Speak Your Truth

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant" (Martin Luther King Jr.)

The black radical tradition has taught me many lessons. Their resilience, courage and honesty have shocked and inspired me. However, perhaps the most important lesson I gained from them is their determination to always speak their truth.

Whether its Martin Luther King standing tall in the face of criticism from outside and inside the community or its Audre Lorde not being afraid to criticise the civil rights movements, the individuals always found a way to stick to their truth. It didn't matter if it was not easily digestible to the people of America nor was it acceptable to the black community itself, but that didn't deter them from promoting their ideas. Audre Lorde understood that “Your silence will not protect you”. Indeed it is only the truth that can shield from the blatant hypocrisy that crushes society. similarly, Malcolm X underwent multiple personality shifts within his lifestyle, and his truth also changed over time but he never stopped speaking it. Not when Elijah Muhamad distanced himself from him, not when the FBI investigated him for terrorism, not even when his own brothers were against him. As he said, “I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it's for or against”.  This unflinching dedication to your truth is the lesson that resonates most with me.

Every member of the black radical tradition had a different truth to tell. Some times they weren't even sure what the ultimate goal was, but that wasn't their concern. Their only concern was to narrate their experience and their hopes for the future. It isn't much, but it is the combined effort of all these individuals that brought real change in America. 

Their lives may have ended but their truth still lives on. In their afterlife, it is their words, far more than anything else that still hold power. This power is embedded in the truth that is beneath their words. In a world full of lies, the truth within their words still rings loud.

That is the lesson that I want to take away from this course. That no matter what, as long as you stand for what you believe in, you will make a difference.