Some of us have worked tirelessly for so many years to “fit in” and to “be accepted” by a system of living that does not truly work for us, or have our best interest at heart. We have become comfortable in the dysfunction of being hated to the point that we cannot imagine another way of being. We have learned to ignore the virtuous values handed to us by our elders and ancestors. We have replaced them with values that starve the very core of us, and intoxicate us with the false sense of security of thinking that if we only do a little more to feed the beast, it will not eat us alive.
I am urging us beautiful melanated people, to utilize this unique moment in time to do what we must to decolonize ourselves. Everything that glitters ain’t gold. It is a blessing that the coverings are being snatched off of every single institution in this country, showing the truth of what we have endured for centuries. Once the truth is revealed, I urge us not pacify ourselves back into a state of denial. I urge us to understand that, for every apology that is made and every racial injustice that is exposed, it is only being addressed because they have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar of systemic racism. It is a mighty egotistical feeling of power when you are one who is benefitting from it. Eyes close, mouths shut, ears plug easily so that nothing truly changes. We cannot afford for this to be the new short lived awakening with the life cycle of a social media minute.
I urge us to throw it all away, everything that does not work for our goodness, health and equity. We have to find a way to educate our own children and not just with information. We have to teach them the importance of and how to have healthy and strong minds. We have to learn our true history so that we can pass it along to them to learn from. We have to take care of our elders, we must listen to them, even as they express their mistakes. We cannot afford to dismiss the wisdom of those who have spiritual insight because they don’t have a degree. We have to be in harmony with Mother Earth again, her energy, and her remedies are what help sustain our lives. We have to lose our taste for the things that poison us. We have to remember how to love each other, and care for each other. We cannot accept abuse and violence. We must learn to protect our spirits, and pay attention to what we allow to influence us, and our children.
I urge us to take this time to ask ourselves, if we are to return to this earth intact four hundred years from now, what do we want to see for our descendants? Then ask what we can do to make that happen? I urge us to widen the circle of communication, and have this conversation with each other, and find concrete ways to put our intentions and thoughts to action.
Ifayinka 