Many years ago, the late Sam Cooke sang the song “A Change is Going to Come.” The late Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin also did remakes of the song, believing that a “Change is Going to Come.” In many ways, the question is, did these famous people live long enough to see the changes they were looking to take place? Because Sam Cook and Otis Redding died at an early age, there is no way that they could have seen changes occur. They still lived under laws of racism and segregation.
Over fifty years later, one of today’s greatest young singers, Jennifer Hudson once again sang, “A Change is Going to Come,” during the 2020, Democratic Convention. It is evident that Sam, Otis, and Aretha never saw the change they sang about and fought for. Aretha had an opportunity to see a lot more change and she was heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement She fought for human rights and for racial equality.
Unfortunately, the racism, sexism, inequalities, inequities, and other discrimination that has plagued this country for over four hundred years still exist. I am sure that you, like me, have been praying and crying for positive change all of our lives. No matter what race, creed, or color, everyone strives to be free, to be treated as humans, treated with dignity and respect. No one wants to remain poor all of their life, or to be disenfranchised, strapped with feelings of helpless and hopeless, in a system designed to maintain the status quo of the haves and have not’s. A change has to come!
When people are asking for and looking for change, they are requesting that people, things, ideas, actions, and circumstances become different. They are looking for something other than what has been the status quo. However, until the hearts and minds of men and women in control of this country, based on the power of the purse, manipulation, unjust laws, and unjust polices change, situations and circumstances will remain the same. Change does not occur without accountability and action.
Those of us in need of change in America’s racist behaviors, sexist behaviors, economic deprivation, voter and other suppression, political manipulation, unjust laws and polices, as well as other forms of disenfranchisement seek instant change. However, those in position of power and control previously alluded to in this article, espouse that it takes time for change. We are well aware that change can occur instantly, if people are willing to take the necessary action to make change occur. One thing all of us know is that change is most often a choice. Yes, there are times when you and I are not in control of the changes that occur in our lives. However, we can control how we view the changes, as well as how we adjust to them when they occur. Many of these changes are events that just happen and things can become different, right in front of our faces. Death is not only one of those instant events of change; it is a permanent event of change that you, I, and no one else can control or do anything about. At times, there are incremental changes, which we all go through as human beings, progressing from babies to adults; crawling, to standing, to walking, and then running. But we still ask the question Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked over fifty years ago, “How Long Lord; How long?
Those of us still looking for racial justice, civil rights, voting rights, economic justice, health equity, political and other equities are looking for positive change that is also permanent, like death. We are looking for change that makes things better for ALL people, not just for the time at hand, but also for a lifetime. It’s been over fifty years ago since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, Congressman John Lewis, Myrlie Evers, Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte, Hosea Williams, the Freedom Riders, and too many others to name, fought vehemently for change in the civil rights of all people. Sadly, in 2020, Black people, Brown people, American Indians, and Whites are still fighting for change to take place. Even more unfortunate, the change has not been an event, and it has not been incremental; it has not occurred at all.
The guy in the white house, along with his crooked allies and crooked cronies have done and continue to do all that they can to block any type of positive change in the lives of Blacks, Browns, American Indians, and the poor. They work daily, scheming to keep the disenfranchised and the have not’s poor, down, and out, no matter what color. He is filled with hate, anger, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, lies, and too many negative attributes to list. He has done all that he can do to hold African-Americans, Brown people, American Indians, and poor whites down. He has down all that he can to destroy public education, health insurance, federal economic programs, early childhood programs, federal housing programs, federal and state employment programs, federal training programs, as well as any program that will benefit those who are not rich and famous. A change has got to come!!!
Change will never happen for you, for others, and for me, in this country on its own. We must make change happen. Professionally and personally, I don’t believe people change, because they can always go back to the way they were and engage in the same behaviors they were engaged in previously. I believe people grow through awareness, insight, and understanding. Once they have matriculated through these three growth processes, they can then change their feelings, their mindsets, and ultimately change their behaviors. They can then change how they see people, how they treat people, come to value people and value their rights an their lives. A change has got to come!
Over 187,000 American citizens have died of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and over six million American citizens have tested positive for the virus. Relations with American allies have been ruined; Russia is now a friend who interferes in our elections; Medicaid is not an option in Republican states; the children, family, and friends of the guy in the white house are all capitalizing on the funds from the federal government; a guy call president has been impeached, but has not been removed from office; African-American males ate being shot and killed by police officers at will; white supremacists are held in esteem; the unemployment rate for African-Americans loom in double digits; thousands of small businesses have gone under; lie after lie is being told from the white house, the head of the CDC, and the FDA; and the incompetence in personnel is the norm and not the exception in the white house; military men and women are being denigrated and disrespected; the United States Postal Service (UPS) has been all but decimated as the guy in the white house overtly works to steal the 2020 election. All of these things are happening because an egotistical, racist, sexist, vain, narcissistic, incompetent, mentally unstable guy in the white house stole the 2016 presidential election, in order to gain entry into the white house. A change MUST come, SOON!
You and everyone connected to you are essential in ensuring that “A Change is Going to Come,” SOON! You and everyone else must start speaking positive change, believing in positive change, and taking action for positive change. Do not allow yourself to be subjected to negative talk about the coming change. Challenge those spreading negative rumors about the outcome of the upcoming November 3, 2020 election, remaining the same, but without arguing with anyone. Have your elevator speech prepared. Be prepared to defend positive change in America, with positive outcomes. You must recognize that things will not get better without positive change; they will get worse. And DON’T allow anyone to ask you and don’t ask, ‘how much worse can things get?’ You DON’T want to know. As the Temptations once sang, “We’re on the Eve of Destruction.” However, you can impact ensuring that “A Change is Going to Come.”
You can ensure that you, your friends, your family members, acquaintances, and especially young people are registered to vote. You can also assist by helping them to understand the process for registering to vote, as well as the process for them to vote in the November 3, 2020, election, especially starting with early voting. You can also help them to see that the 2020, election is a matter of life and death, including your life, their lives, and the lives of everyone in this country. Positive change is a choice and I present you with the opportunity to choose positive change. Yes, “A Change is Coming”; but you have to be a part of making the change happen!!!
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