Remembering Where You Came From Does Not Require Worshiping What Nearly Destroyed You

I remember trying to get a promotion on my job, and progress being stalled by my facial hair. I told my friend’s stepdad that I felt like it would make me a sell-out if I shaved my long goatee just to get a promotion. He said something very direct and profound. He said when you consider the struggle that blacks have fought for since the 60’s to build up their communities, then you look at those in the streets that are tearing down their own communities, those that are choosing the streets are the actual sell-outs. They are tearing down what their own people have worked to build. In other words, doing what it takes to feed yourself and your community for the better is hardly being a sell-out. It’s contributing to progress.

Recently, 43 year old rapper Boosie, who currently has a pending federal sentencing for a federal firearm charge, criticized other rappers for claiming to denounce the streets. One side of his argument was honorable in saying you shouldn’t be a hypocrite by denouncing something you are still a part of. The other side exposed his allegiance to the streets by claiming it’s what shaped them into who they are today. and they should embrace it. In one breath he admitted the youth should get out of the streets. In another he still credited the streets as something that was a positive force in their lives. This subtle level of deception, and double-mindedness is what keeps many people bound, the youth and adults.

Remembering where you came from doesn’t mean you owe it your life, or your voice.

You can acknowledge the struggle without glorifying it. You can respect the past without letting it define the future.

A lot of people confuse gratitude with allegiance.

Just because something shaped you doesn’t mean it deserves the credit for who you become. The streets didn’t make the man. They applied pressure. What you did with that pressure, that’s on you.

When someone says “you forgot where you came from,” what they usually mean is:

you stopped validating something I’m still attached to. That’s not wisdom, it’s comfort.

Growth will always look like betrayal to people who never left, and refuse to leave.

You don’t dishonor your story by outgrowing survival mode. You honor it by choosing something better.

And saying “the streets ain’t it” isn’t being bougie, it’s being honest.

The streets have adopted a philosophy of ¨ respect the shooter ¨, as opposed to the victim. Well, in this sense, when it comes to what shapes boys into men, the streets isn’t the shooter, it’s the opps. That’s why most would admit that the youth shouldn’t be a part of it. The respect goes to God. The respect goes to mentors that encourage a better way of living, the stepdads, the coaches, the community leaders. The respect goes to a life of discipline that leads to a better quality of life. That’s what and who deserves credit for shaping boys into men. The streets are and have always been the obstacle to achieving a better life. It’s not the people that live in or grew up in rough neighborhoods, it’s the street culture and those who embrace it that have been the sell-outs to progression. You know, those who refuse to grow into a better life, and acknowledge the resources that help the youth out of a culture of destruction.

If you find this message bothersome or challenging, learn to read between the lines. Some are committed to finding ways to hold on to destructive cultures. Others have enough love in their hearts to promote growth from the trenches to the palace, in a healthy way, and not through destructive and counterproductive means.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. - 1 Corinthians 13:11 AMP