Success story without affirmative action

LA Times article starting off Black History Month is a whopper of a true story showing that freedom, opportunity, and hard work are much better than a hand out or government support.

Biddy Mason was born a slave in 1818 somewhere in the South, her owner moved a few times before settling in FREE Southern California. In 1855 she was freed to begin her life in Los Angeles where by 1891 when she died as one of the richest women in Southern California.

Read the article from the link above and rejoice in knowing that Bill Cosby is preaching the right message.

Value of Responsibility

Daniel Flanagan is an American hero not because he is a celebrity, athlete, politician, or business mogul. He was a average high school dropout and as he termed it "looser." That is until in his early twenties, he became a father, looked himself in the mirror and decided to improve his life for his son's sake. Daniel was courageous enough to examine his life and pull himself up by his "boot straps." It would have been easy in today's society to shirk his responsibility but Daniel recognized his families needs and did hard things along the less traveled path. Read or listen to Daniel's essay about his transformation in NPR's This I Believe segment "The Choice To Do It Over Again"

Breaking Ground

Jackie Robinson may be best known for his ground braking efforts on the baseball field but it is not his athletic skills that makes him an American Hero. He is a hero because of his approach to life's difficulties and his ability to leverage his successes to help others.