Reclaiming Our Way promoting the well-being of African American children & families

This Moment Is Not Ours By Accident – We Can and Will Prosper Through It

One thing I'm always mindful of is the balance of positive and inspiring messages, resources or other stories to share on this page, versus information and updates about the tragedies and other challenges our community is confronted with and forced to endure on a daily basis.

The reality, however, is that all of this is a part of our lived experience. My best sense is that we need to be reminded of all of this, the good and the tragedies.

There are many folks doing really inspiring work to heal and develop individuals, families and institutions within our community every single day; and we absolutely need to hear more about as many of these people, organizations and efforts as possible. I'd also argue that we are presently living through one of the most pronounced periods of racial retrenchment in this nation's history, certainly within the last several decades.
As much progress as we've made with respect to legal guarantees in this country, a great deal of it is being undermined annually by the Supreme Court, not to mention the many other lower courts throughout the country. The same can be said about the relative rate of return on our improved educational access over the years, levels of homeownership, levels of wealth generation, and other aspects of our family and community well-being.

So while the unflattering news about the experiences of our people in this country might seem depressing - especially if only based on the daily updates and news cycles, I hope people understand these trends within the larger picture of our peoples' status over time in this country.

I hope people recognize that the frustration, outrage and exasperation with these trends is exactly because so many of us know what the possibilities are, or at the very least what our individual and collective aspirations are. We have always recognized and believed in our capacity to succeed, our right to justice, and to be healthy and well. So we pay attention to the negative things, the tragedies and the challenges not because we're depressed or preoccupied, but because we expect and continue to push for (demand) so much more.

Moreover, we want everyone else to be reminded of our unfinished agenda, and our collective responsibility to continue the path started by our ancestors.

So worry and panic not, but do stay focused on our journey ahead. We are here today because of the hopes, dreams and prayers of those who came many generations before us. And we will continue to do everything we can each and every single day for the many generations that are still awaiting their moment in this space.

Our path is a sacred one. And we shall treat it as such.