Years from now History will recall that February, 2013 was the first Black History Month celebrated after the United States had re-elected its first Black president. February, 2009 was also significant, but the re-election may hold more historical significance.
Black History Month is always an opportunity to reflect on what has been, and is the Black Experience in America. It has been a turbulent existence; yet it is an existence rooted in resilience and accomplishment. It is an experience ordained and protected by the Master.
When kings and queens from the west coast of Africa were shipped to the east coast of the United States to become the property of plantation owners, many wondered how the Master could forsake them. How could the Master allow men to own other men? How could the Master allow these owners to hate and demean and persecute other humans? I don’t know that an answer will ever be known, but I do know that the Black Experience in America is still alive and still strong. That could not be unless there was a Divine plan. A Divine protection.
As time went on, Black Americans were able to survive the cruelties of that peculiar institution and found ways to thrive in an environment that was ultra-racist. To consider where Black Americans are today compared to 1865 is nothing less than amazing. Actually it is Amazing Grace. Black Americans have been continually rebuked and scorned only to reemerge stronger. No other people have been as persecuted or discriminated against in this country as Black Americans. And yet we’re still here mining out respect and opportunity from wherever it may come.
The resilience of Black Americans has served the United States well. Blacks Americans have become renowned scientists, surgeons, and physicians saving lives all of the world. Black Americans designed the U.S. capital and created the traffic light. Two Black Americans have served on the Supreme Court. Black Americans own TV networks, recording companies, movie studios, newspapers and publishing companies. Black Americans are presidents of universities, CEOs of fortune 500 companies, and government officials all over the country. And yes, the President of the United States is a Black American.
We may never know what the Master’s plan is, but I will suggest that there is a Divine reasoning and purpose that has enabled Black Americans to survive the struggles and strife of this existence. A purpose that has taken us from the Middle Passages to Jim Crow to a Civil Rights Movement lead by a King. If it was not true, we would not be here.
SAM
February 8, 2013
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