It’s been almost 50 years since the death of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and I would argue that the lack of progress over the years would severely disappoint him.
Last week, I was having a discussion with a friend on the struggles of the black race. I asked him, why after all of these years, does it seem as if we as a race have a difficult time uniting with one another and other races. His immediate response was that “they” do not want us to know our own strength because “they” fear us.
I would have to disagree.
We have a difficult time uniting and overcoming the stigma because we use our history as a crutch versus taking responsibility for the current brokenness in the black community caused by blacks.
We are unaware of our own value. If we were people who valued ourselves, we would value the rights that many people before of us fought and died for. One of those rights is the right to a quality education.
According to a 2011 report completed by Complete College America, blacks are more likely to take remedial classes, attend a two-year college or drop out of college, and they are less likely to graduate.
It seems the very thing people fought for us to benefit from we do not take advantage of.
How can we place the blame on the white race for not valuing us when we lack value for ourselves as well?
We can argue that “the white man” put us here, but we continue to be stagnant because of ourselves.
We can not change how people view blacks, but we can start acting in a way that nulls their beliefs.
This begins at home. We cannot cry for justice from the public while our homes cry in pain in private.
There is a correlation with the family structure of black homes and the brokenness of the black community; almost 70 percent of black children are raised in a single parent home. This is not to say that single parents are incapable of raising intellectual and successful kids, but I hear many people justifying their behaviors as “daddy problems.”
This is not simply a justification; it’s the truth.
We are lacking strong black males outside of the media. We are lacking them in our homes.
Last week, my professor told us that children raised in two-parent homes are likely to hear 80,000 more words by kindergarten and will hear seven times more positive words. A healthy home correlates to a quality education. If we begin restructuring our homes and lifestyles, then we begin developing within the classroom and as a race.
We claim to be kings and queens, so let’s be royal. Royalty does not need the validation of the individuals surrounding them; they know their worth and live in a way that reflects their value.
So let’s focus on our broken homes and lack of appreciation for the ones who have died for us. Let’s discontinue our victimizing cries of inequality and focus on the cries of disillusion from our children.
Yes, history was not in our favor, but it is 2015. We can not change history or make people see our struggle, but we can live in a way that makes Martin Luther King Jr.’s death worth something.
Rachel Granger is a junior international studies major from Pearl.
