Family, please know that I come with all the love in my heart, but there is just a little something that I must say that has been on my mind for some time. This is supposed to be the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, yet when it comes to common courtesies like greeting people hello, where is the LOVE?

I remember a time when Philadelphia was that place where people smiled when they passed and spoke when greeted. Now, when you go to say, “Good Morning,” people look at you as if you just spit on their best suit. To be completely honest it is not everyone; mainly the sisters. This is an upsetting thing to me because it is us sisters who are responsible for the peace and cooperation of our world. When our men are fighting rampantly in the streets it is the matriarchal figure of the block that initiates the solution to bring peace to the situation. When families are running wild, who brings back order? I tell you who: the feminine spirit!

So, why the lack of love ladies? Have we gotten so vindictive and catty that we cannot be civil towards each other?

I ran an experiment a few weeks ago to see if maybe I was just imagining things. I ventured to various areas in the city, each consisting of different type of nationalities, and I watched people responses as I greeted those that I passed on the streets. Of all the greetings that I gave, the only welcomed responses came from men, most of which thought that I was trying to initiate conversation. For the females, most simply ignored me, while some felt obligated to respond back, answering back with a disgusted look on their faces. Only a small handful greeted me back with a friendly response, with very few of those coming from sisters of color.

It is time to abandon these stigmatisms of hatred and animosity and embrace each other with the love and respect we deserve and are lost without. In an effort to achieve this I set out to change the energy of each place that I visit. I started at the grocery store, the place I saw the most unhappy faces. When I got to the deli counter, I greeted the woman as “Queen” and she was taken aback for a second, but nevertheless continued with helping me; this time she seemed to be a little more eager to serve me than the last time we met three weeks prior. When I bumped carts with a woman with three children, I said, “Excuse me, Queen!” Her expression immediately changed to a smile as she responded, “Oh, that’s OK baby.” Where the message was most received was at the checkout counter when I greeted the clerk. When she heard me say, “Peace Queen, how are you today?” she quickly responded, “Did you say Queen?” I then asked her, “Well aren’t we queens?” She as well as some of the sisters behind me began to smile and nod in agreement.

You see if you call us by name, that is the character that we will portray. We spend so much time making up so-called endearing names for each other, like “Bitch,” “Chick,” or my personal favorite, “Shortie,” that we forget to determine if the name fulfills the person’s character. Last time I checked we were the descendants of Kings and Queens of great empires from many nations, so anything less than that is beneath your self-worth. So let’s check ourselves people, and start uplifting one another. Remember… United we stand, Divided we fall!

Real Queens can send their feedback to feedback@geoclan.com