Embracing Our Collective Strength: A New Year’s Message

As we stand at the threshold of the old giving way to the new, we are reminded of the power of reflection and the promise of renewal. The past year has brought us challenges that have tested our resolve, and victories that lifted our spirits along with the lessons that deepen our understanding. Now, as we step into a new year, let us rededicate ourselves to growth, coming together, and the great potential that lies within our individual and collective selves.

The African saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” For indeed, it is not just individual inputs that make us strong, but the unity of all. We are stronger when we lift each other up, when we share our resources, and when we stand together against life’s obstacles.

So let this year be one of deliberate action:

1. Build Bridges, Not Walls: Make it a point this coming year to look out for community members with whom you can connect. Collaboration amplifies impact, and unity creates resilience.

2. Let Us Celebrate Our Diversity: Our Black community is a tapestry of cultures, languages, and experiences. Every thread brings added value to the whole. Celebrate this diversity and recognize it as a source of strength.

3. Adopt a Positive Mindset: As Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Let hope stay alive and let positivity light the way even when the chips are down.

In the pursuit of excellence, nurture a spirit of generosity. So pour into others, especially the next generation, for as we lift them up, we fortify our future. Dr. Maya Angelou said, “When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”

As we step into this new chapter, let us hold dear the dreams of our ancestors, embrace the resilience of our present, and nurture the hopes of our future. Together, we can make this year a beacon of progress, a testimony to our unity, and a celebration of our boundless potential.

May 2025 be the year of bold steps, stronger connections, and unshakeable determination. The best is yet to come, and it starts with us.

United in hope and love,
Your Chief Servant,
Hector Addison

BLACK LOVE – A LOVE LIKE NO OTHER

“There has been this unbroken history of struggle for liberation for hundreds of years, but Black people managed to create beauty and love in the very process of fighting this system.” — Angela Davis

What is Black Love?

This wide-reaching term can refer to love shared among the Black community through movements that demand equity for Black people, the fight for liberation, and the celebration of concepts like Black unity and Black strength. Unrelenting, fearless, and foundational to the Black freedom struggle, Black love is based on anti-racism, collective organizing, and a commitment to freedom and democracy. As Cornel West explains, “Black love has nothing to do whatsoever with hating others. It has everything to do with hating white supremacy, everything to do with hating evil deeds, everything to do with hating the impediments of Black dignity and Black decency. But it’s always for. It’s not simply against. It’s not simply anti. Black love is not just anti-racist. No… it’s for the people you love and those who sometimes you think you oppose.” It’s a love, he says, that seeks “liberty for everybody.”

Love is such a powerful word. It has spiritual meaning. It means far more than what we say. It’s from the heart. It’s deeper than the words ‘I LOVE YOU.’ Black love has produced many freedom fighters who helped made our way a little straight. It is love that elevates a community rather than individuals. It is not selfish. The foundation of ACAO is situated on Black love. Since its formation, ACAO has always been about community and community welfare. We knew very early that we rise or sink together. Today, I salute all those who have contributed their time, effort, and love to help ACAO serve the community with love. 2021 was undoubtedly a difficult year. In many ways, it was the continuation of 2020 that saw us trapped under the armpits of two serious pandemics – rise of anti-Black racism and COVID-19 pandemic that decimated our community. As we celebrate the end of 2021 and usher in 2022, let’s be mindful that the fight for black liberation continues. The pandemics still rages on including the fight for a more equitable and better Canada. That is why we need more freedom fighters.

The Job Ad: Freedom Fighters Wanted! The reward is unknown. Would you answer the call?

The fight for justice, equity, fairer society continues. In other words, the struggle continues here at home and abroad. We need freedom fighters to put their shoulders to the wheel – it helps move the wagon farther down the track. Don’t be a bystander or spectator. Let’s all help liberate our community. Let’s start from where we are. Where we have influence – your place of work, place of worship, everywhere. It’s in our DNA. We are a resilient people created for such a time as this to make a difference. We can do it, but we need to work with a common goal. We do not have to agree on the way to achieve it but that is okay. There are several ways we can take but the destination must be the same. We are black but not monolithic. We have different cultures, experiences, and upbringing. We do not expect to be unison in our approach to build a more just society. For example, our famous three black intellectuals like, W.E.B Du Bois, and Booker T Washington, and Ida B. Wells never agreed on the how’s. They were vocal about their disagreement, but they agreed on what the fight was all about.

The same could be said of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. The ‘what’ we fight and the ‘why’ we fight are important than the ‘how’ we fight. In 2022, express black love by becoming a freedom fighter. Join the fight in your own small way. If everyone pitches in, the aggregate of our individual efforts will produce a powerful collective force capable of shaping the next decade for the benefit of black people here in Canada and elsewhere.

Let’s love one another even as we fight the system that has oppressed us for hundreds of years. Let’s teach Black love to our children, our youth, our friends, and community. Black love will help save our community from internal destruction. Black love eschews evil. It will put an end to senseless homicides that characterized our community in 2021. Let’s collectively teach our youth this black love. It’s the sure way to save the lives of our youth. Let this be your charge for 2022. Do your part to save our people and to lift the community up. Would you answer to the call?

As you reflect on the call, I leave you with this hymnal – A Charge to Keep I Have:

 

1 A charge to keep I have,

A God to glorify,

A never-dying soul to save,

And fit it for the sky.

2 To serve the present age,

My calling to fulfill;

Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage

To do my Master’s will!

3 Arm me with watchful care

As in Thy sight to live,

And now Thy servant, Lord, prepare

A strict account to give!

4 Help me to watch and pray,

And still on Thee rely,

Oh, let me not my trust betray,

But press to realms on high.

 

Black love has nothing to do with hating others…. [it’s a love seeking] liberty for everybody. – Cornel West

 

Happy New Year!

Your Chief Servant,

Hector Addison