BMORENEWS.com

N'yinde Amaari and DMG

By D. Morton Glover, www.bmorenews.com

“Betray not your future.
Do not allow your mind to become enslaved
by those who wish to control your destiny.”

(BALTIMORE – February 23, 2010) – Today, as we near the end of Black History Month, I am reminded of what Baltimore Times co-publisher Peter Bramble often alludes: The overcome.

As many of us have finally dug out from the snow, and peer around at our surroundings, it is all too easy to absorb the gloom and despair. This we must resist with every fiber of our soul.

The preacher reminds that as long as there is life, there is hope: Even for Tiger Woods!

In times like these, when it may seem like everything is crumbling around us, we must remember that by the very fact that we are alive innately suggests … now catch this … that the best is yet to come!

Politically, Baltimore is in transition. With a new mayor in place, we have to give Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake a chance. After all, we knew when we elected the last mayor, Sheila Dixon, that a cloud of suspicion was riding over her head and that her stay would be challenged. Mayor Dixon did the best she knew how, whatever we may think. And for these gracious acts of service, we say “Thank you” to an otherwise proud and strong black woman. After all, public service is no cake walk. For over 20 years, she served to the best of her ability. Even more, she continues to serve.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake, now in the pocket, is striving diligently to find her footing. After a rough Olympic start, I believe at the end of the day she will serve her daddie’s legacy well. She is smart. She is methodical. She is prepared. She is our own. Let’s give her a chance.

Economically, we are all struggling. We just have to stay on our grind, keep our heads to the sky, continue to help each other, and move forward. The summer is right around the corner. I don’t know about you, but I insist on remaining optimistic, thanking God for the business I do get, being a good steward over the blessings I already have, and … by the grace and mercy of the Almighty … being a blessing to somebody else. For I know that as I give, I do receive. None of us can allow our pasts to define us. As the good book says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our past mistakes are simply that: the past. We must press on forward: “Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead.”

Brother Munir from East Baltimore has a very apropos message on his answering machine: “Rather than focus on what we cannot do with what we don’t have, let us focus on what we can do with what we do have.”

Folks, the devil is busy. It is so easy to focus on the negative. In these times, let us instead focus on the beauty. And as Earth, Wind & Fire reminds, if there is no beauty, let us create some beauty.

This thing called life is not for the faint at heart, the wimp, nor the quitter. It is for the strong, the relentless, the fearless. Consider the blessing to be alive in these days and times. By the way, we have a great black president in Barack Obama. Heck, anything is possible.

So, if you are finding these times rough, know that at the end of the day, God is still in charge. Despite all of the negatives that may come our way, we are the captain of our soul. Further, there are so many people in this Black History Month that we can look to for encouragement, including those in our own families.

On February 2, 1955: Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. said in a speech:
On this day, when we bow our heads and hearts in the memory of one of the greatest human beings that ever lived, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, may we use some of the breadth of his greatness in our hearts and minds, realizing those great words of his that “We have nothing to fear but fear.”

So let us be strong.

We are not here to play, to dream, to drift.

We have hard work to do, loads to lift.

Shun not the struggle that is God's gift.

Be strong.  It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong.

Nor how hard the battle goes, nor the night how long.

Faint not, fight on.

  Tomorrow will come the dawn.

At the end of the day, let us all be mindful that we can indeed make a better world. All we need do is believe … believe in ourselves … and believe in each other.

Have a great day, everyone! And by the way, Happy Birthday to N'yinde Amaari Glover, the most beautiful little girl in my world. Daddy loves you incredibly so. 

Tags: black history month 2010