Faith And Family Are The Foundation Of Black History

The home is the world's oldest and most vital institution. Civilization's other two great institutions, the church, and the government, find their roots in the nurturing influence and subsequent trajectory of its members. Without strong families raising tomorrow's confident and capable leaders, a nation will suffer internally and become increasingly vulnerable to outside threats. Collectively we have a vested interest in protecting and promoting the importance of family from the heights of domestic policy to the daily interactions of social routine. The current state of the American family is a precarious one. Like a wrecking ball to a watchtower, unfaithfulness, divorce, abuse, abortion, and addiction erode the strength of the family in each of their uniquely unforgiving ways.

Throughout February, like many families around the nation, my family has been intentional in honoring and remembering the people, places, and periods of Black American history that have charted a people's journey from then until now. American descendants of slavery have always served as America's mirror. In us, America sees her prejudice and prosperity, evil and evolution, guilt, and glory. There are two absolutes we cannot escape when considering this history: the power of faith and the pride of family.

Faith buoyed the hope of freedom for many Black families as they were beaten with the lash and separated at the auction block. It ordered their steps of escape through the perilous swamps of the southland and guided their justice marches on the hot pavement of our nation's urban centers. This faith produced unrivaled perseverance that has driven a people that were emancipated penniless to firmly grasp pieces of an American dream that was not crafted for them, becoming the physicians, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders that their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents saw in their wildest dreams. This faith compelled them to give abundant thanks.

But even as we celebrate that progress, the coinciding pain looms ominously. Over the last fifty years, some improvements in wages, education, and health for Black families can undoubtedly be calculated. Yet, Black workers still make only 82.5 cents on every dollar earned by white workers, are 2.5 times as likely to be in poverty, and their families have ten times less net worth as White Americans. On issues like homeownership, unemployment, and incarceration, matters have gotten substantially worse. These disparities and the policies that created them have erected hurdles that must be recognized, researched, and redressed. Ironically, discriminatory practices impact the entire economy, not just the targeted few. For many Black Americans, this paradox is not new. The greatest chance for survival and accomplishment still depends upon making decisions to control what is in one's power while relentlessly challenging the status quo, exposing injustice, and claiming the equity denied because of the dignity inherent.

Through war, natural disaster, and moral relativism, families have weathered countless storms throughout America's history; however Black families have endured unprecedented assaults while continuing to forge the rich tradition of collective responsibility in child-rearing and community cohesiveness that has been the backbone of boundless achievement. THIS is the essence of the Black family. This legacy of faith and family is the inheritance I am actively instilling in the children God has placed in our care for this season. In pride of story and knowledge of this intangible blood equity, these seven arrows will eventually spring forth, carrying the torch of both the renowned and the nameless shoulders on which they stand. From flawed beginnings, providence saw fit to ingrain in this great nation the ideals that, when joined with liberty-determined individuals and movements, could quickly bring about the full realization of the unalienable rights every person is owed.

This story is still being written. But this story could only happen here.