Contributed by
Cincinnati NAACP
The following comes from a speech that Cincinnati NAACP President Joe Mallory delivered at the 2023 Black Family Reunion Breakfast at Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati in August 2023. With the Cincinnati NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner being held October 6 at Sharonville Convention Center, Mallory’s words are still relative today. His speech follows:
Family reunions are celebratory events where family history is reflected on, traditions are taught, and bonds are strengthened through many shared memories … and it is important that they continue.
When Dr. Dorothy Height began this celebration about 35 years ago, she established it after she saw a television documentary titled “The vanishing Black family.”
She refused to let that be the narrative or let someone else tell our story.
She came up with the concept of a Black family reunion to combat the negative stereotypes about the Black family.
And those are some of the same stereotypes that we hear and fight against today.
We must value what we have here … because Cincinnati is the last Black Family Reunion standing.
You don’t get longevity without vision … strong leadership … time … energy … resources … people … partnerships … and God’s favor.
As we celebrate our pride and power today … and as we acknowledge the past … we must not ever, never, ever let anyone erase our history! It is American history.
When we think about the Black family, think about the unimaginable atrocities and the endless suffering that was endured, being enslaved and placed in bondage with the chains of colonialism due to the color of one’s skin … in the largest forced migration in history. We were brought to a strange land … our families torn apart … wives raped in front of husbands, men emasculated in front of their wives and children, very young girls raped and impregnated by their pedophile masters, some of them Founding Fathers (hello – Thomas Jefferson)
We were brutalized and treated as property, murdered by lynching, had no rights. These are just some of the truth’s that some folks don’t want people to remember.
They would rather it be erased … so folks won’t feel bad because of what their ancestors did. instead, there should be atonement, reconciliation and healing, be cause you can’t heal without the truth.
These are trying times and now we have White supremacy boldly on the rise, trying to take us back to a dark period in history. that we cannot and will not allow to repeat itself, because that’s what can happen when you don’t know your history.
It is absolutely miraculous that Black families endured, oftentimes enduring by hanging on to a thread of hope because that’s all they had … that hope of freedom.
Miraculous because of a social construct that placed Blacks at the very bottom of the ladder of opportunity because of the color of their skin. The Black family has had to survive a structural system that was not built to advance or support us, a system of capitalism without being able to capitalize.
Let’s be very clear about one thing … Black people did not benefit from slavery! That’s absurd! Our generational trauma still exists! But Black families were able to persevere by hanging on to a thread of hope and a mustard seed of faith.
Thank God we don’t look like what we have been through as a people. We still we rise, proud and powerful.
When proud Black families began making incremental but powerful progress and circulating money inside the Black community and building wealth (hello Tulsa Back Wall Street – 1921 Race Massacre), the oppressors felt threatened, their fragility was exposed. Even though we had no generational wealth, and no economic floor to begin with, but becoming self sufficient by using similar economic practices and principles to their advantage, imagine the audacity!
Fast forward to present time, and some of the remedies that were put in place, to help address the inequality of systems, due to a rigged system … they are now being dismantled. (Goodbye affirmative action) … but we still have legacy programs … and its okay to keep all the athletes, oh, the hypocrisy.)
There are so many more issues we must address, in our historically marginalized communities, like the lack of income based affordable housing. Black and Brown communities are suffering and the plethora of gentrification. We need allies that truly believe in equity instead of transactional performative acts, and there needs to be a paradigm shift in processes that truly support transformative change and not be threatened by it.
Many times, you have gatekeepers giving lip service, then blocking resources from getting where they are needed.
We must absolutely come up with some kind of gun reform and deal with the scourge of guns on our streets. We are losing far too many people to gun violence. There are many in this crowd today that have loved ones or know someone impacted by gun violence. Gun violence does not discriminate and often times innocent people are caught in the crossfire and are senselessly being murdered in our communities.
Generational trauma is real and mental health services must continue to be a priority in our communities.
One thing we all can do that only takes minimal effort is being a registered voter. Each and everyone of us should be registered and informed voters and then vote. Voting is a verb, it’s an action word. When voters don’t show up to vote or make the decision not to use the power of their voice … that allows those in power who are not our allies, to remain in power.
Inaction and apathy will guarantee that things won’t change. and it certainly isn’t going to change if we don’t try. Voting is not a spectator sport. Let’s reverse the cycle and save our future. our votes are our voice. It’s not about me, it’s about we.
Have a voting plan for voting. Look at sample ballots at The Hamilton County Board of Elections. Then on election day, take your photo identification, which can be a free Ohio State identification if don’t have a drivers license, call the NAACP at 513 281-1900 if you need a ride to the polls or have questions about the election, and cast your ballot.
You can drop off absentee ballots at the Board of Elections at 4700 Smith Road in Norwood 45212.
I’m not here to uplift the powerful: I’m here to advocate for the powerless.
If you are not a member of the NAACP, why not? Membership is just $30 per year.
We need more social justice warriors to come forth and volunteer as we continue to build Black political, social and economic power, while advocating for equitable justice, free education, voting rights and health equality for all Americans. We are proud, we are powerful.