Aggie Pride

June 17th, 2018

Aggie Pride

“Aggie Pride.”  These two words can be found on every bench at the historically black college we visited today, North Carolina A&T.  This college was home to the four students who staged the Greensboro lunch counter sit ins of 1960.  These four students are the epitome of Aggie Pride and Pride in general.  Looking at this bench, I took a moment to reflect on myself and realized that there are times when I cannot find pride.  I have been raised with the privileges of being a white, able-bodied, middle class, educated male.  I have received encouragement and words of support my entire life; on only a few instances have I been discouraged or torn down.  Yet, there are times when I am unable to summon self-pride.  On the other hand, the organizers of the Greensboro sit ins suffered a lifetime of oppression and were wrongfully told that they were intrinsically less.  Degradation didn’t get these four college-aged men down, they maintained their self-worth and had pride, committing courageous acts trying to escape the strangling hands of segregation.  The civil rights movement is based on this sort of exemplary pride and I am in awe of the wonderful dignity civil rights era African Americans held regarding themselves, the culture they grew up on, and the capabilities they possessed.  All of this and more led to the gaining of some equality, and the pride was certainly warranted.  Going forward I hope that current change seekers are proud of themselves and their causes and I pray that I am proud enough of myself to be courageous and walk by their sides.  I cannot have Aggie Pride or Black Pride.  I am not a minority and I cannot fully understand the struggles that past and present oppressed groups face, but I ask that God would allow me more opportunities like this trip to learn and to listen.

 


One Response to “Aggie Pride”

  1. a on July 26, 2021 23:08

    a

    Aggie Pride at 2021 Civil Rights Tour

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