50 years ago, Civil Rights leaders marched from Selma to Montgomery in a pursuit to gain voting rights for African Americans. In the process, they endured much pain and heartache and even lost some along the way. They were courageous enough to march across the Edmund Pettius Bridge, where they encountered Bloody Sunday. However, this didn't stop them from fighting for what they believed in. March 2015, I was afforded the opportunity to attend the 50th celebration of the march on Selma. Now, I know you're all probably wondering "what could you possibly have been interested in at this event?" Well, I'm glad you asked: the history of our people is something I've always been amazed by. However, the way we've changed the nation is one of the most interesting things there is. While I was in Selma, Alabama, I got the chance to visit the Jackson Family Home, where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed and even held phone conversations with President Lyndon B. Johnson about the progression of the Voting Rights Act of 1963. Not only did I visit this historic home, but I was also given the chance to be amongst dignitaries who knows exactly what it means to struggle and succeed, such as Congressman John Lewis and President Barack Obama. As I stood outside listening to these speeches, some key points stuck out to me. President Barack Obama praised the progression of America by saying "I believe in America" and also noted Congressman Lewis as one of his heroes because of the contributions he made towards the passing of the Voting Rights Act. In Congressman Lewis' speech, there were only 6 simple but yet so meaningful words that caught my attention: there's still work to be done. Although President Obama believes in America, I can only beg to differ. I believe firmly in the power of the YOUNG PEOPLE of the United States of America.
Malcolm X once said: "the future belongs to those who prepare for it today". You're never too young to stand up for what you believe is right. Young people, we must stand together to continue to fight against racial inequality and the tensions that are associated with it. We must not be conformed to the laws of the land, for they are subject to change at any time. In the midst of everything that we as a people have been through, we must still have the strength to keep on keeping on. Life's most persistent and urgent question is "what are you doing for others"? This fight, my brothers, and sisters, is not about just race vs race, but wrong vs right. Standing up together to protect one another is only the beginning. As an African American teen, I'm always bothered by what I see daily on the news and the way we as a race are portrayed in the media. Young women, take a look around you. There are only a maternity ward and a pimp named Slick waiting for you because that's all the world thinks you're good for. Young men, take a look around you. There's absolutely no faith in what you are capable of, but there are a jail cell and many graves waiting for you and a life full of drugs and temptation. Yes, we are stereotyped every day. However, let's not forget what those before us fought for in order for us to be mentally and physically free.
My question to all the young people is oh so simple: will you be the face of tomorrow or will you be the outcast of today? Will you just sit back and watch our people be cast down or will you start a revolution? Will you be the next Rumain Brisbon, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, Kajieme Powell, Ezell Ford, Dante Parker, Michael Brown, John Crawford, Tyree Woodson, Eric Garner, Victor White III, or Trayvon Martin and get no police indictment because you were wrongfully killed? We are the NEXT politicians, doctors, presidents, senators, state representatives, lawyers, and teachers. It starts with us and never ends. Start something new, learn from what our Civil Rights leaders did for us, take charge, & never stop progression. I charge all young people here today to become the John Lewis, Joseph Lowery, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Ralph David Abernathy, C.T. Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, and Martin Luther King Jr. of this generation. So what will you do? Be a leader or a follower, a victim or a suspect, a drug dealer or a school teacher, a president or a terrorist, a statistic or an overcomer of things that surround you daily. Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Fear is what captures our souls and contaminates our minds. You haven't found your passion if it's not something you're willing to die for. If you aren't willing to fight or die for OUR rights, you're not truly passionate about how we as a people are portrayed and enslaved. Use the struggles of civil rights leaders of yesterday to be the stepping stone and foundation for the change you make tomorrow. Never forget where we came from, but in the midst of it all, always have a destination in mind.
