Rising In Love & Power (Pt. 1)
By Naje Badu Love
Fall 1980. The start of a new decade emerges, dressed in a corduroy jacket, ruffled blouse with shoulder pads, terry cloth headband, and matching leggings. Ronald Reagan has been elected to take President Jimmy Carter’s place in the Oval Office. Embedded deep within the crevices of my mind is a very clear memory of me as a young child trying to make sense of the world beyond daily bus rides, lunch recesses, and homework. The flashback includes me sitting in the middle of a freshly painted room filled with children between the ages of 8 and 10, all of us attending Author Amos Noyes Elementary. Staged at the front of the class is an old-modeled Zenith television, perched neatly upon a rickety, rusted rolling cart. Beneath its 27-inch monitor is an old VCR playing a documentary series titled, Eyes on the Prize. The series told detailed accounts of the Civil Rights Era, all of which encompassed the lives of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lewis, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks, and other courageous beings who chose to sit, stand, and ultimately resist the unbearable threat against the lives of African American people. Though the tales shared throughout the 14-part series were horrific in nature, especially for the mind of a young, impressionable middle school student, I still found it difficult to ignore the surge of pride, and the spirit of empowerment raging through my veins and bubbling up in the center of my solar plexus, as my eyes devoured everything portrayed on the glowing screen. The sight of those black and white images, depicting the struggle between Black and White people, informed me in ways that were much more pertinent than any historical conversation I’d held up until that day. Unforgettable was the unimaginable pain, struggle, and resilience captured within the still and moving images, all of which characterized the fervency of brown-skinned people determined to correct the ills of a society, of a nation resistant to the concept of justice, peace, and liberty for every man, woman, and child. The essence of social and ethnic revolution that compelled every last one of those heroes to sacrifice their lives for a cause beyond themselves made it extremely difficult for me to avert my eyes from the screen.
To be utterly honest, I detested history as a young person. Back then, I saw no purpose in combing through the relics of moments in time that had long since passed and seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with anything occurring in the present moment. Especially moments that concealed within them, periods where innocent people were being slaughtered in wars, and lands were conquered through means of bloodshed. History classes seemed persistent in sharing stories of pain. As a sensitive soul, I was not interested in the constant remembrance of affliction certain groups of people and nations encountered in order to prevail. That is, not until the moment I was introduced to the Civil Rights Era and Black Liberation Movements. Only then was I able to contemplate the relevance yesterday’s events had on the blessings I had the privilege of experiencing in the present moment - privileges that we’re not afforded to my predecessors; the ones who sacrificed their lives for future generations.
There are several experiences I encountered as a youth that will forever be etched inside the crevices of my mind, some of which have completely changed the trajectory of my life. On that Fall day, sitting at my desk, in the middle of Mrs. Reynold’s classroom with my eyes glued to the television, I was able to capture a moment that significantly shaped who I am today. It was the day that the spirit of perseverance, pride, love and appreciation for my Blackness began to stir. It was the moment in time when I was able to connect the dots of such a monumental period in America’s history to my own privileges and liberties as an African American child. Liberties that afforded me the right to sit in the seats of buses that transported me to a desegregated school on a daily basis; to a building housed with classrooms and offices filled with students and faculty of every color. I finally began to understand the full extent of the freedom I possessed. A freedom that was only made possible through the sacrifices made by Coretta Scott King, Ella Baker, Angela Davis, Diane Nash, John Lewis, Stokely Carmichael, James Baldwin, Thurgood Marshall, Ralph Abernathy, or Medgar Evers, Septima Poinsette Clark, Daisy Bates, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ruby Bridges, Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks, and so many more.
Still today, I relish in each of the acclaimed stories depicted in the heroic marches, protests, sit-ins, and sermons made by activists and freedom riders highlighted in Eyes on the Prize. Resounding in my ears is the first time I heard the voice of a female soldier. The face of a beautiful, fair-skinned, African American woman with an afro the size of the “original” continent mesmerized me for many reasons. Angela Davis was such a powerful and regal woman whose presence and intellect was captivating. Her posture, her countenance, and her undeniable vigor pierced sharply through her eyes as she spoke of her involvement with the Black Liberation Movement. Inside, I wascompelled me to scream, “I want to be like her!” Fortunately, I was able to hold my composure and keep my admiration to myself. Of course, back then, I knew nothing about any of the negative sentiments some people held of the Black Panther Party with which she was affiliated (though I eventually grew curious enough to study more about them in later years). So, I can say without any confusion that what she represented was a woman who was willing to stand for what was right, to resist the injustices that threatened Black people’s basic quest for safety, equality, and freedom. What I did not realize then, as a young girl, what that she was a reflection of a piece of me. Even now, I realize that what I admire most about her are the parts of myself that have remained untapped and unlived. (to be continued…)
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Naje Badu Love is the author of Let Go of Your But! A Woman’s Guide to Loving Herself to Full Potential and Possibility (purchase here). As an artist and illustrator, Naje founded Journal Up! (an organization designed to support people in their quest for true potential through journaling). to align her passion for writing, journaling and illustration as a means of connecting with and inspiring people around the globe. You are invited to reach out to her via Facebook and LinkedIn by following the social media details below:
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