Pen & Prosper Celebrates National Black History Month

 

Welcome back, readers! Happy 2023.

Thank you for stopping by today. As we embark upon a new year, aspire to new goals and gear up for greater progress and prosperity, let us be mindful of our collective past history as well.

Accordingly, Pen & Prosper invites you to honor and celebrate National Black History Month. Initially established in 1976, it's a time to recognize and pay tribute to the many contributions to our nation from people of color. From music, to literature, to medicine, to sports, to entertainment, Blacks have enriched us all, without question.

Read more about Black History Month here:

https://blackhistorymonth.gov/about/

And yet, even now, the fight for equality, inclusivity, and respect continues. Dr. King's dream it seems, remains just that: a dream. 

Though there have been some changes over the decades, we still have far to go.

If there is ever a doubt, you need only tune into the evening news. My heart goes out to Tyre Nichols and his family, in the wake of his recent death.

Today' I'd like to share a few poems to reflect upon. 

BLACK MEN YOU WON’T SEE ON THE 10 P.M. NEWS

By: JENNIFER BROWN BANKS

The fitness enthusiast

At the gym

Taking care of his body 

For those

That rely on him,

The doting dad

Transporting his little ones

To school

Driver of the neighborhood car pool,

The local entrepreneur

Creating jobs and opportunity

For members of the community,

The pastor of the

Corner church

Shepherding lost souls,

Both young and old,

And other role models--

Truth be told

Not all Black men 

Are deadbeat dads

Or criminals,

Even so

On the nightly news

We get myopic views--

Are mostly exposed

To violent images 

Or those

Of Black male celebrities

Endorsing athletic gym shoes,

When it comes to representation

Of colored men

The media needs to extend

A broader lens 

4 GEORGE FLOYD

By: Jennifer Brown Banks

Nobody wins,

When the injustice

We seek to avenge

Is overshadowed

With a victory that’s

Shallow,

A war waged

With looting,

Shooting,

Senseless violence

Disorderly protests 

And civil unrest,

Nobody wins---

Nobody wins,

When history’s former lessons

Go unheeded

And progress impeded--

By ghosts

Of yesteryears,

unresolved fears,

And a

 broken system,

With a pathology

Yet to be 

Remedied,

Nobody wins,

 With hatred 

And an 

“Eye for an eye” mentality,

For the inescapable reality

Is violence 

Begets violence

Plain 

And simply 

For in the end  

LOVE. ALWAYS. WINS.

Wishing you a peaceful and joyous Black History Month. Until next time...

Thoughts? Comments?

Image credits: Pixabay.com