With the passing of yet another of our important historical figures
I am left to give both pause and thanks
Pause to remember a person who I never had the pleasure of meeting
yet feel as though their vision for social justice, equality, and freedom were envisioned for the journey that I’m currently engaged
Well before I was born,
the legacy against oppression was begun
The mantle has been passed amongst the worthiest candidates of all genders and abilities
Yet again, I am given pause to reflect on yet another figure whose life
as we currently conceive it on Earth has ended
Another figure who engaged in the good fight
Sacrificed and endured for all that he believed in beyond his own needs
Instead for those of his beloved people
Never to be placed on some iconic pedestal that allows for those who deem it necessary
to attempt to unseat him
He was in fact very human and had his flaws as all humans do
Yet I must give thanks
for what he has offered me
is another model
of why my journey is to be as challenging
as it has been
and will be
Yet I must endure
I must recognize that I may also exist in my own form of exile, for not as long, 27 years
Separated from my loved ones and community beyond the limitations of select and sanctioned visitations
The human memory
and the wishes of those who chose to enact revisionist history
should be called into question
as those who are viewed as deviant and/or misguided
are often those who we later realize
we were just unable to comprehend the beauty
of their gift, vision, and/or passion
at the time of our encounter
We must not let ourselves and others
off the hook
for our misguided and/or misplaced deeds and thoughts
We must also hold ourselves
as well as other
accountable
not in the current sense
but one of humanism
The legacy of forgiveness and conviction
calls us to task each and every day
we must consciously seek out our truths, passions, and obligatory destinies
Revelations don’t guarantee change
Our conscious and proactive actions regarding them do
Today, work to become better than you were yesterday
in order to build on that reality tomorrow
with a legacy of forgiveness and conviction as its essence…