I did not always believe as I do now. My mom taught us biblical principles. That we should love and help anyone in need regardless of their color. And that was her legacy before and after God radically changed her life. We were taught not to hate or walk in unforgiveness because it is against God.
However, in my later teen years, I began to allow many elements to formulate my opinions to be radical against the past behaviors of White America regarding slavery. I began to gravitate my readings and my thoughts around the evils of slavery and the residual effects of the Jim Crow laws of the South – Georgia in particular.
At the same time my thoughts were never lassoed by the notion of being taken care of by the government. My mother taught us the resilience of our people despite slavery and Jim Crow. She taught us how God brought us through, that we were a strong people, and that we all have choices. She said the problem with our people… is that we forgot God.
Even though my views were becoming radical, it was my mother’s biblical teachings that allowed me to speak out against racial situations I saw or encountered while still recognizing the bad and or good choices made on both sides. The truth was not black or white, it was seeing the wrong and standing on what was right.
As I got into my early twenties, I began to realize the books and publications I was reading were always one-sided and half-truths. And like the movies and documentaries I watched, they were making me angry and dominating my thoughts. So, I grew tired of reading those books and watching those movies.
In my mid-twenties, I gave my life to God. I began reading my Bible again, and I read it every day. My desire and search for truth grew. It was no longer just enough to read a book and believe. I wanted to research the information and know more about it for myself. As I did, things I had believed and read before did not add up.
I remember believing and standing on the “fact” that the Constitution was racist and said that Black people were only three-fifths of a person. However, when I learned that it was about representation, I was shocked. Article I, Section 2 says “Representatives…shall be apportioned… according to their respective Numbers… by adding the whole Number of free Persons, … three-fifths of all other Persons.” It was about three-fifths of the Number of persons to count for representation, not three-fifth of a person as an individual. Wow!
The kicker was when I read about all the successful Black businessmen and women, teachers, doctors, scientists, and inventors who came out of slavery and thrived during the Reconstruction period without any reparations. In fact, many blacks did not want the government’s handout, they just wanted to be left alone. They were those who strived and helped others to do as well.
I am now a teacher of American History (among other subjects) to 7th to 12th grade predominately black students, in the inner city of Orlando, FL. They learn true American history which includes the good, the bad, the ugly, and the great.
I have created the American History Alive (AHA) Museum. It is an interactive production where the students pose as historical figures from the past and tell the stories of their struggles, their triumphs, and how God brought them through. As the visitors walk around to encounter the different figures, I, as the curator of the Museum, periodically tell bits of history with videos and slides to bring everything to the full truth and the focus of God in this great nation.
Many people, Black, White, Latino, and Asian are all amazed by what they learn at the AHA Museum. Some weep in disbelief of how much knowledge they were deprived of in schools. And they are excited to see that there are young people learning the truth.