The 2000’s brought even more athletic, entertainment, corporate and political success for African-Americans. Forty-two years after Althea Gibson won the Women’s Singles in Wimbledon, Venus Williams won the same title which marked the beginning of a string of women’s major professional tennis titles for Williams. In 2002, Halle Berry became the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress. Oprah Winfrey built on the entrepreneurial teachings of Madam C. J. Walker to become a billionaire as a media mogul. Around the same time four black men, Kenneth Chenault, Richard Parsons, Franklin Raines, and E. Stanley O’Neal became CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. The ultimate achievement for African-Americans came when then U. S. Senator Barack Hussein Obama was elected U. S. President in 2008 and again in 2012. As these achievements were happening, discord and hate were brewing in suburban and rural America. It manifested itself in the form of mass shootings. The first was Columbine High School in 1999, a 2007 gunman killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech, 26 elementary school students were gunned down in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, and most recently in 2018, 17 were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Discontent was also brewing in urban neighborhoods. Thousands of people in the city of New Orleans died after Hurricane Katrina blew through the city in 2005. The massive death toll was a direct result of city officials’ neglect of needed infrastructure improvements in historically under-invested neighborhoods. Unarmed black and brown men and women were being gunned down routinely by police officers across the nations. An NFL player quietly knelt in protest during the ceremonial playing of the National Anthem to remember the lives of Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, and Laquan McDonald, a few of the unarmed people of color killed by American police officers. These stories spread effortlessly into the lives of our nation’s youth through their SmartPhones, an invention of the 2000’s. The WIFI enabled, internet connected devices are designed to connect people to information from around the world. For our nation’s youth, these devices have become both blessings and curses. Youth can acquire knowledge with a few finger taps while at the same time being harassed by psychologically damaging sights and sounds. Just like Faith, her final two models are products of this era. Lauryn Johnson is a recent high school graduate. Lauryn and Faith met a year ago through their involvement in youth programs sponsored by the Muhammad Ali Center (MAC). Lauryn’s parents gave Faith a weekly ride to MAC where the girls learned to be social entrepreneurs and social justice advocates. Lauryn was in her fourth year of participating in MAC programs and Faith was just getting started. She encouraged Faith to be actively involved in their school’s Black Student Union and to seek out opportunities to grow as a leader and scholar. Lauryn finished high school with enough college credits to enroll as a college junior. After graduation, with support from her parents, Lauryn decided to delay college. She is currently an Americorp Vista employee with the Muhammad Ali Center. Like most teens, my daughter is easily distracted and forgetful. Lauryn became Faith’s counterbalance. Lauryn’s maturity, perseverance, and dedication to advocating for others guided Faith successfully through her freshman year of high school. Kendal Rayborn has been a part of the Lindsey Family for nearly 4 years. Faith met Kendal in middle school. They are both now in high school. We parents take turns chauffering the girls around the city. I often eavesdrop on their conversations. They know I’m listening, but they’re comfortable enough around me to talk about what really happened at their outings. I overhear them talking about behaviors that make them uncomfortable to be around. I’ll never forget the outing that started out as a plan to attend some boy’s party and suddenly switched to meeting friends at the ice rink. I learned on the ride to the rink that the girls snubbed the party because the boys only invited specific girls. Faith and Kendal were invited but they refused to attend a party where girls were considered objects of pleasure and entertainment. They invited a lot of their friends to join them at the skating rink. The Instagram feed from the party proved their protest worked because hardly any kids attended the party, especially girls. Kendal is an aspiring actress with a very busy schedule designed to hone her craft. I remember Faith telling me she could no longer Instagram Kendal. Kendal had turned off the account. She decided it was a distraction from her goals and therefore wasn’t needed. That’s what I love most about Kendal, she knows what is truly important and will remove obstacles that get in her way. Every young girl needs at least one friend she can trust as a confidant. Someone who will be an extra set of eyes, ears, and hands in every type of situation. She needs a friend who will tell her the truth and challenge her when she is wrong. Faith is blessed. She has not only one but many. Lauryn and Kendal are two of the closest. It’s reassuring to know that young ladies like these are our future.
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AuthorRamona Dallum Lindsey is an artist, speaker and curious citizen who finds strength in the wisdom of her elders. Archives
February 2019
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