Lessons learned from all the heroes and civil rights leaders.

All of these great leaders who have fought for freedom and civil rights have essentially the same message.

Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:4-5)

• Freedom is a right, not a privilege.

Every person should be entitled to healthcare, education, freedom of speech and religion.

• All men are created equal.

I remember when I first read the book, “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, in high school during our literature class, we were amused by the statement in the conclusion of the story:

“all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

But the irony is that men actually believe that some humans are more superior to others. Hence, the constant battle for riches and power. The hatred against each other, the discrimination, and racism.

• The color of your skin should not determine your rights.

The spirits of pride, prejudice, and deception contaminate the lives of those who believe that complexion determines character.

• Education is the primary tool that will elevate anyone in life.

Education has improved my economic and social status in life. It is possible for everyone to gain success through education.

Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. (Proverbs 10:14)

•  You cannot be afraid to stand up for principles and your rights as a human being.

Always endeavor to be knowledgeable about your inherent rights as a person regardless of your color, nationality, religion or social status.

• In today’s society, the black race in the Caribbean and USA needs to emancipate themselves from mental slavery.

We cannot continue to blame the slavemasters for our plight in society. The responsibility of our self-development lies with each of us.

• Self-confidence is necessary to fight your way out of poverty.

You have to believe that God has given you the ability to attain greatness. He has given you gifts and talents for you to gain success.

Therefore, learn to believe that with the help of God you are capable of obtaining your goals in life.

For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. (Proverbs 3:26)

•  Develop our communities by becoming entrepreneurs and business people so that others will respect us.

A developed community will increase employment opportunities for the youths thus keeping them off the streets of idleness. Always remember that the devil finds work for idle hands to do.

• If we learn to be satisfied and reduced the thirst and greed for high-end goods, we will increase our potential of gaining wealth.

Every country must trade to develop economically. But, if your spending is more than your income you will remain in poverty. The same goes for each individual.

He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live. (Proverbs 15:27)

Message to the Black youths

Put away the guns, crime, and violence; get out of the drug house and house of prostitution; get off the streets of idleness and get yourself enrolled in a college or university.

The only way you will gain equality and respect is to get educated and acquire positions in high places of administration and legislation where you can influence and make laws that will uplift your race into success.

I have written to you, young men because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. (1 John 2:14)

Obey the words of the great Martin Luther King:

“In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again, and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” (King)

Marin Luther King had a dream over fifty years ago, but the dream still lives on and can only be fulfilled through Jesus Christ who brought liberty to all men irrespective of color or social and economic stance, through His redemptive work on Calvary.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (Galatians 5:1)

If we will only believe and receive.

According to the words of Martin Luther King,

“It is with this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” (King)

With this faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, freedom will not only ring in the USA but from every corner of this world where people are in bondage because of race, color, nationality, religion, social, economic and gender.

Who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners. (Psalms 146:7)

And above all freedom from the bondage of sin.

As we take care of our spiritual needs, we also need to be proactive and begin to improve ourselves in education, business and socially. Let us become practical and obey the following advised of Minister Louis Farrakhan at the million-man march:

Crowd at the million-man march in 1995. NBC NEWS

“Black man, you don’t have to bash White people, all we gotta do is go back home and turn our communities into productive places. All we gotta do is go back home and make our communities a decent and safe place to live. And if we start dotting the Black community with businesses, opening up factories, challenging ourselves to be better than we are, White folk, instead of driving by, using the “N” word, they’ll say, “Look, look at them. Oh, my God. They’re marvelous. They’re wonderful. We can’t, we can’t say they’re inferior anymore.”

But, every time we drive-by shoot, every time we carjack, every time we use foul, filthy language, every time we produce culturally degenerate films and tapes, putting a string in our women’s backside and parading them before the world, every time we do things like this we are feeding the degenerate mind of White supremacy, and I want us to stop feeding that mind and let that mind die a natural death.” (Farrakhan)

But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” (2 Chronicles 15:7)

Let Freedom Ring!

What other lessons can we learn from the leaders of the past?

References: Voices of Democracy; American Rhetoric; Wikipedia; Thekingcenter

Published by Beverley

Beverley has been serving the Lord since she was a child. At an early age, she recognized that God had a special plan for her life, but it was not until in her adulthood that she surrendered her total life to God and accepted the mandate that God placed on her life. The Lord called her into His Kingdom to be an encourager, intercessor, teacher, scribe, priest, and to proclaim the Word of God. Since then, Beverly has established a blog to teach us to become the oil and wine. The oil and wine are purified and mature products, which is the advanced level that the Lord expected of us. In 2017, Beverley published her first book, Harm Not The Oil And Wine. In it, she described her trials and how God helped her to overcome them, and to live more victoriously. The book also exposed the enemy of our souls with detailed information about his past defeats and future extinction. Wright spents most of her time studying the Bible to know the truth of God’s Word. She believes that only God’s truth can expose the deception of the enemy, and uproot and tear down spiritual strongholds. You can learn more about Beverley’s life and testimony on her website becomingtheoilandwine.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Google+ under the name of her blog, and on Twitter as @Theoilandwine. View all posts by Beverley