Keep Going—The Baton

“I don’t know who needs to hear this but...You are seen. People are watching and listening and appreciating what you’re doing. Your struggle will have its rewards. Keep grinding. Keep being authentic. Keep speaking your truth. Don’t give up, because you’re not finished.”

~Unknown

“Keep going.” I tell myself that a lot. When I originally sat down to write this, I wanted to type the perfect words to preface Waverly’s (future) blog post, Invisible. I thought about all the times that I’ve had a similar feeling or even how one of my favorite books, Eleven Minutes, by Paulo Coelho, was so creative: he attempts to write from a woman’s perspective. As Google Books describes, “Eleven Minutes is the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that ‘love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer...’ In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness -- sexual pleasure for its own sake -- or risking everything to find her own ‘inner light’ and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.” Will Coelho ever know what it feels like to be a woman? To be seen as a woman? To be judged as a woman? Probably not, but there was something in his writing that allowed me to try to relate, to try to empathize. The truth is, I don’t have an answer to that, just as I know that for all the people looking for a panacea to racism, news flash: there aint one. Yet, I hope the fear of you not eradicating racism is not holding you back from trying, the same way I hope you understand that a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Let’s keep taking steps.

I struggled last week, grappling with my anger at Jacob Blake’s shooting that left him paralyzed, in addition to learning of Chadwick Boseman’s death Friday night, particularly given his four-year battle with colon cancer. Brother Barnes pointed out the irony that Boseman died on the same day as the March in DC. But note, Black Panther is also a DC comics production, the first superhero of African descent in mainstream American comics, having debuted years before early black superheroes such as Marvel Comics’ the Falcon (1969), Luke Cage (1972), and Blade (1973) or DC Comics’ John Stewart in the role of Green Lantern (1971). Boseman’s strength, using his craft to bring strong Black figures to the movie screen: Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall, captivated audiences worldwide, portraying a nuanced narrative of what a hero looks like. This takes me back to Ryan’s words from an earlier blog post, “it’s hard to become something you haven’t seen before...” Boseman brought Black superheroes to life, giving many Black people something to believe in. Let’s keep believing.

I saw a social media post on Chris Durso’s Instagram that showed someone else’s #randomthought “Nobody in Chadwick’s circle ‘leaked’ his personal business in 4 years...” Then Durso captioned, “He was obviously richer than we knew. From a leadership perspective, I’m sure that most leaders are reading that statement thinking ‘I wish!’ The reason why is because finding a true support system full of people of character, that actually have your back is so hard to find. People can be fake or fickle or straight up fascinated by what you have believing that they deserve it. We’ve all had people in our lives that have done us wrong—allow those people to serve as examples of who not to be or who not to keep around. The moment I read last night that Chadwick had been sick for 4 years, I literally thought about how special the people must be that surrounded him. I desire to have people like this around me and to be this for others.” Damn. That’s some real shit. Boseman fought in silence, battling his cancer while providing an outlet for millions of Black people to see triumph, strength, and power in a new lens. Let’s keep seeing that strength.

Fighting in silence while showing up daily, inspiring others, is a great feat. As such I thought it was pertinent to preface Invisible, because this feat is complicated and insidious when the trauma is a social stigma. It’ll drop Wednesday, but I’ve read it multiple times since Waverly originally sent it to me back in June. Her resilience and Boseman’s strength inspire me—it’s hard to be a Black man in this country. It’s funny (for lack of a better word), as people will see my LinkedIn or assume certain things about me because of my profession, but trust we are all fighting battles others know nothing about. Yet, when I think about what Boseman fought in private to bring power and respect for us in public I’m in awe. Invisible and Black Panther teach me to keep going.

And while yes, Invisible speaks directly to the Black experience, I’d be willing to wager that whether it’s sports, musical talents, depression, or a litany of other situations, this is some of the most human shit in the world. So please indulge me. I find it interesting that no one complains when people wear pink throughout October for Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is meant to show hope for the future, and the charitable goodness of people and businesses who publicly support the breast cancer movement. It is intended to evoke solidarity with women who currently have breast cancer. I don’t hear people say, “Well ALL cancer matters...” Yet, when we mention race or Black Lives Matter, there seems to be a disconnect. Or when people retort, “I don’t see color.” Well what do you do at a stoplight? The language we use tell us a lot about what we think, just as “who and what we celebrate reflect who and what we value.” ~Eddie S. Glaude Jr. These are learned behaviors, everything from language to how we view one another which is why I believe these stories need to be told because as Henry Nouwen wrote, “what is most personal is most universal.” Let’s keep telling our stories.

What compelled me to write is that I’ve felt invisible at times as Waverly describes, “afraid of attracting attention, it was as if I had snuck into a place [that] I didn’t belong, and if they noticed me, they would make me leave.” Black Panther showed yet another way to love our Black bodies, cherishing their strength and beauty. And believe you me, she is one of the most beautiful souls I’ve ever met—aesthetically, she’s stunning. But racism’s pernicious effects, coupled with the self-doubt and insecurities that it can cause make it so difficult to combat—one can be dealing with the trauma and no one else knows...but I’m writing as a way of preamble to Invisible because T’Challa saw Black women. As described by Michele L. Norris, “T’Challa did more than entertain. He served up dignity and strength and humanity. The heir to that mythical African throne was vulnerable in life and love. He was not afraid of strong and smart women. Indeed, he owed his life and leadership to them — an important message for African Americans whose civil rights royalty are locked in a narrative that thoroughly erases the role women played in the Good Fight.” Let’s keep fighting.

I encourage you to read Invisible a couple times when it drops on Wednesday, it just hits different. When Waverly first sent it to me, she texted: “Wrote this after our chat today. Still thinking/ reflecting and learning to speak truth to power.” Don’t worry Waverly, me too. I’m just trying to run my leg of the relay race...because as Boseman commented, “There’s no Black Panther without Denzel Washington,” and there’s no me without all those that fought and came before me—looking at you mom. Let’s keep running.

Keep going squad. My friend recently sent me a text that read: “Black Mamba, Black Panther, Black Lives. 2020 has been a HELL of a year.” Yet, we need to keep advancing the ball down the field. Continue to stand on the shoulders of all those before us because as Denzel said: “Faith will get you to a point. Luck will get you to a point. But to achieve the kind of success you dream about; you need to WORK. There are no shortcuts, you can’t cheat life, just get to work and don’t stop until you reach your highest potential.” Let’s continue to do the work. Wakanda Forever.

“Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows. We cannot. We must not. We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.”

~T’Challa, Black Panther