In celebration of Black History Month, I would like to tag this post, "Proximity."
During the duration of these last three months, the word “proximity” has echoed in my mind whenever I thought about race, equality and injustice.
The word proximity matters when it comes to understanding relationships and when it comes to inequality and injustice. Allow me to explain.
Before we became educators, firemen, police officers and etc., we couldn’t comprehend the magnitude of stress or the workload that would follow, until we became educators, firemen and police officers. Before we became parents, we couldn’t fully grasp the multitude of sacrifices we would have to make or the headaches that come with raising kids, until we became parents. Before marriage, we did realize the inevitable highs and lows that came along with marriage. We didn’t know because of our lack of proximity. Pre-educator, pre-firemen, pre-police officer, pre-parent, and pre-marriage allowed us to only experience the surface levels, but once we became educators, parents, and husbands and wives, we were able to experience the fullness (and sometimes murkiness) of these areas. Close proximity matters.
When it comes to race, proximity also matters! What you have not experienced is sometimes difficult to fully understand. The possibility of walking waist deep into the scary, alligator infested, murky waters of America is there. Right now, you may be at a junction between two paths, fearing you may unlock the deep skeletons in America’s closet. If you find yourself standing and trying to decide which path you should take, just know, you are not alone and you do not have to walk this path alone.
If you are that individual, wanting or willing to tread into the murky waters of America, I want you to ask yourself two questions. 1. Am I willing to walk waste deep into these scary and unknown waters? 2. How committed am I?
If you are curious about what's in the deep end, check out next week's newsletter. Next week we will discuss the 4 stages of Proxity: Interest, Dating, Engagement and Marriage.
