Out of the Mouths of Babes
By Myola Smith
We are often amused and even surprised when a young person makes a profound statement that we did not expect to hear from someone their age; however, history provides many examples of idealistic young people who did more to combat social injustice than just fan the flames of change, in their unabashed furor of energy, they downright demanded it! That is what we are seeing today with so many young people across the country and around the world, taking to the streets, marching for change and protesting police misconduct, and social and economic oppression.
I am the older generation and as I watch from the sidelines, I can’t help but wonder, “Why are they rocking the boat? They seem to be so impatient! Are the consequences for such bravery less for them than for my generation? Could it be that my generation has long decided that nothing will change anyway, and that we have too much to lose? Dear God, have I grown tired and traded purpose for comfort?
These days, many young people between the ages of 18 to 30 still live at home and supported by their parents. Does this support system afford them the freedom to speak up and protest with little regard for consequences? Does my generation tend to see the wisdom in remaining silent because we fear greater consequences? There’s an old saying, “Speech is Silver, but Silence is Golden.” Is it really? The young person today is saying, “I will not be silent! NOW is the time change.”
The book of Ecclesiastes teaches there is “a time to be silent and a time to speak.” I believe that. But I just heard one of them say the strangest thing, “Reimagine policing.” Now, I am feeling uncomfortable. I don’t know how we can do that, and besides, that’s not possible.
Is it possible? Dr. Martin Luther King was in his twenties when he and his young friends, Andy, C.T., John, Joseph, and Rosa took up the cause of civil rights. Together, they changed the world. Dr. King said, “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.”
Baraka Obama, in his early twenties began a journey of activism, and community organizing that prepared him for an unexpected moment in time that propelled him to take his place on a national stage bringing him to the attention of the world. We were mesmerized by his audacity, eloquent speech and imitated his swagger, while silently praying, Lord…what if? What if? And soon What if, became, Why not? Finally, one night, the world learned that for the first time in the history of America, an African American would become President of the United States. There he stood on a cold Chicago night alone with his beautiful wife and two darling girls, bold as brass and confident, realizing that he had been elected by the people to hold the highest office in the land. What a moment in history, but would that moment have been possible, if young Obama would have adopted “silence is golden” like my generation, or if he had traded comfort for his calling, and stayed in his lane because he knew his place. The young man, who became known as Number 44 didn’t waste time thinking like that because he knew change was within reach and it was his rightful place!
Dr. King, did his own reimaging, He said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The babes got it right and they have made it clear, that they will not stand in this present space and time and become another subservient, dutiful generation who unconsciously or not, once again choosing comfort over calling. The Babes generation is making it clear that the old negro spiritual that we use to sing telling us to wait because we will get our reward ‘by-and-by’ is a thing of the past. They want the reward now, and the reward is simple, “treat us like we matter.” So, they march, they demand, and although they are sometimes criticized by their own, they remain focused and relentless in the pursuit of the full promise of the American dream.
I am the older generation, maybe even the wiser one, but right now, I can’t see how that fact alone empowers me. I must pick up the blood-stained banner and allow myself to breathe in the same sweet alluring air that the younger sisters and brothers appear to be drawing strength from day-after-day and yet not grow weary. For it is “out of the ‘mouths of babes and nursing infants, God has ordained their strength,’ and they are beautiful and wonderfully made.”
Now, as I watch you protesting and marching in the streets, I can’t help but smile because you are me, the part that I forgot to nurture and believe in. You once frightened me, but now you inspire me! It is through YOU, I have once again found ME, and I feel as if I have been given another chance to be great.
I will march NOW with you and recruit others who, once like me, were quick to find fault in your brash ways and unapologetic courage, because we were a generation too comfortable, too afraid to live the rest of our days with the expectation and hope that the world can still change, if we would only reclaim our voice, and the boldness of our youth.
That’s my truth, what’s yours?
Myola Smith is ACRB Project Manager