I recently learned that the month of October is designated as black history month in the United Kingdom. I was pleasantly surprised because I have always believed that black history month was a celebration in the United States only. Knowing that black history month is bigger than the United States causes an emotional awareness in myself that is quite indescribable; it also makes me wonder about other parallels between the two countries.
The highlighting of a commonality between the US and the UK brings to mind the advice of a former slave, from a book that he authored, From Slavery to the Bishopric in the A.M.E. Church, "My advice to young people is to travel. If you have little, sacrifice and travel to the extent of what you have, and travel with your eyes and your mind open. If you have much, go abroad and take time and spend a month in Paris, a month in Germany, a month in Rome, and a month in London, as I have done. It will pay if you expect a future", William Henry Heard (circa 1928).
Heard, a gem of a fellow from Elbert County, Georgia, made a good life for himself, though his life was not an easy one. Born a slave, he wasted no time in making a way out of no way once he learned that slavery had ended in June of 1865. Persevering through slavery and later the Jim Crow Laws of the South, Heard devoted his free life to helping to uplift others. He was a teacher, a writer, a politician and a minister who later became a bishop in the A.M.E. church.
My advice to people, especially the young, is to read. Whether poor or rich, reading readies the mind for all of the possibilities the world has to offer.
Links
From Slavery to the Bishopric in the A.M.E. Church by William Henry Heard
William Henry Heard Led Former Slaves to Liberia, Africa
