MICHAEL FERGUSON II: We as a people must ‘make a way’

This is being redrafted after the Super Bowl LIX halftime show that featured Kendrick Lamar. The reason that is significant is that the performance served as a muse for this correspondence.

Lamar said that his performance was bigger than rap. It spoke to the culture. I daresay this article is bigger than an election; it’s about community and what is important to us.

There is an old proverb in the African American community that states, “Find a way; or make a way.”

In this rich tradition, social media influencers Grouchy Seay and Denita Boone meet the challenge and livestream content and share it with the Albany community via Facebook and other social media platforms. This ingenuity leads me back to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance.

Many of the 100 million viewers never heard of Compton, let alone Lamar nor his socially conscious content and the metaphors of his lyrics. His performance could have been compared to the hidden messages in drums and Negro spirituals that guided many of his ancestors to the North Star or a safehouse along the Underground Railroad.

I am quite certain that many viewers didn’t find these events of public interest, but the message was spread nonetheless.

Uncle Sam, portrayed by the iconic actor Samuel Jackson, represented the proverbial “Crossroads.” Do you know how to play the game? If so, at what cost? What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? Everyone must work this conundrum out, even with accompanying fear and trembling.

As we navigate 2025, we face the harsh realities that there is a segment of America that will never understand black people, nor value us and our history. We must do as we have always done: Make a way.

Local politics is going to dictate a governmental body that you can see the impact of in your community. Be wise in your selection. During our history, we have been betrayed by our own that seek to profit off the back of the masses; without the community at heart.

This year everything done in the dark is coming to the light. By any means necessary.

Early voting has begun at the Candy Room for Ward VI. And we will soon begin preparing for the special election in Ward II that was recently vacated due to Jalen Johnson’s resignation.

My mood is ”Wade in the Water,” a Negro spiritual performed by our “unsung heroes.”