Black Women Have It Going On

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” — John Milton 

Yesterday, I shared how the achievements of my 3x great-grandfather as a newly freed Black man transformed my view of myself and American history. That new lens forced me to evaluate the institution of slavery beyond the dry facts of textbooks. The phrase ‘man’s inhumanity to man’ takes on a chilling reality when you realize that enslaved people were treated like perishable commodities—sold, gifted, or stolen, each with a cruel ‘expiration date’ determined by their captors. So, when I’m asked how it feels to weigh his 300-acre success against the ‘crumbs’ of a 28-day month, I stand as tall as he did. I am filled with adoration for his ability to survive such brutality and prove his worth the moment he was free. He didn’t just become a free man; he was a free thinker even in bondage.

My 3x great-grandfather didn’t wait for a ‘dedicated month’ to prove his worth; he carried his value within him while he was still considered property. If he could maintain the mind of a free man while in chains, and build a 300-acre legacy the moment those chains fell, what is stopping us today?

We often settle for the ‘crumbs’ because we’ve been told that a little bit of recognition is ‘better than nothing.’ But his life tells a different story. He didn’t settle for a crumb; he provided the whole loaf for his community—a school, a church, and a future.

My question for you today is this: In what areas of your life are you playing small because you’re waiting for ‘permission’ or ‘recognition’ from a world that once saw you as a commodity? It’s time we stop waiting for the 28 days of February to tell us who we are, and start building the acres of legacy we were meant to own. Let’s pray!

The Prayer:
Lord, I thank You for the strength of those who came before me. I thank You for a 3x great-grandfather who refused to let a ‘perishable’ label define his eternal worth. Father, remove the sting of ‘man’s inhumanity to man’ from our hearts and replace it with the ‘adoration’ of our own resilience. Help us to stand as tall as those who built legacies from the dust of oppression. Teach us to be free thinkers today, so we never settle for the crumbs of yesterday. Amen.