He is my grandfather George Rene Francis known to us as "Papa" he is 112 years old born and raised in New Orleans LA. I remember him telling me about growing up in his time, he never complained about the conditions he grew up in even though they were very poor. He never talked about race much other than what history has taught. We grew up knowing were black in America but we never focused on it. He of all people could tell you about the racist south everyday but his focus was to help us become achievers and to let nothing hold you back from achieving. My grandfather told me to not allow color to be an issue but to overcome by gaining knowledge. He was not an educated man scholastically but for me he was the best teacher I ever had. He taught me to be colorblind. He taught me to be independent self-sufficient, he taught me a little about fixing cars, cutting hair, small construction type work, and taking care of my yard. Because I grew up without a father in the home, my grandfather taught me skills to help me, help my mother around the house. He also took me crawfish fishing, taught me how to prepare, and cook food. Being black in America is knowing you are black from within not from the outside. I am an American just like anyone else born here with the same advantages and disadvantages living while black, but if a black man can be 112 years old and become the oldest man in America with all the mess he's been through. If Millions of others who have survived and succeeded here in this country while being black, I guarantee you the color of their skin wasn't the reason maybe it was something greater within. Why are we so caught up in the color of our skin anyway? Don't let old America hold your future, being black in America again is another label, don't let what you look like decide who you are inside. Besides, recognize what Blacks and other non-Whites have gone through and embracing it through the hope of change, without the rebellion. Let put an end to the division, put an end to the labels, my Papa taught me rise above it al. Don't hold yourself back, stop complaining, move on. America is your country stand tall and do something good with your opportunity.