Black History Month 2019: Week 1: L O V E
- Madalyn McKnight
- Feb 1, 2019
- 2 min read
Contrary to the lyrics of the popular Beatles song, love is not all we need. As we kick off my favorite month of the year, I reflect over last year’s black history posts on my site, and I also reflect on what has transpired in my personal life and the world I live in. Police have unjustly killed black people in the last 12 months, and black people have endured unfair treatment at the polls, at work, and school. The pride in my skin is still strong but as a people, we need more than love. We need understanding and the willingness to go extend knowledge to others.
I can read, watch documentaries, and listen to testimonials and it still puzzles me how people can teach hate. No, hate is not in the heart of a child from the womb. The environment that the child brought into enables the seed to blossom or strangle the love and manifest itself in the most horrific ways.
Photo by Nick Fewings via Unsplash
Love was never enough. The situation is layered and the solution should be too. It starts with a conversation that is founded in understanding and input to change policies and laws to reflect this day and age and the needs of ALL American people. We suffer so much persecution and are expected to turn our backs and ‘love’ through it. Do not ask me to turn my back. I have witnessed too much to ignore the centuries-old unjust systems that are designed to dismantle any chances a black person has at making mistakes and learning from them while still being able to provide for their families.
From Kaepernick on the field to fighting to wear natural hair in classrooms, we must use love as fuel but we also need to take action. Teach the children love and acceptance, but also remember to teach the children right from wrong. Also, teach them that their black skin is valuable and love will keep us together, but alone it will not work. Also, be compassionate, self-aware, confident, bold, courageous.
Black is beautiful, and don’t you forget to love it!
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