Dates With My Mentors

"Hey, Black Child" by Countee Cullen

Hey Black Child
Do you know who you are
Who you really are
Do you know you can be
What you want to be
If you try to be
What you can be

Hey Black Child
Do you know where you are going
Where you're really going
Do you know you can learn
What you want to learn
If you try to learn
What you can learn

Hey Black Child
Do you know you are strong
I mean really strong
Do you know you can do
What you want to do
If you try to do
What you can do

Hey Black Child
Be what you can be
Learn what you must learn
Do what you can do
And tomorrow your nation
Will be what you what it to be

I loved the poem by Countee Cullen from the day I read it. Words from the poem have stuck with me for years. I can't remember the first time I read the poem or remember the person who shared it with me. I remember feeling a great sense of pride, positively aware of my identity as a black person. The words came alive in my head. They were the most liberating and exciting words I heard

I felt seen and understood by the poet. It was as though Countee Cullen had given me a personal script, a written permission to be ok with being black and wanting more for myself. That I too as a black child had the right to be the best I can be and that my destiny is not pre-determined by the current conditions at the time or the painful past of my race.

Try to Imagine the confusion that goes on in the mind of a young black child, growing up poor )in the ghetto , raised in a society that that has already formed a very strong opinion of who and what you are. A society that has predetermined where you will end up and how your journey will unfold. Everywhere you look, there are images of black people being enslaved, uneducated labors, labeled as lazy, a people who are continually navigating generational poverty. I could not shake the images of being labelled a people who have failed dreams, not to mention a nation of people who are forever reaching and fighting for freedom- an elusive concept for many. It is easy understand why the words written by Countee Cullen brought so much comfort and hope for a black child like myself.

The words assured me that I too can go further than where other black people have been. That despite the negative social conditions around me, I have the choice, potential and the capability to achieve my dreams and be a positive contributor to my nation.

Something told me my observation was not unique. I highly doubt I was the first young person trying to make sense of my environment. No…….This is not one of those exciting stories about race injustice or the rags to riches. Nor is it about laying guilt on anyone . It is about the journey of young black child who escaped poverty by choosing to pursue a career in corporate , which was made less bumpy with the help of mentors and adopting a positive self image.
I have not made it to the top yet . I am still hungry and burning with desire to get to the top ……. My Top . I am still facing most of the frustrations and challenges I experienced at the beginning of the journey. The roadblocks and faces of success have not changed . Only that I have changed my idea about the process and picked up a few learnings along the way with the help of mentors , who have helped me simplify a lot my decision making and soothed a lot of the aches & pains of corporate life.

Next Post : How it all began....