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Empathy – The ability to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another’s position.
Being empathic is being Afrikan, it is embedded in our design. Growing up in Brooklyn we would say “…you feel me?” after expressing a thought or experience because being felt and understood by your community was natural and expected. We probably didn’t realize the depth of this slang expression but it kept us connected. We have now accepted a reality where we are distrustful and leery of one another but we know that is is not our way. Love and commitment use to come effortlessly and we understood that this was necessary for our mental health and survival. Now we have adopted an unnatural habitation where a computer screen or a cellphone will suffice in place of human emotion and bonding. It is imperative that we prioritize emotional health, emotional intelligence and learn how to use our emotional vocabulary if we intend to build families and sustainable communities for Afrikan people. What is the current situation for young black men trying to find their way? How can we awaken the warrior and provider spirit in our brothers? How has this unnatural habitation impeded on their manhood and how can we heal the Afrikan mans psyche? What is the current situation for young black women? How has this current society disregarded womanhood and motherhood? How has stripping and prostitution become a common predicament for our Afrikan sisters? If we are to build true community we have to ask ourselves how we have come to this low. Let’s reclaim our empathy. Serious work has to be done on a personal and collective level.
Anyways that’s what I woke up thinking about this morning..
