Dear Friends:
Happy Black History Month. Carter G. Woodson, the father of the annual celebration of our history, said in The Mis-Education of the Negro
that "when you control a man's thinking, you do not have to worry about
his actions. ...You do not need to send him to the back door. He will
go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut
one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary." We are
well into the 21st century and our thinking is still being controlled.
We're still too preoccupied with "good hair" and "light skin." Too many
of our children still think that being smart is "acting white."
The
Community Healing Network (CHN), which is dedicated to emotional
freedom for Black people, is celebrating this first Black History Month
of the decade by launching an Online Video and Reading Club for us to
talk about how we can finally gain control of our own thinking.
I am writing to invite you to join the club and the conversation. Every Monday, CHN will post a video or reading on Facebook.
To join the discussion, simply become a CHN Facebook fan and start
sharing your views. We will begin by taking a look at the history of
the negative images that are still controlling our thinking. Our
featured video is "Ethnic Notions,"
the classic Emmy-winning film history about Black stereotypes, produced
and directed by Marlon Riggs. The goal is to deepen our understanding
of the images that control perceptions of Black people to help us
figure out how to overcome them once and for all.
The year 2019
will mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Africans in America.
It is well past time for us to control our own thinking. Let's make
this the decade of emotional emancipation for Black people. Let's make
the next nine years a time of continuing conversation and activism
aimed at freeing our minds and our spirits.
We look forward to hearing from you. Join the conversation on Facebook
and share the news about the CHN Online Video and Reading Club with
your family and friends. And please mark your calendars now to
celebrate Community Healing Days 2010, October 15, 16, and 17. Put
"time for healing" on your agenda. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Enola G. Aird
Community Healing Network, Inc.
www.communityhealingnet.org
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