On Speaking Truth to Power

Nefertiti El Muhajir



Well I didn't take the advice my father's friends gave him(see The Poem My Comrades To Me Not to Read). I had the opportunity this past year to speak at NY State Capitol in Celebration of MLK. I was supposed to provide a tribute to Rosa Parks, but when they received my script, they rejected it telling me it was too political. My father advised that I give them Miller Lite. I couldn't, I told them that they could find someone else. Someone once said that we should speak up so that we can speak again. I rather speak truth in all of its power, than speak anything else that will just tickle the ears of the listeners.

Tomorrow I will have to deal with my son's school. They have told him to write an apology to a cafeteria worker. The worker reprimanded my son for getting up to throw away his tray when he wasn't supposed to. He said that he was wrong for getting up without permission, but he also called the man a racist and was sent to the principals office. My son told me that everyday some other young white boys get up from their seats when they aren't supposed to and they are never reprimanded. We have to learn to speak truth even from a young age and call things as they are. The best way for us to teach our children is through our actions and not through anything that we can say. They see the truth in our actions and not merely in our words. Let us all speak truth and we have the power to liberate others who are bound in captivity.