Letter to My Hero

Dear Booker,

It perturbs me to understand why you chose Washington. I understand it was one of the spur of the moment, give me artificial importance type of thing. Before that moment however you sought to define your importance by tracing your ancestry. With that, it’s hard for me to understand why Washington, a name that has no significance to you, was chosen as your last name. You lived a life in opposition to complacency and ignorance. You withstood the most daring obstacles in route to your preponderance. It’s no wonder that you believe success is not measured so much by the position that one has reached in life but rather the obstacles in which one has overcame to get there.

Booker you’re such an inspiration. I honor everything you’ve accomplished. You have exemplified my ideal future. You stood intransigent on opposition to complacency and embracing upward mobility. What perplexes me is why you grew complacent with such a fictitious name. Malcom X, a Black equality martyr to come after your passing, changed his name because the premise of it because the meaning of it didn’t align with who he was (or trying to be for that matter). His discontent charged him to change his last name to “X”. Booker why didn’t you ever change your name to; I’ give you the name of Booker P; for P could stand for a plethora of words that fit you perfectly. How does Booker Pretentious, Perfect, Persevering, Powerful, Possible, Prideful, Prepared, Prospered, Preponderant, and Prudent sound to you?