As we take some time to sit down and reflect on this past year, I wanted to share with you a video I came across that contains what I feel is a very powerful message in what some call our broken world.
I am Not Black, You Are Not White is a slam poem written by Richard Williams. The author, more commonly known as Prince Ea, is an African American poet who is known for motivational messages that inspire through spoken word.
In this poem, Prince conveys the important message that our exterior is of little relevance to who we are as human beings, it is our interior that shows our true personality.
In a world where we seem to see increasing division, separation, and hatred of the other, perhaps the way forward is to recognize that we need to focus less on our external differences and more on our internal similarities.
Sadly, Canada is not immune from these global trends and all of us are seeing this everyday. I personally have friends right here in Calgary who are Muslim and who wear the hijab. They are fearful to go out into public because of the things people have been saying to them. This breaks my heart. This needs to change.
Let’s take this opportunity to remind ourselves of the common love inside that brings humanity together.
In the theme of reflection & contemplation, I’ll keep this post fairly short. So take a few minutes, to watch, and as Prince puts it, ask yourself the question, “Who would you be if the world never gave you a label?”
