I Am Somebody

Long before the civil rights legislation of the 1960’s, there were countless men and women all across America from the time of slavery, reconstruction and Jim Crow that worked to bring about a positive change in everyday life.   Many worked tirelessly as advocates in their cities and communities to ensure equal rights and social justice.  This included lifting the human spirit, promoting fairness in housing, equal access to education, and pushing for employment opportunities.          

One such man was the late Reverend Dr. William Holmes Borders, Sr. (1905-1993), who was the pastor the Wheat Street Baptist Church, Atlanta from 1937 to 1988.  During his leadership he campaigned for numerous civic right causes including those for the poor and oppressed.  He was instrumental in the hiring of Atlanta’ first black police officers in the 1940’s, led campaigns to desegregate the public transportation system in the 1950’s, and established the first federally subsidized and church operated rental housing project in the 1960’s.   In addition, he led a voter registration drive in 1946 that generated 15,000 new black voters and was a charter member in the creation of the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) in 1961.  Throughout his career he spoke on issues of segregation, disfranchisement, wartime patriotism and had a weekly radio broadcast.       

This is quite amazing for a man born in Macon, GA and who attended Morehouse College with little to no money and then when on to attended Garrett Theological Seminary at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.  However, one of his most remembered quotes of his continues to be a poem he wrote and recorded in the mid 1950’s that was entitled… “I Am Somebody.”   The Reverend Jesse Jackson and others have used Dr. Borders poem over the years as a basic throughout their careers to provide a voice, creed and affirmation for others to follow.   

The essences of the words are simple, but yet are powerful even today.  A small sample of what of that poem reflected was…“I Am – Somebody… I May Be Poor - But I Am Somebody… I May Be Young - But I Am Somebody…I May Be On Welfare - But I Am Somebody…I May Be Small - But I Am Somebody…I May Make A Mistake - But I Am Somebody….My Clothes Are Different…My Face Is Different…My Hair Is Different - But I Am Somebody…I Am Black – Brown – White…I Speak A Different Language…But I Must Be Respected, Protected.. Never Rejected, I Am God's Child… I Am Somebody.   

In the wake of Black History Month, perhaps that is where we need to start and take steps to reaffirm ourselves and know that we too… are somebody.  What do you say?

Passing The Torch

"No work is insignificant.  All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."

Those were the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he reflected on the value of labor, its impact and meaning in America.   As we pause this week to remember the work and legacy of Dr. King, we also must keep in mind to teach and demonstrate those values to this and the next generation.  The King Holiday continues to grow in its importance as more and more communities and businesses embrace the significant of what he believed in and stood for.  It’s just good business.

MLK day is not just another holiday, but it is a day in which to refocus and to reflect on what is important in life.  Without a doubt, Dr. Kings’ life’s work helped us all to live better and to achieve more.  We must also remind ourselves that it took a lot for his birthday to become a national holiday… of course that is another story all to itself.   

In the light of Dr. King’s work, it is always easy to just stay the way you are and not change a thing, but in the reality of life it is impossible to remain the same.  Regardless of how much we desire to keep things the way we found them, enjoy what we have, we all know that change happens and it occurs sooner than later.  The world is a place of constant motion… ins and outs… ups and downs… dips and curves. And when you take an honest look at things, we all are continuously changing, little bit by little bit… it could be because of age… it could be because of more knowledge… it could be because of more experience… or it just could be that we are evolving and adapting to what is happening as we go along.      

The greatest thing that we can is to empower those in the upcoming generation to take the lead.  It is to begin the process of passing things of importance on to them.  Keeping the status quo will not be enough.  This new generation has some new ideas, dreams, visions, and a boarder way of thinking and seeing things.   We should not be afraid of the new leadership that is emerging in the next generation of African Americans, they will bring a few changes,... spice it up or add a few new twists they say… to many things that worked well in the past.  Of course there will be a price to be paid… but they will make the best of the legacy we leave behind… so we can only expect that more progress will be made in making our nation better… and bring true light to what God intended.