BABY PAIGE!
The song says, “Sunny Day Sweepin’ the clouds away, On my way to where the air is sweet. Can you tell me how to get, How to get to Sesame Street. Come and play Everything’s A-OK” NO IT IS NOT OK!
Now before this discriminatory racist act occurred, I didn’t know you BABY PAIGE.
BABY PAIGE!
Before the disrespect of a child, in the setting of where children were gathered to be FREE to be children; children have always migrated towards Sesame Street characters.
They just showed you the HOOD OR STREET side PAIGE of who they really are.
As I began to reflect and replay the expression on the baby’s face like: WHAT? I couldn’t get the image of her looking at her sister (could be cousin or friend) our of my mind. I am saying *sister* from the position of a Black woman to another Black woman, DID YOU SEE THAT?
YES PAIGE, WE SAW IT, WE FELT IT AND WE ALSO UNDERSTOOD IT.
BABY PAIGE!
Let’s think of PAGES in a book.
Where do we get our paper?
From trees, right?
How do we get our trees?
From seeds, right?
Where do we place RIPE seeds?
IN UNCONTAMINATED SOIL, RIGHT?
YOUR root, YOUR foundation, YOUR ancestors, YOUR resilience, YOUR strength…….
What happened to YOU BABY PAIGE is nothing new and it is sad to even say today but we your adults are the reason why it is perpetually happening.
That hurtful act is as America as it gets and we have always been treated in the most disrespectful, demoralizing, and inhumane manner ever and have NEVER deserved it.
What I am going to ask you to do my future is to take a PAGE out of the book of OUR ancestors story and choose:
NOT TO FORCE ANYONE TO TOUCH YOU, YOU ARE ROYALTY
NOT TO FORCE ANYONE TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU, IT’S THEIR LOSS
NOT TO FORCE ANYONE TO ACCEPT YOUR HUMANITY, THAT’S THEIR INFERIORITY
NOT TO FORCE ANYONE TO INCLUDE YOU, THAT’S THEIR INCOMPETENCE
NOT TO FORCE ANYONE TO TAKE YOUR MONEY, THAT’S YOUR POWER
SIS, from this point on do look at your BRILLIANCE, INTELLECT, BEAUTY and all that YOU add with the many flavas and had the boldness to come out and say LOOK AT ME, I AM HERE, SEE ME, ACKNOWLEDGE MY PRESENCE.
It had nothing to do with you but EVERYTHING to do with some of the most nastiest, racist, hateful, inferior, incompetent, immoral and unjust people ever.
Yet, the world knows YOUR NAME BABY PAIGE, the world is watching YOU BABY PAIGE, the world is standing behind YOU BABY PAIGE, the world is applauding YOU BABY GIRL PAIGE.
This is exactly what kind of people you come.
Just that quick YOU created magic.
Just that quick YOU summoned a people.
Just that quick YOU stopped people in their tracks and said LOOK AT ME.
Talking about BLACK GIRL MAGIC in the flesh, that’s YOU BABY PAIGE, YOU DID THAT!
I see YOU.
YOU are the seed of our ancestors
They thought they buried them but we have YOU.
This is what we mean when we say BLACK GIRL MAGIC.
YOU stopped everything and have the world speaking your name and talking about BABY PAIGE.
Hold ya head up.
Walk talker.
Speak confidently.
Understand what’s going on today is nothing new.
YOU experienced it at a young age, so did Ruby Bridges.
BE THE FIRST!!!!
Don’t be the first to integrate
Don’t be the first to get and reap from them and forget your people
BE THE FIRST TO SAY: my BLACK sisters and my BLACK brothers, let’s unify.
Let’s right this wrong amongst us, let’s get it together.
We are more powerful as one.
This is YOUR moment and this is OUR moment to seize and get together.
Sherry Gamble Smith said, “WE NOT RUNNING BACK IN THE HOUSE TODAY!”
This is also the maltreatment our BLACK babies get inside of these racist, oppressive and outdated schools filled with WHITE people.
It doesn’t matter if the school is:
PUBLIC
PRIVATE
POROCHIAL
CHARTER
The enemy is in them and are ruining our BLACK children’s educational experiences and STRIPPING them of opportunities.
They are also robbing, killing and stealing their spirit, gifts, intellectual property, creativity, drive, desire, will, brilliance, and talents daily.
WE BLACK EDUATORS ARE SICK AND TIRED OF THIS TREATMENT OF OUR BLACK BABIES.
