Day 28 of Black History Month “The Man In The Mirror”

Good morning its #Day28 of #BlackHistoryMonth lets us focus on the man in the mirror today. To clarify I mean man in the totality of mankind not just the male species. When we look at that man in the mirror we are forced to truly see ourselves. Then let us hold that mirror up to our continued struggle.

The evidence before us suggests that the lack of unified leadership has forced us into a stalemate. The evidence before us suggests that the lack of true people centered leadership has forced us into a stalemate. The evidence before us suggests that every time there has been strong unity there has been strategic dissemination. The evidence suggests that we’ve been had, led astray, bamboozled into thinking that we have experienced true progress. During our days of being forced into Jim Crow, during our days of fighting for civil rights there was always an element of unity despite our differences. What happened? What lessons did we miss in the lives and murders of our leaders?

That’s where the man in the mirror comes into the equation. Prayer changes things yes it does. But the operative word in that idiom is change. Change in that sentence is a verb. In elementary school we were taught verbs are words of action; therefore our prayers must be done in motion. #FrederickDouglass said it best, “I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs”. We must pray with our legs more.

Six years have passed us by with this presidency and we have yet to truthfully and consistently have a conversation about our community needs. We have less than two years left to make him face himself in the mirror. Just because he has a similar face does not mean he identifies with us. Leadership does not require previous experience but a will to serve. Leadership is not a one man working alone but teamwork. You may not possess the charisma necessary but you possess the ability to write. You may not possess the finances but you possess the ability to serve. You may not possess the ability to write but you possess the ability to teach. Let us use our strengths to build our team.

Today I may have made Black History. I may never be credited for it in the history so called history books but I am confident I inspired someone. Someone maybe inspired to go read, write, teach or give money to a real organization to improve the lives of Black people or maybe just spend their dollar with a black business. I am aware other ethnic minority groups have their own special goals but I must focus on those that mean most to me. I digress, sometimes our most important ideas or actions aren’t recorded in the aforementioned books yet somehow they still remain historic. I am aware I did not lay out a step by step action plan let me say that was not the purpose for today. The action steps must come after we have a conversation to form a united front in our communities across the country. Take a look at yourself in the mirror and think about how that face will feel when 20, 30, or 50 years have passed and Jim Crow is still standing in its shadow.

Article by Brian Epps