My sister learned that she matched at Saint Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City on Friday, March 21, 2025. After pretty much a quarter century of education, with a particularly rigorous four years of studying osteopathic medicine, her hard-earned result reflected her first choice.
This beautiful moment marked the conclusion of this year’s brief, yet reflective spring break. Earlier in the week, my mother, niece, and I took a road trip to Tallulah, Louisiana to visit my youngest aunt, Joy. As the full journey drew to an end on Sunday, and I drove from Oklahoma to Texas, I spoke with my 86-year-old grandaunt Ernestine for three hours.
In a piece that I wrote nearly a decade ago, I marveled at the astounding power of women. The women of my family figured prominently in my mind as I penned the short essay in 2015. After this past week, I fully recalled how the inspiration found me.
In their own ways, these young and old Black women in my genealogy offer a powerful reflection of the power of a deep abiding faith. With a specific nod to my sister, I know the obstacles she faced to achieve such a monumental accomplishment. In a longer piece, at some point in the future, I will reflect on how the period from 2009 to 2012 presented its own unique & all-consuming test for my family - one not dissimilar from the one faced by Job. As we faced a depleting set of upheavals during that epoch, my parents, sister, and I embarked upon the road of steadily rebuilding.
My parents established ACTS Community Baptist Church, my sister went deeper into her studies, and my family navigated the peaks & valleys of life. Death came for the old & the young, graduations commemorated the beginning of new chapters, longstanding conflicts spilled out into public forums, opportunities carried people both closer and further than where they expected to go, and we persevered through it all. Where the forces of capitalism and American individualism sought to destroy, our communities of faith and care sustained and strengthened us.
The ending, which is a beginning onto itself, is powerful. A Black woman physician joins a hospital focused on expanding health care to those who have been historically shut out from this necessary, life-giving resource. Her daughter beams proudly at her, recognizing the great possibilities of her own life through her mother. Her parents proudly embrace her, her extended family acknowledges the diligence that such an achievement requires, and her community of faith uplifts songs of praise.
In my sister, I see my aunts - who raised Black families across centuries in America. In my aunts, I behold my grandmother - who worked her way from sharecropping to teaching across the decades. In my grandmother, I fix my countenance upon my niece - whose attentive compassion guides us to moments of great happiness in 2025. In my niece, I greet my mother - whose steady hand never wavered. As she believes in us, we soar - even as we encounter the turbulence that anyone will face in an individual life.
In the unexpected, nourishing conversation with my grandaunt that I mentioned earlier, I honed in on this timeless occurrence. Black people - through times of slavery, segregation, mass incarceration, and austerity in the United States- reinforce among ourselves that we do not have to bear our burdens alone. Through faith, encouragement, and candor, we carry each other from mourning to rejoicing. It happens in a phone conversation, on a car ride, during a church service, and through hours of intentional dialogue - person-to-person.
Like hope, it grows and takes on a life of its own. My grandaunt spoke of her recent efforts to minister to her neighbor, with a nod to the barriers she encounters. Her neighbor expresses to her that she’s made so many mistakes in her life - why should she be deserving of such redeeming grace? This relatable inquiry resonates. On this road to a week of great significance, stumbles occurred, dreams got deferred, and plans shifted to unrecognizable versions of themselves. In the end, we saw it through - taking on the good times & the difficult ones - and reaped the bounty. Every disinherited person deserves such an arc.
For a five-day spring break, I am impressed; this timeless wisdom settled deep into my soul & renewed my zeal.
