“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

America, you built a flawed contract and broke it.  

You focused on bits and pieces of a narrative that was designed to supply your needs.  It was designed to appease your desire to come to a land of agricultural wealth, take that land from the resident inhabitants and then fill ships with labor to cultivate the land because you were too lazy to do it yourself.  

You built a flawed contract that you broke generation after generation, and you have the audacity to wonder why Black America is angry!” 

LOOK IN THE MIRROR, AMERICA.  Look at what you did in Tulsa, Oklahoma. An entire community was burned to the ground.  Innocent men and women were murdered on the “merit” of a rumor.   The Tulsa Race Massacre is conveniently missing from history books, even in the state where it took place.  

Look at what you did in Rosewood, Florida.  Again, an entire black community was destroyed.  Again, this information is missing from history books.  

Look at how you treated peaceful protesters in Birmingham, Alabama and countless other places where blacks marched for the freedoms outlined in the Declaration of Independence you hold so dear.

Look at the harm you did to black men during the Tuskegee Experiment, which lasted from 1932 to 1972.  Fifty years of deceptively treating black men with syphilis while injecting otherwise healthy black men with the disease under the guise of free health care.  You not only negatively impacted the lives of those men, but you also indirectly affected the health of countless black women and their children. 

America, you broke the contract.

The KKK uses the bible to support evil principals while introducing “Christian Schools” to ensure things remain separate and unequal. Further proof that the Declaration of Independence was written by white men, for white men, and will never include ALL men, women and children.

This is why we Protest.  This is why we seek “Good Trouble”.  It is not because we seek a handout.  It is that we seek fairness, justice and equality.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

When one or all these truths are violated by one group against another, those who have been disenfranchised have a right to say, “Our Lives Matter.”

America was built on the backs of black lives.  As we move towards racial reconciliation, please think about the contract and your part in upholding it!

Author(s)

  • Marietta Colston-Davis

    Mother, Mentor, Technologist, Community Supporter and Philanthrapist

    Mother, Mentor, Technologist, Community Advocate and Philanthropist Marietta Colston-Davis is an accomplished technology sales executive and currently serves as IBM’s Vice President and Managing Director for IBM’s global Coca Cola relationship. She leads a worldwide team growing business in cloud and AI solutions. Prior to IBM, she served as Vice President of U.S. Dynamics at Microsoft. As the highest-ranking African American executive in North America and Latin America, Davis led an organization of more than 400 sales, marketing and technical experts. While at Microsoft, Davis successfully managed and grew multiple businesses to $1B and triple digit growth milestones. She has held high impact positions at Lotus Development, Ameritech, and Tata Consulting. Her diverse leadership portfolio extends to mentoring strong leaders into key roles and acting in an advisory capacity to incubation and small startups. Davis currently sits on the National Board of Youth Villages, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to helping more than 23,000 emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families each year across 20 states and Washington, D.C. She was selected as the first female Board Member of SharpSpring, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHSP) in 2017. Davis was inducted in the Spelman College “Game Changer” Hall of Fame in 2015 for her impact as a technology leader. She is a sought after speaker on leadership topics with appearances at leading colleges and universities and professional organizations, including a keynote address at the 2015 Iowa Women Lead Change conference. A graduate of Bradley University, she also holds an MBA from Loyola University and executive certificates from the Harvard Business School. Joining Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., as a legacy member while at Bradley, she continues to support the organization through mentorship and community activism. A published author, Davis has written for the Huffington Post and Thrive Global.