Many people have mixed emotions about Rev Al Sharpton. I grew up not really trusting a lot of what he represented as a young man. What I am discovering is that he has grown to be a wise and experienced man who is not afraid to share his experiences, trials and tribulations. He stands for what he believes in and he is not afraid to voice his concerns and opinions ..which speaks volumes about a man's character. As I listened to him speak last evening at the Columbus Education Association's MLK Awards dinner, I found myself nodding in agreement throughout his entire speech. He reminded us how important it is for our children to get an educaton that our parents and grandparents fought so hard to make happen. In other words, we need to respect and appreciate our history and accept the responsibility to make sure your child goes to school and learns while he/she is there. And in this day and age, we must limit the influence on negative images and refocus them to want to learn while teaching them to embrace and respect the history of those who struggled before them to open doors and access to education equal to their peers.
Rev Al reminded us that as adults that we also need to be appreciative of our ancestors marched for us to gain freedoms we now take for granted. He reminded us not to dwell on past accomplishments but to focus on moving forward together so that we continue to open more doors for ourselves as well as our children.
His talk was refreshing and invigorating because he spoke the truth plain and simple. Many people in the audience appreciated his talk as I over heard comments while we were leaving the facility to go home.
I will purposefully see him again when the opportunity presents itself and I am not sure I would have done that before listenening to him last evening.
Thank you Rev Al for providing a motivating speech and reminding me that we as parents and grandparents can not sit back and rest on our laurels. Our work is not done, we have children that need us.