The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.
– Blaise Pascal
Valentine – take heart. It may be the shortest month of the year, the only one that can pass without a full moon (next time 2018) but right in the middle we get to indulge the impulse of romantic love. And for the month of February we officially pay homage to the accomplishments of black men and women under the banner of Black History month. But wait! Neither love nor equality should be restricted to a single month. Can the heart handle only so much? Should we confine to 28 or 29 days our admiration for the youngest African American to win a Nobel Prize for Peace (1964) Martin Luther King, Jr., or for the first black woman to win a Nobel Prize for Literature (1993) Toni Morrison, or the first black President of the US, Barack Obama who won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2009? Nobel Laureates leave a legacy for their outstanding achievements to humanity, their contributions “to benefit mankind” for all time.
Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all.
– Toni Morrison
Ah, the alchemy of love. A potion conceived of chemistry and sorcery not simple cardiology. Fireflies cavort under the dome of stars while night creatures lurk in the shadows. I fell in love with him for no apparent reason, in the distance as he walked. His wordless touch, his artist’s hands, into the fire – again and again. The inky waves our witness. Still. What’s sweeter than romantic or enduring love – or both? “Love is or it ain’t.” But you have to put it to the test. Without love hearts turn to ash.
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
This February you would have to be wearing a sheet over your head to ignore the deadly tornado of tweets relegating truth and love to quaint relics of a diverse history, now in imminent danger of fading away. If moving forward equates to going backwards faster than a dystopian comet, then now, more than ever, we must uphold “unarmed truth and unconditional love.” Words matter, actions matter, matters of the heart matter. All lives matter.
So spread some real love this Valentine’s Day. Celebrate Black History month with the new release of director Raoul Peck’s documentary I’m Not Your Negro. Inspired by the unfinished manuscript Remember This House by writer/activist James Baldwin, the film splices speeches, interviews, archival footage and images of black representation in Hollywood films. “History is not the past: it’s the present. We are our history.” The film explores Baldwin’s vision of race through the lives and assassinations of his three friends, Medgar Evans, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X connecting the past from the Civil Rights Movement to the Watts Riots, Ferguson and the recent demonstrations for the Black Lives Matter movement. Provocative and searing, a film to absorb – a film to remember – a film for today.
On February 14th (and every day thereafter) resist the curb and curfew. Spread more love and champion diversity. And when it comes to romantic encounters in the moonlight or creative explorations, stir the potion. Ignite a spark. Creativity and hearts on fire will strengthen humankind for all time.
Practice love my Valentine!
Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
– Confucius
Crazy to think February is the only month that can pass without a full moon! Also astonishing to think that the shortest month is the one that was chosen for black history month. The world now more than ever could definitely do with some love and history!!
Powerful. Sanity in crazy times. Thank you Martha.
This particular February also seems a time for severing relationships. There is friction in the air. Sentiments that have been held in check for years out of a sense of civility are now being spoken openly. Friends or family members who used to keep their racist sentiments under wrap, or only uttered them out loud when in the presence of like-minded people, now feel empowered to express themselves freely. And we, who knew our loved ones harbored those sentiments but didn’t confront them because we wanted to keep the peace, now find ourselves unable to stay silent any longer. Relationships are being tested. We need love now more than ever.
The best yet of all your blogs. Very potent, full of intensity and heat. Love it.
Peggy Boag