The Spark

When I was a kid growing up in America's racially heated South during the Civil Rights Movement, life certainly wasn't a piece of cake, and back then you had to constantly watch what you said or who you looked at. People of color, such as myself, were made to feel "less than human" and were repeatedly told that we didn't deserve the same respectful treatment and service as others. Having these terrible negative attitudes drilled into our brains year after year, you may understand why myself and other people of color during this troublesome time period in America began to feel as though we actually were "too dumb" or "too insignificant" to achieve or accomplish anything.

But, when I heard the memorable mantra "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" from "The Little Engine That Could" during story time at my elementary school, it gave me the spark I needed to build my confidence and strength within myself as a little Black boy growing up in a harsh world that seem to be "too color-conscious." - Randolph Randy Camp

Randolph Randy Camp