THANK YOU SYSCO FOODS FOR MAKING FLORA MICHELLE STRONGER 30 YEARS AGO!
Black History month made me think of incidents, stories that I saw and heard first hand. I spent what was supposed to be the best 8 years of my life trying to convince everyone around us that were planning her funeral to keep the Faith. What I witnessed over those 8 years was the Strongest Woman I have ever known. Diagnosed with Aggressive Systemic Mastocytosis In February 2012, a rare blood cancer triggered by exposure to mold. It was considered an Ophan disease and had no Cure. I waited to tell her she only had 6 months to live because hearing you have Cancer is enough to make most people give up.
What makes one person strong and another person week. In Flora's case you have to know the unprivileged life of growing up as a Black Woman in America. She graduated in 1988 from Dillard High School and spent one year on Scholarship to Alcorn State. She decided she missed home and and started working some office jobs through a Temp agency in Fort Lauderdale. She needed to save money to finish College. She received stellar reviews from her Temp assignments and then a Full time position became available. She was interviewed over the phone by a woman who offered her a position in their office. It was the position she was waiting for with a benefits package that she needed. She had the weekend to prepare and went out shopping for some Buisness Attire. She showed up at the job Briefcase in hand so excited to be starting her first real job. Entering the building she was asked what she needed. She stated that she was starting work. The woman asked her if she was sure about being hired and who she was hired by? She told who the women was who hired her and was told to wait. After a few minutes a woman came out and looked at her strange. She said, "Your Flora, you don't look like you sounded on the phone". What would you say if someone just told you , "you don't look like you sound"??? I can tell you that would never been told to a white woman showing up to start her first day of work. So if you haven't figured it out yet she was hired by SYSCO of Fort Lauderdale and after she was told that, "She didn't sound like she looked", she was told to wait in a room. After an hour someone came in and told her the job was no longer available. I repeat the words she was told as it is shocking to me this is what it was like for Millions in America. This is not an isolated incident. This is a part of what it is like growing up in America for Flora. I can't for speak for anyone else but I feel that Black Lives Matter is not just about some bad Law Inforcement. It's much deeper than that. All the stories of Systemic Racism need to be told so maybe we can begin to understand what it is like growing up a Person Of Color in America. More importantly real change needs to happen. I realize that SYSCO may have moved to a better place in hiring practices but an overdue apology would be a nice gesture. This incident could break a person but it was preparing Flora for what was to come. She survived this bout with obvious Racism but unfortunately in America it doesn't stop. It's only going to stop when we all admit that the problems of Racism are still here and we all work to fix them. The News and Media make it look like the only problem People of Color face in America are some Poorly trained Law Enforcment. Hopefully sometime soon the Truth can be told.
This is part of a Book coming out in the Fall, "Hate, Hell and Heavenly Grace! A Caregivers Journey ". I will be posting excerpts of some key moments of the Journey. Despite the Systemic Racism, Flora got her Bachelor's Degree and added two Masters Degrees to that. One thing you will learn about Flora Is that she is a Woman of Faith and that Faith helped her through the Hate and Hell that Racism causes.