January 1, 2013 - Emancipation Proclamation 150th Anniversary

Did you know today marks the 150 year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation?  This was a time that was celebrated by our ancestors in America as a great jubilee, after being enslaved for more than 250 years.  Today the children of slavery have forgotten this great day and therefore have no recollection of what it means.  Instead, we celebrate what others deem as important to them; New Years Day.  This day should be celebrated as a day when we get together with our children and grandchildren and tell them the stories of old.  Tell them about how our great, great grandparents were beaten and killed if they learned to read or write.  Tell them of the struggle to be educated and to go to schools.  Talk to them about how even though the world deemed us as animals, our forefathers invented the ironing board, the shoe lacing machine, contributed to the steam engine, made peanut butter popular, performed the first open heart surgery, and many, many more inventions and accomplishments.

Tell them the stories of the olden days when they created honey from bitter herbs, like the blues, jazz, reggae, soul and the list goes on.  Show them the similarities between the children of slavery of old (Egypt) and the children of slavery in the new world (America).  Help them understand how and who brought us out of slavery in Egypt and how and who will free us from our enslavement here in America. 

Help them to connect the dots.  Teach them that while it is our job to teach them all these things, it is up to them to uphold it, remember it, and teach it to their children.  Let them see their own role in this journey back to freedom, by teaching them about Moses and Joshua, the giving of our laws, statues, and commandments.  Let them know that this is the only way out.  Encourage them to always be critical thinkers as they continue on their own personal journey as students and leaders in today’s public learning environment.   

A difficult role for us all: They (children) will be responsible for carrying out God’s plan and we (parents, grandparents) are responsible for preparing them for it.