Fear: The Promised Land Mentality

I had a professor when I was at UNC who expressed to me that the problem with my generation and other post Civil Rights Movement generations was that we were taught with “The Promised Land Mentality”.

What exactly is “The Promised Land Mentality”?  It’s the idea that we (as African Americans) have made it.  There are many in my generation that would be hard pressed to explain the segregated Jim Crow South.  They’d also be hard pressed to express knowledge in leaders other than Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X.  A few of my generational colleagues may know about Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer.  And a few more might know about Ralph Abernathy and John Lewis.  But if you start asking us about Diane Nash, James Farmer, James Bevel, or Septima Clark- our knowledge starts to wain.  While some of our ignorance can be pointed at the school systems for not teaching the Civil Rights Movement as thoroughly as other subject, part of the reason we don’t know these things is because we were not taught by those close to us who experienced it.

That’s right.  Our parents, family members, mentors, church members, and others have sold us short.  We’ve benefitted from their struggle, yet we don’t exactly know what the struggle is.  And that’s dangerous because it’s extremly difficult to appreciate the current situation without a knowledge of the past obstacles.

I say all of this because I’m afraid that the recent election of Barack Obama will lend the African American community to once again feeling that we have made it to the promised land.  I’m sad to say that we haven’t.  The election of Barack Obama is only the beginning.  We’re on our way to the promised land, and we’ve come a long way.  But we’re not there yet.  How do I know that we’re not there?  Because educational inequality exists.  Because gender inequality exists.  Because racial inequality exists.  There are so many inequalities that we cannot possibly have arrived in the promised land.  I refuse to believe that the promised land would offer so many broken promises to so many people.

My hope is that the inspiration that we’ve received from the election will be a catalyst for action- so that we can truly make it to the promised land.  This is not a time to be complacent.  There’s work to be done, and Barack Obama can’t do it by himself.  Our nation requires citizens who are not only informed, but willing to act.  Our children deserve parents who devoted themselves to the causes of freedom and equality.  Let us act in gratitude to those who came before us, and in preparation for those to come.  We’re not there…yet.

1 Quarter Down…

On Monday, I submitted my first quarter grades.  I’m 25% done with the school year.  My, how time passes.

I’d like to think that it’s become easier, but it hasn’t.  I’ve done a better job at being prepared, at handling missteps that I’ve made- and that students make; however, it’s still difficult.  There are still days where I find myself wondering if I’m in the middle of the biggest mistake of my life, where I long to escape to familiarity.  Yes, even after a few months I still feel that I’m in uncharted waters.

I mean that in several ways.  As the holiday season approaches, I crave being close to family and friends.  I long to be where things make sense.  Where, as cheesy as it is, everybody knows my name.  I’ve been bad about keeping in touch with people and part of the reason that I have is because it forces me to be nostalgic and I can’t be that way and be productive.  I’ve had to put people in the box of what was, as opposed to the box of what is…because I feel that in order for me to create and live this new life, I have to detach myself from the things before.

I don’t know what any of this means, other than that despite the joy of making it this far, I still feel that I have so far to go.  I’m in a nice place, but it’s not home.  And I think home is what I need right now.  Yeah, Dorothy had it right- “there’s no place like home.”

care packages needed…

…because sometimes it’s good to know that people care…

if you feel so inclined, hit me up for my address…

What Losing White Privilege Sounds Like…

For those of you who haven’t heard/seen the John McCain concession speech, I like to think of it as “what losing white privilege sounds like.”

Tim Wise wrote about white privilege and the role that it played in the election.  You can read my entry on it here.

But for now, I think I’ll enjoy the droning sounds of Senator McCain, as he gracefully bows out…and hands over a little white privilege at the same time:

And, in all seriousness, it really was a good speech- and not because it was a McCain concession.  My sincere hope is that our nation will come together- and that we ALL take part in making our country the best that it can be.

tonight’s the night

So, this is the night that I’ve been waiting for.  For several months, I’ve been wishing that I could just fast forward to this date so that we could see who is going to be the new president.

The night is here.  The time has come.  It looks like it’s going to be an Obama victory.

I’ll try to find the words to express my excitement at this historical moment.  I’ll start by saying that this is unbelievable and unreal.  Sometimes we have these dreams, and we understand that it’s possible that they can come true, but when they do…we’re just overwhelmed.  I feel that way about this.  I feel like I’m sitting outside of myself watching this happen.

I waited in line for about an hour and a half to vote during the early voting time in Florida.  It was the best wait of my life.  I felt so proud to be able to exercise my right to vote; so grateful to those who came before me who fought, struggled, and died so that I could be in line to vote.

**just a note** as I was typing this, the reports came in from the returns that Barack Obama has been elected president.  And I need to go get some tissue.

**okay, now that I’m back**  Like really.  This is amazing.  After a long, hard fight, Obama has become the first African American elected as President of the United States of America.  This is such a huge moment.

I’m proud to say that I was on the right side of history when I Baracked the vote.  I’m proud to say that I was alive to see this happen.  I’m so grateful for those who came before me who made this moment possible.  And I’m proud to say that my hope has been restored in the American dream, and I again feel that anything is possible for an African American in this country.

11.4.2008.  history made.