Maya Angelou On Love, Black Pain, Submission, Survival
“You all know that Black Americans for centuries were obliged to laugh when they weren’t tickled, and scratch when they didn’t itch.”
“I honor all our ancestors who tried to stay alive and be somebody so that we could be here…and try to accept that we’ve been loved; each of us, maybe by somebody three generations ago who never even thought what name you would carry…that they paid for you already.”
–Maya Angelou
The most painful thing about this piece to me is that, although she said that people paid for us already, many Black people today still need to wear a mask in order to navigate, survive, and ensure the progress of the next generation in this system of White Supremacy while at the same time, working to dismantle it.
From Aspiring Humanitarian, Relando Thompkins-Jones, MSW, LLMSW
