The Title of Freedom

June 2015 left a scar on my heart which has now been soothed. I have hoisted this title of freedom.  It makes my heart skip a beat.  It represents all that a perfect society could be (Recite the pledge aloud).

My ancestors lived in a society which for them fell short of the basic freedoms that I have today, but that did not hinder their ability to seize the opportunities that were bestowed upon them.  They looked to my day in anticipation of what I would be able to achieve.  They did not lose faith because of freedoms denied them or injustices they endured.

My own father, a graduate of Central State University (one of the nation's oldest historically black universities) took graduate courses (in Illinois) and worked in civil service as a mathematical statistician.  He made a hard choice when I was very young which had a lasting effect on our family.  He quit his job to build and rennovate homes. Working for himself helped him to avoid on-the-job conflicts stemming from they way people treated him because of his color.

Robert Foster 1938-1988

He was available every day to drop me off and pick me up from school. I never rode a bus.  I learned a lot from him. I would stuggle in math, and often was brought to tears. I would wait up for my dad thinking he would help me do my problems. He would come in and say, "You need to get it on your own. Work every single problem in the book. When I was in school (graduate school), no one let me in their study group.  They divided up the problems and met to share the answers with each other. When it came time for the test, they could not work all the problems, but I could because I had completed each problem on my own."  Because of my dad, I still remember how to work those trig problems.

Because he became self-reliant through his business, our family never knew lack.  Even with my dad's education and success, I still saw people treat him differently because he was a very dark shade of brown. He taught me how to handle these situations. He never was rude in return nor sought to even the score. He found victory in being the best at everything he did. When the odds were stacked against him, a divine power intervened. He taught me "What goes around, comes around.  Be careful how you treat people because the very person you mistreat might have to pick you up out of the street one day."  My dad was a patriotic man. He loved his country. He studied current events. He loved to serve his fellow man.

I have been enlightened by my ancestors and their faith, their ability to keep their perspective in spite of what they endured.  Man has multiplied laws beyond comprehension, but I can hear my ancestors whispering:

"Jesus said, all laws can be satisfied through two great commandments:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Thy shall love thy neighbor as thyself.  (Matthew 22: 37 and 39)"

For me, I choose to give all with all that I have. I pray that all who are connected with me in this society benefit from that, and this great banner of freedom is my symbol.  I look forward to the day when all will be made right and when I shall behold the face of my Great Sovereign King!

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