel Shaver,and Tamir Rice just to name a few weren’t doing anything criminal and still were murdered unjustly so there is no 100% full proof way to ensure you won’t encounter a situation with someone with a firearm whether they carry lawfully or not. We can however stop getting drunk in public and especially while driving. We can fix lights on our cars. Don’t apply illegal window tint to car windows. Yes, things aren’t fair, cops come at us for petty stuff sure, but if we limit the opportunities where undesired interaction with cops is warranted. That potentially would be one less instance of a cop shooting for someone for merely going in your glove compartment for documentation. Generally, we’re are supposed to take solace in the fact that we have cops. I usually agree. We need “good” cops like we need air, but I’m not delusional and I know there are more cops out there like the ones from Wilmington, NC who want to kill black people and have the knowledge they can do so with little to no repercussions. This is where the unfairness of qualified immunity comes into play.
We also must speak out when our own people murder our own. In other words black on black crime. Are we immune to senseless killings by those in our communities? No, those bullets hurt just the same. If someone accidentally steps on a pair of Jordans, it doesn’t mean it’s time to set it off, but it happens. Often times there’s collateral damage resulting in death with the same results as if a cop has killed someone. A mother and a father have just lost a child over something as minuscule as a shoe scuff. Also there’s the seemingly endless cycle of gang violence. An eye for an eye as some call it. It needs to stop as well. The church is still holding a home going service. Case in point https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/14/us/new-orleans-triple-shooting-child-killed/index.html. When we show such little regard to those that look like us. It gives others an attitude that we don’t value our own lives and somehow, they believe it gives them authorization to kill us with little to no regard. Under no circumstances should beliefs like that be tolerated. God is love and if we attack this issue with a God focused approach, there will be a day when this nation really is One Nation Under God with Liberty and Justice for All. Let’s continue to press forward to the mark. Assess the areas in your life which you or somebody you know may be susceptible to being treated unjustly and put protective measures in place. The life you save maybe your own.
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