Black History Month

I saw the sunrise over the trees on the South Creek Greenway this morning. Yes, I was running from Sunshine to Golden again.

It was a beautiful morning to run an errand. And I do mean to run an errand. It was a 13 mile run. My travels took me out just west of Golden on Battlefield.

Battlefield. Doesn't that put hymns in your head?

"I am on the battlefield for my Lord."

Or how about this one:

My mother,
She was a soldier,
She had her hand on the gospel plow.
But one day she got old,
she couldn't fight anymore
She said I'll stand here
and fight anyhow.

And then there's the chorus:
We are soldiers in God's army.
We have to fight although we have to die
We have to hold up the blood-stained banner,
We have to hold it up until we die.

I remember hearing that song a lot in church when I was younger. Why don't they sing the old songs like they used to. It's all got to be the new stuff, the hip stuff, the stuff that sounds like it was ripped off a rap album.

Anyway, one of the things that song puts in my mind is just black history and everything that my people had to go through. So as I was finishing up my run today, I remembered that this is the first day of black history month. I told myself to run harder. My forefathers and foremothers had to struggle so much. And I was taking it way too easy. So I ran a little bit faster. I don't know if I'll be sore tomorrow. But if I am, it won't be anything like what black people experienced in this country just one or two generations ago.