My name is tonia renee lee. For approximately two years now, God has taken me on a spiritual journey. I founded the OOBAU to attempt to finalize a dream of a man who believed near the end of his life in the dignity and worth of all human beings, Malcolm X. However, in my quest to be accepted like Malcolm X, I said some things in the heat of the moment that are not indicative of the way I truly feel as a person. Unlike Malcolm X, my spiritual awakening did not take place in Mecca, it took place in St. Louis, MO. There is an old adage:"BE TRUE TO YOURSELF." Like Malcolm X, I am happy that I arrived at this realization before I departed the realm in which we live. Too often we discount one another as Black people for not being "BLACK ENOUGH." This must and should end. For those trying to assimilate and fit in to a stereotype of what a Black person should be, don't. It will only lead to chaos and confusion in your life like it did for me, and like it did for the late great Malcolm. If we really want to achieve true diversity, then we must be tolerant to diverging points of view in our own Black community. We must clean up our own backyard first as the saying goes. My regrets and sincere apology goes out to all who may have been offended by some of my postings on iZania.com. I have learned to be myself as we all should be. My mother Claudine Brunt Lee is a wonderful lady. However, I credit a wonderful giant of a woman, a famed civil rights leader and attorney for aiding me to my rebirth as a human race thinker, she is none other than the Honorable Frankie Muse Freeman. My visit to St. Louis, was to attend an awards celebration for my cousin Ozell Epperson which I did attend.
However, I believe being a spiritual person that God had a different purpose for my visit. The trip to Frankie's house and the private conversation we had brought me back to a place of learning to accept and be myself. As I often invoke these words on izania, "ALL THINGS MUST BE DONE ACCORDING TO GOD'S PURPOSE." It was meant for me to visit St. Louis for the memorial day weekend. This important moment in the history of my life will always be remembered.
