Philadelphia

The city of brotherly love. I love Philly cheesesteak. I used to drive to South Philadelphia with my children to get the original Philly cheesesteak. But for some strange reason, I am not a big fan of Philadelphia because the disparity in income, neighborhoods, and socio-economic status, among other things, disappointed me greatly. Depending on which part of Philadelphia you were in, it would look either safe or terribly unsafe, or it could look rich or poor. Sometimes, it felt like there was no middle.

I was driving in an area of Philadelphia when I first moved to the city and chanced upon a long line of people. Simply out of curiosity, I parked my car, got out, walked to the next person in line, and asked what was going on. ‘What is this line for?’ I asked. ‘This is for the food bank,’ he responded. I was stunned. I was literally standing in the wealthiest nation humankind has ever known, and yet this line of citizens was waiting for a handout, not from the government but from a nonprofit. This experience set me on a different ministry path, and I will share it someday. 

Apart from the cheesesteak, one more thing I loved about Philadelphia is its history. Philadelphia is rich with history. Early American history finds great expression in the city, and walking by the Constitutional Center, Christ Church, Old Town, Reading Market, and that general area reminds you of the sacred, fearless, and bold steps that others have taken, risking their own lives to build the country and society that we have. 

So then, whether we live in the best part of town or the worse side of town, whether we are standing in line at a food bank waiting to pick groceries from the benevolence of others or screaming out orders for cheesesteak or whether we’re munching on some fine food at some private club in Philadelphia or anywhere across this country, we can feel proud to be Americans. Together, we have built a prosperous and free society. 

But this pride shouldn’t only be reflected in the extraordinary achievements of fellow Americans; the pride should also reflect the two sides of the American coin, the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the evil, and the joyous and sordid. We cannot hide our history under the pretense that history isn’t pleasant for some. 

History has never been about any one person or group. It isn't about you or me as individuals. This is the humble truth that others seem to miss. History is about the events of our common past, and as human as we are, our history would ever be all pleasant because we are not perfect. History is not about capturing the lives of perfect people. 

And if history isn’t about capturing the lives of perfect people, then each of us should dare to confront the diluting of history, the adulteration, and erasing of the history we believe to be unpleasant.

The fundamental question is, what has history got to do with you? History has nothing to do with you but everything to do with us. History informs us about what happened in the past, and we learn from its wisdom so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. In fact, history’s relevance lies solely in our appreciation of it, and again, that appreciation is not one-sided nor should it be. Any attempt to make it one-sided is spurious at best. 

That is the reason why I find the removal of the plaques depicting the lives of the enslaved of the first president so offensive. Did the president own slaves? Yes. Was it illegal at that time to own slaves? No. The president was not a victim of his circumstances, nor is he being mischaracterized. The historical unambiguous fact is that the man had enslaved Negros working for him, so why do we want to pretend that it didn’t happen? What is offensive about other people learning about the contradictions of the past? I don’t get it!! 

No one fools anyone by such false pretense. This act only highlights the dark intuitions of those who still believe that, as horrible as that part of our lives was, they wish they could have that back, control the Negro, or at least our children and children’s children should never learn about our history. But that isn’t going to happen. Not today, nor tomorrow. It will not happen. 

And the reason it will not happen is because of Philadelphia - there are those who believe in brotherly love. There are those who love themselves and each other so much so that learning about the evil we perpetrated on the other means we do not want to make the same mistakes again. We love each other to the point where our common history, as awful as it may be, projects a sense of beauty. 

And this beauty lies in the fact that it isn’t simply appreciated as a means to something else, nor is it an instrument for gaining advantage or superiority over another person. This beauty is understood and appreciated for the intrinsic value and meaning it holds for all people, not only for those who are descendants of the enslaved, but also for all people of goodwill who choose to carry the guilt of past errors. 

Those who choose to carry this guilt do so willingly. 

And the transformational value of guilt is that it leads to repentance and mending, not for the wrongs that you have done but for our collective wrongs. 

Our consolation is that people of goodwill believe in a mended world, and they work tirelessly to heal, reconcile, and mend. Not with a band-aid but with a heart dedicated to a harmonious society. 

As we celebrate Black History month, we are reminded of the many challenges that the African American have to contend with. Some of these challenges are long; they go way back to the time that the 8 enslaved worked for President Washington and beyond. Some also run deep, as in the case of Philadelphia, a city rich in history but also rich in the glaring socio-economic disparity in our country. 

Granted that, like me, Philadelphia or any other town or city may not be your favorite city for myriad reasons. But there may be one thing unique to that city or town that feels special to you. But even if there is nothing about that city or town that you like, remember the one thought that holds Philadelphia together: love.

And because of that love, we dare not water down, adulterate, or even attempt to erase its history because that history’s value is integral to our collective conscience. 

Manny+