Inundated with Black history information
Black History Month in February is a time for retrospection, introspection and projection, but we often get inundated with Black history. There is only so much information that a mind needs to digest or absorb during one period of time.
I mentioned to my spiritual daughter Jackie that she is not confined to just share her research during the month of February. I suggested she come up with a sharing plan so that, over the year, we can look forward to new information about particular accomplishments of the local Blacks from our community.
Monthly dissemination would serve us better. That way we will not have to wait a year for a presentation from Jackie and her helpers. She is very creative and if she believes in something, off she goes with it. I told her that she has 365 days to share that important information.
She did a wonderful job of highlighting local Black people and their accomplishments every day during this past February. We can now locate information that was not available in books and magazines even when she was in school. She gives me credit for encouraging her to love herself and her heritage.
Reach for the sky, Jackie. As Robert Browning said, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for?”
Selena Tilly, director of the Rome Area History Center, has done her share of researching the accomplishments of local Blacks and others. Sharing her information on Zoom with the large group of One Community United members was a blessing for us all. Much has been learned from her dedicated research.
This kind of sharing helps others to know that we are all a part of humanity and are of value. God gave people different colors to wear as a badge of distinction. Not for others to hold them down or to cast them out because of it. Selena, we appreciate you and all of the hard work that you do to keep us abreast of the overall history of our Rome/ Floyd communities and surrounding areas.
Jackie, Selena and many others brought information out in February about the many individuals from this area who impacted the community across a wide spectrum — business development, music teachers, all areas of sports, published writers, educational advances, building contractors, medical professionals, Christian teachers and many many more.
The song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” tells of the stony road that our foreparents trod as they were tasting the bitterness of the chastening rod. Days when it seemed that hope had not been born or, if born, somehow died. In spite of that, the foreparents continued with a steady beat on those weary feet, reaching beyond what their fathers had accomplished.
Now we must move beyond where our forefathers reached. The move must be intentional. We must become business owners preparing to serve people — not just Black people. How we treat our customers must be front and center. People return to establishments where they are made to feel wanted and important. To land in a good healthy spot from here, Blacks must forget about wearing the most expensive shoes or driving the most expensive cars.
Blacks must stop asking God and white people to do for them what they can do for themselves. Blacks must stop charging failures to the attitude that whites have about their color. There is nothing they can do to change that. God will have to take care of that.
Blacks must realize that whatever is here today was here all the time. The more things change the more things remain the same. Whatever is present today was present during the days when our foreparents were fighting to survive and to pave a way for us.
What we must now spend time on is where we are going from here. What will be our projection for the future — not just for the Black people, but people as a whole. Jesus said this love I give to you. We ask what shall I do with this love and Jesus’ answer is for us to give that same love to others.
One friend shared with me her thoughts about where to go from here. She said our choice is simple: We can develop a community with love or a community filled with chaos.
We must emerge out of the gloomy past until we stand at last in the bright place that is before us. Clouds may be covering it now, but the bright silver lining is there. We must continue to do what Harriet Tubman said: Don’t turn back, don’t sit down, but forge ever forward, going, growing, learning and building.
Reach for it and expect it.