By Lt. Ken Roland
Special to The Westside Gazette
It was foretold.
Over four centuries ago, a seed was planted—a people carried across waters, stripped of name, language, and land, yet never stripped of divine purpose. The prophecy recorded in Genesis 15:13–14 speaks clearly:
“Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and shall serve them and they will afflict them four hundred years… but afterward they will come out with great substance.”
For many, this passage describes the ancient Israelites’ journey. But for those of us who carry the blood memory of ships, chains, plantations, and rebellion—it resonates deeply with the African American experience.
In 1619, the first documented Africans were brought to the shores of what would become the United States. 400 years later, in 2019, voices across this nation proclaimed: We are awakening.
But now in 2025, some are asking: Where is the substance? Where is the freedom we were promised?
Let me be clear: We are not waiting for freedom. We are walking in it. The awakening is not coming. It is here.
The next chapter of this prophetic journey depends not on time, but on action. The prophecy said we would come out with substance—and that word doesn’t just mean material wealth. It means value, power, and identity.
We are the generation meant to rise from systems designed to erase us. But rising takes more than remembering—we must rebuild. And not just rebuild institutions. We must rebuild the mind, the family, the community, and the economic ecosystem of our people.
In my work with youth, swimming programs, and civic engagement, I see it daily: the potential of our sons and daughters is not just great, it’s prophetic. Every skill we teach, every business we start, every vote we cast, and every lie we unlearn is a strike against bondage.
To those who say we have 30 more years to wait, I challenge that. The clock has run its course. The calendar has expired. What remains is whether we will claim the inheritance or let fear and division delay it.
So, I ask: Will we come out of bondage? Yes. But not by magic. By movement.
Let us build wealth. Let us protect our children. Let us educate our communities. Let us pray, vote, march, invest, and create like our very destiny depends on it—because it does.
As for me and my house, we are rising with great substance.
The prophecy was never about waiting, it was about becoming.
Lt. Ken Roland is a community advocate, youth mentor, and drowning prevention specialist. He serves the South Florida community with integrity, purpose, and a commitment to the generational
