By: Rhoda Elizabeth King
Last week was empathic, but inspiring and motivating for any African to stand up for a positive cause. My trip to Alabama brought much sorrow and pain to my heart, but it has motivated me to continue working for a worthy cause. This was one of those moments that I will never forget in a lifetime. The involvement of reading documentaries, going to historic museums and having the opportunity to see real-life circumstances of how blacks were treated by the whites, and separated from their families through slavery as well as racism for years was a terrible experience. It took courageous men and women to stand up for what was right to say no to injustice and violence, even though some lost their lives in the process, others lives, as well as their families’ lives, were threatened, but they kept fighting until victory was won at last. A worthy cause that we all enjoy today. These men and women love not their lives till death, a selfless service to humanity. This experience made me shed tears and has ignited a fire in me to continue fighting against injustice of every form in Liberia and Africa.
Martin Luther King Jr. said and I quote; until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream, I will not stop advocating for the Poor and Marginalized. Lessons learned from last week are as follow:
A. Not all that glitters is gold- over the years Africa has preceded America as a prefect nation without blemish. Despite all the fights against racism, there is still segregation today practiced in the United States in some places. This just point that we all have our shortcomings as a continent, there is no one perfect, we just have to love each other, learn from our mistakes, put our differences and greed aside and work together as a people to solve our own problems without depending on others to solve our Africa’s problem and dictate to us.
B. Despite what our Africans fathers, mothers, and siblings went through, they still from way to gain hope to reach their full potentials, yet we are free but are not investing our times wisely.
C. In advocacy results are not instant, it’s a gradual process, it takes time to generate fruits, but when the fruits are ripe there is a massive positive effect on the audience.
D. Advocacy is not about emotions or arrogance, it’s about pointing out the issues, having dialogues, finding common ground and solutions to solve the problem. We should not allow our emotions to distract us from our goals.
E. You don’t need power and money to do advocacy, you just need simple tools and strategies to effect change.
One key advocacy tool is to include the people affected by the problem in the advocacy process in which you are fighting for. It was a privilege to worship at the Dexter Baptist Church in Alabama, where Dr. King Jr. preached until his death, and it was also an honor to volunteer my services and observe the Athens peer court hearing, where kids showcase their intelligence to solve family problems. These two moments were my favorite for the week.
An unexpected circumstance I encountered last week was the breakdown of my phone on Saturday without retrieving important documentaries gather from my experiences throughout the Mandela Washington Fellowship. Secondly, to see that there is still segregations amongst the whites and blacks at some locations in the USA is heartbreaking, especially after all the fights to see it eradicated with documentaries and museums open for people to see and not repeat the same actions, but work together for justice, peace and development.
I conclude by saying what legacy are you leaving behind for others to follow. Let us stand up for what is right.
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