Why my family is going to Albany tomorrow
My family is one of the beneficiaries of the civil right victories without having to suffer from Jim Crow or enslavement laws that denied millions of innocent individuals like Ms Colvin their human rights in these shores. We do not have the scares of brutalities inflicted on citizens demanding their basic constitutional and God given rights. We do not know how it feels to be regarded as a third of a human being. We never walked in an eatery or on a public transportation and sit in a designated area. We do not have a family member lynched because of his/her skin color. We can’t relate to having state police officers accompanying our children to walk into their school to protect them from the waiting mop ready to lynch them. Etc…
That is why we’re anxious to accompany Honorable Claudette Colvin into the halls of New York State legislatures to receive her long delayed acknowledgement from a place she called home for over two thirds of her life. While this historic trip to Albany is a great step towards justice for Ms. Colvin, we shall not be satisfied until we make similar trips to the halls of Congress, White House and the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa.
We know full well that nothing compensates the enormous benefits being enjoyed by foreign individuals like us who now call these United States home. As a result, we will contribute all that we have in the pursuit of acknowledging pioneers like Ms Colvin whose sacrifices we’re immensely benefiting from.
Finally, while we will be enjoying our comfortable rides to Albany, I’ll be pondering the plights of ‘Freedom Riders. My family wouldn’t miss such an occasion for nothing. Please join us in this one of a lifetime opportunities.
Happy Claudette Colvin Day to all the descendents of enslavement struggle! This is for you!
