A New Frontier

Hello family. As this week has progressed, I am reminded of how far we have truly come as a nation. My father was the first man in my family to dawn a suit and attempt to go downtown and carve a place in a contemptuous white environment. For those of you who don’t know, prior to the 1970’s black people could not participate, in a meaningful way, in urban economic and business industries, which were located in the center of major cities across this country. We have grown to refer to this place as “Downtown.” As a result of the Human Rights (Civil Rights) movements of the 50’s and 60’s, black people gained new access to parts of American life that were previously forbidden. Given my father’s life experience through the fifties and sixties, when the level of overt racism was experienced daily, it’s amazing me that he was really the first generation of black American men to march toward this unknown frontier. To think of the amount of courage and fortitude it took to face his oppressors for the first time in a downtown office environment and compete. Of course, he did not compete on a level playing field, but he was not discouraged and no less up to the challenge. He is indeed my Jackie Robinson.

As a young boy, I watched my father rise daily and put on a neatly press suit and tie, grab his leather brief case and head out the door for long day of work. On occasion, my brother and I would even get to go to his office downtown with him. I watched my father interact with white people in that setting and I remember feeling very peculiar for a few reasons. Firstly, up to that point I had not been around white people much at all and certainly not in an office setting. It was just different. Secondly, my father spoke in this strange vernacular that I had not heard before. It was English, I thought, but why is he saying his words like that? This was emblematic of the great dichotomy of the black man in America. My father was naturally one way at home, but developed another aspect of himself, needed to achieve success in the business world downtown.

You might be asking, how is this relevant to the Democratic National Convention? It’s relevant because there could have been no such thing as a Barack Obama without a Thomas W. Rich, Jr. You see, success for my father was not the corner office with the skyline view, or an appointment to the Board of some big corporation, but rather, that his son could go to the Democratic National Convention, with a nappy head in all (Locks), and play the game on a more equal playing field. It is through the efforts of the Thomas Rich’s of America, that Kwame Baraka Rich can sit next to world leaders and feel as powerful as them but more importantly, nominate a Black Man as president of the United States of America. There are a lot of Thomas W. Rich Jr's here representing Maryland at the DNC. I pay homage to all of the Thomas W. Rich, Jr.’s of the world. I love you dad!