Hey there guys, its me again! From the moment I got to know myself, i have made these guys my heroes! Not only because they are black but because they were able to achieve so much inspite of their hindrances.
I have come to the conclusion that my life here, right now is too simple. But if I had lived around the time of Martin Luther King Jr and I had matched alongside him, just once, I would possess unimaginable greatness. This man did so much for black people, opened up avenues for us. Around his time, inspite of the oppression, it would have been great to live. It would have been great to fight for freedom and to yearn for equality. I find this life, now, rather boring. Im not saying that black people should still be kissing the feet of whites, just to get into a grocery store. Im saying that black people should become so unified that no one could touch us. Im saying that we should not forget how far we have come.
But what do I know, Im from St. Lucia and all I do is dream, pretty much...lol... No but seriously, i really do dream! I dream about Derek Walcott, a great writer and philosopher. If it were not for Martin Luther King Jr., he would not be so great. But that's not the point! The point is, that He is Great and i would give pretty much anything to be as great a writer and philosopher as he is, and will forever be. Derek Walcott, had this theory of Appropriation. I understand, that he believes that, we, are neither white nor black, neither Indian nor Caucasian, but we are Caribbean. We were born with different ingredients; not being a specific thing, if not for Caribbean. I also understand from his work that we should allow ourselves to accept our past experiences and move on from them. Most people allow things that happened to them in the past, to hinder them, for example a black man's excuse for not putting dreams forward or not trying to fulfill dreams is this, "we were born slaves, we can do no better" or their excuse for cheating is this "in the time of slavery, black men were allowed more than one mate and as a result, it is impossible for a black man to stay faithful"
Excuses! Excuses! Excuses! This is why I love Derek Walcott, because he bluntly states, "appropriate, do not abrogate" In that we should not be afrocentric and suggest that because of our past we are who we are or rather wallow in self pity and past pains. We should learn to accept the fact that, in our pasts we were wronged and then, move on from it. In one of Walcott's poems, he talks about "finding progress outward". I believe it was Keats who said we should find new pheonix wings. We should always try our best to rise from the ashes because wallowing will only hinder our progress.
Martin Luther King Jr's dream was for blacks to find a place in this society and given all the opportunity to better themselves. Derek Walcott has shown us that despite where we come from, we can always be somebody. We should always dream and try our best to fulfill those dreams. I am in this respect, proud, not to be black or white or indian but to be Caribbean ( a mixture of several different ingredients: white, African, Indian etc) and proud of the work that Derek Walcott has done so well.
Another of my favourite people is Maya Angelou; I hope to become as good a writer, as Maya Angelou someday. She is one of the greatest African American writers. She writes so aptly and with a great purpose. I always gain some sort of reassurance from Angelou's writings. She is some how always speaking to me. Always suggesting that no matter how many obstacles are placed forward, I will overcome. I love her writings! At this point, one that comes to mind is, My grandmothers. I think that throughout Angelou's poems she epitomises strength and courage in blacks and in women. Another of her great works i can remember at this point, is Yet still, I rise. This writer/poet speaks to me. She tells me that, not only can I dream but I am able to fulfill my dreams, as black and as woman.
I have now introduced you to three of the people i believe are truly great and somehow they have touched me and taught me, that i should always look forward and make my dreams come true.
Anyway guys, i will give you a break now and i promise you that we will talk some other time!!! Arriverderci!!!!!
