I’ve been dreaming, as many people have on this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, of a better nation. And, on the eve of the most historic day in racial history and of the presidency in the United States, I encourage us all to engage in new conversations about race.

Our 44th President, Mr. Barack Obama, has invited the nation to talk to him about race. And as a recovering strong black woman, I continue to encourage talk about the racial aspect of being a strong black woman. Let’s continue to have the old conversations about other oppression (like institutionalized racism) because those conversations are never finished. But I want us to talk about what many have relegated as our dirty laundry. Stuff like us having inherent strength because we are black or that we are better than others because of all we have been able to do with little time and resources. Let’s get our racial views about ourselves out in the open, assess where we are and where we need to go so that we become a better spiritual nation, the kingdom of God full of women fighting to be who He wants us to be.

Copyright 2009 By Rhonda J. Smith