Over the past 5 or 6 years we've seen a decided shift in the way Black Americans view themselves and our journey here in the United States. It seems that our once optimistic outlook on the great strides we've made in this country over the history of this great land have been overshadowed by a cloud of doom and gloom. For some reason we have lost our sense of optimism, living in the greatest country on the planet, substituting it for an outlook that resembles that of a third world tribe.
Let me remind you of something that may give us cause to rethink where we've come from and where we are heading. The obstacles we've encountered as a people which at the time were horrendous but as our forefathers found out, were the best thing that could ever happened to us. These same setbacks were used in the lives of countless other pioneers, entrepreneurs and trailblazers. Once insurmountable odds became the springboard from which epic feats were developed.
Dreams aren't nurtured in the minds of those who have no imagination. Remember the story of the Hebrew child, the son of Jacob. His name was Joseph. As the biblical account went, the most beloved child of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob had a dream that he would become a great Ruler. After hearing this dream, ad-nauseam, his brothers decided to kill their brother, settling to sell him off into the hands of a passing caravan.
Some years later, Joseph not only became the vizier in Egypt but helped to save his family and nation. The dream came to pass not because Joseph was such a great man. It didn't happen because he was so smart. It came to being because Joseph never lost sight of the dream that separated him from his siblings.
Joseph is a symbol for what could be the future of the black community. Like Joseph the black community has been given a dream of a great future. We've been given talents, abilities and the natural instinct to become great leaders. There is no reason why, we as a people cannot become amazing contributors in the human experience.
The only reason why Black people can be diverted from our God-given trajectory is for us to forget the dream given to our forefathers years ago. Martin Luther King reminded us of that dream in an iconic speech he made in the 1960's.
Let's not forget that dream. Live up to its prophetic phrases and imagery. It is our destiny, all we have to do is walk towards it.
BSM