Dear Woodlawn Family,

March is Women's History Month. It is also the month we at Woodlawn have set aside to reflect on the virtue of <em>Reciprocity</em>. We will make special efforts to celebrate ALL women - our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and sisters. Why should we celebrate all women? Think about all the gifts that you have received from your mother. Which is the most important? Your birth? Nurture? Love? It is almost too difficult to decide isn't it? Do you think we can ever repay our mothers for all they have done and continue to do for us? Can we even think of how much that payback will cost? Is it possible to calculate it? How and where do we begin?

Since the beginning of time, mothers have been our source of comfort and nurture. During the dark days of enslavement, mothers were always ready to protect us. Some would rather kill their children and themselves rather than send them off to be enslaved. Yet these stories are not well known. Mothers silently carried their stories of pain in songs and in their hearts. We need to know those stories. There must be something we can do to celebrate mothers' stories. Everyone should learn more about women's contributions to the world. We should learn about heroic women like Hashepsut, the female pharaoh of Kemet; Queen Nzinga of Angola, Yaa Asantewaa, who led an Asante army against the British, and many more. When we look around today we see many women doing most amazing things to make the world a better place. We should respect and celebrate all of them. Most importantly, we should not support rappers who denigrate our women. Never! Rappers who disrespect our women should not benefit from abusing women in songs. We should not buy their cds at all because our mothers and sisters deserve more respect than to be abused in videos. Do your part, boys. Don't disrespect our young women! Promise never to hit a girl. Ever. It is a small but very important step towards "doing reciprocity" and rebuilding our village. 

<em>Reciprocity</em> is more than a simple give and take or <em>tit-for-tat.</em> The people of Kemet understood that the quality of exchange was more important than the quantity of what was being exchanged. This understanding meant that everyone was responsible for creating a strong partnership in the community for the benefit of all. Everyone was responsible for the emotional, material, and spiritual well-being of all adults, children, the extended family, friends, the community, and elders. Today some call this act "Ubuntu."

Being accountable for our intentional or unintentional actions that cause harm to other people or the environment is also a form of <em>Reciprocity</em>. We are responsible for restoring lost order, balance, harmony and for providing compensation. According to the ancient Kemetic people, <em>Reciprocity</em> also meant "aspiring to giving and serving while at the same time expecting to receive what is good." This was the greatest gift of all that anyone could offer in order to achieve Ma'at. The qualities of <em>Reciprocity</em> thus include accountability and gratitude. So, let us show our gratitude to all mothers. This is the Virtue of <em>Reciprocity</em> at work. We must respect ALL women. Stop the abuse of women.

The Nguzo Saba for the month is Imani, FAITH. Yes, we must have faith in ourselves, in our teachers and parents, and especially in our leaders. We must teach our children to resolve to have a strong and unshakable faith in themselves and the inherent goodness of others. As Bob Marley said, "emancipate yourselves from mental slavery" by believing in yourself and the righteousness of our struggle to free our own minds.  Asante Sana! Hotep!