Memorial Summer
Though Memorial Day has come and gone, the original reason for the day remains something we should consider continuously upholding. African Americans, newly freed from enslavement, founded Decoration Day at the graveyard of 257 Union soldiers labeled “Martyrs of the Race Course,” May 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. That commemoration became known as this nation’s first Memorial Day. Created by our ancestors to remember those who died during the Civil War so that we might be free, Memorial Day celebrates our commitment to honoring Black courage and Black humanity. It also celebrates self-determination, because the originators of Memorial Day weren’t waiting for permission to honor their own, or thinking others who demeaned Black humanity would ever stop to honor it. Memorial Day is so much more than a day off work, a chance to BBQ and the unofficial start of summer. And who says we need to contain it to just a day? I say, let’s make the summer of 2023 the first Memorial Summer, honoring those before and since the Civil War who made a way for us today, by giving everything they had to protect and elevate Black life and Black humanity.
Red Summer Redo
Speaking of summer, the way attacks against Black books, Black authors, Black ideas and Black people continue to be on the rise, we would do well to organize now so that we don’t experience a Red Summer Redo. The Red Summer of 1919 had “race riots” popping up all across the country. Calling them “race riots,” however, is a misnomer, because they were actually white domestic terrorist attacks on Black communities, spurred on mostly by Black excellence and success. They didn’t want us in their schools and stores, but when they left us alone and we thrived, they lost their minds and attacked us in cities north, south, east and west. But what made the summer of 1919 (and actually all those summers after WW1) different, is when our communities were attacked, we fought back. So, in a sense, maybe we do need a Red Summer Redo — not the attacks on our communities, but rather our willingness to defend ourselves, families, neighborhoods and businesses if attacks do come.
Summer Brain Gain
Hey, how about we stop focusing on the usual negative summer outcome, the “Summer Brain Drain” that has our youth on average losing 17-34% of the prior year’s learning gains, and manifest a more positive and empowering outcome by placing our attention and intention on the “Summer Brain Gain.” Because, first, our children were not born average; they were created for excellence. Second, no one’s studying how much our kids can gain/learn during the summer because we’re so busy focusing on negative outcomes. Check out DefenderNetwork.com for articles on the many ways our children can gain new knowledge while maintaining what they already know, so we can make this new, positive reality the norm.
