WHO I AM – WHY I AM – WHAT I DO -- PART 2

Nevertheless, considering all of the obstacles, barriers and intentional measures that were taken to prevent the former slaves from being able to survive and thrive in this country, many of our ancestors left the plantations, in many instances with nothing except the clothes on their back, not knowing where they were going to go and what they were going to do and established towns and cities to ensure that their descendants would have land underneath their feet to establish and build their lives.

Many of our ancestors, not being able to read themselves and would sign their names with an “X”, started schools and colleges to ensure that their descendants would be sufficiently and thoroughly educated to have an academic foundation that would open the doors for the fulfillment of every dream and desire they had.

Many of our ancestors, not having a nickel to their name and no clear expectation that they would be paid for their labor after having given 250 years of free labor, founded businesses, banks, insurance companies and other financially viable institutions to ensure that their descendants would be economically stable.

Many of our ancestors, having been told that their blackness was a curse and it was God’s will and plan that they should be enslaved, dismissed the distorted religious teachings that only indoctrinated them “to be good servants” and “to not steal from their masters” and established an intimate, personal relationship with God through Jesus, the Christ and were emboldened to build churches to ensure that their ancestors had a place to go that encouraged genuine worship on Sundays, as well as, empowered transformation and liberation Monday through Saturday.

Many of our ancestors, having been told all of their lives that they were nothing; that they had the same value as a mule or cow; that when they died, they would go to the slave section of heaven – if they were even allowed in heaven at all, positively contributed wherever they went and established a positive legacy for their descendants that reinforced the understanding that a person’s value is not based upon the assets in their portfolio, rather it is based upon the love of God that created each one of us on purpose and with a purpose.

Indeed, considering all of the obstacles, barriers and intentional measures that were taken to prevent the former slaves from being able to survive and thrive in this country, they survived and hey thrived. They knew who they were, they knew why they were and they did what they were called to do.

Additionally, they did not do it for themselves. They did it for us. They did not have the money to buy land, to start schools, to found businesses, and to build churches. They sacrificed for us. They invested in us. They went without so that we may have. Can I see more focused and clearly Who I am, Why I am and What I do?

-- To be continued next week --