Letter #11 - Letter to Elijah.....July 22, 2013

My son, Elijah Frederick Douglass Meeks, I write this letter to you while your mother is in labor, which she began shortly after midnight, and you are yet to emerge in this world. Your family waits with great excitement. It is interesting that across the Atlantic Ocean, approximately at the same time that your mother began labor, a woman named Kate Middleton, who married into a British so-called royal family, also went into the early stages of child labor. The American media has been abuzz about the birth of this so-called royal baby for some time now. This so-called royal baby is a stark contrast to you. While you are born of working class parents, this so-called royal baby will be born to a life a wealth (accumulated from imperialism of the past). This is capital and this so-called royal baby will not be the only infant born into, but there are many more infants, such as you, that are born into working class families and have opportunity to advance individuals, collective communities, and even possibly contribute in a positive manner at the nation-state level. The world before is filled with unlimited possibilities (through education, discipline and strong ethics) and contributing to society and humanity in a positive manner makes the acquisition of personal wealth look like idle apathy and the greed of the royal families' ancestors, who raped foreign soils and committed genocide, appear truly naked for what it truly was. 

While this so-called royal baby will never want for anything and will certainly have a life of ease and leisure, you, my son, will emerge facing a harsh American society with little starting capital. Throughout your life you will hear the media speak on this so-called royal baby, from its youth to its marriage, and I hope you will come to understand the contrasting position of your births, and embrace and take pride in this contrast, and use this contrast as strength for your advancement and the advancement of the communities around you. You see, in this American society, there are so many social and economic traps awaiting young men such as yourself, and these identified traps I plan to educate you about and prepare you to overcome (either in person or in writing). You should realize from the earliest point possible that nothing will be given to you in this world and that you will have to grow strong physically, intellectually, and morally in order to earn resources and advance yourself…and one day your future family. Education, for your mind and not so much for material possessions, is paramount to fully developing into a true man and contributing to the human element to the best of your abilities.

You are probably wondering about your name. Your mother selected the name of Elijah, who was indeed a biblical prophet (which we will discuss in depth in the years to come), while I selected your middle name, Frederick Douglass. By the time you read this letter, I assume you will know who Frederick Douglass was. Douglass was born a slave in America and advanced himself not only to freedom, but to one of the highest political positions in the nation as an advisor to the American president, Lincoln, during the years leading to the Emancipation Proclamation (hand in hand with the Industrial Revolution, which is what really caused the American Civil War). The two points in the life of Frederick Douglass that most impacted my decision to name you after him were 1) Douglass self-educated himself. Despite the systematic society that prevented slaves to educate, Douglass managed to not only learn to read and write on his own, but to truly educate himself throughout his life. I can’t tell you how important that continuous intellectual development is to you and those you care about. The system of slavery attempted to keep knowledge from Douglass, but his hunger and drive for knowledge was undefeatable. Douglass once stated that an educated man was unfit to be a slave. As you grow up to understand the domestic and international political stage, you will come to see similarities between the social-economic era that Douglass advanced under and the system that you are being born into; A system that puts forth great exertion and effort to divert the attention of the American youth from educational and intellectual development. 

The second point that has always stayed with me about the life of Frederick Douglass was that during the early stages of adulthood and education, Douglass was sent to the plantation of a reputed slave breaker, Mr. Covey. One day while working in the barn, Mr. Covey struck Douglass and Douglass, a slave…remember, physically retaliated. The two men, slave breaker and slave, fought for an hour until both were bloody and battered. No other slaves came to help Mr. Covey’s cries. After that fight, Mr. Covey, the regionally reputed slave breaker, never laid a hand on Frederick Douglass again. The lesson here is not to be violent for senseless reasons (and you will earn the difference between meaningful and senseless through education and history), but to be physically strong for self-defense and the all-out defense of your family, especially your mother and sisters. We will certainly discuss this responsibility further in-depth. My daughters….never place your brother in a position under false pretenses or shallow-petty drama (I do not expect that you will because I will educate you both until my dying breath). As my son, Elijah is expected to give his life (if required) in defending both of you and the mother who created all of you (should an evil day ever come that truly requires self-defense and/or sacrifice). As the American Nathan Hale once said, “I only have one life to give”. Do not have him throw his away on foolishness or troubles caused by your own instigations. Take care of each other and protect each other.

Keep in mind that a name, is only a name. A name does not make a man or woman. It is the man or woman that make the name.

It is now 3:22 am and time for your sisters and me to head back to the hospital to meet you for the first time. God is indeed Beneficent and Merciful.