timeline sleep right?

so i can be series for 2.2 seconds before I go back to being a sarcastic, condescending douche for the lulz?

yeah?

ok.

So I watched that Chadwich Boseman Howard commencement speech...

There's a segment where he talks about recent protests at Howard... and he says something poignant (the whole speech was).

"You received the majority of your demands, making a significant impact on those who came after you....

... As is often the case, those that follow most often enjoy the results of the progress you gained. ... Everything that you fought for was not for yourself. It was for those that come after."

Now, this isn't a "make it about me" moment I just need a second to talk through the thought process.

So, I remember my freshman year of highschool, we were discussing elections... and I asked my history teacher (Coach Hardwick, for those of you who went to Valley)...

"Why would I care about voting on school issues when I'm grown? What does it even matter to me at that point?"

and he told me one of the wildest things an adult male ever told me in my life... "because believe it or not.. one day you'll care about more than yourself..."

and weirdly... i feel like my whole life... basically since that day... has been the fulfillment of that prophecy.

I've dedicated large swaths of my life to the betterment of other people's lives. I've sacrificed professionally so others could succeed in my place. etc etc etc

Which brings me back to Chadwick, and, weirdly, the NBA.

Because that man clearly decided to sacrifice himself and the precious little bit of life he had left to better other people's lives and lay better tracks for those that would come behind him than he had on his journey.

And I couldn't help but think about a lot of the rhetoric around the NBA. And protests and boycotts and strikes and all of that.

And what I hear a lot is "what next?" or "what does this even accomplish?" or "why even bother?"

and well... the answers are all kind of the same.

To me, the only real obligation we have in life is to make things better than we received them. Or like Chadwich said, to ensure " those that follow most often enjoy the results of the progress you gained."

My life has basically been dedicated to opening doors and eyes for...

those who come after me. My kids, my siblings, my friends. Whoever needed that opportunity, or to see that possibility or whatever.

That's the answer to the NBA questions.

No, boycotting or walking out or striking for a few days won't "end racism." Or prevent the next bigot cop from shooting someone. But, it will show people that power can be exerted. It will plant seeds. And even if that helps make minuscule progress, it IS progress.

We all heard the famous Tupac quote, right. "I'm not saying I'm gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world."

That's a real thing.

The progress we're making right now isn't for us.

It's so much bigger than our narcissist view of what "success" is in these fights.

Believe it or not... our world IS better than our ancestors had it. When they were being wiped out by genocide, or enslaved, or pushed off their own lands, or poisoned by disease.

Our kids world will be a little better if we fight enough. And their kids even more. And on and on.

So... back to Chadwick.

That man CLEARLY made the world a better place. He planted seeds for fruits he knew he'd never taste, but we'll benefit from for generations to come. He laid tracks behind him to make our climbs easier for generations to come. All while fighting the ultimate fight.

He showed people (what we already knew) that a black superhero wasn't a risk, it was a sure thing. It was a billion-dollar franchise waiting to be cashed in.

He dedicated his life to telling black stories, even at the risk of ridicule and being pigeonholed.

Because our histories are rooted in trauma, both ancestrally and in the short term, in our own lives, we often need a lot of reassurance. We need to know things are possible before we try. We've seen things go wrong so many times, we NEED that.

So yes, protests and boycotts and the like won't "fix" a problem that's probably unfixable. And movies won't save the world.

But there's a kid somewhere that will now be emboldened to create a character that will one day be worth a billion dollars.

Or...

There's another kid somewhere that just watched his favorite hooper say there are things that are bigger than basketball, and it resonated and now his focus will lead to bigger change.

Or he'll be more outspoken now because he saw someone more powerful be just that.

Even a small lighter can burn a bridge, right?

I guess the point of all of this is to say... pay it forward.

It doesn't always affect you directly, but these tiny changes, tiny positive charges, tiny wins, built up over time?

It can change EVERYTHING.

Okay. Now I go back to fulfilling whatever preconceived notions you have of me because I joke about basketball or music or whatever.

I just like... yeah. This shit sucks.