And The Winner Is Regina Hill. What Does This Means?
- Details
- Category: Politics
- Published: Wednesday, 07 May 2014 03:14
- Written by Adam Blackmon
By Adam Blackmon
Every now and then, the right person wins. No. Allow me to correct that statement. The right person did not win, alone. An entire people won.
Regina Hill, was written-off as "one of them." But Regina Hill who is, "one of us" won. And with her victory an entire community of people won.
My dear deceased mentor would ask the question, Brother Adam, "What does this mean?" So after hearing the news that Regina Hill – that lowly sister from the hood – had defeated the legacy of the Lynums, I asked myself that question, "What does Regina Hill's victory mean?"
I am reminded of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said while accepting the Nobel Peace Prize: "I have
the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up."
Thus, what this means is that Regina Hill who is like the other-centered people, the people who put people first and themselves second, can lead the charge to build-up what has been torn down by self-centered people.
This sister, who looks like us, talks like us and laughs like us, will be downtown up in the man's face as a daily reminder that we who are just like her –live. And with life there are needs.
Dr. King, bless his soul, said it all, people need three meals a day for their bodies. What he is saying and what Regina Hill represents is that people need to be able to earn a living. People need to be able to put bread on the table. People need jobs. Real jobs. We don't want to see our community rebuilt by people who do not look like us. When Friday comes, we want those paychecks. We want to be able to go to the market and buy groceries and get more than one bar of soap and one roll of toilet paper. We want to be able to stand erect as men and women just like everybody else.
This is what Regina Hill's victory means.
Dr. King said we need education and culture for our minds. Now is the time for all of us to act. This sister, love her golden hairstyle – looking like an African princess, cannot do it on her own. This sister was not elected Santa Clause. She will not be passing out gifts just because someone has been nice. This sister needs us to do our part. We must get up off of our rusty behinds and get our lives in order so that we can get the jobs when they come down the pike. We must insist that our children attend school, behave, do their homework and get a solid education. We must learn to love our selves and our African-American culture.
I am a Black man. I thank God my last name is Blackmon. Every time someone calls my name, I am reminded that I am a Black man. I have nothing against my brother and sisters of other hues. I love my ethnicity so much that I can love other ethnicities as well. It is the people who don't like themselves that are the racist.
Thus, we must embrace who we are. That is why I am so glad the real Black person won. I want the man downtown to be reminded of us every day. And with Regina Hill downtown representing us, they will see Blackness.
And finally, Dr. King. I must pause. Dr. King was born on the so-called right side of the track. He could have lived life as a fine well paid pastor of a large church anywhere in Black America and retired with a fat bank account. He could have lived to a ripe old age. But he decided that his Blackness was far more important than selfishness, pleasure, the good life and a fat bank account.
So this Brother, Dr. King, summed it up when he said, "people – our people – deserve dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits." This is what it is all about. I feel free now that I know that Regina Hill won. Our community can now return to a time of dignity. We represent ourselves because Regina Hill is our commissioner. We picked her. The man downtown didn't give her to us. We picked her. She is us and we are her.
Once all the celebrations are over. And the well wishing is done. We must put our shoulders to the wheel of progress and rebuild District 5. As we roll forward, we must keep our eye on the compass to maintain our bearings. That compass is Regina Hill. And our destination is Equality.
I believe that Regina Hill's victory, which is in affect our victory, is an edict ordered by God. Victory is the prize. The wages of that prize is work. And I can hear the great God of the universe saying to each and every one of us - my people are hungry, my people lack knowledge and my people are not free.
We along with Sister Hill must now pay the wages of victory and do the work that calls for us to feed, educate and most importantly free the people.
"What does this mean?" is the question we should ponder every day.