Ms. Genisha Wallace

So on December 17, C.O.OL. Kids had an amazing holiday party for 100+ children.  It was an exhausting day but the kids were happy and smiling and the adults were just happy to have made it through the day. But this post is more about the brunch afterwards.  


During the brunch, some speeches were made that honestly brought real tears to the table.  There were three very important things that were discussed.  


First, there is a sense of honor in being around Genisha Wallace as she is the founder of C.O.O.L. Kids, a new mother, a spouse, a woman of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., a member of her church, a grad student, a daughter and a friend.  To have friends that do the impossible by showing others how impossible can be done is INSPIRING.  We sometimes forget that we have grown up with each other, first meeting on campus through mutual friends when we were still wearing jeans and Jordans.  Now we have become separate entities chasing a dream yet still holding each other close to accomplish those same dream.  I say it all the time, there is no school like Temple University.  Our alum goes hard.  It is truly a blessing to share the abundance of our own personal successes with each other.  It is reassuring to know that if nobody else shows up, WE WILL from all over the east coast.  We support one another.  This is Genisha's dream but it is our legacy and we will stand behind her like others have stood behind, as well as before us to make sure that she is recognized and appreciated for her work.


The second thing that must not ever be dismissed, forgotten or overshadowed no matter where we end up is the children that will complete our legacy.  It is a political truth that black children are not valued in this world.  They are rarely nurtured, educated, fed, clothed, loved and appreciated in a land their ancestors built on their backs.  The system is designed for them to fail.  I didn't learn this until I went to college, where I read books, essays, studies about policies and laws that created unfair advantages for others and almost impossible roadblocks for black children.  Though I lived in America, I wasn't an active participant [being West Indian and all, flying back and forth, I didn't know any Black American children and therefore I did not know their struggle] but their struggle is real.  It is up to us, Black men and women who have found a way around those policies to look back and bring those children with us.  We must bring our children through a modern day Underground Railroad.  We have to bring them to their own freedom.  Genisha is very passionate about disassembling the trajectory designed for our children to fail, she is concerned if the children we played with ate today, if they had a place to sleep that was warm, if that was the only toy they received for Christmas.  She is humble enough to admit that she doesn't know the way to victory, but she will make one if that's what it takes.


The last thing discussed represents a very important phase that most of us are going through at this age.  Finding a partner that loves, supports and believes in you and your dreams is rarely ever discussed.  Most of the time, our social media debates discuss cuffing, lonely tweets, basic men & women, Concords and bitter endings to once happy relationships.  But the reality is that a loving partner probably won't have their life set up entirely by the time they meet you and then marry you to complete your happy ending.  We're all struggling!  The beauty in relationships that are happening at this age is the conscious decision to GROW TOGETHER, to put your pieces and their pieces together and MAKE A LIFE instead of just waiting to complement an already pretty picture.  To find a partner that takes on an active role in your dreams, that speaks to you with compassion and faith, to hold you when you're busing holding everyone else up -- that is the meaning of partnership.  To watch two people build a life, a beautiful little girl and a legacy together is wonderful.  I urge all of you to find a person that dedicates him/herself to making you a better one.  Find someone that challenges you, that pushes you to the edge but never pushes you over.  Find someone that believes that you can do anything by always doing something to help you get there.  Find someone that not only believes in love, but lives their life loving you.


With admiration, grace and promise, I present to you, the people who have changed my life, inspired change, and acknowledged their purpose in this world.


Graduates of Temple University.  I love you.