“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
The spirit of this document written many years ago has not changed. But how do we live up to these powerful words “that all men are created equal?” I grew up in the Mississippi Delta and my grandfather was born on March 10, 1900. He had the “talk” with his sons (my uncles), my brother, my cousins, and any other black male connected to us. My family kept the Jet magazine that captured the story of Emmett Till. This story also made international headlines because it was an unjustified murder of a young black person visiting the deep south.
I wonder if we would have had smart phones and a quick-thinking crowd to record this heinous act, if it would have changed the course of history. But then I remembered, Emmett’s uncle pleaded with the two white men to not take his nephew. Although we are grateful for the creation of smart phones and those quick-thinking members of the crowd that captured the agonizing final moments leading up to Mr. George Floyd’s death, I believe they made all the difference for securing the three guilty verdicts. Though we received a guilty verdict for all three counts, I am relived but still saddened by the countless number of other cases that didn’t have a recording to assist with obtaining accountability and justice.
Nevertheless, in 2021 we are still searching for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Over a hundred years later, my brother still had to have the “talk” with my nephew and his friends as we continue on this pursuit of happiness. When will we obtain it? How many more lives will be lost? How much more blood will have to be shed? How many more tears will we cry? How do we change hearts? When will we reach what Solomon notes in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. We must walk in the fear of God and not fear being pulled over by those in authority. We must walk in the fear of God and not fear economic and political oppression; and finally, we must walk in the fear of God and not fear blatant discrimination.
I believe that we will one day live a life when all men are created equal! A time when we will have those certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Until that time, we must trust God and not lose our faith. And as Solomon stated, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.
We must forgive others and always look for the Remarkable!
Dr. ReShone
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