#blacklivesmatter racism is a human problem

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almac68

appeared on my LinkedIn feed this morning

“Soooo you mean to tell me that someone down your ancestry line survived being chained to other human bodies for several months in the bottom of a disease-infested ship during the Middle Passage, lost their language, customs and traditions, picked up the English language as best they could while working free of charge from sun up to sun down as they watched babies sold from out of their arms and women raped by ruthless slave owners.

Took names with no last names, no birth certificates, no heritage of any kind, braved the Underground Railroad, survived the Civil War to enter into sharecropping... Learned to read and write out of sheer will and determination, faced the burning crosses of the <<<, averted their eyes at the bodies swinging from ropes hung on trees...

Fought in World Wars as soldiers only to return to America as boys, marched in Birmingham, hosed in Selma, jailed in Wilmington, assassinated in Memphis, segregated in the South, ghettoed in the North, ignored in history books, stereotyped in Hollywood...

and in spite of it all, someone in your family line endured every era to make sure you would get here, but you receive one rejection, face one obstacle, lose one friend, get overlooked, and you want to quit?

How dare you entertain the very thought of quitting. People, you will never know survived from generation to generation so you could succeed. Don’t you dare let them down!

It is NOT in our DNA to quit!”

This is an awesome post, keeping it real.
whenever I think of black excellence, i read stuff like this

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snottyotter in reply to @almac68

Obviously I'm not the target audience, and if it inspires then all good, but fuck that seems like it's putting a lot of pressure on someone who is likely still struggling but maybe not in the way their ancestors were.

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almac68 in reply to @snottyotter

Regardless, struggle is struggle.. very few black families have any sort of privilege. Those that do, perhaps through generational wealth will have taken a long time to establish 50-70 years. With little/no guarantees or protection. It’s a hard mantra, not easy to navigate. Mums are often the driving force willing their children to succeed, to get a foothold in society.

What appalls me, is how we lose so much talent and skill, discarding young black men and women even here in the UK.. the stats are shocking

Arthur Miller ‘playwright’ talks about his parents forced into poverty during the 30’s depression and 50’s golden era filled with broken promises as the wealth gap widened despite opportunities across the US.

So the statement stands, strive for excellence, live your best life, find your best hustle, take nothing for granted.

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