Sample writing: Recent Essay - For generations many have deemed America the land of opportunity. As such, eclectic masses from
the entire planet have flocked here with the sole intent of creating a higher quality of life. With them, they
brought strong heritages and rich traditions that have been passed down in one way or another to their children
and to their children’s children. The black American’s journey to this continent was notoriously different. It would
be a forced journey. One that would ultimately result in them being stripped of their own strong heritages and
rich traditions and forced to simply survive. Along the way, we’ve adopted the culture and ways of those that
brought us here. Everything from languages and customs to the very surnames inherited from our fathers, were
all replaced with those forced upon us by our oppressors. These things were methodically removed to dehumanize;
to create a mental and physical yoke that would keep the black American enslaved for hundreds of years.
Throughout that time and for many years after, strategic propaganda has been used to condition
Americans, most of which has minimized or excluded all together the black American and their endless contributions
that have shaped the very core of this nation. We had to rely on the incomplete teachings of a skewed past
and have it counted as black history. Over time things would improve. Thanks to the tenacity of one Carter
Woodson, a platform would eventually be created to allow us an opportunity to study, mourn, celebrate and
recognize the lives and in some cases deaths of the black Americans who contributed in ways that would allow
for us to be counted as equal. For twenty-eight days in February we are allowed to dig deeper and hear the stories
black Americans like Emmet Till for instance, who was savagely murdered just 55 years ago for his gestures
to a white woman in Mobile, Alabama. Then there is the unsung hero, Baynard Rustin, an openly gay civil rights
activist, whose influence at the time brought to fruition Dr. Kings march on Washington. These are but only a
couple examples of how dynamic black Americans have carved civil rights and freedom into the heartbeat of the
newest generation.
“Black people are not dark-skinned white people”, is a quote I read from esteemed author Tom Burell.
It moved me in a way I had never experienced. It was the catalyst for an epiphany that literally changed my way
of thinking. The most important reason for black history is to simply acknowledge who we are. Create a celebration
of our hues. Unapologetically honor our features, our lips, noses and the way our hair naturally grows from
our heads; acknowledge the beauty we exude and govern ourselves in the likes of the kings and queens from
which we descend. These twenty-eight days allow us to own who we are in a way that we were never taught we
were capable. It is a chance to glorify our very existence and bathe in the opportunities created by those who
came before us.
The sacrifices of our ancestors made have proven successful. We are living in one of the most progressive
times for black Americans. There are black owned businesses, entrepreneurs, and black professionals in
every level of Corporate America. Freedom, at least on the surface, is ours. There is no longer a need to boycott,
march, or die to have it. This realization however is bittersweet. With a less intense struggle we have begun to
celebrate material things and place value on the lives of lavish entertainers and athletes. Please do not confuse
the intent of my last statement. There is nothing wrong with being an entertainer or athlete. Both are respectable
careers. However, the hunger to do more, to be more, has deteriorated to the point where life is not about
living anymore, but more about superficial possessions and monetary gain. We owe it to ourselves to probe
deeper. Starting within, examine those things that make us survivors and innovators.
The resourcefulness of the black American cannot be denied. Our very existence is proof of that. We
are players in a system that would be designed to have us fail, yet we have persevered through slavery, segregation,
and countless civil battles that would have easily broken a weaker spirit. Black history month allows us to
look into our pasts to peruse that spirit, and set standards for our future. It is my prayer that we elevate each
other in a way that glorifies our contributions three hundred sixty-five days versus a mere twenty-eight. In the
meantime, it is important we take full advantage of the teachings of Black History month and use them to continue
to make an indelible mark and influence generations to come.
