By Terry Allen
She never faltered or waned in her belief system. My grandmother, Lucille “Big Mama” Allen will say to us, “God gotcha” in those simple words she would have taught us a lesson.
Placing her hands on the Bible, she would grip with a fierce embrace and shout those words to many of the Black men came by to tell their current circumstance or current barrier to survival.
She knew all too well that Black Men were not allowed to be Black men in her times and even now systemic destruction of the Black male daily bread 0 way of life – is under such an attack. But Big Mama knew Black men had to prevail. She knew that men of color were in the Bible who overcame hardships and thrived under God’s promise and deliverance during the Biblical times.
In the path of shocking police brutality, the world is correctly looking at itself when it comes to disparities when it comes to race. Big Mama based her life on the Bible’s teaching. She knew that blonde-hair, blue- -eyed Jesus did not reflect the Men of the Bible. It is like she knew of these men mentioned in the bible. She led me to Caleb Mathis, a white male, writings.
He said, “I’m a white American, descended from Europeans, and there’s no one in the Bible that looks like me. Instead, the Bible is chock full of the perspective of, people of color. He talked about Ebed-Melech, a Cushite servant of the King of Judah( Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, or Luke 23:26.), Simon of Cyrene of North Africa, Zipporah, (Exodus 4:21-26 ) the wife of Moses, the prince of Egypt and Solomon’s wife who inspired the Song of Solomon. BIG Mama knew!
Like Big Mama’s uplifting message said, Black males have proven to be resilient, successfully identifying, and deploying protective factors such as peers, mentors, and STRONG spiritual prayers in the pandemic while addressing stress due to psycho-social factors such as finances and racism! Did you know that in many cities when the Cosby Show aired Thursday night, violence went down in Black Communities? Big Mama knew!
I am grateful that I write for an outlet that has a focus on the lives of countless Black Americans. Texas Metro News/Garland Journal/I Messenger is on a journey to strive for growth and tell our stories in a positive light and yes, we will prevail. My column has reached 24 more news outlet’s globally. Unfortunately, I am always under attack not by mainstream Americans but those that have my pigment but not my mindset and they refuse to accept the value of our differences. Big Mama knew!
I have witnessed my voices amplified to be the storyteller of all the news that should be printed, so readers we need you as well. Recently I received over 7,000 likes of my poss on LinkedIn and the same response in my e-blast this week so keep up the good work. In the words of Big Mama and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, “Continue!” Email what your Big Mama knew at terryallenpr@gmail.com. If we are to build, invest and grow, we need you. Thank you and thanks to our publisher, Cheryl Smith.
Terry Allen is an award-winning media professional, journalist, and entrepreneur. He is also the founder of City Men Cook and 1016 Media. Reach him at terryalllenpr@gmail.com
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