Giving Black

I took a day off work to speak at Northwood High School in Silver Spring last week.  I friend of mine who works for Montgomery County Public Schools sent me a flyer about the opportunity.  It was part of an assembly at the school in recognition of Black History Month.  In it, top students read their submissions for the school's Martin Luther King "I Have A Dream" essay contest, and recognized the school staff's many alumni from historically black universities. 

I was included in a 5-person panel of young black professionals sharing our experiences in college and the workplace.  They included myself, an investment adviser, a PR professional, a program manager at a nonprofit, and an entrepreneur.  The auditorium was packed: about 800 of the school's 1300-large student body showed up, filling the auditorium just about to capacity.   It was a very diverse crowd, which was encouraging to see.

My colleagues on the panel had some interesting comments.  We were each asked what we most wanted the kids to take away from our time there.  The investment adviser essentially said, "I want you all to be up here (on stage, in his place) someday.  You want to be seen as successful, because it's either this or 'paper or plastic.'"  Funny stuff.  The entrepreneur told them to remember that they still had time,and that's something those of us sitting up there didn't have as much of anymore.  Use that time wisely, he said.  Make a plan, and follow it. 

I told them, "Never let anyone tell you how to be who you are.  A lot of people will try to tell you what you should be, or what you should do, or what you should like, based on your skin color.  They might tell you that you're not black, or you're not white, or you're not Latino, based on what you feel passionate about, or what music you listen to, or what you do for a living.  Usually those people don't know what they're talking about -- and that's how people fall into all those stereotypes about different groups of people.  The only way we will grow is if we do what we are passionate about doing, regardless of what people say we 'should' be doing.  Don't let other people dictate your path for you based on what they believe different groups of people should do.  Follow your own path."

It was definitely worth the vacation day.  And I'd be lying if I didn't say my brother's recent death didn't influence me to take a greater interest in this sort of activity.  Like the rest of my family, my brother didn't use skin color as a criterion for making friends.  He didn't use it as a gauge for the type of music he listened to, or the movies he watched.  He didn't use it to choose his job or the people he dated. 

And most importantly, my brother was the most generous of us.  I feel like I need to fill the void of charitableness left by his passing.  It's up to the rest of us to pick up the slack and make up for the generous spirit we lost when he passed away.  I'm proud to be a part of that, and a bit ashamed that it took something like this to drive me to action in an area of my life where I already knew I could improve.

I may not have the lawyer money he had, but I definitely have time and the ability to speak to large groups of people.  These are the types of things I can do that he wasn't as comfortable with.  From this point forward, I will make a point of finding these opportunities and taking advantage of tthem in order to give back.   

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