06/02/2020
๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ & ๐๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ: ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ โฃโฃโฃ
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When I found out my grandfather had passed last week, I couldnโt stop thinking about the words he said to me often...โฃโฃโฃ
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He said that when he dies, if he ever gets a chance to come back, he would never come back as a black man.โฃโฃโฃ
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Not because he hated his beautiful melanated skin, but because of the way society treated him as a result of it. โฃโฃโฃ
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He had been held at gun point, prevented from moving in to certain neighborhoods, and told that he would never amount to anything.โฃโฃโฃ
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My grandfather proved them wrong, and went on to achieve his PhD in organic chemistry. He was a key player in breaking the cycle of generational poverty due to racism.โฃโฃโฃ
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My grandfather was brilliant and devoted to his family. I think back to how he use to *try* teach me calculus at the age of 7 (math is not my strong suit) and have me memorize the names of various chemical compounds he had synthesized in his work.โฃโฃโฃ
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He set a new bar for all of us to strive for, and for that, I am eternally thankful.โฃโฃโฃ
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My grandfather was a good man. He was not always the softest or gentlest in his approach, but who could blame him? I can only imagine the internal scars and magnitude of trauma he had personally experienced in his 93 years as a black man on this planet.โฃโฃโฃ
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My grandfather loved his family fiercely. Iโm heart broken by his death, and the current state of the world only amplifies that, as I know how directly he was impacted. โฃโฃโฃ
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Despite this, I gain solace in knowing that he is finally at peace, and with my grandmother - his wife of almost 70 years.โฃโฃโฃ
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I had originally ended this tribute with โRest in Peaceโ, but realized that there really is no peace until justice is rightfully served for my people.
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So,โฃโฃโฃ
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Rest in Power, Grandpaโ๐ฝ๐ค