My history
Your history
Celebration of color
Overcoming adversity
We all taste it so
Let's face it
Together
African and Caucasian
Asian and Indian too
Native American or not
We've all been black and blue
Physically emotionally
Mentally and spiritually
We all know what pain feels like
We all know how chains sealed tight feel like
History reveals many battles many fights
Go back far enough &
We all know what inferiority feels like
That's why typewriters type
And writers write wrongs
The hand that life can deal us
That hand of fate can steal us
Right out of our mother's hands
Right out of our motherland &
Harvest us in fields of cotton rice vice and sugarcane
So it often seems
Our lives don't amount to a
Can of beans
Bought and sold over a counter top
Stop!
Let me fix these seams
& While I'm over here
Let me fix you a plate of these collard greens
Black eye peas macaroni cheese
Okra & cornbread too
So you can chew on this
Overcoming is encoded in our DNA
Overcoming walks freely in our genes
Like kings & queens
Remember that sermon on the mount
Dr. Martin Luther King
Lift every voice & sing
I have a dream
Sojourner Truth
Followed route 2
Freedom then planted new
Seeds new trees new
Roots run deep
Tribes live free
Daughter of Africa
Feminist abolitionist
George Washington Carver
Scientist botanist inventor
Rosa Parks spent her life
In return for so little change so
Sat there on that bus.
She must have been scared
On that bus. Lightning and disbelief
Flashing all around her... on that bus.
Like thunder war and rage
Gears shift and bus parks
Sparks and fireworks on that bus.
Change looming
Voices booming
On that bus.
Trying desperately to drowned
Her but she and many
Sisters sat
Quietly...
On that bus.
Mouthing words
Solemnly...
Caged birds singing softly
On that bus.
We shall not be moved
We all know their names
We all believe in their aims
We all know their deeds
We all received their proceeds
Frederick Douglas, W. E. B. DuBois
Marian Anderson who sang opera arias in
Concert recitals seated right next to negro spirituals...
Wade in the water
Gods gonna trouble the water
Swing low sweet chariot
Coming forth to carry me home
Steal away
Steal away to freedom
She sung
She won the hearts of Americans everywhere
Every town square
Where we sat huddled together in the cold
Discovering new ways to
Be bold & overcome fear
Soon I will be done with the troubles of your world...
That's how we called forth the rebels
Radicals and revolutionaries
They rose from the earth &
Marched in the streets
Protesting
Chanting slogans to
Repeal injustice and prejudice
Speaking out
Speaking up
For the people
By the people
Malcom X
Huey P. Newton
Angela Davis
Asata Shakur
Freedom fighters
Fire lighters
The original
Black lives matter
Black strength gathers
Black Muslims
Black Panthers
Fists raised in the air
Afros & dashikis & bowties
Everywhere
Underground Railroad now added
New names and faces
Marsha P. Johnson
Drag queen, trans women giving
Homeless kids a home
Starting Stonewall Riots
Combating bias
Resisting silence
Cause there is no way to justify this
Homophobia transphobia
Sexist behavior
We all need a savior... sometimes
Speaking of saving
What would we do without
Artists paving the way
Authoring new books for a new day
Some merry some gay
But all coming together to play
So we could dance
Together in
Streets & in
Clubs & on
Stages &
Laugh as
Life flipped the pages...
Jazz Blues Hip hop R&B & Rock & Roll too
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bessie Smith, Sylvester,
Miles Davis, Tupac, MJJ, Billie Holiday & the Four Tops to
Name a few...
Alvin Ailey, Audre Lorde, Octavia E Butler & Basquiet
In sporting news
Flo-Jo
The fastest woman of all time
Venus carries on the legacy of Althea Gibson
Jackie Robinson hits more home runs
Muhammad Ali
Pretty bumblebee
Brings another opponent to his knees
Let us not forget the
Magazines
Ebony & Jet & Black Enterprise
Covers every photo every word between
Advertisements for Afro sheen, Jheri curls &
Pretty girls wearing Iman cosmetics
Even though we all know under all that
Hair grease, rouge and lipstick
Black is beautiful!
You know I had to say it...
Who said hero worship was bad for us?
We the people
We need our gods
We need these relationships
Crave these fellowships
Value our kinships are
Thankful for our mentorships
So around this time
Every year
We renew our subscriptions &
Annual memberships...
NAACP
United Negro College fund
National Black Justice Coalition
My Brothers Keeper
Sister Love
Black Youth Project
Black Alliance for Justice Immigration
Million Hoodies
The Innocence Project
Color of Change
And so many many many many more...
But in all this praising...
Rejoicing & being exceedingly glad
Let us not forget the folks
Closest to our hearts...
When we celebrate the celebrated
Let us also elevate the often negated
Those precious Souls relegated to the role of &
Somehow always rising above &
So very deserving of
The title
The distinction
The recognition
The appellation
Mother
Father
Son
Daughter
Cousin
Aunt
Uncle
Nephew
Niece
Grandmother
Grandfather
Sister
Brother
Friend
Remember the
Neighbor down the street, whether
She sleeps in a house or
On a cardboard sheet
Remember
The lawyer & the dentist &
The plumber & the gardener &
The bus driver who greets you
Every evening on your way home from work
Remember all these & more &
Handle with care
All who recite this prayer
We shall overcome &
Do overcome
Whatever they can overcome
To all of you
Yesterday
Today &
Tomorrow... Forever
Be true
We salute you
Yes I know we ain't
Overcame all that needs to be
Overcome
There is still much more
Overcoming yet still to do... & the
Doing we must do... but the
Good Book say
I believe this to be true... this
Race ain't given to the swift
We all need to work this shift cause
Each moment can be turned into
A gift
Can't nobody honestly say
We ain't come a long way
That's what we pausing here today
To do
Celebrate
With Gratitude
Our gifts
Cause when a
Brother can rise to become president
That sets a new precedent
Shirley Chisholm ran too
Back in 1972
President Barack Obama did right by her
Called her name &
Awarded her her due
Acts like these help
Everyone stand a little taller
Brethren colored in golden chocolate hues &
Everyone else too
So don't get distracted...
A few guns, hoses and frightened
Narrow minded congressional opposes
Can't stop this march forward
This flashlight exposes all who raid the
Innocence of peace and hope &
Progress forward
So tonight as you lay upon your bed of roses
Blood trickling as your crown of thorns imposes
On insides raw & bare & bruised
Remember what this prose is
Remember their names
Remember what they became
Remember that deep down
We are all the same...
But most importantly...
Remember how we overcame
Adversity
Cause if we overcame before
We can overcome again &
Again &
Again
Let the church say
Amen