By Dr. RB
President and CEO at THEACADEMY365
A Brutal Legacy
Take a moment. Really look. What you see isn’t just an image frozen in time—it’s a brutal reality that once was, and still echoes in the world we navigate today. This is not just history; it is the lived experience of Black and Brown people whose bodies were treated as mere cargo. This is the painful legacy of a system that was built upon their labor, their suffering, and their lives.
Refusing to Move On
I am the child of Haitian immigrants. I exist today because of the unyielding strength and resilience of my Haitian ancestors, who fought against the brutal system of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Haiti’s history is one of unimaginable suffering, but also one of resistance. It is the only nation to have successfully overthrown slavery and colonialism through revolution. My ancestors, like so many others, endured unspeakable violence and oppression, yet they resisted, and they survived. Despite these unimaginable efforts to erase their humanity, they persevered. And yet, even now, we are told to “move on.” We are told to stop bringing up the past, to “just work harder” in a world that was never built for Black and Brown people to succeed. But we cannot forget the past—because it is woven into every aspect of our present. The legacy of slavery and its aftermath still shapes the struggles that Haitian Americans and other Black communities face today.
But I refuse to move on. I will never stop speaking the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it makes others. If this image disturbs you—good. It should. Because the horror of this reality doesn’t just reside in the past; it’s embedded in every corner of our society today. From the inequalities we see in schools, healthcare, and housing to the denial of justice in courtrooms, the remnants of this brutal history still shape our world.
Honoring the Past
To honor the past is not to look away from it. It’s to confront it head-on, with the discomfort it brings, and to learn from it. It’s about reckoning with the fact that the foundation of American wealth was not built on equal opportunity but on forced, stolen labor and systemic exclusion of Black and Brown people from the benefits of that wealth. That’s not a theory—it’s an irrefutable fact.
The Evolution of Oppression
The systems of oppression didn’t end with slavery. They evolved. From redlining to Jim Crow to modern-day hiring discrimination, Black and Brown people have been systematically excluded from building generational wealth. This isn’t ancient history. It is the history that still governs how we experience the world today.
The Truth About DEI
So when we talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), it isn’t some passing trend or a luxury for a "woke" few. It is a necessary reckoning. DEI is about addressing centuries of deliberate exclusion. It is about dismantling the power structures that perpetuate inequality and ensuring that the leadership of our institutions reflects the diversity of the people it serves. It’s about giving everyone—not just the privileged few—the opportunity to thrive.
The Backlash Against Progress
But now, in 2025, we are seeing a rollback of DEI initiatives. The federal government is backing away from policies designed to rectify inequities. Corporations, too, are quietly retracting the promises they made in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, treating equity as a fleeting trend rather than a cornerstone of an ethical society. The message? That justice, fairness, and inclusion are dispensable in the name of comfort and profit.
DEI: Not a Luxury, But a Necessity
Let me be clear: DEI isn’t about giving anyone “special treatment.” It’s about righting the wrongs of a system that has been rigged from the start. It’s about ensuring that the next generation won’t have to fight the same battles just to be seen, heard, and valued. DEI is evolving—whether we like it or not—and the question now is: Are you evolving with it?
The Responsibility to Act
If you are benefiting from a system that was built on the backs of those who had no choice, ask yourself what you are doing to help dismantle it. The past is not some distant memory. It’s here. It’s present. And how we choose to respond will determine the kind of future we build.
Black History today, tomorrow. Black History FOREVER.
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