“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Sometimes I get mad at people in general, especially the Millennials who mostly don't have a clue about anything. Why? Because I don't think many of us know or truly appreciate the struggle of a revolution...or even know what it means to force your way into the world with the intent on invoking change. Big change. And change for many, many others having little to do with ourselves.
Of course, I've had my fair share of life struggles but nothing remotely close to what people like Dr. King had gone through for the purposes of civil rights for others. And what bothers me most is that, perhaps, not much has changed since the 1960s as far as racial progress as far as I can tell. Yes, there have been "upgrades" here and there, less segregation, more legal rights, etc. but...has the attitude of people really changed that much?
I don't know. I can only tell you what I've noticed over the years and, of course, not speaking from a comparison of the 1960s because...well, I wasn't alive during that time.
I grew up in the 1970s in a lower-middle-class area of the south side of Chicago. I went to an evenly blended white/black school where I was bullied a lot, mostly by my own race, coincidentally. But most noted in my childhood was my parents (mostly my dad's) racism, unkind words toward people of color that I didn't yet understand, and the seemingly thick tension between the races that I also didn't quite get either. So much history was laid down long before my entrance into this world in 1974. So much I had to learn about. So much I still don't fully understand.
And it took me many years to unlearn and reverse the negativity that I was brainwashed about since birth.
Since having to look at the world differently while trying to understand how change can finally happen, I had to ask:
How does one overcome such pain and hurt that's been prevalent in our American history for so long?
And there's only one answer:
It comes down to one day at a time, one person at a time, one kind word at a time...over time. Sometimes over a very long time. This is something that doesn't happen in leaps and bounds but rather slowly over every second in time. And knowing this, it simply means that we ALL can be participants in the same revolution that Dr. King started so many decades ago.
With one kind word.
One person at a time.
One day at a time.
Over time.
And that's how change happens. There's no other way that I can see around it.
Of course, this encompasses EVERYONE participating in the plan. And this is the tricky part because everybody from all races, sexes, ages, and backgrounds MUST participate.
But will they?
Most importantly...will you?
See you at the top!
Your mentor,
Monica Main
