WOMEN OF EXCELLENCE
DEFINITION OF ADVERSITY Andrew King
A
state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune showing courage in the face of adversity
The Trifecta: Black... Male... Inner City We do not enter this world with the option of what nor where we would like to be once we’re born, the only option is to handle it as given. To be introduced into the world as a newborn baby, along with what some would say an ADVERSITY, being BLACK! My favorite color before I even knew other hues, to be BLACK wasn’t an option but a privilege as well as a blessing. But you later discover that some look at your skin tone as your flaw. As an innocent child, you know of no ADVERSITIES, besides curfew. If at some point during your educational journey you are enrolled in a school that offers a mixed environment, you begin to see the possibility of your skin tone leading to a trail of ADVERSITIES. This is not to say as a young child you haven’t already witnessed it, this is also not to say it’s going to happen in your school, but at some point in your melanin life, it will. Rather it’s at school, the mall, or while simply enjoying a day with your family. No matter the location, never let it stunt the growth of who you are.
can be a scary journey you aren’t aware of until it happens. I’ve seen the racial profiling, I’ve been racially profiled, and I smile in the eyes of hatred! Look at me, a BLACK man, raised without a father, living on the West Side of Chicago, what are my chances to survive this? Slim to none most may say! What are the chances of growing up without a father, yet becoming a hero of a father to your children? As I hope to set the tone for my kids to never let ADVERSITY distract them from anything. We tend to minimize the struggles and true ADVERSITIES of our ancestors and forefathers, in which they had it beyond worse than us. Any ADVERSITY is only a part of your journey, part of your growth, part of your fight, never let it become a place of discouragement. I beat the odds, but unfortunately, the ADVERSITY will forever be there due to my skin tone. Therefore continue to fight to be the strongest of whatever shade of melanin you are! Andrew King...
To grow from a BLACK boy to a BLACK man
W.O.E
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