HERITAGE
For us, Africa is not so much a lost continent as an imagined one.
There is irony in the fact that many of us ate homesick for a place we really do not know. It rests with us to learn about the birthplace of our ancestors.
We should all know, for example, about the Kingdoms of Ghana, Songhay, and Mali. We are enriched when we study the complex religious heritage and philosophy of life of African peoples—among them the Yoruba and the Kongo.
Let us go beyond our kente cloth ties and hats to learn of our heritage before our people were chained and brought here. Our culture was stripped from and denied our enslaved ancestors, but we are able and morally bound to pick it up again.
Call to Action: On this day, I will take five minutes to meditate upon something I have that reminds me of my African descent—it may be a piece of African cloth, a sculpture, a family photograph—and let it inspire me to learn more about Africa and do the best I can in whatever I have to accomplish today.
