Mereja Forum

[teodroseIII]

I write this article not to preach but to give comfort to anyone who has ever felt unvalued and disregarded by those who are closest to them. During my community organizing days, I used to frequently say “proximity breeds indifference” but I did not really understand the true depth of that statement back then. The more I worked to get Ethiopians involved recognized for our contributions to America and the more I held various events to promote our culture to a wider audience in order to empower our community, the more callousness I felt from my own community. What started with me wanting to make a difference for my people eventually led me to a dark place where resentment almost consumed me.

If only I knew then what I know now; those who are closest to us rarely acknowledge our light, it takes distance and disconnection for people to see our luminance. As much as Michael Jackson was beloved by hundreds of millions of people around the world, his father was rarely happy with him and beat him to a pulp to express his displeasure. Even though I have changed my mind about him, the same was true of Barack Obama. After all, it was not until Obama won lily “white” Iowa that his own people flocked to him. Until his victory in the Hawkeye State, Barack was an afterthought as close to 60% of “black” people were intent on voting for Hillary Clinton...continued...

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