Are you strong enough to be a freedom rider?

A couple of days ago I saw a program on tv in honor of Black History month and it has really stuck with me. The program was on the freedom riders, a group of (very young) activists who challenged segregation in the South in 1961.

It was an awe-inspiring and heart tugging show.

Being black (or African American, or Colored, or negro, or whatever it’s called given the decade) it’s great to have a reminder on how the unity and determination of both blacks and non-blacks, has moved equality and fairness in our nation.

The more I watched the program the more I questioned myself. I wondered… “Would I have the guts… or even the desire… to give up every comfort I have for the freedom of another?

I’m afraid to admit, that sadly, the answer is no. There’s unfairness all around us. Just open a newspaper or turn the tv station to any news channel and you can see injustices everywhere.

When I was younger, I think I was more plugged in… more aware… or at least, not isolated. In my current life there is a routine. A way of doing things that is very easily predicted from week to week and month to month. The tragedies I’ve faced in life were after my mother and ancestor’s generations of battle.

I live in the aftermath, and yet, there is still so much that needs to change.

I live in a world where my friends are from many different nations. They speak many different languages. I want to retire to Brazil, not Africa. What does that mean in the context of my culture? I’m really now sure.

Sometimes, it’s just enough to ask ourselves the questions, and to reflect on the answers. It’s not going to effect the entire nation like the actions of the freedom riders did,  but I think by asking myself the questions one-by-one change will happen as my purpose adjusts and reveals itself.