Slaves had everything important to them viciously taken. Stripped from their families, their homes, and their peaceful lives, they were placed in a world where they were powerless in society. As horrific as these memories are, they can’t be overlooked. The thoughts and images that go hand and hand with these atrocious events must be used as the will, the want, and the motivation for success. After all, understanding the past is the key to unlocking the future!
Education is a crucial factor in success. Today, 79 percent of African-Americans age 25 and over have at least completed high school, a record high. This is more than double the percent in 1970. Also, 86 percent of those ages 25 to 29 have earned a high school diploma, which is triple the percent thirty years prior. Seventeen percent of blacks 25 and above have even obtained a bachelor’s degree. Statistics are higher than they’ve been in the past. No matter how disturbing the past is a person never knows what the future holds. Therefore, one must hold on to the past because it is the key to motivation.
Motivation has led to success. The poverty rate among African-Americans, 23.6 percent, is the lowest ever recorded. $27,910 is the average income for an African-American household. And 700,000 fewer blacks were poor in 1999 than in 1998. In the past, an outcome such as this would have never been possible in the dominated world everyone knew. When a person looks back and sees how far they’ve come, it is most definitely something to be proud of.
Proud and prosperous, African-Americans are not only succeeding. They are getting together and staying together. Out of the 8.7 million African-American families, just under half were married. And these families are larger than any other ethnic group. Twenty-one percent of the families have at least five or more members. Only ten percent of males and ten percent of females have been divorced. Although their ancestors were ripped from their homes and torn apart from their family, today is a brave new world.
As suppressed as the people were, all of the struggles and the hardships are ultimately what gave them the will and the desire to overcome the devastation. It has been long, hard road, but their past has led to prosperity. Unwilling to lose the never-ending battle, the fight continues constantly, unlocking doors to a successful future.
