If I Could

As I was listening to the R&B Oldies station, Regina Belle's 1993 song, "If I Could " came on.  I instantly began thinking about all the obstacles children are forced to go through. Regardless of how much parents want to shield their children from everything, it is not possible. We can only help them grow to be able to handle things on their own. Besides, they are adults much longer than they are children. So, why would we take all of their learning blocks from them if the experiences are meant to mold them and help them learn to deal with life??? 
Here are the lyrics to the song:

If I could I'd protect you from the sadness in your eyes
Give you courage in a world of compromise
Yes, I would

If I could I would teach you all the things I've never learned
And I'd help you cross the bridges that I've burned
Yes, I would

If I could I would try to shield your innocence from time
But the part of life I gave you isn't mine
I'll watch you grow so I can let you go
If I could I would help you make it through the hungry years
But I know that I can never cry your tears
But I would if I could

If I could in a time and place where you don't wanna be
You don't have to walk along this road with me
My yesterday won't have to be your way
If I knew I'd tryTo change the world I brought you to
Now there isn't much more that I can do
But I would if I could

Everything that I do, I do it because I remember my little butterfly is always watching. This song is dedicated to her...If I could, I certainly would.

Conflict Management

A poem about resolving conflict was found in Poetry Speaks Who I Am. Often times we forget who's watching and who matters most.

MEDIATION
By: Kim Stafford

At the dinner table, before the thrown
plate, but after the bitter claim,
in the one beat of silence
before the parents declare war

their child, who had been temporarily
invisible, but who had from school
a catechism, speaks: "Would you like me
to help solve the conflict?"  Silence.

They can't look at each other.  A glance
would sear the soul.  A wall of fire seethes,
Maginot line through the butter plate,
split salt from pepper, him from her.  Silence.

So the child speaks: "Three rules, then:
One--you have to let each other finish.
Two--you have to tell the truth. Three--
you have to want to solve the conflict.

If you say yes, we will solve it.
I love you.  What do you say?"

What's Your Fight?

http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2013/0213_aahm/

 There are so many conflicts going on in the world each day. Some of these conflicts tend to last for months and years. Many become so brutal and inhumane that we forget what the purpose of the conflict. Just go and search for conflicts of today. There are tons that I did not know about and I ask myself, Why? What's the purpose? Of course conflicts are bound to happen when differences come in to any situation. But killing innocent children,  involving bystanders minding their own business, shooting a person due to an argument, and harming helpless people is by far not the right way to go about handling any situation. We need to learn coping strategies and  appropriate ways to handle situations, because too many people are suffering for fights so many of us know little to nothing about. Its time we practice civil solutions and find a way to get along regardless of differences. Let's not forget the most civil fight to gain freedom to even be able to coexist without discrimination.  We are bringing the same qualities and limitations that activists fought to get rid of back into our daily lives without even realizing it.  They fought for equality and freedom...and how are we repaying them? Rather than using all of our opportunities to our advantage, we have more people dying over petty crimes,  going to jail only for a modern-day enslavement,  and rejecting the chances to rise up in society along with our well-off counterparts.  Whatever your fight is, fight it the right and noble way and quit blaming others for shortcomings.

" In America, we share a dream that lies at the heart of our founding: that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter how modest your beginnings or the circumstances of your birth, you can make it if you try."
- President Barack Obama, Jan. 31, 2013 -Presidential Proclamation

Be Informed to Transform

We are mostly familiar with the repetitive facts that:

Ø  On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man which led to the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott and the end of segregation on Montgomery buses.

Ø  Martin Luther King was a Civil Rights activist.

Ø  The Underground Railroad was the name of the escape system used by slaves to find safety in the North.

Ø  New Orleans, Louisiana is known as the birthplace of jazz.

Ø  Malcolm X was the first who taught the principle that “black is beautiful” and believed that self-reliance is the means to success.

Ø  Vanessa Williams was the first Black American chosen as Miss America.

But, do we really think about:

v  Why did Carter Woodson choose February as the month to celebrate black history?

v  Before it became Black History Month, what was the observance of Black History called?

v  What was the first year that Martin Luther King Day was observed?

v  Where did the first “sit-in” at a segregated lunch counter take place?

v  Why was there only one African American among the original NAACP executives?

v  Which constitutional amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States?

v  Which U.S. Supreme Court decision declared school segregation unconstitutional?

And that’s only to name a small amount of the knowledge that we as a nation lack.  We, as parents, have the obligation of educating our children.  It is obvious that we are failing that task as we see and speak to our children on a daily basis and realize that they don’t even know the basis on which the United States was founded.  Many people think about slavery and automatically get upset with white people.  However, if it were not for white people, slavery would probably still be going on today.  White people alongside phenomenal black people have led the United States beyond our wildest dreams.  In order to understand that, we would have to extensively gain knowledge on the topic.  It is nice to believe that the United States was always a place of freedom, but it is not reality.  Is there a reason why we are shielding our children from the truth? Are we afraid our children will take us back to the past? Do we think our children will become scornful from what they hear? Or do we not have enough knowledge on the topic of history to adequately educate our children? Whatever the case may be, we owe it to our children to teach them about the happenings of the past and help them understand that there is no reason to be upset.  Have we ever thought about how much stronger and wiser our children would be if we educated not only our children, but ourselves, on the topic of history??? We, as a nation, as a people, would have soooo much more power! However, we can never achieve greatness if we don’t even acknowledge our past.  We have to put more than just the future in perspective. We need to know where we came from in order to know where we don’t want to go. In honor of Black History Month, I challenge everyone to become a bit more educated on the topic of Black History and learn the whens, whats, whys, hows, and whos of Black History.   

LET'S BE INFORMED OF THE PAST IN ORDER TO TRANSFORM TO THE FUTURE!!!