A great poet once said, “That word love is very, very serious, and if you don’t watch out, it’s gonna getcha.”
In 1958, eighteen year old Mildred Loving, a black woman, professed her love to Richard Loving, by becoming his wife, happens every day, right? Well, there’s one minor detail I didn’t mention. Mr. Richard Loving was a white man and in 1958, interracial marriages were illegal in the state of Virginia. Real talk.
The state of Virginia rewarded the “Loving union” by banning the happy newlyweds from the commonwealth state. Now unless you’ve been asleep in a block of ice for the last 50 years, you know that the Lovings endured hordes of potentially violent situations founded on the ignorance of racism. Feel me?
Personally, I’ve known love on several different levels. I’ve literally given my life to the faces of death, in the name of love. “If you don’t watch out, it’s gonna getcha.” Ya heard?
I may not be what I should’ve been, but my people love me for who I am. The love they’ve shown me is contagious. “And, if you don’t watch out, it’s gonna getcha.” That’s what’s up!
One,
MannofStat
Copyright © 2010 by Leroy Mann
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