Ancestral parents

As a young and occasionally defiant boy in search of adventure, my mother often quoted a bible verse instructing children to honor their parents for the benefit of longevity (Ephesians 6:2-3). In my youth, I took those words as an admonition against bad behavior.  Yet, as an adult, profiting from instruction by the teacher that is experience, those words also bear the larger greater context of honoring ancestral parents.  

   I recently read an article on a local news site about a former slave cemetery in Atlanta, GA. While, happy to learn of the existence of such a sacred and historical site, I find the site’s condition unsettling. In my opinion, honoring ancestral parents is living your life in a way that acknowledges their contributions to humanity and struggles within the human condition in recognition that your existence is a result of their toil. I further opine that maintaining final resting places of ancestral parents offers them a dignity in *death that they may not have been afforded in *life. There are many African American professionals, athletes, celebrities, and even pseudo-celebrities in the Atlanta area of financial means to maintain culturally significant historical sites. Is the disremembering of sacred sites a consequence of the quest to accumulate wealth outpacing the quest for knowledge? I refer to the essay penned by Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, “Of the Wings of Atalanta” (1903) that warns against distraction of golden apples along the course of a collective journey.  The words remain relevant today, “What if the Negro people be wooed from a strife for righteousness, from a love of knowing, to regard dollars as the be-all and end-all of life?” 

The transcendent halls of knowledge confirm the presence of African peoples in the Americas to have a rich and beautiful legacy testifying to the labor of an indomitable spirit. I am proud to share that legacy and know that “being black” is not limited to colloquialisms or fashion. The splendid history and cultural contributions from African blood in the Americas and throughout our world exceeds month-long celebrations, t-shirts, or hashtags. It is a record of perseverance and high-achievement regardless of condition or circumstance. Thus, Black history becomes a personal and daily celebration.  The ancestral connection is a chain fashioned from DNA-links that are alive with you. If you live and are the result of your ancestors, does it not follow that your ancestors are alive (in you)?  If you have genes (DNA) originating from your ancestors, then indeed they live as we are alive.

 Let us continue this deliberation of ancestral connections.  By genetic bequest, individuals are cosmic libraries of DNA-books holding immeasurable information to be explored by the consciousness of the inner student.  Does that make sense? In body we are custodians of these libraries, and by mental activity we open sacred pages to study the wisdom therein. In addition to benefiting from the wisdom, it is also our duty to contribute to the library and preserve the works of our ancestors.  The contributions are individual and preservation occurs by teaching younger generations. An example of my contribution is a love of music. I have been playing musical instruments for over 25 years and as a musician, I delight in diverse musical genres. I also study the works of foundational African American musicians in the genres of blues, jazz, gospel, folk, rock, R&B, etc and share this study with my children. Regarding these foundational cultural icons, I teach my children the significance of their cultural contributions, encourage my children to learn their works on their chosen instruments, and overall foster an environment wherein my children can study their legacy.  However,  cultural study is not limited to musical innovators. The dominion of the intellection is ever emphasized. Academic achievement in the classroom is mandatory and complemented by home study of the contributions to history, literature, art, and science by people of color. This month, in celebration of Black History, we have been reading a compilation of works by writers during the Harlem Renaissance. 

 I am in no manner, naive enough to think that neglect of historical sites or absent study of Black history in the home is intentional.  The stark reality is that some communities and people of color are socially and economically marginalized. For many people of color, concerns of finance, food access, healthcare, and social justice are dominant aspects of everyday life. And, in this context, it is difficult to contemplate African American cultural contributions when facing not having enough food to eat or whether you (or loved ones) will become the subject of a social media hastag.  To the reader, I know this is a difficult subject as questions of survival trump leisure study. Nonetheless, I ask that you continue to read because from this contemplation comes the realization of a brutal paradox.  The weight of daily struggles may preclude time for study and inward reflection to gain the strength and inspiration required to navigate dangerous waters. There is no doubt of the difficulties that people of color have encountered and still face today.  Notwithstanding those difficulties, people of color do not exist by chance, but are the direct consequence of ancestral success against obstacles.  The knowledge and wisdom to successfully traverse life’s obstacles are available in stories of old within our cosmic libraries.  As one continues to think that the study of history or listening to stories from elders is incongruous with the challenge of daily survival threats a cycle results. And, how can this cycle be broken?  Perhaps time to study wisdom and lessons of old is extant and let me be an example of how to find it.  I am reminded of Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)  who asserted that time is a created thing and we make time for what is important. My examination of time spent during a day reveals non-essential moments (watching television, idle time on the internet, or time in transit) offering no significant yield.  In effort to gain some yield from these moments, I decided to read or listen to audio books of varied topics. And, I emphasize the mental act of deciding.  So, where are moments in your life that can be repurposed? And, if the yield be the inspiration with wisdom that is applicable to quotidian toils then the time is indeed well spent. Every positive action, no matter how minuscule it may seem, has a beneficial outcome. 

  I close this reflection by reiterating the impossibility of confining the celebration of Black history to a calendar month.  Black history is human history predating written records.  And, Black history can be a hidden record shrouded from view by Eurocentric academic hegemony and candid racism. Indeed, contributions by people of African origin in the Americas and the world itself stretch the expanse of human activity, which cannot be limited to proper inspection in a month. The works and lessons are our forbearers should be as commonplace as eating utensils in the dwellings of people of color.  And, from experience, I believe these discussions to be routine in households of color.  As such, I have come to regard the dining table as not only the place of a family meal but also the ideal setting for discussion of daily life and reflection on lessons from ancestral parents.  I urge that discussion transform into action honoring ancestral parents as we become dutiful custodians and contribute to our cosmic libraries. Show respect for and honor your ancestors in the way you live each moment, treat your children, and represent yourself. The interest to maintain African American historical sites can arise from staunch appreciation of ancestral struggles and accomplishments. It is an individual task to create time for reflection on the lives of predecessors. Wisdom and inspiration helpful to current struggles may be gained from the action. I enjoin everyone to be honorable in action towards the self and ancestors in maintaining their resting places as well as preserving their legacy in our daily lives.

*I emphasize life and death as opposite concepts may yield fundamental knowledge. For example, hot and cold while opposite are fundamentally the same, temperature.  One my speculate whether life and death are also opposite manifestations of the same, existence.  Perhaps death is existence in a form that we do not comprehend.