What Was Once Before Shall Be Again…

 

While navigating the many vicissitudes of womanhood… I often think of my mom and her sisters… and their mom (granny). My mother was born in February 1922–and in January 1922–“The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, the first of its kind, passes the U.S. House of Representatives in part due to the efforts of the NAACP.” She birthed me in 1964 when Dr. King was leading the cause for Civil Rights. Just a bit of trivia… In December’64 the month/year of my birth—“he made a stop in London for three days to preach at St. Paul's Cathedral and meet with leaders of the peace community.”

     But prior to—and therein my mother—her mother—her sisters were Black women in an era when mostly all the freedoms, access and privileges that we enjoy(ed) today was denied them. But they somehow could see a brighter future—from where they began—and forge ahead with that hope. Religion, and hope going hand-in-hand in most instances—similarly today—and some pretty courageous leaders at the helm of the various causes.  

     Prior to me—mom had already given birth to 7 children many years older than I—some of whom felt and lived through the implications of the era. Though I came along during his lifetime—Dr. King was assassinated by the time I was 4.  So, I grew up not knowing or seeing what she (they) lived through. In hindsight the residual came closer into view. 

     So, today I understand the magnitude of the inequalities (many still lingering) of their time—healthcare, racism, classism, sexism, education, employment, housing, and a host of other inequality issues through the lens of education, and my own lived realities—and I think, “How did they endure, hang on, and stay the course.?” Family values come top of mind—the core of who they were—and who they were willing to live, fight and even die for. What we have today—our ancestors perhaps imagined—or maybe not?

     But what we have, enjoy, and are afforded today—has given birth to several generations of people that have no idea of what not living in a Democracy even means—no idea of what fighting for civil rights entails, and what a life without basic liberties looks like, but… get your energy up—be ready to stand for something… do not dare think passively waiting to “see what happens” is an option—because it’s NOT. God willing—I will complete 60 years around the sun the 23rd of December. My children, and my grandson are the hope that I have lived for, and until God calls me home—they are who I will fight and endure the fight for. 

     And this is not hyperbole …get your weight up because a paradigm shift has come! What was once before shall be again—and what is now is no longer.🖤

Reference:

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/civil-rights-act-1964