A Mandinka Proverb

A warrior who is not prepared becomes a slave..

Roots

The Deeper the roots of the tree, the stronger the tree.

How much do you know about your paternal (father) and maternal (mother) family tree?

How important is to know the history of your family, the roots of your existence? How important is it for your children to know their family history and origins of their family?

African Americans have had a history of family members torn from the family tree since slavery began. It is no wonder that so few of us know anything about their family tree or roots of their family. The difference in slavery times and now is that we are separating and destroying the roots by choice. Every time a father walks away from his children, every time a mother refuses to allow the Father to see his children, we are destroying the roots of their tree. Why do you think the black family has been so badly damaged in the last thirty or so years now? 

Of course, the system of public welfare has contributed to the breakdown of the African American family, by making it a benefit to the recipient if the man is not in the home. At the same time we are not helping matters by breaking off branches that could or may never be repaired.

So how important is it to know where you came from and how it plays an important part in your future, well, I can share one example.

Unlike my mother's family, they have traced their family lineage as far back as where the family originated from in Africa. I can tell you it has been a source of pride and stability to know the roots of my existence. To know the names of my grandfather's parents and so on all the way back to the first woman who began our lineage here in America. To know the stories about them and to be able to share that knowledge with my sons, it is a wonderful feeling!

On the other hand my father's family was not really close with their extended family and I don't know anything about his family's history other then knowing who my grandmother was. I could never get my father or my aunts to talk about their history. Therefore unless someone opens up,

(And I have tried) my father's history will be lost forever; it died with him. This is a source of sadness for me, when I think about my father's family tree. So many of our people do not see the relevance in how this affects the family and its lineage. That is the end of that lineage, without the knowledge of the family tree that tree ceases to exist!

My niece (who was 25 at the time) met a young man, they began seeing each other and one day she called his house to talk with him. Somehow they began to talk about their families and through their conversation they learned that his grandmother was my father's sister and his father was my first cousin. That is a situation that could have gotten very sticky if they had not found out they were related. Their relationship had not gotten intimate yet, but could have very well gone that far. That is one very important reason to know where your family tree originates.

A tree is only as strong as its roots, in order to make strong, healthy branches we must begin to recognize the importance of knowing the lineage of where we come from, not just our ancestral family tree, but the ancestral tree of our people.

Within the history of slavery we have lost a lot, it is time to regain what we have lost and rebuild what has been forgotten...

Let each one, teach one and take back what it rightfully yours....

Every child deserves to know who they are; they cannot be truly complete without the knowledge of self!

When you do not know your origins or you leave your children without the knowledge of their roots, you essentially cut them off from their heritage.

I am bound to them, though I cannot look into their eyes,

or hear their voices,

....I honor their history

....I cherish their lives

....I will tell their stories

Memories

Memories

How important are our memories? How important is the relationships that we build with the people who are closest to us in life and how does it play a part in our memories? Can you recall your earliest memories when you became self-aware of your environment, the relationship you had with your parents and siblings?

I remember my Father teaching me how to dance, he told me to stand on his feet and he would step back and forth and around guiding me as the music played. I remember my mother taking me to the first day of elementary school and how afraid I was when she left me. I remember playing kickball in the yard with my five siblings and how much fun we had. I remember the birth of my three sons, as well as the birth of my granddaughters. I remember taking my sons to their first day of school. I remember the expression on their faces when I took them to amusement park and the fun they were having as my husband and I looked on. I remember when they took their first steps or lost their first tooth. I remember my youngest son at three years old in front of the classroom doing show and tell confidently as his classmates looked on.

These are all the wonderful memories I can look back on now as I approach my late fifties and smile. It is a beautiful thing, memories.

Now, imagine yourself in the declining years of your life, your grown children having lives of their own, you are alone, except for the few friends you have and whatever activities you may have to keep you busy as a senior citizen. You have adult grandchildren, yet they are busy with their young lives. As a young man/woman you lived your life partying, traveling, perhaps so totally engrossed in a career, you did not make time for your family. Perhaps you were a drug addict to busy chasing your next fix, an alcoholic who could not stop drinking.  A parent that was too busy living their own life to think about the responsibility of raising children, a deadbeat father or mother and time passes by without one thought to the future. Before you know it, the music slows down, your body ages and slows down and your life is a series of lonely days and nights. You did not establish a relationship with your children or grandchildren and you are alone within four walls with just the echo of a Tv.

In that silence you have no wonderful or meaningful memories to reflect on....

In the vitality of youth very seldom does a person think about aging, that time in life where everything is behind them. If you are fortunate and blessed with the understanding that the relationships you have to the people close to you is the most important blessing you have, then every memory you make with them will be memorialize in their thoughts as well as yours.

I am reminded of a song by the Temptations it is entitled.

"I’ve never been to me," the song is about an old man who pulls aside a young man who reminds him of himself. He asks the man solemnly to listen to him as he begins to tell him how he wasted his life chasing empty self-serving dreams and a good time. He goes on to tell the young man that he had a family that he never appreciated nor took the time to stay settled with them and he missed out on everything that was important. He says, "I’ve been all over the world, but I've never been to me."

It is a sad song, especially since I personally know people in this situation.

You see, memories are so very important because when you're older, you can look back on those memories of family, friends and they will remind you what a wonderful life you had, the good experiences and the bad because they all have culminated to make you the person you have become.

The recollection of those memories will sustain you when you have those quiet moments as a senior citizen. It is not just the memories you build for yourself that is important, but the memories you contribute to others as well. When someone close passes away, once the mourning passes what comforts you most is the memories of that person. It is the memories that keep that person alive in your heart.

Memories are sometimes taken for granted; they are an essential component to the human psyche. So while you're young, vibrant and full of life, take time to make wonderful memories with the people in your life, I can tell you personally, you won't regret it.

If you do not, you will have a lonely and sad life in your senior years .

And Always remember to tell someone you love....I love you.

BLACK GOLD

Congratulations

 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Winners

Yah heal your people, Yah heal your land....

2 Chronicles 7:14King(KJV)

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.