Essay excerpt from Ruby Dee

There comes a point when you discover what love really is. You don't know it beforehand, but eventually, you arrive at a point when you can say to the other person in your life, “I want you to be the best person you can be. What is it that fulfills you as a human being? Why are you on this earth?”  You have to go through resentment, feelings of neglect and jealousy, and all sorts of other emotions before you're free, before you can let somebody go toward their fulfillment.  Once you're able to let go and not feel helpless and abandoned, you rejoice in the fact that they are on the road they need to be on.  I think that’s the beginning of love.   The letting go allows you to rejoice in somebody else's glory and fulfillment.  You learn to do that, and it becomes as important as your own fulfillment.  So marriage becomes a process, rather than an accomplishment or a fact.  It goes on and on.  You keep on getting married. Read more…  

OTHER ESSAY EXCERPTS
1. The Family Must Stand – The Honorable Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI)
22. Soul Survivor – Isaac Hayes
25. Bridging the Divide – Otis Moss
29. Love, Marriage, and Struggle (from With Ossie & Ruby: OTLT) – Ruby Dee
39. Actionable Pride – Cathy Hughes
53. Something Extraordinary, Something Unique: It’s Up to You – Thurbert Baker
54. The Psychology of Beauty – Beverly Johnson