A Long Overdue Letter.......

1 Kings 8:57 says, May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us.

My Dear Beloved Ancestors;

I know this letter has been long overdue, and for that I (we) apologize. I (we) will not attempt to use the excuse that things have been rough or just too busy, I (we) can not use those terms in a letter to you. I will simply say that I (we) just overlooked the need for this letter to you, so I (we) will send it to you now.

I (we) witnessed something this week that words can not fully or respectfully describe to give the full meaning and feeling that comes from it. On November 4Th, 2008 at approximately 10:01pm (CST), the citizens of The United States of America elected Barack Obama as our next President, thus becoming the first African American to be elected to this office in our Nation's History. For this occasions, and the countless other, such a letter to you is needed to simply yet humbly and with the greatest respects, say "Thank you". I (we) may not ever fully grasp the extent of this event as it relates to our Nation's long and challenging history. As I watched the announcement and realized just what had taken place, a rush of emotions came over me that I could not fully explain other than to say it was "a moment". My generation is a younger generation that did not have to see many of the things that you and many others have had to as it relates to slavery and racism. I like to believe I am a fan of history, mainly because I believe that if you don't know where you were, you can not begin to understand where you are going and why, so my insight to what has taken place in the past is based on what I read and heard from older generations. As I watched the t.v. I saw Rev. Jesse Jackson, who I am sure as you have watched over us throughout the generations, you are familiar with him, he was overtaken by tears that poured down his face and I began to feel what he may have been thinking, and what drove me to write you this letter. He was there, 50 plus years ago to witness the hate, the racism, and the segregation that controlled our country and he is there now, to see what so many, including himself have fought for. What you, my dear Ancestors, have fought for. Thanking you, I feel, is not even enough to show how much what you did means to all of us and what impact your efforts still have today. I was reminded of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream Speech" when I watched Barack Obama speak to the crowd of thousands in Chicago, Illinois as he thanked them for what "they" did and what we are going to do going forward. He looked over a crowd of diverse backgrounds and a promising future and it spoke volumes to who he was really addressing. In Dr. King's speech, he said the following:

"I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. "

Then he said: "I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation."

Dr. King's Dream never made reference to being President and I believe it is because if his dream was to be fulfilled as he had hoped, an African American becoming President was to be birthed out of his dream and the dream for our Country. His Dream, and his intent out of that dream brings us to this historic moment.

I thought about the story of Moses when God told Moses to take them out of the land of Egypt to freedom. In Egypt, they were enslaved yet they were upset when they got to the land of promise because nothing happened right away. They felt they had more back in Egypt. As they waited, they became more upset and spoke out against Moses, questioning why he brought them there. As we look at our Nation's history, we know that you were brought here, my dear ancestor's, as slaves from a land where it seemed you had more. You were brought here and the journey was not a journey you would, or any one would ask for. Once here, you spoke out, you stood up, you stood your ground, but your faith in something greater never waiver ed despite the defeats you suffered to include death. In the end, like with Moses and those he brought out, God, as always provided the promise. Through suffering comes victory and it is your suffering that has brought us the biggest victory since the end of slavery. This victory is not the end of the road, rather the start of a new beginning and a new journey, but it is a journey that we would not have had if it had not been for what you did.

Thank you my beloved Ancestor's for your sacrifice and determination. Thank you for your example of the kind of people we should be and by showing us what kind of God we serve. You lost your lives, your families, friends, your homes, children, spouses, freedoms, but never your faith, never your dignity, never your pride, and never your spirit. It is that spirit that I (we) need even now as we enter this new journey, walking out the victory that Barack called "yours" and I believe he was referring to you, ancestors. Thank you Frederick Douglas, Marcus Garvey, Harriett Tubman, Nat Turner, Henry Thurman, W.E.B. Dubois, Ida B. Wells, Archibald Grimke, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Rosa Parks, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Louis Farrakhan, Alex Haley, the countless numbers of slaves who died in the battles, the numerous African Americans who pressed forth in the Civil Rights movements and sacrificed their lives for the right to freedom. Thank you to the thousands of whites who sacrificed their own freedoms to bring about justice and fairness. My dear ancestor's, with out you, there would be no "us". Your greatest gift followed that of the God you and i (we) serve in that Jesus gave up His life to bring others back to God. He gave up His life for millions He did not even know, and He did it in front of people that did not care about Him, nor wanted Him to exist. You have given us that same example and it is because of that, I believe that God has provided so greatly to those of us you were thinking about. You gave your life for millions you did not know and did so in front of those who did not care about you. We care, we thank you and we love your for it.

It is often said that what we now call the "new school" does not appreciate or respect the sacrifice that was made by you and the "old school" that has been around the last 50 plus, years. I would like to discredit that myth and say that we greatly appreciate what you did, and we are taking the torch and following your example. That example is to not complain with out a solution, not protest with out a purposed result, not debate with out an answer, not fall if we don't plan on getting up, and not waiver with out supporting each other. We, the new school, believe in just pressing forward in spite of, to achieve what you died for us to achieve. Barack Obama has done that and his election, the birth, from the Dream being realized, is the start of a new direction for our country and all those within. My dear Ancestor's, please know that no matter how far we go, no matter how well we do, it is not of our own works, but it is a gift from God, and we consider you those gifts, never to be taken away, never to be forgotten, always to be loved.

Please forgive me (we) for the tardiness of this letter, and I hope you receive it in love and know that our journey is not over, but made easier because of you. Your victory is continuing to be won and it is my (our) honor just to be included in the celebration. Thank you my beloved Ancestor's, thank you for your sacrifice and your unending love.


With love....

Your Descendant(s)