Pick Up the Rope

My niece Ashley turned 16 on February 1. It's hard to believe. She was the first grandchild born in our family and we thought the sun rose and set on everything she did. At the time I was shocked by how much love I felt for this little girl. She has always been precocious and intelligent.

When she was 6 1/2 years old, she wrote a short essay for a speech contest sponsored by the International House of Blues in Las Vegas. She wrote it all by herself, which is pretty amazing. But then she is, and always has been, amazing. As this is Black History month, I thought it very appropriate to share on my blog - with her permission. At the time she wrote this, she had no idea that one day she would have first cousins of a different race.

I think the theme for the essay was from Dr. King: "Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood."

My friends and I wanted to jump rope so we could have fun. The girl who is supposed to turn the rope does not want to do her job. She just lets the rope drop and that hurts everyone.

My friend threw the rope down and she said, "I don't want to play with you anymore." I told her, "Come on, I'll jump with you." But she would not try and said, "White girls can't jump." She was blaming me because she didn't know how to jump, but I did not know this. This made me feel really, really sad.

This girl won't or can't pick up the rope. What will we do? We can just look at it or solve our problem. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice. Now is the time for us to pick up the rope.

I left my other friends and told her I'd show her how. We jumped together.

That day I learned how to pick up the rope. Now is the time for everybody, everywhere to pick up the rope like Dr. Martin Luther King said. Then we can truly become a brotherhood. Thank you.

I love racial equality and unconditional love as expressed by the children in my family.