With outstretched arms extended, ready for the embrace, and a mind open, clear-eyed, and poised for the highest thoughts one can dream of. Allow the imagery ladle of longing to pierce the waters of possibilities into the depths of your lucid imagination. Don’t stop there; keep going, enlist the majestic, ever-enduring hope of the transcendent inner peace of true spirituality. Enter a manifold hope and veracity that you can touch, feel, and begin to build upon.  

Scripture communicates this all-encompassing hope in this fashion:

^“But those who wait for the [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.”

Isaiah 40:31 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition.

The Spanish AltaVista translates as “high view” or “upper view.” Historically, the determining factor in military victories has-been who could get the high ground. In a debate, contenders wrestle for the moral high ground. The AltaVista is unique because it allows us to get a higher perspective and see directions from which the enemy attacks. It also allows our world to be viewed in a completely different way. Through this, we get a vision of hope when we see things from a high place (AltaVista). We can envision hope vs despair. Snowcapped peaks reflect the brilliance of the sun’s light instead of worries of the onset of an impending avalanche.

And then, it happened at 6:01 PM CST on April 4, 1968; the shot rang out and extinguished the light that was the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Yet, all the darkness of that evil act could not negate the fact that Dr. King saw and experienced something just one day earlier, and qualified his commentary so that the interpretation would take the focus off himself (“I’ve been to the mountaintop, I may not get there with you”). Dr. King’s timeless Mountaintop speech. In essence, it is a distinct possibility that Dr. King saw a future far different from what we experience today.

This was about something so much bigger than one man. Never forget that one man, friend, or foe can never move or stay the hand of an all-powerful creator. There was only one man who gave his life for many. By His sacrificial death, the wrath of God was atoned for, making possible humanity’s forgiveness.

Four years ago, at a time in our nation’s very dark past, deep divisions involving the social construct of race, class, politics, and religion, including what brand of Christianity America would embrace, tested American resolve. I stepped out on faith because the Alta-Vista (High View) viewed a Sudo-Racial-Reckoning, a commercially driven counterfeit for true reconciliation, an illusion of peace, and the backlash that would ensue. The Alta-Vista looked beyond those chasms and saw something better.

In late 2020, I reached out to three of my colleagues in the faith. Doc Courage, Tiffany Rae Reid, and Frank Robinson. They accepted the challenge when I asked them if they would like to write articles to dismantle Systemic Racism in a new concept, Ideal, and divergent way of speaking truth to power. That was to speak in clear voice with information, history, and real-time proximity to truth communicated through the lens of spirituality. AltaVista brought together the resources and wise counsel, and the upper view was expansive enough to overcome technological hurdles.

In 2021, on the 8^th of April, eight being the biblical number for new beginnings, Three-Fifths Magazine published its first four articles. My AltaVista envisioned this very moment that America exists in now after the slogans have faded, and America’s Deja Vu of Cognitive inertia stands as a monolith covered with fallen ashes of liberation movements dismembered in backlash. From Reconstruction and voter suppression to the erasure of history, along with DEI, the role back of affirmative action and civil rights. The lens of AltaVista sees the possibilities and embraces changes, even those things that may not appear promising at first observation. When you look a little closer, AltaVista locates something rising from the ashes. No, it’s not the Phoenix, but Sankofa.

The Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education of Berea College reveals a comprehensive definition of Sankofa in an article entitled “The Power of Sankofa: Know Your History.“

“Sankofa is an African word from the Akan tribe in Ghana. The literal translation of the word and the symbol is “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.”

“The word is derived from the words:

• SAN  (return)
• KO  (go)
• FA (look, seek and take)

The Sankofa symbolizes the Akan people’s quest for knowledge among the Akan with the implication that the quest is based on critical examination, and intelligent and patient investigation.” The essence of Three-Fifths Magazine through the “high view” words declared in April 2021.

“Why a magazine and why now? Three-Fifths is simply the next progression on the way to the ultimate goal of Building the Bridge Together. Through a thoughtful conversation involving societal reckoning, racial equity, historical perspective, and spiritual insight.” Now, there are over 600 articles (all still fully accessible) from over 50 diverse contributors. The peaks look brightly snowcapped with beauty and splendor. Three-Fifths Magazine saw something on the heights of the AltaVista.

We can all find AltaVista in the comforting words of scripture.

“After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.”

Revelation 7:9
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

Three-Fifths Magazine, BIPOC communities, Allies, and Advocates’ moment to “look, seek, and take is now.” Partner with us and stand together on the AltaVista of our tomorrow!