Liberty for All?

Over the past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Philadelphia with a friend. This being my friends first trip to the city we decided to visit some of the cities historical sites and take in a bit of Americana. Of course, Philadelphia is a city that is very symbolic of freedom in general. Of course the signing of the Declaration of Independence is probably most prominent, the Liberty Bell really caused thoughts to begin stirring in my mind. As some of you may know the Liberty Bell was used very often as a symbol of freedom by Abolitionists seeking to eradicate slavery, some of the images on display at the liberty bell pavilion really helped to associate the bell as a symbol of the freedom movements, both the slavery abolition and the civil rights movements. However as I thought about the proposition of Black American's being free and enjoying liberty many images quickly came to mind of people who are not free at all. Many within our communities are very much captive, some are grappling with drug addiction, some are dealing with confusion over sexuality, and some are struggling with oppressive religious forces, but of all these the most prominent barrier between Black Americans and true freedom are the shackles of the mind. Of course my thoughts are not new, I thought it was time to address the issue here. When I talk to many of our people I quickly realize that many of us are limited by our minds, and a pattern of thinking that has been passed through the generations. Of course the million dollar question is how do we break this cycle? The answer is not simple, but the way to start is to take an individualistic approach. All of us who have seen the light and are no longer trapped within the madness of our own minds have to reach out and talk to our brothers and sisters. We have to share enlightenment with them, even though many of them may not want to hear it initially, we have to keep talking and sharing. Repetition works! Hearing our proclamations of prosperity and success for our people can cause a shift in thinking, but we have to step out and talk about the issues. No longer can we stand by and ignore our brothers and sisters that need our help.