A Revolutionary Compass for 2014
Happy New Year familia!
I hear the word revolutionary a lot. Most times it
is used in a way that seems, odd or negative. For 2014 I would like to claim it
as a word that implies our act to love ourselves unconditionally and reach for
what is rightfully ours.
In 2013 I wrote about searching and reaching beyond the words written in the
books that do not speak our truth. I shared the words of Mrylie Evers Williams
from her Inaugural address, “their spirit infuse our being to work together
with respect, enabling us to continue to build this nation, and in so doing we
send a message to the world that we are strong, fierce in our strength, and
ever vigilant in our pursuit of freedom.”I wrote about my beloved Colon, dedicated one of my Reflections to my Papa, one of the Silver men, and shared my thoughts on my trip to the Dominican Republic and Nelson Mandela. It was a year of reaching for truth. For 2014 we hope to continue on this path by highlighting a few areas.
The first is of great organizational and collective
interest. It is the Dominican –Haitian conflict. I truly believe this is our compass.
This is the compass, for Afro descendents to know if we are moving in the
direction of prosperity, for all. If we
cannot get a people to see that this act is far from just a migration issue but
of a deeply rooted conflict of black identity, then we are in conflict as a
whole of our blackness beyond the color of our skin.
The other is the work with the young men of the HIS (Hermanos
is Solidarity) Project and the young women of the HER (Hermanas Exchanging
Roots) Project. These young people have touched the very core of my soul.
Sitting with them every week has confirmed that our compass took us to the
right place.
They confirm the need to address the first issue as
most are Dominicans and are struggling with the message they have heard for
years, their personal experiences and their journey to awareness as they sit
with us week after week.
My heart is heavy when they say; Ms. Being black in
DR is not easy. My heart is heavy when I hear their dislike, towards Haitians
without any real exchange with a Haitian. My heart is heavy when they do not
know they are black based on skin color or roots. This is deep familia, and
this is our future if we don’t address the direction of this compass.
We need to re root the direction of our compass to
face the truth, address the misinformation of history and truly embrace who we
are.
The final area is my ever beating heart of areas.
This is the ongoing fire to uplift my home community of Colon. Although in a
state of crisis, I still wake up believing that the compass will direct us, not
to the Colon of the past but a Colon of the future that will have an inclusive
voice, a Colon that will benefit from the richness it creates but is denied to
retain.
Embracing our full self is not an easy
journey but let us all give it a Revolutionary try for 2014. A compass is about
forward motion in the right direction to successfully reach your destination.
For 2014 our wish is for a revolutionary compass that
will uplift our righteous crown and direct our heart to love the face in the
mirror and the face that reminds you of your abuelo/a, tia/o.
Let us look in the same direction, a direction that
will say success in Dominican Republic means success in
Haiti. Success in Colon means success in Colombia. Success in Boston means success in South Africa.
Let us direct our youth to a place of internal healing that will transfer to a positive self image. That will be our
Revolutionary compass, the Revolutionary act to be Negro y Orgulloso.
