Telling Her Story

Dr. Mary Marshall

We’ve been experiencing an all assault on DEI and it’s infuriating. My lived experience as an African American veteran informs my understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I always specify my veteran status because there are a lot of people in this country who seem to want to erase African American history and our contributions to this country especially our military service.

We are living in such tumultuous times it can feel very demoralizing, overwhelming, and downright exhausting. Today is filled with emotion for me; it’s my mother's heavenly birthday, the third day of Black History Month, and we’re about two weeks into a new autocratic governing regime. I know protecting my sense of peace and well-being is vital.

We can see the running theme of this administration it to eradicate DEI and wokeness. Both have been politicized; while one “wokeness” is not a thing at all but a straw boogeyman constructed to serve white supremacy. I hate how it has been incorporated into the lexicon especially by mainstream media to describe progressive ideals. When in truth, wokeness is a state of being, a way of living that African Americans in this country have used simply to survive. It’s insulting and meant to demoralize. We’ve been here before.

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
― Maya Angelou

I was born during the civil rights movement, in a state that is home to many iconic civil rights leaders and historic events. My life and interests have been shaped by it. I've been pondering how we counter this narrative and how we continue the work, to achieve the aims of diversity, equity and inclusion in our society. One solution is to continue to amplify our history. Others like my friend, Dr. Mary Marshall, do the hard tedious work of collecting and preserving it. I have had the pleasure of getting to know her and learning about her rich family legacy that includes many historic figures such as Lucy Laney, Booker T. Washington and W.E. DuBois.

Dr. Marshall sat down with me for an interview recently to celebrate Black History Month. We talked about her journey to archiving her family history and the significance of preserving it. While it is not the first time we’ve talked about it, I gain new insights about her and our African American culture with each conversation. She is like a living library and libraries have always held a sense of reverence for me because knowledge is power.

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world" ~Nelson Mandela

The assault on education and initiatives like DEI are a standard cyclic response to black people gaining wealth or power. It’s the standard “whitelash” we’ve come to expect as far back as the civil war. It starts with revisionist history and moves on to violent activities to destroy or diminish the gains and accomplishments that were made. American history is rife with examples where this has happened time and again.

Only when lions have historians, will hunters cease being heroes ~African Proverb

We will not allow our history or our contributions to this nation to be erased. Black and indigenous history is American History. I am eternally grateful to people like Dr. Marshall who do the extraordinarily important work to research and preserve our history. Let’s do all we can to assist and amplify it because it requires a collective effort. It is only in laying bare the truth that we can begin to heal and become the exceptional country we imagine ourselves to be. I hope you will join in the effort. You can start by listening to and sharing this great interview with Dr. Mary M. Marshall.