The Words Every Man Is Waiting to Hear

At my family reunion last weekend, one of my 84-year-old relatives, an uncle figure, looked at me as we were preparing to leave and said, “I am proud of you.”

Those words registered in my ears, and I felt them run down my spine. It felt like a shot of adrenaline straight to my soul. Four days later, they are still playing on a loop in my mind. They have echoed in me every day since. I cannot stop thinking about them.

I have been trying to understand why. Why were those four words so life-giving?

I know that those words are powerful when spoken by someone we love and respect, but I am wondering why this moment felt different. I think it has a great deal to do with my family’s history. The Bradleys were enslaved. The Bradleys had to survive Jim Crow. It’s an unbelievable story of resilience.

To really understand why those words hit me so hard you have to understand achievement has meant in my family and for black GenXers.