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From the time that Blacks were brought to this country, the primary purpose was economic growth and development. As we were stolen away from our native countries, bits or our souls and essence was stolen as well. Our value was not that of a human, but we were valued less than animals. Our strength was realized as an asset, an asset that White men saw as a commodity to be owned and sold like currency. In this time of unrest, I have committed to relearn the history of my people. As I was reading “The Willie Lynch Letter: and The Making of a Slave” I had a revelation that had alluded me before. This book was a body work written in the 1800s that resonated with my spirit. Willie Lynch was the architect of the blue print that has been used to create the system of racism in the United States. This system has caused oppression and demise to Black people for centuries. Mr. Lynch realized and saw all of the good within us and knew the only way to control us was to destroy all of it. The most valuable asset of our men was their strong physical prowess, so Mr. Lynch realized that the mind and sold had to be subdued and ultimately destroyed in order for this to be a successful institution. Willie Lynch found a way to monetize these learning and sold this formula to slave owners all over the colonies that would eventually become the United States of America. Mr. Lynch even promised that if these owners followed his instruction exactly they were guaranteed to maintain control of their slaves for centuries. The formula he proposed was quite simple, beat the men (killing if necessary) in front of other men, women and children so that the men would submit to the will of their master. The destruction of the males self worth was used to demoralize and promote fear in all slaves. The exhibition of these savage acts destroyed the male psyche so that they would not fight, run or rebel. This process was likened to breaking in horses. When a wild horse was desired to be made into a domestic animal, the animal would have to have all natural instincts removed from it. The same was done for slaves, the history of their heritage and culture was stolen. Husbands were often separated from their wives and children to further destroy. Mothers were forced to raise children alone while the men worked the fields to turn a profit for their master. Does this sound familiar? The are so many Black woman raising children alone, because the fathers have been stolen by prison, drugs or death. Are you still not convinced that history is repeating itself? Let’s continue to another example. The more submissive the male slave was, the higher he was valued. He could be controlled and would not pose a threat. The owners made sure to provide the ‘necessities’, posed in the guise of help. Slaves were given the scraps of their masters’ tables, the rags they no longer wanted for clothes and slave quarters for shelter. The Jedi mind tricks played upon the slaves convinced the male slaves that they were unable to survive without their “Massa”. The foundation of how value was determined for Black people was based upon how much profit they could make for their owner. Applied to modern times this looks like this, many young Black men make their goals and aspirations centered around their athletic ability or entertainment abilities. Once these abilities are recognized by the powers that be, they are groomed to become money generators for huge franchises and corporations. Some of these young men, are passed through high school and college barely literate. But if they have the ability to make a profit, their education and ability to thrive without the help of the master does not matter. They have expensive carrots dangled before them to run harder and faster and to perform show after show. The contracts they sign often lock them into terrible conditions, which is why many end up broke and destitute before they are thirty years of age. These are examples of the Lynch formula hard at work, even today. The masters have moved from the big house to the boardroom. The ‘what’ may look different today, but the ‘how’ is exactly the same, take the mind and the body will follow. Today the majority of the NBA and NFL are Black men. There are very few team owners that look like the players, yet the players believe that they are free. There are some that will have good teams around them to prevent them for being enslaved, but there are far more that will be taken and used up until their value has been depleted. As time has gone on, the Lynch blueprint has been passed along like ancient folklore. But today we know the secret, it is up to us to break the cycle. We see that the auction block has been traded in for the drafts and combines. The cottonfields are now basketball courts and concert stages. The subtly of this new Lynch way should make every Black American sensitized to the methods and tactics being used to enslave us. Just because we are paid for it today, does not mean that we are free. We must be intentional in what we accept into our lives and the things that we will say yes to. We should now be thinking if this will positively impact my life, not just monetary gain. We have to be proud enough to say no when our best interests are not at heart. All money is not good money and if getting a check means compromising your morals and values, then you are no different than our ancestors as slaves. If they have your mind, your body will follow. Today we see woman on reality television fighting and disrespecting themselves and others all for two minutes of fame. Our choices and decisions should be based upon long term thinking instead of short term gratification. We must stop others from profiting from our greatness. It is time to steal back our heritage and culture that is filled with regal and noble men and women. It is time to continue to dismantle the system that Mr. Lynch brought to this nation. We have the ability to think for ourselves and must not get distracted or enamored by shiny objects. Recognize when others are attempting to play mind tricks with you. The concept of “free” must be modified. Being enslaved is not the historical definition of being shackled and chained, living on a plantation, being enslaved is when your belief of yourself and your people is limited and small. If you are convinced that if you don’t have athletic abilities or can rap a song that you will amount to nothing, you are enslaved. If you believe that you must rely on government benefits and be better off than working for what you want, you are enslaved. If your thoughts about yourself and the world can be controlled by the narrative of someone else, you are enslaved. Mental enslavement is far more dangerous than physical and further reaching. It is the mental enslavement that we see as evidence that the Lynch formula is alive and well.

Today’s topic of discussion is, ‘What is your why?’. The trumpet has sounded and the alarms have rung out. A call to action has been sent out to the masses. Today we can turn on our television or pick up our mobile devices and see in real time, second by second what is happening. Many of us have chosen to no longer stand idly by, but have taken on the challenge to march, whether physically or metaphorically, for reform of the legislative process and the principles of basic human rights for Black people. As I too am one of those that has been energized and renewed to be part of the change, I had to as myself, ‘What is my why?’. What is my motivation to continue to pursue this race long after the videos are less frequent and the television crews have moved on to other things? Plain and simple my whys are named Randall and Robby. I know that I cannot rest on my laurels knowing that I have two sons that will be released into this savage world. I cannot turn them loose without knowing that I have done everything in my power to force a change to happen.

So now that you know my why, what is yours? Will you continue this fight because you know that fundamentally there are egregious injustices being directed toward people of color? Is you why rooted in being part of the popular crowd, because Black Lives Matter is trending on Twitter? To companies and corporations, celebrities and white athletes, is you why rooted in keeping a fanbase and making sure there isn’t a blip to your bottom line? To those that are in this battle with us with the purest of intentions and heartfelt desire to move this country forward, we thank you. It is time to keep going, we cannot slow down or wane and grow weary. The opportunity is here and now and we must strike while the iron is hot. I caution you to stay alert and hyper vigilant to recognize those whose why comes from a place of love and humanity as opposed to those whose interests are a fleeting fad and will move on to the next hashtag when the opportunity comes. There will be wolves in sheep clothing; however we cannot become discouraged or distracted. We know that our why will be the fuel in our tanks and the momentum that will continue to propel us forward. I make a promise to all that are in this fight with me, I will press on even when it seems dark and hopeless. I will continue to educate anyone and everyone that will listen. I will not stand idly by and allow injustices or inhumanity to occur in my presence. I will continue to all these things because I know my why. When I look into their eyes, that will motivate me to live to fight another day. So please take some time to self reflect and discover your why. Your why that is not based upon selfish motivation or monetary gain, but the why that is rooted in the Christ within you. So discover your why and it will be clear that your presence will be recognized by the sheep as being part of the fold and not a wolf disguised as one of us.

When I found out that I was expecting each of you, I loved you both before I had the pleasure of meeting you in person. My dreams and wishes for you and your future are large and grand. Even as infants, I knew unequivocally that you were placed in this world to be great and do great things. Now here we are in 2020, you are seven and ten years old with a lifetime ahead of you. A lifetime…what does that really mean?

Randall, my first born king. You are the sweetest, funniest and gentle spirit I know. You always root for the underdog and make sure that everyone around you has the opportunity to shine and be great. Your child like innocence makes my heart leap. You and your brother are very low maintenance kids. It doesn’t take much to make you happy and you still get excited about the smallest things. You are smart, talented, athletic and oh so humble about you inherent greatness. You are never one to be the center of attention. You shy away from the spotlight and get uncomfortable when your talents are highlighted or acknowledged. There has never been a kid that you didn’t want to engage with and call friend. You are a natural born leader.

Then there is my Robby. My beautiful, bright eyed old soul. I had no idea of the person that you would become. You have exceeded my expectations in so many ways. I say often that you have been here several times before, because you are wise beyond your years. You surprise many people you meet because of your astute and intellectual mind. You are so observant and deeply engaged in everything you do. You are a sponge desiring to learn and understand more and more everyday. Such a charmer, you have the ability to make the coldest heart melt, just by batting those big beautiful eyes. You emulate your big brother and want to do everything that he does so you can grow up, yet there are times when you tell me that you wish that you were still my baby. When you tell me this, you have no idea that I wish you were still a baby. Sometimes I wish I could press a restart button to have you all as babies so that I can protect you from the bad things of this world.

I grew up in a time where social media was not a thing. Your grandparents were able to shield me from the atrocities of the world. I was so naïve in so many ways. It wasn’t until I stepped foot onto the Highest of Seven Hills, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, that I became truly aware of the greatness of the African American community. I saw a campus full of people that all looked like me that were reaching for the stars. However; that utopia only lasted on the campus. When I was in other areas of Tallahassee, I became keenly aware that there were others that were less enamored with our greatness than I. I saw that Black people were not treated equally. There were people rooting against us, hoping for our failure. Fore me seeing Black people achieve and obtain degrees was my norm, but this is not everyone’s reality. For many that were attending FAMU, they were the first in their families to make it to college. What a wake up call that was. The storybook that my parents had written for me was just a fairytale for many, far from reality. That experience at FAMU and many more shaped me and opened my eyes to what this country truly is.

With that being said I have to make the decision of whether it is time to show you the reality of this world, the reality of what you will face. Everything in me wants to protect you and shield you from anything that is scary and bad. I am not ready for you to know what is really happening. However; if I continue to shield you, I am missing the opportunity to teach you and prepare you for the impending chaos you will be released into. As a mother it is not only my duty to protect you from harm, but it my responsibility to educate and arm you with the tools you will need to survive. Sooner than I will care to admit, you will be entering adulthood and all of the things adulthood will bring. It would be irresponsible of me to release you to the wolves without arming you so that you will have a fighting chance. What I am about to tell you will scare you and shock you. I am stripping away the veil of your innocence and you will never be the same again. It is not my intent to cause you to hide and remain in a state of fear. My reason and rationale is to prepare you and to arm you with the knowledge so that you will be able to heighten your awareness and stay alive. I can no longer sugar coat things for you. I have to prepare you for what’s to come.

As you get older you will get stronger and wiser. As you grow taller and get bigger, there are those that will become intimidated by your greatness. Your regality as Black Kings will be seen as a threat and there will be people that will want to eradicate the threat. You will be hunted, hunted by weak minded people that will judge you solely on your blackness and not the greatness that you possess. I task both of you with one thing and one thing only, stay alive! We know that every being on this planet will leave this world at some point, but it is my desire you are not stolen before your time until your God given purpose is fulfilled. Use your intellect to outsmart those that see you as an enemy. There are still good people in this world, but you need to learn to recognize the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Stay aware always, don’t let your guard down. there will be those that mean you harm that will smile in your face with the knife held behind their back. You must be hyper-vigilant in recognizing those that are truly in your corner. You will need to master the art of remaining calm on the outside even though you may be stewing within. When you are infuriated your ability to remain calm and diffuse situations, will be your super power. Always remember the mission, STAY ALIVE! Walk away if you need to so that you will be able to complete the mission. Do not let the fight to be right, be a reason that the mission is not completed. You will need to smile through your anguish sometime so that you will make other comfortable. I understand that you will want to yell, cry and fight but we have a mission to complete. You are a part of an endangered species. The Black man is being exterminated. While I cannot save everyone, I will leave this Earth trying to make sure that your dream are realized. I feel with ever fiber of my being that you were placed here to change this world for the better. You are special and I will do my part as your mother to pour into you and to protect you for as long as I can. I will validate you everyday so that you will know that you are blessed, gifted and highly favored. You are beautiful in body, mind and spirit. You are descendants of greatness, and greatness is expected of you. I love you with all that I am. I am so sorry that I could not fix the world for you, but we can change our piece of the world by living in our greatness. This is your first nudge out of the nest, soon it will be time to soar. I will be watching as you spread your wings and fly into your destiny.

Love you always,

Mommy

To school or not to school, that is the question. Parents, children, educators, politicians and health authorities are all weighing in on the debate about whether schools should be opened for students in the fall or if children should learn virtually. After sifting through personal opinions and political interests, the truth has finally seeped from between the cracks of our country’s broken foundation. It is an ugly truth, a truth that I am sure that this nation wished had remained hidden and under wraps. This truth puts yet another blemish on the fabric of the country touted to be one of the greatest Super Powers in the world. Like a loose thread being pulled on a sweater, the truth has unraveled into a pile and lays at the feet of Lady Liberty. Her blindfold has been removed so that she too sees the truth of the reality of America. After the science and statistical data no longer supported the argument that this virus was contained, that Covid 19 would disappear in the warm weather, etc., the narrative of the story had to quickly change to save face and salvage over-inflated egos that would be threatened in the face of truth. The story was re-written to state that if children do not return to school in the fall, there is a high likelihood that children’s psychological and physical safety would be jeopardized. The argument highlights that children would be without basic necessities such as food and overall safety if schools do not reopen. What is so blatantly wrong with this argument is that public schools have to provide children with the most basic of human needs. Even more alarming than the likelihood of children contracting Covid 19 is that the risk of exposing them to this virus is based upon being able for them to have food and a brief respite from a potentially harmful home. Using one negative event to justify another negative event is deplorable and desperate. Holding the problem of food security, poverty, lack of social intervention for children over the heads of parents is the idea of a sick, warped mind. Those that argue this point seem to present it as if these problems just arose during the time of this pandemic. Children have been coming to school hungry, going home to violence and chaos for decades upon decades. The sudden “show of concern” regarding these issues seems like very convenient timing. Instead of a lightbulb moment acknowledging the systemic economic disparity in our country, the powers that be have chosen to attempt to use this as a symbolic right hook to their political opponents. The last I checked, children in this country do not attend school for the twelve months of the year, so it seems odd that these concerns are only being raised for the four months that the country was shutdown due to the pandemic. Where is the sense of urgency for the weekend, seasonal breaks and summer breaks that occur every school year. During these times children still go home to homes lacking food and for some, safety. I have never heard the Secretary of Education mutter one word in regard to these same issues until two weeks ago. How is it that children in one of the wealthiest countries in the world have to rely on the public school systems for the most basic of needs? How can it be expected that educators, that already spend money from their own pockets, must also be expected to play social worker and safety officer for these children? As a frequent volunteer of our local food bank, I have personally packed food bags that are distributed to schools to provide to students so that they will have food over weekends. There is so much wrong with this picture, yet lipstick continues to be applied to the pig in an effort to disguise its true identity. This pandemic is a national health crisis; however this pandemic overlaps with a pandemic that has been plaguing this country for centuries, the haves versus the have nots. All of the demands to reopen are being made from those members of the upper echelon of our society that could never relate to going to bed hungry, seeing violence on a daily basis, or feeling unsafe in their own home. The truth is, the average American family has working parents. Every job is not flexible to allow for working from home to allow for virtual learning. So they will have to choose to take a risk to send their children back to school because childcare is unobtainable or unaffordable. Teachers are having wills drafted because they are not sure how they will fair in the midst of this pandemic. The very organizations that should be dedicated to the public health and safety of our nation, have sold their souls and traded in science for funding from political gods. Hungry children are not new, children that are unsafe are not new, so why is this being touted as a new issue? We have had children labeled as learning disabled, when the truth is they cannot perform because they don’t sleep because they are afraid of the shootings going on outside of their window. Another child is labeled as being behaviorally challenged, yet the truth is that their mother’s boyfriend sneaks into their room every night and touches them inappropriately. These very issues that are being used as arguments to justify schools reopening are the same issues that these children will return to after the dismissal bell rings. It is a cheap shot and a low blow to play upon people’s emotions, pretending to care all to save face. The perception of failure is worse than the reality of the failure that America is. With the right verbal spin, the reality can be repainted even though the foundation is rusted and rotted. I see you America and all of your truth; however, I am not the only one.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: http://www.bbbs.org

100 Black Men of America: http://www.100blackmen.org

The YBM Leadership Alliance

My Brothers Keeper

Brown Mamas: http://www.brownmamas.com

Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA)

Melenated Mammas

Brown Skin Mom Tribe

Millennial Moms

The Black Mom Collective

Slay at Home Mamas

Imagine standing on a river bank watching your child struggle and flail as the river current carries them further away from your reach. You have to decide in a split second whether to leap into the water to try to save your child or you can hope that someone will hear your cries and come to your child’s rescue. Time seems to stand still, the world melts away around you. Your body is paralyzed with fear, our breaths are shallow and rapid and the simple act of breathing becomes an insurmountable feat. Now, snap back into reality, steady yourself, slow your breathing, this is only a vision, it is not real. What is real is that feeling of helplessness that mothers feel or a fairly regular basis when we are unable to protect our child from getting hurt. We live in a time where as much as we try there are circumstances and forces that prey upon our children that are outside of our control. When our children are younger we are hyper-focused and hyper-vigilant to make sure that all things that make impart harm stay out of our children’s grasp and path. We watch them like a hawk to make sure that they stay out of trouble and don’t get into something that may cause them harm. We teach them to be aware and stay away from strangers, don’t touch the stove, don’t walk away from us when we are out in public, all in an effort to control their environment so that they will always be safe. As they get older, we put some trust in others and send our children off to school where we give our children to teachers and staff with the expectation that will keep them safe. As they continue to grow, they become more independent and want to wander farther away from us. This new found independence inhibits our ability to keep them within our reach, to keep them away from others that may not have their best interest at heart and to make sure that no danger comes near them. School shootings, sex trafficking’s, police brutality have reshaped our world and the ability to keep them safe becomes more difficult. These circumstances cause us to hover and to be over protective. It also makes the feeling of helplessness overwhelming. The ultimate goal of any mother is to teach, protect and raise our children so that they become independent, fully functioning contributors to society. However; despite our best efforts, there are forces that seek to thwart these efforts. For our Black boys, a target is being placed on their backs. We are witnessing that young boys are being seen as grown men and treated as such. A young boy walking home with Skittles and a hoodies is shot dead, when he was probably going home to play video games. When we look at our babies, we see them as just that, babies, but to the world they see monsters. Knowing these facts, make mothers feel helpless and worthless. We are unable to fulfill the basic premise of being a mother and that knowledge is almost unbearable. So as mothers what are we to do? We can throw up our hands in frustration or we can be a catalyst for change. I will be honest, I have not idea what change will impart the most change, but I am clear that change is needed. It starts at home with us preparing our sons for the world they will face. As much as we want to shield our babies and protect their innocence, we must arm and prepare them so that they will be on guard. Lack of preparation and knowledge could lead to their death. Having those uncomfortable conversations with our sons, at the school board meetings, at city council meetings, will start the ball rolling. We can no longer remain silent hoping that the world hears our internal screams of fear for our sons. The sorority of mothers that have buried their children at the hands of others that do not value a human life is growing larger everyday. It is time to reduce the number of members. As mothers our strength and resilience is powerful, it is time for us to harness this collective power and save our sons.