My Ancestors Don’t Condone Me Being the ‘Bigger Person’

At least, not the way you define it.

At 3 AM, I let my ancestors speak through me and they told me to tell you the “bigger person” is a passive approach.

For years, my ancestors witnessed their brothers and sisters choose being the bigger person and it did nothing to evade them from being whipped and humiliated. So they took action and redefined what it meant to be a person who is big.

Wonder if remnants of the “bigger person” manifested in Bigger Thomas? That Native Son who became a product of his environment. Socioeconomic injustice is nothing new. In fact, it is the cornerstone of a land white folks call “America.” The pillagers of this land took the caste system, intertwined it with color, and called it race — but who really wins?

And while being the “bigger person” comes with a risk, my ancestors decided theirs would be a better life over captivity. Prepared to die for their bigger feats with their feet leading to them to freedom. And while others weren’t brave enough to be so big, those who stepped into those big shoes, yielded a glorious reward and greater loss.

You see, the way captors handled “bigger persons” was through shame and example. Their offspring are no different and neither is the mindset, though the methods appear to have more layers and intricacy. Truth is no matter if we stood up for ourselves or faltered in fear, the captors made a mockery of misaligned movements with their proverbial whip…