I am an angry black man.
(This one’s for me)
This is the guilty secret that I’m been afraid people will find out.
This is the secret that I’ve been afraid of ejecting me from being an accepted Outlier to a rejected Outcast.
This is the secret that informs my actions as an entreprenuer and a leader.
This is the secret that I have to make public now, so that I can be free of the burden and energetic drain it takes to hide it from others.
For what’s coming next, I need to allow myself to step into that which has been uncomfortable and frankly unsafe for me in the past.
And now trust that I have built the tools to navigate the wilderness of the frontier of change.
This one’s for me.
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I published this in June 2020 to express and share my lived experience as a black man and the fears I had around being labeled as a black man as well. Sharing it publicly is a part of my process – In owning and declaring the things I felt most vulnerable about, I removed the power it had over me.
I share it now because many people have reached out to tell me personally how it has impacted them. A part of me wants to bury this in the corner of the internet. The other part of me, the part that longs to be free , knows that it has already served its purpose for me. Now, I share it in case it’s of service to you.
I welcome a conversation about this at any time. You can reach out to me directly (niiamah@niiamahashong.com) .
Are you looking to share your story with the world unapologetically and constructively? Join our Trailblazer Tribe, so we can support you with all that comes along with being the leader who does.
https://niiamahashong.com/tribe
I also organize experiences for my community of socially and globally concious leaders who are stepping up to shape the next era of humanity by taking on the complex problems of the world.
