For decades, James Baldwins' harrowing plea, "they really don't think I'm human," tirelessly reverberates, echoes encircles, suffocates, and shrouds everything that we know.
Relentless.
Undistorted.
Ruthless.
It is seen nakedly in the videos of the uninterrupted murders of humans of color.
It is heard in the mundane drumbeat of gunfire, or pounding of a front door during an eviction, or engines as they drolly roar by, six feet from where a human tries, again, to sleep and forget.
Its tentacles attach themselves to every notion, and are felt from every glance, every step, and every breath--until none remain. Nine.
No more.
AspireHUMAN is not about any one individual, or organization.
It describes our shared ethos born from nothing more, than knowing.
Knowing that in these past decades, the unrelenting trauma we see and feel is outpaced only by the dispassionate lowering of our own aspirations. Particularly in our youth, families, and communities of color.
In the aggregate, we no longer aspire--but we simply accept.
Not us.
Not now.
No more.
Please join us as we celebrate the vast contributions of youth, men, and fathers of color to our families, and community. It is here that we will celebrate their boundless achievements and unlimited potential.
We will celebrate their inner strength, resilience, personal drive, and path to self-actualization, and the heroic community members and organizations across the nation who support them every step of the way. Here, and now.
We Are AspireHUMAN: Healing Urban Men Across the Nation.
And we are You.
Please join the conversation, and help us aspire again.