When there is a valuable “commodity”, there are two resounding aspects of how that “commodity” will be treated.

1. There will be those who see the beauty and benefit of the duplication of that “commodity”.

2. There are those who will see the beauty and benefit of the “commodity” but seek to diminish its existence.

Since the beginning of time, the Black race has been here. There can be no doubt of the attack against this race of people from the beginning until now. Yes, in the year 2016, there is visual evidence of a systematic plan that continues to seek the annihilation of the Black race.

As a child, I became aware that no matter how “good” I was, I was still black, and that being black made me different from the white race, and it made the race of life different for me.

Let me share a bit….

In Primary School, I had a best friend whose parents happened to have a bit of money, were connected with white folks, and owned a thriving restaurant. My best friend rode horses, went sailing, had a big house with a pool, played tennis, and got to go to Pomander Gate Boat Club. Wow! By association, my world opened up to their world. Wow! What a world.

I began to take tennis lessons, went with my friend to her sailboat lessons, and I got to go to Pomander Gate Boat Club. Mercy! I can still recall the feeling of being in a different world. After all, I was merely the daughter of Raymond and Dianne Russell.

I recall learning to play Backgammon in my friend’s home, and it was a joy to spend some weekends with them. They had a pool, and my friend’s bedroom was huge – bigger than my bedroom and my parent’s bedroom put together.

Whenever I left them and returned home, I always knew that I loved my time with the wealthy family but that there was something more magnificent about my family. We did not have all of the material trappings my friend had, but because my Mom was a Christian and I knew God, I felt my wealth was greater than theirs. Oh, how I wished my friend and her family knew God, as I did.

Why did I share that? Well, because from my youth (age seven onwards), I was blessed to be very aware of my “Blackness” and to understand that begin black is different. As I have grown, I have become proud to be black BUT NOT at the expense of hating white people. After all, I did like Pomander Gate Boat Club, swimming in their pool, and looking at how they behaved. It was different, and by extension of my friend’s family, I was treated almost as if I was non-black.

From my youth, I groomed myself to be a proud black person and protect my precious life, because this life as a black person was going to be a bit of a fight. Life was not going to be handed to me on a silver platter. No, I would have to fight because my skin pigmentation was different. It would not matter how nice I was; I would have to fight against the expectations of some who believed that I would fail. I would have to focus on the power of goodness and make my way to success, no matter what.

That is a part of the failure of our black people and in particular our black males. They have not recognized the fight. It is what it is!

As I look around my Bermuda, I see far too many black males who have become indulgent in those things that have not added to the quality of their life. The list is long: drinking alcohol, smoking whatever, adultery, fornication, a lack of educational pursuits, etc.

It is my opinion that any group of people who do not see the beauty and benefit of who they are will end up living a life destroying who they are, and thereby helping their oppressors to annihilate them. There are far too many blacks paying for their demise as they drink and drive or ride, spend countless dollars on mind-altering drugs, choose not to fight and educate themselves, etc.

It is my belief that when the oppressor desires to suppress a sector of people, he will allow substances into that community for that group of people to “escape” their challenges through a temporary high or temporary escape.

That is similar to the fight or flight response.

When our people fight, we win.

When our people take flight, we lose.

Until and unless, the previous and present generations of black males recognize that they are precious commodities, they will continue to treat their life as being less than it is.

When our black males realize that they are indeed powerful and precious commodities, they will seek to protect their investment through right living and right choices.

That’s always it. CHOICE!

At the end of the day, you can CHOOSE to empower your oppressors and blame them for all that is wrong OR you can CHOOSE to recognize your true strength and power, and become the one that adds to the quality of who you already are!

As always, the CHOICE is YOURS, and what you CHOOSE will be set up as the new template for your children; and your children’s children. CHOOSE WISELY!

Selah… Blessings Abound!

By Dr Maria Seaman

Rev. Dr. Maria Seaman is the founder and Pastor of Shekinah Worship International Ministries (SWIM) at Shekinah Worship Centre, Bermuda under the spiritual covering of Bishop Jacqueline E. McCullough of The International Gathering of Beth Rapha. Dr. Seaman is an author of four books: The World of the Womb in God’s Plan for Man, Wombs II, A Voice Crying Out in a Wilderness Called Paradise, and Wombs III Expect the Unexpected: Leah’s Womb. She has also coauthored three books, and is the founder/producer of Shekinah’s twenty-four-hour cable channel, “SWIM TV”. Dr. Seaman firmly believes, “The safest place to be, is in the will of God.”