THIS EVERYDAY LIFE

"None of us has had to experience the pain of forced seperation or live with the disgrace and humiliation that comes with not being free. When you cast your vote for who will run our country, never forget your history and keep this bill of sale in mind. When we allow ourselves to forget our not so distant past, then we are destined to repeat these actions in the future. Stand for those who came before us and those who could not stand for themselves.Vote." This was an addendum to an attachment a friend of mine sent me this morning. Kind of put things into perspective considering the race for party nominees for the presidency of this country is in full swing. It is also notable that one of the serious candidates is of partial African descendcy. Also tomorrow marks the beginning of National Negro History Month. Was the name changed? No matter it is a time to recognize where we started from and the struggles we've endured to still be here. It is a time of recognition of the many positive contributions that we have made in making the country as great as it is today. While reading this Slave Auction Notice I experienced the emotions that every African American should experience in someway-anger, sadness, rage, humiliation and just about every other negative emotion that hatred carries with it. With me-not so much with the whites that made our forebearers suffer the ordeals of slavery (remember they didn't capture us-we can thank our African/Arab relations for that). But rather emotional about the circumstances that made it more expedient and economical for a system to earmark indefinte slavery as opposed to lets say definite periods of indentured servitude. Probably would have still been sitting here at this computer bitter as hell, but at least that system would have given our forebearers hope.We have struggled a long way and sometimes accomplished miracles, but........... This morning I read in the USA Today that less than 60% of the kids in the Washington D.C. public school system graduate from high school. Couldn't help but wonder what percentage of the grads got there via social promotions. Considering the vast majority of students in the system are African Americans and DC is the capitol of these great states--well don't know what the hell to make of that. And damn if I am intelligent enough to offer solutions. But I am intelligent enough to not denigrate the memory of those that came before by not voting. Hell readers people have specifically died for the right to vote.