Have you ever thought about how, in a completely dark room, the flame from one match lights up the whole room?
Today is the last day of Black History Month in the United States—a month designated to remember and celebrate how some courageous “points of light” have illuminated our country.
Certainly I join in admiration of African American “pioneers” in sports like Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson and Fritz Pollard; great entertainers like Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Hattie McDaniel, and Sidney Poitier; great scientists and inventors like George Washington Carver; great educators like Booker T. Washington; and spiritual giants like Martin Luther King. While I’ve named only a few really well-known names, the list of great African Americans and their contributions to our nation’s history is endless.
I have to say though, that I have learned the most from the African Americans who have been my friends. My life is richer because I have learned about their faith, their culture, their dreams and their struggles. As we have shared life together, my life has been better because of it.
In a month where we salute the achievements of African American “greats,” I also remember, recognize and appreciate my friends, who in my opinion, are great simply because they’ve been willing to share their lives, their hearts and their time with me. And I am better for it. Thank you my friends, for being that flame that has illumined my darkness.
Photo courtesy of Adweek, per terms of use http://www.adweek.com/terms-use, on March 04 2012 post
