(ThyBlackMan.com) Everyone deserves to feel righteous. To be doing good and having a good impact. There’s no doubt about that. But there’s no denying that black people in today’s society have a much harder time of getting to that stage. Systematically and personally faced with barriers to education, employment, families, and beyond. What are you supposed to do? The answer lies within yourself and with the others who can help you on that way to that empowerment.
Know yourself
First, you have to ask yourself some real questions. On the road to empowerment, you have to get to know yourself. You are not the clothes you wear or the music you like. Those are signifiers. What’s the significance behind them? Make your own likeness, don’t be who other people want you to be. Figure out what you want to do with your life. What is the life’s work awaiting you? Most importantly, it’s about figuring out what action you’ll take next.
Know others
No one person has all the answers. You don’t. I don’t. The whole world might not be able to find the answer that is right. It’s all relative. But in expanding that relativity, you discover things about yourself and your goals. Things that help you to start getting some real traction. Always be on the lookout for role models and wise people. An online magazine for blacks is just one example of finding those who understand your struggles and might have some wisdom to share with you. Broaden your horizons and be a filter for the world’s information.
Know your impact
Whilst you might not have all of the answers, you may very well have the answers that someone else desperately needs. Our communities need more than self-driven young men and women who are doing good. They need those who are going to help pass those lessons onto other people who are looking for the answers. Everyone nowadays, not just black people, are lacking role models. We look to the confidence and riches of celebrities and think they have it right. We get shallow and reaching. Teach the compassion and the motivation that can help your fellow man and woman in everyday life.
Know your enemy
The enemy of everyone is the same. Call it racism. Call it sexism. Call it classism. It’s ignorance, pure and simple. Identify the ignorance not only that comes up against you. Identify it in the world around you. In your friends. Even in yourself. All male cultures, for example, suffer from the effects of misogyny. Reflect on your language and how you think about others. Ask yourself if your thoughts and behaviors are shaped by the real world or by ignorance based on what you’ve heard. Eliminate it from your life and see the world how it is.
The fight for confidence, to be heard, and to have an impact is lifelong. It’s about ‘making it’. It’s about making the journey and helps those on the journey behind you. Remember, it’s all about community. If you’re not a part of yours, you’re not being the force for good you should be.
Staff Writer; Charlie Snow
